Fighting Organized Crime

Abstract

This article reviews the history of law enforcement efforts against traditional organized crime in Chicago. While the historical record is replete with examples of the relationship between corrupt police officials and Chicago’s underworld, little has been written about the often valiant efforts directed at the Capone Syndicate and the Chicago Outfit by the law enforcement community. This article seeks to fill this void. Reviewing mainly primary sources, this article argues that police corruption was the direct result of political direction and not the concerted acts of the Chicago Police Department or individual acts of law enforcement officers. These findings have important implications for the study of organized crime and further clarify the role of machine politics as a direct cause of organized crime in American society.