Operation Greylord: Chicago’s Corrupt Courts

REDACTED: Declassified Mysteries with Luke Lamana

Wondery | Ballen Studios

True Crime, History

4.3 • 668 Ratings

🗓️ 4 March 2025

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In 1979, prosecutor Terry Hake made a bold choice. He agreed to go undercover for the FBI and report on widespread corruption in the Chicago courts. As he navigated a world of bribery and backroom deals, Hake risked everything to take down some of the most powerful figures in Cook County’s justice system. But the deeper he went, the more dangerous his mission became.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to Redacted, declassified mysteries early and ad-free right now.
0:07.0	Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts.
0:11.5	This episode contains depictions of violence and sexual assault and is not suitable for everyone.
0:17.3	Please be advised.
0:32.6	In May 1977, a young man named Bobby Lowe took the witness stand in a packed Chicago courtroom.
0:37.0	Lowe swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to focus on the prosecutor.
0:38.0	The man he was here to testify against sat at the defendant's table, staring at him.
0:43.0	He was one of Chicago's most feared mobsters, Harry the Hook, Alamon.
0:49.3	Lowe took a deep breath to steady his nerves.
0:52.3	Then he told the court what he'd seen one night five years ago.
0:58.0	Lowe was out walking his German Shepherd and spotted his neighbor heading to his car.
1:02.9	The neighbor was a Teamster's Union steward.
1:06.4	Out of nowhere, a vehicle pulled up and gunshots poured out of its open window.
1:12.6	The Union man was hit repeatedly and knocked into some nearby bushes. Before Lowe could process what he'd seen,
1:18.6	he heard a car door open. Someone got out and headed straight toward him while pointing a gun.
1:25.0	Lowe's dog lunged forward to attack. As Lowe tried to hold her back, he locked
1:29.6	eyes with the gunman. He was frozen for a second and then ran to escape. The murderer's face
1:36.0	was instantly seared into his memory. As Lowe recounted his experience, he thought about everything
1:42.8	he'd been through over the last few months.
1:45.4	He'd been forced to quit his job. He'd been put in witness protection along with his wife and
1:49.7	their four children and moved between safe houses under a 24-hour guard. It was pure hell,
1:56.2	but everything was building to this moment, the chance to put a murderer behind bars.
	...

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