Roemer: Man Against the Mob

IPSN.ORG William F. Roemer, Jr. (1926-1996) By: John J. Flood Everyone in law enforcement lost a true partner this past year. Many might not realize nor have known the man but one of their own - a street guy - has passed from law enforcement's midst. Bill Roemer, who retired from the Federal Bureau of Investigation after toiling 30 years ventured forth and became a book author and free-lancing attorney who specialized in assisting clients victimized by libel suits filed by organized crime associates, lost the toughest battle of them all and his life to that horrible disease - cancer of the lung. It took him down. It was not the syndicate hoodlum or the contract killers he relentlessly pursued and investigated as an agent who loved the day to day activities of being assigned to the F.B.I.'s Top Hoodlum Program that did him in, but rather, he met his maker from a terrible scourge that our government should spend a few more dollars funding a cure for. Bill Roemer was a great guy and a gentleman within law enforcement to say the least. Soft spoken, pleasant of nature and flashing a disarming smile, Roemer also spoke with conviction and authority. He blended an academic background with the experience only years on the street can bring. He lived by a simple credo that placed honesty, integrity, and duty to friends and family above his own needs. He could work the street with the best of those that had gone before him and he wouldn't back off tough matters when pushed in the belly. His quiet dignity and firm resolution set an example for younger agents to emulate. Duty. Honor. Integrity and a respect for those who paid their dues on the job. With the passage of time he became somewhat of a legend within law enforcement circles, though some will steadfastly argue that the legend had a self-perpetuating bent. So what. True, Bill had a knack for self-promotion, but so did Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill Hickok and of more recent vintage, Eliot Ness - an unknown G-Man who was wallowing in obscurity until author Oscar Fraley got a hold of him and built up the myth of the Untouchables around a few kernels of truth. In turn, the Ness myth gave rise to a cottage industry of films and books that still fascinate the public. The legendary Chicago Police Officer Frank Pape was touted as such by columnist Nate Gross of the old Evening American and many other cop reporters. History often collides with fantasy and imagination. Ness was a freshly minted college grad assigned to the Secret Service when he came to Chicago in 1929 to do battle with Al Capone. Actually it was his street- honed agents recruited from various police departments who battered down the doors of the breweries and gathered the hard evidence that finally put Capone away with Ness absorbing much of the credit. But very often that is how our legends are crafted. Bill Roemer was the son of a former Jesuit seminarian, but as a young man, he opted for a legal career, beginning at the University of Notre

Retired FBI Agent William Roemer (1926-1996) details the workings of the Crime Syndicate in Chicago from the late 1940's into the 1980's - mirroring Roemer's career with the FBI. Roemer spent decades fencing with Chicago mobsters and mob bosses, including such figures as Tony Spilotro, Murray "The Camel" Humphreys, Sam Giancana, Tony Accardo, etc. Readers see how the mob operated, drawing its income from a combination of theft, fraud, gambling, sex, street taxes, and other venues, while enforcing discipline via intimidation and murder. We also see that the mob's moderately-successful ban against drugs resulted not from social conscience but from desires for preservation - Accardo and other bosses realized that drugs brought added public disdain and extra government heat, while turning some mobsters into junkies. This is a very readable and informative book, but it suffers a bit from a couple questionable claims plus self-boasting by the author. Still, these pages give readers a view of Chicago's mob/mafia syndicate, one that dates back to before the arrival of Al Capone.

I thought this book was magnificent. Roemer is is genuine in depicting the power that the mob had over anything and everything...He talks in detail about Accardo, giancana and the master fixers..aka the curruption squad of Murry Humphreys, Gus Alex..It's full of murders and double crosses..all in all it makes you feel like your right there...A must read

This book covers everything. Tells all about Sam "MO" Giancana to everything about Tony "Batters" Accardo. The details are fascinating and chilling. Really interesting and unbelievable. Makes you feel like you are Roemer himself. Great book!!!!!

This book covers everything. Tells eveything about Sam "MO" Giancana to everything about Tony Accardo. The details are fascinating and chilling. Really interesting and unbelievable. Makes you feel like you are Roemer himself. Great book!!!!!