Boardwalk Empire: Al Capone's Season 4, Episode 5 ("Erlkönig"), the “Vote William Pflaum” flyer

In Boardwalk Empire Season 4, Episode 5 ("Erlkönig"), the “Vote William Pflaum” flyer appears as part of the ongoing power struggle in Cicero, Illinois, where the Capone organization is trying to control local politics to protect and expand their bootlegging empire.

William Pflaum is a fictional candidate for town council, and the flyers bearing his name are being distributed as part of a legitimate political campaign—but it’s one that’s being heavily manipulated by Frank and Al Capone. The Capones are backing Pflaum because he will support their interests, particularly in keeping law enforcement and local government out of their business operations, such as breweries and speakeasies.

The flyer itself is a piece of political propaganda, used by the Capones to sway voters and give the appearance of a lawful democratic process. In reality, they are using intimidation, ballot stuffing, and violence to ensure Pflaum wins. This culminates in a confrontation between Capone’s men and the Chicago police, leading to the death of Frank Capone—a pivotal moment in the series and in the historical record of Chicago's gang wars.

The flyer is symbolic of how gangsters in Boardwalk Empire manipulate not only illegal enterprises but also legitimate institutions like elections to gain power. It’s a paper-thin layer of legitimacy over a deeply corrupt system, and its presence in the episode underlines the theme that in Prohibition-era America, politics and organized crime were inseparable.

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