In this episode of Gangland Wire, retired Kansas City intelligence detective Gary Jenkins sits down with writer and mob historian Stone Wallace—a man whose path has crossed acting, broadcasting, boxing, and a lifelong fascination with organized crime. The focus of today’s conversation is Stone Wallace’s latest book,
Hollywood and the Chicago Boys, which uncovers how the Chicago Outfit quietly moved in on Hollywood in the 1930s. With Prohibition fading, figures like Frank Nitti and Tony Accardo shifted their sights to new rackets in film unions, projection booths, and studio lots.
Stone Wallace's obsession with the mob began at age seven with a library book on the 1920s. It lit a fire that would eventually lead Wallace to explore the violent glamour of the underworld in both fiction and nonfiction.
Stone Wallace shares how he created the fictional studio boss Sam Bast, modeled after several real-life moguls, and how mob-connected actors like George Raft blurred the lines between movie star and made man. From behind-the-scenes extortion to real-life gangland enforcers like Jack “Machine Gun” McGurn, this episode connects the dots between celluloid dreams and street-level muscle.
Stone Wallace's Amazon author page.
Highlights:
Why Frank Nitti saw Hollywood as the Outfit’s next goldmine
The real mob ties of actor George Raft
The creation of Sam Bast, a fictional composite of Hollywood studio heads
Extortion in the projectionist booths and labor unions
Mobster myths vs. brutal realities—how fiction reflects fact
Featured Book:
Hollywood and the Chicago Boys by Stone Wallace — a hardboiled blend of true crime and noir fiction
Notable Names Discussed:
Frank Nitti, Tony Accardo, George Raft, Jack McGurn, Sam Giancana
Quote of the Episode:
“Hollywood wasn’t just glitz and cameras. It was a new racket—and the Outfit wanted in.”
0:02 Introduction to the Underworld
1:25 Early Fascination with the Mob
2:29 Hollywood and the Chicago Boys
5:34 The Allure of George Raft
7:22 Researching the Mob's Hollywood Infiltration
12:05 The Role of Unions in the Mob
14:51 Tony Accardo: The Complex Character
17:05 The Impact of the Mob on Society
23:04 Writing Westerns and a Modern Sheriff
25:43 Upcoming Films and Future Projects
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