Defending Billy Ryan
Twelve years ago Jerry Kennedy delivered his first report, Kennedy for the Defense, on being the classiest sleazy criminal lawyer in Boston, as Mack, his then-wife, called him. Seven years ago, Jerry called in again, with Penance for Jerry Kennedy. After that, things only got worse.
Much worse. But in this latest dispatch, we learn that Jerry is digging himself out of a big hole, defending Billy Ryan - the longtime commission of Public Works has cut one shady deal too many.
Battered Boston lawyers, like bargain diamonds, don't look so hot under strong white light-especially decades after they were newly cut and mounted. Though Jerry, brighter than most defense attorneys, has lost some of his luster, he knows enough to depend on friends - especially Bad-eye Mulvey, Cadillac Teddy, and one he didn't know he had: a heavy hitter named Carlo. Jerry Kennedy also knows that the government can always get a public official if it really wants to....
Author
George V. Higgins