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Republican city boss Louis ‘The Commodore’ Kuehnle steals votes to retain power
1890: Republican city boss Louis ‘The Commodore’ Kuehnle steals votes to retain power — and line his pockets — and keep gambling joints and brothels open. In 1909, there were more votes counted than registered voters. State authorities take notice and start various resort corruption probes. -
Kuehnle is charged and convicted of misconduct
Kuehnle is charged and convicted of misconduct after voting to award a paving contract to a company he had an interest in while vice president of the city’s Water Commission. The state also catches four City Council members soliciting $500 in bribes for their support to pave the Boardwalk with concrete. The men were secretly recorded on the newly invented dictograph. -
, Enoch ‘Nucky’ Johnson lavishly rules Atlantic County until 1941
After Kuehnle’s fall, Enoch ‘Nucky’ Johnson ‘picked up his toga,’ according to a 1939 news story. He lavishly rules Atlantic County until 1941. State launches corruption sting in 1912 at urging of hoteliers; arrests follow. He hosted ‘Scarface’ Al Capone of Chicago and other mob figures in 1929, while they were in town for the first national mobsters convention. During Prohibition, liquor was plentiful and speakeasies, prostitution and gambling operated under police protection. -
Johnson is indicted for evading taxes
1939: Johnson is indicted for evading taxes on $125,000 in income and siphoning profits from rail station construction. He is convicted in 1941 and is sentenced to 10 years in prison. He returns powerless in 1945. -
State Sen. Frank S. ‘Hap’ Farley is elected chairman of the Atlantic County Republican Committee
1941: State Sen. Frank S. ‘Hap’ Farley is elected chairman of the Atlantic County Republican Committee and wields significant power in the city. Mayor Tommy ‘Two-Gun’ Taggart promotes reform, but Farley’s machine prevails. About 200 bookies and numbers racketeers did about $3 million in business annually. Herman ‘Stumpy’ Orman is believed to be working with Farley. -
‘Four Horsemen’ conduct unauthorized raids on illegal gambling and other activities
Late 1940s, Early ’50s: Atlantic City police officers known as the ‘Four Horsemen’ conduct unauthorized raids on illegal gambling and other activities. Leader Jack Portock, William ‘Big Six’ Shepperson, Francis Gribbin and Fred Warlich also begin digging up dirt on the city’s political bosses and crime bosses — including Hap Farley and Stumpy Orman. -
The Kefauver Commission exposes criminal activities
1951: The Kefauver Commission exposes criminal activities that are rampant under the administration of political boss Farley as well as others across the country. -
Portock and Gribbin are ‘framed’ with charges of conspiracy and soliciting bribes
1951: In August, Portock and Gribbin are ‘framed’ with charges of conspiracy and soliciting bribes. Gribbin is charged with extortion and corrupt solicitation of a bribe. All four are eventually fired from the force. In 1971, the state attorney general studies the frame-up charge. In September, an Atlantic County grand jury indicts seven city police officers, including Police Chief Harry Saunders, on charges of misconduct. The group allegedly conspired to obstruct the ‘Four Horsemen,’ but were a -
Two-year investigation brings federal grand jury indictments on bribery, conspiracy and extortion
1972: Prompted by reporting in what was then The Atlantic City Press, a two-year investigation into payroll padding at city hall and kickbacks brings federal grand jury indictments on bribery, conspiracy and extortion. In 1973, ‘The Atlantic City Seven’ — including former Mayors Richard S. Jackson and William T. Somers, former commissioner Arthur Ponzio and former city employee Karlos LaSane — are found guilty. -
Police corruption probe leads to about 30 indictments
1975: Police corruption probe leads to about 30 indictments through the recordings of local motel owner Lee Cohn, who wore a hidden tape recorder for months during the investigation into payoffs and corruption. According to the indictment, some police officers intended to rob the bodies of people who died in Cohn’s hotels. -
Mayor Michael Matthews pleads guilty to extortion
1984: Mayor Michael Matthews pleads guilty to extorting $10,000 from an undercover FBI agent posing as a developer connected to Philadelphia organized crime. He is sentenced to 15 years, but is released in 5½ with 9½ years’ probation. -
Mayor James L. Usry, Council President Walter Collette and 11 others from the city are charged with municipal bribery and influence peddling conspiracies
1989: In July, Mayor James L. Usry, Council President Walter Collette and 11 others from the city are charged with municipal bribery and influence peddling conspiracies following an eight-month State Police undercover ‘Operation COMSERV’ aided by private investigator Albert Black. In a weak case, only four go to trial. Only Gene Dorn is found guilty and is sentenced to four years. Usry pleads guilty to a lesser charge — violating state campaign-contribution regulations — and is accepted into pre -
Harris and Bailey are convicted of conspiracy and bribery
1989: E. James Bradley, city planning director, is instrumental in coercing a casino laundry contract for political ally W. Oscar Harris in exchange for parking garage approval. Harris and former mercantile inspector Alonzo Bailey are convicted of conspiracy and bribery and sentenced to 8 and 6½ years, respectively, in 1990. Bradley, 47, dies of a heart attack in 1989. -
Mayor Lorenzo Langford and friend William ‘Speedy’ Marsh ordered to return money
2002: City Council votes to award $850,000 to Mayor Lorenzo Langford and friend William ‘Speedy’ Marsh. The state attorney general later deems the settlement illegal because Langford’s position created a conflict of interest. The two are ordered to return the money, but it is all spent. The funds are later deducted from their city salaries. -
The state attorney general indicted Atlantic City Councilman Marty Small
2005: The state attorney general indicted Atlantic City Councilman Marty Small on 11 voter-fraud charges. He is later acquitted at trial. -
Langford admits to the violation
2005: The federal Office of Special Counsel files a Hatch Act complaint against Lorenzo Langford, saying the resort’s mayor unlawfully used his influence in a contentious 2003 council race that his candidate lost. Langford later admits to the violation and is barred from returning to public office for 18 months. -
Federal corruption probe ensnares City Council President Craig Callaway
2006: A federal corruption probe ensnares City Council President Craig Callaway, two of his council colleagues and four others in several bribery schemes that stretched to Camden. -
Callaway, along with two of his brothers are indicted on charges related to a blackmail
2007: Callaway, along with two of his brothers, Councilman John Schultz and another associate, are indicted on charges related to a blackmail attempt against rival Councilman Eugene Robinson, who was secretly filmed with a prostitute. The video was later used in an attempt to force him out of office. -
Mayor Bob Levy disappears from public sight for two weeks
2007: Mayor Bob Levy attracts a national media storm when he disappears from public sight for two weeks. When he resurfaces, he resigns his office while under a federal investigation into later affirmed allegations he exaggerated his military record to collect increased benefits. -
A state grand jury indicts Councilman Marty Small
2009: A state grand jury indicts Councilman Marty Small for a second time on charges of alleged election fraud. Former Councilwoman Cassandra McCall-Clark was also indicted on charges related to her role in approving city real estate transactions from which she benefited.
