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BROKEN TRUST
The Murder of Basketball Star Jack Molinas
By Jerry Marcus
Paperback 264pp
$24.00
ISBN 978-0941394062
Order today from Amazon.com or BUY NOW from Brittany Publications, Ltd.
In his fourth and most riveting novel, Jerry Marcus takes the killing of basketball great Jack Molinas - and creates a murder mystery that combines
religion, politics, sports and gambling.
As an All-American at Columbia University, Jack Molinas was chosen in the first round of the NBA draft by the Fort Wayne Pistons. He was intelligent, handsome and talented, with the ability to take control over a game. In his first season for the Pistons, Jack was named to the All-Star team. This would be his only season as an NBA star. Jack tossed it all out the window by living on the edge - always having to beat the system.
In 1954, Jack was suspended from the Pistons and tossed out of the NBA for gambling on games. He was later considered to be the lead figure in the 1961 college basketball scandals that rocked the NCAA.
According to Marcus, "Jack's story epitomizes a hypocrisy seen not only in sports, but throughout society. Some sportswriters and columnists vilified Jack on the same newspaper pages that also carried the point spreads and gambling odds on college and professional games."
In BROKEN TRUST, Marcus uses his knowledge of basketball and insights into human behavior, and the tragic and complex figure of Jack Molinas, to illustrate how powerful business interests, religious hypocrites, and attorneys hide behind a façade of morality and justice.
Marcus calls upon his ever popular *Laughing Angels, the evil demons who are locked in an eternal battle with the *Righteous Ones, who sit at God's throne.
In BROKEN TRUST, the Laughing Angels' new cohorts are Rabbi Sid, a schmoozer and trickster who uses his religion as a cover for his immorality; and Ed Ryan, an attorney on the short list for a Supreme Court nomination. The Righteous Ones are aided in their fight for morality and justice by Lubavitcher Rabbi Baruch Pincus and his wife, Naomi. Also on their team are Union Square Activist John Chatterton, and Sarah Pothoven, who try to make a difference in society by helping the poor and the homeless.
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*The Laughing Angels and the Righteous Ones made their first appearance in Marcus' 1982 debut novel,
- Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Zev -
This controversial book was hailed by The Chicago Tribune as "Original and compelling," and recommended
by the American Jewish Congress as "An important addition to books about the Holocaust and Jewish people." |
Excerpt
from BROKEN TRUST
It was obvious to me that Jack needed something
important to replace basketball, to give him a strong
direction and purpose in his life. He had burned so
many bridges along the way, leaving behind many who
would never forgive him. Then there were the others
who had shared in Jack's guilt but were never punished
for their deeds. Instead of being grateful to Jack for his
loyal silence in not implicating them, they saw him as a
future threat to all they had accomplished. One wrong
word to the authorities, or too much said to a reporter,
and all their dreams could be shattered.
At the head of this list was an attorney, Ed Ryan.
Ryan was a big basketball fan and had followed Jack's
career at Columbia. At one of the games, he sought Jack
out, and they hit it off immediately. Years later, Ryan was
involved with Jack in one of his gambling operations.
When the roof fell in on Jack, he did his best to make
sure Ryan was not implicated...
Now a very well-respected attorney, Ed Ryan was even being talked about as a future Supreme Court nominee. Although it had been many years since Ryan had been in contact with Jack, he wondered if going
on the national stage would bring out rumors and
innuendoes pertaining to his involvement with the then young
basketball player.
Yes, Ed Ryan began feeling cheated. His life had been
clean for so many years. He was a large donor to many
worthwhile charities and was on the boards of several
large educational and health care research foundations.
Why should he suffer for his youthful mistakes? He
never even considered how much Jack had suffered and
lost for his youthful transgressions.
But with such baggage, Ryan knew that if he were
nominated to the Supreme Court, he had better consider
all the possibilities and questions that the routine
investigations of his background would raise. He began
to think about the steps he should take to make sure the
odds were in his favor.
Praise for Novels by Jerry Marcus
Broken Trust
The Murder of Basketball Star Jack Molinas
"Great book..."
Sam Amico
Editor and Senior Writer
ProBasketballNews.com
"Besides writing a gripping tale of a powerful, rich, highly competitive industry,
Marcus delivers a high-impact, no holds barred, picture of modern social
establishments - both religious and secular..."
Rabbi Yaakov Fogelman
Torah Outreach Program
Jerusalem, Israel
The Last Pope
"A creative and provocative...suspense-filled novel."
The Chicago Tribune
"A wonderful premise...a great plot."
Naples Daily News, Florida
"Prophetic...Gripping...and Enlightening"
Rabbi Yaakov Fogelman
Torah Outreach Program
Jerusalem, Israel
"An intriguing story...An intellectual thriller."
Marquee, San Diego
"A provocative tale that kindled my imagination..."
Mary Harris, Minister, United Church of Christ
Boonville, Missouri
Chicago Columnist ANNE GERBER said Marcus' 1997 book has a "gripping premise"
and compared it to The DaVinci Code, which was published AFTER
The Last Pope.
The Salvation Peddler
"A master of the suspense novel."
Abilene Reporter-News, Texas
"I enjoyed The Salvation Peddler."
President Bill Clinton
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Zev
"A significant and moving novel...An important addition
to books about the Holocaust and Jewish people."
American Jewish Congress
"Original and compelling."
The Chicago Tribune
"An extraordinary book...that deals with the agony of morals."
Dorothy Fuldheim, News Analyst
Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Company
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