America was beset by two distinct crime waves in the 1930s—and J. Edgar Hoover used both to justify the expansion of the FBI. One is mythologized in pop culture—the bank robbing spree of John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde and company. The other, kidnapping, is less remembered. With The Snatch Racket, Carolyn Cox focuses on the latter and as she shows, “snatch” might be too casual a term for the carefully planned crimes directed against wealthy victims. Like today’s ransomware hackers, the perpetrators usually made off with a fortune. In response, Hoover set up a kidnapping hotline and flew heavily armed agents from one end of the country to the other to trace ransom money and raid hideouts. Cox presents several cases in detail and explores how Hoover successfully marketed the FBI to a fearful public.
