NCJ Number
77677
Date Published
1961
Length
0 pages
Annotation
Narrated by Walter Cronkite, this CBS documentary used hidden cameras to record gambling activity at a Boston key shop and to show how organized gambling can be both lucrative and corrupting.
Abstract
At 5:30 a.m., June 3, 1961, CBS cameramen began their operation; by 3 p.m. an estimated 875 people had entered the key shop. The film shows gambling activities recorded by the hidden cameras including customers placing bets, bookies burning betting slips in an outdoor trash can, and pickup men coming to collect money. The film also presents interviews with directors from the New England Crime Commission, the Massachusetts State Crime Commission, the State police, and the Internal Revenue Service. The directors discuss the corrupting influence of illegal gambling in Massachusetts, the reluctance of some legislators to stand up to the gambling lobby, and payoffs to police officers. In addition, the film shows two raids on the key shop in September 1961, by the Internal Revenue Service and in October 1961, by the State police. The film estimates that the gambling activities at the key store may have grossed as much as $25,000 a week. The suggestion is made that State adoption of legalized gambling activities may not necessarily solve the problem of illegal gambling.