Soapy Smith. Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith II (November 2, 1860 – July 8, 1898) was a famous con artist, saloon and gambling house proprietor, gangster and crime boss of the nineteenth century old west.
His most famous scam, the prize package soap sell racket, presented him with the sobriquet of "Soapy," which remained with him to his death. Although he traveled and operated his confidence swindles all across the western United States he is most famous for having a major hand in the organized criminal operations of Denver, Colorado; Creede, Colorado; and Skagway, Alaska, from 1879 to 1898. In Denver he ran several saloons, gambling halls, cigar stores, and auction houses that specialized in cheating its clientele. It was in Denver that Soapy began to make a name for himself across the country as a bad man. Denver is also where he entered into the arena of political fixing, where, for favors, he could sway the outcome of city, county, and state elections. Early years[edit] Career[edit] Jeff. Meet the Past: Tom Pendergast, December 13, 2007. The Political Machine of Tom Pendergast of Kansas City, Missouri.
The story of the Pendergast Machine starts with Jim Pendergast, an older brother of Tom.
The Pendergasts came from St. Joseph, Missouri. First Jim came to Kansas City. He worked in an iron foundry for five years with no prospects for a life other than that of a workman. Then one day he made a large bet on a long shot in a horse race and won. Tom served as the cashier and bookkeeper for Jim's first saloon. Tom also adopted Jim's cardinal rule that a man must always keep his promises. The Pendergasts sought to control Kansas City and its county, Jackson County. The Pendergasts and Joe Shannon were both bosses in the Democratic Party. In 1900 the Pendergasts got their first mayor and replaced Republican city workers with their supporters. Jim Pendergast feared the rivalry between the Goats and the Rabbits would enable the Republicans to win back political power so he negotiated an arrangement with Joe Shannon to share equally the spoils of political control of Kansas City.
Enoch L. Johnson. Enoch Lewis "Nucky" Johnson (January 20, 1883 – December 9, 1968) was an Atlantic City, New Jersey political boss and racketeer.
From the 1910s until his imprisonment in 1941, he was the undisputed "boss" of the political machine that controlled Atlantic City and the Atlantic County government. Using his political position to his advantage, his rule encompassed the Roaring Twenties when Atlantic City was at the height of its popularity as a temporary refuge from Prohibition; his organization also was involved in bootlegging, gambling and prostitution. Early life[edit] Enoch Lewis Johnson was born on January 20, 1883 in Galloway Township, New Jersey to Smith E. and Virginia Johnson.[1] His nickname "Nucky" was derived from his forename Enoch.[1]