Gale Encyclopedia of American Law Volume 6 P15 fully illuminates today's leading cases, major statutes, legal terms and concepts, notable persons involved with the law, important documents and more. Legal issues are fully discussed in easy-to-understand language, including such high-profile topics as the Americans with Disabilities Act, capital punishment, domestic violence, gay and lesbian rights, physician-assisted suicide and thousands more. | 1 28 KEFAUVER INVESTIGATION AND KNAPP COMMISSION Cimons Lene. 1991. A Look at Possible Supreme Court Candidates. Los Angeles Times. June 29. Richey Warren. 1999. Fraud Case Probes Limits of Whistle-Blowing. Christian Science Monitor November 29 . Smith Jessie Carney ed. 2003. Notable Black American Women Book III. Farmington Hills MI Gale. KEFAUVER INVESTIGATION AND KNAPP COMMISSION The pervasive reach of organized crime in the United States has made it a target of investigations and legal action since the nineteenth century. Two of the most noteworthy attacks were the Kefauver investigation in the 1950s and the Knapp Commission hearings in the 1970s. Both investigations brought a new focus to this fight the Kefauver hearings gave it national prominence and the Knapp hearings underscored what can happen when corrupt law enforcement officials ignore the criminal element. Estes Kefauver a . senator from Tennessee introduced Senate Resolution 202 in January 1950 which called for a national investigation of organized crime. The rapid growth of crime syndicates in major cities across the United States meant an increase in illegal gambling drug trafficking extortion and prostitution. Many of the syndicate leaders had set up legitimate business fronts to hide their illegal operations. Kefauver believed that the syndicates had grown so strong that local law enforcement was unable to exert any control. In May 1950 Kefauver and four other senators were named to a Special Committee to Investigate organized Crime in Interstate Commerce. Because the committee s focus was interstate commerce the hearings were held across the United States 14 cities in 15 months. Suspected and known organized crime leaders in these cities were interrogated by the five senators which generated local interest. In Detroit a local television station broadcast part of the hearings in that city. The Kefauver committee voiced disapproval of legalized gambling operations in Nevada and that disapproval
