Final_Judgment

188 Little Man’s Little Man [127]
special prosecutor in the Justice Department under then-Attorney General
Robert Kennedy, Blakey is the author of the famous Racketeer Influenced
and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute that has become a major tool in
federal organized crime prosecutions.
Thus it is that Blakey's conclusions about the role of "the Mafia" (and
specifically Carlos Marcello) in the JFK assassination conspiracy have
received widespread recognition and credibility. However, just two years
before he was named director of the House Assassinations Committee,
Blakey had a different relationship with organized crime: he had been on
the payroll of a top figure in the Lansky Syndicate.
BLAKEY'S LANSKY CONNECTION
After Penthouse magazine had published an article alleging that the La
Costa Country Club in Carlsbad, California was linked to the underworld,
several of La Costa's founders filed a lawsuit against Penthouse. One of the
plaintiffs in the La Costa case was Morris "Moe" Dalitz, a former Detroit
and Cleveland bootlegger-turned-Las Vegas casino boss, who had longstanding
and close personal and business ties with Meyer Lansky.
Brought in as part of Dalitz's legal team was Robert Blakey himself.
This was certainly an unusual position for a self-promoted "crime fighter"
such as Blakey. The longtime crime fighter, in fact, provided an affidavit on
Dalitz's behalf against Penthouse. 343
Blakey's employer Dalitz was very much an integral part of the Lansky
Syndicate. In Chapter 4 we learned that it was the notorious "Purple Gang"
in Detroit that had put out a contract on the life of Ambassador Joseph P.
Kennedy, father of the future president, during Prohibition for interfering in
their "territory." Kennedy, as we saw, made contact with Chicago Mafia
chieftain Sam Giancana who intervened on the elder Kennedy's behalf,
convincing the Purple Gang to cancel the proposed "hit." At that time, in
fact, one of the key leaders of the Purple Gang was none other than Moe
Dalitz, an up-and-coming mob figure.
DALITZ, SIEGEL AND LANSKY
According to FBI organized crime expert William Roemer, "Moe Dalitz
started his criminal career way back in the Prohibition Era. He had been one
of the admirals in 'the Little Jewish Navy' in Detroit when, as a rumrunner,
he ferried booze across the Detroit River from Canada to quench the
thirst of the many Motor City citizens who were eager to taste the whiskey,
wine, and beer forbidden by the 'Noble Experiment.'" 344 This was the
beginning of a long, lasting, close working relationship between Lansky,
"the chairman of the board of organized crime" and Morris Dalitz.
In fact, according to Roemer, it was Dalitz who was the prime mover
behind the Syndicate's move against Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, Lansky's
boyhood friend and fellow racketeer who was shot dead in 1947.