The Wilmington morning star., 1947-03-25
As Pegler Sees 1t
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER
Copyright, by King Features Syndicate, In

into the United States in the guise of a hero
of the war was too raw and has been frus-
trated. 1t was useful, however, as a dramatic
illustration of the public relations work that
is carried on by the crooks of the underworld
and the amusement trade through publicity
planted in the papers and on the radio. Re-
leased from prison in New York and deported
to Italy, Luciano headed back and got as far
as Havana, which this winter has been a
alternating place for much of that element
Of thieves, crooners, joke-book comedians,
professional gamblers .and prostitutes and
their barg aiming agents whom J. Edgar Hoo
yer once happily described as the criminal
scum. There Luciano found himself among
old collea CUES from New York, Hollywood,
Chicago and Miami and a sympathetic dele
cation of those professional sycophants of our
journalism who feel honored, and are, by So
cial recognition from such.
1t is unnecessary to ask ourselves why men
who constantly associate with such vermin in
the technical role of reporters never break
any legitimate news of their corrupt activ-
tiles but confine themselves instead to pub
licity about them. They are compromised by
the hospitality which they accept and, in most
cases, are afraid 20 write what they know.
They are not neWspapermen in the eyes Of
legitimate newspaper workers, and good re-
porters, who make much less money, could
cover the same beat and bring in genuine
news, instead of fawning prattle, so much
of it exploiting the grace of charity to create
artificial character and public favor for gang
sters. Unfortunately for the entertainment in
dustry and the culture of the country the
abandonment of the theatre has abolished the
play and acting except in New York, Chicago
and a few other large cities. Therefore,, most
Of those VIII nowadays work at the trade
called show business are shillabers for gamb-
ling dumps, run by notorious characters in
collision with crooked politicians. They fol-
low a fairly well defined circuit form New
York to Saratoga to Atlantic City to Holly
wood to the Miamis, Havana and Las Vegas.
The Chicago scum operate one of the most
renowned dives in Florida and Buggsy Siegal,
the intimate friend of George Raft and Leo
Durocher, the manager of the Brooklyn Dod-
gers, is now in a way to take over the gov
eminent of the sovereign state of Nevada.
Performers, some of them decent enough in
their private characters, others low, coarse
and confirmed in the psychology of their ma
tive underworld, dispense their queer talents
IN resorts which seem to pay fabulous wages
out of the profits of the gambling rooms.
They are praised, quoted and celebrated con-
stantly in print and by radio and in one
startling case an uncommonly nasty gutter
snipe has been built into a sort of Pied Piper
of the United States and a leader of Ameri-
can youth but leading them in the direction
of the juvenile courts.
- L nluCQ OF tHlS our newspapers can pc
blamed. For all our experience and our I'M
spoken knowledge of realities we neverthe-
less do create fake heroes whom he know to
be false and we have some responsibility for
the cult of bewildered little chippies, most of
them mere children, who 60 into Mysteries
in public and sometimes hang around hotels
and saloons all night, like flies around some
thing dead, to glimpse this kind of trash. We
have even permitted a few of these sordid
frauds tn ha foictoJ On OI1rco1Jpc and fhroI,Gh |
us, on the public, as respectable advocates
of tolerance democracy and 'opportun-
ity." The underworld of the prohibition era
is thriving again with many old personalities
and many new ones and the earnings from
radio, the gambling houses and the movies.
in which many of the personnel are equally at
home, are so great that conspicuous perform
ers are operated as properties, on shares, like
Primo Camera when he was in the hands of
the Owney Madden mob.
The tolerance or hospitality of the Cuban
police toward the scum this year is in inter
esting contrast to their austere attitude to-
ward AL Capone in 1881 when Machado was
their president and Herbert Hoover was ours.
One of the great gambling dives, ornate. to
be sure, but a meeting ground of the scum
and the Jeeter Testers Of our so-called cafe
society, was operated this winter by a New
York dive-keeper who has always enjoyed a
most friendly press and now appeared as a
bosom friend of Luciano. Indeed, he may
have been the public relations genius who
started the propaganda to get hi memnesty
in the United States and a new charter in
the narcotics trade He said Luciano. was a
good kid" repentant of his old errors, go
ing straight and a great hero of the war who |
had saved the live sof thousands of Ameri-
cans by organizing an underground welcome
for them when they invaded Sicily. This was
the same propaganda that came back in the
guise of special Intelligence from the corps
of experts in this field only to be repudiated, !
however, by all competent authorities.
When Capone went to Havana by private
plane in the winter Of 1881, attended by eight
of his gorillas. his mission was to buy 1000
cases of whiskey in storage at Ell Caney.
The A. P. tipped Oft its resident correspon-
dent. a Mr.. Knoblaugh, and he went with
Gerald SWinehart, an American employed by /
the Cuban National Tourist Commission, to
call on Capone at the Seville Biltmore.
Capone demurred slightly at first but after
persuasion agreed to stand for a news
photograph. He descended to the lobby and
Pope Garcia, a news photographer, was draw
ing a bead when the gorillas of the first
landed on him. Mr.. Garcia is now an
officer in the Army of Cuba.
News of this reached Jose Medina. the as
sistant chief of the secret police. Unknown
to others, Mr.. Medina was also an agent of
the United States Secret Service, and Presi-
dent Hoover did not admire Capone. Capone
and company got into their car but in a few
minutes were escorted to Jefetura where half
a dozen Cuban policeman played jai alai with
the main baboon. batting him from one to
another and playing caroms off the walls. His
dignity was demolished by half an hour of
Ibis ignominious scrimmage and he sent his
apologies to Mr. Garcia.
II Capone and the mob then were thrown
aboard his plane and headed back to Miami
where word of his adventure and sudden re-
turn had been wired ahead to all the press
associations and the papers. He did not move
his 1000 cases out of Cuba on that occasion,