Boardwalk Empire is one of the best series in the crime drama genre, and its main character, Enoch "Nucky" Thompson, is one of the best anti-heroes of this genre.
He is a politician who has made his power in the New Jersey state almost absolute. He's a racketeer who has had his share of every illegal enterprise in the Atlantic City area. And he's one of the biggest bootleggers of the Prohibition era. You have to agree, a very colorful character. To succeed on both sides of the law at once. It's a pleasure to watch him on the screen, he certainly won't let you get bored.
But what if I told you that Thompson, based on a real man named Johnson, who managed to combine all of the above in real life. And even though he had a lot less shooting, killing and crime in his life, he actually managed to accomplish probably even more than his serial prototype.
And if you want to know the real story of Atlantic City's most colorful boss, then please welcome, Enoch "Nucky" Johnson, on the other side of the law.
Sources:
Frank J. Ferry Esquire - "Nucky: The Real Story of the Atlantic City Boardwalk Boss"
Johnson Nelson - "Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City"