Joseph Bruno's Blog, page 77

Joe Bruno on the Mob – Michael Persico Indicted for Ordering Hit

I don't know why, but this sounds fishy to me.

Michael Persico, the son of jailed mob boss Carmine (The Snake) Persico, was recently indicted for ordering the 12th and final killing in the bloody Colombo family mob wars, which ended almost two decades ago. Persico, 54 years old, has never been convicted of a crime, and has always been known as a legitimate businessman who owns a limousine service and a restaurant.

Persico, along with Francis (B.F.) Guerra, and Persico's cousin, Theodore (Skinny Teddy) Persico, were accused of being involved in the killing of rival Colombo crime family member Joseph Scopo in 1993. Another Colombo crime family member, John Pappa, was convicted in May 1999 of killing Scopo, as Scopo exited his car in Ozone Park, Queens.

According to Guerra's lawyer Gerard McMahon, a newly-turned government rat named Anthony (Big Anthony) Russo, has told the Feds that he was in a nearby car with Guerra and Teddy Persico when Scopo was whacked. And to throw in another big name, Russo fed the Feds Michael Persico, as the person who gave the orders for the Scopo killing.

McMahon claims that the only reason Russo is testifying on an 18-year old murder is to save his own skin, and I think that McMahon may be right. We have seen too many instances in the past when some wiseguy, or wannabe wiseguy, has made up stories – telling the Feds what they want to hear – in order to get a reduced prison sentence.

Lets see if the Feds can get a conviction on Michael Persico, Guerra, and Teddy Persico, based strictly on the testimony of one mob informant.

I think all three men have a good chance of walking on this one.

The article below appeared in the New York Daily News.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_cr...

Son of jailed mob boss Carmine 'The Snake' Persico indicted for ordering hit

BY Oren Yaniv

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

The son of jailed mob boss Carmine (The Snake) Persico was indicted Thursday for ordering the 12th and final killing in the bloody Colombo family mob wars.

Michael Persico, 54, was indicted in Brooklyn Federal Court along with two associates for taking out rival mafioso Joseph Scopo in 1993.

The younger Persico has no prior convictions and has long groomed a reputation as a legit businessman who owns a limousine service and a restaurant.

His first arrest came last year, when he was accused of racketeering involving debris removal contracts at Ground Zero. He was released on a $5 million bail package.

The new indictment says he went after Scopo because he sided with the Orena faction of the Colombos.

"Persico also arranged the firearms to be used in the Scopo murder," prosecutors charged in court papers.

Wiseguy John Pappa was convicted in May 1999 of taking out Scopo as he left a car outside his Ozone Park, Queens, home – as well as three other mob hits. The Scopo murder was carried out to "secure the power of the Persico family," court documents say.

Secret recordings made by a Mafia turncoat who claimed to be in a nearby car when Scopo was gunned down tied Michael Persico to the murder, court papers said.

In the car with the informant, the feds claim, were Persico's co-defendants, Francis (B.F.) Guerra, and Persico's cousin Theodore (Skinny Teddy) Persico.

Guerra is also charged with killing Michael Devine in 1992 with a coup de grace bullet to the groin for dating the wife of acting boss Alphonse (Allie Boy) Persico.

Alphonse, Michael Persico's brother, was in prison at the time. Alphonse and Carmine Persico are serving life sentences.

Guerra's lawyer, Gerard McMahon, claimed the government's snitch is Anthony (Big Anthony) Russo, who flipped six months ago, and blamed him for making up lies to save himself.

"He gives them the one guy they don't have," the lawyer said. "[Guerra] has nothing to hide on these murders."

Michael Persico's lawyer did not return requests for comment. While Theodore Persico is incarcerated, prosecutors will ask to remand Guerra and Michael Persico in a hearing scheduled for next week.

With John Marzulli

Joe Bruno on the Mob – Sammy "The Bull's" Daughter to Tell All in a Book.

Yeah, right. If you believe Karen Gravano, a star in the VH1 reality show "Mob Wives," is going to tell the complete truth about her life as the daughter of Sammy "The Bull/Rat" Gravano, I have a condo I'd like to sell you in Libya.

First of all, I've never seen the program "Mafia Wives" and I never will see it. I grew up in New York's Little Italy and programs like "Mafia Wives" and "The Jersey Shore" do nothing but besmirch the reputations of hard-working Italian/Americans, who are the overwhelmingly vast majority of Italian/Americans in America. So any shows which flaunts the escapades of the "Guidos" or "Guidettes," I want nothing to do with.

As for Karen Gravano's book – who cares?

I made the mistake of reading of reading her father's biography "Underboss" written by Peter Maas in 1997. And as we found out later, the book turned out to be a pack of lies and half truths. How can you believe anything a man like Sammy "The Bull/Rat" says anyway. Or even care.

As for his daughter Karen's life story, I rather read the Encyclopedia Britannica, from cover to cover. I might not enjoy the actual act of reading the huge tome, but at least I'll learn something of value.

The story below appeared in the New York Post

http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/bull_...

Karen Gravano, daughter of mob turncoat Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, has landed a book deal for a tell-all about her life in the Mafia.

Gravano, 38, who's also starring in the VH1 reality show "Mob Wives," just snagged a six-figure deal with St. Martin's Press to write her tome.

According to St. Martin's, Gravano will discuss "what it was like to grow up in the Mafia enclave of Staten Island as the daughter of one of the Mob's most feared executioners, how her life changed radically once he testified for the federal government and entered the witness protection program, and went to prison in order to protect Karen and her brother."

"The Bull" was the second-highest ranking boss behind John Gotti and served as Gotti's trusted lieutenant — until both were indicted for racketeering and murder in 1990. They were scheduled to stand trial together until Sammy flipped on Gotti, fearing Gotti would flip first.

Sammy then went into the witness protection program, but left within a year to move to Arizona, living under the alias Jimmy Moran.

But in 2000, the turncoat was busted again for running a multimillion-dollar ecstasy ring near Phoenix. He was sentenced to 19 years in prison.

Karen pleaded guilty to various charges related to her father's drugs operation, and she and her mother, Debra, were sentenced to probation.

The former Mafia princess is one of four women set to star on the Weinstein Co.-produced "Mob Wives," which follows four women as they rebuild their lives after their husbands or fathers go to prison. Gravano is seen working as a makeup artist.

The show is currently filming 10 episodes in New York.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/bull_...

Joe Bruno on the Mob – Sammy "Sammy the Bull" Gravano

If there has been a more despicable mob informer than Sammy "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, I can't think of his name.

Sammy the Bull was the underboss to Gambino crime family boss John Gotti. Gotti, known as the "Teflon Don," had already beaten three cases that went to trial, and it seemed that the government could never convict Gotti of any serious crime.

In 1991, Both Gravano and Gotti were arrested. Who knows what kind of a case the government had this time, and whether they could make their cases against Gotti and Gravano stick. Gravano removed all doubt, when he became a "Rat" against Gotti. Gotti was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. He died of cancer in prison in 2002.

Gravano, after doing a short stint in prison, was put on the Witness Protection Program (even though he admitted participating in 19 murders). Any smart man, after beating odds like that, would stay on the straight-and-narrow. But not Sammy "The Rat."

Gravano was relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, and posed ostensibly as the owner of a construction company. But in fact, Gravano, along with his son, were selling Ecstasy pills to the youth in the area. Gravano and his son were arrested and convicted, and now Sammy "The Rat" is back in the slammer where he belongs

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

The article below appeared on Bloggernews.net

http://www.bloggernews.net/127030

Target: Sammy "the Bull" Gravano

Posted on August 23rd, 2011

by Denny Griffin in crime

Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano was a criminal for most of his life. He was a tough guy who used violence and intimidation to impose his will on others. In 1976 he became a member of the Gambino crime family, eventually becoming underboss to John Gotti. In the world of organized crime, Gravano was a very dangerous and powerful man. Although law enforcement and his colleagues and associates knew about him, he was able to ply his trade for many years and remain virtually unknown to the general public.

All that changed in 1991 when Gravano burst on the national scene by doing the unthinkable. He flipped and became a government witness against Gotti. Prior to that, federal prosecutors had suffered a series of courtroom losses at the hands of Gotti's attorneys, earning the flamboyant boss the nickname "Teflon Don." But in 1992, Gravano's testimony was instrumental in Gotti's racketeering conviction, which resulted in a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Thanks in large part to Sammy Gravano, Gotti's Teflon had turned to Velcro. As part of his deal with the government Gravano admitted to myriad criminal activities, including taking part in 19 murders. However, his value to prosecutors as a witness against Gotti was such that he received a token sentence of five years in prison and admittance into the federal Witness Protection Program. Gravano's defection was viewed in different ways by the public.

To those to whom Gotti had become a kind of cult hero over the years, Gravano was the ultimate rat; a traitorous cur to be held in total contempt. Others thought he was as bad as Gotti and that the government had erred in giving the admitted killer the deal of the century. And some considered him a hero for having the guts to help rid society of the likes of John Gotti. Gravano's organized crime associates also had mixed opinions. Some disliked Gotti because he disregarded Mafia protocol when he orchestrated the 1985 murder of then Gambino boss Paul Castellano, without getting permission from the Commission. Others became disenchanted with Gotti and his apparent infatuation with the media. The Mafia was, after all, a secret society. Being in the public eye was not good for secrecy or for business. They shed no tears upon Gotti's departure.

However, most felt that overall, the Gravano situation was an embarrassment to organized crime in general and to the Gambinos in particular. In addition to that prevalent feeling on the part of the rank and file, there were other Gottis still in positions of power within the family. Gotti's son, John Gotti Jr., his brother Peter, and other relatives undoubtedly harbored ill will toward Gravano. It seemed a no-brainer that at some point there would be an attempt at retribution. The question was when it would happen.

Gravano received an early release from prison and went back into the community as a member of the Witness Protection Program, making him a difficult target for his adversaries. But in 1995 he voluntarily left the Program. During a TV interview following his release Gravano made this bold announcement:

"They send a hit team down, I'll kill them. They better not miss, because even if they get me, there will still be a lot of body bags going back to New York. I'm not afraid. I don't have it in me. I'm too detached maybe. If it happens, fuck it. A bullet in the head is pretty quick. You go like that! It's better than cancer. I'm not meeting you in Montana on some fuckin' farm. I'm not sitting here like some jerk-off with a phony beard. I'll tell you something else: I'm a fuckin' pro. If someone comes to my house, I got a few little surprises for them. Even if they win, there might be surprises."

Gravano's bravado aside, now that he was on the loose and out from under the government's veil of protection, if his enemies could locate him he'd be vulnerable. For Sammy Gravano, the clock was ticking.

Getting Started In 1999, the Gambinos were ready to make their move. Peter Gotti had a coded conversation with his incarcerated brother John at the federal prison in Marion, Illinois. That discussion concerned an article in a Phoenix, Arizona newspaper that stated Gravano was living in the Phoenix area and was running a construction company. It was known that Gravano's wife Debbie, who claimed she had left him, and children were in the Phoenix area. But was Sammy really there too? After the prison meeting, Peter Gotti ordered former Gravano crew member Thomas "Huck" Carbonaro to head a two-man reconnaissance team to Phoenix.

To accompany him, Carbonaro selected Gambino associate, electronics expert and bank robber, Sal "Fat Sal" Mangiavillano, who at times tipped the scales at around 400 pounds. Huck Carbonaro was never much of an earner for the family. He'd taken over Gravano's loansharking book, estimated to be worth more than $2 million, after Gravano flipped. But after a while most of the customers refused to pay back a "rat's money" and the cash flow dried up. However, according to federal prosecutors, what Carbonaro was good at was killing. In addition, he'd been part of Gravano's crew and knew the man and his habits well. And as a bonus, his wife continued to have telephone contact with Gravano's wife, providing the potential to gather valuable intelligence.

For those reasons Carbonaro was a logical choice for such an important assignment. In what would later prove to be an ironic twist, the feds alleged that while travelling cross-country, Carbonaro confided to Mangiavillano that of the many people he'd killed, the only murder he regretted was that of his good friend Nicholas "Nicky Cowboy" Mormando, who was slain on Gravano's orders for violating the family's policy of not dealing drugs. But later on, Gravano changed his position on the issue of distributing drugs and became a drug trafficker himself.

Fat Sal's reputation was the opposite of Carbonaro's. He wasn't known as a killer. His reputation in the criminal underworld was as a highly skilled thief, who led a crew of Mob associates that specialized in bank burglaries, bank robberies, and auto theft. He was a master of electronic gadgetry and a valuable earner for the family.

Sal was also known for his resourcefulness. He'd committed more than 30 bank burglaries from Brooklyn to South Carolina, usually by angling a homemade gaff and three-pronged spears into night deposit boxes to pluck out the loot. During one Queens, New York, heist he rigged a remote controlled drill to cut through concrete and steel. His organized crime pals dubbed his capers "Fat Sallie Productions."

After an 18-month prison stretch in the mid-1990s for bank burglary, during which his weight dropped to a svelte 225 pounds, Sal was deported to Argentina, where his parents were living when he was born. From Argentina he traveled to his parents' birthplace in Sicily. After that he went on to visit friends in Montreal, Canada, and then to Toronto. However, he longed to get back into the United States, and slipped into the country by riding a Jet Ski across the Niagara River.

Once again in Brooklyn in late 1999, the 35-year-old Mangiavillano reunited with his wife and three young children. He also put the word out to his criminal associates that he was back and available for work. It was important for guys like Sal to let their presence be known quickly. If they didn't, upon discovery their friends might think they'd kept silent because they were cooperating with the law or had become weak, making them untrustworthy or unreliable. Such impressions could affect their ability to earn, and even be hazardous to their health.

Huck Carbonaro was among those who heard of Sal's return. Carbonaro had gone on scores with Sal in the past. His nephew, Tommy Dono, was a member of Sal's bank burglary crew. And several years earlier when Sal heard that a family associate from another crew was making Carbonaro's excessive weight the butt of his jokes, Sal and three of his friends went to the bar where the offender hung out. The joint was full of the guy's friends. Sal and one of his buddies dragged the man outside and beat him mercilessly. One of Sal's other two friends stationed himself at the bar's door to block the victim's pals from intervening. The other sat in their car with gun in hand, prepared to shoot if the bar patrons got out the door and tried to interfere with Sal's administration of justice. Later, when Carbonaro asked Sal the motive for the beating, he said it was because the victim had been making fun of Carbonaro. Sal's action placed him in high esteem in Carbonaro's eyes.

Shortly after Sal announced his return, Carbonaro received his marching orders regarding Gravano. Although Sal had never committed murder for the family before, Carbonaro knew he was willing to commit violence. And he liked the way Sal handled himself, his abilities with electronics and gadgets, and his talent for overcoming obstacles. Equally important, he trusted him. Confident that Sal had what it took to be a valuable partner in the assassination plot, he invited him along. He then explained the potential rewards. If they were successful, Carbonaro would be promoted to captain. Fat Sal would have made his bones and become a made man—a full member of the Gambino family.

To many up and coming mobsters, getting made was a giant step up the career ladder. But not to Sal. Over the years he'd done quite well for himself as an associate. To him, being a made man would subject him to much tighter control by the family. He'd have to live by another standard of Mafia rules. That would change his lifestyle in a way he wasn't excited about. But Sal felt that once asked, he couldn't say no. In the Mob, refusing Carbonaro's request for help might have cost him his own life. So in late December, the pair headed for Phoenix. Their assignment: Locate and assassinate Sammy Gravano, the super-rat.

Joe Bruno on the Mob – Joseph P. Ryan – President of the International Longshoremen Association – Port of New York

In 1892, the International Longshoremen Association (ILA) started out as a legitimate labor union in the Great Lakes area, to help the dockworkers get a fair shake from their employers. The ILA expanded to the east coast, and by 1914, ILA's New York District Council was created. Almost immediately, the ILA became a mob stronghold, manipulated by the most vicious Irish mobsters of that era. The most prominent of whom was Joseph P. Ryan. But we'll get to Ryan later

To understand how the mob manipulated the docks, and the ILA, you must grasp the manner in which dockworkers were hired daily. The method for hiring was not who was the most qualified, the strongest, or the most industrious person available. The only thing that mattered is that you paid tribute to the hiring boss, who ran the docks like the Gestapo ran Hitler's Germany.

The way it worked was like this: twice a day, all able-bodied men, who were looking for work, would line up in front of the loading dock. Then a stevedore (hiring boss) stood smugly in front of the dock, and one-by-one he selected the men who he deemed lucky enough to get a day's work. Of course, you had no chance of getting a job if you didn't give the stevedore a percentage of your day's pay. The stevedore would then kick up the cash to the head stevedore, who would in turn kick it up to the ILA bosses. With this money, the ILA bosses would then grease the palms of politicians and cops, and everyone else who needed to get paid, to keep the money rolling into the pockets of the big shots who ran the ILA. And if you were known as somebody who had given the ILA trouble in the past, you might as well have stayed home, because there was no way the stevedore would even look at your face.

Joseph P. Ryan first burst on the scene around 1917, when he organized the ILA "New York District Council," a branch of the nationwide ILA. In 1918, Ryan became president of the ILA's "Atlantic Coast District." It was during this time that the power began shifting from the Great Lakes to the Port of New York, which was closer to Europe, where many of the ships that were unloaded on the docks originated. During this time, the ILA was facing strict competition from the west coast-based Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). The ILA was attempting to draw in the IWW into their organization, and in 1919 they succeeded.

In 1921, ILA President T.V. O'Conner resigned, and his place was taken by Anthony Chlopek, who turned out to be the last ILA President based in the Great Lakes. It's not clear if he was appointed by Chlopek, or elected by the membership, but Joe Ryan served as the First Vice President of the ILA for all six years of Chlopek's presidency.

In 1927, Ryan's time had finally come. Ryan was elected President of the ILA, which power base was now firmly entrenched in the Port of New York.

Ryan's journey from basically nobody to the President of the ILA had not been an easy one. Ryan was born on May, 11, 1884 in Babylon, Long Island. His parent were Irish immigrants, and Ryan suffered a severe blow at the age of nine when both of his parents died within a month of each other. Ryan was put in an orphanage, but he was eventually adopted by a woman who brought Ryan to live with her in the Chelsea section of Manhattan, a few blocks south of the lawless Hell's Kitchen area.

Ryan did menial jobs in the neighborhood, before he got a job loading and unloading on the Chelsea Piers. In 1917, Ryan purchased his union book for the sum of two dollars and fifth cents. Within a few weeks, Ryan hurt his foot while unloading a freighter, and when he was released from the hospital, and not being able to work on the docks again, Ryan was somehow appointed to the job of secretary of ILA Local 791. From that point on, there was no stopping Joe Ryan's meteoric rise.

"Boss Joe," as Ryan came to be known, was a ruthless fighter, who elevated the shape/payback system on the docks to an art form. To enforced his vice-like grip on the ILA membership, Ryan hired the worst men imaginable, some of whom has lost their jobs as bootleggers when Prohibition ended in 1933, and some of whom had just recently been released from prison, where they had been sentenced for committing the most violent of crimes. These were the perfect men for Ryan to employ, since cracking a few heads, or legs, and maybe even killing a person once in a while, was certainly not adverse to these men's nature.

Ryan's power was so absolute, he organized fund raisers (his men were compelled to contribute, or else) for the politicians who were on Ryan's pad; one of whom was Mayor Jimmy "Beau James" Walker. When Walker was forced to resign in 1932, Ryan, with tears dripping from his pen, issued a statement supporting the disgraced Walker. Ryan wrote, "The labor movement in the city of New York regrets that political expedience has deprived them of a Mayor whose every official act has been in conformity with the Americanistic (Ryan invented that word himself) policies of organized labor.

Ryan's plan was to control all dockworkers in the United States, but in fact, his power hardly extended outside the boundaries of New York. When Franklin D. Roosevelt ascended to the Presidency in 1933, he enacted his New Deal, which solidified Ryan's total control of the ILA. "The Norris-La Guardia Act," which limited the use of injunctions to prevent strikes and picketing, helped Ryan assert his muscle on the docks. And the Wagner Act of 1935 guaranteed the rights of workers to vote for their own representation. And who controlled those votes? Why Joseph P. Ryan, of course.

Ryan's biggest problem in uniting all ILA workers in America was the resistance he received from the west coast contingent, which was led by radical left-winger Harry Bridges. In 1934, Bridges organized a strike of the West Coast ILA, in rebellion over a contract Ryan had negotiated on their behalf. Ryan, incensed at the west coast insurrection, traveled extensively all over the west coast of America: to San Francisco, Portland, Tacoma, and Seattle. In each location, Ryan argued the main sticking point to the negotiations: the shape-up form of employment. Ryan and his New York pals were for it, everyone on the west coast was against it; saying it was unfair to the workers. The West Coast ILA wanted to implement a "hiring-hall" system, in which "time in the hold" and "seniority" were the main factors in men getting work. Of course the "hiring hall" system would put an end to the stevedore graft machine, and Ryan wanted no part of that.

Ryan's west coast trip was a complete failure. In each ILA location he visited, his recommendations were shot down, emphatically. The president of the Tacoma ILA local announced to the press, "No body of men can be expected to agree to their own self destruction."

Things were so bad for Ryan in San Francisco, there were physical confrontations in the streets, between the west coast strikers, the strikebreakers Ryan had brought in from the east coast, and the local police. The riots were so violent, the National Guard was called in to end the disturbances.

Chalk that up as another loss for Ryan.

When Ryan returned home to the Port of New York, he was not a happy camper. He denounced his west coast opponents as "malcontents" and "communists,"and he strove to become even more diligent in exercising his absolute power over the New York ILA. One of Ryan's most effective tools in keeping his men in line was the fact that he was able to issue union charters to whomever he saw fit. The men who received these charters were then able to form their own Union Locals. After these Locals were created, the individual local bosses would kick back a substantial part of the member's dues to the Joseph P. Ryan Retirement Fund, of which, of course, there were no written records.

One such Local that Ryan had in his back pocket was Local 824, which was run by Ryan crony Harold Bowers. Local 824 was particularly prestigious and quite profitable because it presided over the Hells Kitchen piers, where luxury liners like the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth were docked. Local 824 soon became known as the "Pistol Local" because it was almost completely comprised of Irish gangsters who had long criminal records. Local 824′s boss Bowers, an ex-con, had a criminal record as long as a giraffe's neck. Bowers had been arrested for numerous crimes, including robbery, possession of a gun, grand larceny (twice), and congregating with known criminals. Bowers was also suspected in dozens of waterfront murders, but no murder charge could ever be pinned on him.

Harold's cousin Mickey, as murderous a bloke as Harold, was also instrumental in running Local 824. Mickey was a suspect in the murder of Tommy Gleason, an insurgent in Local 824, who tried to wrest control of Local 824 from the Bowers family. Gleason was filled with lead while he was visiting a deceased pal in a Tenth Avenue funeral parlor. Mickey Bowers was suspected of Gleason's murder, and he was brought in for questioning. However, with no concrete evidence, Mickey Bowers was released. There is no record of the Gleason murder having been solved, and it is not clear if Gleason was laid out in the same funeral parlor in which he had been shot.

In 1951, Ryan began losing control of the ILA, when his men did something they had never done before: they spat in the face of Ryan and his tyrannical leadership by going on strike. With over thirty thousand men involved (without pay of course), the strike lasted twenty five days. Due to the strike, 118 piers were shut down, and millions of dollars were lost by hundreds of companies, who needed their goods unloaded on the docks.

The leader of this strike was not a longshoreman, but a priest named Father John Corridan. The

son of a County Kerry-born policeman, Corridan was born in Manhattan's Harlem. In 1928, Corridan graduated from Manhattan's prestigious Regis High School. After completion of his seminary requirements and assignments in other parishes, in 1946, Corridan was assigned to the Xavier Institute of Industrial Relations, on West 16th Street. There Father Corridan met many longshoremen who told him of the woes they suffered at the hands of men like Ryan and the Bowers cousins.

Being a street kid himself, the chain-smoking, fast-talking priest decided to do something about the abominations that were transpiring on the waterfront. Corridan teamed up with New York Sun writer Malcolm Johnson to write a series of articles entitled "Crime on the Waterfront." These articles spurred writer Bud Schulberg to write the screenplay for the Academy Award winning movie "On the Waterfront, which starred Marlon Brandon and Lee J. Cobb. Actor Karl Malden played the part of Father Corridan, whose name in the movie, for some reason, was changed to Father Barry.

Soon after the New York Sun articles were published, New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey announced that the state's crime commission would open an investigation into criminal activities in the Port of New York. This investigation was called "The Waterfront Hearings." During these hearings hundreds of men who worked on the waterfront were called in to testify (some were honest workers – others were ruthless "Dock Wallopers"). The workers mostly gave honest testimony, while the "Dock Wallopers," mainly invoked their Fifth Amendment Rights not to incriminate themselves.

One of the men who was called in to testify at the Waterfront Hearings was a shady figure named William "Big Bill" McCormack. McCormack owned several businesses, including the U.S. Trucking Company, which worked extensively unloading on the Port of New York docks. McCormack was very close to Ryan, and it was alleged that Ryan and McCormack were, in fact, partners in several of McCormack's businesses.

In 1950, as a result of pressure from the New York newspapers, Mayor Bill O'Dwyer, who was in the pocket of Ryan and other known gangsters, reluctantly called for a city investigation of the waterfront. The investigation became a sham, when Mayor O'Dwyer, at the urging of Joe Ryan, appointed McCormack as the chairman of a "blue-ribbon panel" to "investigate" waterfront activities. After month of a dubious investigations, funded by New York City taxpayer dollars, McCormack's "blue-ribbon panel" concluded, "We have found that the labor situation on the waterfront of the Port of New York is generally satisfactory from the standpoint of the worker, the employer, the industry, and the government."

That was obviously the "Big Lie."

When McCormack was brought before the Waterfront Hearings, he was questioned about the previous testimony of the supervisor of employment for the division of parole. This supervisor had testified that although he had never met "Big Bill" McCormack, he had met with McCormack's brother Harry many times. The purpose of these meetings was that on numerous occasions men, who were being released from prison on parole, would have the prison officials put in writing a note that said, "Mr. H.F. McCormack will make immediate arrangements for this inmate's union membership upon his release."

It was estimated that over 200 parolees were given "jobs" with McCormack's Penn Stevedoring Company. Some of these jobs may have been legitimate dock work, but most ex-con's employed by McCormack's Penn Stevedoring Company were nothing more than thugs and leg breakers, and sometimes murderers for the union.

When "Big Bill" McCormack was asked at the Waterfront Hearings why he had employed so many men with dubious backgrounds, McCormack said, "It's because I take a human view of employee problems. I'm human, and they're human."

Two of the "human" men employed by the McCormack Penn Stevedoring Company, after they were released from jail, were John "Cockeye" Dunn, and Andrew "Squint" Sheridan. Both men where eventually fried in the electric chair, after they were convicted of the murder of hiring stevedore Andy Hintz, while both killers were working for McCormack.

After McCormack's testimony before the Waterfront Commission, the New York Herald Tribune wrote, "Mr. McCormack's activities on behalf of the longshoreman's union suggest that he has been pulling the strings for Joseph P. Ryan for many years, and may, in fact, be a more powerful figure on the waterfront than the Boss (Ryan) himself."

Joseph P. Ryan was the 209th and final witness before the crime commission's Waterfront Hearings. After one day of brutal cross examination, it was clear Ryan's days were over as Joe "The Boss" of the Port of New York. Under grueling testimony, Ryan was forced to admit that he appointed many convicted felons like Harold Bowers to prominent positions in the ILA. Ryan claimed no knowledge of the fact that 30% of the union officials he personally appointed had criminal records. Ryan also testified he had no idea that more than 45 IRA Locals in the Port of New York kept no financial records, and that his hand-picked bosses had frequently given themselves raises, without these raises being ratified by the voting members of the Locals.

However, the final nail in Ryan's coffin was inserted when it came to light that Ryan had misused more than $50,000 from the ILA's Anti-Communist Fund for his own personal use. Instead of scouring the docks looking for communist activities, Ryan used this money for grand dinners for himself and his cronies at places like the Stork Club, repairs to his Cadillac, and to purchase the expensive clothes that Ryan wore. Ryan also had the gall to use Anti-Communist Funds to go on a cruise to Guatemala.

Still, Ryan would not give up his control of the New York Waterfront without a fight. In 1953, the American Federation of Labor decided to expel the ILA from it's membership. AF of L President George Meany said, "We've given up all hope that the officers or members of that union will reform it. We've given up hope that the ILA will ever live up to the rules, standards, and ethics of a decent trade union."

After hearing what Meany had to say, Ryan gritted his teeth and growled, "Then we'll hold on to what we have."

However, Ryan's hubris lasted only for a short time. In order for Meany to allow the ILA to remain part of the American Federation of Labor, Meany insisted that Ryan step down from the post that Ryan had held for 26 years. Ryan had no choice but to comply.

Ryan's travails were not over with yet. In 1954, after being convicted of violations of The Labor Management Relations Act (Taft-Hartly Act), Ryan was sentenced to 6 months in prison and a $2500 fine. Ryan appealed his conviction.

However, on July 1, 1955, the United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit denied Ryan's appeal, saying, "Defendant-Appellant, Joseph P. Ryan, President of the International Longshoremen's Association (hereafter called ILA) was indicted, on three counts, in that, on three separate occasions, he unlawfully, willfully and knowingly received sums in the aggregate of $2,500, from corporations employing members of the ILA. The judge, holding defendant guilty on all counts, sentenced him to imprisonment for six months on each count (the sentences to run concurrently) and fined him $2,500. As my view is not to prevail, I shall not discuss the other objections that the accused raises, except to say that I have considered them, and that they have not convinced me that any error was committed that would justify a reversal. I would affirm the conviction."

Ryan did his six months in the can. Then he disappeared, never to be heard from on the waterfront again.

Joe Bruno on the Mob- Crips "Gangsta" Jacks Up Old Women

Some things should be totally off limits to even the most hardened criminals. Attacking old women is one of them.

It seems that an aging Crips "gangsta," with two of his pals, have decided that robbing old women is wonderful, and a safe thing (for them) to do. Thomas Harris, 48, from Brooklyn had the bright idea of attacking elderly women as they got out of their cars, then forcing them to drive to a nearby ATM to withdraw their hard-earned cash. One time, the three creeps even threw an old woman into the trunk of her car. These attacks happened between April 2010 and February 2011, in Brooklyn and in Queens.

One of Harris' accomplices Wendell Jenkins, 23, was arrested in February, and Harris himself was was arrested in Oakland, California, after the US Marshals Service, working with the NYPD, got a tip that Harris had fled there. A woman accomplice has disappeared into the wind.

It's one thing to be a crook, a common thief, a burglar, or even a bank robber. But attacking old women is beyond the pale.

Only punks do things like that.

The article below appeared in the New York Post

Crip gangster arrested in California for string of local ATM robberies

By REBECCA HARSHBARGER and JAMIE SCHRAM

Last Updated: 8:44 PM, August 23, 2011

Posted: 8:38 PM, August 23, 2011

More Print

A reputed Crip gangster who abducted and robbed seven elderly woman for their ATM cards in Queens and Brooklyn — throwing one woman in the trunk of a car trunk — was arrested Monday in California, authorities said.

Thomas Harris, 48, allegedly led a violent armed robbery group with another man and a woman who attacked the victims between April 2010 and February 2011.

The three thugs attacked the women as they got into their cars, held them up at gunpoint and forced them to drive to nearby ATMs.

Harris was arrested in Oakland after the US Marshals Service, working with the NYPD, got a tip that Harris had fled there.

The fugitive had a sub-machine handgun, two semi-automatic handguns, five pounds of pot, and ecstasy pills, according to the Marshals.

One of Harris' alleged cohorts, Wendell Jenkins, 23, was arrested in February to pull off the heists, cops said. Jenkins was arrested in February and charged with multiple counts of robbery, cops said.

Their female partner is still on the loose, according to police.

Joe Bruno on the Mob – Man Sells Drugs Out of Ice Cream Truck.

Talk about lowlifes.

Louis Scala Jr. must have no scruples at all. This moron/degenerate, was caught selling oxycodone for $20 a pop out of his Lickety Split green and white ice cream truck, in front of his Staten Island home. That is, between him giving little kids two scoops of vanilla with extra sprinkles on top.

After pleading guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court to conspiracy and drug possession charges, this jerk Scala faces 3 /12 years in prison for his escapades. And what makes it worse, he's the son of a New York City cop.

I wonder if Dad was the one who made the pinch.

The article below appeared in the New York Post.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/st...

Man admits sold oxycodone out of SI ice cream truck

A literal "good humor" man will spend the next three-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty today to selling massive quantities of prescription oxycodone out of his Staten Island ice cream truck.

It had been an open secret that Louis Scala Jr. sold soft-serve and hard drugs — $20-a-pop "oxy's" — out of his green-and-white Lickety Split truck, city Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan had said in announcing the kooky case back in March.

Scala, 29, and the son of a Manhattan cop, pleaded guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court today to conspiracy and drug possession charges.

Officials said Scala would sell actual ice cream on his regular route, then park his truck outside his house in Pleasant Plains.

He'd sell to a few more kids, then deal oxy's to the adult customers who'd been waiting for him in cars parked up and down the street, officials charged. New customers got a price break to hook them in, officials noted.

"It did get a little frustrating when [Scala's truck] would be out there at nine o'clock at night," one neighbor complained to The Post back when the case broke.

"I'd think, why the hell is he selling ice cream at night?"

Scala had been a major player in a drug ring that netted about $1 million in the course of a year — pumping a total 43,000 pills into the borough's Rx-drug black market, officials had said.

Co-defendant Joseph Zaffuto, 39 — a convicted Luchese racketeer — is still awaiting trial on charges he conspired with Scala in recruiting two dozen runners to help fill stolen prescriptions at pharmacies throughout the city.

Nancy Wilkins, 40, of Brooklyn, has already pleaded guilty to selling blank prescription pad pages to the ring for $100 apiece through her then-job with a Manhattan orthopedic surgeon. She was sentenced in June to six months jail and five years probation.

Joe Bruno on the Mob – Mob Boss Mark Rossetti Sought FBI Protection.

And the beat goes on.

Reputed New England Mob boss and FBI informant Mark Rossetti had such a cozy relationship with the FBI, his FBI handler allegedly told him, when Rossetti said he feared he would be arrested, "Don't worry. My job is to keep you anonymous and keep you safe. You don't have anything to worry about if things down the road happen. But if that happens, we'll have to deal with it as it comes. I will have to start working it out.''

Hmmmm. Sounds an awful like the FBI was maybe bending the rules a little to keep Rossetti, who allegedly ran an organized crime mob with over 30 members, safe and singing like a canary. This is the same thing the FBI did 20-30 years ago, when they had a warm and fuzzy relationship with Whitey Bulger, the head of Boston's Winter Hill Mob. Disgraced FBI agent John Connolly is presently serving what amounts to a life sentence in prison for his connections to Bulger.

The FBI, for it's part, released a statement that said "No FBI guidelines had been violated." But they said the same things years ago about Bulger, and that proved not to be the truth.

Who should we believe here? The FBI now, or their past history dealing with singing mob bosses?

I'll let you decide.

The Article below appeared on Boston.com

Reputed leader of Mafia sought FBI protection

Posted: 25 Aug 2011 09:07 AM PDT

Mark Rossetti, a reputed leader in the New England Mafia and an FBI informant, thought he would be protected by the bureau after his alleged crime ring was targeted by State Police investigators, according to documents filed in Suffolk Superior Court.

And, according to taped conversations contained in the court documents, Rossetti's FBI handler told him not to worry, that "my job is to keep you anonymous and keep you safe.''

"You don't have anything to worry about if things down the road happen, but if that happens, we'll have to deal with it as it comes,'' the handler told Rossetti. "I will have to start working it out.''

Rossetti's relationship with the FBI has come under scrutiny since court documents were filed indicating he had been working as an FBI informant while allegedly running a crime ring that engaged in violence, extortion, debt collection, and drug dealing. He is also suspected in at least six homicides, law enforcement officials told the Globe.

The FBI is bound by guidelines regulating the use of informants, including requirements that an informant be referred for possible prosecution for engaging in violence.

The guidelines, which also require that the US attorney's office be made aware of the use of informants, were adopted following the scandal two decades ago involving the FBI's use of James "Whitey'' Bulger as an informant when, all along, he was allegedly committing crimes including murder.

The FBI has released a joint statement with the State Police saying that it cooperated with state investigators once it became aware of the alleged crimes and that at no times were any guidelines violated.

But the statement fails to describe Rossetti's relationship with the FBI, how long it lasted, and whether it yielded any fruitful information. The charges that Rossetti ran a widespread crime ring, with more than 30 members indicted last year, also raises questions about how closely the FBI was monitoring him, and whether the bureau was aware of the extent of his alleged activities. Katherine Gulotta, an FBI spokeswoman, said yesterday that the agency would not comment beyond the original statement.

The latest Suffolk Superior Court documents were submitted by lawyer Robert A. George on behalf of clients Joseph Giallanella and Michael Petrillo, two lower-level members of Rossetti's alleged crime ring who were indicted last year on drug charges. They do not identify Rossetti by name, but previous documents clearly identify Rossetti as the informant at issue, through a description of his role in the alleged crime ring.

Source: articles.boston.com

Joe Bruno on the Mob- Lifestyle Fitness- Harder to Quit Than Cigarettes.

This blog is usually dedicated to activities of organized crime, mobs, and gangs of any nationality. But after what happened to me today, I feel like I was shaken down by the Mafia.

I've been a member of Lifestyle Fitness for about 12 years. Today, I've had the temerity to try to cancel my membership, but it seems it's harder to quit Lifestyle Fitness than it is to quit cigarettes.

First, after deciding I enjoyed working out at home more than driving to a gym to sweat, I went to the Lifestyle Gym, where I joined and tried to cancel my membership. I was told I could no longer cancel there, and that I had to call the main office. I mean, if I joined at the gym, why can't I just un-join at the gym?

Rather than argue, I called the main office and was annoyingly put on hold for 15 minutes. When someone finally got on the line, the "Cancellation Expert" first tried to talk me out of quitting. I told the person, "I now work out at home and no longer need to belong to a health club."

So in a monotone, uninterested voice, the Lifestyle "Cancellation Expert," told me I had to cancel in writing, either by mail or by email. So I said, "Fine, send me the email form."

When I received the form, I was shocked to learn that if I quit now, I had to pay another month's dues for a month I won't be using the gym. The letter also mentioned an "Enhancement Fee" of $25, which I may have, or may not have paid already.

I don't know what an "Enhancement Fee" is. Enhance what?? It's sounds like a bogus fee to me.

Bottom line, I'm sorry I ever joined Lifestyle Fitness in the first place. Their treatment of me when I wanted to cancel my membership is indicative of why places like Lifestyle Fitness are losing members in droves.

Lifestyle Fitness. Easy to join. Cruel and inhuman punishment to quit.

Below is the cancellation form Lifestyle Gym emailed me.

!~IMPORTANT~!

Cancellation Instructions

Please read below regarding STANDARD CANCELLATION before replying

*NOTE: Requests must be approved by the Home Office prior to becoming effective.Reponses are NOT MONITORED for CONTENT.

1. YOU MUST RECEIVE AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FROM OUR SYSTEM THAT YOUR REPLY WAS RECEIVED OR YOUR CANCEL WILL NOT BE PROCESSED.

2. I choose to discontinue my membership at this time and acknowledge that a new membership enrollment fee will be required if I wish to re-activate my membership at a later date. Prepaid memberships will not be entitled to any refund unless cancelled within (three) 3 business days.

3. This request will serve as the sixty (60) day advance notice required by your membership agreement.

4. There will be one additional billing of dues. The last month's prepaid dues will be applied to the final month of membership. Membership type of "Basic" is assessed an Enhancement Fee of $25 six (6) months from the date of the agreement.

5. You have thirty (30) days from the date of your membership expiration to reactivate your membership. If you choose to reactivate your membership, you will need to provide current EFT and pay first and last months dues, plus processing fee if applicable.

6. Please print and keep a copy of the acknowledgment for your records; it is your proof of cancellation.

7. You may also submit your written (certified recommended) request to cancel to:

Lifestyle Family Fitness

140 Fountain Pkwy – Suite 410

St. Petersburg, FL 33716

*DO NOT USE THIS EMAIL FOR ANY CORRESPONDENCE OTHER THAN YOUR REPLY TO CANCEL.

*Please contact us at 1-877-753-0142 if you have questions.

.

Joe Bruno on the Mob — FBI Cuts Down on Mafia Squad

If you're a made guy in the Mafia, or even just an associate, this has to be very welcome news indeed.

According to the article below which appeared on the website Topsecretwriters.com, the FBI has cut down on its agents who shadow organized crime figures by a whopping 25%. These cuts will leave about 45 N.Y. FBI agents to investigate nearly 700 mobsters and another 7,000 mob associates. Strangely, these cuts happened after the FBI, along with the NYPD, conducted a massive raid that resulted in the FBI mob busts of 127 known mobsters.

However, the question topsecretwriters.com asks is very intriguing. Were the cuts due to a simple decrease in the FBI's budget? Or did these cuts come as a result of a little arm twisting from the mob guys, who, of course, want less FBI agents crawling up their butts?

If you don't scratch under the surface a bit, the second premise seems a little far fetched. There has been cozy relationships between the Mafia and FBI agents in the past. The most glaring example is former FBI agent John Connolly, who is currently serving a life sentence in a federal penitentiary after being convicted of "racketeering and obstruction of justice," stemming from his relationship with James J. "Whitey" Bulger, Steve Flemmi, and the Winter Hill Gang in Boston, Massachusetts.

In addition, it has just come to light that reputed Massachusetts mob boss Mark Rossetti has been a FBI informant for many years, even though, as the reputed Boss of the Mafia in Massachusetts, he's considered the biggest fish in the area for the FBI to arrest. This startling fact came to light when the Massachusetts state police put a wiretap on Rossetti's phone and recorded more than 40 conversations between Rossetti and his FBI handler. In these conversations, it was clear to state police that Rossetti was being protected by the FBI from crimes he's presently committing. Rossetti's only fear was that if he were not arrested and his associates were arrested, they might put two and two together and come up with Rossetti being an FBI informant.

Now people might say this has nothing do do with the New York Mafia since the two instances above happened in Massachusetts. But the FBI is a Federal organization. FBI agents can be transferred to whatever states their bosses deem necessary. This cozy relationship with the FBI and the Mafia has also arisen in several other Eastern coast states too. Especially in New Jersey and New York. Big shots become rats, in order to put the little fry in jail. And the FBI is OK with that.

If nothing else, the FBI's conduct in the 20-40 years concerning their paid informants gives the appearance of impropriety. Crooks are allowed to keep being crooks, as long as their tattle on their pals. Some even get paid for doing so.

I really don't think the recent 25% cut to the FBI Mob Squad has anything to do with mob guys pulling strings. 127 mob guys get arrested, and then 25% of the FBI agents assigned to shadow the Mafia get cut. Nah, to me that's just a coincidence. The premise that the FBI is being told what to do by the Mafia is too outrageous to even consider.

I hope I'm right, and that these FBI cuts are just a result of the government trying to save money in our hard economic times.

But if I'm wrong, I hate to contemplate the possibilities.

The web address for the article below is at:

http://www.topsecretwriters.com/2011/...

Did Mafia Connections Trigger Agent Cuts After FBI Mob Busts?

Did Mafia Connections Trigger Agent Cuts After FBI Mob Busts?"Earlier this year, the FBI made an unprecedented bust.

The Bureau, along with the NYPD, conducted a massive raid that resulted in the FBI mob busts of 127 known mobsters and included 16 indictments.

The FBI and the NYPD held a press conference to somewhat boast about this operation. And boast they should. The Federal charges ranged from illegal gambling to extortion, racketing, narcotics trafficking and even murder.

It was an FBI mob bust that law enforcement could be proud of.

However, barely six weeks after the historic bust, the FBI began cutting the number of agents in its organized crime units by 25%.

This move has left many law enforcement officials and citizens asking…why?

Poorly Timed Budget Cuts?

The official reason from the FBI for making this move is budget cuts.

However, a 25% cut seems a little drastic; especially given the fact that the agents made the FBI mob bust only weeks prior.

These cuts will take away two squads, leaving three units to investigate the five crime families. According to most officials, this will be a nightmare.

Former FBI Supervisor, Lin DeVecchio, stated:

"Logistically, it's very difficult for one squad of agents to work two families. There should be one squad per family. Even if you had to cut the size of the squad, it makes more sense to me have one squad for each family."

Most experts in Law enforcement agree with DeVecchio's sentiments.

Not everyone is on board with the budget cut line. One reason for suspicion is that the FBI was so ready to go public with their historic bust, but was being extremely quiet about cutting their squads six weeks later.

Not only does the quiet nature of the cuts bother many people, but the sheer size of the cut is cause for alarm.

These cuts will leave about 45 N.Y. FBI agents to investigate nearly 700 mobsters and another 7,000 associates. There are many who think that this move is in favor of the mob, and believe that the mob families themselves had something to do with it.

They maybe on to something.

According to Mafia chronicler Selwyn Raab, "New York's five Mafia families have taken advantage of every FBI cutback."

Raab cite the 1980?s cutback and the 9/11 cutback as clear proof. In both cases, when the FBI slashed the Organized Crime Branch, the mob families came back stronger and the Bureau was left trying to catch up.

Could this poor move by the FBI point to some underlying mob influence, or is it just a simple case of bureaucracy at its best?

Source: topsecretwriters.com

Joe Bruno on the Mob – Jimmy Walker – New York City's Midnight Mayor

Jimmy Walker – New York City's Midnight Mayor

If New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker had not been so likable, he would certainly have been branded a scoundrel.

Jimmy Walker was born in New York City's Greenwich Village on June 19, 1881, the son of an Irish immigrant, who later became political shaker and mover in Tammany Hall. Walker attended Xavier High School, which is a military school in Manhattan, and later New York Law School.

However, Walker's first love was music. Walker fell in with the Village's bohemian crowd, and instead of practicing law, he turned to songwriting. Two of the songs Walker wrote were: "There's Music In The Rustle Of A Skirt" and "Will You Love Me in December As You Do in May?" The later song made Walker a overnight sensation in Tin Pan Alley, with it's melodious refrain:

Will you love me in December as do in May,

Will you love in the good old fashioned way?

When my hair has all turned gray,

Will you kiss me then, and say,

That you love me in December as do in May?

In 1910, due to his father's prodding, and with the influence of his mentor, Tammany Hall titan Al Smith (later Governor Smith), Walker ran, and was elected to the New York State Assembly, where he served until 1914. Savoring the taste of political power, the now-ambitious Walker was then elected to the New York State Senate from 1914 to 1925. Walker was so popular in the Senate, he was elected President pro tempore of the New York State Senate from 1923 to 1924.

Throughout his term in the Senate, Walker was always smartly dressed and was imbued with a radiant, out-going attitude. Walker was considered a bon vivant, who spent more time bending his elbow in speakeasies, than he did actually serving his constituents in the Senate.

American journalist Robert Caro once described Senator Walker as: "Pinch-waisted, one-button suit, slenderest of cravats, a shirt from a collection of hundreds, pearl-gray spats buttoned around silk-hosed ankles, toes of the toothpick shoes peeking out from the spats polished to a gleam. Pixie smile, the 'vivacity of a song and dance man,' a charm that made him arrive n the Senate Chamber like a glad breeze' The Prince Charming of Politics…..slicing through the ponderous arguments of the ponderous men who sat around him with a wit that flashed like a rapier. Beau James."

In 1925, Al Smith, now Governor of New York, thought Walker would be the perfect mayor for New York City, a town now basking in the glow of the naughtiness of the Roaring 20′s. With Smith's backing and back room maneuvering, Walker moved to unseat the present mayor John Harlan, who was considered quite competent, if not a bit stodgy. Smith's biggest roadblock was that Walker was known more as a party animal than he was as a wily politician. But "Beau James," as he was now called in the press, promised Smith he would mend his wayward ways, if he was elected to the top spot in town.

Harlan was a Democrat, and so was Walker, so Smith had to call in some of his outstanding chits in order for Walker to get the Democratic nomination. That mission accomplished, Walker's next obstacle was Republican-Fusion candidate Frank Waterman in the Mayoral election. Waterman basically called Walker a crook, and said that if Walker were elected mayor, the New York City Subway system would be immersed in corruption, because of Walker's crooked ties in Tammany Hall. Walker laughed off Waterman's remarks and said he was running as the "People's Mayor," because he loved to do the same things the general public liked to do: gambling, and drinking illegal hootch during Prohibition.

During his campaign, Walker boasted, "I like the company of my fellow human beings. I like the theater and am devoted to healthy outdoor sports. Because I like these things, I have reflected my attitude in some of my legislation I have sponsored — 2.75 percent beer, Sunday baseball, Sunday movies, and legalized boxing. But let me allay any fear there may be that, because I believe in personal liberty, wholesome amusement and healthy professional sport, I will not countenance for a moment any indecency or vice in New York."

Yeah right.

In a blur, Walker partied his way though his first four years as Mayor. The public was so in love with the new Mayor, it hardly caused a ripple when he left his wife Janet for showgirl Betty Compton, who was 23 years Walker's junior. In 1928, Walker's shenanigans lost him the favor of Al Smith, so Walker, the cool cat that he was, cozied up to the new Governor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had been elected Governor when Smith stepped down to run for the Presidency against Republican Herbert Hoover. After losing to Hoover, Smith's power at Tammany Hall was greatly diminished. Roosevelt was the new Democratic power in New York State, and the wily Walker took advantage of that fact.

That's not to say Walker accomplished nothing in his first term as Mayor. Walker did consolidate the New York City hospital system, purchased thousands of acres for park land (including Great Kills in Staten Island), and expanded the municipal bus system. The fact that a few of his pals were granted an exclusive franchise to own the city buses caused not a ripple in Walker's popularity. In fact, no one said a word that Walker became basically a part-time Mayor. "Beau James" was hardly ever in City Hall attending to business, and was instead either at the racetrack, the fights, or carousing in one of the city's 32,000 speakeasies. While enjoying the nightlife, Walker imbibed his share of illegal beverages. Walker's favorite cocktail was a "Black Velvet," which is champagne poured over the top of a hefty serving of Guinness stout.

In 1929, Walker was challenged by the fiery reformer Fiorello La Guardia. During one heated debate, LaGuardia was incensed that Walker had raised his own salary from $25,00 a year to $40,000 a year. Walked quipped back, "Hell, that's cheap. Imagine what I would be worth if I worked full time."

Walker chided La Guardia's reputation as a "reformer," saying, "Reformers are guys who ride through a sewer in a glass bottom boat." Meaning a savvy politician knew well enough to look the other way when it was politically expedient to do so.

Walker didn't know it at the time, but the beginning of his undoing was the stock market crash of 1929. It was alright to act carefree and gay when the city was enjoying economic growth, but when people were out of work, and some even starving, Walker's devil-may-care attitude began to wear thin.

Walker faced his first real embarrassment, when in July of 1930, he and his gal-pal Compton were present when the police raided a gambling house in Montauk, Long Island. While people were being lined up against the wall and handcuffed, Walker told the police something like, "Hey, I'm the Mayor of New York City! You can't arrest the Mayor of New York City!"

The police agreed, and they let Walker go. But being "The girlfriend of the Mayor of New York City" had no such pull. So the cops cuffed Compton, and led her to the local slammer. It took Walker a few hours to reach the right people, so that Compton could be released.

Still, since the embarrassing incident was reported in the press, it left a big scar on Walker's reputation, because it was evident, while people were starving and were out of work, and sometimes denied food and shelter, "Beau James" was having a grand old time for himself. And let the city of New York be damned.

Things started to turn bleak for Walker, when the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Hayes, started taking pot shots at the Mayor. Hayes claimed that the decadence of New York City, which led to the stock market crash of 1929, was mostly the fault of Mayor Walker, whose shady antics set a bad example for the rest of the city. Cardinal Hayes even accused Walker of looking the other way while girlie magazines were sold by the hundreds on 42nd Street. Walker foolishly took on Cardinal Hayes when he fired back, "I never knew a woman who was hurt by a magazine."

Cardinal Hayes kept up his attacks on Walker, and soon the Cardinal's rants reached the office of Roosevelt, who was readying himself to run for President of the United States. As a result, Roosevelt was not too happy with Mayor Walker, and was looking for a way to rid himself of Walker's political embarrassments.

Walker had one foot in his political grave, and another foot on a banana peal, when he was summoned before the Seabury Committee, chaired by Justice Samuel Seabury, a cantankerous man obviously disgusted by Mayor Walker's excesses. The Seabury Committee was formed to investigate police and political corruption in New York City.

On May 25, 1932, Walker, dressed like he was going out speakeasy-hopping, mounted the steps of the county courthouse in Lower Manhattan. A throng of well wishers clapped at his arrival, yelling, "Atta boy, Jimmy! You tell 'em Jimmy! Good luck boyo!"

Walker flashed his million-dollar smile, and raised his clasped hands over his head, like a professional boxer after winning a fight. Then he entered the lion's den and came face to face with Justice Seabury.

Right off the bat, there was terrible tension between the two men, who couldn't be more different in personality and in demeanor. Over a two-day period, Seabury spat his questions at Walker, and Walker fired back with the utmost contempt. At one point Walker yelled at Seabury, "You and Franklin Roosevelt are not going to hoist yourself to the Presidency over my dead body."

While Seabury hammered hard questions at Walker, it became evident that "Beau James" had insulated himself from direct connection to any political skulduggery. However, it was highly embarrassing to Walker, when it was discovered that there had been cash payments made to his girlfriend Betty Compton, after some connected businesses were awarded lucrative contracts from the powers-that-be in New York City; which included Walker,

In addition, Walker's brother Dr. William H. Walker, who had a monopoly on Worker's Compensation claims, seemed to have banked over $500,000 in a four-year period. Seabury uncovered evidence that William Walker had in fact padded many of the Workman's Comp claims, and had secreted the difference into his own coffers.

Even though Seabury could not pin one illegal act on Mayor Walker himself, it was obvious that Walker had been blasted with political blows he could never recover from. As a result of the Seabury investigation, Seabury penned a recommendation to Governor Roosevelt which said that Walker should be removed from office for "gross improprieties and other instances of political malfeasance."

Governor Roosevelt was just months away from the Presidential elections. And since Walker still had legions of supporters in New York City, Roosevelt wasn't sure what was the best way to handle the Walker situation, Walker took Roosevelt off the hook, when on September 1, 1932 he announced his resignation from the office of the Mayor of New York City.

Within days, Walker hopped on a cruise ship to Europe, accompanied by his showgirl girlfriend Betty Compton. In 1933, Walker divorced his wife and married Compton. For three years, Walker spent his self-imposed exile in London with Compton When he returned to New York City, La Guardia was the Mayor, and Walker was out of politics for good.

Shunned by the political arena, Walker returned to his first love – the music industry — and he became head of Majestic Records, a big-band record label that included such popular musicians like Louie Prima and Bud Freeman. In 1946, two years after he assumed control of Majestic Records, Walker died of a brain hemorrhage and the age of sixty-five. Walker was buried in the Gates of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.

In 1957, comedian and song-and-dance-man Bob Hope starred in a movie based on Walker's life called "Beau James." The film was based on a biography of Walker, also titled "Beau James," written by Gene Fowler. This book was also used as the basis for "Jimmy," a Broadway play about Walker, that ran from October 1969 to January 1970. In "Jimmy," Frank Gorshin played Walker and Anita Gillette played Betty Compton.

In the 1959 Broadway musical "Fiorello!," the song "Gentleman Jimmy," was dedicated to New York City's Midnight Mayor — Jimmy Walker.