The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1951-11-02

him until the final week Of our
scheduled public hearings.
Guzik Is q manipulation rather than
a muscle man; he acquired his
nickname-Greasy Thumb from
the fact that he was business man.
ager and pay-off man for Al Ca
pone.
It is a strange quirk of gangdom
that these two men should be part
ners and joint leaders Of the Ca
pone syndicate. Police records show
that Accardo was picked up in 1945
for questioning about a gang style
kidnapping Of Guzik, who reputedly
had to pay $4,000 to regain his
freedom. Nothing ever came Of
this episode, for Guzik stoutly in
sisted it was just misunderstood
ing over q business transaction.
We didn't learn much directly
from either. Accardo answered only
a few elementary questions refusing
even to tell about things already
part Of police and court records.
The gray-visaged Guzik was
worse. When we asked him his age,
he refused to answer on the grounds
that 1t might ''incriminate me or
tend to incriminate me-" After he
had parroted this monotonous phrase
some 80 times, Senator Wiley asked
II he had consulted a lawyer; Gu
xix answered that he had not.
where did you get this phrase
you have been using all the timer"
asked Senator Wiley.
II have heard It on television,"
Guzik replied.
Though we did not learn much
from Guzik and Accardo, we learned
a good deal about them. One topic
we explored was their shadowy as
ISOLATION with policy Wheel oper-
alton.
In ChicagO's teeming Negro dis
trict, policy wheels''-a variety Of
the numbers racket in which are
daily drawings for combinations Of
winning numbers-have come to be
big business. An estimated SIS Bill
lion has been played on them in
the past five years. Operations Of
this magnitude, Of course, could
not exist without graft being paid
to dishonest police for protection.
There Is q melancholy moral in
this when one considers that the
staggering sum is amassed from the
nickels, dimes and quarters Of the
inhabitants Of some Of the worst
slums in America. There are num-
erous wheels operating-with fanci-
full names such as the Roman
Silver" the "Calcutta-Green Drag
on" the Jackpot Whirlaway.Ala-
bama-Georgia."
The Capone mob, Of course, could
not keep its hands off such a boz
nanza. Coincidentally, numerous in
stances of violence - kidnapings,
bombings and such-began cropping
up.
One witness we summoned was
Edward Jones, a one-time Pull
man porter. He was a partner with
his wife, mother, brother and two
other men in a policy wheel known
as 1.-THE Maine, Idaho and Ohio"
It's net profits, 1916 through 1949,
came to $3,656, 1892.
In 1916, Ed Jones was kidnapped
and held until his family paid $780,
600 ransom. Even though five years
had elapsed since the kidnapping at
the time we questioned him, the ex-
porter, who wore a huge starsap-
phire ring, was exceedingly tim
orous. He insisted he did not even
know whether his abductors were
white persons or Negroes because
they were 'blind-folded" at the
time.
Whether Jones was kidnapped sole
ly for ransom, or whether it was a
muscle" operation whereby gang
sters took over part of the business,
never has been established. Jones
himself denies that the "Main-Ida-
ho-Ohio" has been ''muscled." How
ever, Ed Jones and his brother,
George-though each continues to
draw a 20 per cent share Of the
profits-have lived in Mexico City
since the kidnapping.
Our Chicago hearings also pro-
vided a case history Of how a
one-time hoodlum can establish him
self in a legitimate business and
become enormously wealthy. The
case was that Of Joseph Charles
(Joe) Fusco, 48, now the operating
vice-president Of Gold Seal Liquors,
Inc. Wholesale distributors), 9
stockholde- in four other liquor
distributing companies and part
owner Of brewery.
From sales volume standpoint,
Fusco boosted Gold Seal was Chi.
Cages mo. T. dealer. His own mel
worth was possibly 100000 and
the book value Of Gold Seal alone,