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FIXER
A Novel by Ed Brodow
The Facts

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Most of the incidents in Fixer are based on true events. The novel
was inspired by the colorful life of the author's grandfather, Harry
Wolkof, a larger-than-life New York City politician and humanitarian.
Wolkof served as Chief Clerk of the Gates Avenue Municipal Court in Brooklyn
and was standard bearer of the Harry Wolkof Association, a philanthropic
organization dedicated to tolerance. He was born to extreme poverty on
the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1884 and died in 1961 in the psychiatric
ward of Brooklyn State Hospital. Harry was fortunate enough to witness
most of the extraordinary changes electric power, automobiles,
airplanes, radio, television, antibiotics that made the 20th Century
so remarkable.
Harry Wolkof lived in the Machiavellian world of New York City politics,
eventually emerging as the power behind the throne in Brooklyn Democratic
circles in the 1920s and 30s. As a power broker, his passion was helping
those less fortunate than himself, especially immigrants and minorities
who were taken advantage of by a corrupt justice system. The association
that bore his name was a magnet for political and business bigwigs in
the borough of Brooklyn for twenty years.
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One
of the main characters in Fixer is Willie Malakow (Curly Murphy),
Harry Leonnoff's brother-in-law and psychotic serial killer. Willie is
based on the author's great-uncle, William Kushakow, who served
as sergeant in the Sixth Machine Gun Battalion, Fourth Marine Brigade.
Uncle Willie fought with distinction at Belleau Wood, Chateau Thierry,
Soissons, St. Mihiel, and every other World War I action in which the
U.S. Marine Corps participated.
The real Curly Murphy came home in 1919 with a chest full of medals, including
the Croix de Guerre from the French government. Sadly, a burglar appropriated
all of Willie's medals from the author's New York apartment.
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The
main antagonist in Fixer is Fiorello La Guardia, the "Little
Flower" (his nickname based on the English translation of "Fiorello").
La Guardia was the first Italian-American to serve in Congress and, with
the possible exception of Peter Stuyvesant, the most famous of all New
York City mayors.
La Guardia's three-term tenure as mayor (1934-1945) is notable for two
primary reasons: he all but destroyed Tammany Hall, the corrupt Democratic
political machine that ruled the city for a hundred years, and he built
public housing, bridges, tunnels, hospitals and other public works that
brought New York into the modern era. One of New York's airports and a
Broadway show (Fiorello) were named after him.
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The Lower East Side, site of Harry Leonnoff's
Dickensian childhood, was ground zero for what has become known
as the "melting pot" of New York City. Hordes of immigrants lived
here in horrendous conditions that are described in Fixer.
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The Manhattan Bridge is the scene of Fixer's
exciting climax. The author was accosted on this bridge at the age
of 13 by two thugs brandishing hunting knives. They wanted a quarter
for passage across the bridge. Fortunately, the author acquiesced
or there would be no Fixer. Harry Leonnoff is accosted on
the bridge by his pistol-toting brother-in-law, Willie Malakow (Curly
Murphy).
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Copyright © 2007-2017 Ed Brodow. All rights reserved.

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