John Cody

John Patrick Cardinal Cody (December 24, 1907 – April 25, 1982) was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. A native of St. Louis, he served as Bishop of Kansas City–Saint Joseph (1956–61), Archbishop of New Orleans (1964–65), and Archbishop of Chicago (1965–82). He was named a cardinal in 1967.

Early life and education

John Cody was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Thomas Joseph and Mary (née Begley) Cody. His father was an Irish immigrant who became deputy chief of the St Louis Fire Department. After attending Holy Rosary Parochial School, he entered St. Louis Preparatory Seminary at age 13. He remained at St. Louis until 1926, when he was sent to continue his studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree (1928) and a Doctor of Sacred Theology (1932) from the College of the Propagation of the Faith.

Priesthood

Cody was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Francesco Marchetti Selvaggiani on December 8, 1931. He remained in Rome for the next six years as a staff member of the North American College and an official of the Vatican Secretariat of State. In 1938, he earned a Doctor of Canon Law from the Pontifical Roman Athenaeum S. Apollinare, and was awarded the Benemerenti medal for his services to the Secretariat of State. Upon his return to the United States, Cody served as private secretary to Archbishop John J. Glennon until 1940, when he became chancellor of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. He was named a Privy Chamberlain in 1939 and a Domestic Prelate in 1946. He accompanied Archbishop Glennon to Rome when the latter was named a cardinal, and was on hand when Glennon died on the return trip.

John Cody (union leader)

John A. Cody (June 17, 1921—April 4, 2001) was a notorious New York union leader and racketeer. He was the president of the Teamsters union Local 282 between 1976 and 1984, during which time he utilized strikes, extortion and mafia intimidation to bend developers to his will and gained a fearsome reputation within the New York construction industry.

Biography

Cody was born in the Hells Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. Cody got his start in the Teamster's union as a $1-a-day trucker's helper in his teens. He was imprisoned for armed robbery in his early 20s shortly after serving as a U.S. marine towards the end of World War II.

At the height of his power Cody was considered the "construction industry's most powerful union leader." In 1982, federal prosecutors convicted him of extortion, at a time when Cody was so feared by construction workers that they built his beach house for him in South Hampton and provided him with chauffeurs free of charge. Cody used the mafia in New York to further intimidate developers, first working with the Gambino crime family and then Paul Castellano. Cody would kickback at least $200,000 a year to the mafia and was also convicted of providing a $2 million loan to Chicago mobsters.