The Mobster and the Metro Accidentally Historic

It was the Great Depression and Council Bluffs was broke. In what has to be one of the bolder civic fundraising moves ever devised, the city contracted with the alleged boss of the New York mob to come to town and operate an illegal dog track on city property, the city coffers to get a share of the proceeds. As improbable a story as it is, and ethics aside it, worked like a charm. The city was out of debt in no time. The story was written by Historical Society member Kathy Butler Kuenzer for the Society’s Member Journal.