The Outfit (75 page)

Walsh, George.
Public Enemies: The Mayor, the Mob, and the Crime That Was.
New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1980.

Washington Post.
The Presidential Transcripts.
New York: Dell Publishing Co., 1974.

Watkins, T. H.
Righteous Pilgrim: The Life and Times of Harold L. Ickes, 1874-1952.
New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1990.

Webb, Royston. “The Life and Times of Llewelyn Morris Humphreys.” Doctoral dissertation, 2000.

White, Theodore H.
The Making of the President 1960.
New York: Atheneum Publishers, 1961.

Willoughby, Malcolm F., Commander USCG (Rt.).
Rum War at Sea.
Washington, D.C: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1964.

Wilson, Earl.
Sinatra: An Unauthorized Biography.
New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1976.

Zeller, F. C. Duke.
Devil’s Pact: Inside the World of the Teamsters Union.
Secaucus: Carol Publishing Group, 1996.

6. Articles

Allen, Robert S. “How Congress Scuttled Kefauver.”
U.S. Crime,
December 7, 1951.

Bartlett, Donald L., and James B. Steele. “Throwing the Game.”
Time,
September 25, 2000.

Bilek, Arthur J. “Hit Team for the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.”
Real Crime Book Digest,
spring 1995.

——. “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Chicago Rat-tat-a-tat.”
Real Crime Book Digest,
spring 1995.

“Bioff Show.”
Newsweek,
November 10, 1941.

Brashler, William. “How the FBI Put the Heat on Giancana.”
Chicago,
February 1977.

Candeloro, Dominic. “A Personal Essay on Italian Americans in Chicago and Illinois Politics in the Twentieth Century.” (Internet).

Chandler, J. D. “Frank Sinatra and the Mob.”
Crime Magazine,
June 13, 2001.

“Chicago Rebels Against Filly de Mignon.”
Life,
February 11, 1952.

Clemens, Bob. “The Las Vegas Strip.”
Variety,
December 7, 1954.

Earl, Phillip I. “The Legalization of Gambling in Nevada, 1931.”
Nevada Historical Society Quarterly, Notes and Documents,
spring 1981.

“Estes Kefauver, RIP.”
The National Review,
August 27, 1963.

Gilfoyle, Timothy J. “Making History Writing Law and History in Chicago: Interviews with John Hope Franklin and Abraham Lincoln Marovitz.”
Chicago History
25, no. 3 (all 1996).

Greenberg, David. “Was Nixon Robbed? The Legend of the Stolen 1960 Presidential Election.”
Slate Archives,
October 16, 2000 (Internet).

Gribben, Mark. “Bugsy Siegel.” (Internet).

Hopkins, A. D. “Capone Connection.”
Las Vegas Review-Journal,
March 21, 1999.

———. “The Developer’s Developer.” (Internet).

IIT Technical Institute and the Chicago Crime Commission. “A Study of Organized Crime in Illinois.” 1972.

Jackson, David. “Sordid Ties Tarnished City Police.”
Chicago Tribune,
October 22, 2000.

Kelly, Jack. “How America Met the Mob.”
Forbes American Heritage,
August 2000.

Kennedy, William. “Under My Skin.”
The New York Times Magazine,
October 7, 1990.

Kurson, Robert. “Mob Lite.”
Chicago Magazine,
December 2000.

“The Mafia of Domenico Airoma.” Institute for the Doctrine and the Social Information, undated (Internet).

Lindberg, Richard. “The Death of the Don: The Legacy of Tony Accardo.”
Illinois Police and Sheriffs News,
September 1992 (Internet).

———. “The Memoirs of a Street Agent.” (Internet, undated).

Lombardo, Robert M. “The Genesis of Organized Crime.” (Internet, undated).

Long, Russ. “White-Collar Crime.” (Internet).

Longmeyer, Joseph. “Blood, Sweat and Picket Lines: An Ex-Organizer’s Very Personal Account of How Unions Kill Themselves.” Undated.

———. “Gus & Lenny: Mob Marauders from the Security Set.” Privately published.

Machi, Mario. “Chicago.” American Mafia.com. undated (Internet).

Maloney, J. J. “The Greenlease Kidnapping.”
Crime Magazine,
2000 (Internet).

Marinacci, Michael. “Joseph Weil: The Yellow Kid.” (Internet 1997).

Martin, John Bartlow. “Who Killed Estelle Carey? The Murder That Lifted the Veil on the Syndicate.”
Harper’s,
June 1944.

———. “Al Capone’s Successors.”
American Mercury,
June 1949.

May, Allan. “The First Shooting of Frank Nitti.” (Internet, February 22, 1999).

———. “Havana Conference.” Internet, December 22, 1996.

———. “The History of the Race Wire Services.”
Crime Magazine,
undated (Internet).

———. “The Last Days of Lepke Buchalter.”
Crime Magazine,
2000 (Internet).

———. “A Sicilian Bedtime Story.”
PER International,
1999 (Internet).

McWilliams, Carey. “Chicago’s Machine-Gun Politics.”
The Nation,
March 15, 1952.

“Mobsters Zeroing In on White Collar Crime as Lucrative Path to Riches.
Organized Crime Digest
18, no. 4. (February 19, 1997).

’Moodys: Public Utilities, 1945,” (Western Union, AT&T).

Moore, William Howard. “Was Estes Kefauver ’Blackmailed’ During the Chicago Crime Fiearings?: A Historian’s Perspective.”
The Public Historian
4, no. 1 (winter 1982).

Mosca, Alexandra Katherine. “Funerals of the Infamous.”
American Funeral Director,
July 2000.

“The Mystery of Joe Kennedy.”
Newsweek,
September 12, 1960.

Nellis, Joseph L. “Legal Aspects of the Kefauver Investigation.”
Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science,
July-August 1951.

Nichols, Ron. “Lucky Luciano.”
The Crime Library,
undated (Internet).

“Outcry of IBEW’s Jurisdictional Fight vs. IA May See New Officers.”
Variety,
August 22, 1933.

Piccolo, Steve. “Chip Venues & Their History.”
Chequers Magazine,
August 2000 (Internet).

Posner, Gerald. “The Fallacy of Nixon’s Graceful Exit.”
Salon.com Politics,
undated (Internet).

“Rat Pack’s Hot Harem Nights.”
Globe,
April 21, 1998.

Roemer, Bill. “A Place in the Sun: Las Vegas . . . from Capo to Corporate.”
Illinois Police & Sheriffs News,
1995 (Internet).

Roth, Andrew. “Bevan’s Bid for Power.”
The Nation,
March 15, 1952.

Rowan, Roy. “The 50 Biggest Mafia Bosses.”
Fortune,
November 10, 1986.

Smith, John L. “The Double Life of Moe Dalitz.”
Las Vegas Review-Journal,
undated (Internet).

Smith, Sandy. “The Mob.”
Life,
May 30, 1969.

Stevenson, Jack. “The Jukebox That Ate the Cocktail Lounge - the Story of Scopitone.” (Internet, 1999).

Stewart, W. M. Scott. “Kefauverism: A Protest.” Papers of Robert P. Patterson, Library of Congress.

Thomis, Wayne. “Abraham Lincoln Marovitz: A Moving Profile and His City.”
Chicago Tribune,
May 21-26, 1967.

Tosches, Nick. “Hipsters and Hoodlums.”
Vanity Fair,
December 2000.

——. “The Man Who Kept the Secrets.”
Vanity Fair,
April 1997.

Tuohy, John William. “Accardo.”
Gambling Magazine,
undated (Internet).

——. “Extortion 101.”
Gambling Magazine,
undated (Internet).

——. “Gone Hollywood.”
Gambling Magazine,
(undated (Internet).

——. “Guns and Glamor.”
Gambling Magazine,
undated (Internet).

——. “The Guns of Zangara.”
Gambling Magazine,
2000 (Internet).

——. “The Last Days of Al Capone.”
Gambling Magazine,
undated (Internet).

——. “The Last Gangster: The Life and Times of Roger Touhy, John Factor and the Mob.”
Gambling Magazine,
undated (Internet).

——. “Power Play: The Nitti Shooting.”
Gambling Magazine,
undated (Internet).

——. “Roger Touhy, Gangster.”
Gambling Magazine,
undated (Internet).

——. “The Sands.”
Gambling Magazine,
undated (Internet).

——. “Ten Percent Tony: The Story of Chicago’s Most Corrupt Mayor.”
Gambling Magazine,
undated (Internet).

——. “Do the Mobs Dictate Your Crime Laws?”
Reader’s Digest,
March 1953.

——. “Secret ’Mr. Big’ of Florida.”
Collier’s,
May 5, 1951.

Velie, Lester. “The Capone Gang Muscle.”
Collier’s,
September 30, 1950.

——. ’”The Man to See’ in New Jersey.”
Collier’s,
August 25, 1951.

——. “Rudolph Halley - Flow He Nailed America’s Racketeers.”
Collier’s,
May 19, 1951.

Warren, James. “Nixon’s Hoffa Pardon Has an Odor.”
Chicago Tribune,
April 15, 2001.

Wolcott, James. “When They Were Kings.”
Vanity Fair,
May 1997.

Weberman, A. J. “The Godfather Part III: Why the Mob Rubbed Out Rosselli.” Assassination Archives and Research Center, undated.

Zill, Oriana, and Lowell Bergman. “U.S. Business & Money Laundering.” Transcript of
Frontline,
October 10, 2000.

7. Assorted Private Holdings

Cal-Neva Resort Report, Lake Tahoe 2,
no. 3 (fall-winter).

Chicago Crime Commission (CCC). “Action Alert.” Fall 1995.

——. “Action Alert.” Winter 1996.

——. “Annual Report.” 1993.

——. “Annual Report.” 1995.

——. “Public Enemy Number One: Gangs, 75 Years of Fighting Crime in Chicagoland.” 1995.

Cuban Information Archives. Document 0126: “Santo Trafficante, Jr.” 1961.

Hoffman, Dennis E. “Business vs. Organized Crime: Chicago’s Private War on Al Capone, 19291932.” CCC. 1989.

Peterson, Virgil W. “Criminal Statistics: A Report on Chicago Crime for 1967. CCC.

——. ’A Report on Chicago Crime for 1961.” CCC.

——. “A Report on Chicago Crime for 1962.” CCC.

——. “A Report on Chicago Crime for 1964.” CCC.

——. “A Report on Chicago Crime for 1965.” CCC.

——. “A Report on Chicago Crime for 1968.” CCC.

“State by State Popular Vote and Electoral College Breakdown of the Presidential Election of 1960.”

Acknowledgments

I
n some respects, the Outfit’s story has been told before. Although there is much in this book that is new, the foundation was laid years ago by writers such as George Murray, Virgil Peterson, Sandy Smith, Art Petaque, Ovid DeMaris and many others. The history of Chicago crime has also been compiled by dozens of FBI agents, whose reports are scattered in various files at the Bureau’s headquarters and archival repositories.
The Outfit
owes a great debt to all of these trailblazers who have long deserved a wider audience for the intricate story they helped compile. I viewed my role as twofold: to coalesce all this reportage into a single narrative, and to add new material in the form of recently released documents and original interviews. However, this book could not exist without the contributions of my predecessors, and I thank them first for making
The Outfit
possible.

That this dizzying trove of raw data is readable at all is due in large part to the initial line and copy editing of talented New York documentary producer Sally Rosenthal, who cheerily donated her time to the cause and consistently extricated me from the writing doldrums with her witty missives (she also got Boris Kostelanetz to pose for her). Sally’s work was further refined by Panio Gianopoulos at Bloomsbury. Any gaffs that remain are most certainly due to my occasional stubbornness in ignoring some of Sally’s and Panio’s suggestions.

I also benefitted from the expert eye of Jack Clarke, possibly the most knowledgeable person regarding organized crime in Chicago. Jack took the time to read the manuscript and offer suggestions, leads, and critiques.

I am further indebted to Jeanne Humphreys, who in 1996 decided to break her long silence and tell me her story, sharing her photos and handwritten journal in the process. Sadly, within days of my delivery of
The Outfit
manuscript, Jeanne passed away. Jeanne was that rare treasure who not only had a bird’s eye view of some of the most important conclaves in the history of twentieth century underworld America, but possessed a sharp memory, unaffected cynicism, and a total indifference to profiteering from her priceless stories. It was a privilege to be her friend and confidante.

Chicago native and entertainment legend Steve Allen opened up his crime files to me at his Meadowlane office in Van Nuys, California. My work there was facilitated by Steve’s assistant, Gioia Heiser, and the Meadowlane staff. When I visited California, Steve, as Abbott of the Beverly Hills Friars Club, treated me (and likely all of his friends) like visiting royalty at Club events. In addition to the great void in comedy and music, America lost a passionate voice for civility and ethics with Steve’s tragic passing in 2000.

Tony Romano of Magellan Filmed Entertainment started as a business partner, and has since grown into a great friend, who both encouraged and supported me when I needed it most. Tony has a passionate interest in storytelling, and an astonishing insouciance regarding the Hollywood glitter and self-absorbtion that surrounds him. I doubt there is anyone quite like Tony working in Hollywood today, except perhaps Larry Berman - but that’s another story.

Graphic artist and friend Steve Parke of What? Design in Baltimore unselfishly provided his expertise in executing the photo spread and other visual elements of the book, and I am forever indebted. Steve was assisted in the photo spread typesetting by colleague Susan Mangan, who answered the call on short notice. Royston Webb shared his doctoral dissertation on Murray Humphreys with me, and I am most grateful for his brilliant untangling of the FBI’s massive file on the Outfit’s grand strategist. Royston also introduced me to Welsh television producer Don Llewellyn, who graciously provided his photographic collection. In Oklahoma, Humphreys’ nephew Ernie Brendle not only provided photos and documents from Curly’s personal papers, but opened doors to other Humphreys relatives, including Curly’s only surviving descendant, grandson George Brady.

A number of federal employees were tireless in their efforts to help me gain access to government documents, many previously unreleased. Among those who assisted me were Linda Kloss in the FBI’s FOIA Office; Fred Romanski at the National Archives Civil Records Branch; Thomas Mclntyre, chief of the Department of Justice FOIA office, Criminal Division; Katherine Day and Natasha Taylor at the Bureau of Prisons FOIA Office; and, as always, Steve Tilley at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland, who quickly responded to my many requests for documents from the organized crime files in the JFK Collection.

I was fortunate to become the first journalist to gain access to the eighty-seven cubic feet of records compiled by the staff of the Kefauver Committee. The process was expedited initially by Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which oversees the records. Committee general counsel Joanie Wales coordinated the release with Michael L. Gillette, director of the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives. From there, archivist Kristen Wilhelm quickly processed the files I requested. In the National Archives research room, Bill Davis helped with Kefauver Finding Aids. Nancy Velez, head of Photographic Unit of the Library of Congress, toiled diligently to deliver photos on a tight schedule.

Thanks go to Jim Agnew in Chicago who early on loaned me his copy of Virgil Peterson’s
Barbarians in Our Midst,
and also alerted me to the writings of John Bartlow Martin and others. Jim’s periodical
The Real Crime Book Digest
was an important journal of crime and corruption, and it’s termination was a great loss. In addition to being interview subjects, Bob McDonnell and Antoinette Giancana have become friends who always happily responded to my late-night phone queries (and sent jars of delicious spaghetti sauce). Also in Chicago, chief investigator Wayne Johnson, director Jeanette Callaway, and assistant Lee Lyons of the Chicago Crime Commission, all provided material from their voluminous files. Detective Charles Schauer (ret.), of Accardo’s River Forest precinct, kindly provided photographs from his personal files. The staff of the Harold Washington Library in Chicago assisted me with their fragile microfilm, thus allowing me to copy hundreds of ancient newspaper articles from the collection. John Binder gave me access to his massive FBI file on Murray Humphreys, and Leith Rohr and Keshia Whitehead at the Chicago Historical Society helped with photo searches. Carolyn Berry retrieved court filings at the Cook County Criminal Court in the Daley Center. Local crime historian Bill Helmer put me in touch with other Outfit photo collectors.

In Nevada, the following individuals provided insight and documentation: Chris Driggs at the Nevada State Archives in Carson City; Eric Moody of the Nevada Historical Society in Reno; Joanie Jacka at the Nevada Gaming Commission; and David Millman at the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society in Las Vegas. Additionally, authors Roger Morris and Sally Denton pointed me in research directions regarding Las Vegas, while T. R. Fogli, Nancy Greene, and Bethel Van Tassel helped with the Cal-Neva specifically.

In New York, Mark Obenhaus and the gang at Lancer (especially Ed Gray, Richard Robbins, Linda Patterson, Kristina Wallison, Trina Quagliaroli, and Eric Davies) were great working partners in the initial ABC News project that amplified my interest in the ways of the Outfit. Also in New York, Lois Swaney shared her prohibition research with me.

In Washington, D.C, colleagues Mark Allen, Ray Farkas, Dan Moldea, Laurence Leamer, W. Scott Malone, Sy Hersh, and Ira Silverman all shared their work and advice. As with my first book, Julie Ziegler’s work as researcher extraordinaire was invaluable.

In California, my work was supported wholeheartedly by pals such as Steve Molton and Pamela Galvin-Molton, Bill Gable, Jon Karas and Irene Webb at Infinity Management, Lynn Hendee at Chartoff Prods, and Hil Anderson of UPI. Former U.S. State attorney David Nissen graciously provided photos from his prosecution of Johnny Rosselli, and Los Angeles investigative reporter Dave Robb contributed his papparazzi style picture of the notoriously camera-shy Sidney Korshak.

At Baltimore’s treasured Enoch Pratt Central Library, Joe Arcieri, Nancy Yoh, Harriet Jenkins, and Doug Adolphsen all retrieved hard-to-locate books and Congressional reports from the distant past. Assistance and support in varied forms came from other friends and relatives such as Jay Greer, Kevin Perkins, Al Miller, Tony Russo, Bob Russo, Steve and Janet Nugent, Carol Banks, Dutch Snedeker, Cinda Elser, Toni and Phil Sommo, Anotol Polillo, and Irish colleagues Anthony and Robbyn Swan Summers. Trusty companions Scout and Mrs. Teasdale were extremely tolerant of my absences.

A special thanks to friend and colleague Kristina Rebelo Anderson, who recommended me to her (and now my) literary agent, Noah Luke-man. Noah, now affiliated with AMG/Renaissance, proved a strong advocate in placing the book quickly and negotiating my contract with Bloomsbury USA. At Bloomsbury, Chief Editor Karen Rinaldi and her associates Susan Burns, Andrea Lynch, and Panio Gianopoulos all gave me the perfect mix of encouragement, expertise, and critique. Bloomsbury’s support is best exemplified by their willingness to accept a manuscript that was one-third larger than contracted for, a rarity in today’s publishing marketplace. There is no substitute for the enthusiastic support of one’s publisher, and I was fortunate to receive it.

The assistance provided by all these friends and associates in no way implies their agreement with any of my conclusions. However, any errors herein are most certainly theirs (NOT!).