Hugh O’Connell was born in Butler, Wisconsin in 1919.
graduated from West Division High School in 1937. During World War I I , O’Connell served
4 1/2 years in the U . S . Army. He was transferred to the Air Force for pilot training, but was washed out.
He graduated from Arizona State College in 1949 before receiving a law degree from Marquette University Law School in 1952. Following his graduation, O’Connell worked as an attorney for Northwestern Mutual, a Milwaukee insurance company.
From 1954 to 1964, O’Connell worked as a Milwaukee County prosecutor, eventually serving as a first assistant district attorney under longtime district attorney William McCauley. When McCauley died in October 1964, O’Connell was named to replace him on the Democratic ticket, edging out the party’s preferred candidate, Donald W. Steinmetz. Though an underdog in political circles, O’Connell had the backing of McCauley’s widow, which made him the heir apparent. O’Connell was appointed interim district attorney by Governor John W. Reynolds shortly thereafter and was elected to the office in the November general election.
September 13, 1965: Rep. Weitner (D-Georgia) announced the Banking Committee had uncovered numerous loan sharking operations across the country. They specifically found four known loan sharks in Milwaukee. Weitner declined to name them, citing an ongoing investigation. District Attorney Hugh O’Connell said he knew of no loan sharking in Milwaukee, and deputy inspector of detectives Orville Youssi said no complaints had been received.
Gordon Gottlieb wrote in the May 9, 1967 edition of the Milwaukee Sentinel that 1967 could go down in history as the “year of awakening” with regards to organized crime in Wisconsin. A national crime commission named Wisconsin one of 16 states with a mob presence, while the government of Milwaukee had a hard time accepting it. Police Chief Harold Breier wanted to see “the facts” that the commission used. District Attorney Hugh O’Connell saw “no indication” that organized crime was in Milwaukee, and Sheriff Edwin Purtell did not know of “any evidence.”
January 24, 1968: An informant said O’Connell was running for county judge, which means the district attorney slot would be open. Dominic Frinzi was expected to run for DA as soon as he received approval from Balistrieri to do so. A DA position would likely help the local Mafia far more than his attempts at governor.
January 29: In contrast to the earlier rumor Frinzi would run for DA, he decided to go head-to-head against O’Connell and try to get a seat as a county judge. Both men were Democrats. Frinzi told the press, “A judge should be experienced in the law, and he should be impartial. As legal counsel for more than a dozen police and deputy sheriffs’ associations, I know the tough problems of law enforcement officers. I have learned much from my extensive work with our policemen. I have also spent 16 1/2 years as a defense attorney. These 16 1/2 years involved hundreds of cases protecting the constitutional rights of all citizens.” (At the time of this announcement, Frinzi had just been appointed defense counsel for Ed Gein!)
February 27: Campaign filings from Dominic Frinzi showed he had spent $4,807 on his candidacy for judge. His opponent, Hugh O’Connell, reported spending only $17. On March 7, Frinzi told a group of supporters that they should vote for him because if O’Connell was elected judge, the DA spot would be open and the Republican governor (Knowles) would fill it.
The first week of March 1968, Milwaukee’s underground newspaper, the Kaleidoscope, ran articles by reporter Mike Zetteler criticizing O’Connell. They highlighted a tax lien against him, multiple mortgages totaling $36,000 (on a $17,000 house) obtained from the Auto Acceptance Corp of Harry Kaminsky, and what they found to be a suspicious dismissal of charges against nine people accused of forging mortgages in 1963 – the home improvement ring that August Maniaci was involved in. They pointed out the state attorney general disagreed that the cases were weak and requested the records be turned over to the state. However, O’Connell then claimed the records were “lost,” preventing any further investigation. The Kaleidoscope found that the mortgage fraud company – Wisconsin Suppliers and Builders – was affiliated with Allied Building Credits, which was operated by Harry Kaminsky.
The alternative newspaper also accused O’Connell of being an alcoholic. According to them, “Among the spots where O’Connell is known to drink heavily are the Embers, Como’s, and the Irish Village. It is well known to Journal and Sentinel reporters, and to lawyers who have been in a position to observe him, that O’Connell has been to St. Joseph’s Hospital several times under circumstances which would indicate that he was there to dry out after heavy drinking bouts.”
Around March 11, Frinzi took aim at O’Connell’s history of financial entanglements. In particular, he tried to draw a link between O’Connell and Harry Kaminsky. O’Connell told the press, “I am running for a judicial position. I am not running against an individual. I will not wallow in inferences and innuendoes, and I have no comment as to the questions as posed by Mr. Frinzi, though I have satisfactory answers to all of them.”
March 14, 1968: Dominic Frinzi was campaigning at the Forest Inn in Greenfield. Around 100 people showed up. He again took aim at O’Connell, saying, “There are many questions which must be answered. Perhaps there is some reasonable answer. I believe the public has a right to know.” He disclosed that O’Connell had been sued by both Gimbel’s and the Boston Store for debts, had $1,000 in tax liens against him, and that O’Connell had a series of loans and mortgages from Harry Kaminsky between 1962 and 1965. At this time, Kaminsky was in court for (allegedly) selling fraudulent loans to financial firms in Chicago, and Frinzi said O’Connell should be disqualified from making any decisions related to Kaminsky’s legal future. Frinzi said he had released his financial records when he ran for judge and encouraged O’Connell to do so now to clear the air. O’Connell responded in the press, pointing out the Kaminsky court cases were federal. “If (US Attorney) Jimmy Brennan had come across in his investigations anything which indicated violations of state law, I’m sure he would have brought them to my attention.” (This is the first time I’ve heard James Brennan referred to as Jimmy.)
March 18, 1968: Frinzi and O’Connell were scheduled to speak at the 14th Ward Democratic meeting. However, O’Connell backed out on the day of the event, saying he would not appear at any event where Frinzi would also be. O’Connell said, “Due to my opponent’s campaign tactics, namely, personal attacks on my integrity, I have unequivocally decided not to appear on any forum with him… I find no need to answer his ridiculous allegations. I am running for a dignified position and I will not lessen the dignity of the position for which I am running by appearing on a forum with my opponent when from prior experience I am convinced that he will use the platform to continue his personal attacks.” Frinzi continued to link O’Connell and Kaminsky, now alleging that multiple attorneys had filed complaints against O’Connell’s office since December.
Frank Balistrieri held a party at his nightclub, The Scene, on March 20, 1968. Between 100 and 150 people were there, including almost all of the Milwaukee LCN. Two people were noticeably absent: Santo Marino and Al Albana. The party was a fundraiser for attorney Dominic Frinzi, who was running for Milwaukee County Judge. At this party, Balistrieri told a top echelon informant (likely Maniaci) that he wanted to “let bygones be bygones” and would be putting old-timers Sam Ferrara, Vito Aiello and Santo Marino under the leadership of Steve DiSalvo. Ferrara especially resented this decision, believing that DiSalvo did not show him (a former boss) enough respect. Other
old-timers such as Michele Mineo were put under John Alioto. Harry DeAngelo, Benny DiSalvo and an informant were put under Peter Balistrieri. Louis Fazio was collecting donations, looking for $100 per person if possible. Frank Balistrieri paid for the wine and dinner, with other drinks available for purchase. No speeches were made. Vito Seidita, the consiglieri, told the informant (probably Maniaci) that he would be under Peter Balistrieri now and would no longer be marginalized in Milwaukee. Seidita mentioned that there was at least one member of the
Milwaukee Family they knew they could not trust, but he did not say who it was. Non-members present included Frank Ranney, Harold Klein and Dr. Joe Regan. Vito Guardalabene and Phil Valley were also present. (Over a month later, on April 25, the Milwaukee Sentinel reported about this party, calling it a “Little Appalachin.”)
March 24: The Milwaukee Sentinel revealed that Edward Neubecker, Dominic Frinzi’s law partner, had a private investigator follow Hugh O’Connell around since December. This was allegedly after O’Connell complained to the bar that Neubecker had made inappropriate comments about juries. Neubecker explained his offhand remark (not printed in the press) was because he recently had a client get convicted by a jury and then jumped out a fifth floor window at the courthouse.
March 26, 1968: From a hospital bed at Mount Sinai Hospital, bathrobe-wearing Harry Kaminsky spoke to the press about the allegations connecting him and Hugh O’Connell. Kaminsky said he was very confused, and that it was true he had made loans to O’Connell, but he said he had made ten times as many loans to Frinzi and they used to be good friends. “I carried him on the books with loans for over 10 years,” Kaminsky said. His books showed loans to Frinzi between 1952 and 1960. Frinzi admitted this was true, but said it was a long time ago and he wasn’t currently in debt like O’Connell was. Kaminsky said the attack on O’Connell was “unwarranted and misrepresented.” Those loans were no more improper than the Frinzi loans. Kaminsky further claimed he had backed Frinzi financially in 1964 when he ran for governor. Frinzi denied this, swearing he never took a cent from Kaminsky in any campaign. Unrelated to either candidate, Kaminsky confirmed for the press he would make loans for 16% but didn’t consider that exorbitant. He said, “When people can’t get money they come to me. I’m a businessman.”
April 2, 1968: Hugh O’Connell crushed Dominic Frinzi. The early unofficial tally was 173,379 to 60,273. Throughout the night as results came in, O’Connell was consistently holding strong at 70%.
April 21, 1968: The newspaper reported that Frinzi had spent nearly $10,000 for his campaign for judge. Of that, $6,600 was his personally (the rest were contributions). O’Connell spent $500 of his own money and a little over $2,000 from contributions.
A letter to the editor appeared in the May 3, 1968 issue of Milwaukee Sentinel from attorney Joseph Balistrieri. He wrote, “Of all the malignant scribbling that has ever appeared in your paper, the article of April 25, ‘Little Appalachin Meeting in City on March 20 Told’ is outstanding for its contrived perversion of the truth. It seems that Italians are the only minority ethnic group who are not entitled to gather without some uninformed slanderer drawing a completely unfounded conclusion. That affair you alluded to was a St. Joseph’s Day party. I was there, by the way, along with both of my grandfathers. It is about time this concentrated campaign to malign Italians for the simple expediency of sensationalism stops; but that would entail fair, honest and accurate reporting, something of which the Sentinel is obviously incapable.”
O’Connell retired from the bench in 1983, citing his growing frustration with his criminal calendar and his desire to write spy fiction. He died four years later, in 1987, of spinal cancer.
In 1988, after his death, the Milwaukee Sentinel asserted that O’Connell’s career had been “filled with links to crime figures”, citing, among other incidents, a mob figure’s recorded remarks that O’Connell was “one of the judges we’ve been talking to for 10 years”. The Sentinel also noted that, three years after defeating Frinzi, O’Connell appointed Frank Balistrieri’s son Joseph as a court commissioner in March 1971.