‘Broadway Butterfly’ true crime author to sign books Sept. 22

Browseabout Books will host Anthony DeStefano, author of "Broadway Butterfly: Vivian Gordon The Lady Gangster of Jazz Age New York," from 1 to 3 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 22, at 133 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach. 

“Broadway Butterfly” is the engrossing tale of Vivian Gordon, the aspiring Broadway actress who during the hey days of Prohibition became a sexual extortionist in Manhattan.

Vivian made big money coercing male customers to fork over cash and other favors to keep their sexual indiscretions secret. An associate of gangsters like the legendary Legs Diamond, Gordon was murdered in February 1931.

The crime shocked New York City and the nation because of the way she was strangled and dumped in a park. It became tabloid fodder for newspapers all over the country for months. Her 16-year-old daughter Benita was so grief stricken and ashamed that she died by suicide.

The crime ultimately contributed to events which led to the resignation of Mayor Jimmy Walker in 1932. Suspects accused of her murder were acquitted after trial, although one was ultimately executed in the electric chair. Vivian was buried in an unmarked grave for which the author is providing a grave marker.

DeStefano, a bestselling true crime author and national expert on the American Mafia, has garnered a reputation for his in-depth knowledge and meticulous research.