Enoch "Nucky" Thompson is about to take HBO by storm.

Nucky, played by Steve Buscemi, is the lead character in "Boardwalk Empire," a new series making its debut on HBO Sunday night.

Consider him a 1920s version of Tony Soprano.

Set in Atlantic City, "Boardwalk Empire" is a fictionalized account of the life and times of Nucky Johnson, who was Atlantic City's treasurer and mayor before being hauled off to jail for tax evasion.

But he was really the guy who controlled the city and the mob and had friends like Al Capone.

A corrupt politician and cold-blooded gangster, Nucky was determined to keep the booze and the good times flowing during the Prohibition era.

Martin Scorsese directed the pilot and is the executive producer of the show. Terence Winter, a writer for "The Sopranos," created the series, inspired by the book, "Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times and Corruption of Atlantic City," by Nelson Johnson.

Critics love the show.

The Wall Street Journal noted: "'Boardwalk Empire' has all the makings of a triumph for HBO — the addictive kind."

But if you want to look at the real Nucky Johnson and what really happened in Atlantic City, then former Lancaster County resident Dan Good is your man.

Good, digital reporter for the Press of Atlantic City, created a 45-minute documentary of Johnson and his life and times. It can be viewed on the newspaper's website, www.pressofatlanticcity.com.

"This is the first time we've done anything like this," Good said. "We knew the series was going to be coming out, and we knew it was going to be big. So we thought, here is our chance to tell the true story behind what HBO is dramatizing. We didn't want that to get lost."

Good said the real Nucky, as colorful as he was, faded from view after he left jail in the 1940s.

"I really feel like he's been lost over time," Good said. "He was very well known in the 1920s and '30s, and then he faded from the public's conscious."

So after doing all the research and getting the real scoop, what does Good think of the HBO series?

"I've seen six episodes for review purposes, and they capture the spirit of Atlantic City in the 1920s really nicely."

And what about Buscemi as Nucky?

"It took me some time to see him in the role," Good said. "But by the sixth episode, I felt confident in him. He has empathy when he plays Nucky."

Good, the son of Nia and Peter Annick of Manheim Township, is a 2002 Manheim Township High School graduate and a 2006 Millersville University gradate.

He was editor-in-chief of the university's newspaper, the Snapper, and started working for Fox 43 when he graduated from college. (He also worked as a freelancer for WGAL and Lancaster Newspapers.)

After a few years, feeling burned out, he decided he needed a fresh start and decided living at the beach might be nice.

He got a job as a feature writer at the Press of Atlantic City, but after a year the newspaper was looking for someone to work more closely with the website and he became the digital reporter.

The documentary, which aired on local TV news several times, is a real change of pace for Good, who spends most of his time getting breaking news up on the website.

Some of the cast members of "Boardwalk Empire" have seen the documentary, which also aired on a local Atlantic City TV station several times, and said they liked it a lot.

Good only hopes that the big guy, Scorsese, sees it and approves.

jholahan@lnpnews.com