The Spectator: Who Killed Molly Zelko

Episode 2: “Speculation” Perhaps no one held more influence over Molly Zelko than the Spectator’s owner and her longtime mentor Bill McCabe. Almost a decade before Molly disappeared, McCabe was a powerful political force in Joliet and wielded The Spectator to influence public opinion. He had previously served as an Illinois State Senator, Will County State's Attorney and Mayor of the neighboring Village of Lockport. Giving and taking the hard elbows of Joliet politics, McCabe was not afraid to make enemies - until a fateful night in 1948 in which he was beaten within inches of his life.

On the morning of September 26, 1957, Joliet Newspaper Editor Molly Zelko disappears. All that remains are two black, high-heeled shoes tossed carelessly near her 1955 Chrysler Sedan parked outside of her home. Through her newspaper, the weekly Joliet Spectator, Molly had been aggressively investigating gambling rackets in Joliet, chiefly pinball, which were linked closely to the Chicago syndicate. In the 1950s, Joliet’s proximity to Chicago made it a strategic location where the lines between business, politics, and crime were blurred. During this period, the syndicate was undergoing a leadership change from the Capone-era gangsters Paul Ricca and Tony Accardo to a younger faction led by Sam Giancana.

A bizarre break in the Molly Zelko occurs when it is revealed that Robert F. Kennedy traveled to Joliet to search for her after a confession was made from a syndicate hood named Jimmy Rini, aka “The Green Hornet.” Kennedy was then the chief counsel to the McClellan Committee, which was investigating links between union labor and its leadership under Jimmy Hoffa to organized crime figures in New York and Chicago. Rini recanted his confession, claiming he fabricated the story to gaslight the authorities. Rini was interviewed by Chicago journalist John Conroy years later where he recounted his life of crime and despite openly bragging about a variety of despicable criminal acts, becomes rattled when discussing his role in the Zelko case.