The William "Action" Jackson murder is one of the most brutal in Outfit history. And when you think of guys like Mad Sam and Spilotro, that's really saying something. About two years ago, I saw Goodfellas. Loved it. Moved on to Casino, and that was a bad idea. Turns out I have a phobia of head injuries, due to my epilepsy, so the vise scene left my traumatized. Call me whatever names you want, I refuse to read any more about the M&M murders than I already did. So instead, I learned a little bit more about that era through the Action Jackson murder. My question is, there are dozens of versions. Few of the sources I can find will even cite their own sources, it's a real headache. You wouldn't believe how many versions there are. Maybe there was a screwup in the coroners report?

This one is from a mafia encyclopedia. Appropriately enough, titled "The Mafia Encyclopedia." Under the entry for 'buckwheats', slang for brutal murders, the book says this: "Life Magazine once recounted the agonizing death of a 300 pound mob loan shark named William Action Jackson whom the Chicago Outfit suspected of being both a stool pigeon and a knock-down artist. To get him to confess, they took him to a mob meat rendering place where he was tied up and hung from a meat hook. Bullets were pumped into him and he was worked over with ice pick and baseball bats; and eletric cattle prod was used on his rectum. It took two days for Jackston to die". This version is what piqued my interest. In the internet versions, there were no bullets OR ice picks, and it took Jackson three days to die, not two. Secondly, I really don't know what a knock-down artist is.

The most common version is a bit different. As I've seen in most online sites, Jackson was hung by his rectum, then had his legs broken, then fried 'down there' with a wet cattle prod before he passed out and never woke up. In these versions, motive was for being a suspected rat. Nothing more, nothing less.

mafiahistory.blogspot.com has a different take on Jackson's murder. The author claims it was ordered directly through Accardo as a message of what happens when you steal from the organization. Nothing to do with ratting this time. And there are two discrepancies here, in this version he was hung upside down by his feet instead. So here we have three motives. Here, for stealing from Accardo, which doesn't even make too much sense. In the Mafia Encyclopedia, for being a so-called 'knockdown artist', and a suspected rat. Everywhere else, only for being a suspected rat.

My question is, why so many inconsistencies? What was the real motive, and which story is correct? Generally I'd trust a book before a blog, but I really can't say with all these variations all over.