It is real. It Happened. And it mattered. There used to be something called JOURNALISM. It was a noble "Fourth Estate". There was no concept of anything called "fake news". Cronkite was the "most trusted man in America" and the Times & Post were paragons of integrity. Newspapers were actually "a thing".
Add to that landscape: axe murders; international monetary manipulation; a small-town police department; Congressional corruption; insane religious cults; cover ups; con men; assassinations; and the ugly zeitgeist of Southern racism.
In a city with the highest per-capita murder rate in the country, Gary Green often arrived on the scene before the cops. Known for unorthodox hands-on reporting that took readers into and behind the scenes, his life was filled with shoot-outs, drug raids, high-speed chases, and every manner of blood and gore. His colorful exploits led to an international mystery of entanglements that made Moriarty look like a piker.