When Corruption Was King: How I Helped the Mob Rule Chicago, Then Brought the Outfit Down

Bob Cooley was the Chicago Mafias fixer of court cases. During the 1970s and 80s, Cooley bribed judges, juries, and cops to keep his Mob clients out of jail. Paid handsomely for his services, he lived fast and enjoyed the protection of the men he served. Yet, by the end of the 90s, without a pending conviction, he became the star witness in nine federal trials that took down the most powerful Mafia family in the history of organized crime. When Corruption Was King is the story of a Mob lawyer turned mole with a million-dollar contract on his head who went back and forth between sin and sainthooda turbulent youth, a stint on Chicagos police force, law school, and then the inner sanctum of Chicagos wiseguys. He dined with Mob bosses and shared last suppers with friends before their gangland executions. In a startling act of conscience, Cooley walked into the office of the U.S. Organized Crime Strike Force and agreed to wear a wire on the very same Mafia overlords who had made him a player. This book, including eight pages of memorable photographs, reveals the personal story behind the federal governments most successful Mafia investigation.