Allan May has been interested in organized crime since he saw his first episode of the old "Untouchables" television series. An admirer of Eliot Ness for years, in 1997, May initiated the movement which resulted in the spreading of Ness's ashes, along with his third wife's and adopted son's, at a memorial service in Cleveland's historic Lake View Cemetery.
May's organized crime writing first appeared as "Big Al's Corner," in Jerry Capeci's internet Gang Land column. He now works with author Rick Porrello writing a weekly column for AmericanMafia.com. May's personal library on organized crime contains over 450 volumes. He is currently working on a book about the history of organized crime in Cleveland and his columns will be the basis of a second book.
In addition, May teaches classes on the history of organized crime for Cuyahoga Community College and Lakewood Adult Education.
May is also the historian at Lake View Cemetery and on the speaker's bureau. He wrote the "Who's Who of Lake View Cemetery" which includes biographies on over 250 noted personalities buried there. In the past he has written a monthly historical column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer Sunday Magazine.
