Saints Report History Chat discussion
Mr. New Orleans
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where does he suggest the corruption resided, in politics, police or private business? I know that from reading about the first half of the 20th century it was so bad in politics and the NOPD it would make your jaw drop. Not sure how far that carried forward into the 2nd half of the century.
He specifically mentions the police, which I get and believe. But he also mentions the city government, and the Catholic Church. With most local businesses also complicit. So, to answer your question, all of the above. I guess it's all possible, but I also know that people who engage in an activity that's not generally accepted will tend to overestimate how many other people also engage in that activity. Probably helps them justify their own behavior.
your right about the projecting. In this state though anything is possible in regards to corruption.the only one I don't know about is the church. The political corruption of Louisiana (particularly in the south) is so well documented I tend to give the benefit of the doubt. And the local machine, called "the ring" did control the NOPD completely. The politicians, starting with Martin Behrman were not immigrants themselves but they were very popular with them and controlled their votes because of all the city jobs - the sewage and water board jobs in particular. The ring ended but the corruption did not going straight through to Edwin Edwards.
I look forward to getting to this book.
another book about the corruption that my mother liked was
The Last Hayride
guess my list just keeps getting longer lol
Mod
What period does the book cover?
It covers the 1950's through the 70's basically, Theo.
It had lots of real NOLA characters, some even recognizable to someone like me who is not from there. The parts about the Kennedy assassination were especially fascinating. I'm not sure just how historically accurate this book is. It's told entirely from Frenchy's perspective. It's hard to imagine that the whole entire city was just totally corrupt, as he describes it. I've seen this sort of thing before, people who project their foibles onto everyone around them. Much like the tax cheat who will swear to you that everybody cheats on their taxes.
Still, a very entertaining read, even if more of a memoir than a factual historical account. I would like to read more about the JFK assassination to see how much of what Frenchy says can be confirmed.