Swords into Plowshares

Ben Slattery was a professional criminal, had been his entire life. All he ever wanted was to become a member of the syndicate and maneuver his way into the upper echelons. His lavish lifestyle of expensive women, exorbitant gambling, and continued drug use soon drew him into a depth from which he could never hope to recover. Faced with continually growing gambling debts that were forcing him not only into financial disaster but the loss of his life, he allowed himself to be drawn into a plot of armed bank robbery in order to clear his financial responsibility to the underworld. Disaster occurred when the robbery went wrong, leaving one guard dead and all of the participants except himself killed. Left alone to face the blame, he quickly was condemned to San Quentin Prison for the remainder of his lifetime. With no hope of parole, it would have been easy for Ben to sink into the morass of self-pity and anger. God, however, had other plans for Benjamin Slattery and sent his apostles to carry out his desires.