His creator, sickened by the increase of crime decided, in 1931, to create a detective who could deal with gangdom via what he called "the hot lead route.".    From Wordnik.com.  [Archive 2010-06-27] Reference

It came when the hated snitch -- for gangdom hates the informer worse than anything else dead or alive -- had turned a sufficiently dark and deserted corner.    From Wordnik.com.  [The Exploits of Elaine] Reference