HARDCASE (A Joe Kurtz thriller) by Dan Simmons

Finished Su 8/18/13

Set in Buffalo, NY
Kurtz does eleven years in Attica for the brutal killing of a man who raped and murdered his lover. (beats, tortures-hand in garbage disposal, throws him out a sixth floor window onto the roof of a cop car. They watched as the scene unfolds)
He had befriended a mafia Don's son, Little Skag, and this gives him an in with the mob when he is freed, and he agrees to try to find their missing accountant. Richardson is a man who knew too much about the family business.  Don Farino is the elderly leader of the Farino Crime Family and is in a wheelchair because he was ambushed and shot in the spine. His power is dwindling, and he knows it.
Attorney Leonard Miles did it under the orders of the Don's daughter, Sophia Farino. They had an 'off the table' deal to trade guns for dope across the Canadian border.
Arlene-Kurtz's secretary and hacker. She's the heart of his office which is above an X-rated video store in a bad area.
Malcolm Kibunte- Black gang-leader and owns Seneca Social Club. Kurtz burns it down and tangles Malcolm over the falls. He cuts the rope thinking he can out swim the falls and drowns.
Malcolm's partner is an albino killer who is proficient with a knife. He is gunned down by Arlene when he tries to break into the office.
Detective Hathaway-crooked Buffalo PD detective who tries to set up Kurtz, put him back in prison where there is a $10,000 price on his head by the black gangs.