Retired Intelligence Detective Gary Jenkins brings you the best in mob history with his unique perception of the mafia. In this episode, we take a deep dive into the book “The Outfit” by Gus Russo, which explores the life of Al Capone and sheds light on the hypocrisy of the American justice system and the robber barons of the era. Capone ran his bootleg empire like a corporation, complete with divisions, managers, and a division of labor. He even had a political lobbying arm and a succession plan in place. Frank Nitti, who came from the Brooklyn to Chicago gangster pipeline, played a significant role in Capone’s organization. Starting as a barber, Nitti eventually became a top-shelf whiskey smuggler and took over as boss when Capone went to prison. However, the pressure of being the boss took its toll on Nitti, and he tragically committed suicide after taking the fall for a Hollywood extortion scam.
Capone often compared his organization to supposedly legitimate companies and robber barons of the time, highlighting their mistreatment of employees and battles against labor unions. It was an era with few federal regulations, allowing businesses to operate as they pleased. Capone even influenced dairy companies to put expiration dates on milk bottles after his niece fell ill from rancid milk. These parallels between so-called legitimate companies and mobsters are fascinating, as they both operated with little concern for the well-being of others.
In another part of our conversation, we delve into corruption involving banks and robber barons. During the time of the failing banks, certain individuals encouraged people to put their money into another bank that would also fail, yet no legal consequences were faced. We also discuss Joseph P. Kennedy, who engaged in unethical practices to acquire a chain of film theaters and was involved in bootlegging. Although he was initially convicted on false charges, his conviction was later reversed.
Regarding Joe Kennedy’s involvement in bootlegging, there is limited concrete evidence, but we do know that his father had a bar and a wholesale liquor business. Kennedy seized the opportunity to capitalize on liquor sales during Prohibition until it was lifted. He then made a significant profit through exclusive contracts with British distillers. In comparison, Al Capone had a different approach to illegal activities.
We want to give special thanks to Ben Ellickson for providing us with valuable reading material on this subject. Ben has also proven a great friend through his thoughtful gift of a Prohibition-era glass whiskey bottle and his expertise in operating a backhoe.
Support the podcast.
Subscribe to get new gangster stories every week.
Get 50% off use the code gangland50 when check out at Factor Foods
Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwireClick here to “buy me a cup of coffee”
To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here
To rent Brothers against Brothers, the documentary, click here.
To rent Gangland Wire, the documentary, click here
To buy my Kindle book, Leaving Vegas: The True Story of How FBI Wiretaps Ended Mob Domination of Las Vegas Casinos.
To subscribe on iTunes click here. Please give me a review and help others find the podcast.
Donate to the podcast. Click here!
Transcript
[0:01] Well, hey, all you wiretappers out there back here in studio gangland wire, I got a little different studio look, a little different camera placement.
Anyhow, I was messing around trying to clean some stuff up and put some books in the thing in the bookcase and throw some stuff away.
So it’s still a mess in here, but it’s a little better of a mess.
I want to talk a little more about that great book, The Outfit by Gus Russo.
And thanks to Ben Ellickson for getting me that book. about Al Capone, and he talked about the hypocrisy of the American justice system and the robber barons at the time and kind of compared him...
Capone often compared his organization to supposedly legitimate companies and robber barons of the time, highlighting their mistreatment of employees and battles against labor unions. It was an era with few federal regulations, allowing businesses to operate as they pleased. Capone even influenced dairy companies to put expiration dates on milk bottles after his niece fell ill from rancid milk. These parallels between so-called legitimate companies and mobsters are fascinating, as they both operated with little concern for the well-being of others.
In another part of our conversation, we delve into corruption involving banks and robber barons. During the time of the failing banks, certain individuals encouraged people to put their money into another bank that would also fail, yet no legal consequences were faced. We also discuss Joseph P. Kennedy, who engaged in unethical practices to acquire a chain of film theaters and was involved in bootlegging. Although he was initially convicted on false charges, his conviction was later reversed.
Regarding Joe Kennedy’s involvement in bootlegging, there is limited concrete evidence, but we do know that his father had a bar and a wholesale liquor business. Kennedy seized the opportunity to capitalize on liquor sales during Prohibition until it was lifted. He then made a significant profit through exclusive contracts with British distillers. In comparison, Al Capone had a different approach to illegal activities.
We want to give special thanks to Ben Ellickson for providing us with valuable reading material on this subject. Ben has also proven a great friend through his thoughtful gift of a Prohibition-era glass whiskey bottle and his expertise in operating a backhoe.
Support the podcast.
Subscribe to get new gangster stories every week.
Get 50% off use the code gangland50 when check out at Factor Foods
Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwireClick here to “buy me a cup of coffee”
To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here
To rent Brothers against Brothers, the documentary, click here.
To rent Gangland Wire, the documentary, click here
To buy my Kindle book, Leaving Vegas: The True Story of How FBI Wiretaps Ended Mob Domination of Las Vegas Casinos.
To subscribe on iTunes click here. Please give me a review and help others find the podcast.
Donate to the podcast. Click here!
Transcript
[0:01] Well, hey, all you wiretappers out there back here in studio gangland wire, I got a little different studio look, a little different camera placement.
Anyhow, I was messing around trying to clean some stuff up and put some books in the thing in the bookcase and throw some stuff away.
So it’s still a mess in here, but it’s a little better of a mess.
I want to talk a little more about that great book, The Outfit by Gus Russo.
And thanks to Ben Ellickson for getting me that book. about Al Capone, and he talked about the hypocrisy of the American justice system and the robber barons at the time and kind of compared him...
Activity