I requested (verbally and in writing) that Richardson or his deputies investigate the fraud and gambling nature of the 12 deceptive (optical illusion) rims, where winning was nearly impossible, even for high school varsity players. This is the little-known story of the Cornbread Cosa Nostra.. This past year I noticed all the workers at the Fair were hot young European men, clean cut and in uniform polo shirts. What the Greatest Showman Got Totally Wrong, The Bittersweet Story of Jumbo the Elephant, Carnival Workers Describe What The Life Is Really Like. Carnival-related bribes and illegal transactions pave the way for the crooked migratory hustlers to trailer into your neighborhood for a weekend each year, never having a need to worry about arrest. East coast or west? Civilized folks are always suspicious of transients, and it goes back a lot further than Gypsies. In running background checks at five events, the Illinois attorney general's office and Cook County sheriff's department found that among 179 carnival employees, A favorite American mythologyis that of the carnie, someone who works at a carnival. To address the puzzling doggedness of plain-sight crooked carnival games, one has to first take a look at the history, criminalities, winks and nods of police, and the behind-the-scenes components enabling and perpetuating this century-old system of corruption. I got into the life through family, and though I'm in college now, I will likely go out again next season. The police supervisor, having a policy of non-enforcement on carnival midways, refused to dispatch a unit to talk to the victim and witnesses to the larceny by trick. William A. Riedthaler, renowned games enforcement expert, informed me that the total figure might be as high as $40 billion. Frank had been granted state fair contracts in Michigan and Florida over the previous 25 years. There were hundreds of victims. Pre-teens are allowed to play a classic gambling game called Crazy Ball at most festivals and fairs. As a retired police officer, I continued to expose and help curb what I found to be a free-wheeling crime anomaly, by publishing several investigative accounts, including two books: Carnival Games: It is quite common for illegal carnival operators to pay off police and public officials in order to operate, says Riedthaler in the Corruption of Officials section of his police training seminar called , On February 6, 2015, Willie Lovett was sentenced to 7.5 years in federal prison for Conspiracy to obstruct enforcement of criminal laws and related gambling crimes. Human flotsam. Argo was arrested on May 5, 2001 in the City of Taylor, Michigan, for operating fraudulent gambling machines. The old classic carnivals with geeks & shows of dubious morality etc. Carnival life in 2023 is mostly different than the old days, but in a few ways its the same. Cries for a state law started after a convicted sex offender working as a carnival worker raped and drugged a 15-year-old girl at the Illinois State Fair in 2001. My dad owns a traveling carnival. In the carnival business, the slang synonymous with rig or trick is gaff; i.e., The game is gaffed. Most operators of gaffed games combine gambling with the gaff in order to pinch as much money as possible from the unwitting customer. I am well aware of the acceptability of these games by the general public and the misplaced attitude of Whats the big deal? This is an ideal way for owners to feel they bought and own the loyalty of cops on their midways. Razzle, which combines the magic of sleight of hand with bait and switch, and psychology, is difficult to explain without physically demonstrating it. You see these guys when they beak up the show and leave-their trucks are all blowing blue smoke and look like they are ready for the junkyeard. Im curious because Ive worked shows for many years, both as a canvas boss and business manager. Are the officers who wear NAME shirts really policing officers or just bouncers with the job of protecting games and ridding the midway of sore losers?. With 80 yards most marks are usually willing to buy more plays; however, the marble total often adds to 29, the dreaded doubling number. Each time 29 is played, the agent doubles the prize and the mark must double his wager. Police departments must take appropriate action to guarantee that all midway games are skill-based, checked, and rechecked by valid security, thus reducing the chances of illegally obtained cash laundered via middlemen (sponsors), to pay the contract for midway security. Authorities initially speculated that the gang members had killed McDaniel because they were afraid that he was an informant, but others suspected that he was actually taken out by Pusser. [3] As words are assimilated into the culture at large, they lose their function and are replaced by more obscure or insular terms. Police officials in Wayne County and the City of Dearborn have been allowing known rigged games at their carnivals for the last decade while patrons were under the impression they were being protected by cops seen patrolling the midway. For the youthful victim, rebound energy forced her ball out of the empty tub each time because the angle of the tub is always set up to cause failure in this scam. Instead, the Dixie Mafia was a rag-tag band of crooks who were willing to do just about any crime if there was money involved. Some of them love their job;some dislike it and do it to get by. Yeah, maybe. We certainly hope this deals them a major blow, said one attorney at the time. The objective of the Razzle agent is to. It does tend to be full of gossip since everyone works and lives with each other in close quartersRide and customer safety is the number-one priority. But the operation unraveled when half a million dollars suddenly went missing. Watch Gummo. Risky Rides: Carnival Workers' Grueling Hours May Threaten Safety. At a recent federal corruption trial, federal investigators testified that Lovett took bribes from a carnival owner during a nine-year period of carnival events from 2004 to 2013 to protect illegal carnival games including a classic old carnival game known as Razzle Dazzle. It is estimated that Lovett, while chief, took bribe installments which amounted to $75,000. Since then, very little has been heard about the Cornbread Cosa Nostra. But the carnival I work forhas spent a long time building their image up to try to distance themselves from the stigma. Youll win it this next time for sure. All players lay a bet down on a color and only one of the players throws a rubbery ball in a bin of 96 colored holes. The fair is an extension of her; it is her identity and passion. Not to say that all carnies are no-goodniks, but I think theres enough evidence and history to see where the reputation comes from. In this CBS News Online, July 12, 2011, video expos, U.S. Federal law enforcement needs to pay attention to the probability of tax evasion, likely involving many millions of dollars annually, as well as checking for gambling equipment-trailers rolling across state lines in violation of the Johnson Act (Interstate transportation of gambling equipment). A new lawyer has taken the helm of the legal department at Carnival Corp., but the cruise lines longtime general counsel isnt abandoning ship just yet. The flatty allowed this gentleman to leave and return with money retrieved from an ATM several times. That occurred even though state police checked carnival workers' backgrounds. Federal indictments involving four members of La Cosa Nostra in the carnival rackets resulted in convictions in 2013. Bobby Reynolds? At that point, when the agent tossed the demo balls in, the secret deadening ball absorbed the energy of the demo balls. This complaint and the 2011 complaint to Richardson vanished and both verbal and written statements were never filed in police records. Our excitement over cotton candy and carnival rides easily matches that of our kids. These are people that would otherwise be homeless if not for the ability to count to 2 with both hands. WebEmployees felt differently about being labeled a carnie, a name colloquially used to describe carnival workers. Ive seen horror shows and Ive seen highschool kids. So - I dont know how that applies to all carny workers. Any accurate count of the marbles will correspond to no yards on the chart.). State law prohibits child sex offenders from working at a carnival. He placed ads in gay publications posing as a young stud named Eddie Johnson to attract correspondence from unsuspecting readers. On the night of February 18, 1969, at least five alleged members of the Dixie Mafia ransacked the Skeebow Trailer Court near Lake Pontchartrain, where traveling carnival employees had set up their camp. Basically, sedentary people dont like transient people. After my shift that day, I saw that city carnival for myself and was just as shocked. (No, not that Cecil. (AP) Three carnival workers have been charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting of a couple at a Kansas fair whose bodies were I hope I have answered it for you. As a career police officer with the Dearborn Police Department (Michigan) and trained in enforcement of carnival games, I became concerned about this unique brand of plain view criminal activity. Aside from forming alliances with some members of law enforcement, the Dixie Mafia also worked alongside fellow mobsters. There must be collaboration among governmental agencies regarding the identification, tracking, and documenting of these interstate businessmen along with recognizing the moral and social ills associated with the intentions of most to take criminal financial advantage of children. Heres my take on it - it isnt that theyre any different than anyone else in a highly-transient, blue collar labor force, its just that theyre the only ones in such a position who come into contact with average families and kids in a situation where theyre ostensibly supposed to be having fun and the environment is supposed to be happy and jolly. The cruise line giant Carnival Corporation and its Princess subsidiary have agreed to pay a criminal penalty of $20 million for environmental violations such as The Outdoor Amusement Business Association advocates for carnival companies to conduct background checks and wants to work with legislators to draft a law that can be fair to companies, Johnson said. That pretty much sums it up. Add to that the fact that their livelihood is specifically and directly derived from extracting money from members of said society, and it shouldnt be surprising that there is some shadiness there. I pay 10-to-1!. A 9-day North Carolina State Fair has grossed $9 million for the state. In 2011, I personally complained to Wayne County Sheriffs Office, Deputy Chief Dennis Richardson, commander on site, about 12 in-progress rigged basketball games called One in Wins. The basketball rims were actually elliptical and had deceivingly small openings. Law enforcement must first recognize this systemic national illness and how it capitalizes on unprotected Americans. In 2012, a financial advisor from New York City, who read about Razzle in one of my books, wrote to inform me that he was swindled for a total of $11,000 as a result of playing Razzle at a Manhattan street fair. I did grounds crew and stage setup for county fairs for a summer after high school. Volume rip-offs against vulnerable teens are an almost complaint-free luxury. By the time all is said and done, it's usually about a 20- to 24-hour shift of hard physical labor, depending on how smoothly things go. Authorities on enforcement of carnival games estimate that 25 percent of all carnival games nationwide are fraudulent. The numbers of arrests and convictions found in the background checks do not surprise Burbank Police Chief Bruce Radowicz. I havent thought about that in a long time. For example, according to campaign contribution records, Frank Zaitshik, Wade Shows owner, his wife Melissa, and son Garrington, contributed a combined total of $11,500 to the Michigan Democratic Central Committee on September 5, 2002, one month before Democrat Jennifer Granholm was elected governor of Michigan. This trickery employs a miscall or miscount known as carnival fairbanking, which is a duplicitous scheme, i.e., the flatty misguides the mark through alluring favoritism as an inducement to draw his prey further into the costly illusion of winning a luxurious prize and enormous cash. As such, yeah, they do sometimes attract the less than savory folks. But even incarceration couldnt stop them from committing crimes. From the foul line, the rims appeared to be regulation and served to attract and dupe naive victims out of $2 a shot. Few cities have ordinances that require background checks. Carnival workers have also said they were forced to live in filthy trailers or bunkhouses. All states will allow honest games of chance at not-for-profit fundraisers, such as raffles or millionaire parties for charitable organizations and churches. Well I dont think theyre shady as much as they simply look like they have come from extremely impoverished environments, or have led very harsh lives given the state of their average dental health, and their overall haggard look. Drift along, into the next jurisdiction to start it all over. It would be a winning proposition to bet that changes in carnival status wont come overnight. Oct 21, 2022 / Comments Off on Chiefs, Criminals, & Carnival Workers: A Brief History of Tattoo with Adam Romano Comments This short lecture shares the story They dont have ties in the community. So, the grifter swiftly adds up the total with sleight of hand (two hands at a time), and announces a false (fairbank) number, 44, which corresponds to 50 yards on the puzzling conversion chart. The happy mark, already halfway to the prize, then pays only $2 to buy another spill of the marbles. Along with other costs, in most cases, a contracted carnival owner pays the contract fee, (around $1million), in advance of a long-running state fair. No one has an accurate figure because much of the cash is unreported industry-wide, said Riedthaler, also a retired Cleveland Police Department detective. In late 1991 and 1992, the grisly murder of Ault - involving carnival workers and satanism - dominated Indiana and Ohio headlines for months. Most of the carnival workers were busy manning concessions in the French Quarter of New Orleans that night. The British form of fairground cant is called "polari". But years later, it became a terrifying criminal Step right on up! Have you ever played a carnival game and felt cheated? Get up to work twelve hour days for the next two weeks or so, then work a twelve hour day, take down your ride, show, what have you and drive it to the next spot, without sleep, usually a few hundred miles away. I would set up and tear down the merry-go-round every week with the same crew; we were each other's backbone. Nix and later Halat were both convicted in the conspiracy that led to the judges death. As reported in the. A central question was whether Rodham was paid by the Gregorys to gain White House access and help to obtain pardons or whether Rodham was paid for legitimate business services. In my early years as a police officer of the Dearborn Police Department and working the information desk, a man named Steve Nowosielski walked in to complain that carnival employees were stealing from the patrons with Razzle at the city carnival only 100 yards from the police station. In 2001, the U.S. Justice Department investigated the Gregorys and determined that from 1998-2001, Tony Rodham received a total of $323,769 in salary and loans from the Gregorys. Gregorys little moon-walk act looks good on the six-o-clock news; however, everyone in the industry knows that carnival owners and managers are never in the dark about the corrupt features of every dirty game on their midways. I pointed Thomas in the direction of a carnival supply company where she could purchase the rim, which she acquired in time for the feature. Combined with the fact that fair season didn't line up well with my school's almost year-round schedule, they thought it best to quit the business. Heres my take on it - it isnt that theyre any different than anyone else in a highly-transient, blue collar labor force, its just that theyre the only ones in such a position who come into contact with average families and kids in a situation where theyre ostensibly supposed to be having fun and the environment is supposed to be happy and jolly. "Some of them, you wonder why they are not in jail," Radowicz said. A week after Dearborns Arab festival, Sandra Thomas took her Today show hidden camera investigation crew to NAMEs midways in Biloxi, Mississippi, and Indianapolis, Indiana, to see if the NAME carnivals at those locations displayed crooked games. We take pride in what we do. I completed a larceny report for Steve, who told about the carnival patch and offered to lend me the book by John Scarne entitled. In 2000, just prior to leaving office, President Clinton pardoned the Gregorys. Dang, and I bet the smile you give wouldve made me buy more of whatever you were selling. The two Razzle games, managed by an up and coming Frank Zaitshik, were shut down. In running background checks at five events, the Illinois attorney general's office and Cook County sheriff's department found that among 179 carnival employees, there had been 556 arrests and 125 convictions, according to a letter sent to law enforcement agencies. Troops Cheated out of Money at Carnival,Armen Keteyian investigated a Texas-based company called Century 21 Shows at Fort Hood for allegedly defrauding its special guests: American soldiers returning from the Mid-east war or deploying to war. WebBusiness Insider asked current and former cruise-ship workers what they wish they could tell passengers but can't. State legislators said carnival companies have exaggerated costs to kill bills. In Scotland they are simply known as "'''Travellers'''" ( not to be confused with Irish travellers or Gypsies) . With the corrupt fail-safe protection system in place, carny-owners dont have to worry about their lawbreakers ever having to face criminal charges. These sneaky tub-type games are displayed on over 90 percent of carnival midways which I had checked in Michigan, with tub-agents using the age-old deadening-ball trick on the mark. (Regulation rims are 18 inches in diameter). For example, this letter - from someone actually defending carnies and who says theyre much-maligned and decent people, acknowledges obviously rigged games as a given. Good ol Uncle Cecil. When interviewed by reporters, carnival owners and managers never will admit to personal misdeeds and will fabricate a tale about being unaware of any criminal activity on the midway. They collected roughly $12,000, although the victims may have underreported the theft to avoid tax troubles. 47% of Carnival Workers have a high school diploma degree, 10% major in criminal justice. A report by the U.S. House Committee on Government Reform concluded that United Shows of America, Inc. paid Rodham $240,000 for undocumented consulting services. Im not sure what other highly-transient, blue collar labor force[s] youre alluding to, but I disagree that carnies only seem different from such groups because of where and how they interact with the public. For other uses, see. In reach of the big payoff at 95 yards but broke, the mark is encouraged by the slick talking flatty to go to the automatic teller machine (ATM) and return with more money stating: You need just a few more yards to win a thousand dollars for each hundred you invested. Assisting the NBCs Today show (and reimbursed for expenses) as their police carnival games expert, I was assigned by Thomas to investigate Michigan carnivals and especially the games at the 2012 Arab Festival, which draws about 300,000 patrons. Starting Jan. 1, 2019, Illinois law will require carnival companies to conduct criminal background checks of all employees. NBC producer Sandra Thomass Today show and Dateline features used several hidden cameras at NAMEs carnivals in June, 2012, and were able to capture on film and describe the agents cheating deadening ball maneuver during both NBC 2012 exposs narrated by NBCs national correspondent Jeff Rossen, entitled Rossen Reports: Are carnival games cheating you - and your kids?". Unbeknownst to authorities, Dixie Mafia leader Kirksey McCord Nix Jr. was orchestrating an elaborate extortion scheme from behind bars. (This practice, one would presume, should already be standard police procedure and routine.). Pop two balloons and get your pick of any prize! The new law, sponsored by State Senator In all three cases, the police refused to write a basic incident report upon complaints and requests for assistance. I had alienated some ranking officers because I thought my job in law enforcement was to protect festivalgoers and to crack down on the crooks. This impeded rebound, giving the impression of an easy win as the grifters demo balls never bounce out. What sideshows have you worked in? It goes back to the Nomads versus the Egypt, Rome versus the Barbarians. A lot of money came flowing in, said retired FBI Special Agent Keith Bell. Because of the mixture of carnival-related contract money and politics, the unwritten rule in Dearborn and other towns figures to be: No enforcement of midway games!, NAME also had a contract to pay off-duty Joliet, Illinois, police officers an hourly rate of $49.92 to work security at a weekend shopping mall carnival. Well, up until this year the State Fair would hire a lot of day workers from the local homeless population. He was an alcoholic. Jeff Blomsness of South Barrington-based All Star Amusements Co. said his company conducts background checks and drug tests on workers. Griffin is one of at least three traveling carnival workers who have been arrested in Bucks County since 2013 with criminal records one of them for crimes Another 25 percent are illegal since they are gambling games. Knowing I was on firm ground, and having experienced a pattern of these intimidation tactics, arrest threats, and failed defamation suits on other occasions, I was wondering if these irritated cops wouldnt chance trumping up an arrest with creative writing. Theres something inherently interresting in flirting with the danger of putting your entertainment in the hands of a untrustworthy-looking stranger, and I know more than one of our crew made extra money just off of their image / appearance in that way. Once this amiable operative talks the mark into using the free pass, it is already the beginning of the end. Any reported unfavorable incident during the annual festival would create bad press and taint sponsors as well as all involved, in addition to a loss of future revenue and visitors. Other towns, such as Naperville, hosting its Last Fling last weekend, rely on the carnival companies' honesty to check if sex offenders are working in the midst of children. Then, just after the child paid, I observed the grifter evasively remove the deadening ball (gaff ball) at the same time he removed the demo balls. NBC News; NBC News.com Today show 7/13/2012 (and also aired on Dateline 8/19/12). They will always refer to any bad guys as independent contractors and not employees of the carnival even when they are paying the carnival owner for the privilege of occupying cheating space. Repeat for nine months. It's actually a really fun environment. The bill would increase fines for amusement companies for failing to check the criminal history of new hires. Thomas also requested that I play the games. By the 1980s, many top members of the Dixie Mafia had found themselves in prison. In many ways, Biloxi was an ideal place for the Dixie Mafias stomping grounds. Im a public librarian, and I gotta say I really dont like Larry who drinks in the bathroom checking that safety catch on the Scrambler, ya know? Go to work at 6 am;go to bed at 2 am the next day. He agrees with legislators pushing a law requiring background checks but wants to make sure the carnival industry has input, specifically regarding who will pay for the checks. While the Dixie Mafia had no formal ties to La Cosa Nostra, they did have an understanding with a notorious Italian-American Mafia mob boss named Carlos Marcello. Youll also find quite a few references to various arrests, some of In my research spanning the last 17 years, I estimate that about 75 percent of carnival games on todays traveling midways are gambling, frauds, or a combination of both; up from law enforcements earlier estimate of 50 percent. Michael L. Cella was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and sentenced to 3 years in prison for fondling the children while strapping them in for rides. It usually takes zero years It was a crime spree that spanned four generations and crossed multiple states from Texas to Oregon, beginning in the early 1920s with ancestors who were A worker with a criminal background sexually assaulted three children at Downers Grove Heritage Fest two years ago, according to DuPage County records. At large expositions, such as a state fair, the money is massive and the split is different. At the time, Nix was already serving a life sentence for a 1972 murder (unrelated to the death of Buford Pussers wife). How many kids want to go to a sideshow these days? After a fruitful investigation, Thomas phoned to say that many of the games appeared to be rigged, based on results. In 2003, Frank popped for another $5,000 for the campaign of New Mexico Democrat governor-elect, Bill Richardson. The owner, manager, or patch of a carnival who pays police security, either directly or indirectly through a third party, with the expectation of having police-protected illegal games, would be in violation of the federal RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) U.S. Code, Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 11, section 201, Bribery of public officials. Gifts and gratuities handed out for the same purpose also amount to bribery. Carnival midways are the only venues in the United States where local police departments allow carnival lots to be free crime zones for illegal gambling, larceny, and fraud. Some Dixie Mafia members were allegedly hired to collect debts and carry out hits for him. NAME actually had company shirts available for their carny-cops, stating SECURITY., While working the security detail on that NAME midway, are the Joliet cops supposed to protect and serve carnival-goers, or just the carnies? 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