Chicago Crime Commission

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The Chicago Crime Commission (CCC) is an organization for monitoring organized crime, corruption, etc. in Chicago . It has a budget of around US $ 500,000 and has been headed by Jeannette P. Tamayo since 2006 .

history

Reform movements

Before the Chicago Crime Commission was established , there had been other attempts by citizens to combat illegal activity in the city. Various reform movements had been founded since the beginning of the 20th century . They wanted to close well-known vice districts of the city in order to curb prostitution . In particular, the “The Levee ” district in the First Ward was targeted by these reformers, in which the mobster Jim Colosimo mainly operated.

Previous attempts to denounce what was going on in certain districts have consistently been prevented or ignored by ruling politicians and the administration they control. This included u. a. also the Chicago Vice Commission report . The Committee of Fifteen (de: Committee of Fifteen), which had already been founded in 1908, was to establish itself as the successor institution - especially against Colosimo's interests . In August, Mayor Harrison, under pressure from the committee and the population, launched the first raids on some properties.

An important person who played a key role in the fight against organized crime became the state attorney for the state of Illinois , John E. Wayman . This was increasingly put under pressure by the Law and Order League under Arthur Burrage Farwell , should he not take serious action against the respective districts. In October 1912 now Wayman different "began openly establishment " with raids to attack and arrest suspects.

founding

The Chicago Crime Commission * was created in 1919 by 35 founding members; the same year Al Capone came to Chicago. The city was already considered a corrupt city before the US alcohol prohibition 1919–1933. With the profits of the alcohol smuggling, however, the gang nature, in particular through the conflict between the Chicago Outfit and the North Side Gang , got out of hand.

The reason for the foundation had become the notorious robberies on wages, which the business world no longer wanted to offer. Henry Barrett Chamberlain, a former journalist, made the organization what it is today as an "active operating director".

Public enemies

In 1930, the commission, headed by Frank J. Loesch, published a list of "Public Enemies", headed by Al Capone, the boss of the Chicago Outfit . The list increased the persecution pressure on the people listed on it enormously.

  • Al Capone has been called "Public Enemy No.1" since its publication in the Chicago Tribune ; In 1931 he could then be charged and convicted of tax evasion .
  • Jack McGurn had become worthless to the outfit, as he was arrested and checked at every opportunity. In 1936 he was shot.
  • Frank Nitti , who was not mentioned on the original list, was deposed as boss of Paul Ricca because of the public attention that passed on to him as the (official) successor of Capone and committed suicide in 1943.

The FBI later adopted the idea of ​​this list and has since published the FBI's most wanted people: FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives .

Nine signs

However, between 1928 and 1970 in particular, work was not limited to mere observation of the events; the CCC sponsored armed private armies that were involved in shootings with the mobsters , exerted pressure on US presidents and thus became the only point of contact for citizens who no longer wanted to trust the corrupt police.

In 1951, Vergil Peterson appeared as a prominent witness in a television hearing , warning against affiliation of local syndicates with national groups. In 1967, as chairman, he named nine signs by which the existence of organized crime could be recognized symptomatically :

English original German translation
1. Social acceptance of hoodlums in decent society Social acceptance of crooks in decent society
2. Your community's indifference to ineffective local government Incapable, inefficient local communities, administrations, etc.
3. Notorious mobster personalities in open control of businesses Well-known professional criminals openly exercise business control
4. Deceptive handling of public funds Fraudulent use of public funds
5. Interest at very high rates to poor risk borrowers High interest rates for borrowers with little collateral
6. Close association of mobsters and local authorities Close ties between bullies and local authorities
7. Arson and bombings Arson and bombs
8. Terrorized legitimate businesses Legal companies are being terrorized
9. Easily found gambling, narcotics and prostitution Obviousness of Gambling, Drugs, and Prostitution

On the basis of these criteria, the commission was repeatedly able to uncover structures in Chicago and in particular to identify the bosses of the Chicago outfit . in a 1997 report, for example, B. John “No Nose” DiFronzo named as boss and the police officer Pierre Zonis from the 23rd district exposed as an associate. Accordingly, the outfit still has three “street crews”; at his best it was seven.

List from 1930

The Commission's first list of April 24, 1930 was also not free of errors; Charles Nicoletti and Salvatore Giancana were absent , while Hymie Weiss had been dead since 1926. The Chicago Tribune published a shorter and modified list:

original Tribune Surname birth death Nickname / alias Gang / group annotation
1. 1. Capone, Al 1899 1947 "Scarface" Chicago outfit from there "public enemy no.1"
2. Volpe, Anthony 1903 1965 "Pug" Chicago outfit
3. 2. Capone, Ralph 1894 1974 "Bottles" Chicago outfit Brother of Al Capone
4th 3. Rio, Frank (lin) 1895 1935 "Shotgun" / Frank Cline, James Costa Chicago outfit
5. 4th McGurn, Jack 1903 1936 "Machine Gun" / Jack Demore Chicago outfit Valentine's Day massacre
6th 5. Weiss, Earl 1898 1926 "Hymn" North Side Gang
7th Fanelli, Rocco Chicago outfit Bodyguard from Al Capone
8th. Mangano, Lawrence unknown 1944 "Dago" Chicago outfit
9. Zuta, Jacob U. 1888 1930 "Jack" / JH Goodman Chicago outfit 1927 move to the North Side Gang
10. 6th Guzik, Jake 1886 1956 "Greasy Thumb" Chicago outfit Financier and advisor
11. Diamond, Frank "Immune, The" / Frank Maritote Chicago outfit
12. 7th Moran, George 1893 1957 "Bugs" North Side Gang
13. Aiello, Giuseppe 1891 1930 "Joe (y)" Chicago outfit Unione Siciliana
14th 9. O'Donnell, James Edward 1889 1962 "Spike" O'Donnell Mob, Southside
15th 10. Saltis, Joe 1894 1932 "Polack Joe" Saltis-McErlane gang Associated with the outfit
16. McErlane, Frank 1894 1932 Saltis-McErlane gang Associated with the outfit
17th McErlane, Vincent unknown 1947 Saltis-McErlane gang Brother of Frank
18th Niemoth, William 1895 1970 O'Donnell mob
19th Stanton, Danny unknown 1943 Sheldon Gang Associated with the outfit
20th 11. O'Donnell, Myles unknown 1933 O'Donnell Mob , Northside Alliance with the outfit
21st 12. Lake, Frank Valley Gang
22nd 13. Druggan, Terry 1902, around 1943 Valley Gang Alliance with the outfit
23. 15th O'Donnell, William "Klondike" O'Donnell Mob, Northside
24. Barker, George "Red" Chicago outfit
25th White, William 1900 1934 "Three Finger Jack" Chicago outfit
26th Genero, Joseph "Peppy" Chicago outfit Bomb expert of the outfit
27. Mongoven, Leo 1896 1980, after Leo McGovern North Side Gang Bodyguard from "Bugs" Moran
28. 16. Sammons, James 1960 "For" O'Donnell mob
8th. Nicoletti, Charles 1916 1977 "Chuckie" Chicago outfit Assassin
14th Giancana, "Sam" (Salvatore) 1908 1975 "Momo" "Mooney" Chicago outfit

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Robert Kurson: "The Chicago Crime Commission" ( Memento of 6 February 2009 at the Internet Archive ), esquire.com (English) from 1 July 2001
  2. ↑ "Who's Who" in Chicago Outfit For 1997 , ipsn.org (English)
  3. ↑ William J. Helmer and Rick Mattix, "The Complete Public Enemy Almanac"; P. 283

literature

  • HB Chamberlin, HB:
  1. Crime as a Business in Chicago , Chicago Crime Commission Bulletin, No. 6, October 1, 1919, pp. 1-6.
  2. The Chicago Crime Commission: How the Business Men of Chicago are Fighting Crime , Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, November 11 (3), pp. 386-397.
  3. Report of the Operating Director , Bulletin of the Chicago Crime Commission, No. 17, January 31, 1921, pp. 5-7.
  4. Some Observations Concerning Organized Crime , Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, January 22 (5), pp. 652-670.
  • FD Hanna: Professional Racketeer in New Graft , Bulletin of the Chicago Crime Commission, No. 54, September / October, pp. 6-7.

Web links