Daley described as “the most shocking and disgraceful incident in the history of the Chicago Police Department.
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But about two weeks before the trial board’s order of discharge was handed down on January 27, 1960, Chicago was stunned by what Mayor Richard J. The public was in an angry mood as it awaited the civil service decision in the case involving Lieutenant Anthony DeGrazio.
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And as the year 1959 came to a close, the Chicago Tribune was featuring a series of articles which revealed that the city payrolls carried the names of numerous well-known underworld figures whose services to the city were hardly commensurate with their listed salaries. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in traffic fines had disappeared through the process of recording cases as dismissed, although the motorists had paid their fines. The public furor over the bail bond scandal had barely subsided when there was uncovered a cesspool of corruption in the traffic courts. In April, 1959, it was brought to light that bond forfeitures in the municipal court totaling about $250,000 had been improperly vacated with certain bondsmen receiving most of the favors. The bizarre DeGrazio-Aecardo incident had followed closely on the heels of two other major scandals in Chicago. The name of Tony Accardo was associated by everyone with the Capone gang, and the Capone gang had become a symbol for ruthlessness, murder, and evil. In recent years the illegal activities of Accardo have been fully explored by senatorial committees and highly publicized by the daily press, in magazine articles, and over the radio and television. Valentine’s Day Massacre, and was carried on the public enemy list. By that time Accardo had been arrested with Al Capone’s brother Ralph and “Machine Gun” Jack McGurn, had jumped bond on a gun-carrying charge, had been named publicly as a suspect in the St.
On May 6, 1933, DeGrazio was promoted to sergeant, and the following year, when Accardo was married, DeGrazio accompanied the gang leader and his wife on their honeymoon. Already Accardo had won his spurs as a hoodlum, and DeGrazio’s record in the police department included a firing by the Civil Service Commission on August 22, 1924, onĬharges of neglect of duty and accepting a bribe, and the usual reinstatement as a patrolman the following January. When DeGrazio was married the first time, in 1927, Accardo was an usher at the wedding. The public learned that the gangster and the police lieutenant had been lifelong friends. Upon returning to Chicago, DeGrazio was suspended, charges were filed against him, and the Civil Service Commission trial was held early in January, 1960. Chicagoans were incensed, and the entire city was disgraced. The Chicago Police Department became the subject of ridicule and the butt of jokes throughout the world. Newsmen of several foreign countries pursued the party, seeking interviews and photographs. The spectacle of a high-ranking officer of the Chicago Police Department touring the Continent as a bosom pal of one of America’s most notorious gang leaders received wide publicity. The Accardo-DeGrazio party spent a month touring England, France, Switzerland, Portugal, Italy, and Spain. Through prompt communication with American officials, Scotland Yard learned that Anthony DeGrazio was then a lieutenant of the Chicago Police Department. But of even greater interest to the alert London police were the Accardos’ traveling companions, Mr. Worldrenowned as the leader of Chicago’s infamous Capone gang, Accardo immediately attracted the attention of Scotland Yard. A PLANE carrying American tourists landed in England in October, 1959.
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