Evening star., 1951-05-01
Special Federal
Units Proposed
For Cleanup
BY Miriam Gutenberg

The Senate Crime Investigating
Committee today called for the
creation of big racket squad in
the Justice Department to spear
head Nationwide war on organi-
lied crime.
AT the same time, the committee
made it clear that the States
and cities must take action them
selves to rid their communities of
bribe- taking police and corrupt
politicians.
| The committee, in it's long
awaited report. found that the
Nations top-level mobsters escape
prose secution and punishment
through what is popularly known
as the fix"
To get at the racketeers with
Federal weapons, the committee
proposed nearly a score of new
laws aimed largely at taking the
profit out of crime.
Gangs "Firmly Entrenched."
From it's coast-to-coast hear
ings, the committee concluded
that:
Organized gangs are firmly en-
| trenched" in the Nations large
cities. ",
A sinister criminal organization
known as the Malta, or BLACK
hand" operates throughout the
country. binding together the two
major crime syndicates. Hun
dreds of murders throughout the
country are attributed to it's gang
of killers.
Legalized gambling would not
end the reign of the gangsters
over the gambling business.
Politicians Sabotage Enforcement
Wide-open gambling and other
racketeering is supported by "out-
and-out corruption in many
places" !"
In many wide-open commune
ties, so-called political leaders and
law-enforcement officials have
sabotaged the efforts of civic
minded citizens to combat crime
and corruption.
A number Of lawyers in various
parts of the country have become
Ipart of the criminal conspiracy OF
their clients.
| Organized criminals have gone
into a variety of legitimate busi-
nesses and in some cases have
used gangster methods of intimi-
dation and violence to gain mo-
nopolies.
Business Contracts Awarded.
i In some instances legitimate
businessmen have awarded lush
contracts to mobsters in return fol-
help in combating union organiza-
tion and breaking strikes.
i The narcotics traffic has fallen
into the hands of some of the most
l"astute. willy and desperate" inter-
state criminals.
Law enforcement has broken
down in many of the communities
visited by the committee.
/ The most shocking revelations
of the committee testimony is
"the extent of official corruption
and connivance in facilitating ano
promoting organized crime.
The leading gangs cooperate
with each other to silence inform
ers, eliminate local competitors
and persuade potential victims tt
do their bidding.
Civic efforts to remove and pun
ish officials for obvious acts OF
malfeasance are often nullified by
Ijuries which refuse to recognize
the evil of their behavior.
Crime Commission Proposed.
Along with the new racket squad
the committee called for a Fed
eral Crime Commission as the
watchdog over law enforcement
and as a national clearing house
for information on Interstate
criminal activities.
The committee trained it's heavy
guns on the gamblers. but also
called for legislation aimed di-
rectly at ridding the country o1
Iforeign-born racketeers, tighten
ing the narcotics laws and clear
ing the mobsters out of the liquor
and transportation industries.
/ In every city it visited, the COM
mittee reported. it found evidence
of corrupt law enforcement off,
GERS and connivance with Grim
inal gangs. In some cities. the
) Senators said, law enforcement Of
ficers aided and protected gang
vnYHRD nora