Allan May has been interested in organized crime since he saw his first episode of the old “Untouchables” television series in the early 1960s. An admirer of Eliot Ness for years, in 1997, May initiated the movement which resulted in the spreading of Ness’s ashes, along with his third wife’s and adopted son’s, at a memorial service in Cleveland’s historic Lake View Cemetery.

In addition, May teaches classes on the history of organized crime for Cuyahoga Community College and Lakewood Adult Education. He also lectures at libraries in the Cuyahoga County system. May’s personal library on organized crime contains over 500 volumes.

May is the historian at Lake View Cemetery and on the speaker’s bureau. Working through a grant funded by The Cleveland Foundation he wrote the “Who’s Who of Lake View Cemetery” which includes biographies on over 440 noted personalities buried there. In the past he has written a monthly historical column for the Cleveland Plain Dealer Sunday Magazine.

Allan May has also published a book Mob Stories which is a collection of short stories from around the United States on organized crime, including events and personalities on both sides of the law. In this book May attempts to present a human side by showing how families were affected by the careers, and in many cases, the demise of its participants.  Mob Stories is available through Barnes & Noble's online bookstore