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In this episode, we delve into a fascinating tale from the 1950s in Blue Island, Chicago, where Alfred Konecki, the president of F.W. Konecki & Sons Company, a tobacco distribution business, encountered suspicious activity involving a truck from Unity Refrigeration following their delivery vehicles. Two detectives, Bernard Kennedy and George Hanecki, were assigned to investigate the situation, setting up surveillance and observing a complex series of vehicles tailing each other.
\nThe detectives uncovered that the Unity Refrigeration Truck was being followed by a car driven by Robert Bradshaw, a salesman for the Kodaki Company, who claimed he was trailing the Unity truck due to suspicions about its activities. Upon halting the vehicles, the officers discovered familiar faces inside the Unity truck – Chicago Outfit Associate Frank Schweihs, Stanley Bajic and Sam Ciancio, armed with .38 caliber revolvers and a police scanner tuned to Chicago PD frequencies.
\nDespite the lack of a solid case against them, the officers interrogated the trio, sending a clear message regarding their monitoring of criminal activities. This incident highlights the organized crime presence in Chicago during that era and the tactics employed to protect businesses from theft and extortion. The narrative offers a glimpse into the early days of Frank Schweihs, who would later play a significant role in criminal activities, including extorting money from establishments.
\nThe story underscores the challenges businesses face dealing with criminal interference and the intricate dynamics of law enforcement and organized crime in Chicago in the 1950s. It provides a window into a bygone era where local authorities often struggled to combat such activities, leaving individuals to navigate complex relationships with criminal elements. The intricacies of mob involvement in businesses and the strategies employed to mitigate threats offer a compelling perspective on the historical landscape of organized crime in major cities like Chicago.
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\nTranscript
\nIntroduction
\n[0:00]So, wiretappers, we’re going to go to the little town, our little community
\nof Blue Island in southwest Chicago.
\nIt’s down by, it’s north of Chicago Heights, a little bit west and north of
\nCalumet City, south and west of downtown, like I said, right off of, looks like I-57.
\nWe’re going to look in at 131-36 Southwestern Avenue in Blue Island.
\nWill find Alfred Konecki.
\nHe was the president of F.W. Konecki & Sons Company, which was a tobacco distribution company.
\nThey would take packages, you know, cartons and cases of cigarettes around for
\ndistribution to different places.
\nA couple of his drivers reported that they had noticed a truck.
\n[0:46]Kind of a van kind of a truck, marked Unity Refrigeration had been following
\ntheir delivery vehicles around.
\n[0:52]And they’d looked out, and that truck was parked near the Konecki garage at that time.
\nSo Mr. Konecki calls Chicago PD, and they assign a couple of detectives to come out and investigate.
\nDetective Bernard Kennedy and George Hanecki, kind of a close name to Konecki,
\n[1:12]
\nSurveillance Operation
\n[1:09]but I guess another one of those big, long German names.
\nAfter the detectives respond, they set up a surveillance down the street,
\nand they must have called Mr.
\nKonecki by phone and let him know that they were set, because he then dispatched
\none of the trucks. One of his employees, an Elmer Jepson, left.
\nAs soon as Mr. Jepson left in the delivery truck, the Unity Refrigeration Truck
\npulled out and started following it north and kept following it north and north
\nand went up to 87th Street.
\nAnd about that time, the detectives noticed that a passenger car was also following
\nthe Unity Refrigeration Truck.