Hensley also made money in dog racing, but sold his track to the Jacobs family of Buffalo. The court said Hensley must never get into the liquor business again, but when he got out he received a big Budweiser distributorship. Hensley’s brother, Eugene, was a bootlegger and was also convicted. Hensley was general manager of Marley’s United Liquor. In 1948, Marley escaped prison while 52 of his prisoners went were incarcerated including henchman James Willis Hensley, who would become John McCain’s father-in-law. Marley became the state’s only billionaire. Greenbaum and his wife were slain in 1948, setting off a mob war that Marley won. Gene Hensley, McCain’s father-in-law, became Marley’s chief henchman. He was also very close to Gus Greenbaum, a Lansky aide and Phoenix gambler. He was the protégé of Sam Bronfman, a close friend of Al Capone and Meyer Lansky, who visited Arizona in his company. The big fish in the Arizona pond was Kemper Marley (d.1990), a billionaire liquor magnate and rancher. It might be a bit like the fellow who played the piano in the bordello but had no idea what went on up-stairs. Perhaps McCain was untainted by the mob and corruption, but one wonders if he could have been that successful had he not somehow made his peace with that situation. Old Arizona hands say McCain must have had that figured out, but said nothing.Īrizona politics then was shot through with corruption and mob influence. Eventually it came out that the man had never been in the military. The Phoenix 40 was the closest thing to a political machine in Arizona, and this machine got behind John McCain.ĭuke Tully claimed he was a fighter pilot like Mc Cain. The solid backing Duke Tully, publisher of The Arizona Republic, and a lot of special interest money also account for his extraordinary success. No doubt, his celebrity status as a war hero had a great deal to do with his political success. Before 1981, he had no prior involvement with the state. He quickly threw himself into politics, and was twice elected to the United States House of Representatives before the voters sent him to the Senate in 1986.
#RUSSIAN RAG PLAYER PIANO ROLL SERIES#
'Perhaps McCain was untainted by the mob and corruption, but one wonders if he could have been that successful had he not somehow made his peace with that situation.'īy Sherman De Brosse / The Rag Blog / OctoThis is the second in a series by Rag Blog contributor Sherman De Brosse on John McCain and his shady involvements, past and present.John McCain retired from the Navy in 1981 and moved to Phoenix with Cindy, his second bride.
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