Evening star., 1950-07-08
Crime Probers Listino
Firms Taken Over
|By Rich Rackefeers

Senate crime hunters today
pursued further data on a fresh
angle of their investigation-the
infiltration Of racketeers into
legitimate business.
Chairman Kefauver of the SEN
| ate Crime Investigating Commit
tee said a confidential list fur
nished the committee by Virgil
Peterson, Chicago crime expert,
will be enlarged by staff investi-
gators.
The list contains the names of
about 80 legitimate business firms
in which racketeers allegedly have
bought interests or own outright.
Mr.. Peterson. operating direc-
tor of the Chicago Crime Com
mission, said he had been unable
to get the records proving def
nitely that mobsters have gone
into these firms. The committee,
however, could subpoena these
records.
Has Political Angle.
Senator Kefauver said the COM
mittee is interested because of the
political influence that might be
used. He explained a politician,
receiving some request from a
firm with a high-sounding name,
might not know the request ac-
tually stemmed from underworld
elements.
Mr.. Peterson told the committee
|racketeers who get into legitimate
business frequently resort to their
old gangster methods to cope with
the competition.
The list was kept confidential,
Senator Kefauver said, because
some firms without gangster con-
nections might have been included.
He indicated the committee al
ready had started work in this
field before Mr.. Peterson furnished
his list.
Half in Chicago.
About half the firms on the list
are located in Chicago, and a SUBJ
stantial number are Florida COM
panies. Included are breweries,
juke box distributors. laundry and
dry cleaning establishments, ho-
tells, garages, whisky distributors,
importers, retail stores and manu-
featuring firms. Their gross as
sets. Mr.. Peterson said, run into
millions of dollars.
Mr.. Peterson said the mobsters
are inclined to go into the busi-
nesses that will make them the
fastest money, but he added that
some Of them take their tremen-
dous wealth and invest it in hotels
for long-term income.
After spending most Of two days
outlining the criss-crossed pattern
Of gang-controlled territories, Mr..
Peterson gave the committee these
conclusions:
Organized crime groups exist
only where local authorities per-
NIT them to get foothold.
Dictate enforcement.
They can become entrenched
only by making alliances with
public officials. which put law vio.
lators in position to dictate to
law enforcers.
The mob bosses who obtain pro-
lection for gamblers are the same
ones to whom burglars, kidnap-
pers and other felons look for
protection.
Political contributions are re-
garded by gangsters as an invest
ment in getting the kind of law
enforcement-or lack of it-that
they want. The same applies to
the legislators who write or block
laws affecting underworld opera
tionS.
While Mr.. Peterson devoted most
Of his testimony to giving the Sen
ators the criminal background and
associations of underworld char
acters. he became very current at
one point.
He said that Jack I. Dragna
West Coast underworld boss, had
been getting a $500 week payofi
from the Illinois Sports News, q
race news distributor, and then
was cut of the payroll.
Last week, Mr.. Peterson re-
ported, Dragna came to Chicago
with the aVoWed PURPOSE of get