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GLEN SCHMIDT'S PLAYTORIUM

CROSSED BOWLING PINS, 3 RED INSERTS, SM. GREEK KEY MOLD

SCARCE $50.00 CHIP

18TH EAST 5TH STREET

NEWPORT, KY. 1951- 1955 PETE AND GLEN SCHMIDT

On March 7, 1952, the State Police raided the Lookout House. They seized $20,000 in gambling equipment and arrested casino employees and patrons alike. The Cleveland Four made a quick decision. The Lookout House would not reopen. It was better to sacrifice one establishment to protect the others across the river in Newport w State Police interference was not likely to be tolerated. Jimmy Brink had not been present during the raid so he had not been arrested. But his lucky streak was at an end. Brink, an accomplished pilot, died on August 6, 1952, while flying himself to Miami (Kentucky State Police, 1952; Messick, 1968: 43-47).

In Newport the reform movement actually was better organized and more powerful. T was a good reason for that. Reform came to Newport courtesy of the Cleveland Four. Red Masterson, fully recovered from the Brady shooting, started meeting with local businessmen. Out of these consultations came the Newport Civic Association who would raise the issue of gambling and prostitution, and field candidates for office, under the slogan of "Clean Up, Not Close Up." With the syndicate's bankroll funding the campaign the reformers swept the elections (Messick, 1968: 55-56; Police chief hunted, 1951).

Peter Schmidt was still trying to build a gambling empire. Despite the election results which put syndicate-backed reformers in office, Schmidt went ahead with a new project. Schmidt probably misread some events and thought t was an ongoing Cleveland syndicate disengagement from Newport. Sam Tucker had moved to Miami in 1949 to oversee gambling interests in Broward County and Havana. Moe Dalitz had purchased the Desert Inn in Las Vegas from Wilbur Clark and seemed to be devoting his entire attention to that project. So Schmidt built yet another casino at 18 E. 5 th street called the Glenn Schmidt Playtorium. The Playtorium was a one story building with a restaurant, cocktail lounge, bowling alley, and a basement casino. The Cleveland Syndicate that t newly elected reform government though Schmidt's opening of the Playtorium was just another act of defiance on his part. The Newport Civic Association members ordered a raid on Schmidt (Messick, 1968: 56-60).

Schmidt's ally, Charles Lester, retaliated by arranging a raid on the Cleveland Four's Merchants Club. Lester had found a detective named Jack Theim who was willing to take charge of the raid. Theim's exact role in the Newport drama is unclear. Some sources believe him to be a corrupt cop, simply on Lester's payroll. Others believe he was an impeccably honest officer simply doing his duty. In any event, following the Farley shootings, Theim had been selected to head up a gangster unit in the police department. In that role he had been gathering evidence and compiling dossiers for years waiting for any sign of reform to show its face in Newport. With the success of the NCA Theim apparently believed his day had come. He was not entirely correct in that assessment (Messick, 1968: 56-60).

On occasion even the cleverest organized crime scheme can overreach. The NCA had come to power with the direct assistance of the Cleveland Syndicate. With the attack on Schmidt apparently someone felt the reformers work was done. In the 1951 election the word was put out that the NCA slate of candidates was to be defeated. Whoever made that call was not counting well, because in the November election the Lester-Schmidt candidate for Mayor, Robert Siddell, the street minstrel won. But, once again Peter Schmidt would over-reach his opportunity. Schmidt approached Jack Theim and made him an offer. He suggested that Theim serve as official police "enforcer" for the "new" regime. Schmidt was proposing, in a straight forward manner, that he and Lester, with Theim's assistance would take over organized crime in Newport. Whet...

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