A friend of my is working on a Bachelor paper right now. She wants to do a research on the influence of initmidation on politicians (local or national). Does anyone know good books about that subject or other information sources? It shouldn't be bribery or something, just intimidation/threatening.

If you're talking about intimidation of politicians by organized crime groups, you won't find much of that in the U.S. Bribery, blackmail, yes. But not usually threats. Plenty of that in other countries though.

Yeah I know, but I have a lot of bookies about world wide maffia and OC but none of them has info.

Most close is 'Don Vito, mayor of Palermo'.

Nobody any info? Turnbull, DonCardi anyone?

It is rare but it has happened in the past. The first example that comes to mind is the public beating (kicking?) that Capone gave to the mayor of Cicero when he did something that Capone didn't like.

http://www.mail-archive.com/ctrl@listserv.aol.com/msg95404.html

Then there was the Outfit takeover of the black policy rackets in the forties and fifties, which saw intimidation directed at a number of politicians.

http://www.uic.edu/orgs/kbc/ganghistory/Ghetto/Blackmafia.pdf



I seem to remember another Black political leader in Chicago having a similar issue in the early sixties but I can't recall the name now.

Some people mutter that the Leon Jordan murder was mob related.
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/10/31/2375644/evidence-points-to-mob-associates.html

Then of course we can talk about Anton Cermak, who did try to eliminate Nitti and was assassinated himself shortly afterwards in what may have been a pure coincidence..

I don't know of any book that ties all this together. If you look beyond "traditional" organized crime I know you can find tons of examples of such threats or intimidation.

I would guess that to the extent that an organization's political power or wealth swells, the less that they need to rely on cruder tactics. But if no one is looking and it's a small time politician or a particularly stupid or irritated criminal, why not?

At least this is something she can look after. Thanks Lilo!

I would suggest to her to go to her University Library and use the Lexis Nexxus search engine to get access to the US House and US Senate Comittee reports.

There have been several Committee's over the last 70 years dealing with corruption, and you can find stories of intimidation in there as well.

I have read several of the Kefauver reports and some of those politicians were scared as hell, and threatened.

As Lilo suggested, I think the Chicago Outfit was more into intimidation than the NY guys. There was a governor in Missouri that was elected with Mob influence that you can read about as well. Other candidates were told not to run via intimidation.

Plenty of American politicians have been corrupted by the Mob, and probably plenty have been intimidated. But, naturally, none will admit it. And, not many politicians have been investigated and have been found guilty of association with the Mob, either as victims or as takers of bribes. One reason is that the people who are charged with investigations or prosecutions are, in most cases, elected officials--in the US, most District Attorneys (state and local chief prosecutors) are elected rather than appointed to office. They, too, can be corrupted or intimidated by the Mob, and so they would find themselves vulnerable if they prosecuted other elected officials vigorously.

There was a celebrated case in the early 1950's in New York City. The Mayor of New York, William O'Dwyer, faced allegations of having been complicit in the "accidental" death of Abraham "Kid Twist" Reles, a key witness against organized crime boss Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, while O'Dwyer was District Attorney of Brooklyn; and of having received political favors and influence from Frank Costello, called "The Prime Minister of the Underworld." President Truman rescued him by appointing him US Ambassador to Mexico.

Hope that helps, Floors.

Another example is a former campaign manager for President Truman admitted that he got the United States Board of Parole to free Paul Ricca, Louis Campagna, Charles Gioe and Phil D'Andrea, all well-known mobsters, after serving one-third of their ten-year sentences for extortion.

I had heard that the Outfit had somehow gotten to this guy, and he had a simple decision: get these guys out early or .... (probably a visit from Mad Sam).

I can't believe I forgot about this..just too busy lately I guess but what about the Philly family's murder of Judge Edwin Helfant back in 1978, when he took a bribe and supposedly didn't deliver his end of the deal.

This is starting to look like something. I'm going to forward the link to her.

@Turnbull: that one I knew myself, but totally forgotten

Ok, the fellow I was thinking about in Chicago was Ben Lewis, a recently elected black alderman who was selling insurance to his constituents in competition with syndicate backed people who already had that business locked up. Lewis was murdered in 1963.

Bill Granata and Charles Gross were also politicians or would-be politicians who ran afoul of the Outfit and were removed from this world.

More to be found here. Many more than I remembered. It looks like Chicago really did play by a more brutal set of rules than NY.