The Cooley Account

Send a text and follow Neal on X @nealedelstein.

The final chapter and conclusion of the Bob Cooley journey. Thank you all for listening, and stay connected as the conversation continues on X and other social media platforms. 

Questions? Comments? Find Neal on Twitter at @NealEdelstein. Thank you for listening! 

Send a text and follow Neal on X @nealedelstein.

Pat Marcy is indicted on corruption charges; his co-defendant is Alderman Roti.  Bob is the first witness to testify, but things go sideways immediately. This conversation details the end of Pat Marcy and Fred Roti, as well as a detailed dive into  a circus ticket scheme rigged off the back of disadvantaged Chicago kids. 

Questions? Comments? Find Neal on Twitter at @NealEdelstein. Thank you for listening! 

Send a text and follow Neal on X @nealedelstein.

Bob has to leave Chicago for good as the FBI fans across the city with subpoenas and indict a cadre of politicians and organized crime members. Also in this conversation, Bob details wearing a wire on Fred Roti and how he escaped a death test that Pat Marcy attempted to snare him in. There’s also the story about how he set up John D’Arco Jr. into nearly passing an insurance law in return for a bribe.

Questions? Comments? Find Neal on Twitter at @NealEdelstein. Thank you for listening! 

Send a text and follow Neal on X @nealedelstein.

Growing frustrated, Bob begins to build his own cases against the 1st Ward and the Chicago Outfit. He wears a wire on Pat Marcy and hatches a plan to bring down Johnny D'Arco Junior by passing legislation for a bribe. There's also a sting operation that goes sideways in Wisconsin when Bob and the FBI set up some mobsters with the opportunity to rob a $ 1 million poker game. 

Questions? Comments? Find Neal on Twitter at @NealEdelstein. Thank you for listening! 

Send a text and follow Neal on X @nealedelstein.

After departing the  Crime Task Force office, Bob carries with him the weight of a life-altering moment. In the days that follow, the FBI unexpectedly arrives at his office, driven by a mission to validate his claims, urging him to don a wire. In a familiar pattern, the unfolding events hurtle toward a perilous conclusion, with lives hanging in the balance, entangled in the sinister world of ‘trunk music’ and the menacing threat of blowtorches. 

Questions? Comments? Find Neal on Twitter at @NealEdelstein. Thank you for listening! 

Send a text and follow Neal on X @nealedelstein.

At the behest of Pat Marcy, Bob defends a man accused of assaulting a female cop. Bob's encounter with Marcy after the trial is the spark that sends him to visit the Organized Crime Strike Force and turn on the 1st Ward. We also touch upon gambling operations at the local horse racing tracks in the Chicagoland area.   

Questions? Comments? Find Neal on Twitter at @NealEdelstein. Thank you for listening! 

Send a text and follow Neal on X @nealedelstein.

Bob is introduced to members of Chinese organized crime by Chicago Alderman Fred Roti.  A few members of the Ghost Shadows are pinned for a murder and need Bob's help. This begins a new chapter in Bob's life that takes him to the East Coast and an underworld of Chinese mobsters stretching from Manhattan to Boston. 

Questions? Comments? Find Neal on Twitter at @NealEdelstein. Thank you for listening! 

Send a text and follow Neal on X @nealedelstein.

There's a hit on Bob’s life for refusing to expose a witness in a trial. We also discuss the disappearance of Karen Lee Koppel.  Koppel goes missing after her relationship with the head of the janitors union goes sideways. (This was a cold case, but through sources, I have found out it is an active investigation.) We end as Bob enters another world of corruption when he is hired by the Chinese mafia at the behest of Alderman Fred Roti. 

Questions? Comments? Find Neal on Twitter at @NealEdelstein. Thank you for listening! 

Send a text and follow Neal on X @nealedelstein.

Carol Jean DiPasalegne was murdered by her husband, but the 1st Ward fixed the case so her husband would walk free so the machine could steal the insurance money on a double indemnity clause. Bob also explains how Pat Marcy gained control of the 1st Ward and exerted his ruthless power. 

Questions? Comments? Find Neal on Twitter at @NealEdelstein. Thank you for listening! 

Send a text and follow Neal on X @nealedelstein.

We continue our conversation about the Harry Aleman murder trial and detail how Bob fixed the case. The stakes are life and death for Bob as Judge Wilson wavers about his conclusion due to threats in the papers targeting Wilson and his family.  The Aleman case is unprecedented in the annals of the American legal system. 

Questions? Comments? Find Neal on Twitter at @NealEdelstein. Thank you for listening!