Word: jersey
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Every one of the gambling indictments was obtained through wiretaps authorized under Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. Justice Department officials were quick to cite that fact. The officials regard the New Jersey crackdown as the first skirmish in a full-scale war on the Mafia. Said Will Wilson, chief of the department's Criminal Division: "Our overall goal is to demolish the rackets. The first step in curing inner-city problems is to free local government from the control of the rackets...
Efficient and Effective. Few cities are more in need of such a cure than Newark (see box following page). In addition to the federal grand juries, a statewide and a local grand jury are probing organized crime in Newark and elsewhere in New Jersey. Following last week's indictments, the Newark Star-Ledger suggested that it would be in the city's best interests if "those under a cloud of suspicion were to remove themselves from office." The local Chamber of Commerce called for the suspension of all those indicted...
Organized crime secured its first firm beachhead in New Jersey during Prohibition days, when Abner ("Longie") Zwillman used the state as the base for 40% of the nation's bootlegging operations. Aside from Newark and Jersey City, much of the state retained a rural character until the opening of the George Washington Bridge in 1931. New Jersey suited the underworld's needs perfectly. The Hudson River separated its members from the tough law enforcement of New York racketbusters like Fiorello La Guardia, Thomas Dewey and, more recently, Frank Hogan. Neither police forces nor local government had caught...
Close to 300,000 New Jersey residents leave the state every day to work in New York City, and nearly 50,000 more commute to Philadelphia. Many of them regard the state as a bedroom and take no interest in state or local government. Among those who are active in local affairs, many are only too willing to coexist with La Cosa Nostra. Mafiosi who can assure peace with labor unions are often respected members of the community. Many otherwise solid citizens seek them out as friends; they either refuse to believe that the Mafia exists or find it exciting...
...state while the good guys sat on their asses and watched television." Unfortunately, that failing may be characteristic of good guys elsewhere. Federal strike forces are at work in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York and Florida. If they are anywhere near as successful as they have been in New Jersey, 1970 may prove a boom year for grand juries...