by cavita » Sun Dec 20, 2020 10:36 am
Henry Lacks was born in Germany on May 24, 1900 and came to Rockford in 1910. His early years were pretty unremarkable other than being an accomplished pianist and he had his own insurance agency which he started up in the 1920s. The other side of Henry Lacks was that he enjoyed the nightlife that Rockford had to offer and close friends stated that he loved to gamble and was acquainted with the city’s leading gamblers.
On the morning of June 22, 1944 Lacks had left his home around 4:30 a.m. his wife had reported and by 11:45 that morning his body had been found laying in the ditch alongside Alpine Road, about two miles north of Spring Creek Road. At the time, this area was all farmland and dirt roads and was on the far east side of the city limits of Rockford. Lacks’ car had been found abandoned around the corner on Spring Creek Road just east of Alpine Road. Lacks had been shot once behind the right ear with a .45 caliber pistol and his body dumped from a moving vehicle.
Leads were chased down and people interviewed to no avail, but one connection stands out in this author’s eye. On June 21, Lacks had a 1 pm lunch appointment with Charles Dursch, who had called asking delivery of some insurance policies he wanted on some racehorses he owned. After this appointment Lacks returned home, according to his wife, at 5pm. Dursch had been involved in Rockford’s gambling circles for many years and was considered a close associate of bookie Charles Kalb who was killed by the Rockford LCN in December 1937 when he failed to yield to the share of his gambling profits. Later FBI files quoted police reports from 1946 that included Charles Dursch as one of a number of men that was part of a syndicate that controlled gambling in the Rockford area. Others named in that group were boss Tony Musso, underboss Gaspare Calo and about a dozen other associates/members.
On June 27th authorities ordered a halt to all forms of gambling in Rockford in response to Lacks’ murder. In addition to ordering the immediate removal of all slot machines throughout the county, authorities also ordered all poker clubs and horse race bookmaking establishments to close their doors as well as all poker games in private clubs were ordered to be stopped. There was no timetable set on the return of these operations, but authorities stated they wished it to be until the Lacks murder was solved, which it never was.
Interestingly, according to Bonanno mobster Tony Riela’s FBI files, he was a suspect in the murder of Lacks. His FBI files stated he was a suspect in two murders in Rockford in 1944. It was noted that Riela was in the area during the time of the murder and stated it was possible he could have been involved. This to me is just a coincidence and not plausible at all. By 1944 Riela had been entrenched in the Newark, New Jersey mob for years and although he was known to travel back and forth to Illinois, it would be ridiculous to think that he would return to participate in the murder of a lowly gambler. At the time, Rockford was taking care of its own and didn’t need outside help to solve their problems with recalcitrant gamblers. However, according to Riela’s 1957 FBI files, it was stated that he checked into the Nelson Hotel in Rockford on June 7, 1944 and checked out on June 16th saying that he was leaving town. It made note that during the time of Lacks’ murder Riela was in Chicago.
No one was ever charged in the Lacks’ murder and although there is no proof, this author suspects that Charles Vince and Tony Basile were involved in his slaying. Vince had already proven himself as a tough LCN associate and Basile at the time was a close confidant of Vince and both men were later noted as confirmed Rockford LCN members. Generally it takes the committing of a murder to gain induction into a Mafia family and it is this murder and reason that I feel Vince and Basile were responsible.
Henry Lacks was born in Germany on May 24, 1900 and came to Rockford in 1910. His early years were pretty unremarkable other than being an accomplished pianist and he had his own insurance agency which he started up in the 1920s. The other side of Henry Lacks was that he enjoyed the nightlife that Rockford had to offer and close friends stated that he loved to gamble and was acquainted with the city’s leading gamblers.
On the morning of June 22, 1944 Lacks had left his home around 4:30 a.m. his wife had reported and by 11:45 that morning his body had been found laying in the ditch alongside Alpine Road, about two miles north of Spring Creek Road. At the time, this area was all farmland and dirt roads and was on the far east side of the city limits of Rockford. Lacks’ car had been found abandoned around the corner on Spring Creek Road just east of Alpine Road. Lacks had been shot once behind the right ear with a .45 caliber pistol and his body dumped from a moving vehicle.
Leads were chased down and people interviewed to no avail, but one connection stands out in this author’s eye. On June 21, Lacks had a 1 pm lunch appointment with Charles Dursch, who had called asking delivery of some insurance policies he wanted on some racehorses he owned. After this appointment Lacks returned home, according to his wife, at 5pm. Dursch had been involved in Rockford’s gambling circles for many years and was considered a close associate of bookie Charles Kalb who was killed by the Rockford LCN in December 1937 when he failed to yield to the share of his gambling profits. Later FBI files quoted police reports from 1946 that included Charles Dursch as one of a number of men that was part of a syndicate that controlled gambling in the Rockford area. Others named in that group were boss Tony Musso, underboss Gaspare Calo and about a dozen other associates/members.
On June 27th authorities ordered a halt to all forms of gambling in Rockford in response to Lacks’ murder. In addition to ordering the immediate removal of all slot machines throughout the county, authorities also ordered all poker clubs and horse race bookmaking establishments to close their doors as well as all poker games in private clubs were ordered to be stopped. There was no timetable set on the return of these operations, but authorities stated they wished it to be until the Lacks murder was solved, which it never was.
Interestingly, according to Bonanno mobster Tony Riela’s FBI files, he was a suspect in the murder of Lacks. His FBI files stated he was a suspect in two murders in Rockford in 1944. It was noted that Riela was in the area during the time of the murder and stated it was possible he could have been involved. This to me is just a coincidence and not plausible at all. By 1944 Riela had been entrenched in the Newark, New Jersey mob for years and although he was known to travel back and forth to Illinois, it would be ridiculous to think that he would return to participate in the murder of a lowly gambler. At the time, Rockford was taking care of its own and didn’t need outside help to solve their problems with recalcitrant gamblers. However, according to Riela’s 1957 FBI files, it was stated that he checked into the Nelson Hotel in Rockford on June 7, 1944 and checked out on June 16th saying that he was leaving town. It made note that during the time of Lacks’ murder Riela was in Chicago.
No one was ever charged in the Lacks’ murder and although there is no proof, this author suspects that Charles Vince and Tony Basile were involved in his slaying. Vince had already proven himself as a tough LCN associate and Basile at the time was a close confidant of Vince and both men were later noted as confirmed Rockford LCN members. Generally it takes the committing of a murder to gain induction into a Mafia family and it is this murder and reason that I feel Vince and Basile were responsible.