Books - Pirate Sam Mason

All about Sam Mason—America's first Organized Crime Boss.

Carter F. Smith

Retired Criminal Investigator, Criminal Justice Professor

After 22 years in military and federal law enforcement, I turned to the archives—where I found Sam Mason, a Revolutionary War veteran turned river pirate, waiting in the footnotes of forgotten trials. My work bridges past and present, tracing how crime, justice, and power collided on the frontier. I’ve written on gangs, organized crime, and early American law in both academic journals and books like From Patriot to Pirate and The Trial of Sam Mason. Mason was no myth—just a man shaped by war, whiskey, and weak borders. And I’ve spent years chasing his story downstream.