MARTIN J.

MCGEE, PIONEER IN MAIL FRAUD

INVESTIGATION
[CHICAGO SPORTS FINAL Edition]
Chicago Tribune - Chicago, Ill.
James Janega, Tribune Staff
Author:
Writer
Date: Jan 14, 2000
Start Page: 10
Section: OBITUARIES
Text Word
335
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Document Text
Martin J. McGee, chief inspector for the U.S. Postal Service's Chicago office in
the 1970s, was the first postal inspector here to investigate cases under a little-
known, but later extremely effective, statute to prosecute white collar criminals.

His mail fraud investigations dealt mostly with corrupt bankers and credit card
companies. But his work paved the way for federal authorities to use mail fraud
statutes to successfully prosecute public officials, from former Illinois Gov. Otto
Kerner to the onetime floor leader of the Chicago City Council, Thomas Keane.

Mr. McGee, a resident of River Forest, died Thursday, Jan. 13, at Oak Park
Hospital after a stroke. He was 85.

"There's a mail fraud charge that goes back to the 1920s or earlier, but it was
how they used it. They came up with ways that had never been used before,"
said Richard Makarski, former chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. attorney's
office in Chicago.

By hiring eager young investigators and urging them to delve into the obscure
statute, Makarski said, Mr. McGee transformed the office from one that
investigated thefts of items from envelopes to one that would eventually take part
in premier political corruption cases.

But Mr. McGee was equally at home flipping burgers on a grill won at a church
raffle. He opted for early retirement and turned down high-profile consulting jobs
in his later years.

Instead, he devoted himself to volunteer work with organizations that assisted

families of children with Down syndrome, a cause he had pursued since his
daughter Tricia was born with the condition in 1960.

Mr. McGee is survived by his wife, Kathryn; two sons, Martin H. and Michael; two
daughters, Jan and Tricia; two sisters, Marie Schmid and Shirley Mooney; three
granddaughters; and two grandsons.

Visitation will be from 2:30 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Ahern Funeral Home, 6621 W.
North Ave., Oak Park. A mass will be said at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Luke Church,
7600 Lake St., River Forest.

Abstract (Document Summary)

Martin J. McGee, chief inspector for the U.S. Postal Service's Chicago office in
the 1970s, was the firstpostal inspector here to investigate cases under a little-
known, but later extremely effective, statute to prosecute white collar criminals.