John D'Arco Sr. (March 27, 1912October 27, 1994) was an American politician, who was involved in organized

political corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influen ...

illegal gambling Gambling law is the set of rules and regulations that apply to the gaming or gambling industry. Gaming law is not a branch of law in the traditional sense but rather is a collection of several areas of law that include criminal law, regulatory law ...

and

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

activities in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, US.

Early life

D'Arco was born in

, on March 27, 1912 to parents of Italian ancestry. Growing up in the Near West Side, he allegedly developed connections with street gangs in Chicago's

Little Italy Little Italy is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an Urban area, urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian cul ...

, during the 1920s.

Rise to power and politics

By 1951, D'Arco had already become a powerful Democratic

ward boss An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking membe ...

of the 1st Ward and, in 1945, he was a Democratic Committeeman, as well. He also served in the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

from 1945 to 1952 as a Democrat. He was known for providing protection to the Chicago criminal gangs, including the Chicago Outfit, and participating in a variety of criminal activities, ranging from organized

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

of city officials to prostitution.

Later years, investigations, and death

During the 1970s, D'Arco was investigated by the

US federal government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, execut ...

for his alleged involvement in an attempt to fix the 1977 murder trial of reputed

hitman Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

Harry Aleman Harry "The Hook" Aleman (January 19, 1939 – May 15, 2010) was a Chicago mobster who was one of the most feared enforcers for the Chicago Outfit during the 1970s. Aleman got the nickname "Hook" from his boxing career in high school. He is also ...

, but he was never indicted. D'Arco died in Chicago, Illinois.Illinois Blue Book 1949-1950, Biographical Sketch of John D'Arco, p. 167Former 1st Ward Chief John D'arco Sr., Chicago Tribune, November 1, 1994

Early life

Rise to power and politics

Later years, investigations, and death

References

See also