![]() ![]() RFK has been described as a ruthless, puritan, willing to use extralegal means to his own ends. It was a time when the national syndicate held considerable power and influence over business, entertainment, unions, illegal gambling, prostitution, politics, the courts, and all levels of government and law enforcement. Senate Historical Office.Īs the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Robert Kennedy in Los Angeles is recognized this week – he was shot on June 5 and died on June 6 – one aspect of his complex legacy is less likely to be emphasized: his unprecedented crusade to expose and prosecute the Mob in America in the late 1950s and early ’60s. Robert Kennedy, far left, sits next to Arkansas Senator John McClelland, who chaired the Senate’s Rackets Committee that began hearings in 1957. And recent convictions won by Kennedy’s prosecutors included mobsters Anthony “Tony Ducks” Carello, Carmine Galante and John Ormento, Frankie Carbo, Frank “Blinky” Palermo and Alfred Sica. The number of suspected hoods indicted reached 350 in 1962, compared with 49 in 1960. ![]() Five of the administration’s anti-racketeering bills pushed by RFK and passed into law by Congress in 1961 had led the FBI to pursue 852 new cases against hoodlums and grand juries to indict 134 defendants in federal courts. He noted there were more than 60 federal lawyers on his section team, up from 17 in 1961. He celebrated the coordination of the FBI, Secret Service, IRS and 23 other federal law enforcement agencies that helped him compile information on the nation’s 1,100 top racketeers. Robert Kennedy touted the fact that prosecutions for racketeering by his Organized Crime Section in the Justice Department rose by 300 percent above 1961 and convictions of organized criminals grew by 350 percent. President: The Administration during 1962 greatly expanded its coordinated drive against organized crime and racketeering.” Kennedy reported on the progress on what he considered the highest priority of federal law enforcement: Kennedy, dated January 10, 1963, meant for publication in America’s Sunday newspapers, Attorney General Robert F. In a lengthy memo to his brother President John F. ![]() In both capacities, he worked to crack down on organized crime. Senate’s Rackets Committee and then as U.S. Robert Kennedy, shown here in 1963, served as chief counsel for the U.S. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |