by Gus Russo
Sid Korshak's Lawndale pal and frequent Pump Room Table One companion, ninety-one-year-old Irv "Mr. Chicago" Kupcinet, died on November 10, 2003, having filed his most recent Sun-Times column just a week earlier.b Also the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Kup had amassed fifteen Emmy Awards for his late-night television show, and one Peabody Award for his column. A tireless supporter of Jewish charities, Kup spent much of his adult life in a grief-laden shadow after the 1963 murder of his daughter, Karyn.
On June 5, 2004, Ronald Reagan died of pneumonia and complications from Alzheimer's disease. He was ninety-three. His grieving widow oversaw a weeklong bicoastal media orgy that eclipsed the funerals of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, and Abraham Lincoln. His admirers eulogized him for his supposed role in the defeat of Communism, while his critics continued to question whether he had ever been anything more than an actor, taking direction from others.
The Final Word
Their apologists assert that no proof can be found of Supermob lawbreaking. Pointedly, Sid Korshak was never convicted of so much as a parking violation. But the truth is Korshak and company constantly bent, folded, mutilated, and—yes—broke the law. In their continual aiding and abetting of traditional mob enterprises, such as Korshak's advising of the skim masters in Vegas, and cutting secret Teamster sweetheart contracts, or committing white-collar offenses such as stock fraud, Lew Wasserman's MCA collusions with Ronald Reagan, and Paul Ziffren's and David Bazelon's assistance in fronting for the Outfit's California investments, a case could be made that the Supermob violated the RICO racketeering statutes by operating an ongoing criminal enterprise.
Without doubt, Sid Korshak played the most dangerous game of all his fellows, staying in continuous contact with hoodlums who were on lawr enforcement's radar, while negotiating that tightrope by the judicious parceling out of information to the FBI. But thanks to early canny decisions to align itself with key judges and politicians—both local and national—the Supermob rendered its members untouchable. Furthermore, many well-intentioned investigators were frustrated by legal restraints: thanks to their law degrees, the proteges Jake Arvey inspired shielded their nonstop RICO violations behind the "attorney-client" privilege. And by paying just enough to the IRS and relocating to mob-friendly California, where residents' pre-histories are historically erased, the Supermob further insulated itself from prosecution.
Technical lawbreaking aside, what is perhaps most disturbing is the ethically bankrupt philosophy that saw the Supermob and its commercial enterprises dodge billions in taxes using offshore shelters in places like the Bahamas and the Netherlands. In that sense, their actions can be viewed as nonpatriotic, if not anti-American. After acquiring the land of Japanese internees at the same time that the Nazis were similarly victimizing their own kin in Europe, the Supermob associates assuaged their consciences by donating a small fraction of their lucre to Jewish hospitals and other Jewish causes. Whereas Joe Six-pack had to pay his fair share to the nation's infrastructure, the Supermob declared that it alone could choose where its money would be allocated.
What they left behind is a legacy, or a dirty secret, that is virtually taboo for polite discussion, for it implies a country that has evolved into a plutocracy that allows a certain segment to be perpetually above the law and supremely entitled. What the lawyers from Lawndale pioneered has now virtually been codified in arcane tax laws and lobbying and PAC loopholes, creating a society within a society. The Supermob's invention has now become a part of the American fabric, where, ironically, the most unpatriotic Americans are given free rein to ridicule the country's tax collectors while the less privileged fight their overseas oil wars.
Perhaps the most cogent characterization of the Supermob and its legacy came from Jimmy Fratianno, the lifelong hood who bumped up against his insulated counterparts regularly, although their immunity failed to transfer to him. In his authorized biography, The Last Mafioso, Fratianno discussed with Johnny Rosselli a cadre he obviously envied:
You've got to give the Jews credit. They started out as fronts for the Italians, and now they've got millions they made through Italians. They were smart and declared some of that money to the government. See, a Jew makes a million, he declares two, three hundred grand. A fucking Italian makes a million, he declares ten grand. The Jews in Cleveland—Dalitz, Kleinman, Rhody—they were running all them gambling joints and they tell the Italians they've got to put so much money aside for taxes. That's how guys like Dalitz got wealthy and respectable. That's why they can invest in Vegas.
Now look at the Italians. They stash their money. They can't invest it without going through fucking fronts. Them Italians in Cleveland made millions and what good is it? They live like peasants. Everything's under the table. Even when they die, their heirs got to hide the money.55
It is a stark contrast to the fortunes of the descendants of the Supermob. Kenneth Ziffren, Stuart Korshak, Casey Wasserman and Laura Ziffren Wasserman, and the numerous Pritzker and Hilton heirs are all revered as legitimate movers and shakers in twenty-first-century America. Their ascendance is an unintentional nod to the Gabrielino Indians, who inhabited Beverly Hills for centuries before the Russians and Europeans invoked Manifest Destiny, and who also traditionally passed their power and authority on to their sons.56 The offshore dodges so brilliantly concocted by many of the new titans' parents are now also de facto legitimized, should the new generation ever wish to avail themselves. And should they choose to do so, they would likely receive as little scrutiny from the city's newspaper of record as did their parents. Interestingly, by 2005, Southern Californians were referring to the paper as the Chicago Los Angeles Times, in sarcastic reference to the Chicago Tribune's purchase of the L.A. paper in 2000. However, few appreciated that the moniker was long overdue, given the Times' anemic coverage of Chicago's Supermob over the previous sixty years.
*Among them, the Toronto Maple Leafs, L.A. Kings, L.A. Lakers, and Washington Senators.
†Despite the fact that they abandoned the Chalon house in the eighties, every Christmas until 2003, a two-pound box of gourmet peanut brittle arrived there anonymously, addressed to the Korshaks. The new owners, however, enjoyed it and were dismayed when the package recently stopped arriving.
*Although Reagan had referred to Soviet leaders as criminals, liars, and cheaters in his first press conference, Hussein may have thought the same thing about Reagan two years later when it was learned that the United States was simultaneously secretly supplying weapons to the Iraqi mullahs who opposed Hussein.
*On the other hand, Reagan routinely tolerated totalitarian military regimes such as those in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Chile, just so long as they weren't Communist.
*When Melanie Cook joined the firm in 2004, she brought her impressive client base into Ziffren et al., including Keanu Reeves, Barry Sonnenfeld, Scott Rudin, Sam Mendes, Christina Ricci, Tim Burton, Mimi Leder, Julie Taymor, Paul Attanasio, Nancy Meyers, and Robin Wright Penn.
*At the time, Shore was battling cancer, which would claim her soon thereafter. On February 24, 1994, two days after dining with Sid and Bee, Frances Rose "Dinah" Shore passed away in her Beverly Hills home at age seventy-six. (Kupcinet, Chicago Sun-Times, 2-25-94)
*The location now houses Mastro's Steakhouse.
*At a Kennamer family reunion in Alabama in 1978, Rex Kennamer described his career thus: "Uniquely there are few MDs who have cared for more famous people than I have. I have run the gamut from the most famous of movie stars, politicians, writers, financiers, Pulitzer Prize winners, and Nobel Prize winners . . . I have been labeled one of America's superdoctors, and almost invariably I will be on the list of doctors that doctors themselves would go to as their physician." In 1997, the Wasserman Foundation Chair in Clinical Electrophysiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center was dedicated in honor of Kennamer. (Variety, 11-14-97)
*Despite the headline, Korshak was still relatively below the radar for most Americans. Within days of Korshak's pas
sing, Dave Robb knocked out a book proposal on him, but had no luck selling it. "The publishers said, 'Who's Sid Korshak?' " Robb remembered.
*His firm, Korshak, Kracoff, Kong and Sugano, has represented clients that would have made Sidney proud, among them Fairmont Hotels of San Francisco, Seagram's, Southern Wine and Spirits of Nevada, Chicago Wines, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Hotel Council, Pacific Gas 6c Electric, and Union Bank.
* Through the offshore-bank gambit and the questionable use of tax shelters, Kanter provided cofinancing for such films as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Longest Yard,Papillon, Urban Cowboy, The Pedestrian, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
*In 1995, Clinton awarded Wasserman the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian honor.
†In addition to preventing Spielberg from being fired from his first Universal assignment, Wasserman released such Spielberg hits as Jaws, Jurassic Park, E.T the Extra-Terrestrial, and Schindler's List.
**The Last Mogul: Life and Times of Lew Wasserman.
Acknowledgments
As with any book of this scope, Supermob owes its existence in no small degree to the work of predecessors, in this case a dedicated group of gadfly journalists who for decades strove to call attention to the vaporous world of Sid Korshak and company. Among those deserving special kudos for their exceptional reportage are: Lester Velie, Jack Anderson, Ovid Demaris, Ed Reid, Art White, Robert Goe, Jack Tobin, Sandy Smith, W. Scott Malone, Dan "The Bat" Moldea, Dick Brenneman, Dennis McDougal, Ira Silver-man, Sy Hersh, Jeff Gerth, Denny Walsh, Dave Robb, Alan Block, and Constance Weaver, every survivor of which helped guide me through the quagmire, often digging out long-stored-away files for my use. In this regard, special thanks go to Moldea, McDougal, and Robb, who unselfishly loaned me their voluminous files.
Additional colleagues who made meaningful contributions include Jim Grady, Bill Thomas, David Ashenfelter, Don Barlett, Tony and Robbyn Summers, Connie Bruck, Carol Felsenthal, and Julie Payne. A very busy Garry Trudeau made time to dig out his old Korshak file and send it to me, and the iconic network investigative producer Ira Silverman took me into his confidence during numerous lunches at D.C.'s Woodside Deli.
Once again, I was fortunate to benefit from the graphic expertise of a great friend, Steve Parke of WhatPdesign. Regrettably, the reader will never know the extent of Steve's brilliant and subtle touch in rescuing many damaged photographs.
Invaluable institutional help came from many quarters: At the Library of Congress's Legislative Archives, Matt Fulghum and Bill Davis always responded promptly to my many requests; likewise, Steve Tilley, Martha Wagner Murphy, Marty McGann, and Fred Romanski opened many new files at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland; Jeanette Callaway and Lee Lyons gathered reams of documents (and trusted me with the keys to the legendary storage basement) at the Chicago Crime Commission, a national treasure of organized crime history; Joe Eagan, Doug Adolphsen, and the staff of Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Library were, as always, cheerfully helpful; at the Spertus Institute in the Chicago Jewish Archives, reference librarian Dan Sharon and director Joy Kingsolver made countless great research suggestions; Doug Moe, columnist for the Capital Times of Madison, Wisconsin, provided details of Korshak's undergraduate years, as did David Null of the University of Wisconsin Alumni Association; Norman Schwartz of the Chicago Jewish Historical Society contributed files and interview suggestions; Chris Driggs of the Nevada state archives conducted file searches on key Las Vegas players; and Gloria Ralph McKissic of the FBI's Freedom of Information section helped deliver on my numerous requests for file openings.
We gypsy journalists are often at the mercy of friends made on the road, kindred spirits who open local doors for us, introduce us around, feed us, and sometimes offer their guest rooms. In Vegas, Ed Becker, Hal Rothman, Eve and Ted Quillin, and John Neeland were among the most gracious. In Chicago, I was welcomed by informed friends such as Jim Agnew, Andy Ko-lis, Bob McDonnell and Antoinette Giancana, Roy Suzuki, Joe Marchetti, Julius Draznin, Jim Johnsen, Michael Glass and Marie Beckman, and Rich and Judy Lynn Samuels. As always, great friend Jack Clarke made time to give countless suggestions, even while dealing with serious health issues.
In Los Angeles, the friendship and encouragement of Jeff Silberman, Steve Molton and Pamela Galvin, Bob Harris, John Leekley, and Lynn Hendee made the City of Angels feel like it actually deserves its nickname. In Pioneertown, Pappy & Harriett's provided a great space to kick up my heels, tie up my horse (right), while staring at desert stars and pondering the cosmic relationship between Sid Korshak and Gram Parsons.
Other pals hither and yon who were always available included Laurence Learner, Captain Alberto Miller, Dan Smith, Steve and Janet Nugent, Kevin Perkins, John and Ellen Bollinger, and the late Mike Corbitt. The Russo extended and nuclear families are a constant source of love, support, and lasagna.
Freelancers such as myself, accustomed to occasional periods of professional inactivity (aka poverty), have a habit of never turning down work, often taking on multiple projects in anticipation of future periods of drought. As fate would have it, when this daunting project began in early 2003, I simultaneously found myself pulled in six directions at once: writing this book, reporting and/or cowriting two ninety-minute investigative news documentaries, cowriting a book with goodfella Henry Hill, developing a complex motion picture script, and writing a book proposal for actor Vin Diesel. Each of these projects was so appealing that I decided to do them all—obviously I would need some help. Thus, for the first time, I reached out to the local schools to see if anyone wanted to help with the smothering workload. It was a delegating move that initially frightened me, but it turned out to have been something I should have done years ago.
Before the first intern came aboard, I was already receiving documents and guidance from Beverly Hills native Sara Stanfill. Sara's insider knowledge of the social connections of the Hollywood power elite was crucial to starting this book research with the proper mind-set. The first student intern to come to my rescue was Towson University's Justin Smulison, whose energy, wit, and intelligence were priceless. Justin brought aboard three of his journalism classmates, Rachel Kneppar, Jason DuPont, and Chris Black-mon, to help transcribe over 150 interviews. Their work was meticulous and timely.
From the University of Maryland came the invaluable assistance of Claire Patterson, Jason Rivlin, and Frank "Nitti" Butcher. Claire took on the thankless task of reading and creating database summaries of the thousands of records and news articles I was obtaining (some twenty crates of material). After Claire's graduation, Jason completed the databasing chores (and some house- and dog-sitting), before Nitti showed up to make frequent trips to the Library of Congress, where he surveyed ancient newspaper microfilm and photo holdings. When time came to archive the material, Jonathan Scott Fuqua, a local friend and writing colleague of renown, introduced me to Emily Moy and Zack Wilson, two of his standout creative writing students at Baltimore's Carver School, a magnet high school for the city's best students. Emily and Zack went file by file to create an Excel spreadsheet that was critical to sourcing. To all of these volunteer assistants, I give a huge thanks. This book, and the other projects completed during this hectic period, would have been impossible without them. I hope I can open some doors for you in the future.
No investigative book could exist without the cooperation of knowledgeable people who agree to give interviews, even those who speak only on background. I appreciate my interviewees' faith that I would not take their quotes out of context, or, in some cases, betray their anonymity. I hope they are happy with the final result.
Thanks again to Noah Lukeman, who worked hard to find a home for Supermob, and, as a literary agent who truly cares about his authors, negotiated a sterling contract. At Bloomsbury, I am beholden to publisher Karen Rinaldi for showing continued faith in my work; managing editor Greg Villepique; copy editor Steven Boldt; indexer Judith Hancock; Panio Gianopoulos, who contributed an informed a
nd brilliant line edit; as well as Amanda Katz and Yelena Gitlin, both of whom I want to thank in advance for turning Supermob into a best-selling, prize-winning epic with the global impact of The Da Vinci Code and the Bible combined.
Supplying the all-important background music this time around were Brian Wilson, Count Basie, Richie Furay, Kate Bush, Django Reinhardt, Mark O'Connor's Hot Swing Trio, Donald Fagen, Stevie Wonder, Dan Hicks, Shirley Horn, Matt Bianco, and Dean Martin.
Deepest thanks of all go to Scout and Mrs. Teasdale, steadfast companions I was honored to know.
Finally, a very special thanks goes to anyone I've forgotten. I hope you'll understand—I'm really exhausted.
Appendix A: Supermob Investments
Following is a partial list of properties taken over by Korshak's Chicago friends, often with underworld financial partners such as Arthur Greene (fronting for Guzik and Capone) and Alex Greenberg (fronting for Frank Nitti), and often associating with one of Korshak's oldest friends, Paul Ziffren. The record searches were largely undertaken by Robert Goe and Art White (see text). This list does not include the hundreds of properties taken from German owners and the Japanese nisei who were interned during World War II. Nor does it include the many thousands of acres of undeveloped land in Southern California obtained by the Chicago group.
California
