Nucky Johnson's Organization was a corrupt

political machine In the politics of representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a high degree of leadership c ...

based in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

that held power during the

Prohibition era Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacturing, manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption ...

. Its boss, Enoch "Nucky" Johnson, coordinated the Organizations' bootlegging, gambling, racketeering, and prostitution activities.

Origins

Early history

Before the rise of

German American German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...

political boss In the politics of the United States of America, a boss is a person who controls a faction or local branch of a political party. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves; most historical bosses did not, at least during the times of th ...

Louis "Commodore" Kuehnle and

Scots-Irish American Scotch-Irish Americans are American descendants of primarily Ulster Scots people, who emigrated from Ulster (Ireland's northernmost province) to the United States between the 18th and 19th centuries, with their ancestors having originally mig ...

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

Nucky Johnson, Atlantic City's government was run by a three-man group, including: Atlantic County Clerk Lewis P. Scott (1854-1907) and Congressman John J. Gardner (1845-1921), and Mays Landing

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

and

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

undersheriff An undersheriff (or under-sheriff) is an office derived from ancient Kingdom of England, English custom that remains in, among other places, England and Wales and the United States, though performing different functions. United States In Policing ...

Smith E. Johnson.Johnson, Nelson. ''Boardwalk Empire'', Medford, N.J., Plexus Publishing, 2002

The Kuehnle regime

New regime

After the conviction of Kuehnle in 1911, Smith Johnson's son became boss of the organization. Under his son's new regime, the organization would enjoy its most successful 30 years in its history.

Nucky's paradise and prohibition

Smith Johnson's son Enoch Lewis "Nucky" Johnson was born in 1883. Nucky became

in 1905 while his father was

of Atlantic City. The younger Johnson was eventually elected sheriff in 1908. In 1909, he became

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

of the Atlantic County Republican Executive Committee.Learn, Paul. "Boss 'Nucky' Johnson is dead at 85 – Unconscious 25 Hours Before 'Time Took Him'", '' Atlantic City Press'', 10 December 1968, p. 1 After the conviction of Kuehnle on

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

charges in 1911, the younger Johnson became boss of the organization. Johnson also held several other jobs, including: Atlantic County Treasurer (1914–1941), County Tax Collector, publisher of a weekly newspaper, bank director, president of a building and loan company, and director of a

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

. Johnson was known to be a very well dressed and nice man who would rarely say no. He wore tailored suits, owned the entire ninth floor of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, and he owned a chauffeur-driven $14,000 1920 powder blue

Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost The Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost name refers both to a car model and one specific car from that series. Originally named the "Tax horsepower#Britain, 40/50 h.p." the chassis was first made at Royce's Manchester works, with production moving t ...

; which was his trademark car. It was known that when Nucky prospered, everyone prospered in his organization and the city. Johnson once explained, "When I lived well, everybody lived well." Johnson has been described as running his criminal-political empire with a "velvet hammer". When

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

went in effect in Atlantic City in January 1920, Johnson and his organization went straight into the bootlegging business. He allied himself with several other well-known bootleggers, including:

Arnold Rothstein Arnold Rothstein (January 17, 1882 – November 6, 1928), nicknamed "The Brain", was an American racketeer, crime boss, businessman, and gambler who became a kingpin of the Jewish Mob in New York City. Rothstein was widely reputed to have orga ...

(

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Jewish mob Jewish-American organized crime initially emerged within the American Jewish community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In media and popular culture, it has variously been referred to as the Jewish Mob, the Jewish Mafia, the Kos ...

boss), Charlie Luciano ( Masseria family

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

), Johnny Torrio (

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

South Side Gang boss), and Benny Siegel (

Bugs and Meyer Mob The Bugs (Bugsy) and Meyer Mob was a Jewish-American street gang in Manhattan, New York City's Lower East Side. It was formed and headed by mobsters Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky during their teenage years shortly after the start of Prohibition ...

boss). Nucky had also helped Republican building constructor Edward Bader get elected as mayor in 1920. And through Bader's construction business, he built the Atlantic City Convention Hall in 1929. Johnson and Luciano began forming the Big Seven during the mid-to-late 1920s. The group was supposed to help solve bootlegging disputes and serve as a predecessor to the

National Crime Syndicate The National Crime Syndicate was a multi-ethnic, closely connected, American confederation of several criminal organizations. It mostly consisted of and was led by the closely interconnected Italian American Mafia and Jewish Mob. It also involv ...

in the 1930s. It was around this time that Johnson met a bellhop at the Ritz, named Jimmy Boyd; the two took an instant liking to each other. Johnson began grooming Boyd to become the next boss of his organization, and soon, Boyd was Nucky's top enforcer/right-hand man and controlled all of the brothels,

casinos Casinos may refer to: * Casinos, Valencia, municipality in Spain * David Casinos (born 1972), Spanish Paralympian athlete * The Casinos The Casinos was a nine-member doo-wop group from Cincinnati, Ohio, led by Gene Hughes and which included ...

speakeasies A speakeasy, also called a beer flat or blind pig or blind tiger, was an illicit establishment that sold alcoholic beverages. The term may also refer to a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. In the United State ...

, and numbers rackets in Atlantic City.

Atlantic City Conference

From 13 to 16 May 1929, Johnson hosted the Atlantic City Conference at the Ritz-Carlton and Ambassador Hotels on the boardwalk. Johnson made arrangements for the attendees accommodations and guaranteed there would be no interference from law enforcement since his brother, Alfred Johnson was the sheriff of Atlantic County. The leaders that thought of the conference were: La Cosa Nostra Masseria crime family

Charlie Luciano and the former boss of Chicago's South Side Gang Johnny Torrio.

Meyer Lansky Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Lucky Luciano, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the dev ...

and Benny Siegel (bosses of the

) served as security at the conference. Delegates included several notable

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

mobsters, including: Alphonse "Scarface" Capone (boss of the Chicago Outfit)—who was fighting a war with the Genna brothers against Dean O'Banion's

North Side Gang The North Side Gang, also known as the North Side Mob, was a primarily Irish-American criminal organization within Chicago during the Prohibition era from the early 1920s to the mid-1930s. It was the principal rival of the South Side Gang, also ...

—,

Frank Costello Frank Costello (; born Francesco Castiglia ; January 26, 1891 – February 18, 1973) was an Italian-American crime boss of the Luciano crime family. Born in Italy, he moved with his family to the United States as a child. As a youth he joined N ...

and

Joe Adonis Joseph Anthony Doto (born Giuseppe Antonio Doto, ; November 22, 1902 – November 26, 1971), known as Joe Adonis, was an Italian-American mobster who was an important participant in the formation of the modern Cosa Nostra crime families in New Y ...

(lieutenants in the Masseria family), Max Hoff (

Jewish mob boss), Abe Bernstein ( Purple Gang boss), Carlo Gambino ( D'Aquila family lieutenant), and Gaetano Lucchese ( Reina family lieutenant). Johnson's enforcer Jimmy Boyd is never mentioned by anyone as being at the convention, but since Boyd was Nucky's right-hand man and an important figure in the organization, it is most likely that he was there to help make decisions for the organization. During the late 1930s and early 1940s,

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

special agent William Frank and his team investigated the activities of Johnson and his organization but were unable to find evidence of wrongdoing.

Frank Farley

In 1941, Johnson was convicted of

tax evasion Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...

charges and was sentenced to 10 years in a federal prison and fined $20,000. Following his conviction, New Jersey Senator Frank "Hap" Farley took over the organization.

In television

Nucky's organization is featured in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

series ''

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter for the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s. The series sta ...

'', but is named Nucky Thompson's Organization; since instead of Nucky Johnson, his name is Nucky Thompson. Many members of the Thompson organization are based on or were in the Johnson organization; for example: Edward Bader, Frank Hague, Louis "Commodore" Kaestner (based on Louis "Commodore" Kuehnle), Jimmy Darmody (based on Jimmy Boyd), and Eddie Kessler (based on Johnson's German valet Louis Kessel). In the show, the organization is an official rival of Dr. Valentin Narcisse (based on

Casper Holstein Casper Holstein (December 6, 1877 – April 5, 1944) was a prominent New York mobster involved in the Harlem " numbers rackets" during the Harlem Renaissance. Early life Born of mixed African and Danish descent in St. Croix, Danish Wes ...

), Charlie Luciano,

, Benjamin Siegel, George Remus, the D'Alessio Brothers, and an unofficial rival of

and Joe Masseria. The organization is allied with

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone ( ; ; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American organized crime, gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-foun ...

, Johnny Torrio, Ralph Capone, Frank Capone,

, and

Salvatore Maranzano Salvatore Maranzano (; July 31, 1886 – September 10, 1931), nicknamed Little Caesar, was an Italian-American mobster from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss who led what later would become the Bonanno cr ...

List of known members

This is a list of the known members in the history of the organization:

Administration

Bosses

* 1870s-1890s — (''three-man ruling panel'') — John J. Gardner, Louis P. Scott and Smith E. Johnson — Kuehnle became boss in late 1890s. * Louis "Commodore" Kuehnle: 1890s-1911—Organization's founder; born in 1857, died in 1934 (76 years old). * Enoch "Nucky" Johnson: 1911-1941—Organization's second leader;

; born in 1883, died in 1968 (85 years old). * Frank "Hap" Farley: 1941-1970s—Organization's last leader; New Jersey State Senator; born in 1901, died in 1977 (75 years old).

Lieutenants

* Smith E. Johnson: 1890s-1910s—sheriff-undersheriff of Atlantic City; Johnson's father; born in ?, died in ?. * Enoch "Nucky" Johnson: 1900s-1911—sheriff-undersheriff of Atlantic City; became boss in 1909; born in 1883, died in 1968 (85 years old). * James "Jimmy" Boyd: 1920s-1970s—Fourth

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

boss; Nucky and Farley's top enforcer; born in 1906, died in 1974 (67 years old). * Herman "Stumpy" Orman: 1920s-1970s—Boyd's partner;

racketeer Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. The term "racket ...

and

protection money A protection racket is a type of racket and a scheme of organized crime perpetrated by a potentially hazardous organized crime group that generally guarantees protection outside the sanction of the law to another entity or individual from viol ...

collector; born in ?, died in ? * Alfred Higabee "Alf" Johnson: mid 1910s-1940s— Atlantic County Sheriff; Nucky Johnson's brother; born in 1878, died in 1958 (80 years old).

Other members

Lower ranks

* Paul "Skinny" D'Amato: 1920s–1970s— illegal casino owner;

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or the Organization, is an Italian Americans, Italian American American Mafia, Mafia crime family based in Chicago, I ...

and New Orleans crime family associate; born in 1908, died in 1984 (75 years old). * John Martino: 1920s–1940s—illegal casino owner-

loan shark A loan shark is a person who offers loans at Usury, extremely high or illegal interest rates, has strict terms of debt collection, collection, and generally operates criminal, outside the law, often using the threat of violence or other illegal, ...

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays out bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds In probability theory, odds provide a measure of the probability of a particular outco ...

; Chicago Outfit and

Trafficante crime family The Trafficante crime family, also known as the Tampa crime family or the Tampa Mafia, is an Italian Americans, Italian-American American Mafia, Mafia crime family based in Tampa, Florida. The most notable boss of the family was Santo Trafficante ...

associate; born in 1910, died in 1975 (65 years old). * Fred Masucci: 1930s–1950s—

Numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

operator; born in ?, died in ? * Ben Rubenstein: 1930s-1950s—Numbers operator and Masucci's partner; possibly

associate; born in ?, died in ? * Harold Scheper: 1920s-1950s—Numbers operator; operated in the black community; born in ?, died in ? * Harry "Cherry" Haggerty: 1930s–1960s—Numbers operator and Scheper's partner; probation with Scheper since 1947 during the Kefauver Committee; born in ?, died in ? * Francis B. Gribbin: Heroic police officer who fought against illegal gambling in Atlantic City. He and the other members of the "Four Horseman" were framed for shaking down the illegal gambling clubs and jailed. It was untrue - they were the ones who acted against illegal gaming when the Atlantic City Police Department didn't. * Jack Portock: 19??–1940s—Former corrupt policeman; part of the "Four Horsemen"; born in ?, died in ? * Frederick J. Warlich: 1919–1996;Former policeman, part of the "Four Horsemen", who fought against corruption, by shutting down Nucky's illegal gambling rings. * Francis L. Smith: 19??–1951—Former racketeer; witness at the Kefauver Committee; born in ?, died in ? * Joseph McBeth: 19??–1950s—

Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

of the Republican County Committee; born in ?, died in ? * Lester Burdick: 19??–1950s—Race-wire service operator; born in ?, died in ? * Louis Kessel: ??1941—Nucky's German assistant and valet; born in ?, died in ?.

Associates

* Frank Hague: 1916?1950s— Jersey City's

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

; Johnson's Democratic ally and

Hudson County Hudson County is a List of counties in New Jersey, county in the U.S. state of New Jersey, its smallest and most densely populated. Lying in the northeast of the state and on the west bank of the North River (Hudson River), Hudson River, the No ...

; born in 1876, died in 1956 (79 years old). * Harry M. Daugherty: ????–1941—

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

; Warren Harding's campaign manager; born in 1860, died in 1941 (81 years old). *

: 1920-1928— Bootlegger-

gambler Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three ele ...

; New York's

boss; born in 1882, died in 1928 (46 years old). *

Charles Luciano Charles "Lucky" Luciano ( ; ; born Salvatore Lucania ; November 24, 1897 – January 26, 1962) was an Italian gangster who operated mainly in the United States. He started his criminal career in the Five Points Gang and was instrumental in the ...

: 1920–1940s—Bootlegger and

American Mafia The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian-American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian-American criminal society and organized crime group. The terms Italian Mafia and Italian Mob apply to ...

boss; Luciano crime family boss and

Commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

founder; born in 1897, died in 1962 (64 years old). * Johnny Torrio: 1910s–1940s—Former

South Side Gang boss; Johnson's longtime friend; born in 1882, died in 1957 (75 years old). *

: 1920s–1950s—Founder of

The Bugs and Meyer Mob The Bugs (Bugsy) and Meyer Mob was a Jewish-American street gang in Manhattan, New York City's Lower East Side. It was formed and headed by mobsters Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky during their teenage years shortly after the start of Prohibition. ...

; Luciano's

counterpart; born in 1902, died in 1983 (80 years old). * Benny Siegel: 1920s–1947—Boss of

; provided the muscle for the gang; born in 1906, died in 1947 (41 years old).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson's Organization, Nucky 1870s establishments in New Jersey Irish-American organized crime groups Gangs in New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey Political machines in the United States