The Maceo Organization, also known as the Maceo Syndicate, was a criminal organization, that ran Galveston, Texas politically and criminally throughout most of Galveston's

open era The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Birmingham, England now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sp ...

. The organization's bosses, Sam and

Rosario Maceo Rosario Maceo (Sr.) ( June 8, 1887 – March 29, 1954), also known as Papa Rose or Rose Maceo, was an Italian-American businessman, power broker and crime boss in Galveston, Texas in the United States. Because of his efforts and those of his br ...

, operated

illegal gambling Gaming law is the set of rules and regulations that apply to the gaming or gambling industry. Gaming law is not a branch of law in the traditional sense but rather is a collection of several areas of law that include criminal law, regulatory law, ...

, prostitution, bootlegging and racketeering activities.

Early Years

The Maceo brothers got their start by being associated with the Beach Gang, which was under the control of Irish American

Ollie Quinn Ollie Johnson Quinn (26 May 1893 – 23 August 1949) was a mob boss in Galveston, Texas in the United States, who was involved in bootlegging, illegal gambling, numbers racket, prostitution and other criminal activities from the 1910s up until ...

and German American

Dutch Voight Oscar Ernest "Dutch" Voigt was an American mob boss in Galveston, Texas in the United States, who was involved in bootlegging, illegal gambling, numbers racket, prostitution and other criminal activities during the early 1900s. Voight was called ...

. They mostly controlled the Beach area of Galveston during the 1910s and 1920s. Their gang was a rival of

Johnny Jack Nounes Johnny Jack Nounes, also known as the "Beau Brummell of Galveston", was a mob boss in Galveston, Texas, United States, during the 1920s and 1930s. He, with one-armed George Musey, led the Downtown Gang, one of the two gangs which controlled most o ...

and

George Musey George Musey, also known as "one-armed George Musey", was a mob boss in Galveston, Texas, during the Prohibition era. Along with Johnny Jack Nounes, he led the Downtown Gang, one of two gangs which controlled the Galveston underworld until the e ...

Downtown Gang The Downtown Gang was one of the two gangs that dominated the organized crime world in Galveston, Texas, United States, mainly during prohibition. The gang was founded by Johnny Jack Nounes around 1920. The gang became a large profiteer and lead ...

. However, Dutch and most notably Quinn remained very powerful figures on the island due to the many political connections that reached the

Texas State Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per con ...

New Regime

Soon, Quinn began mentoring Sam and Rosario Maceo. By the late 1920s, as they climbed up the ranks, the two brothers took control and transitioned the Beach Gang into their own personal organization, with Voight and Quinn acting more like partners than bosses. By the 1930s, the brothers eventually ran the Downtown Gang away from operating on the city, and now had complete control over it.

The Maceo's empire

Sam Maceo expanded the

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

system Quinn had established. He further developed the organization's political connections, establishing ties to prominent political figures, such as

Texas Governor The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, who ...

James V. Allred James Burr V AllredThe "V" was a name, not an initial. (March 29, 1899 – September 24, 1959) was the 33rd governor of Texas. He later served, twice, as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern Distri ...

William Lewis Moody Jr. William Lewis Moody Jr. (January 25, 1865 – July 21, 1954)Who Was Who In America, Vol. 3, 1951-1960. Library of Congress number 43-3789. was an American financier and entrepreneur from Galveston, Texas, who founded a private bank, an insurance ...

and onetime Galveston Mayor, Herbert Y. Cartwright, eventually emerging as a prominent figure in politics and entrepreneurship himself. After the

repeal of Prohibition The repeal of Prohibition in the United States was accomplished with the passage of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution on December 5, 1933. Background In 1919, the requisite number of state legislatures ratified the Eig ...

, Sam capitalized the popularity of gambling in Texas and started building an

empire in Galveston City and

Galveston County Galveston County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, located along the Gulf Coast adjacent to Galveston Bay. As of the 2020 census, the population was 350,682. The county was founded in 1838. The county seat is the City of Galveston, ...

, teaming up with notorious gangsters, such as

Moe Dalitz Morris Barney Dalitz (December 25, 1899 – August 31, 1989) was an American gangster, businessman, casino owner, and philanthropist. He was one of the major figures who shaped Las Vegas in the 20th century. He was often referred to as "Mr. Las V ...

Frank Nitti Frank Ralph Nitto (born Francesco Raffaele Nitto, ; January 27, 1886 – March 19, 1943), known as Frank Nitti, was an Italian-American organized crime figure based in Chicago. The first cousin and bodyguard of Al Capone, Nitti was in charge o ...

and

Albert Anastasia Umberto "Albert" Anastasia (, ; ; September 26, 1902 – October 25, 1957) was an Italian-American mobster, hitman, and crime boss. One of the founders of the modern American Mafia, and a co-founder and later boss of the Murder, Inc. organizat ...

, although those figures never operated

rackets Racket may refer to: * Racket (crime), a systematised element of organized crime ** Protection racket, a scheme whereby a group provides protection to businesses or other groups through violence outside the sanction of the law * Racket (sports equ ...

in the city or county. Maceo was known to be a very well dressed and nice man, whose charisma and ability to influence people were legendary. On the other hand, Rose was the more quiet enforcer type in the family. Their annual

income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. Fo ...

was reported to exceed beyond one million dollars. In the early 1930s, the Maceos backed Frank L. Biaggne for the position of Galveston County sheriff and supported Walter Johnston as city police commissioner. Through his control of many politicians and other elected officials in Galveston County, as well as some in Austin and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, Sam Maceo was able to make several improvements to the city and transform it not only into a leading resort city, but also into a major cultural and economical center as well. The brothers also established many clubs and

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

s, including the

Balinese Room The Balinese Room was a famous nightclub in Galveston, Texas, United States built on a pier stretching 600 feet (183 m) from the Galveston Seawall over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. For decades a dance hall and illegal casino, the Baline ...

and the Hollywood Dinner Club which was just a small part of the Maceo empire.

Fertitta Organization

After Sam and Rose's deaths in the early 1950s, the brothers were succeeded by the Fertitta Group, who moved the organization to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

and worked in the -now legal- casino industry. These casino properties included the Stardust;

Tropicana Tropicana may refer to: Companies *Tropicana Entertainment, a former casino company that owned several Tropicana-branded casinos *Tropicana Products, a Chicago-based food company known for orange juice Hotels and nightclubs *Tropicana Casino & Re ...

, Circus Circus, Sahara, and the Fremont, which Frank Jr. managed. Frank Fertitta Jr. also founded

Palace Station Palace Station is a hotel and casino located in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Station Casinos and has 576 rooms. Palace Station has a large Asian customer base mainly because of its location near Chinatown. History In 1976, Fran ...

and

Station Casinos Station Casinos, LLC is an American hotel and casino company based in Las Vegas suburb of Summerlin South, Nevada, and founded by Frank Fertitta Jr. Station Casinos, along with Affinity Gaming, Boyd Gaming and Golden Entertainment, dominate t ...

which is today one of the largest local casino operators in Las Vegas.

Known members

Bosses *c. 1927-1951 - Salvatore "Sam" Maceo, (his death) *c. 1927-1954 - Rosario "Rose" Maceo, (his death) *c. 1954-1980s - Anthony, Vincent, and Frank Fertitta

References