Killing the Mob

Killing the Mob Plot Summary

Introduction

The era between 1930 and 1980 marked one of the most turbulent periods in American law enforcement history, as federal agents waged a relentless battle against an enemy within - organized crime. During these decades, America saw the rise of notorious gangsters like John Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde during the Depression, followed by the emergence of sophisticated criminal organizations that infiltrated legitimate businesses, unions, and even government. What began as isolated criminal activities evolved into a shadow empire with its own codes, hierarchies, and enforcement methods that challenged the very foundations of American society. This fascinating journey explores how a nation confronted the stranglehold of organized crime through the efforts of determined individuals like J. Edgar Hoover, Robert Kennedy, and undercover agents who risked everything to penetrate these criminal networks. From the early FBI war against bank robbers to the complex legal battles against the Mafia's business operations, readers will discover how law enforcement adapted its tactics against an ever-evolving criminal landscape. The story reveals not just the brutal violence of organized crime, but also its corrupting influence on American institutions and the tremendous courage required to combat it - offering valuable insights into how societies can recognize, confront, and overcome systemic criminal threats.

Chapter 1: The Rise of Depression-Era Gangsters (1930-1940)

The 1930s ushered in a perfect storm for criminal activity in America. The Great Depression had devastated the economy, with unemployment soaring to nearly 25 percent and thousands of banks foreclosing on homes and businesses daily. This economic devastation created both desperate criminals and a public increasingly sympathetic to those who targeted financial institutions. In this environment, a new breed of outlaw emerged - mobile, heavily armed, and quickly glorified by a public hungry for any form of escapism from their daily struggles. John Dillinger exemplified this new gangster archetype. A charming bank robber with a crooked smile and athletic build, Dillinger captivated America with his daring heists and prison escapes. His gang utilized detailed getaway maps and high-horsepower vehicles to outrun law enforcement across state lines, exploiting the limitations of local police jurisdictions. Similarly, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow cut a romantic figure as they blazed a trail of robbery and murder across the Midwest. Though their criminal activities were brutal - they killed at least thirteen people - newspapers transformed them into folk heroes, publishing Bonnie's poetry and glamorous photos of the couple posing with guns. The legal system was ill-equipped to handle these mobile criminal operations. Local police couldn't pursue criminals across county or state lines, and communication between jurisdictions was primitive. When Dillinger escaped from the "escape-proof" Lake County Jail in Crown Point, Indiana, using a wooden gun he had whittled, he fled across state lines in the sheriff's own car. This interstate flight violated the National Motor Vehicle Theft Act, giving federal authorities their first jurisdiction over these criminals. J. Edgar Hoover, the ambitious director of the Bureau of Investigation (later renamed the FBI), recognized that these high-profile gangsters presented both a threat and an opportunity. Though initially reluctant to involve his agents in dangerous pursuits, Hoover soon embraced the public relations value of hunting "Public Enemies." After Dillinger's death in a Chicago ambush in 1934, Hoover systematically targeted other gangsters like Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby Face Nelson. By 1935, most of the notorious bank robbers had been killed or captured, establishing the FBI's reputation as an elite law enforcement agency and setting the stage for Hoover's long reign as America's top lawman. This era permanently altered American law enforcement. The Crime Control Acts of 1934 dramatically expanded federal jurisdiction over criminal matters. FBI agents gained authority to carry firearms and make arrests. Most importantly, the concept of coordinated national law enforcement took root, creating the foundation for future battles against more sophisticated criminal organizations that would soon emerge as the new threat to American society.

Chapter 2: FBI's War on Bank Robbers and Public Enemies

By the mid-1930s, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had transformed from an obscure government agency into America's premier law enforcement organization. J. Edgar Hoover, sensing the public's fascination with crime and criminals, masterfully orchestrated this evolution through a combination of actual crime-fighting and carefully cultivated public relations. After each successful operation against notorious gangsters, Hoover ensured newspaper coverage prominently featured the Bureau, developing a mythology around the "G-Men" that would persist for decades. The Bureau's pursuit of Baby Face Nelson exemplifies both the violent nature of these confrontations and their impact on the FBI's reputation. Nelson, born Lester Gillis, was a particularly psychopathic criminal known for his hair-trigger temper and willingness to shoot without provocation. Despite his boyish appearance that earned him his nickname, Nelson was responsible for killing more federal agents than any other Public Enemy. The final confrontation with Nelson in November 1934 resulted in a deadly shootout on a highway north of Chicago. Though Nelson was fatally wounded, he managed to kill two federal agents before dying - highlighting the tremendous dangers agents faced in these manhunts. Hoover revolutionized the Bureau's operations during this period, implementing scientific methods of investigation and strict professional standards for agents. Under his direction, the FBI established the first national fingerprint database, developed forensic laboratories, and created rigorous training programs at the newly established FBI Academy. Agents were expected to be college educated, physically fit, and morally upstanding - a dramatic departure from the often corrupt local law enforcement of the era. These reforms transformed the Bureau into a professional organization capable of combating increasingly sophisticated criminal threats. The FBI's success against Depression-era gangsters had profound implications for American society. It established federal authority in law enforcement matters that had previously been handled exclusively at the local level. This shift occurred just as organized crime was evolving from loosely affiliated gangs into sophisticated criminal enterprises with national reach. While Hoover focused on flamboyant bank robbers, more insidious criminal organizations were quietly establishing control over legitimate businesses, labor unions, and local governments. By 1940, the era of the notorious bank-robbing gangsters had largely ended, but their legacy persisted in American culture. Films, books, and radio programs glamorized these outlaws, creating an enduring mythology around figures like Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, and Pretty Boy Floyd. The FBI's dramatic takedowns of these criminals established its reputation, but the Bureau would soon face a far more challenging adversary - one that operated in the shadows and had already deeply embedded itself within American society.

Chapter 3: Mafia's Wartime Opportunity and Post-War Expansion

World War II provided unprecedented opportunities for organized crime to expand its influence and operations. As America's attention and law enforcement resources shifted toward the war effort and combating potential enemy agents, criminal organizations quietly strengthened their grip on various sectors of American society. The FBI, under J. Edgar Hoover's leadership, pivoted away from targeting gangsters to focus almost exclusively on potential spies and saboteurs, creating a vacuum in domestic crime enforcement that the Mafia quickly exploited. A pivotal moment came in 1942 when the U.S. Navy formed an unusual alliance with organized crime figures through "Operation Underworld." After the luxury liner SS Normandie mysteriously caught fire and capsized while being converted into a troop transport in New York harbor, naval intelligence feared German sabotage on the vulnerable waterfront. Desperate for control over the docks, the Navy turned to imprisoned crime boss Charles "Lucky" Luciano, who commanded enormous influence over the longshoremen's unions. In exchange for his cooperation in securing the waterfront against sabotage and gathering intelligence, Luciano received preferential treatment and, eventually, a commuted sentence with deportation to Italy. This government collaboration extended further when the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943 relied partly on Mafia connections to gather intelligence about landing sites and enemy positions. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS, predecessor to the CIA) worked with Sicilian-American gangsters who maintained links to their homeland. After the invasion, the Allied military government appointed several Mafia figures to administrative positions in liberated Sicilian towns, inadvertently restoring power to criminal elements that Mussolini had previously suppressed. The post-war period saw explosive growth in organized crime's reach. When Lucky Luciano was deported to Italy in 1946, he quickly traveled to Cuba, where he convened the infamous Havana Conference at the Hotel Nacional. This gathering of America's most powerful crime figures established new territories, settled disputes, and planned expansion into new criminal enterprises. The conference marked a turning point as the Mafia evolved from traditional rackets like gambling, prostitution, and protection into more sophisticated operations including international drug trafficking, infiltration of labor unions, and investment in legitimate businesses. By the early 1950s, organized crime had created a shadow economy worth billions of dollars annually. The Kefauver Committee hearings in 1950-51 first brought this reality to public attention through televised proceedings that captured national interest. For many Americans, these hearings provided their first glimpse of actual mobsters and the extent of their operations. Despite this exposure, meaningful action against organized crime remained limited. J. Edgar Hoover continued to publicly deny the existence of a national criminal syndicate, preferring to focus on Communist threats and avoiding the complex, resource-intensive investigations required to dismantle entrenched criminal organizations.

Chapter 4: The Kennedy Brothers' Crusade Against Organized Crime

In the late 1950s, the battle against organized crime gained unprecedented momentum through the determined efforts of two brothers - John and Robert Kennedy. The younger Kennedy, serving as chief counsel to the Senate's McClellan Committee investigating labor racketeering, conducted televised hearings that exposed the deep connections between corrupt union officials, particularly Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa, and organized crime figures. Robert Kennedy's aggressive questioning and relentless pursuit of evidence revealed how the Mob had infiltrated major unions, using pension funds as their private banks and union power to extort businesses. When John Kennedy won the presidency in 1960, he appointed his brother as Attorney General, giving Robert the authority to transform his investigative findings into prosecutorial action. The appointment sent shockwaves through organized crime circles, which had grown accustomed to federal indifference. Robert Kennedy immediately established organized crime as the Justice Department's top priority, increasing prosecutions by 800 percent during his tenure. He created specialized strike forces, coordinated efforts among previously competitive agencies, and dramatically expanded wiretapping operations against suspected mobsters. The Kennedy brothers' crusade faced complex challenges, including their own family's alleged connections to organized crime figures. Reports suggested that their father, Joseph Kennedy, had dealings with bootleggers during Prohibition and that Mob bosses like Sam Giancana had helped deliver union votes in the 1960 election. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, who maintained extensive files on the Kennedy brothers' indiscretions, used this knowledge to maintain his position despite his reluctance to acknowledge organized crime's existence. This created a strange dynamic where the President and Attorney General were waging war against the very criminal elements that some claimed had helped elect them. Perhaps the most significant development during this period was the testimony of Joseph Valachi before a Senate committee in 1963. Valachi, a soldier in the Genovese crime family, became the first Mafia member to publicly break the code of silence known as omertà. His testimony provided unprecedented insights into the structure, rituals, and operations of what he called "Cosa Nostra" (Our Thing). Americans learned for the first time about the formal hierarchy of crime families, with soldiers, capos, underbosses, and bosses, and the Commission that settled disputes between families. This testimony demystified the Mafia and provided law enforcement with crucial understanding of their target. The Kennedy crusade came to an abrupt halt with the assassination of President Kennedy in November 1963. While no definitive evidence has established Mob involvement in the killing, the fact that both Sam Giancana and alleged conspirator Carlos Marcello had been targeted by Robert Kennedy's Justice Department fueled speculation. Robert Kennedy himself reportedly suspected Mafia involvement. Though he remained Attorney General until September 1964, the momentum against organized crime diminished under President Lyndon Johnson, who lacked the Kennedys' personal commitment to the cause and had a more accommodating relationship with FBI Director Hoover.

Chapter 5: Infiltration of Entertainment and Politics (1960s)

By the 1960s, organized crime had evolved far beyond its street-level origins into an invisible empire with deep connections throughout American entertainment, business, and political life. Unlike the gun-toting gangsters of earlier decades, the modern Mafioso operated in the shadows, using legitimate front companies and intermediaries to conceal their influence. This transformation was particularly evident in Las Vegas, where Mob money built the glittering casinos that would transform a desert outpost into an entertainment mecca. Las Vegas represented organized crime's most successful public venture. After Bugsy Siegel pioneered the concept of the luxury casino-resort with the Flamingo Hotel in 1946 (shortly before his murder), Mob families from across the country invested in similar establishments. The Mafia's control extended beyond mere ownership - they perfected the practice of "skimming," where millions in gambling proceeds disappeared before being recorded for tax purposes. This money then flowed back to crime families in Chicago, New York, and elsewhere, providing enormous tax-free revenue that could be reinvested in both legitimate and criminal enterprises. Hollywood fell under similar influence. Sidney Korshak, known as "The Fixer," became the most powerful man in entertainment despite maintaining an intentionally low profile. As the Chicago Outfit's legal counsel, Korshak controlled labor unions that could shut down film production instantly. Studio executives, producers, and stars understood that without Korshak's blessing, their projects might never be completed. His influence extended to casting decisions, production schedules, and even which actors would become stars. The entertainment industry's dependence on union labor made it particularly vulnerable to this form of control. The music industry provided another avenue for Mafia influence. Record companies, distribution channels, and radio airplay all fell under varying degrees of Mob control. The "payola" scandals of the late 1950s and early 1960s revealed how record companies paid disc jockeys to play specific songs, creating artificial hits. Behind these payments often stood organized crime figures who held ownership stakes in record labels and publishing companies. Artists frequently found themselves signing away rights to their music to Mob-connected individuals who demanded writing credits and publishing rights for songs they had no hand in creating. Perhaps most concerning was the Mafia's infiltration of politics at every level. Through campaign contributions, voter intimidation, and control of union endorsements, organized crime influenced elections from city councils to the presidency. Jimmy Hoffa's Teamsters Union, with its 1.6 million members and enormous pension fund, wielded particular power. In 1960, allegations surfaced that Mob figures helped deliver critical votes to John Kennedy in Chicago, possibly tipping the election. By the mid-1960s, congressional investigations revealed that dozens of politicians were compromised through their relationships with known crime figures. These sophisticated operations marked a dramatic evolution from the street-level violence of earlier decades. The Mafia had effectively constructed a shadow government within American society, one that operated according to its own rules while maintaining a veneer of legitimacy. This integration into mainstream America made organized crime far more difficult to combat than the bank robbers and bootleggers of previous eras, requiring new legal approaches and investigative techniques.

Chapter 6: From Valachi to RICO: Breaking the Code of Silence

The transformation of America's fight against organized crime began with a single act of betrayal. In 1963, Joseph Valachi, a soldier in the Genovese crime family, broke the sacred code of silence known as omertà after believing his boss had marked him for death. Valachi's televised testimony before Senator John McClellan's committee provided Americans their first authentic glimpse into La Cosa Nostra's structure and operations. For the first time, a made man publicly confirmed the existence of a nationwide criminal organization with formalized membership, rituals, and hierarchies - a reality FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover had long denied. Valachi's revelations profoundly altered both public perception and law enforcement strategy. His testimony laid bare the Commission that governed disputes between families, the rituals of induction where members swore loyalty unto death, and the complex criminal operations that generated billions in revenue. Most importantly, he demonstrated that the Mafia wasn't just a loose association of criminals but a highly structured organization with consistent rules and practices nationwide. This understanding provided law enforcement with the conceptual framework needed to attack organized crime as an entity rather than pursuing individual criminals for isolated offenses. The late 1960s and early 1970s witnessed a significant shift in leadership within both law enforcement and the Mafia. J. Edgar Hoover's death in 1972 removed a significant obstacle to effective anti-Mafia operations, as his successor Clarence Kelley embraced organized crime as a priority. Meanwhile, the old guard of Mob leadership was disappearing - Sam Giancana was murdered in his home in 1975, Jimmy Hoffa vanished without a trace the same year, and other high-profile bosses were imprisoned or killed. These power vacuums created instability within criminal organizations and opportunities for law enforcement. The most consequential development came with the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in 1970. This innovative legislation fundamentally changed the legal approach to fighting organized crime by allowing prosecutors to target criminal enterprises rather than individual crimes. RICO made it illegal to acquire, operate, or derive income from an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity. For the first time, prosecutors could link seemingly unrelated crimes committed by different individuals into a single case against an organization. Perhaps most importantly, RICO allowed for the seizure of assets derived from criminal activity, striking at the economic foundation of organized crime. The FBI's investigative techniques also evolved dramatically during this period. In 1976, agent Joseph Pistone began a six-year undercover operation as "Donnie Brasco," infiltrating the Bonanno crime family and becoming the first federal agent to penetrate the Mafia's inner circle. His unprecedented access provided evidence that led to over 200 indictments and transformed the FBI's approach to organized crime investigations. Pistone's operation shattered the myth of Mafia invincibility and broke down the psychological barrier that had long protected organized crime - the belief that no outsider could infiltrate their closed society. By 1980, these innovations had fundamentally altered the landscape of organized crime in America. While the Mafia remained powerful, it no longer operated with impunity. The combination of RICO prosecutions, asset forfeitures, and infiltration by undercover agents created unprecedented pressure on criminal organizations. Perhaps most significantly, the code of silence that had protected the Mafia for generations was crumbling, as more members chose cooperation with authorities over lengthy prison sentences. This gradual erosion of omertà signaled a profound cultural shift within organized crime and marked the beginning of a new phase in America's long battle against the Mob.

Summary

Throughout the five decades chronicled in this historical narrative, we witness a fundamental transformation in both organized crime and the nation's response to it. What began as sensationalized confrontations with individual gangsters evolved into a sophisticated battle against criminal networks that had embedded themselves within American society. The central tension that emerges is between law enforcement institutions designed to combat conventional crimes and an adversary that operated through corruption, intimidation, and infiltration of legitimate structures. This required not just brave agents willing to risk their lives, but entirely new legal frameworks, investigative techniques, and interagency cooperation to address a threat that traditional approaches couldn't contain. The historical lessons from America's struggle against organized crime remain profoundly relevant today. First, criminal enterprises evolve in response to both opportunity and enforcement, requiring constant adaptation from those who combat them. Second, the most dangerous criminal threats are those that corrupt legitimate institutions rather than merely operating outside them. Finally, overcoming entrenched criminal organizations requires sustained commitment across multiple administrations and agencies - short-term efforts inevitably fail against adversaries built for long-term resilience. As societies continue to face evolving criminal threats from transnational organizations to cyber networks, these insights offer valuable guidance for developing effective responses that address not just individual criminals but the structures that enable their operations.

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Bill O'Reilly

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