Episode 2 - "Speculation"

12/05/19 • 29 min

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.

Previous Episode

Episode 1 - "Hell A' Poppin"

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.

Next Episode

Episode 3 - "We Knew Them Well"

Francis “The Thin Man” Curry was the syndicate’s manager of gambling operations in Joliet and Will County. His path to leadership was a bloody one, and probably by no coincidence was closely aligned with local political forces in Joliet. Curry was documented as having a particularly close relationship with Paul Ricca, the co-chairman of the Chicago syndicate. Curry’s involvement with the outfit was an open secret in Joliet when Molly disappeared, though he appears to have been remembered as a well-respected member of the community.