1960s Austin Gangsters, Jesse Sublett
1960s Austin Gangsters, Jesse Sublett
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1960s Austin Gangsters
Organized Crime that Rocked the Capital

Author: Jesse Sublett

Narrator: George Newbern

Unabridged: 4 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 10/07/2025


Synopsis

Timmy Overton of Austin and Jerry Ray James of Odessa were football stars who traded athletics for lives of crime. The original rebels without causes, nihilists with Cadillacs and Elvis hair, the Overton gang and their associates formed a ragtag white trash mafia that bedazzled Austin law enforcement for most of the 1960s. Tied into a loose network of crooked lawyers, pimps, and used car dealers who became known as the "traveling criminals," they burglarized banks and ran smuggling and prostitution rings all over Texas. Author Jesse Sublett presents a detailed account of these Austin miscreants, who rose to folk hero status despite their violent criminal acts.

About Jesse Sublett

Jesse Sublett is an author, musician, and painter in Austin who last wrote about the Austin underworld in 1960s Austin Gangsters: Organized Crime That Rocked the Capital.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Patricia on February 18, 2023

A quick and interesting read. Good historical background on Austin, and a better discussion of the segregation than just about anywhere else.......more

Goodreads review by j cannon on April 25, 2020

HomeGrown Hoodlums Nice take on the machinations of the Overton/James Gang's attempt to control the rackets and drugs and prostitution in Austin Tx. during the wide open 60's. Of course we all know how the story ends, but well written and brings to life some very interesting characters. Nice read.......more

Goodreads review by Megdelasur on September 07, 2017

Moved to Austin and fell in love with it while it was a small town masquerading as a city. It grew up while I lived there and did lose some of the small town feeling, but retained enough quirkiness to be a place you'd still fall in love with. My love for the city was nothing like Sublett's, though. H......more

Goodreads review by Deadbeatgrandpajoe on May 13, 2018

First off I picked up the book because the subject seemed interesting and The authors name was somewhat familiar from the Austin music scene. I thought the book was good but not great. It was well researched, but could have used some editing. One of my problems with it was he seem to insert himself i......more

Goodreads review by glen doran on January 07, 2020

Interesting read A lot going on in Austin that I did not know about. The under belly to say the least. May need to follow-up with his books on the music scene. One good read leads to a other!......more