This system of carnival-related racketeering and conspiracy to obstruct law enforcement can only be investigated and prosecuted at the federal level. In 2014, a Razzle victim wrote to me about being fleeced for $7,000 at a festival in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. The owner, manager, or patch of a carnival who pays police security, either directly or indirectly through a third party, with the expectation of having police-protected illegal games, would be in violation of the federal RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) U.S. Code, Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 11, section 201, Bribery of public officials. Gifts and gratuities handed out for the same purpose also amount to bribery. The big con: With very close examination, it is revealed that the marble board is 3s- and 4s- heavy, making 29 the eight marble average tally. In April of 2015, another Razzle player stated that he lost $2,500 at a shopping-mall carnival in Tallahassee. Other blue collar labor force workers generally have a predictable place to spend the night, if only because they need to be at work the next day. confuse the mark, build him up repetitively and let him believe he is close to the big win. This seedy history and the ongoing corruption of local officials made the city an attractive place for lawbreakers. I've worked nine years at one of the largest single-unit carnivals in the country. After my shift that day, I saw that city carnival for myself and was just as shocked. Rather the way they interact with the public is a large part of what makes them different. In 2012, a financial advisor from New York City, who read about Razzle in one of my books, wrote to inform me that he was swindled for a total of $11,000 as a result of playing Razzle at a Manhattan street fair. We take pride in what we do. But by the early 1990s, the syndicate had largely collapsed. In 1967, McNairy County Sheriff Buford Pusser and his wife were attacked in Tennessee likely in retaliation for Pussers crackdown on the Dixie Mafia. As reported in the. They dont draw a line, everything is fair game.. They dont have ties in the community. Step right up to the king of all carnival rip-offs, Razzle Dazzle, which searches for and destroys its prey. I think the reputation of carnies goes back much, much further to the suspicion and hatred of people like the Gypsies and extending today to our dislike of fucking hippies. This game is not only fraudulent, (deception for money), it is much worse when adults steal from young kids. No state requires background checks, said Bob Johnson of the Florida-based Outdoor Amusement Business Association, a national trade group. In this CBS News Online, July 12, 2011, video expos, U.S. WebBusiness Insider asked current and former cruise-ship workers what they wish they could tell passengers but can't. According to information from a Dearborn police officer, in confidence, the police department security hired to patrol Dearborns Arab International Festival is annually awarded a $10,000 contract by festival sponsor, American Arab Chamber of Commerce, to pay overtime for the services of off-duty police officers who patrol the four-day event. Convicted of bank loan schemes in 1986 and never spending a day in prison, the Gregorys befriended Tony Rodham, brother of President Bill Clintons wife, and now presidential candidate, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and were awarded the contracts to operate his carnival, United Shows of America Inc., for President Clintons White House Press Picnic in 1998 and 2000. It is an ever-changing form of communication, in large part designed to be impossible to understand by an outsider. With the corrupt fail-safe protection system in place, carny-owners dont have to worry about their lawbreakers ever having to face criminal charges. Theft, fraud, and sexual misconduct are all examples of these crimes. In 2012, I was contacted by NBCs Today show producer Sandra Thomas, who wanted to consult with me regarding a story about carnival games. At three events checked this summer by the attorney general and sheriff's offices, no background problems were discovered. FacebookKirksey McCord Nix Jr., one of the notorious leaders of the Dixie Mafia. Griffin is one of at least three traveling carnival workers who have been arrested in Bucks County since 2013 with criminal records one of them for crimes Repeat for nine months. I completed a larceny report for Steve, who told about the carnival patch and offered to lend me the book by John Scarne entitled Scarnes New Complete Guide to Gambling.Scarne writes that the patch is a carnival front man who squares complaints with players and police. The patch, who is sometimes a lawyer (in carnival terms the mender or fixer), collects patch money from crooked game agents who pay him to bribe police or to patch up any problems with wiped out sore losers. The patch may arrive in advance of the carnival to make friends and deals. On display are these same games at the same locations overseen by the same police personnel and civic leaders annually. As such, yeah, they do sometimes attract the less than savory folks. I disagree. The carnival industrys sleazy image is in dire need of a facelift. The carnies of Reddit have answered some questions about what lifes really like when theyre on the road.. A separate background check by Palatine police in July turned up registered sex offender Richardo Coleman of Chicago working as a merry-go-round operator for St. Charles-based Windy City Amusements Inc. Palatine does not have an ordinance, but police request a copy of carnival employees' names to run checks. By the 1980s, many top members of the Dixie Mafia had found themselves in prison. It is quite common for illegal carnival operators to pay off police and public officials in order to operate, says Riedthaler in the Corruption of Officials section of his police training seminar called Carnival Games Gambling and Frauds.. Few cities have ordinances that require background checks. He placed ads in gay publications posing as a young stud named Eddie Johnson to attract correspondence from unsuspecting readers. Civilized folks are always suspicious of transients, and it goes back a lot further than Gypsies. It was adopted after a stabbing by a carnival worker in 2001. Most of the carnival workers were busy manning concessions in the French Quarter of New Orleans that night. So - I dont know how that applies to all carny workers. Do a little googling on carnies and carnival workers and youll find thats a common assessment. Yes, they are scraping by and yes they are poor, but labor ready hires anyone who is there to work at 6am in the morning . But for veteran crime writer and crusading editor J. Patrick OConnor, the factsor a lack of themdidnt add up. I estimated that the 12 innocent-looking basketball games alone accounted for $25,000 in 2012, based on the numbers of neighborhood kids trying their luck endlessly for four days. Not an easy life. The same carny-cops (police officers patrolling the midway), and the same returning interstate carny-outlaws appear to be working in concert for income at annual extravaganzas. He never held a job for long, as far as I know. Lots of hard work, but I got to meet some great people - especially the bands we set up for. Johnson called previous proposed legislation discriminatory. State legislators said carnival companies have exaggerated costs to kill bills. By the time all is said and done, it's usually about a 20- to 24-hour shift of hard physical labor, depending on how smoothly things go. Youll win it this next time for sure. A new lawyer has taken the helm of the legal department at Carnival Corp., but the cruise lines longtime general counsel isnt abandoning ship just yet. Ugh. Carnival workers have also said they were forced to live in filthy trailers or bunkhouses. Frank had been granted state fair contracts in Michigan and Florida over the previous 25 years. Furthermore, Lovett was convicted on two charges of extortion and two more charges of making false statements to the FBI. Theres something inherently interresting in flirting with the danger of putting your entertainment in the hands of a untrustworthy-looking stranger, and I know more than one of our crew made extra money just off of their image / appearance in that way. Often described as the Cornbread Cosa Nostra, the Dixie Mafia first emerged in the American South in the 1960s. The long hours of travel, erection (no pun intended, as I cant even imaging a Carny getting a hard-on with all the Meth in thier system) and tear-down of the carnival are custom-made for Meth abuse and Nut-jobs. They even have their own language., At least thats what people think about carnies. The various suspect games on NAMEs midway, vividly depicted in Biloxi and Indianapolis, are featured in Jeff Rossens and Sandra Thomass 2012 expos. The Razzle agent, known as a flatty, carnival jargon for the operator of a crooked big-dollar table game called a flat joint or flat store, is a professional con man with an enticing appeal. A prime example is the Chief Willie Lovett case. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. This is lawful gambling provided that the event is licensed and monitored by the state. Exclusive to Razzle is its signature conversion chart.. If a person cheats customers, it is likely that same person will cheat the government. I had alienated some ranking officers because I thought my job in law enforcement was to protect festivalgoers and to crack down on the crooks. Argo was arrested on May 5, 2001 in the City of Taylor, Michigan, for operating fraudulent gambling machines. Richardson, aware of the so-called games for two years, not only failed to command appropriate investigative action, he also failed to properly document the complaints in the county police files This way, a nosy reporter, going through police files, will not encounter any crime complaints to write about. Carol Stream has one of the stronger local ordinances, barring felons convicted in the past five years from working as carnival employees. On November 29, 2002, Frank peeled off $5,000 in the same Florida account only days after Jeb Bush was reelected to governor. There was also the infamous Gypsy Camp Murder in Louisiana. Troops Cheated out of Money at Carnival,Armen Keteyian investigated a Texas-based company called Century 21 Shows at Fort Hood for allegedly defrauding its special guests: American soldiers returning from the Mid-east war or deploying to war. But the operation unraveled when half a million dollars suddenly went missing. In 2000, just prior to leaving office, President Clinton pardoned the Gregorys. Now, the mark plays for another $2 and the carny adds up the marbles in a slow accurate manner which will always translate to either no yards or 29 which is the doubling-up number on the chart and often hit because of the defeating number arrangement on the marble board. After the mob apparently ordered a hit on the judge, Sherry and his wife were murdered in their Mississippi home in 1987. If you get busted for [illicit substances], youre gone. NBC News; NBC News.com Today show 7/13/2012 (and also aired on Dateline 8/19/12). "We did find a large number of them had criminal records," said sheriff's office spokesman Bill Cunningham. He died broke shortly thereafter. But maybe theyre not all completely bad, huh? A lot of money came flowing in, said retired FBI Special Agent Keith Bell. Many have no address, pay no taxes, and are otherwise isolated from everyday society. But despite the massive crackdown on former members that followed, many believe that the group is still secretly active today. The ball crazily bounces and rolls until it comes to rest on one of the 96 holes. Very long hours - up to 20 a day for five to sevendays straight. Federal law enforcement needs to pay attention to the probability of tax evasion, likely involving many millions of dollars annually, as well as checking for gambling equipment-trailers rolling across state lines in violation of the Johnson Act (Interstate transportation of gambling equipment). Knowing I was on firm ground, and having experienced a pattern of these intimidation tactics, arrest threats, and failed defamation suits on other occasions, I was wondering if these irritated cops wouldnt chance trumping up an arrest with creative writing. Authorities on enforcement of carnival games estimate that 25 percent of all carnival games nationwide are fraudulent. Some of them love their job;some dislike it and do it to get by. All 12 rims on the North American Midway Entertainment (NAME) carnival midway measured 10.5-by-17 inches on elliptical axes. We only do a handful of large events each season, generally for a month at a time. Testimony was that Roach paid Lovett for protection from police while Roach cheated customers through such games as Razzle Dazzle also known as Razzle, which gave players no chance to win. Lovett was also fined $50,000. Cries for a state law started after a convicted sex offender working as a carnival worker raped and drugged a 15-year-old girl at the Illinois State Fair in 2001. Carnival midways are the only venues in the United States where local All embrace lucrative interests while striving for a trouble-free show, which can and does lead to tolerable criminal pursuits. Well, up until this year the State Fair would hire a lot of day workers from the local homeless population. In 2001, the U.S. Justice Department investigated the Gregorys and determined that from 1998-2001, Tony Rodham received a total of $323,769 in salary and loans from the Gregorys. From the foul line, the rims appeared to be regulation and served to attract and dupe naive victims out of $2 a shot. I paid Argo $9 and missed all five shots. The police supervisor, having a policy of non-enforcement on carnival midways, refused to dispatch a unit to talk to the victim and witnesses to the larceny by trick. American slang term for carnival employee, This article is about carnival employees and carnival slang. Marcello tolerated the Dixie Mafias presence as long as they played by his rules and paid for his hospitality. Moreover, the practice of carnival owners paying police departments direct is risky and, if unchecked, sets up a dubious relationship which tends to defeat the mission of law enforcement. In my early years as a police officer of the Dearborn Police Department and working the information desk, a man named Steve Nowosielski walked in to complain that carnival employees were stealing from the patrons with Razzle at the city carnival only 100 yards from the police station. Marcello, one of the most powerful leaders in organized crime in America, operated in New Orleans around the same time that the Dixie Mafia was coming to power. By the 1980s, the blurred lines between government officials and Dixie Mafia members had become so extreme that federal authorities designated the entire Harrison County Sheriffs Office in Mississippi as a criminal enterprise. A major stereotype I hate is that we are all crooks and criminals. Here, lets see if my charm works on you, Back on topic, I never did carnivals, but I have worked a freak show / side show. It would be a winning proposition to bet that changes in carnival status wont come overnight. Not one ball went through any of the 12 stingy rims. But really, what field doesnt? You have to be clean-shaven, no tattoos (if you do, you have tocover them), and wear clean uniforms. Troops Cheated out of Money at Carnival,Armen Keteyian investigated a Texas-based company called Century 21 Shows at Fort Hood for allegedly defrauding its special guests: American soldiers returning from the Mid-east war or deploying to war. Willie Lovett was the longtime chief of police of the Savannah Chatham, Georgia, Metro Police Department. The party moves from town to town weekly, of course. I informed her that the gaffed carnival basketball rims are not bent by the carnies, but manufactured for the carnies, and for the designed purpose of creating a false impression of size and shape. Seven responded with insights into their job or advice for This add-up-the-score ruse, which comes in many captivating forms, involves a brilliant system of cheating, accompanied by vague, complicated rules. On Sunday, prosecutors said someone driving through Almeda Malls parking lot became the victim of a hate crime when he was attacked by a group of carnival workers. It was started by my grandfather in 1956. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. For 15 years, his city has required carnival companies to submit employees' names--since a 10-year-old boy was sexually molested by a carnival worker who had just been released from prison for a similar offense. Im not a betting man, but I am willing to lay heavy odds that federal law enforcement will make carnival racketeering a higher priority once they acknowledge all the components. David Malhalab, also with me at the time, phoned in a request for service to the Dearborn Heights police, asking them to respond to investigate this larceny with the 13-year-old victim waiting and with the perpetrator still operating the game in question. They dont! Furthermore, sponsors have no way of knowing the total game profits. ". This contract arrangement locks the carny-cops in as quasi-employees of the carnival or carnival sponsor and shares carnival profits in the form of pay. A loud bell should sound when it is known that itinerant serial criminals are targeting members of the U.S. military and children with impunity. There was no chance they would win at some of the games, said Keteyian. The average carnival worker salary is $27,198. Its not a gig where they ask too many questions about your personal or employment history or your plans for the future. On the night of November 29, 1988, near the impoverished Marlborough neighborhood in south Kansas City, an explosion at a construction site killed six of the citys firefighters. She said that in Indianapolis, her college varsity basketball 3-point-shooting star, Carly Thibault, missed all 13 attempts at the basketball toss. Aww, you almost had it that time! (AP) Three carnival workers have been charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting of a couple at a Kansas fair whose bodies were We have a lot of interesting family friends from the fair business. During the 1960s, a group of criminals known as the Dixie Mafia began to creep across cities and towns in the South. They live on the road throughout the summerand fall, setting up and tearing down rides, or hosting games to bilk people out of their money (unless you know the secrets to beating their tricks). "I think it definitely warrants another look," said Rep. Kevin Joyce (D-Chicago), who has sponsored a bill requiring background checks that was killed in past sessions. As for my petty crime, I smoked a lot of pot. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. About 40 percent of adults with gambling problems started gambling before age 17. he government contended Lovett and Randall Roach (Magic Midway carnival owner) schemed from 2004 until September 27, 2013, when Lovett retired. Carnival midways are the only venues in the United States where local police departments allow carnival lots to be free crime zones for illegal gambling, larceny, and fraud. 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