It was 1931 in Chicago, the federal probe that would lead to the conviction of Al Capone was stepped up, causing Capone to skip to Miami. His top triggerman, Frank " The Enforcer" Nitti, was already locked up for tax evasion; this absence in the chain of command left Paul " The Waiter" Ricca in charge. And even though Capone had forbidden it, the nod was given for the first move on the Policy Kings

The guy most likely to organized a street crew for the "work" was Danny Stanton, an enforcement skipper and protégé of Murray Humphries. The first move came early in March when a couple of " representatives" showed up at the Panama Inn to see the owner, Johnny " King of Speakeasies" Wooley. The Panama Inn was a classy place located at 3032 S Indiana Avenue, set up in a building once occupied by Anheuser-Busch. This was where all the players. gamblers. Policy Kings and would be big shots hung out. Guys like the Kelley Brothers, Jones Brothers, Jimmy Hilt, Bill Driver, and David Giles. Besides the Panama Inn, he owned the Club Gloria at 505 1/2 E 31st Street, the Midnight Club set up in the Unity Hall at 3140 S Indiana, and the Ritz Club on Garfield Boulevard under the L. Wooley was chosen as a conduit because he himself had driven one of Capone's beer trucks during the 1920s before getting into the highly lucrative speakeasy business.

Wooley was to deliver the word to the Policy Kings that the Outfit wanted a piece of the business and that Capone was on his way out and Vinnie DeMora was no longer in a position to protect them. But the Kings refused. Later, Ralph Madia went to Wooley with the offer of taking care of his problem. But again the Kings refused, and that's when part one of the Policy War 1 began.

On the night of March 29, 1931, the Madia crew burst into the Panama Inn armed with machineguns and lead began to fly. A stray bullet hit one woman taking cover under a table. One man was pistol whipped and stabbed on the stairs trying to escape. After several minutes of gunfire inside the club , it continued to the outside with three of Madia's men waiting in the car. The cops responded but by time they arrived, Madia's crew was gone. That was the first skirmish. An hour later after the cops left, the same getaway car reappeared and shot up the club exterior in a drive-by. All told, 2 of Madia's men were hit but not one Policy racketeer. The Madia brothers and Vinni Carso, however, were later arrested and charged as 3 of the shooters.

This and then the political heat from Anton J. " Tony " Cermark targeting the Policy rackets in Bronzeville was additional pressure. First came the usual offers to come in as a partner for protection. One of the first wheels to be approached was the Grand Trunk. David Giles refused to play ball.

On Tuesday Nov 20th, two men wearing scarves burst into the place Willie Conway's Basement Restaurant at 622 E 50th St, where a lot of Grand Trunk business was done, and start shooting. Willie Conway was shot twice but returned fire during the entire scene. Running out of the restaurant the gunmen climb into a waiting car and flee. It's not clear which shot killed Conway. A week later, John Alessi was shot dead at the corner of 20th & Ogden. On Dec 4th, David Giles got whacked in his home by two unknown gunmen waiting inside.

With the murder of David Giles, the Policy Kings beef up security. It was a volatile time as shootings continued for days in the section of Bronzeville bound by S Parkway on the west, Cottage Grove on the east, 43rd St on the north, and Washington Park at 51st St on the south. Many of the runners, walking writers and collectors stopped showing up for work. And many regular customers were afraid to go a Policy station for fear of getting ruffed up or shot.

On the second week of December, Bronzeville's biggest Policy Kings and their lieutenants held a meeting in the Vincennes Hotel to discuss their situation. Among the attendees were: Policy Sam, Charles " China" Davenport, Pop Lewis, Bill Driver, James Hilt, Wynn McCullough, Jack Swade, Bill Bryant, Jack McGruder, Dan Gaines, Butler " Buddy" Coleman, Richard Cunningham, Earl White, Jimmy Williams, Jimmy Griffin, Charlie Ferril, Julian Black, Bat Lewis, Sedes Flanagan, Henry Young, Lewis family ( Edward & his sons Wesley and Edward), Oree Stapleton, Leo Hicks, Ezra Leake, Julius Benvenuti, Kelly Brothers and Jones Brothers.

The meeting debates went on but the options were clear: A) Knuckle under the Nitti mob. B) Shut down completely. Or C) switch political parties from Republicans to Democrats, leveling the playing field and fight the Outfit.

On the morning of Feb 17th 1932, Mack Jones was kidnapped in front of his home at 5001 St. Lawrence. Later on Ed Jones gets a phone call that directed him to a note in his mailbox that let him know his bay brother was kidnapped and the ransom was $25,000 but cut to $10,000. Ed proceeded to follow up ont the instructions and his brother was released.

Ed Jones key to a successful turn around was Southside politician Joe Geary. They both were under circumstances and needed each other. An arrangement was made with both receiving favors which led up to political sway ( The Kelly-Nash Machine) in the Policy Kings corner, which would later lead to the the formation of the Big 12 Syndicate and the National Brotherhood Of Policy Kings. This formation held the Outfit off up until the second Policy War.