Ovid Demaris (6 September 1919 – 12 March 1998 as Ovide E. Desmarais) was a native of Biddeford, Maine and an author of books and detective stories. A former United Press correspondent and newspaper reporter, he wrote more than 30 books and hundreds of newspaper articles. He graduated from the College of Idaho in 1948 and Boston University in 1950. Previously, he had served in the United States Army Air Forces.
His most important works were of a historical or biographical nature about the Mafia and other gangland characters. He is most noted for The Last Mafioso, his biography of Jimmy Fratianno, and for The Green Felt Jungle, his exposé on Mafia operations in Las Vegas.
