Chicago to Springfield:: Crime and Politics in the 1920s (Images of America (Arcadia Publishing)) (11 page)

Packey McFarland’s record as a prizefighter was 104 wins, 1 loss, and 6 draws. (He also was the great-uncle of author.) McFarland died on September 23, 1936. His funeral at St. Raymond’s in Joliet brought thousands of people, including Gov. Henry Horner. Below are Packey’s mother-in-law, Sarah Loughran, and his children, (from left to right) Sarah, Margaret, Miriam, and Patrick Jr. (Both JR.)

Mona Marshall was drugged, kidnapped, and sold to a house of prostitution called the Casino Saloon in 1907. It was owned by Big Jim Colosimo and run by Harry Guzik. When Mona finally escaped, her case was the one that brought the words “white slavery” into popular use; it was also one of the cases that resulted in the passage of the federal Mann Act in 1909. Harry Guzik later ran the brothels for Johnny Torrio and Al Capone. (CHM-DN-0005023.)

Harry (pictured) and Alma Guzik managed the Roemer Inn brothel in Chicago for Johnny Torrio and Al Capone. In 1921, they advertised for a maid. Minnie Oehlerking answered the ad and was forced into prostitution. After several months as a captive, Minnie was rescued. The Guziks were convicted on pandering (white slavery) charges and sentenced to a year in prison. They went to Johnny Torrio, who sent men to Governor Small. Before the Guziks spent one day in jail, Governor Small pardoned them. The Guziks were back in the prostitution business for Torrio and Capone a short time later. (KCC.)

Pictured here is Harry Guzik’s brother Jake. Jake was Capone’s bookkeeper, and he was said to be the only man Capone trusted. Both Harry and Jake had the nickname “Greasy Thumbs.” (KCC.)

State representative Lee O’Neil Browne represented Guzik before the pardon board. Judge Harry Fisher, who sentenced the Guziks, refused to sign Browne’s letter to Small requesting a pardon. The state was not notified of the hearing and thus did not send anyone to object. Also appearing before the pardon board on Guzik’s behalf was state representative Thomas O’Grady of Chicago. O’Grady (below left) also had signed a petition urging Spike O’Donnell’s release from prison. Chauncey Jenkins (below right) was Small’s director of public welfare and prisons. He helped explain the governor’s pardons, including the Guzik pardon. Jenkins also was involved in the pardon mill. (All JR.)

When the
Chicago Tribune
ran a series in 1924 exposing Governor Small’s scandalous pardons and paroles, Small’s
Kankakee Daily Republican
printed a few stories in reply. One article written by Lee O’Neil Browne (left) stated the Guziks owned a mom-and-pop restaurant, and Minnie Oehlerking was a waitress. Her father didn’t want his daughter working there, so Guzik let her leave. The next thing Guzik knew, he was arrested for pandering. Browne took the case to the pardons and parole board. “Finally, a favorable report approving the application for a pardon was made and presented by said board to your Excellency, and your Excellency granted the pardon,” Browne wrote. Below is Browne’s house in Ottawa. In 1928, Browne fell (or maybe pushed) over the bluff to his death in the Fox River. (Both JR.)

Governor Small and Prophetstown mayor George Bryaia are pictured above in 1927. Below, Governor Small addresses a crowd in Quincy in 1926. (Both ALPLM.)