Frank L. "Buster" Wortman was an American St. Louis-area bootlegger, gambler, criminal gang leader, and a former member of the Shelton Brothers Gang during Prohibition. Wortman would eventually succeed the Sheltons, and take over St. Louis's gambling operations in southwest Illinois until his death.
Early life
The son of an East St. Louis fire captain, Wortman spent his early years living in north St. Louis. John Worthmann, his grandfather, worked as a proofreader for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and was killed when struck by a streetcar in 1894. Frank Wortman turned to crime in his late teens and was arrested for burglary. By 1926, he had begun running errands for the bootlegging Shelton Brothers. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, Wortman was a prominent member of the gang, acting as an enforcer in southern Illinois.
Time in Leavenworth
In 1933, a federal agent was beaten during a raid on one of the Shelton's distilleries, which he had been guarding. Wortman was taken into custody along with his associate, Monroe "Blackie" Armes. The two were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. Wortman served his sentence from 1934 to 1941, gaining an early release. Contrary to sensationalized reporting and stories over the years, Wortman did not serve any time in Alcatraz prison. During Wortman's incarceration, the federal prohibition amendment of 1919 was repealed, which again legalized liquor sales in the U.S. in 1933.
War with the Sheltons
Following his release in 1941, Wortman briefly worked as a steamfitter before organizing an army of gunmen whose ranks included "Black" Charlie Harris, Elmer Sylvester "Dutch" Dowling and brothers Monroe and Tony Armes. He then launched a campaign to drive the Sheltons from southern Illinois. Establishing Wortman's Plaza Amusement Company, he would soon obtain a virtual monopoly on gambling, specifically slot machines, pinball machines, horse parlors, crap games and card games. He would also establish legitimate businesses, including trucking firms and taverns, run by his younger brother Ted. Ted lived on a horse farm on Illinois Route 157 on the north end of Caseyville. Ted's place was only about from where his brother lived. By the late 1940s, Wortman assumed control over illegal gambling in southern Illinois and St. Louis.
Kingpin of St. Louis
Involved in local politics as a young adult, by the 1950s Wortman reportedly had extensive political connections on both sides of the Missouri-Illinois border, including Illinois politician and state auditorOrville Enoch Hodge, who was convicted of embezzling over $1 million in taxes in 1956. That same year, an IRS agent was assaulted by Wortman while at "The Paddock" tavern and would result in his being audited. Although eventually accused with two associates of conspiracy to evade taxes on February 26, 1962, all three were acquitted. In the mid-1950s, Wortman moved from his ranch-style brick home in Collinsville at 2 Crown Drive, to the east end of Collinsville. This new "fortress" home was surrounded by a water-filled moat with the only access being a narrow bridge. During the 1960s, a black street gang known as The Warlords began moving in on Wortman's territory, and in one incident threw a hand grenade into McCoy's Tavern. With the threat of retaliation, members of Wortman's organization were sufficiently able to intimidate the street gang into backing off.
Later years
Although his power began to decline in his later years, suffering financial losses from legal battles and closure of gambling operations, Wortman remained in control of southern Illinois gambling until his death on August 3, 1968, at age 63, in Alexian Brothers Hospital due to complications from surgery for laryngeal cancer. Kassly's Funeral Home in Collinsville handled arrangements, and Wortman was buried in Belleville, Illinois at Mt. Carmel Cemetery. Ironically, not more than from Wortman's grave is that of his chief nemesis, East St. Louis policeman Robert "Tree" Sweeney, who killed twelve men in the line of duty. Gambling was legalized in East St. Louis after Wortman's death, and the local gambling casino is now the city's largest employer.
