Maureen Hughs with Boyd and Lucinda

Maureen Hughes an author of the new book "The Countless and the Mob" is here to tell her story. Maureen Hughes has captured that colorful life in the book, “The Countess and the Mob: The Untold Story of Marajen Stevick Chinigo and Mafia Lord Johnny Rosselli.” Hughes, a graduate of Armstrong High School and Danville Junior College, minored in journalism and criminal justice. In the late 1980s, she was hired as a bodyguard for Chinigo, who needed a female security officer while hospitalized in Champaign. Hughes knew little about the woman, who was owner of newspapers and radio stations in the Champaign area. Hughes did not see Chinigo, who also was an artist, again until a few years later at a local art museum. Hughes was intrigued by the impeccably dressed woman who moved through the crowd like a queen. Later, she would learn about Chinigo’s five marriages — including one with a count title, thus her own countess title — and friendship with people who reportedly had ties to the Mafia. When Chinigo died in December 2002 at age 90, Hughes began doing research for a biography. GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE...