Thomas Joseph McGinty
Thomas Joseph McGinty, commonly known as Thomas Jefferson McGinty, (aka T.J. McGinty and Thomas "Blackjack" McGinty) was an early Cleveland mobster, one of the city's largest bootleggers during the Prohibition, as well as a longtime boxing promoter.[1][2]
A former professional boxer, McGinty was hired as muscle for Mayfield Road Mob under Arthur McBride during Cleveland's "Circulation Wars".
McGinty operated McGinty's Saloon on
Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, he soon resumed his bootlegging activities without further interference from authorities (who may have been paid off by McGinty). U.S. Attorney A.E. Bernstein stated McGinty was the "King of the Ohio Bootleggers."[3] During the 1930s and 1940s, McGinty operated gaming halls on West 25th Street and the Mounds Club
in Lake County.
McGinty was a member of the Cleveland Syndicate, which included Jewish gangsters
Havana, Cuba [2]
.
McGinty held an interest in numerous race tracks, including Maple Heights,
Agua Caliente Racetrack.[6]
McGinty testified before the Kefauver Committee about the Cleveland Syndicate and organized crime.
Further reading
- Reid, Ed and Demaris, Ovid. The Green Felt Jungle. Montreal: Pocket Books, 1964.
References
- ^ "Organized Crime in the United States 1950 Part 3". 17 January 2006. Archived from the original on 17 January 2006. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ISBN 978-0-8488-1457-1.
- ISBN 978-0786435166P. 36
- ISBN 978-0813125657
- ^ Messick, Hank. (1967) The Silent Syndicate. The MacMillan Company
- ^ http://www.marlowcasinochips.com/links/genetrimble/illegaloftheday/JohnCroftKY.pdf [unreliable source?]
- Fox, Stephen. Blood and Power: Organized Crime in Twentieth-Century America. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1989. ISBN 0-688-04350-X