The Butcher, the Embezzler, and the Fall Guy

Three powerful men. One devastating scandal. And a family legacy that demands to be understood.

In this riveting work of narrative nonfiction, Gretchen Cherington excavates a nearly forgotten chapter of American business history that unfolds along the banks of Minnesota’s Red Cedar River. At the center: George Albert Hormel, the ambitious founder of what would become a $10 billion empire; Ransome Josiah Thomson, whose $1.2 million embezzlement scheme nearly toppled the company; and Alpha LaRue Eberhart—Cherington’s own grandfather—the brilliant executive whose sudden downfall in 1922 raises haunting questions about complicity, loyalty, and truth.

What begins as a family mystery transforms into something far more profound. Cherington brings the sharp eye of someone who spent thirty-five years advising top executives to this intimate investigation, weaving together corporate intrigue, personal tragedy, and the broader sweep of America’s industrial age. As she traces Eberhart’s journey from trusted leader to disgraced fall guy—all while his beloved wife Lena lay dying—the author grapples with uncomfortable truths about the mythology we build around powerful men.

The Butcher, The Embezzler, and The Fall Guy is both detective story and meditation, examining how we reconcile the heroes we inherit with the flawed humans they actually were. For readers who loved The Splendid and the Vile or Empire of Pain, this is a masterfully researched exploration of ambition, betrayal, and the complicated legacies that shape us all.

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