Evening star., 1951-04-06
Rucketeers
Continued From First Page.)

enced Florida elections. A
Cleveland syndicate has run
gambling clubs without fear of
the law in Northern Kentucky.
An Illinois crowd has MAIN
tanned a flourishing whisky
smuggling business in dry
Southern States.
1t was New York Racketeer
Costello who brought slot ma
chimes to Louisiana. And many
communities have suddenly
awakened to find their whisky
laws changed and slot machines
operating legally.
Opening the door for the
overlords of crime are their
local connections-the men who
do live in John Q.'s town.
Racket money does the rest.
Syndicates Criss- Cross.
The Kefauver hearings have
shown how the crime syndicates
criss-cross the country. how the
same names crop up in Sara
toga, N. Y. and Detroit, in Cov-
ington, KY, and Las Vegas,
New; in. Chicago and Miami
Beach; in Los Angeles and Dali
las. Tex.
The committee has heard
about periodic meetings of big
league racketeers in Hot
Springs, Ark, in Miami and in
New Orleans. A West Coast
mobster's notebook listed the pri.
vate telephone numbers of under.
world characters all over the
country. And when the televisec
racketeers did any talking at all
they admitted knowing Other
racketeers operating in a dozer
different cities.
Many of these friendships were
born during the Prohibition era
when bootlegging was the maiI
source of revenue for the gang.
sters. but gambling, prostitution
and dope traffic were profitable
sidelines. Some of these gangsters
particularly the Chicago crowd
kept their interstate organizations
intact when they went legitimate
and got whisky distributorships.
Easy Means of Communication.
The race wire service has alsc
been means of easy communica.
ton between the gambling syndi-
Gates. The committee has accu.
mulated a raft of evidence tt
indicate that the Continental Wire
Service has fallen into the hands
of the Capone syndicate-not or
the surface but underground. The
Continental Wire Service is in the
legal business of supplying rapio
race results. Without this fast
news from the tracks. the larger
bookie operations cannot exist
But Continental contends it simply
news to it's subscribers anc
has nothing to do with it there
after.
The fact remains, however, thai
when Chicago associate of the
Capone syndicate wanted to be.
come a partner in Florida bookie
enterprise and the Florida Grove
proved stubborn, the Floridian!
lost their race wire service. Wher
the service was restored two week.
later. the Chicago man had hi
partnership.
On another level of cross
country cooperation are the mer
who enforce the laws for the silk
gloved racketeers. The commit
tee believes they are members O.
Malta, the notorious Sicilian or
ganization of killers all extor
tionists. Regardless of whethel
Malta does exist in this country
though, these men do know eacl
other. And there are signs O
their activities all over tn,
country.
Killings Never Solved.
If Tampa gambler wants tt
eliminate a rival, he flies to New
Orleans and makes arrangements
or he calls a friend in KanSa
City. The committee found evi
dence that the shotgun used il
one Tampa killing was bought il
New Orleans and the car uset
in another one came from -Kansa
City. Killings attributed to Mafi;
but never solved-have occurred
in California and Chicago, al
though the offenses against tn
underworld took place in Kansa
City.
The committee found that il
city after city. the murders fol
lowed the same pattern, whicl
suggests the killers wanted to in
timidate others by advertisin
their enforcement" techniques.
| Interstate links also operat
through long distance telephon