When Corruption Was King: How I Helped the Mob Rule Chicago, Then Brought the Outfit Down

Bob Cooley was the Chicago Mafia's “mechanic”-a fixer of court cases. During the 1970s and '80s, Cooley bribed judges, court clerks, and cops to keep his Mob clients-hit men, bookies, racketeers, and crooked pols-out of jail. Paid handsomely for his services, he lived fast and enjoyed the protection of the men he served.

He had enough money to blow on all the vices the Windy City could offer, and enough standing among mobsters to know he would never be caught. Yet, through the '90s, Cooley b...