Zachariah Simmons was an American underworld figure involved in running policy games in New York during the late 19th century. Supported by the

Tweed Ring William Magear Tweed (April 3, 1823 – April 12, 1878), often erroneously referred to as William "Marcy" Tweed (see below), and widely known as "Boss" Tweed, was an American politician most notable for being the political boss of Tammany ...

, he took over the policy rackets from Reuben Parsons and

John Frink John Frink (born May 5, 1959) is an American television writer and producer. He has written several episodes of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', many of which he co-wrote with his former writing partner Don Payne. Frink and Payne ...

following the end of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. He would run three-fourths of the city's six or seven hundred policy operations and eventually held interests as far away as

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

and

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. He would eventually retire during the 1880s and turned control over to one of his runners,

Albert J. Adams Albert James Adams (May 22, 1845 – October 1, 1906), known as "The Policy King" and the "Meanest Man in New York," was an American racketeer. He ran the numbers game in New York City from around 1890 to around 1905. Life He was born in Ma ...

who would continue to run Simmons' policy games until the reform movements during the 1910s.

Further reading