Pete McDonough

Peter P. McDonough (18728 July 1947) was a crime boss, bail bondsman, and saloon owner in San Francisco, in partnership with his brother Tom. The McDonough brothers were a wealthy and influential force in San Francisco, dominating much of the underworld from 1910 to 1941. Together, they were called the "King of the Tenderloin," and the "McDonough Brothers".

Over time, the business expanded to include a range of services for accused individuals, such as providing lawyers. McDonough also developed a communication system with the police stations, so that his business could quickly respond to new arrests. As explained by FoundSF, "Within minutes of an arrest, McDonough's nephew was hailing a taxi to find a judge to sign an OR (order of release) form, and the client was soon free. Naturally, everyone was on the take, and McDonough was raking it in."

McDonough was a product of the post-earthquake Abe Ruef days of civic corruption. During his years as the pre-eminent bondsmen in San Francisco, McDonough was accused of bribery, perjury, suborning witnesses, tampering with judges, bootlegging, corrupting officials, and controlling and paying off police. A 1919 Grand Jury exonerated San Francisco District Attorney Charles Fickert from charges made by John B. Densmore, investigator from Washington, Director General of Employment, in the framing of Thomas Mooney and Warren Billings and for Fickert having conspired with McDonough in the freeing of wealthy defendants. Labelled the "fountainhead of corruption" by Edwin Atherton in the 1937 Atherton Report on San Francisco police corruption, McDonough was considered the overlord of San Francisco vice, gambling, and prostitution. Furthermore, a grand jury concluded that "No one can conduct a prostitution or gambling enterprise in San Francisco without the approval direct or indirect of the McDonough brothers." He was jailed again in 1938 for refusing to discuss police corruption before the Police Graft grand jury headed by Marshall Dill.

Pete McDonough died on 8 July 1947, after having a stroke. Thomas died in 1948.