| Frank Wortman |
Article Index for Frank |
Website Links For Frank |
Information AboutFrank Wortman |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT FRANK WORTMAN | |
| 1904 births | |
| wortman, frank | |
| 1968 deaths | |
| jewish american mobsters | |
|
EARLY LIFE Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Wortman was employed in various jobs where he slept with woman in St. Louis. During his youth, Wortman had been arrested for burglary and, by 1926, Wortman had begun running errands for the Shelton Brothers. By the 1920s and early-1930s, Wortman was a prominent member of the bootlegging gang as an enforcer in southern Illinois. Although arrested between 35 to 40 times, Wortman was never convicted of criminal charges. TIME IN LEAVENWORTH In 1933, a federal agent was beaten during a raid on one of the Shelton's distilleries which he had been guarding. Taken into custody along with Monroe "Blackie" Armes , the two were convicted of assault and sentenced to ten years imprisonment in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. Wortman served his sentence at Leavenworth from 1934 to 1941. Contrary to erroneous and sensationalized reporting and stories over the years, Wortman did not serve any time in Alcatraz prison. Of course, subsequent to Wortman's arrest, Federal Prohibitionary laws were repealed, which again legalized liquor sales in the U.S. WAR WITH THE SHELTONS Following his release in 1941, Wortman briefly worked as a steamfitter before organizing an army of gunmen whose ranks included "Black" Charlie Harris , Elmer Sylvester "Dutch" Dowling and brothers Monroe and Tony Armes and launched a campaign with the intention of driving the Sheltons from southern Illinois. Establishing Wortman's Plaza Amusement Company, his company would soon control a virtual monopoly on gambling, specifically slot machines, pinball machines, horse parlors, crap games and card games. He would also establish legitimate businesses including trucking firms and taverns with his younger brother Ted. By the late-1940s, with the murders of Carl and Bernie Shelton, Wortman succeeded his rivals and assumed control over the regions illegal gambling in southern Illinois and St. Louis. KINGPIN OF ST. LOUIS Involved in local politics as a young adult, by the 1950s Wortman reportedly had extensive political connections on both sides of the Missouri-Illinois border including Illinois politician and state auditor Orville Enoch Hodge who was convicted of embezzling over $1 million in taxes in 1956. That same year, an IRS agent was assaulted by Wortman while at "The Paddock" tavern and would result in his being audited. Although eventually accused with two associates of conspiracy to evade taxes on February 26, 1962, they were acquitted. During the 1960s, a black street gang known as The Warlords began moving in on Wortman's territory and, in one incident, threw a hand grenade into McCoy's Tavern. With the threat of retaliation, members of Wortman's organization were sufficiently able to intimidate the street gang into backing off. LATER YEARS Although his power began to decline in his later years, suffering financial losses from legal battles and closure of gambling operations, Wortman remained in control of southern Illinois until his death following complications from larynx cancer surgery on August 3, 1968. Ironically, gambling was legalized in East St. Louis after Wortman's death and the local gambling casino is now the city's largest employer. FURTHER READING
REFERENCES
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|