In 1951, John Patton was questioned by the U.S. Crime Commission hearings in Washington, D.C. aka the Kefauver Committee. Here are few quite interesting snippets from the hearings:

The Chairman: Mr. Patton, please. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you will give this committee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?

Mr. Patton. I do.

Mr. Halley. What is your full name, please?

Mr. Patton. John Patton.

Mr. Halley. Where do you live?

Mr. Patton. 14200 Av, Burnham, Ill.

Mr. Halley. How long have you lived there?

Mr. Patton. About 64 years.

Ml- Halley. Mr. Patton, before we get into your further testimony, can you tell me why the committee had so much trouble serving a subpoena on you over a period of almost 6 months?

Mr. Patton. I don't know.

Mr. Halley. We sent our investigators to your home.

Mr. Patton. Yes.

Mr. Halley. We were always told you were not home and nobody knew where to reach you.

Mr. Patton. Your investigators came there three times.

Mr. Halley. We telephoned frequently.

Mr. Patton. No, now, wait a minute. Let me tell it.

Mr. Halley. Go ahead and tell it your way.

Mr. Patton. I was home there several times when they told me that the investigators just left. I didn't go looking for them. I seen the mail man every day, either at the farm or at the house, and I wasn't away. I might have been away 5 or 6 days during that period.

Mr. Halley. Do you have a radio at your home?

Mr. Patton. Yes, sir.

Mr Halley. Wasn't the radio carrying stories daily that this committee was looking for you?

Mr. Patton. I have seen it in the papers, but I don't believe everything in the papers. After I came in here, I seen by the papers where you people were out to get me arrested.

Mr. Halley. Do you believe it now?

Mr. Patton. No, sir. I don't believe the papers.

Mr. Halley. Do you believe that we want to talk to you now?

Mr. Patton. I presume that you did want to talk to me.

Mr. Halley. Did you have any reason for not wanting to talk to the committee?

Mr. Patton. Not a thing.

Mr. Halley. In effect, you were just ducking it deliberately?

Mr. Patton. No, I wasn't.

Mr. Halley. That one day you read in the papers the committee was going to get out a warrant of arrest for you, is that right?

Mr. Patton. I’ve seen that several times.

Mr. Halley. Is that when you decided to come in?

Mr. Patton. I didn't come in. I waited until you sent me a letter to come in.

Mr. Halley. We sent you a registered letter?

Mr. Patton. Yes, and I went and received it.

Mr. Halley. That was a foolish thing to do,

Mr. Patton. Are you advising me it was foolish?

Mr. Halley. That is how we got service on you, isn't it?

Mr. Patton. Yes.

Mr. Halley. Mr. Patton, what are your present business interests?

Mr. Patton. Well, trying to get rid of you fellows is my principal business, but I haven't been doing much this summer except staying on the farm. I keep on buying a few cattle and trying to sell them.

Mr. Halley. Do you own any stock in any company?

Mr. Patton. Yes, sir I own some stock in the Miami Beach Kennel Club, and the one at Tampa.

Mr. Halley. Your son owns stock in them, too?

Mr. Patton. He owns stock in Tampa. And I think that is all of the stock I got any place.

Mr. Halley. Jacksonville Kennel Club?

Mr. Patton. No.

Mr. Halley. Sportsman's Park?

Mr. Patton. No.

Mr. Halley. National Jockey Club?

Mr. Patton. No.

Mr. Halley. Does your son own stock in that?

Mr. Patton. Yes, sir.

Mr. Halley. Do you have any other business interests?

Mr. Patton. I got an interest in a farm.

Mr. Halley. What are you worth today, Mr. Patton?

Mr. Patton. Oh, I don't know, three, four hundred thousand, maybe ; it depends a lot on the market.

Mr. Halley. It could be more?

Mr. Patton. Could be more.

Mr. Halley. You used to be the famous boy mayor of Burnham?

Mr. Patton. I don't know anything about being famous, but I was the mayor of Burnham, the president of the village of Burnham.

Mr. Halley. You are working at being famous right now; aren't you?

Mr. Patton. No, sir; no, sir.

Mr. Halley. When were you mayor of Burnham?

The Chairman. He wasn't; he was president of the village.

Mr. Patton. President of the village of Burnham for about 38 or
40 years.

Mr. Halley. For that whole length of time?

Mr. Patton. Yes.

Mr. Halley. How did you get to know Al Capone?

Mr. Patton. I don't know how I got to know him. I got to know him ; that's all.

Mr. Halley. You were pretty good friends?

Mr. Patton. I guess I was all right with him.

Mr. Halley. Was he all right with you?

Mr. Patton. As far as I am concerned, yes.

Mr. Halley. Did you know Frank Nitti?

Mr. Patton. Yes, sir.

Mr. Halley. Eddie O'Hare?

Mr. Patton. Yes, sir.

Mr. Halley. They were all one crowd; weren’t they?

Mr. Patton. How do you mean, "one crowd"?

Mr. Halley. Well, they were a gang of rumrunners, weren’t they bootleggers?

Mr. Patton. I don't know whether they were bootleggers. I don’t think Eddie O'Hare was a bootlegger. I didn't know Eddie until later around 1928. I don't know what he did in St. Louis. He was a lawyer and I can't keep track of lawyers, you know.

Mr. Halley. I hope the lawyers can keep track of you from now on.

Mr. Patton. Oh, they have did it pretty well.

Mr. Halley. Well, this one had a hard time up to today, tell me, you can't have any doubts that Capone and Nitti were in the beer- running business?

Mr. Patton. No, I have no doubts.

Mr. Halley. Was Frank Nitti connected with the dog tracks?

Mr. Patton. Yes.

Mr. Halley. You are talking now about which race track?

Mr. Patton. Sportsman's Park.

Mr. Halley. He was up there with Eddie O'Hare; is that right?

Mr. Patton. Yes.

Mr. Halley. Was Larry McCullough an associate of Capone's?

Mr. Patton. No; Bob never hung around much with them Italian fellows at all.

Mr. Halley. Well, weren't you?

Mr. Patton. He might have been with them at times, a lot of times, but he never did that.

Mr. Halley. How did Bill Johnston get into the set-up with you and Eddie O'Hare?

Mr. Patton. Oh, Bill Johnston, first time I knew Bill Johnston he was bookkeeper at the barns, back there for the horsemen.

Mr. Halley. What happened with respect to the Miami Kennel Club? Who took over control of that after O'Hare died?

Mr. Patton. Well, Charlie Bidwell and I imagine he got some of Eddie's…it was Bidwell and Johnston.

Mr. Halley. Bidwell and Johnston?

Mr. Patton. Yes.

Mr. Halley. What interest did you have?

Mr. Patton. I don't know how much I had there — about as much as they had.

Mr. Halley. And between the three of you, you ran the track?

Mr. Patton. Yes.

Mr. Halley. Have you been active in politics in Florida?

Mr. Patton. No, sir, no.

Mr. Halley. Did you talk to Bill Johnston about the contribution he made to Fuller Warren's campaign in 1948?

Mr. Patton. Yes.

Mr. Halley. Did you contribute any money to it?

Mr. Patton. No, sir; and I will tell you why, because I was sick; maybe I would have gotten into it, but I was sick in bed about that time. I had a heart attack, and I had three nurses, and they weren't bothering me much when I was down there.

Mr. Halley. What did Johnston say to you about his idea of financing this campaign for Fuller Warren?

Mr. Patton. He was always a little nutty about Fuller Warren, He thought he was going to be the next President of the United States, I suppose.

Mr. Halley. Did he talk about what it would mean to him, Bill Johnston, or to you, John Patton, if Fuller Warren was elected?

Mr. Patton. It didn't mean anything to me. I don't know what it meant to him. I didn't want to be made a colonel. Bill is a colonel, I think.

Mr. Halley. Well, did it mean anything else to him?

Mr. Patton [shrugging shoulders] I don't know.

Mr. Halley. Of course, it would make him a pretty influential fellow in the State of Florida?

Mr. Patton. Sure.

Mr. Halley. There was no doubt about that?

Mr. Patton. Sure. I know if I gave him that much money I would want to talk to him.

Mr. Halley. It was a big political contribution?

Mr. Patton. Yes, sure, that is it.

Mr. Halley. Did he ask you to put any money into it?

Mr. Patton. No, he didn't.

Mr. Halley. After Fuller Warren was elected, did you have any discussion?

Mr. Patton. No.

Mr. Halley. Do you know Tony Accardo?

Mr. Patton. His name was Batters when I knew him.

Mr. Halley. Joe Batters?

Mr. Patton. Yes, sir that is what I know him by.

Mr. Halley. By the way, do you know Fuller Warren?

Mr. Patton. Sure.

Mr. Halley. Pretty well?

Mr. Patton. Well, I know him enough to talk to him and say hello to him.

Mr. Halley. How well do you know Joe Batters?

Mr. Patton. Just to know that that was his name, Joe Batters, and sometimes if I would meet him I would forget what his name was.

Mr. Halley. How well did you know the Fischettis?

Mr. Patton. Well, I knew them longer than I knew Batters, and I didn't know them any too good.

Mr. Halley. Was Batters in the gambling business?

Mr. Patton. Not to my knowledge, until I seen it in the newspapers, now it looks that way.

Mr. Halley. Did you know Guzik, Jack Guzik?

Mr. Patton. Oh, sure, sure, sure.

Mr. Halley. Pretty well?

Mr. Patton. I think I knew Guzik, yes, I knew him longer than I know the rest of them, yes.

Mr. Halley. Well, I think you have been pretty frank. In fact, Mr. Patton, you almost make me sorry I had so much trouble finding you. I think you have pretty well made up for it.

Mr. Patton. Thank you. Thank you. We get along all right.

Mr. Halley. Let's see if we can work it a little further along, and maybe really be helpful.

Did you know Paul Ricca?

Mr. Patton. Yes, sir.

Mr. Halley. How long have you known Paul Ricca?

Mr. Patton. Maybe 15 or 20 years, I am just guessing. It may be more or it may be less.

Mr. Halley. He also was a pretty close associate of Capone, wasn't he?

Mr. Patton. I don't know. I have seen him around Capone. But, I have seen a million — I have seen a lot of people around him.

Mr. Halley. You know Louis Campagna?

Mr. Patton. Yes.

Mr. Halley. "Little New York" I think they call him?

Mr. Patton. Yes.

Mr. Halley. You have known him about the same length of time?

Mr. Patton. Yes. Look how many I met outside, out here for the last 3 days, that I have been out there.

Mr. Halley. Like a gathering of the clan?

Mr. Patton. I don't know where you got all of them guys.

Mr. Halley. All of your old friends?

Mr. Patton. They weren't my old friends. They are all new ones.

Mr. Halley. You are a friendly fellow, Mr. Patton, but, tell me, how about Ricca and Campagna, how did you get to know them 15 or 20 years ago?

Mr. Patton. Well, I think Ricca at one time, I think he used to take a lot of bets, laid bets, at bookmakers. I think he was interested in that. I don't know who was with him in it. I think that is what Ricca did.

Mr. Halley. Did you do a lot of betting?

Mr. Patton. No. I have never made a bet on a horse in my life. If there were three or four people sitting here, say, "Put a dollar on a bet with you," I would bet a dollar. I don't know how to read a racing form.

Mr. Robinson. One last question, weren't you much closer to Mr. Nitti than you were
to O'Hare?

Mr. Patton. No, I was at Eddie O'Hare — I was with Eddie O'Hare all the time in business, and we never had an argument or dispute, about money or anything.

Mr. Robinson. Wasn't there friction between Mr. Nitti and Mr. O'Hare?

Mr. Patton. Not to my knowledge.

Mr. Robinson. Had you ever heard there was?

Mr. Patton. No, sir.

Mr. Robinson. Never at any time?

Mr, Patton. No, sir.

Mr. Robinson. When they were in the office together, did they speak to each other?

Mr. Patton. Always in my presence, I think.

Mr. Robinson. That is all.

The Chairman. All right, Mr. Patton. We will see you again some time.

Mr. Patton. I hope not.