This day in history - November 14, 1957: The Apalachin Meeting is raided by law enforcement

By Richard K. Barry

For reasons I can't begin to explain, I went through a period in which I was fascinated by organized crime. Not in the sense of seeing any glory in it, but rather in being utterly amazed that this low life criminal activity could be treated with such respect in movies and other aspects of popular culture.

Maybe the Godfather movies are to blame, but scenes of Mafia boss John Gotti returning to his neighbourhood to cheering crowds after having been acquitted in one court proceeding or another was always enough to make me weep. Perhaps there will always be a subset of the population who lionize those who appear to get away with beating the system. It's beyond me.

The Apalachin meeting was a gathering of approximately 100 Mafia bosses from the U.S., Italy and Canada, who got together in November of 1957 to, in essence, peacefully divvy up criminal activity in various regions.

Unfortunately for the attendees, the number of fancy cars and out-of-area license plates parked near the home of the host (above), in Apalachin, New York, near Binghamton, made the authorities suspicious.

They raided the gathering, which sent a bunch of guys in dark shoes and very expensive suits running through the mud and woods to get away.

According to some theories, the police really had no idea what they were raiding, but they suspected that, whatever it was, it was bad news.

At the end of the day, 58 underworld bosses were detained and indicted.

One of the most significant consequences of the raid was that it helped to prove the existence of the Mafia to some, like J. Edgar Hoover, who refused to acknowledge its existence.

Always loved the image of these guys slipping and sliding through the muck as they attempted to escape justice.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)