For me a sharper guy was Longy Zwillman out of Newark. But unfortunately he too met an untimely demise. He hung himself in the basement of his home. He was at the top of his game when he did. Makes he wonder if somebody didn't help him along with that rope.
It's ironic that most people who remember the Kefauver hearings (1950-51) think Frank Costello was the top mobster largely because he allowed himself (actually his hands and voice) to be televised. But when the hearings concluded, Kefauver identified Zwillman as America's top illegal gambling czar.
Zwillman wasn't at the top of his game when he died. He had gotten a hung jury in a Federal income tax trial and was facing another trial for jury tampering in the tax case. His health was declining and he was suffering from depression. His hanging was suspicious, but suicide was the accepted verdict largely because the Essex County chief investigator, Brendan Byrne (later Governor) affirmed it--he had a reputation for honesty.
Zwillman was a huge figure in OC, had a lot of legitimate businesses, and was a power in the Democratic Party.
