The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1951-12-14

Cuckoo gang, the so-called Green
Dagoes, composed largely Of Sicili-
ans, and a gang of Americans OF
Italian descent.
An off-shoot Of the Sicilian mob
was the Pillow gang, so named be-
cause its leader, Carmelo Fresina,
once was shot in the buttocks and
thereafter carried a pillow with
him to use when he sat. Eventual
ly, Fresina, an extortionist and
bootlegger, was dispatched with two
bullets in the head and no longer
needed his pillow.
In Central and Southern Illinois,
two infamous mobs-the Skeletons
and the Birgers-operated.
We cleaned an indication Of the
magnitude Of book-making from
testimony of Gambler J. J. Carroll.
The 64-year-old Carroll, engaged in
some form Of horse-betting activi-
ties since he was IL, admitted that
the Carroll-Mooney boolzmaking op-
eration-with huge wire rooms in
st. Louis, Mo-, and East st. Louis,
Il.-handles ''in excess Of $50, 000,-
000'' a year in bets. Profits come
to approximately $3.50, 600, and his
own take is approximately $780,
900 a year.
Carroll seemed to have q char
acteristic in common with Frank
Costello. Costello, a racketeer,
wanted to pose as a business man.
Carroll, a gambler, glorified him
self with the title Of betting COM
missioner"
It was Carroll who. in st. Louis,
became the first witness to decline
to testify before the television ca
meras. ''The whole proceeding out
RACES my sense Of propriety," said
Mr.. Carroll, walking out. ! prom
ised him I would recommend that
he be prosecuted for contempt. To
avoid this, Carroll later came to
Washington at his own expense to
testify. We had more trouble there
but managed to get it over by keep
ing the cameras off his face.
Another huge st. Louis operation
was c. J. Rich & Co., a clearing
house for bets on major sports, OPP
Grating under the guise Of gold
bronzing company. We questioned
two partners in this outfit, Charles
]. (Kewpie) Rich and Sidney Wy
man. Wyman was a dark, heavy-set
man who put on great show of
Scowling ferociously as he taxed
his memory for answers to our
questions. "Kewpie" Rich was
pudgy, roundfaced, unhappy looking
soul, who in appearance lived up to
his nickname.
Neither would quite admit they
were in the gambling business. So
we compromised by discussion their
business as Operation x" Their
company is less coy. Among other
things, we introduced as evidence a
circular openly distributed by Rich
& Co. which said: I'VE do not re-
strict our transactions solely to
racing. We would gladly handle
wagers on all other sporting events,
including baseball, football, fights
and elections :"
Wyman started off by telling us
that Operation X'' crossed about
1000. 900 a year; after he left the
stand, he sent in word through his
attorney that he was wrong and the
correct figure would be $4,000, 900
to $4,000, 900.
L asked the Russian-born Rich
why he never had become an Amer
lean citizen. He answered he had
applied 'many a time" but had
been turned down repeatedly.
asked why. He unhappily replied:
ION account of the business l par
ticipate in"
One aspect of both the Rich-Wy-
man and Carroll Mooney Grady OPP
Grafton that gave the committee
particular concern was the admitted
involvement of the Western Union
Telegraph Co.
A raid on the Rich company store
house turned up a card index Of
between 100 and $50 names Of West
ern Union agents throughout the
United States who acted secretly as
betting agents for the Rich & Co.
The Western Union employees were
given "gratuities" to handle and,
in some cases, solicit bets in their
communities for Rich. Some even
were paid q percentage OF Rich's
winnings as commission.
Western Union, of course, found
the gambling account highly lucra-
tive. Rich & Co. received 500 to
1000 kilograms day. In May, 1850,
alone, its telegraph bill was $26, 700.
The Carroll-Mooney-Grady opera
ton was worth $77.749 to Western
Union in 1850.
Our committee report said: Zone
wonders whether the Western I'm.
ions obliviousness to its public re.
sponsibility not to permit its facili-
ties to be used in violation of state
law. was in part due to the fact vii.
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