21/04/2024
Godley and its houses of ill repute.
As a coal mining town on US 66, Godley catered to the needs of the miners: bars to quench their thirst for alcohol and b***y houses to meet their other needs.
When the mines closed for good in the 1890s, Godley "consisted of a store, over 18 taverns and about 8 houses of ill repute."
These bo****los kept on going until the 1960s; Brorsen reported that "In 1962 Godley had three taverns , a restaurant and two wh******ses" and Andy Dawkins mentions the wh******se in Godley in 1966. A Braidwood resident recalling his teen days in the 1950s and 60s tells us that "The tavern in Godley was the more specific. It was known for its Mafia-run prostitution house. Although my Lewis College classmates and teammates had never heard of Braidwood, they usually were acquainted with Godley... When the county police would come, ladies would run across the street to avoid being arrested."
These recollections are backed by the media; the Chicago Tribune published an article on August 25, 1962 5 informing the death of an ex-convict Alex Sorrentino who was a lieutenant of three Mafia bosses, one of them involved in "vice and gambling in... Will county" he was also a "procurer" for "Joseph Barrett Jr... the operator of a notorious syndicate bo****lo in the hamlet of Godley, in northern Grundy county."
The Joliet Herald News reported in August 2013 that "Fire destroys former reputed brothel used by Al Capone... A brush fire destroyed two homes Saturday in the Route 66 town of Godley, Ill., including one structure that reputedly was a brothel used by notorious Chicago gangster Al Capone."
There is even an urban myth of a train wagon that was parked on the county line to avoid cop raids!
