The Mirage

Summary

Criminal Podcast Episode Summary: "The Mirage"

Release Date: September 27, 2024
Host: Phoebe Judge
Network: Vox Media Podcast Network

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Introduction

In the episode titled "The Mirage," Criminal, hosted by Phoebe Judge, delves into an extraordinary investigative journalism undertaking by the Chicago Sun Times in 1978. This comprehensive narrative unveils how a team of reporters orchestrated a covert operation to expose systemic corruption within Chicago’s city inspection departments by establishing a seemingly legitimate bar, the Mirage Tavern.

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Background: The Genesis of the Mirage Tavern

The story begins with Zay Smith, an ambitious reporter at the Chicago Sun Times, eager to transition from his role as a suburban correspondent to more impactful investigative work. As Smith recounts, the opportunity arose when the managing editor, Stu Lurie, approached him with an unconventional assignment:

[02:08] Zay Smith: "Zay had dreamed of being a reporter for the Sun Times his entire life, and in 1977 he was still a cub reporter, a rookie stuck covering the suburbs. But then one night he was in the office working late."

Stu Lurie revealed the Sun Times’ bold plan to purchase and operate a bar—initially appearing as a regular establishment—to serve as a front for uncovering corruption among city inspectors. The primary goal was to provoke corrupt officials into accepting bribes, thereby gathering undeniable proof of systemic graft.

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Execution: Setting Up the Mirage Tavern

The team’s first challenge was to establish a credible bar that would attract corrupt inspectors. This involved several critical steps:

1. Partnership and Staffing:
   Pam Zechman, a senior investigative reporter, joined Smith and Lurie in crafting the operation. They enlisted the help of Bill Rechtenwald from the Better Government Association to oversee the sting aspect. Additionally, they hired Jeff Allen as the professional bartender to lend authenticity to the Mirage Tavern.

2. Location Selection:
   After evaluating numerous spots, the team settled on 731 N. Wells St., a dilapidated bar with numerous code violations, perfect for provoking inspector visits. As Phil Barish describes, the bar had "drain boards behind the bar that were rotting," "electrical wires hanging down from all sorts of places," and "a pool of water in the basement that we thought had maggots in it" ([07:03] Phil Barish).

3. Anticipating Challenges:
   The team was acutely aware of the risks. Pam Zechman highlighted concerns ranging from potential accidents to unforeseen interference, emphasizing the precariousness of their endeavor:

   [06:11] Pam Zechman: "Well, aside from the fact that the COVID could be blown and the whole project could just collapse, someone could be killed in our tavern. I mean, it's a tavern. It's a tavern in Chicago and you're always careful."

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The Mirage in Action: Interactions with Inspectors

Once operational, the Mirage Tavern began to attract inspectors, serving as the crucible for unearthing corruption. However, the team quickly realized that navigating the corrupt practices required subtlety to avoid entrapment accusations.

1. Introducing Phil Barish:
   Recognizing the need for expertise in corruption dynamics, the team brought in Phil Barish, an accountant with a colorful background and a criminal record, to act as a corruption broker. Stu Lurie aptly described Barish as "the most honest, dishonest man you'll ever meet" ([15:27] Stu Lurie).

2. Learning the Corruption Dance:
   Under Barish’s guidance, the team learned the nuances of accepting bribes without crossing ethical or legal boundaries. This included the discreet handling of envelopes containing small bribes:

   [15:49] Phil Barish: "He said, okay, I want you to put $10 in an envelope for the fire inspector, $15 in an envelope for the building inspector, along with my card. And when they come in, give them the envelope, tell them that Phil Barish told you to give this to them."

3. First Inspection Success:
   The initial test came with the visit of a fire inspector. As Phil Barish describes, the inspector appeared more interested in personal rapport than in enforcing code violations. The discreet exchange led to the inspector leaving without citations:

   [16:11] Zay Smith: "In other words, he wasn't just their accountant, he was also their corruption broker."

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Life at the Mirage: Building the Menagerie

Beyond the investigative aspect, the Mirage Tavern evolved into a vibrant community hub, attracting a diverse group of regulars, affectionately termed the "Mirage Menagerie." These characters added depth and authenticity to the establishment, making it an ideal setting for the ongoing sting operation.

• Regular Characters Include:
  • Cheeky, the Gun Runner: An elderly man attempting to sell a handgun.
  • Cowboy Don: Recognizable by his buckskin jacket and cowboy hat.
  • Football Hero: A former athlete struggling with identity post-retirement.
  • Lost Weekend: An intellectual with a penchant for alcohol and dubious literary claims.

These interactions not only enriched the narrative but also provided a realistic backdrop for the corruption investigation.

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Capturing Corruption: The Sting in Action

The pinnacle of the Mirage operation was the successful documentation of corrupt inspectors engaging in bribery. Through strategic placement of hidden cameras and meticulous planning, the team captured undeniable evidence of graft.

1. Photographic Evidence:
   Key moments included inspectors discreetly accepting envelopes of cash, captured by photographers concealed within the tavern. Phil Barish recounts the critical moments when inspectors:

   [21:25] Phil Barish: "At one point he looked up at the grill that our cameraman had put in the loft so that they could shoot down on top of the bar and capture what was going on."

2. Notable Incidents:

   • The fire inspector’s casual conversation about his love for beer hinted at his expectation of a bribe ([16:51] Phil Barish).
   • The building inspector’s interactions mirrored similar patterns, solidifying the case of systemic corruption.

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The Aftermath: Publishing the Story and Its Impact

With substantial evidence in hand, the team proceeded to document and publish their findings, culminating in a groundbreaking 25-part series titled "The Mirage" in the Chicago Sun Times.

1. Publication Process:
   Pam Zechman emphasized the emotional weight of translating months of investigative work into compelling journalism:

   [30:09] Pam Zechman: "When it came time to write it, which is quite a moment, suddenly said to yourself, my goodness, I have to write this now. The pile of memoranda was taller than Pam. But you asked me whether I felt scared at the start of the project. If I felt scared at all. I felt scared at this point."

2. Public Reaction and Consequences:
   The series captivated readers, driving daily sales and public discourse. The relentless exposure of corruption played a significant role in the subsequent election, leading to the mayor's ousting. However, Pam Zechman notes that other factors, such as the Blizzard of '79, also contributed to the mayor’s downfall:

   [32:30] Pam Zechman: "The Blizzard of '79, which paralyzed the city in ways that it became obvious the city was not delivering services. And they say that that was the one, two punch corruption."

3. Recognition and Legacy:
   The Mirage series was lauded for its depth and impact, becoming a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in local special reporting. Though it narrowly missed the accolade due to its basis in deception, the series remains a testament to extraordinary investigative journalism.

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Conclusion: The Mirage’s End and Enduring Legacy

Following the culmination of their investigation, the Mirage Tavern was closed, marking the end of a pivotal chapter in Chicago’s journalistic history. The closure was celebrated with a wrap party attended by the entire team and members of the Mirage Menagerie, symbolizing the closure of their ambitious project.

[33:21] Zay Smith: "The night the Mirage closed, there was a wrap party. All the reporters went. The fake bartenders, the real bartender, the photographers who had been cooped up in the ceiling boards, and even some members of the menagerie showed up."

The impact of the Mirage Tavern extended beyond immediate political repercussions. Pam Zechman and Zay Smith co-authored a book in 1979, chronicling their experiences and the profound effects of their work. The legacy of the Mirage Tavern lives on, both as a landmark in investigative journalism and as a symbol of the relentless pursuit of truth.

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Notable Quotes

• Stu Lurie on Hiring:

  [03:25] Stu Lurie: "Do you have a nickname? And I said, well, my college friends call me Nordy. And he said, all right. Well, good luck. Naughty. The bartender."

• Pam Zechman on the Bar’s Name:

  [11:33] Pam Zechman: "We’re trying to figure out what to name the Tavern and came up with any number of, well, half-joking like the Golden Scoop or the Sunny Times Tap. But these professional writers, we could not come up with a tavern. Bill Rechtenwald, a gifted investigator, finally just said, why don't you call it the Mirage? That's what it's going to be. And he was right. It was perfect."

• Phil Barish on Inspectors’ Behavior:

  [16:21] Phil Barish: "That was extraordinary, because that was an easy way to get ourselves into the corruption angle without being accused of entrapping the inspectors."

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Impact and Recognition

The Mirage Tavern’s story, as chronicled in "The Mirage" episode of Criminal, underscores the power of inventive journalism to effect change. The meticulous planning, ethical considerations, and emotional resilience of the Sun Times team serve as a compelling case study in the fight against entrenched corruption.

The episode not only narrates a historical event but also invites listeners to reflect on the lengths to which journalists must go to uncover the truth and the profound societal impacts of their work.

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Further Reading and Listening

For those intrigued by the Mirage Tavern’s story, Pam Zechman and Zay Smith’s 1979 book, also titled The Mirage, offers an in-depth exploration of their investigative journey. Additionally, the Chicago Sun Times' 25-part series remains a seminal work in the realm of investigative journalism.

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Criminal continues to shed light on fascinating tales of wrongdoing, justice, and the intricate human stories that lie in between. "The Mirage" serves as a testament to the enduring importance of courageous journalism in holding power to account.

Transcript

[Phoebe Judge]

This message is a paid partnership with Apple Pay. When you've got a gift list to finish, the last thing you want to do is take out your wallet a million times. Instead, pay the Apple way. With Apple Pay, you can pay with the phone you're already holding. Just double click, smile at Face ID tap, and you're done. The people in line behind you will thank you. Apple Pay is a service provided by Apple Payment Services, llc, a subsidiary of Apple Inc. Any card used in Apple Pay is offered by the card issuer.

[Joe Rosenberg]

Support for Criminal comes from Framed John Grisham teams up with innocence advocate Jim McCloskey in their New York Times bestseller framed 10 True Stories of Innocent People Framed for Murder. In Framed, you'll read about the incompetence, corruption and racism that contribute to wrongful convictions. And you'll be able to hear real people's stories as they fought for freedom against the odds. Read Framed by John Grisham and Jim McCluskey in stores now. Also available as an audiobook.

[Zay Smith]

You come to the New Yorker Radio Hour for conversations that go deeper with people you really want to hear from, whether it's Bruce Springsteen or Questlove or Olivia Rodrigo, Liz Cheney, or the godfather of artificial intelligence Geoffrey Hinton, or some of my extraordinarily well informed colleagues at the New Yorker. So join us every week on the New Yorker Radio Hour wherever you listen to podcasts.

[Joe Rosenberg]

Hi, it's Phoebe. Today we're bringing you a story about a bar in my hometown of Chicago. It was called the Mirage Tavern, and even though it sold drinks and had regulars, it was a front, but probably not the kind you're imagining. Our friends at the radio show and podcast Snap Judgment talked with some of the people who ran the bar back in 2018 in an episode they called Night at the Mirage, and today we wanted to share that story with you. Here's Joe Rosenberg.

[Zay Smith]

Zay had dreamed of being a reporter for the Sun Times his entire Life, and in 1977 he was still a cub reporter, a rookie stuck covering the suburbs. But then one night he was in the office working late.

[Stu Lurie]

It was in the evening and I was working on a story when suddenly I was called into managing editor Stu Lurie's office. And if you're called into the office late at night, I was worried that this was not good news, didn't know what it might be. But Stu's first words, and he was smiling when he said them. He said, zay, have you ever waited tables? And I said, yes. And they said, can you hold your liquor? And I sensed something was happening here, and I decided I was going to answer yes to every question, no matter what it was. And I said, yes. And they said, are you good at talking to people? And I said, yes. Otherwise, can you keep your mouth shut if you have to? And I said, yes. And then he asked, can you write 50,000 words in a big hurry? And I said, yes. And at that point, Stu leaned back in his chair and smiled and said, zay, I think we're going to detach you from the City room for a while.

[Pam Zechman]

At the end of the meeting, Stu Lurie said, do you have a nickname? And I said, well, my college friends call me Nordy. And he said, all right. Well, good luck. Naughty. The bartender.

[Zay Smith]

That's when the editor read Zay in on the plan that the Chicago Sun Times had bought a bar and the.

[Stu Lurie]

Story needed a second reporter to work with Pam. And. And I said, yes.

[Phil Barish]

Pam Zeckman, Z E K M A N and I'm an investigative reporter now with the CBS station in Chicago.

[Zay Smith]

Pam Zechman was a senior investigative reporter at the Sun Times, and she and the editor, Stu Laurie, had come up with this idea. The idea was for the paper to buy, set up, and operate a working bar. It was to be a sort of undercover bar to catch Chicago officials in the act of corruption. Normally, what would happen is that people would call into newspapers like the Sun Times with complaints about things that they thought needed to be investigated, and then Pam and the other reporters would go out and, well, investigate.

[Phil Barish]

But one of the most difficult tips that we got was tips from small businesses that said that they were sick and tired of having to pay bribes to all kinds of inspectors that would demand payoffs and keep coming. It never ended.

[Zay Smith]

In other words, a city inspector would come to an establishment like a restaurant and say, oh, geez, you're out of code. What can we do? And then shake them down for a little money. And to be clear, this wasn't something that just affected a few businesses. It affected thousands.

[Phil Barish]

People would say, everyone does it. It's systemic. You'll never be able to do anything about it. It's just the Chicago way. And we wanted the tipsters to go public with us. And they wouldn't. Understandably, they would not.

[Zay Smith]

And that's when Pam and her colleagues came up with the idea, well, what.

[Phil Barish]

If we buy a bar?

[Zay Smith]

And this was back in the day when a newspaper could afford to buy a bar. No sooner had they made their grand plan than they realized exactly how unprepared they were to buy, manage and run a bar in the middle of Chicago.

[Pam Zechman]

This was a big project with all kinds of things that could go quite terribly wrong.

[Phil Barish]

My biggest fear was that we would have something terrible happen in the bar and that it would become a horrible mistake.

[Pam Zechman]

Well, aside from the fact that the COVID could be blown and the whole project could just be collapse, Someone could be killed in our tavern. I mean, it's a tavern. It's a tavern in Chicago and you're always careful.

[Stu Lurie]

Oh, there were so many ways it could go wrong.

[Zay Smith]

First, they partnered with an investigator from the Better government Association named Bill Rechtenwald to help them run the operation. The second is, duh. They hired a bartender. They figured they needed at least one professional who could pose as the owner. His name was Jeff Allen, but like them, he was new to the ways of the Chicago bar scene. Then came the third order of business. To actually find a bar, Preferably one that wasn't sparkling clean and up to code.

[Phil Barish]

We looked at dozens of places, tried to find a bar that was in our price range. We were looking for a place where we could conceal our photographers.

[Zay Smith]

Finally, they found 731 N. Wells St.

[Pam Zechman]

I remember very well one of those moments in life. You remember corner of Wells and Superior. Parking my car, not really knowing quite what I'd be called upon to do, Opening the screen door and going in. There's a bar along the left, some booths on the right, and a jukebox. And this is a shot and a beer kind of place.

[Phil Barish]

Most important of all, from the get go, it had a lot of obvious violations. There were drain boards behind the bar that were rotting. There were bar sinks that dumped water directly onto the floor. There was a pool of water in the basement that we thought had maggots in it. It looked like maggots. There were electrical wires hanging down from all sorts of places. One of the toilets didn't flush.

[Zay Smith]

In other words, it's the perfect place for what you wanted to do.

[Phil Barish]

It was wonderful. And incredibly, the owner said in five years, he'd never been cited for a single violation. We couldn't believe it. We had just started fixing the place up minimally when the first inspector that came in was a plumbing inspector, older man, very heavy set, he was looking at behind the bar. He wound up being unconcerned about water that was like a waterfall practically dripping from the sinks. And he said, nothing here is up to code. And then he made a comment about probably we didn't have enough money to fix it, so leave it. He said, that's not something an inspector should say. Leave your code violations, he said. Don't worry about it. We'll work something out.

[Zay Smith]

This happened a few times. An inspector would come in, hem and haw and leave saying they'd be back to work something out. So all that Pam and the rest could do was carry on with the business of getting the bar ready and wait to see what would happen next.

[Joe Rosenberg]

We'll be right back.

[Phoebe Judge]

This message is a paid partnership with Apple Pay. When you've got a gift list to finish, the last thing you want to do is take out your wallet a million times. Instead, pay the Apple way. With Apple Pay, you can pay with the phone you're already holding. Just double click, smile at face ID tap and you're done. The people in line behind you will thank you. Apple Pay is a service provided by Apple Payment Services, llc, a subsidiary of Apple Inc. Any card used in Apple Pay is offered by the card issuer.

[Joe Rosenberg]

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[Pam Zechman]

We'Re trying to figure out what to name the Tavern and came up with any number of, well, half joking like the Golden Scoop or the Sunny Times Tap. But these professional writers, we could not come up with a tavern. Bill Rechtenwald, a gifted investigator, finally just said, why don't you call it the Mirage? That's what it's going to be. And he was right. It was perfect.

[Zay Smith]

Do you remember? Tell me what you remember about opening day Fear.

[Phil Barish]

I did not expect that we would have a lot of business in the neighborhood that we were in. I was wrong. I mean, on opening day, I was having trouble pouring beer, and a customer had wound up giving me a lesson in pouring beer without having it foam out of the glass and gave me a pat on the back and said, that's very good. There was another time when somebody asked me for a Drambuie, and I said, a what? And he said, a Drambuie. And he said, I don't think we have that. And the customer said, what do you mean you don't have it? It's right behind you. I had no idea. One guy came in one morning and wanted a shot and a beer, and I poured the shot in the beer.

[Zay Smith]

But even before the bar opened, they also had had to figure out how to find graft, and they had no idea how it worked. How would inspectors ask for handouts? What words would they use? And how were they expected to hand over the bribes?

[Pam Zechman]

Exactly what the owner is supposed to say is, isn't there some way we can avoid this aggravation? That's a key word in Chicago. That sentence has been spoken so many times. Isn't there some way we can avoid this aggravation? At which point you start negotiating?

[Phil Barish]

But we were very concerned about never being accused of entrapping these inspectors. We did not want to do that.

[Pam Zechman]

In order to avoid entrapment. And if you have an inspector who's obviously fishing for an envelope of money, we just stood there like the dumbest kids on the block. We didn't make a move to the point where some of the inspectors could tell. They were almost frustrated having to move this thing along and get their payoff. We looked like just dumb beginners, which is what we were.

[Phil Barish]

We weren't going to say, well, can we pay you off? In order to ignore the violation, that was absolutely not going to happen. We needed to either have them ask for the money or hint that they wanted the money. The language and dance of the game was, well, we really want to work with you, and, oh, you're nice people and we want to help you and things like that.

[Zay Smith]

But they didn't know the dance. They didn't know the language. But luckily they had found this accountant.

[Phil Barish]

He was straight out of central casting.

[Zay Smith]

His name was Phil Barish.

[Phil Barish]

Phil Barish is a very colorful character. He drove a Rolls Royce, and he bragged about his gambling habits in Las Vegas. He was constantly talking about how much money he had. He had to tell us that he gets lots of sex, lots of trips, Nice trips. He also had a criminal record.

[Stu Lurie]

He was the most honest, dishonest man you'll ever meet. He was of the city of Chicago. He taught us, you've got to follow the rules if you're going to break the law.

[Zay Smith]

And Phil Barish showed them the exact steps of the corruption dance. The bribes were small, but they were coming in from hundreds of bars across the city. So they added up.

[Phil Barish]

He said, okay, I want you to put $10 in an envelope for the fire inspector, $15 in an envelope for the building inspector, along with my card. And when they come in, give them the envelope, tell them that Phil Barish told you to give this to them.

[Zay Smith]

In other words, he wasn't just their accountant, he was also their corruption broker.

[Phil Barish]

That was extraordinary, because that was a easy way to get ourselves into the corruption angle without being accused of entrapping the inspectors.

[Zay Smith]

So the photographers climbed up into a hidden loft positioned behind a fake air vent, and they waited. And remember, before it opened, the bar had serious code violations, things that really were dangerous. So the first big test came with the fire inspector's visit.

[Phil Barish]

I was outside the bar waiting. This was the date and the time that our Mr. Fix It. Phil Barish had told us to expect an inspector. And he came just as Barish said he would. And he was the fire inspector, a lieutenant. And he came in and he looked around. I don't know what he was looking for, but it certainly wasn't fire violations. He asked about the condition of the basement, and Jeff Allen told him, well, we never use it. And the fire inspector said, well, as long as it's clean, no trash, no junk down there. Which was laughable because it was a fire hazard. There were all kinds of open ceilings, that plaster had fallen off the ceiling. A fire could have gone right through there. He never went near the basement. And then out of nowhere, he started talking about how much he liked beer and how he loved, loved beer. And it got to the point where we thought that maybe what he was hinting at was that he wanted beer or a keg of beer as his payoff. At that point, it was obvious that the inspection was done, if you call it an inspection. And Jeff Allen had the envelope that we were supposed to give to him, according to Barish. And there was some hesitation, nervous hesitation, and then he just scooped it up and acknowledged that he was done and he was leaving, and he wasn't citing us for any code violations, and he walked out. He said, it's a beautiful day, and walked out.

[Joe Rosenberg]

We'll be right back.

[Phoebe Judge]

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[Phil Barish]

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[Joe Rosenberg]

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[Phoebe Judge]

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[Zay Smith]

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[Joe Rosenberg]

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[Phil Barish]

We wanted to make sure that we got a shot so we put bar stools up on the bar so that they would have to do their business, fill out their reports, do whatever it is that they do at a key spot where the cameraman could get a picture. And you can see in the picture of the building inspector, you can see the barstools up on the bar behind him.

[Zay Smith]

Yeah, yeah, I can.

[Phil Barish]

At one point he looked up at the grill that our cameraman had put in the loft so that they could shoot down on top of the bar and capture what was going on. He looked straight up at that ventilation duct and the cameraman thought that they were spotted. I mean, they Froze. They didn't want to make a move. And they wound up, though, getting the picture that we wanted of him scooping up the envelope. That was. Yes, One of the iconic photographs is he took the envelope. The same thing happened with the building inspector that followed.

[Zay Smith]

I should say both the fire inspector and the building inspector. The fire inspector is in his uniform, but he's got the cigarette dangling. There's a huge amount of. It's a very smoky cigarette. And then the building inspector's got the world's perhaps most amazing haircut. And you like that, huh?

[Phil Barish]

But he's also got a cigarette dangling from him, too. They both did. I mean, we were very excited about those photographs. And, of course, the cameraman told us that right away they told us that they had nailed it. And, you know, it happened over and over again. You asked me what was. At what point did I think that we really were accomplishing or proving the point that this was systemic? My wow moment came as we progressed through the different specialties in the ventilation inspector and the plumbing inspector, and then the liquor inspector just telling us, go to the cash register and get some cash. Did I imagine, going into it, that we found all the things we did? No. It was incredible.

[Zay Smith]

And there was something else that Pam and Ze and the Sun Times were able to document. Not only did they find and prove incontrovertible government graft over and over again, but in creating a bar, they had also created a tiny new world. And that tiny world was peopled with stories.

[Pam Zechman]

A tavern is a city.

[Stu Lurie]

Whole city.

[Pam Zechman]

Come in off the street for a beer. You know, you're caring for a community every day.

[Zay Smith]

There quickly grew this cast of regulars at the Mirage.

[Pam Zechman]

We call them the Mirage Menagerie. And they range from Cheeky, the Gun Runner, a little old guy who suddenly came in one day, a handgun he was trying to sell wrapped in newspaper.

[Zay Smith]

There was a guy named Cowboy Don.

[Stu Lurie]

Well, Cowboy Don, you could tell from a distance that he was a cowboy. He'd have a buckskin jacket and a cowboy hat.

[Zay Smith]

There was a guy they named Football Hero.

[Stu Lurie]

But I remember one moment when he looked down in a bourbon he was drinking and said, sometimes all I can remember are football plays and my serial number. And that was Football Hero.

[Zay Smith]

Then there was the guy they called Lost Weekend.

[Stu Lurie]

Well, Lost Weeknd was the most intellectual member of the Menagerie by far. He was very smart, and he said he was a writer. He said he wrote a piece for the New Yorker once, but he hasn't written anything else. And we couldn't find any record of a piece he said he wrote for the New Yorker. But he, he had a little problem with liquor.

[Zay Smith]

And then of course, there were fights because, you know, it's a bar.

[Stu Lurie]

There had been a full blown bar room brawl. And what happened was it started with a simple argument about, can I dance with this girl? And that developed into a fist fight. And suddenly everybody, everybody in the place has a reason to punch out the person next to him. And we had a guy smashing the beer bottle repeatedly on the bar trying to get it to break. And it wouldn't do it the way it would in the movies. Everything settled down. And then we noticed that there was an old tippler sitting quietly in one of the booths. And he had somehow managed to remain unnoticed, sipping a martini throughout the brawl. And he just said, can I have another drink? The service in here is terrible. In our bar we had a jukebox and a pinball. Our pinball was an Evel Knievel pinball. And one night I looked up from the bar because I heard some commotion at the pinball. And there was this young fellow just shouting at the pinball machine as he played. You scurvy dog. I hate you. I had to go over and check out the scurvy dog. And I made his acquaintance and found out that he was a young man who just about turned 22. Very respectable young man, but he had this thing about pinball machines. And he couldn't rest until when he met a new pinball machine. He could not rest until he'd beaten the high posted score. High posted score on this pinball was 242 050, 242,000. And he was a very good pinball player. And he said, for some reason, this machine, I hate it, I hate it. I could see something was developing because he was back every night for hours on the machine trying to conquer the 242050. I made friends with him and he started teaching me about pinball. People would gather because they realized what was going on, the drama. And he'd come close and then the ball would go down the chute and we'd hear the shout of, you scurvy dog. But finally, on the night of September 16th, it was a Friday night, and he came in and he played a game. He had a bag with his flight suit with him because he was getting ready to go up to Naval Reserve weekend training. First of all, he said, I just missed the 620 train, but I'll get the 720. And then I just missed the 720 train, but I'll get the 820. And then he finally said, can the reserve. I am going after this machine. And so he did. And a crowd gathered, and he went after it and lost and went after it and lost. And then suddenly he was up in the 200,000th with a free ball left. And the place fell quiet as he went with the last ball. And he did. You could tell he was just doing everything he knew how to do. Intense concentration, flipper action, and finally, bang. He was past 2 hours, 42 minutes. And his first words were, I love this machine. I go back to the line. It's a city coming off the street in need of a drink. I think that's what I would have found on any number of neighborhood taverns. And it would have been quirky in the sense that people are quirky.

[Zay Smith]

But the mirage was never meant to last. Once they had their story, it was time to close the doors and say goodbye to the menagerie.

[Phil Barish]

Finally closing up. You know, we wound up having to take down some of the decorations we'd put up. It was not depressing. It was the end of a huge, huge effort that had gone successfully and a huge sense of relief and of accomplishment in what we had done. But there was so much more to do.

[Zay Smith]

There was one last hurdle. They had to write the story.

[Pam Zechman]

We ended up, when it came time to write it, which is quite a moment, suddenly said to yourself, my goodness, I have to write this now. The pile of memoranda was taller than Pam. But you asked me whether I felt scared at the bert of the project. If I felt scared at all. I felt scared at this point. There's an old saying in our business. If you've got a good story, tell it. If you don't have a good story, write it. This is a good story. All I had to do is tell it.

[Zay Smith]

Three months later, on January 5, 1978, an article appeared on the front page of the Chicago Sun Times.

[Pam Zechman]

It looked like any other tavern in the city. The beer was cold, the bras was hot. But the Mirage 731 was never quite what it seemed. I was down in the city room and the papers came up. And, you know, it's always hot off the presses. It's actually wet off the presses because if the papers or anything off the police are. The press run, they're a little wet. But the papers came up. And after one story, I walked. I was walking down what we was placing a row in desks in the city room. We call Murderers Row because the columnists were in a row and they were all reading the Mirage story because the papers had just come up and they all looked at me and gave me a thumbs up and I thought, gee, that was nice. They really liked it. That was terrific. And I later found out they were giving me the thumbs up because I got the word ass into the paper.

[Zay Smith]

The article was a hit and four days later another article appeared. And then one the day after that and the day after that, Zay and the team would end up writing a 25 part series.

[Phil Barish]

It became like a soap opera. People were buying the paper and sitting there and reading it on the train and following it very closely. And it went from the corruption to the tax skimming to the vendors to the features and the characters in the bar.

[Zay Smith]

And it turns out while the mayor and city council might be able to duck one bad article, a 25 part series is a little harder to gloss over. In the next election, the mayor was voted out of office, although Zay says it wasn't all thanks to the Mirage.

[Pam Zechman]

The Blizzard of 79, which paralyzed the city in ways that it became obvious the city was not delivering services. And they say that that was the one, two punch corruption. Yeah, it's corrupt. And now the mayor wasn't even able to keep the streets plowed. And that's why he went down.

[Zay Smith]

There's still a bar at 731 N. Wells St. They knocked down a wall, but the old back bar is still there. And there are pictures from its days as a sting operation.

[Phil Barish]

I still have in my closet a Mirage jacket and T shirts that say I inspected the Mirage. And we have, I have matchbooks that we had made for the Mirage.

[Zay Smith]

The night the Mirage closed, there was a wrap party. All the reporters went. The fake bartenders, the real bartender, the photographers who had been cooped up in the ceiling boards, and even some members of the menagerie showed up.

[Pam Zechman]

And we were part of it. We were members of the menagerie.

[Stu Lurie]

Those are. They were generally good people that I enjoyed knowing.

[Joe Rosenberg]

The 25 part series that the Chicago Sun Times ran called the Mirage became a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in local special reporting. The Pulitzer jury said the paper had shown extraordinary commitment in terms of cost and legal risk to reveal widespread abuses by public officials. But in the end, the Pulitzer board refused to give them the prize because the reporting had been based in deception. Pam Zechman and Ze Smith wrote a book together in 1979, also called the Mirage. Two years after Ze Smith's spoke with snap judgment, he died of lung cancer. He'd been a reporter for more than 40 years. Special thanks to the team at Snap Judgment. This piece was produced by Joe Rosenberg and Anna Sussman, with an original score by Leon Morimoto. You can find all of the show's many years of excellent episodes and [e-mail] you can also listen to Snap Judgment on any podcast platform. Criminal is created by Lauren Spohr and me. Nadia Wilson is our senior producer. Katie Bishop is our supervising producer. Our producers are Susannah Robertson, Jackie Sajiko, Lily Clark, Lena Sillason and Megan Kinane. Our show is mixed and engineered by Veronica Simonetti. Julian Alexander makes original illustrations for each episode of Criminal. You can see [e-mail] and you can sign up for a new [e-mail] Newsletter we hope you'll join our membership program Criminal Plus. Once you sign up, you can listen to Criminal episodes without any ads, and you'll get bonus episodes with me and Criminal co creator Lawrence Bohr, too. To learn more, go to ThisIsCriminal.com plus we're on Facebook and Twitter at criminalshow and instagram @criminalpodcast. We're also on [e-mail] Criminal is part of the Vox Media Podcast network. Discover more great [e-mail] I'm Phoebe Judge. This is Criminal.

[Phoebe Judge]

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