Former bookie recounts past life working with Chicago mob, how he got out
John Murges worked for the Outfit Organization Organization. Murge is a professional bettor and Vegas regular. He worked in a warehouse at 1506 West Fulton from 1983 to 1995. The warehouse was built in 1910s. It housed a production company. Murgues and his brother Dean were scared. They were in Chicago during the Bears' Super Bowl victory in 1986.
John Murges' grandfather ran a State Street market in the 1930s and 40s. His father, George, was a lawyer. John's father lived in Greektown with his eight siblings. He received betting tutorials at Wrigley Field when he was 9 or 10. Murge dated Pat Marcy, a First Ward Mob superboss. As a senior at Maine East High, Murger met Nick Gio, who wanted to work for the Mob. Gios is serving a life sentence at Leavenworth. He heard about Pete Rose betting on Reds games.
Murges worked as a bookie in a warehouse in Chicago. He started in the summer of 1983. Most bets were made on the Cubs. A driver for the Gonnella Baking Co. served as John’s personal bookier. He paid a street tax or tribute to the Mob, maybe $1,000 a week. On getaway Wednesdays or Thursdays, they would open at 10:30 a.m., take calls for three hours, close and reopen at 5.
Murges was a bookie who collected money from clients weekly. He made about $1,000 a week. The week of Jan. 27, 1986, Murges paid out $150,00 for Chicago Bears football team. The money was stuffed into envelopes with Murge's initials, the customer's number and the amount. For those who failed to pay, they were given penalty percentage points per week and threatened with enforcers. There was no caller-identification in the ‘80s. Murger was worried about out-of-state phone calls.
John Murges worked for the Chicago mob. He was promoted to line manager in 1993 and made $4,000 a week. His wife wanted him to leave the business and they moved to Sarasota, Florida. Murge never got arrested. Sports betting is legal in Illinois and 29 other states and Washington, D.C. today. It's also legal at kiosks. John Murke saw many mobsters go down for taking sports bets.
