“If high-rolling white-collar crime is your cup of tea, you’ll love this book. Ring of Deceit has all the inside info because (co-author) Dean Allison was the federal prosecutor in the case. While writing the book, Allison and his co-author, Bruce Henderson, had at their fingertips not just the facts, gathered by an army of FBI agents and other investigators, but also the results of official inquiries about what nearly everyone involved was thinking, feeling and planning over several years. Rarely has a crime been retold in such overwhelming detail, all of it fascinating.”
—Sports Illustrated
“Back in 1981, all everyone talked about was where did Harold Smith get his money. Ring of Deceit tells where and how, and it’s a dramatic and compelling story.”
—Bob Arum, Top Rank Promotions
“A quick read and a soaring enjoyment. Since ‘Yellow Kid’ Weil, no one has pulled off the big con better than Harold Smith and no one has captured the essence of the sting better than Dean Allison and Bruce Henderson.”
—Dr. Ferdi Pacheco, NBC Sports
“Of all the major sports, only boxing could provide the stage for the incredible events retold in Dean Allison and Bruce Henderson’s Ring of Deceit. It is the story of the Muhammad Ali Professional Sports organization, whose head Harold Smith masterminded a scheme which embezzled over $21 million from Wells Fargo Bank. It is also a tale of boxing, a sport so accustomed to the laissez-faire pursuit of money that it proved powerless to defend itself from Smith’s bold and illegal moves. In short, Ring of Deceit reads like a crime thriller yet provokes thoughts about the future of boxing.
“Allison and Henderson detail the financial manipulations, the exposure of the crime, the hunt for the fugitives, and the eventual trial. As much as possible, the story is told from the inside. Allison, the assistant United States attorney who prosecuted the case, spent months studying every detail of the scandal, interviewing witnesses, and observing Smith. And Henderson is a solid investigative reporter. With the help of Lewis, who cooperated with the government, the rise and fall of Smith’s ’empire’ is beautifully unfolded. Much like Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry’s Helter Skelter, Ring of Deceit is an all-night-page-turner.”
—Journal of Sports History