William J. McCormack (businessman)
Encyclopedia
William J. McCormack was a successful New York City businessman of the first half of the twentieth century. McCormack began life as a grocer's “wagon-boy” along the West Side docks, but went on to establish Penn Stevedoring, one of the most important produce handlers in the United States. Standing 6' 3" tall and with "fists the size of hams," McCormack forced his way into a position of vast power, wealth and political influence along New York's brawling West Side. For almost thirty years McCormack would be known as "Big Bill McCormack," or the mysterious "Mr. Big." In the early 1950s, details of McCormack’s relationship with International Longshoreman’s Association President Joseph P. Ryan, as well as various organized crime figures, were revealed in a series of New York Sun
articles by Malcolm Johnson entitled “Crime on the Waterfront.” These articles, and the 1953 Waterfront Crime Commission hearings which followed, would provide Elia Kazan
with the factual background for his classic 1954 film "On The Waterfront
."
McCormack grew up on the brawling West Side docks and had been a fight promoter early in his career. McCormack once knocked-out Gene Tunney
, the Heavyweight Champion of the World, outside The 21 Club
in a dispute over Mr. Tunney’s wife, Polly Lauder Tunney
. In 1923, McCormack's friend and former business partner in the United States Trucking Company Alfred E. Smith was re-elected governor of New York. Upon his return to Albany, Smith appointed McCormack Chairman of the Licensing Committee of the New York State Athletic Commission
. At the time, the Committee ran boxing in New York and the commissionership was a powerful appointment coveted by Tammany boyos. And McCormack may have abused that power, because on January 30, 1924, not long after his appointment McCormack resigned under mysterious circumstances. Speculation was that Governor Smith had forced McCormck out when allegations surfaced that McCormack had extorted $81,500 from promoters before he would grant a license for the Jack Dempsey
– Luis Firpo
fight in New York City. In 1953, under oath, McCormack dismissed the charge as an “alcoholic’s dream” and, although McCormack was never formally charged, the alleged extortion was one of the many questionable practices that would plague the athletic commissions and the boxing profession.
. In 1927, McCormack sold his interest in United States Trucking and entered the sand and gravel business by obtaining an interest in United Sand and Gravel, a company owned by former Assistant District Attorney Edward J. Chapman and McCormack's close friend, Bronx politician Robert L. Moran (Politician)
.
McCormack was also partners with the politically hefty Sam Rosoff in a number of contracting and bus ventures, including the Fifth Avenue Bus Company
. “Subway Sam,” as Rosoff was known, arrived in New York from Russia
by himself and sold newspapers under the Brooklyn Bridge
before becoming a construction millionaire before age 30. The story is told, that McCormack and Rosoff got their starts in a unique partnership. Rosoff had a contract to remove all the cinders and ashes from city buildings, including schools and McCormack had a contract to pave city streets. Rosoff would dump the cinders on an empty lot on the West Side, where they would be picked up by McCormack’s trucks and used to pave the streets.
McCormack also operated New York’s biggest chain of independent filling stations and in 1944 he incorporated and became president of Morania Oil Co. which, in 1952, was responsible for $2.25 of the City's $2.5 million purchases of gas and oil. McCormack also owned a contracting company, a barge company, a dredging company and ran an Illinois race track.
His largest enterprise by far, however, was Penn Stevedoring. Founded in 1930, Penn would eventually hold a virtual monopoly on unloading all freight brought into the city via the Pennsylvania Railroad
, principally all the fruit and vegetables freighted daily into the metropolis. In effect, McCormack acted as the agent of the Pennsylvania Railroad
in New York politics and became something of an expert in labor relations and a major power behind Mayor Impelliteri. On the waterfront, where flash-strikes were common, McCormack’s companies were struck only once.
McCormack was paternalistic toward his men, powerful in politics and wielded enormous influence over Joe Ryan, the President of the International Longshoreman’s Association. Ryan did the bidding of McCormack and the shipping companies, providing labor peace in exchange for personal financial gain. All the while, the men in Ryan's union suffered low wages and underemployment that made them vulnerable to loan sharking and extortion
from the hiring bosses. McCormack, along with Ryan and their underworld associates, pocketed millions of dollars from bribes, protection rackets and stolen merchandise and their rule went unchallenged for decades because the men of the waterfront held firm to the "Irish code of silence."
In 1949, the New York Sun
published "Crime on the Waterfront," a 24-part series of articles written by Malcolm Johnson which detailed the widespread corruption, extortion, and racketeering that existed on the waterfront. The series won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize
for Local Reporting and lead to the establishment of the 1953 Waterfront Crime Commission. When called before the Commission, McCormack denied any role in the alleged labor racketeering and denied knowing anything about theft, loan-sharking, gambling, union corruption or any other evils associated with the docks. However, McCormack was not a particularly credible witness. During the five years prior to 1953, McCormack and members of his family had made payments to unknown parties totaling almost $1 million, none of which could be accounted for by business receipts or invoices. Moreover his dock employees, although members of the International Longshoreman’s Association, earned fifty cents per hour less than other dockworkers and the conclusion was that these payments had gone to labor racketeers.
"Crime on the Waterfront" and the resulting 1953 Waterfront Crime Commission provided Elia Kazan with the factual background for his 1954 film "On The Waterfront
" and "Mr. Upstairs," the corrupt leader who directs Johnny Friendly from afar, is based on the real-life McCormack. Years later, Bud Schulberg, who wrote the screenplay, recalled bringing Kazan to meet with Father John, the real life "Father Barry" played by Karl Malden in the movie.
Mr. Upstairs’s face is never shown, and we see only the plush estate (with television set and butler) where he lives. The director's script, housed at Wesleyan Cinema Archives, includes a double page Newsday Report, "Death on the Docks," of May 18, 1953 and, opposite the script section depicting the reaction of "Mr. Upstairs" to Terry Malloy's testimony, and unidentified magazine picture of McCormack.
McCormack also owned several concrete companies, including United Sand and Gravel, later Transit Mix, which, as one of only two concrete plants located within the city, provided millions of cubic feet of concrete for public and private construction projects including: the Chrystler Buildingthe and New York Central Building, the United Nations
, Guggenheim Museum
, Lincoln Center, 1969 Worlds Fair Grounds in Flushing
, the Cross Bronx Expressway, Major Deegan Expressway
and Long Island Expressway, the TWA Flight Center
at JFK Airport designed by Eero Saarinen
, the Whitestone
, Throgsneck and Verrazano Narrows bridges and the World Trade Center
.
After his death, Transit Mix was left to McCormack’s daughter who sold the corporation to Edward J. Halloran, the owner of the Halloran House Hotel on Lexington Avenue at 49th Street. In 1986 Halloran and Transit Mix were indicted, along with Anthony Salerno
and other members of the Genovese Crime Family
, for bid rigging
, extortion
, gambling
and murder
conspiracies. Mr. Halloran disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1998 and remains missing to this day.
New York Sun
The New York Sun was a weekday daily newspaper published in New York City from 2002 to 2008. When it debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of an otherwise unrelated earlier New York paper, The Sun , it became the first general-interest broadsheet newspaper to be started...
articles by Malcolm Johnson entitled “Crime on the Waterfront.” These articles, and the 1953 Waterfront Crime Commission hearings which followed, would provide Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
with the factual background for his classic 1954 film "On The Waterfront
On the Waterfront
On the Waterfront is a 1954 American drama film about union violence and corruption among longshoremen. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint, Lee J. Cobb and Karl Malden. The soundtrack score was composed by Leonard...
."
Chairman of the Licensing Committee of the State Athletic Commission
Gene Tunney
James Joseph "Gene" Tunney was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1926-1928 who defeated Jack Dempsey twice, first in 1926 and then in 1927. Tunney's successful title defense against Dempsey is one of the most famous bouts in boxing history and is known as The Long Count Fight...
, the Heavyweight Champion of the World, outside The 21 Club
21 Club
The 21 Club, often simply 21, is a restaurant and former prohibition-era speakeasy, located at 21 West 52nd Street in New York City.-Environment:...
in a dispute over Mr. Tunney’s wife, Polly Lauder Tunney
Polly Lauder Tunney
Polly Lauder Tunney was an American philanthropist and Connecticut socialite. An heiress of Andrew Carnegie, Tunney drew international fame during the 1920s for her secret romance and subsequent marriage to world heavyweight boxing champion Gene Tunney. They had four children, including John V....
. In 1923, McCormack's friend and former business partner in the United States Trucking Company Alfred E. Smith was re-elected governor of New York. Upon his return to Albany, Smith appointed McCormack Chairman of the Licensing Committee of the New York State Athletic Commission
New York State Athletic Commission
The New York State Athletic Commission or NYSAC, also known as the New York Athletic Commission, regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New York, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, professional wrestlers, seconds, ring officials,...
. At the time, the Committee ran boxing in New York and the commissionership was a powerful appointment coveted by Tammany boyos. And McCormack may have abused that power, because on January 30, 1924, not long after his appointment McCormack resigned under mysterious circumstances. Speculation was that Governor Smith had forced McCormck out when allegations surfaced that McCormack had extorted $81,500 from promoters before he would grant a license for the Jack Dempsey
Jack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey was an American boxer who held the world heavyweight title from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first...
– Luis Firpo
Luis Firpo
Luis Ángel Firpo, , was an Argentine boxer. Born in Junín, Argentina, he was nicknamed "The Wild Bull of The Pampas."...
fight in New York City. In 1953, under oath, McCormack dismissed the charge as an “alcoholic’s dream” and, although McCormack was never formally charged, the alleged extortion was one of the many questionable practices that would plague the athletic commissions and the boxing profession.
Business ventures
In 1920, McCormack founded the United States Trucking Company. McCormack served as the company’s vice-president and appointed Alfred E. Smith as chairman of the board. The appointment of Smith made good political sense, because Smith had served as New York’s Governor from 1918-1920 and had powerful ties to Tammany HallTammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
. In 1927, McCormack sold his interest in United States Trucking and entered the sand and gravel business by obtaining an interest in United Sand and Gravel, a company owned by former Assistant District Attorney Edward J. Chapman and McCormack's close friend, Bronx politician Robert L. Moran (Politician)
Robert L. Moran (Politician)
Robert Lawrence Moran , was a Bronx politician who served as President of the Board of Alderman of New York City from 1918 to 1920, filling a vacancy left by Alfred E. Smith after Smith’s election as governor of New York. Nominated by the Democratic Party to succeed himself as board president,...
.
McCormack was also partners with the politically hefty Sam Rosoff in a number of contracting and bus ventures, including the Fifth Avenue Bus Company
Fifth Avenue Bus Company
The Fifth Avenue Bus Company was one of a few double-decker bus manufacturers outside of Europe. Based in New York City, it provided double-decker buses to New York and Toronto...
. “Subway Sam,” as Rosoff was known, arrived in New York from Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
by himself and sold newspapers under the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
before becoming a construction millionaire before age 30. The story is told, that McCormack and Rosoff got their starts in a unique partnership. Rosoff had a contract to remove all the cinders and ashes from city buildings, including schools and McCormack had a contract to pave city streets. Rosoff would dump the cinders on an empty lot on the West Side, where they would be picked up by McCormack’s trucks and used to pave the streets.
McCormack also operated New York’s biggest chain of independent filling stations and in 1944 he incorporated and became president of Morania Oil Co. which, in 1952, was responsible for $2.25 of the City's $2.5 million purchases of gas and oil. McCormack also owned a contracting company, a barge company, a dredging company and ran an Illinois race track.
His largest enterprise by far, however, was Penn Stevedoring. Founded in 1930, Penn would eventually hold a virtual monopoly on unloading all freight brought into the city via the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
, principally all the fruit and vegetables freighted daily into the metropolis. In effect, McCormack acted as the agent of the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
in New York politics and became something of an expert in labor relations and a major power behind Mayor Impelliteri. On the waterfront, where flash-strikes were common, McCormack’s companies were struck only once.
Crime on the waterfront
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
from the hiring bosses. McCormack, along with Ryan and their underworld associates, pocketed millions of dollars from bribes, protection rackets and stolen merchandise and their rule went unchallenged for decades because the men of the waterfront held firm to the "Irish code of silence."
In 1949, the New York Sun
New York Sun
The New York Sun was a weekday daily newspaper published in New York City from 2002 to 2008. When it debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of an otherwise unrelated earlier New York paper, The Sun , it became the first general-interest broadsheet newspaper to be started...
published "Crime on the Waterfront," a 24-part series of articles written by Malcolm Johnson which detailed the widespread corruption, extortion, and racketeering that existed on the waterfront. The series won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for Local Reporting and lead to the establishment of the 1953 Waterfront Crime Commission. When called before the Commission, McCormack denied any role in the alleged labor racketeering and denied knowing anything about theft, loan-sharking, gambling, union corruption or any other evils associated with the docks. However, McCormack was not a particularly credible witness. During the five years prior to 1953, McCormack and members of his family had made payments to unknown parties totaling almost $1 million, none of which could be accounted for by business receipts or invoices. Moreover his dock employees, although members of the International Longshoreman’s Association, earned fifty cents per hour less than other dockworkers and the conclusion was that these payments had gone to labor racketeers.
"Crime on the Waterfront" and the resulting 1953 Waterfront Crime Commission provided Elia Kazan with the factual background for his 1954 film "On The Waterfront
On the Waterfront
On the Waterfront is a 1954 American drama film about union violence and corruption among longshoremen. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint, Lee J. Cobb and Karl Malden. The soundtrack score was composed by Leonard...
" and "Mr. Upstairs," the corrupt leader who directs Johnny Friendly from afar, is based on the real-life McCormack. Years later, Bud Schulberg, who wrote the screenplay, recalled bringing Kazan to meet with Father John, the real life "Father Barry" played by Karl Malden in the movie.
- "That day he was going up in smoke. He was furious that Spellman was giving an award to John McCormack--the 'Mr. Big' of the waterfront. Mr. McCormack was a respectable man. He had lots and lots of money. He put Mayor Impellitteri in office. But the people under McCormack were monsters and killers. Anyway, the day I brought Kazan, Father John was yelling, 'I'm going to stop Spellman.' He was cursing--'McCormack, that son of a bitch'--and shouting.".
Mr. Upstairs’s face is never shown, and we see only the plush estate (with television set and butler) where he lives. The director's script, housed at Wesleyan Cinema Archives, includes a double page Newsday Report, "Death on the Docks," of May 18, 1953 and, opposite the script section depicting the reaction of "Mr. Upstairs" to Terry Malloy's testimony, and unidentified magazine picture of McCormack.
Transit Mix Concrete
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, Guggenheim Museum
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
, Lincoln Center, 1969 Worlds Fair Grounds in Flushing
Flushing, Queens
Flushing, founded in 1645, is a neighborhood in the north central part of the City of New York borough of Queens, east of Manhattan.Flushing was one of the first Dutch settlements on Long Island. Today, it is one of the largest and most diverse neighborhoods in New York City...
, the Cross Bronx Expressway, Major Deegan Expressway
Major Deegan Expressway
The Major Deegan Expressway is a north–south expressway in the New York City borough of the Bronx...
and Long Island Expressway, the TWA Flight Center
TWA Flight Center
The TWA Flight Center or Trans World Flight Center, opened in 1962 as a standalone terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport .for Trans World Airlines...
at JFK Airport designed by Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect and industrial designer of the 20th century famous for varying his style according to the demands of the project: simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism.-Biography:Eero Saarinen shared the same birthday as his father,...
, the Whitestone
Whitestone
Whitestone cheese is one of the New Zealand South Island's leading cheese companies. Whitestone makes 23 different specialist cheeses, the most well-known of which is Whitestone Windsor Blue...
, Throgsneck and Verrazano Narrows bridges and the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
.
After his death, Transit Mix was left to McCormack’s daughter who sold the corporation to Edward J. Halloran, the owner of the Halloran House Hotel on Lexington Avenue at 49th Street. In 1986 Halloran and Transit Mix were indicted, along with Anthony Salerno
Anthony Salerno
Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno was a New York mobster who served as front boss of the Genovese crime family to family boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante from the 1970s until his conviction in 1986...
and other members of the Genovese Crime Family
Genovese crime family
The Genovese crime family , is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
, for bid rigging
Bid rigging
Bid rigging is a form of fraud in which a commercial contract is promised to one party even though for the sake of appearance several other parties also present a bid. This form of collusion is illegal in most countries...
, extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
, gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
conspiracies. Mr. Halloran disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1998 and remains missing to this day.