{"product_id":"2940016780788","title":"Close To The Flame","description":"The remarkable story   \u003cbr\u003eof a man destined for  \u003cbr\u003epolitical greatness until  \u003cbr\u003ean FBI sting killed his career...  \u003cbr\u003eand then he picked himself back up.  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003eFor more than half a century, Gordon Walgren, lawyer, legislator and  \u003cbr\u003elobbyist, has been a major player in Kitsap County politics. At 25, he won election as county  \u003cbr\u003eprosecutor. It looked as though his political future was dead after he lost a notorious case. It  \u003cbr\u003edidn’t help that he was romantically involved with the accused’s mistress. Then opportunity  \u003cbr\u003eknocked and Walgren quickly re-climbed the political ladder. By 1975 he was Senate majority  \u003cbr\u003eleader. Five years later, he was clearly ticketed for statewide office, attorney general  \u003cbr\u003eand then, who knows?  \u003cbr\u003eIt all came undone as a result of Gamscam, an FBI sting that ensnared  \u003cbr\u003eWalgren, the speaker of the house and a lobbyist. Charged with  \u003cbr\u003eracketeering, the three were accused of conspiring with men they believed  \u003cbr\u003ewere mobsters to loosen state gambling laws. They did it for a piece of the  \u003cbr\u003eprofits, the government said.  \u003cbr\u003eThe case against Walgren was the thinnest, but a jury convicted  \u003cbr\u003ehim along with the others. He spent two years in a federal prison.  \u003cbr\u003eHe never admitted guilt and never stopped fighting to clear his name.  \u003cbr\u003eOn his release, he successfully petitioned to win back his law license,  \u003cbr\u003eto overturn all but one conviction and to rebuild his reputation.  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e“For the first time, former state Senate majority leader Gordon Walgren details the  \u003cbr\u003eextraordinary FBI zeal in fabricating the “sting” that sent him to prison and ended his  \u003cbr\u003epromising political career. It is a tale of conviction, courage and redemption.”  \u003cbr\u003e—Ronald Bright, retired special agent, US Naval Criminal Investigative Service  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Gordon Walgren","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47081884647664,"sku":"2940016780788","price":6.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940016780788_p0.jpg?v=1763641555","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940016780788","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}