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 twenty books and hundreds of newspaper articles.
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 expose on Mafia operations in Las Vegas.