Making a killing

Prosecutors charge that a reputed Mafia boss ran a sprawling criminal empire from his legal abortion business. As his trial gets underway, WORLD looks at the structure of a largely cash-based industry that is both profitable and politically protected. If it happened in Chicago, why not elsewhere? And what is the Bush administration going to do about it? | Bob Jones

CHICAGO—The low, red brick building at 5714 West Division Street in Chicago doesn't look like it would be anyone's destination of choice when seeking health care. All around the A.C.T. Medical Center are bars, boarded-up storefronts, coin-op laundries, and check-cashing joints.
But whether on the bus or in beat-up cars, the patients do come: mostly young, mostly black or Hispanic, and mostly pregnant. The sign on the side of the building promises a cornucopia of medical services. "A.C.T. Medical Center," it reads. "Obstetrics/Gynecology/General Surgery/Foot Surgery/Free Pregnancy Testing/Same-Day Appointments."

That may sound pretty comprehensive, but two key words are missing: Abortion Clinic-or "pregnancy termination center," as the office of the Illinois Secretary of State, which issues licenses for such things, classifies it.