Cutie Jaffe is a small time Lower East Side hoodlum who gets pretensions of bigger things when he starts knocking over his brother-in-law's bootlegging trucks. .br br The Lawless Years is an American crime drama series that aired on NBC from April 16, 1959, to September 22, 1961. The series is the first of its kind, set during the Roaring 20s, having pre-dated ABC's far more successful The Untouchables by six months. James Gregory stars as real-life NYPD Detective Barney Ruditsky, with Robert Karnes as Max, his associate. Ruditsky, who had become a private investigator in Hollywood after retiring from law enforcement, served as the show's technical advisor. Jack Chertok was the producer. br br Directed by Allen H.