Michael Cassius McDonald

Michael Cassius "King Mike" McDonald (* 1839 in Niagara Falls ; † March 9, 1907 in Chicago ) was an Irish-American figure of organized crime who shaped Chicago in particular in the 19th century and was considered one of the last criminals to be exercised her control over all of Chicago.

Early life

Michael Cassius McDonald was born in Niagara Falls, New York in 1839. As a boy he planned to do an apprenticeship as a boot maker, but quickly lost interest in the profession and left his home country as a teenager. He began working for the Michigan Central Railroad, selling magazines to passengers as they traveled between cities.

In 1857, at the age of 18, McDonald landed in New Orleans, which was to shape him throughout his life with its illustrated splendor in the gambling halls and on the steamers. It was here that the idea developed in McDonald that this model could also be applied to other cities - a plan that he was to pursue soon afterwards.

As early as 1855, McDonald visited Chicago for the first time, which, due to its construction on swampy ground, had its first nickname: "Mud City". McDonald settled down in Chicago by 1860 and became an influential person within a year. For example, he petitioned all of Irish descent to join Corcoran's Illinois Irish Brigade and fight on the side of the Union in the American Civil War. McDonald himself did not participate directly in the brigade, however. At the same time, he was already developing his first criminal fraud by working with deserters, placing them again for the army and then sharing the reward with his partners.

Entry into the gambling business

In addition, McDonald developed his interests in gambling in the following years, which should make him rich over time. He was mainly present in Chicago's First District, which had a well known area for gambling ( Gambler's Row ). He financed a traveling Faro casino and opened his first own gaming establishment in 1867.

McDonald was first arrested in 1869 when he was accused of stealing $ 30,000 from the Chicago Dock Company . He spent the next 3 months in prison as he was unable to pay his bail himself. In the subsequent process, however, he was acquitted of the allegations. McDonald returned to his gambling possession, but was harassed weekly by police officers because his legal costs prevented him from paying the necessary protection money claims. This time manifested in McDonald's aversion to the police, which was to last with him for life.

"King Mike" and his successes

In 1873 he opened his first large company called The Store . It was a four-story building, which McDonald financed together with a consortium of silent partners and included a saloon , a hotel and a restaurant . The main point, however, was the entire 2nd floor, which was the area for gambling. Even before the opening, doubts arose as to whether this project would be profitable, which, however, were pushed aside by McDonald.

“Don't worry about it. There's a sucker born every minute. "

"Do not worry. Every minute someone is born who can be gutted. "

- Author: Michael "King Mike" McDonald

And McDonald was right, The Store has been a resounding success from the start. The success of this project should enormously increase “King Mike's” power in Chicago. Several gambling operations emerged as a consequence of the McDonald’s success around Gambler's Row and all entrepreneurs were obliged to pay a share of their profits to "King Mike". Those who refused were taken out of circulation by political pressure, raids or attacks by thugs of Irish descent.

McDonald has always had good contact with the criminal side of Chicago and had a business relationship with numerous murderers and political thugs (criminals who earned their money by violently ensuring that people chose the “right” candidate in elections ). He achieved this with a simple method. McDonald asked a series of small lawyers one which regularly at police stations and courts went in and out and for criminals on behalf of "King Mike" the deposit paid (English bail bondsman - to German: Deposit Agent ). In this way, McDonald managed to develop a system of addicts who were indebted to him and who could compensate for this with consideration.

By the 1880s, McDonald's had managed to amass enough money to be considered a millionaire. But his power was based not only on money, but also on his social contacts, which he had always maintained, especially in the field of politics. McDonald is also said to be responsible for the fact that the Democrat Carter Harrison became mayor of Chicago in 1879. Harrison was meant to be symbolic of the boom Chicago would see in the 1880s. In addition, "King Mike" bought The Boston Globe in 1882 and used this paper to influence elections in his favor. He also became a partner in a bookmaker syndicate that controlled gambling on the racetracks of Illinois and Indiana , including the Garfield Race Track in Chicago. McDonald's power became legendary (also due to constant criticism from other newspapers). Two words in particular became so synonymous with McDonald that a newspaper claimed in 1885 that the most common phrase in Chicago was:

"See Mike"

"Contact Mike!"

- Phrase in Chicago around 1885

Private difficulties as well as political scandals

McDonald himself never held political office. He was always seen as the man in the background who pulls the strings. But obstacles should also accompany McDonald's life. An incident occurred on November 23, 1878 when a police officer was shot dead by McDonald's wife Mary (former Noonan) during a raid on The Store . With his influence, however, "King Mike" was able to change the charges so that his wife was acquitted of justified self-defense. But only a little later, his wife made headlines when she ran off with a young lover. The newspapers reported, not without mockery, of McDonald's "chase" to San Francisco, where he was able to catch the lovers. But his wife convinced him that she had understood her mistake and both returned to Chicago reconciled. A little later, his wife had turned to religion, but she started a new affair with a priest and left Chicago again, this time for Europe. This incident caused McDonald to turn away from Catholicism and divorce his wife.

A municipal scandal uncovered in 1887 proved that McDonald's regularly bribed the local government and created straw companies that got jobs they were paid to do but never did. The particular incident that was discovered in 1887 concerned the Cook County Courthouse (German: Cook County Court). Through a city official named William J. McGarigle , the McDonald Group managed to bribe the city's board of directors, which awarded the renovation contract to a straw company owned by "King Mike". However, an investigation by a newspaper came to light, for example, that the company had used a mixture of lime and water instead of the supposedly so expensive special paint. The scandal caused McGarigle to leave the country to avoid conviction and some councilors were sentenced to prison terms. McDonald was openly criticized by the press, but was never charged. However, its reputation was badly damaged. The scandal also ensured that Mayor Harrison could not run for a fourth term, as he was openly associated with McDonald. "King Mike" himself also decided to withdraw, sold The Store and disappeared from the surface for a while.

Return and End of "King Mike"

However, things changed five years later when, in 1892, the World Columbian Exposition for Chicago was announced the following year. On the wave of euphoria, Carter Harrison ran again for mayor and was re-elected in 1893. His campaign manager was again Michael "King Mike" McDonald. Everything changed, however, on October 28, 1894, when Carter Harrison was shot dead in his apartment by a city official . This incident caused McDonald to disappear again from official city life.

In 1898 he married his new love Flora Feldman and converted to Judaism for her sake . But even with his new wife he should have little luck. On February 21, 1907, Flora shot her lover, with whom she had had a secret affair for years, because he wanted to end the relationship with her. She then jumped through a window pane , was arrested and taken to an institution. For the time being, McDonald remained loyal to her and set up a fund for her that was to be used for her defense. In 1908 she was by the judges due to temporary insanity acquitted. McDonald himself did not live to see this anymore, he died on August 9, 1907 at the age of 68.

literature

• TJ English: Paddy Whacked. The Untold Story of the Irish American Gangster . HarperCollins 2005, ISBN 0-06-059003-3
• Rose Keefe: Guns and Roses. The Untold Story of Dean O'Banion, Chicago's Big Shot Before Al Capone ; Cumberland House 2003; ISBN 1-58182-378-9