MachineThere ain’t a police force in the country could do its job with a law book. You got information and I want it. You could of said no and I could of not believed you. But you didn’t even say no.—RAYMOND CHANDLER,THE LONG GOODBYE,1953LIKE A REFORMERS’ TAG TEAM, VOLLMER’S BOYS WERE determined to clean up Chicago. The racketeers and naysayers may have temporarily run John Larson out of town, but Keeler had arrived to take his place, and he had brought with him a new lie box, much improved from Larson’s crude device. Also, Keeler was a smoother operator, more politically savvy and with better connections. He knew how to handle people. He was determined to make his mark. And he would do so, though his ascent proved precarious. Even as Keeler promoted his machine as an antidote to police violence and political corruption, he had to sell it to the police as a technique that served their interests.Keeler shared Larson’s commitment to police reform. On his first day in Chicago, Keeler confided his plans to his private journal.
