Sydney
With his well-cut suits, flashy cufflinks and smouldering dark looks, Abe Saffron was a gangster in the classic Hollywood mould. For more than three decades he was Sydney's undisputed crime boss, running brothels, nightclubs and illegal rackets in Kings Cross, the city's red-light district.
In his heyday, Saffron, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, ruled the Cross with an iron fist, creaming millions of dollars from gambling, prostitution, drugs and illegal liquor. Several senior policemen and state politicians were in his pay. He lunched with prostitutes and premiers alike.
In his old age, 'Mr Sin' tried to change his image by turning into a benign pensioner, donating to Jewish causes and suing anyone rash enough to besmirch his reputation; despite his notoriety, Saffron served only one prison term, for tax evasion.
Now, almost two years after his death, Abraham Gilbert Saffron - once described by a jury as a 'completely depraved' gangster - is back on the front pages. A new book about the crime boss by his estranged son Alan Saffron, 59, has caused a sensation.
Gentle Satan: My Father is a chilling account of growing up in a household ruled by a womanising, corrupt, vain, money-hungry and yet strangely insecure mobster.
Advance publicity suggested that Gentle Satan would finally resolve some of the many mysteries that still surround the Boss of the Cross. Did he, for example, order the execution of heiress Juanita Nielsen? Was Bob Askin, the late premier of New South Wales, in his pay? Did he work for the US mob - or other international crime syndicates?