It was considered normal by most locals since it seemed so harmless while throwing dice, playing cards, betting spreads, loving the ladies, and partying with the latest and greatest illegal treats off the streets.
But the criminal networks in Wheeling were operated by men named “Big Bill” Lias and Paul “No Legs” Hankish, and murders, bombings, and beat-ups were ordered and orchestrated out of sight when those bosses believed changes were necessary. Both mobsters ran multiple gambling rackets, full-service prostitution rings, loan sharking, and fencing operations, and in the 1980s, cocaine was an addition to the ever-so-popular “Wheeling Feeling”.
The series, “The Children of Wheeling’s Mob Era”, is a collection of tales based on exclusive interviews with local residents who, for many different reasons, had direct contact with organized crime and lived to talk about it. A few individuals still requested anonymity because, as they explained, there are still remnants of Wheeling’s mob and they wished to not risk any forms of retribution.
The series was in addition to the historical accounts that have been published since my original collection – “The Wheeling Mob” – was released by Weelunk in 2015, and it displays that there remain volumes of yet-to-be-shared history. In “Children,” we hear from bar owners and chefs, drug dealers and descendants, law enforcement and the mob-killing prosecutor, and from eyewitnesses who lived within the culture of organized crime.
And it’s anyone’s guess who could be next to tell their tales.
