Edward G. Robinson is shown in a vintage 1931 lobbycard as Chicago crime boss Johnny Rico in “Little Caesar.” (LMPC/Getty Images)

Are you the sort of aging baby boomer who can’t hear the opening notes of Rossini’s “William Tell Overture” without thinking of the Lone Ranger?

That’s me. Similarly, I can’t hear news about the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, or RICO, without thinking of Edward G. Robinson’s dying words as Chicago crime boss Johnny Rico in “Little Caesar”:

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“Mother of mercy!” he gasps. “Is this the end of Rico?”

Yup. But out here in the real world, RICO is alive, kicking and indicting more suspects, including Rudy Giuliani, who on his way to becoming mayor of New York built national fame as a federal prosecutor not shy to use RICO to go after New York gangsters, Wall Street lawbreakers and other perpetrators of corruption.

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Those were steppingstones on his way to election as mayor, and more recently as a lawyer for former President Donald Trump.

But somewhere since his days as a law-and-order mayor, Giuliani appears to have gone over to the dark side. Way over.

Now prosecutors say Giuliani, among other Trump allies, made false claims about innocent election workers Wandrea “Shaye” Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman.

The smear campaign, according to the new indictments, made them victims of an alleged criminal enterprise led by Trump and his allies.

At election time Freeman helped with temporary work. Her daughter was a full-time worker at the Fulton County elections office.

After social media posts falsely claimed to show them committing election fraud, the allegations were bolstered by Giuliani, who claimed to have video evidence showing Freeman and Moss scanning ballots hidden in suitcases underneath tables. His claims, including the alleged video evidence, proved to be bogus.

Now Giuliani is accused of making several false claims about the vote-counting process. Prosecutors say he falsely claimed that county election workers stationed there had kicked out observers and then “went about their dirty, crooked business,” illegally counting as many as 24,000 ballots.

He also claimed audaciously that three election workers — Freeman, her daughter Shaye and an unidentified man — were passing around USB ports “as if they’re vials of heroin or cocaine” to infiltrate Dominion voting machines.

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The drug claims proved to be outrageously unsupported, but I’ve come to expect such unlimited lying from people who don’t appear to respect the election process in the first place — unless their side wins.

Three other defendants in the Georgia case — Harrison William Prescott Floyd, Trevian C. Kutti and Stephen Cliffgard Lee — were charged with solicitation of false statements and writings and with influencing witnesses related to the harassment of Freeman.

Freeman and her daughter testified to Congress that Trump and his allies latched onto surveillance footage from November 2020 to accuse both women of committing voter fraud. The allegations were quickly debunked, but not before they began to spread quickly and widely across social media, especially, although unfortunately not only, on the conservative side.

Predictably, both women faced death threats for several months after the election.

We’ve seen similar scenes unfold across the country as self-appointed election overlords have decided the Civil War isn’t really over.

Seriously, as someone who loves this country, warts and all, and worked as a volunteer “poll watcher” during a Chicago election in the 1970s, I take it personally when I hear of someone who thinks the Jan. 6 mob had the right idea.

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My appreciation goes out to Freeman, Moss and all the thousands of many fellow citizens who volunteer to do their part for clean elections.

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These are the folks who get up very early to do the often-tedious but very necessary work of protecting our election integrity.

They work long hours to handle the vote counting, check the registration rolls and answer questions — or raise them — to make sure the system is working, and to let somebody know if it isn’t.

In Chicago, for example, we may joke about our “vote early and often” reputation. But still, most of us take self-government seriously. We have no better alternative to democracy — and we’re all responsible for making sure it works.

Mother of mercy, can this be the end of phony election claims? I wish.

cpage@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @cptime