The Cicero Story by Dr. Wayne Johnson
Feature Articles/American Mafia.Com |
February 2000The Cicero Story |
 On June 23rd the Chicago Crime Commission’s Committees on Police and Organized Crime held a special session in the offices of the University of Illinois at Chicago, Office of International Criminal Justice. The meeting, which was highly publicized by the local press, presented two highly regarded police officials from Cicero, IL., who were suspended allegedly for their cooperation in a Federal Investigation of the town and certain town officials. By no stretch of the imagination was this scenario anything new to the Chicago area and in fact has a history as deep and rich as the City of Chicago itself. But, after this flurry of media coverage a common theme arose out of the ashes, which raised several very pointed questions. One of those questions was: How did Cicero become this Mecca for MOB activity and just when did it start? This short story about Cicero attempts to answer that question in a nutshell for those unfamiliar with the situation and MOB afficionados alike. The storey starts like many others in America. Steeped in social changed and governmental bungling. But, what I would like to open with is a bit of Irony surrounding the towns very name, which was almost changed in an attempt to down play the MOBs presence there. The towns’ namesake, Roman Orator & Statesman Marcus Cicero lived from 106 to 43 BC, as a prominent Magistrate and Counsel to the Chief Magistrate in Rome. He developed a reputation by exposing corrupt practices of the local governor. He was a right minded leader, but made serious political mistakes that drew the wrath of Mark Anthony and his soldiers, and ultimately lead to his own murder at their hands on Dec 7, 43 BC. Prior to 1923, William Hale Thompson as the mayor of Chicago, worked closely with the Torrio crime syndicate which incorporated the talents of a New York tough by the name of Alphonse Capone later to be known as Scarface Al. This close association allowed for the proliferation of vice and bootlegging activities throughout Chicago land and a great deal of success and wealth for the Mayor. This year also marked the beginning of the Beer Wars in Chicago, that pitted early Organized Crime factions against each other for control of the lucrative bootlegging industry since the introduction of the 18th Amendment, Volstead Act on Jan. 16th, 1920, the same year former MOB chief Big Jim Colisimo was killed. Johnny Torrio his successor and now the most powerful gangster in the area emerged victorious through his skillful use of Gunmen and political influence, that all but eliminated his competition, not to mention his lucrative partnerships with several formerly legitimate brewery owners who were faced with ruin in light of the Volstead Act. Upon the election of reformer William Dever, as Mayor of Chicago that year, things changed rapidly as the new mayor and his hand picked Police Chief Morgan Collins, targeted the syndicate and all it’s operations for extinction. However, the resourceful and quick thinking Torrio Syndicate, responded by shifting their base of operation for beer distribution and gambling to the town of Cicero. Cicero for over five years already had hosted numerous MOB sponsored Saloons, and accommodated the MOBs desires politically, but was now ear-marked as it’s headquarters. This was not the MOBs only appearance in the suburbs, as towns such as: Burnham, River Forest and Stickney already hosted brothels, saloons and gambling dens of some renown. The Mayor of Cicero at that time, Joe Klenha, a former dog catcher, resisted the presence of MOB sponsored prostitution. Once that issue was settled, the mayor welcomed the MOBs increased presence and the suburb of Cicero quickly became a honky-tonk town, loaded with Gambling Dens and Saloons in open defiance to the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act. In 1924 the Torrio MOB expanded this unlikely political association to include a former soda jerk and political hopeful from Cicero by the name of Ed Konvalinka. Mr. Konvalinka had great aspirations from the working side of the soda fountain that lead to his position as a resourceful republican precinct captain and ultimately lead to Governor Small naming him to the post of Republican Committeeman from Cicero. This was not good enough for the now, committeeman, who aspired to be a king maker and felt that a continued alliance with the local MOB and the 800 gunman who were there to protect the 120 plus Saloons could also be helpful on election day April 1st 1924. The Torrio Syndicate while supporting a MOB friendly Republican Ticket, met and plotted out there actions the day before the election. The two principle mobsters at this meeting with Torrio were Frank and Al Capone, two of his top lieutenants. It was an election day like no other in history, when this industrial town of 70,000 went to the polls to decide who would run the town. The options were a democratic reform ticket lead by William F. Pflaum for town clerk or the Torrio-Klenha-Konvalinka ticket. Pflaum during his campaign tried to expose this unholy alliance and hoped that election day would be the epiphany Cicero needed. Well, when election day came, Voters were not only harassed by Torrio thugs, but armed gangsters would approach them and snatch away their ballots, changing them to the MOB candidates if necessary. Opposing poll watchers and precinct captains were beaten and abducted at gunpoint, some held hostage until the election was over. On duty policeman were chased from their posts by gunshots. Cars full of gangsters raced through the streets. The citizens were terrorized. County Judge Edmund Jarecki seeing what was going on and feeling the Capone brothers were orchestrating these events, sent 70 extra police out to stop this mayhem. This erupted into gun battles throughout the town and Capone’s brother Frank was killed in one such foray, by the Detective Squad of Sgt. William Cusick, who by the way, was no relation to the MOBs downtown pay-off man Harry Cusick. After the Capone death, Torrio met in the Capone home and ordered all the saloons to remain in a low key, quasi closed condition until all the excitement passed. Al Capone attended his brothers inquest, but had nothing to say. When the smoke settled the MOB ticket was in and soon over 160 taverns ran wide open serving beer from Torrio controlled breweries. Clip-Joints were the norm and handbooks, Gambling Dens, and Dog Tracks generated profits that would make any Vegas mobster proud. Within 4 months the MOB would take $200,000 a week out of Cicero. Although, not everyone was on board. Eddie Tancl a former prize fighter and tough Bohemian saloon keeper would not buy Torrio beer or pay tribute. Eddie, a favorite in the Bohemian Community for his charity, died in a gun battle with MOB enforcers and the MOB eventually took over his saloon. Two killers were arrested and prosecuted by Assistant States Attorney William McSwiggen for the Tancl killing, but were acquitted. McSwiggen himself was later killed outside a Cicero Saloon, as he stood with 2 mob associates. A month after the election, in May of 1924, a police raid on the Seiben Brewery, personally led by Police Chief Collins, was the bonanza law enforcement was looking for. Not only was Torrio himself arrested, but several of his top associates, namely: Dion O’Banion, Loius Alterie and Hymie Weiss. 13 truckloads of beer were there, ready for distribution, but not on this day. The case took a turn, that has been common place ever since. Instead of turning the men over to the local prosecutor, States Attorney Crowe, for the traditional whitewash, the men were turned over to a federal prosecutor by the name of Olson, who pledged prompt action on this case. That action led to the indictment of 38 men. Over the next several months as the largest Volstead case to date, played out, gangsters, subordinates, and policemen alike were convicted or plead guilty for their involvement in bootlegging activities and ultimately received stiff sentences. Dion O’Banion northside rackets boss, suspected of 25 murders by Chief Collins, and who boasted a string of legal victories in the courtrooms of States Attorney Crowe, ended the string, but not in the courtroom. He was killed in his northside flower shop in November of 1924, allegedly at the behest of the Genna Brothers his MOB rivals. It was these events and the wounding of Torrio himself that marked the demise of the MOB as it was known. It became clear that Mayor Dever and Chief Collins were not under the control of the MOB and their continued onslaughts weakened Torrio’s ability to control his forces. After serving 9 months from the Seiben conviction, Torrio stepped down leaving control of the MOB to his top lieutenant Scarface Al Capone. The MOB was weakened, but not out of business as the tide turned in their favor. That turn again came on the heels of a local election, but not in Cicero this time. The election was in Chicago! In 1927 Mayor William Hale Thompson made another run at the Mayor’s office in Chicago with the same, but more subtle MOB support, than that displayed in Cicero in 1924, and he won. Had the voters not learned anything or was the availability of liquor more important that the security of a law abiding citizenry. MOB Boss Capone almost immediately moved headquarters back into the city but never relinquished the MOBs interests in Cicero. It appeared true what was said over the years: “Chicago ain’t ready for reform yet” but neither was Cicero. During the 1930s the Chicago Crime Commission produced it’s first Public Enemies list that contained the names of 28 of the MOBs most notorious gangsters starting with Al Capone but including many names familiar to the town of Cicero. Capone’s brother Ralph remained in Cicero as the Beer Boss, that included a Cicero Brewery. He also kept tabs on Night Clubs and Gambling establishments which included a Dog Track. Al was finally imprisoned in 1932 after the Crime Commission urged then President Hoover to use the Treasury Department and Tax law to bring down the once impervious gangster. Frank Nitti took over the reigns in Capone’s absence and in 1933 the Eighteenth Amendment was repealed, but the saloons kept operating at a healthy clip concentrating on vice revenue to fill MOB coffers. During the 1940s under the leadership of Nitti, gambling and vice continue to flourish in Cicero’s MOBed up night spots. Union racketeering emerges as a future cash cow for OC as an emerging clip joint operator by the name of Joey Aiuppa AKA Joey O’Brien establishes a Labor Local in the town that becomes the focus of Federal Investigators in the 60s while under the leadership of MOB heavyweight Anthony Spano. In 1943 Nitti commits suicide following an indictment for Union improprieties and a MOB up and comer by the name Tony Accardo AKA Joe Batters takes over. During the 40's Police Chief Irwin Konovsky is appointed by Village President Sandusky. He was considered from the get go a MOB associate. In 1948 the new Village President John Stoffel appoints reform Police Chief Joseph Horejs, and both intend on cleaning up the town. MOB gambling overseer Louis Lipschultz is notified that handbooks are no longer welcome in Cicero. Chief Horejs was the first Law Enforcement Official to notify the Chicago Crime Commission of Aiuppa’s status in the MOB. Horejs shortly into his tenure, asked for assistance from the Commission in his fight with the MOB, but it never played out as he was fired by the Village board shortly there after. Not much changed in the 1950s as gambling flourishes despite the efforts of the Cook County Sheriffs Police Department and the Cicero Police Department. Large scale gambling houses and strip clubs operate in defiance to law enforcement. Slot machine raids by then Sheriff Babb fail to impress Virgil Peterson of the CCC who sees large scale operations untouched. In 1955 Sheriff Lohman conducts a series of gambling raids in Cicero and used search warrants to obtain convictions. In 1956 Sam Giancanna takes over for the retiring Accardo. He has Rocco Fischetti running the Cicero Gambling operations as Aiuppa rises in the organization. By 1959 the State’s Attorneys police are also conducting gambling raids. Because of the negative image the years of organized crime influence brings, the Village Board contemplates a name change for the Village. How does “Normandy” sound? In the 1960s Gambling and vice continue, Sheriff Richard Ogilvie and State’s Attorney Daniel Ward work with Cicero Chief Konovsky and the Chicago Crime Commission to develop solutions for the Cicero Gambling problem. Ward eventually gave up blaming the Cicero Police for allowing gambling and vice to operate calling Cicero “The Walled City of the Syndicate”. As the modern era of Organized Crime approached, Cicero had been the subject of oversight by some of the most notorious gangsters in the country to include: John Torrio, Al Capone, Ralph Capone, Louis Lipschultz, Joey Aiuppa, Rocco Fischetti, and Anthony Spano. Could this circle ever be broken, could Cicero ever loosen the strangle hold of the MOB? Since then not much has changed. The saloons while not as numerous are still as notorious. The good towns people, although now mostly of Hispanic Origin are constantly campaigning to clean up the towns image. While the Political opportunist continue to misspend town money for personal profits i.e. 1985 several Federal Raids on City Hall led to Gambling Charges against Assessor Frank Maltese and eventually led to his Guilty Plea in 1991, In the late 80s the town assessor and a Mobbed up businessman fail to repay a one million dollar loan to the town fueling a Justice Dept. investigation, Local OC bosses such as Joey Aiuppa and Rocco Infelise suffered convictions/prison terms and the MOBs presence is conspicuous by its visible absence. Through the last three decades Cicero has seen a rotation of new MOB leaders: Fiori and Frank Buccieri, Angelo LaPietra, Turk Turello, Joe Ferriolla, James Inendino, Chuckie English, Dominic Cortina, Don Angelini, and Anthony Centracchio. The list seems endless, but a new series of investigations is underway. Businesses in Cicero are loaded with video gaming devices that are still feeding the MOB coffers. Outside police are still working to ensure the citizens safety, something that the town it seems, has never been able to do. And outsiders still watch in amazement at how Cicero changes, but stays the same. I guess the analogy that “Cicero Ain’t ready for reform yet” still lives on. The question is are the rest of us?  |
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Authority on Chicago mob murders to speak
From Chicago's original
gangsters to the Outfit's decline in recent years, Dr. Wayne Johnson is
well-versed in the organized crime that long ensnared the city.
After 25 years with the Chicago
Police Department - his last assignment supervising a unit within the Organized
Crime Division - Johnson was appointed Chief Investigator for the renowned
Chicago Crime Commission.
Now coordinator of Harper
College's law enforcement programs and widely considered a top authority on
organized crime, Johnson has written "A History of Violence: An
Encyclopedia of 1,400 Chicago Mob Murders." The 300-plus page tome is the
product of painstaking research into newspaper articles, police reports,
coroners' reports and other archives over a 14-year period.
"Coming from someone who
has fought in the trenches against Chicago's wise guys, Johnson's new
contribution will be the go-to reference on Outfit violence for years to
come," said Gus Russo, author of "The Outfit" and
"Supermob."
Harper will host a public
reception celebrating Johnson's book launch at noon Tuesday, April 15, in the
lower level of the library on the College's main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin
Road, Palatine. Johnson will give a presentation on the state of organized
crime in Chicago followed by a brief question-and-answer session and book
signing.
Johnson, who also served as the
only Superintendent of Police/Inspector General for the town of Cicero before
entering academic fulltime, credited two Harper students for their
contributions. Daniella Boyd designed the cover art for "A History of
Violence" by reproducing in charcoal a real morgue photo of Sam Giancana,
one of the most notorious mob bosses in history. Jackie Cooney wrote a research
paper that led Johnson to discover a group of killings that fit the criteria
for the book.
"I really wanted to dig in
on this because every one of these cases deserves to be investigated and
solved," Johnson said. "To let them just disappear into history would
be a disservice to everyone involved."
Cover art: Harper student
Daniella Boyd designed the graphite drawing cover art for "A History of
Violence" by reproducing a real morgue photo of Sam Giancana, one of the
most notorious mob bosses in history.
ABOUT WAYNE JOHNSON: Wayne A.
Johnson served on the Chicago Police Department for 25 years and in his last
assignment, supervised the Analytical Unit of the Intelligence Section,
Organized Crime Division. He was then appointed Chief Investigator for the
legendary Chicago Crime Commission, holding the position originally created by
celebrated criminal investigator Virgil Peterson.
Johnson investigated and
monitored the Chicago Mob during his five years at the Commission. The national
recognition he received led to his recruitment as the only Superintendent of
Police/Inspector General for Cicero.
Johnson earned his Doctor of
Education degree from Northern Illinois University and Master of Science degree
in Criminal-Social Justice from Lewis University in Romeoville. He is as an
Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of Law Enforcement Programs at
Harper College.
Johnson is a nationally
recognized investigative and educational consultant for law enforcement and the
security industry and has lectured extensively on organized crime, homicide
investigations, criminal profiling, violence in the workplace and gang crimes.
Harper prof squeezes century of local mob hits into book
By Burt Constable
From his boyhood memories of
the raid on a bookie joint under the Chicago apartment where he grew up to the
murder cases he worked on as an officer with the Chicago Police Department's
organized crime division, Harper College professor Wayne A. Johnson has been
steeped in the violence of mobsters.
Isolated murders, such as the
infamous Valentine's Day Massacre or the beating deaths of brothers Anthony
"Tony the Ant" and Michael Spilotro, have become scenes in mob
movies. "But nobody ever put it in one place before," says Johnson,
who has done that with his new book, "A History of Violence: An
Encyclopedia of 1,400 Chicago Mob Murders."
From the stabbing death of
Harry Bush during the newspaper "circulation war" on July 6, 1900, to
the Aug. 31, 2006, disappearance of 71-year-old Anthony "Little Tony"
Zizzo of Westmont, Johnson has used court documents, police records, newspaper
accounts and 14 years of personal research to compile more than a century of
suspected mob murders.
"You know what makes it so
insidious? Their ability to get into places that affect every aspect of our
lives," says Johnson, who notes cases where politicians, judges and police
officers cooperated with mobsters. "Once you are into these guys, they own
you."
Appearing in countless articles
and TV shows as an expert on the mob, Johnson spent 25 years as a Chicago
police officer and served as chief investigator for the Chicago Crime
Commission before getting his doctoral degree in education. He's now an
associate professor and program coordinator of law enforcement programs at
Harper College.
Harper will host a public
reception celebrating Johnson's book launch at noon Tuesday in the lower level
of the library on the college's main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine.
The stereotype of the Chicago
mob as the Italian Mafia known as Cosa Nostra is a myth, says Johnson, who says
organized crime boasts a diverse collection of people, including many
immigrants, who learned how to make money through illegal methods. The criminal
groups formed partnerships and cut deals with each other, he says.
Of the 1,401 murders Johnson
details, he lists only 278 as "solved," and the number of people
convicted of those murders is even lower. "Just because they weren't
charged doesn't mean it's not solved," says Johnson.
In teaching his "Organized
Crime" class, Johnson tells the Harper students that reputed mob boss Tony
"Big Tuna" Accardo, who died in 1992 at the age of 86, lived the last
years of his life just a short drive away, on Algonquin Road in Barrington
Hills.
Student Jackie Cooney, 30, of
McHenry wrote a research paper that ended up adding early 20th-century murders
to Johnson's book.
"I logged 108 murders,
and, of those murders, a portion of them were mob murders," says Cooney,
who says she's been interested in the mob since she got her bachelor's degree
in history from Roosevelt University in 2008. "I find it fascinating how
people make alternative choices to provide for themselves and their
families."
Studying to become a physical
anthropologist while excelling in her art classes at Harper, Daniella Boyd, 21,
of Wheeling responded to Johnson's request to draw a grisly scene for the cover
of his book.
"I did some
research," says Boyd, who spent about 12 hours making a graphite drawing
of the toe tag on the left foot of mobster Sam Giancana, who was gunned down in
his Oak Park home in 1975.
The suburbs are home to some of
the most infamous mob murders. On Feb. 12, 1985, the body of 48-year-old Hal
Smith of Prospect Heights was found in the trunk of his Cadillac in the parking
lot of an Arlington Heights hotel. Suspected of being a sports bookie who had
run afoul of the mob, Smith was lured to the Long Grove home of his friend William
B.J. Jahoda and was tortured, had his throat cut and was strangled. Jahoda, who
became a friend of Johnson's before his death of natural causes in 2004,
testified against the mob and helped send reputed mob leaders including Ernest
Rocco Infelice and Salvatore DeLaurentis of Lake County to prison.
Another gambling operator who
angered the mob, Robert Plummer, 51, was found dead in a car trunk in Mundelein
in 1982. He was murdered in a Libertyville house already notorious before it
was purchased by a mobster and turned into an illicit casino. In 1980, in a
crime that went unsolved for more than 15 years, William Rouse, 15, used a
shotgun to murder his millionaire parents, Bruce and Darlene Rouse, in a
bedroom of the family home.
"Some people romanticize
the mob," says Johnson, who adds that he hopes his book not only makes
people recognize the heinous brutality of mobster killings, but might also help
solve some of the remaining mysteries. "I hope they read my book and say,
'Yeah, it was 20 years ago, but I know who killed so-and-so.' Maybe we can
still do something."
National authority on organized crime writes book on Chicago mob murders
Dr. Wayne Johnson to speak at
Harper College reception
PALATINE, IL – From Chicago’s
original gangsters to the Outfit’s decline in recent years, Dr. Wayne Johnson
is well-versed in the organized crime that long ensnared the city. Now
coordinator of Harper College’s law enforcement programs and widely considered
a top authority on the subject, Johnson has written A History of Violence: An
Encyclopedia of 1,400 Chicago Mob Murders.
Harper will host a reception celebrating the
book launch at noon Tuesday, April 15, in the lower level of the library on the
College’s main campus, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine. Johnson will give a
presentation on the state of organized crime in Chicago followed by a brief
question-and-answer session and book signing. The event is open to the public.
The 300-plus page tome is the product of
painstaking research into newspaper articles, police reports, coroners’ reports
and other archives over a 14-year period.
“I really wanted to dig in on this because
every one of these cases deserves to be investigated and solved,” Johnson said.
“To let them just disappear into history would be a disservice to everyone
involved.”
Johnson credits two Harper students for their
contributions. Daniella Boyd designed the cover art for A History of Violence
by reproducing in charcoal a real morgue photo of Sam Giancana, one of the most
notorious mob bosses in history. Jackie Cooney wrote a research paper that led
Johnson to discover a group of killings that fit the book’s criteria.
“Coming from someone who has fought in the
trenches against Chicago’s wise guys, Johnson’s new contribution will be the
go-to reference on Outfit violence for years to come,” said Gus Russo, author
of The Outfit and Supermob.
Media Note: Wayne Johnson is available for
interviews. For more information, please contact Kim Pohl, Media Relations
Manager, at 847.925.6159 or kpohl@harpercollege.edu.
WAYNE JOHNSON
Wayne A. Johnson served on the
Chicago Police Department for 25 years and in his last assignment, supervised
the Analytical Unit of the Intelligence Section, Organized Crime Division. He
was then appointed Chief Investigator for the legendary Chicago Crime
Commission, holding the position originally created by celebrated criminal
investigator Virgil Peterson. Johnson investigated and monitored the Chicago
Mob during his five years at the Commission. His work led to his recruitment as
the only Superintendent of Police/Inspector General for the town of Cicero.
Johnson earned his Doctor of Education degree from Northern Illinois University
and Master of Science degree in Criminal-Social Justice from Lewis University
in Romeoville. He now serves as associate professor and program coordinator of
Law Enforcement programs at Harper College. Johnson is a nationally recognized
investigative and educational consultant for law enforcement and the security
industry and has lectured extensively on organized crime, homicide
investigations, criminal profiling, violence in the workplace and gang crimes.
National authority on organized crime writes book on Chicago mob murders
National
authority on organized crime writes book on Chicago mob murders
Dr.
Wayne Johnson to speak at Harper College reception
PALATINE,
IL – From Chicago’s original gangsters to the Outfit’s decline in recent years,
Dr. Wayne Johnson is well-versed in the organized crime that long ensnared the
city. Now coordinator of Harper College’s law enforcement programs and widely
considered a top authority on the subject, Johnson has written A History of
Violence: An Encyclopedia of 1,400 Chicago Mob Murders.
Harper
will host a reception celebrating the book launch at noon Tuesday, April 15,
in the lower level of the library on the College’s main campus, 1200 W.
Algonquin Road, Palatine. Johnson will give a presentation on the state of
organized crime in Chicago followed by a brief question-and-answer session and
book signing. The event is open to the public.
The
300-plus page tome is the product of painstaking research into newspaper
articles, police reports, coroners’ reports and other archives over a 14-year
period.
“I
really wanted to dig in on this because every one of these cases deserves to be
investigated and solved,” Johnson said. “To let them just disappear into
history would be a disservice to everyone involved.”
Johnson
credits two Harper students for their contributions. Daniella Boyd designed the
cover art for A History of Violence by reproducing in charcoal a real
morgue photo of Sam Giancana, one of the most notorious mob bosses in history.
Jackie Cooney wrote a research paper that led Johnson to discover a group of
killings that fit the book’s criteria.
“Coming
from someone who has fought in the trenches against Chicago’s wise guys,
Johnson’s new contribution will be the go-to reference on Outfit violence for
years to come,” said Gus Russo, author of The Outfit and Supermob.
Media Note: Wayne Johnson is available
for interviews. For more information, please contact Kim Pohl, Media Relations
Manager, at 847.925.6159 or kpohl@harpercollege.edu.
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