Chicago Outfit
Encyclopedia
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Dating back to the 1910s, it is part of the American Mafia; however, the Chicago Outfit is distinct from the "Five Families
" of New York City.
The Outfit in the city of Chicago has no true monopoly on traditional organized crime
. It competes for turf, for business, with many other organizations, including the current "Russian Mafia
". The Outfit's control reportedly reaches throughout the western United States
to places as far away as Los Angeles
, California
and parts of Florida
. The Chicago Outfit is also known to have large control over neighboring states including Iowa
, Wisconsin
and other areas of the Midwest
. It also has or had satellite families, or crime families that answer to or are under Outfit control. These include: the Iowa family, Las Vegas
crew(s), the Los Angeles family
, the Nebraska
family, and the San Diego crew from LA.
To this day, the Outfit bears the influence of its best-known leader, Al Capone
. In fact for decades after Capone had left the scene, the Outfit was known as "the Capone Gang" or "the Capones" to outsiders. The Outfit's membership is moderately estimated to be between 50–200 "made" members comprising a core group with more than 1,000 associates estimated.
business and was involved in other rivalries. Because of this, there appears to have been a business and personal rivalry between the Northside (North Side Mob) and Southside Chicago gangs, of which Al Capone
headed the southern and George Moran, the northern.
There also appeared to have been cultural differences between the two sides, since the Northsiders were more Irish-American and the SouthSiders were more Italian-American. This conflict led to numerous crimes, such as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre
and numerous drive-by shooting
s resulting in the death of George Moran's associates and others on both sides. The Tommy gun
was a trademark weapon in these. In the early 1940s, a handful of top Outfit leaders went to prison because they were found to be extorting Hollywood
by controlling the unions that comprise Hollywood's movie industry, and the manipulation and misuse of the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund
. There were also allegations that The Outfit was involved in strong-arm tactics and voter fraud at polling places, under Salvatore Giancana in the 1960 presidential election
. Along with the voting allegations, The Outfit was involved in a Central Intelligence Agency
-Mafia collusion
during Castro's overthrow of the Cuban government. In exchange for its help, the Outfit was to be given access to its former casinos if it helped overthrow Fidel Castro
in (Operation Mongoose or Operation Family Jewels
). Having failed in that endeavor, and facing increasing indictments under the administration of President John F. Kennedy
(JFK), the Outfit is the subject of conspiracy theories regarding the JFK assassination
, and that of JFK's brother Robert Kennedy. The Outfit controlled casinos in Las Vegas
and "skim
med" millions of dollars over the course of several decades. Most recently, top mob figures have been found guilty of crimes dating back to as early as the mid 1960s. It has been rumored that the $2 million skimmed from the casinos in the Court case of 1986 and portrayed in the blockbuster movie "Casino", was used to build the Old Neighborhood Italian American Club, the founder of which was Angelo J. LaPietra
"The Hook". Mobologists believe this is where today's few mobsters left in Chicago can still be found living out their golden years.
organizations of Little Italy
.
Giacomo Colosimo
("James," "Big Jim") centralized control in the early 20th century. Colosimo was born in Calabria
, Italy
, in 1877, emigrating to Chicago in 1895, where he established himself as a criminal. By 1909 he was successful enough that he was encroaching on the criminal activity
of the Black Hand organization.
His expanding organization required the procurement of extra muscle. This came in the form of Colosimo's nephew Giovanni Torrio
("Johnny the Fox") from New York. In 1919, Torrio brought in Al Capone, thus providing Capone's entrance to Chicago. In time, Colosimo and Torrio had a falling out over Torrio's insistence that they expand into rum-running
, which Colosimo staunchly opposed. In 1920, Colosimo was killed by Frankie Yale
allegedly on Torrio's orders, ending the argument.
Torrio brought together different parts of Chicago criminal activity, with a lasting effect on Chicago in general, and Chicago crime in particular.
and Earl "Hymie" Weiss
. Raking in vast amounts of money (some estimates were that between 1925 and 1930 Capone was making $100 million a year), the Chicago kingpin
was largely immune to prosecution because of witness intimidation and the bribing of city officials.
The Chicago Outfit under Al Capone
's leadership was certainly one of the most dangerous gangs in the world. In the 1930s, Al Capone and his successor, Frank Nitti, developed the Outfit rapidly in all the surrounding areas. One of the prime areas of interest was in Canada, the main source of alcohol which the Outfit was smuggling into the States. This illicit alcohol was then distributed to all the "titty bars" (brothels) of Chicago. During prohibition, this was one of the greatest sources of income for the Outfit. The Outfit, as established by Capone, functioned on relationships with a high degree of trust between the gangsters and the "boss of bosses". The Boss controlled the heads of various divisions of the outfit through a system of informants placed throughout the various levels of the organization. Anyone who betrayed the honor of the organization was executed. Among the most active representatives of the Al Capone Outfit were “Happy Memories” DeLuca (assets in Illinois and Wisconsin), Bob Calandra (Ontario), Vince DeLuca, Tom Ciampelletti (Montreal) and Frank Nitti
, who acted as intermediary between Al Capone, the Boss, and the other gangsters. Frankie La Porte and Ross Prio out of Chicago Heights, carried some heavy weight with Capone organizing his gang into an empire. Frankie La Porte, being Sicilian and having the ability to work in confidence with New York gangsters Joe Bonanno and Charles "Lucky" Luciano
, who were also Sicilian, is believed to have been Capone's connection to the Commission.
While Al Capone was in charge of the Chicago Outfit it has been reported that some members of organization would take the train from Chicago
to Wabash County, Illinois
and stay at a remote hotel called the Grand Rapids Hotel
on the Wabash River
next to the Grand Rapids Dam. The hotel was only in existence for nine years but many residents of the area remember seeing men who claimed to be from the Chicago Outfit at the Grand Rapids Hotel
. Suspiciously, the Grand Rapids Hotel
was burned down by a man with one leg who dropped a blowtorch.
, a former barber and small-time jewel thief, only nominally assumed power. In truth, power was seized by Nitti's underboss
, Paul Ricca
, who was acknowledged as "boss" by the leaders of the growing National Crime Syndicate
. Ricca would rule the Outfit, either in name or in fact, for the next 42 years.
Over the next decade, The Outfit moved into labor racketeering, gambling, and loan sharking. Geographically, this was the period when Outfit muscle extended its tendrils to Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin
, Kansas City
, and especially to Hollywood and other California cities, where The Outfit's extortion of labor unions gave it leverage over the motion picture industry.
In 1943, the Outfit was caught red-handed shaking down the Hollywood movie industry. Ricca wanted Nitti to take the fall. However, Nitti had found, years earlier while in jail for 18 months (for tax evasion
), that he was claustrophobic, and he decided to end his life rather than face more imprisonment for extorting Hollywood. Ricca then became the boss in name as well as in fact, with enforcement chief Tony Accardo
as underboss. Around this time, the Outfit began bringing in members of the Forty-Two Gang
, a notoriously violent youth gang. Among them were Sam "Momo" Giancana
, Sam "Mad Sam" DeStefano
, Felix "Milwaukee Phil" Alderisio
and Fiore "Fifi" Buccieri
.
However, later in 1943, following the "Hollywood Scandal" trial, Ricca was sent to prison for his part in The Outfit plot to control Hollywood. He, along with a number of other mobsters, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Through the "magic" of political connections, the whole group of Outfit mobsters was released after three years, largely due to the efforts of Outfit "fixer" Murray "The Camel" Humphreys
. As a condition of his parole, Ricca could not associate with mobsters. Accardo nominally took power as boss, but actually shared power with Ricca, who continued behind the scenes as a senior consultant.
Accardo joined Ricca in semi-retirement in 1957. From then on, Ricca and Accardo allowed several others, such as Giancana, Alderisio, Joey Aiuppa, William "Willie Potatoes" Daddano and Jackie "the Lackey" Cerone
to serve as front men over the years, this due to some "heat
" that Accardo was originally getting from the IRS, in the 1950s. Most of the front bosses originated from the Forty-Two Gang. However, no major business transactions, and certainly no "hits
," took place without Ricca and Accardo's knowledge and approval. By staying behind the scenes, Ricca and Accardo lasted far longer than Capone. Ricca died in 1972, leaving Accardo as the sole power behind the throne.
The Outfit reached the height of its power in the 1960s. With the aid of Meyer Lansky
, Accardo used the Teamsters
pension fund to engage in massive money laundering
through the Outfit's casinos, aided by the likes of Sidney Korshak
and Jimmy Hoffa
. The 1970s and 1980s were a hard time for the Outfit, as law enforcement continued to penetrate the organization, spurred by poll-watching politicians. Off-track betting
reduced bookmaking profits and illicit casinos withered under competition from legitimate casinos. Replacement activities like auto theft and professional sports betting
did not replace the lost profits.
Operation PENDORF (codenamed for penetrate Allen Dorfman
) and the "Strawman" case ended the Outfit's skimming and control of their Las Vegas casinos. These events are fictionalized in the film Casino
.
Operation GAMBAT proved to be a crippling blow to the Outfit's tight grip on the Chicago Political Machine. Pat Marcy
, a made man in the Outfit, ran the city's First Ward which represented most of downtown Chicago. With the help of Alderman Fred Roti and Democratic Committeeman John D'Arco Sr., close Outfit associates, Marcy and company controlled the circuit courts from the 1950s until the late 1980s. Together, the First Ward fixed cases involving everything from minor traffic violations to murder. Attorney and First Ward associate, Robert Cooley
, was one of the attorneys that represented many mafioso and associates in which cases were fixed. As a trusted man within the First Ward, Cooley was approached and asked to take out a city police officer. Cooley, who was also an addicted gambler and in debt to certain undesirables, approached the U.S. Justice Department’s Organized Crime Strike Force, declaring he wanted to "destroy Marcy and the First Ward." Cooley was soon in touch with the FBI and began cooperating as a federal informant. Through the years, Cooley kept close with Marcy and the big shots of the First Ward. He wore a wire recording valuable conversations at the notorious, "First Ward Table" located at "Counselor's Row" across the street from Chicago City Hall. The result in Operation Gambat(Gambling Attorney) were convictions of 24 corrupt judges, lawyers and cops.
Accardo died in 1992. In a measure of how successfully he'd managed to stay out of the limelight, he never spent a day in jail (or only spent one day, depending on the source) despite an arrest record dating to 1922. Compared to how organized crime leadership transitions take place in New York city, Chicago's transition from Accardo to the next generation of Outfit bosses has been more of an administrative change than a power struggle.
, which indicted 14 Outfit members and associates under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
(RICO). U.S. District Court Judge James Zagel
presided over the Family Secrets trial. The federal prosecutors were Mitchell A. Mars, T. Markus Funk
, and John Scully. The jury found James Marcello, Joseph Lombardo, Frank Calabrese, Sr.
, Paul Schiro, and Anthony Doyle guilty of all counts, which included extortion, illegal gambling, tax fraud, loan sharking, and murder (Doyle was not found guilty of murder) on September 10, 2007. Scully retired, and Mars died prior to sentencing (which was handled by Funk). Paul Schiro was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Frank Calabrese, Sr.
was sentenced to life in prison on January 28, 2009. On February 2, 2009, Joseph Lombardo
was sentenced to life imprisonment
. James Marcello
also received life imprisonment on February 5, 2009. March 12, 2009, Anthony Doyle received 12 years of prison. Nicholas Calabrese
was sentenced to 12 years, 4 months of imprisonment. This lenient sentence was due in part to Calabrese's cooperation with the government. Nick Calabrese turned government witness in the early 2000s and was the star witness at the Family Secrets trial. Additional punishment was added on April 6, 2009. to the five guilty men, over $24 million in fines and restitutions to be paid. Also, $4.3 million to the relatives of the 14 men murdered by the Outfit. The five would split the restitution cost, but Doyle has to pay the least. Zagel's words, "...I hold Defendants Calabrese, Sr., Marcello, Lombardo, and Schiro jointly and severally liable." Judge Zagel found that Calabrese during the closing argument threatened to kill prosecutor Funk (muttering "You're a fucking dead man" in Funk's direction); Calabrese reportedly was subsequently incarcerated under highly-restrictive measures.
However, during the Family Secrets' trial, it was found that a Deputy U.S. Marshal named John Thomas Ambrose had leaked information on Nicholas Calabrese
that led back to the Chicago mob as early as 2002. Ambrose would eventually be put on a Mob Leak trial himself (with Markus Funk returning as the lead prosecutor, assisted by Diane MacArthur) and a jury would find him guilty on April 28, 2009. He was charged with theft of Justice Department property, disclosing confidential information and lying to federal agents who questioned him about the leak. He was however acquitted of two charges of lying to federal agents. The information went to William Guide, a father figure to Ambrose and an officer convicted in the Marquette 10, and then to the mob. This is noteworthy as the first ever breach in the Witness Protection Program. In the end, Ambrose was sentenced to 48 months incarceration, which was almost three times higher than the top of his sentencing guidelines range—Judge Grady found "nothing mitigating" about Ambrose's leaks to the Chicago mob. Also a restaurant owner in the northwest suburbs was also indicted.
Document's revealed at John Ambrose's trial show that the Justice Department's Family Secrets also intended to indict and convict Alfonso "Pizza Al" Tornabene
and John DiFronzo
.
there is a faction that works under the Chicago Outfit.
there is a faction that works under the Chicago Outfit.
, doing most of the Milwaukee crime family's
rackets
there is a faction that works under the Chicago Outfit.
there is a faction that works under the Chicago Outfit.
there is a faction that works under the Chicago Outfit.
, who was the top "bagman" and "accountant" for decades until his death. He was Jewish and either Polish or Russian (depending on the source). Others were Murray Humphreys
, who was of Welsh
descent, and associate Ken Eto
(aka Tokyo Joe), who was a Japanese-American. The Outfit also had Michael J. Corbitt
, who was a police officer.
Five Families
The Five Families are the five original Italian-American Mafia crime families which have dominated organized crime in America since 1931. The Five Families in New York remain as the powerhouse of the Italian Mafia in the United States.-History:...
" of New York City.
The Outfit in the city of Chicago has no true monopoly on traditional organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
. It competes for turf, for business, with many other organizations, including the current "Russian Mafia
Russian Mafia
The Russian Mafia is a name applied to organized crime syndicates in Russia and Ukraine. The mafia in various countries take the name of the country, as for example the Ukrainian mafia....
". The Outfit's control reportedly reaches throughout the western United States
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
to places as far away as Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and parts of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. The Chicago Outfit is also known to have large control over neighboring states including Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
and other areas of the Midwest
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
. It also has or had satellite families, or crime families that answer to or are under Outfit control. These include: the Iowa family, Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
crew(s), the Los Angeles family
Los Angeles crime family
The Los Angeles crime family is an Italian American criminal organization based in Los Angeles, as part of the American Mafia . Since its inception in the early 1900s, it has spread throughout Southern California. Like most Mafia families in the United States, the L.A. family gained power...
, the Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
family, and the San Diego crew from LA.
To this day, the Outfit bears the influence of its best-known leader, Al Capone
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
. In fact for decades after Capone had left the scene, the Outfit was known as "the Capone Gang" or "the Capones" to outsiders. The Outfit's membership is moderately estimated to be between 50–200 "made" members comprising a core group with more than 1,000 associates estimated.
Overview
Since its founding, the Chicago Outfit has been operating in order to keep and expand its status and profit throughout the Chicago area, among others. During the Prohibition era, its leader, Al Capone, competed with other gangsters like George "Bugs" Moran for the bootleggingRum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
business and was involved in other rivalries. Because of this, there appears to have been a business and personal rivalry between the Northside (North Side Mob) and Southside Chicago gangs, of which Al Capone
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
headed the southern and George Moran, the northern.
There also appeared to have been cultural differences between the two sides, since the Northsiders were more Irish-American and the SouthSiders were more Italian-American. This conflict led to numerous crimes, such as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre
St. Valentine's Day massacre
The Saint Valentine's Day massacre is the name given to the 1929 murder of 7 mob associates as part of a prohibition era conflict between two powerful criminal gangs in Chicago: the South Side Italian gang led by Al Capone and the North Side Irish gang led by Bugs Moran. Former members of the...
and numerous drive-by shooting
Drive-by shooting
A drive-by shooting is a form of hit-and-run tactic, a personal attack carried out by an individual or individuals from a moving or momentarily stopped vehicle without use of headlights to avoid being noticed. It often results in bystanders being shot instead of, or as well as, the intended target...
s resulting in the death of George Moran's associates and others on both sides. The Tommy gun
Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals...
was a trademark weapon in these. In the early 1940s, a handful of top Outfit leaders went to prison because they were found to be extorting Hollywood
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
by controlling the unions that comprise Hollywood's movie industry, and the manipulation and misuse of the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund
Pension fund
A pension fund is any plan, fund, or scheme which provides retirement income.Pension funds are important shareholders of listed and private companies. They are especially important to the stock market where large institutional investors dominate. The largest 300 pension funds collectively hold...
. There were also allegations that The Outfit was involved in strong-arm tactics and voter fraud at polling places, under Salvatore Giancana in the 1960 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1960
The United States presidential election of 1960 was the 44th American presidential election, held on November 8, 1960, for the term beginning January 20, 1961, and ending January 20, 1965. The incumbent president, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, was not eligible to run again. The Republican Party...
. Along with the voting allegations, The Outfit was involved in a Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
-Mafia collusion
Collusion
Collusion is an agreement between two or more persons, sometimes illegal and therefore secretive, to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading, or defrauding others of their legal rights, or to obtain an objective forbidden by law typically by defrauding or gaining an unfair advantage...
during Castro's overthrow of the Cuban government. In exchange for its help, the Outfit was to be given access to its former casinos if it helped overthrow Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
in (Operation Mongoose or Operation Family Jewels
Family Jewels (Central Intelligence Agency)
The Family Jewels is the informal name used to refer to a set of reports that detail activities conducted by the United States Central Intelligence Agency. Considered illegal or inappropriate, these actions were conducted over the span of decades, from the 1950s to the mid-1970s...
). Having failed in that endeavor, and facing increasing indictments under the administration of President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
(JFK), the Outfit is the subject of conspiracy theories regarding the JFK assassination
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
, and that of JFK's brother Robert Kennedy. The Outfit controlled casinos in Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
and "skim
Skimming (casinos)
"In May of 1963...the FBI turned over to the Justice Department a two-volume document called "The Skimming Report," which detailed the illegal siphoning off of gambling profits by Las Vegas casinos to avoid taxes." The report documented how pre-tax profits from casinos were being routed to various...
med" millions of dollars over the course of several decades. Most recently, top mob figures have been found guilty of crimes dating back to as early as the mid 1960s. It has been rumored that the $2 million skimmed from the casinos in the Court case of 1986 and portrayed in the blockbuster movie "Casino", was used to build the Old Neighborhood Italian American Club, the founder of which was Angelo J. LaPietra
Angelo J. LaPietra
Angelo J. "The Hook" LaPietra was a Chicago mobster and member of the Chicago Outfit, involved in extensive loansharking operations in the city's First Ward during the 1970s and 80s. He earned his nickname "The Hook" due to the way he murdered his victims—those that did not, or could not pay up...
"The Hook". Mobologists believe this is where today's few mobsters left in Chicago can still be found living out their golden years.
Pre-Prohibition
The early years of organized crime in Chicago in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were marked by the division of various street gangs controlling the South Side and North Side as well as the Black HandBlack Hand (blackmail)
Black Hand was a type of extortion racket. It was a method of extortion, not a criminal organization as such, though gangsters of Camorra and the Mafia practiced it.-Origins:...
organizations of Little Italy
Little Italy, Chicago
Little Italy is a neighborhood on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. The current boundaries of Little Italy are Ashland Avenue on the west and Morgan Street on the east — bracketed by Harrison Street on the north and Roosevelt Road; i.e., 12th Street, on the south...
.
Giacomo Colosimo
James Colosimo
Giacomo Colosimo , better known as Big Jim Colosimo, was an Italian-American Mafia crime boss who built a criminal empire in Chicago based on prostitution, gambling, and racketeering. Immigrating from Italy in 1895, he gained power through petty crime and the heading of a chain of brothels...
("James," "Big Jim") centralized control in the early 20th century. Colosimo was born in Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, in 1877, emigrating to Chicago in 1895, where he established himself as a criminal. By 1909 he was successful enough that he was encroaching on the criminal activity
Criminal Activity
Criminal Activity is the debut album by American rap supergroup Criminalz, which consisted of Spice 1, Celly Cel and Jayo Felony. It was released August 7, 2001 on Celly Cel's label, Realside Records. The album was produced by Doyle, G-Man Stan, Spice 1 and Stan Keith...
of the Black Hand organization.
His expanding organization required the procurement of extra muscle. This came in the form of Colosimo's nephew Giovanni Torrio
Johnny Torrio
John "Papa Johnny" Torrio , also known as "The Fox", was an Italian-American mobster who helped build the criminal empire known as the Chicago Outfit in the 1920s that was later inherited by his protege, Al Capone...
("Johnny the Fox") from New York. In 1919, Torrio brought in Al Capone, thus providing Capone's entrance to Chicago. In time, Colosimo and Torrio had a falling out over Torrio's insistence that they expand into rum-running
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
, which Colosimo staunchly opposed. In 1920, Colosimo was killed by Frankie Yale
Frankie Yale
Francesco Ioele , better known as Frankie Uale or Frankie Yale, was a Brooklyn gangster and original employer of Al Capone before the latter moved to Chicago...
allegedly on Torrio's orders, ending the argument.
Torrio brought together different parts of Chicago criminal activity, with a lasting effect on Chicago in general, and Chicago crime in particular.
Outfit development with Al Capone
Severely injured in an assassination attempt by the North Side Mob in January 1925, the shaken Torrio returned to Italy and handed over control of the business to Capone. Capone was notorious during Prohibition for his control of the Chicago underworld and his bitter rivalries with gangsters such as George "Bugs" MoranBugs Moran
George Clarence Moran , better known by the alias "Bugs" Moran, was a Chicago Prohibition-era gangster born in St. Paul, Minnesota. Moran, of Irish and Polish descent, moved to the north side of Chicago when he was 19, where he became affiliated with several gangs...
and Earl "Hymie" Weiss
Hymie Weiss
Hymie Weiss was a Polish-American mob boss who became a leader of the Prohibition-era North Side Gang and a bitter rival of Al Capone.-Early years:...
. Raking in vast amounts of money (some estimates were that between 1925 and 1930 Capone was making $100 million a year), the Chicago kingpin
Crime boss
A crime boss or boss is a person in charge of a criminal organization. A boss typically has absolute or near-absolute control over his subordinates, is greatly feared by his subordinates for his ruthlessness and willingness to take lives in order to exert his influence, and profits come from the...
was largely immune to prosecution because of witness intimidation and the bribing of city officials.
The Chicago Outfit under Al Capone
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
's leadership was certainly one of the most dangerous gangs in the world. In the 1930s, Al Capone and his successor, Frank Nitti, developed the Outfit rapidly in all the surrounding areas. One of the prime areas of interest was in Canada, the main source of alcohol which the Outfit was smuggling into the States. This illicit alcohol was then distributed to all the "titty bars" (brothels) of Chicago. During prohibition, this was one of the greatest sources of income for the Outfit. The Outfit, as established by Capone, functioned on relationships with a high degree of trust between the gangsters and the "boss of bosses". The Boss controlled the heads of various divisions of the outfit through a system of informants placed throughout the various levels of the organization. Anyone who betrayed the honor of the organization was executed. Among the most active representatives of the Al Capone Outfit were “Happy Memories” DeLuca (assets in Illinois and Wisconsin), Bob Calandra (Ontario), Vince DeLuca, Tom Ciampelletti (Montreal) and Frank Nitti
Frank Nitti
Francesco Raffaele Nitto , also known as Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti, was an Italian American gangster. One of Al Capone's top henchmen, Nitti was in charge of all strong-arm and 'muscle' operations...
, who acted as intermediary between Al Capone, the Boss, and the other gangsters. Frankie La Porte and Ross Prio out of Chicago Heights, carried some heavy weight with Capone organizing his gang into an empire. Frankie La Porte, being Sicilian and having the ability to work in confidence with New York gangsters Joe Bonanno and Charles "Lucky" Luciano
Lucky Luciano
Charlie "Lucky" Luciano was an Italian mobster born in Sicily. Luciano is considered the father of modern organized crime in the United States for splitting New York City into five different Mafia crime families and the establishment of the first commission...
, who were also Sicilian, is believed to have been Capone's connection to the Commission.
While Al Capone was in charge of the Chicago Outfit it has been reported that some members of organization would take the train from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to Wabash County, Illinois
Wabash County, Illinois
Wabash County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 11,947, which is a decrease of 7.7% from 12,937 in 2000...
and stay at a remote hotel called the Grand Rapids Hotel
Grand Rapids Hotel
The Grand Rapids Hotel was a hotel that existed outside of Mount Carmel, Illinois in Wabash County, Illinois, United States in Southern Illinois in the 1920s during a timeperiod that is commonly referred to as the Roaring Twenties, the Jazz Age, and the Golden Twenties. The hotel was located on...
on the Wabash River
Wabash River
The Wabash River is a river in the Midwestern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near Fort Recovery across northern Indiana to southern Illinois, where it forms the Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Ohio River, of which it is the largest northern tributary...
next to the Grand Rapids Dam. The hotel was only in existence for nine years but many residents of the area remember seeing men who claimed to be from the Chicago Outfit at the Grand Rapids Hotel
Grand Rapids Hotel
The Grand Rapids Hotel was a hotel that existed outside of Mount Carmel, Illinois in Wabash County, Illinois, United States in Southern Illinois in the 1920s during a timeperiod that is commonly referred to as the Roaring Twenties, the Jazz Age, and the Golden Twenties. The hotel was located on...
. Suspiciously, the Grand Rapids Hotel
Grand Rapids Hotel
The Grand Rapids Hotel was a hotel that existed outside of Mount Carmel, Illinois in Wabash County, Illinois, United States in Southern Illinois in the 1920s during a timeperiod that is commonly referred to as the Roaring Twenties, the Jazz Age, and the Golden Twenties. The hotel was located on...
was burned down by a man with one leg who dropped a blowtorch.
From Nitti through Accardo
After Capone was jailed for tax evasion, his hand-picked successor, Frank NittiFrank Nitti
Francesco Raffaele Nitto , also known as Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti, was an Italian American gangster. One of Al Capone's top henchmen, Nitti was in charge of all strong-arm and 'muscle' operations...
, a former barber and small-time jewel thief, only nominally assumed power. In truth, power was seized by Nitti's underboss
Underboss
Underboss is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss...
, Paul Ricca
Paul Ricca
Paul Ricca, also known as "The Waiter" , was a Chicago mobster who served as the nominal or de facto leader of the Chicago Outfit for forty years.-Early life:...
, who was acknowledged as "boss" by the leaders of the growing National Crime Syndicate
National Crime Syndicate
The National Crime Syndicate was the name given by the press to a loosely-organized multi-ethnic organized crime syndicate. Its origins are uncertain....
. Ricca would rule the Outfit, either in name or in fact, for the next 42 years.
Over the next decade, The Outfit moved into labor racketeering, gambling, and loan sharking. Geographically, this was the period when Outfit muscle extended its tendrils to Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, and especially to Hollywood and other California cities, where The Outfit's extortion of labor unions gave it leverage over the motion picture industry.
In 1943, the Outfit was caught red-handed shaking down the Hollywood movie industry. Ricca wanted Nitti to take the fall. However, Nitti had found, years earlier while in jail for 18 months (for tax evasion
Tax evasion
Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
), that he was claustrophobic, and he decided to end his life rather than face more imprisonment for extorting Hollywood. Ricca then became the boss in name as well as in fact, with enforcement chief Tony Accardo
Tony Accardo
Antonino Joseph Accardo , also known as "Joe Batters" or "Big Tuna", rose from small-time hoodlum to the position of day-to-day boss of the Chicago Outfit in 1947, to ultimately become the final Outfit authority in 1972, until his death...
as underboss. Around this time, the Outfit began bringing in members of the Forty-Two Gang
Forty-Two Gang
The Forty-Two Gang was a teenage street gang in Chicago during Prohibition. Like Brooklyn's Italian and Jewish street gangs of Brownsville and Ocean Hill, the Forty-Two Gang served as a "farm team" for future members of the Chicago Outfit...
, a notoriously violent youth gang. Among them were Sam "Momo" Giancana
Sam Giancana
Salvatore Giancana , better known as Sam Giancana, was a Sicilian-American mobster and boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1957-1966...
, Sam "Mad Sam" DeStefano
Sam DeStefano
Sam "Mad Sam" DeStefano was an Italian-American gangster who became one of the Chicago Outfit's most notorious loan sharks and sociopathic killers. Chicago-based Federal Bureau of Investigation agents such as William F. Roemer, Jr., considered DeStefano to be the worst torture-murderer in the...
, Felix "Milwaukee Phil" Alderisio
Felix Alderisio
Felix "Milwaukee Phil" Alderisio was a prominent enforcer, bagman, hitman and burglar for the Chicago Outfit, serving as an underboss to Salvatore Giancana during the 1960s and as boss for a short time from 1967 before being sent to prison in 1969 and dying there.-Early life:Alderisio began his...
and Fiore "Fifi" Buccieri
Fiore Buccieri
Fiore "Fifi" Buccieri was a Chicago mobster and member of the Chicago Outfit who specialized in loansharking.-Early years:...
.
However, later in 1943, following the "Hollywood Scandal" trial, Ricca was sent to prison for his part in The Outfit plot to control Hollywood. He, along with a number of other mobsters, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Through the "magic" of political connections, the whole group of Outfit mobsters was released after three years, largely due to the efforts of Outfit "fixer" Murray "The Camel" Humphreys
Murray Humphreys
Llewelyn Morris Humphreys , was a Chicago mobster of Welsh descent who was the chief political and labor racketeer in the Chicago Outfit during Prohibition...
. As a condition of his parole, Ricca could not associate with mobsters. Accardo nominally took power as boss, but actually shared power with Ricca, who continued behind the scenes as a senior consultant.
Accardo joined Ricca in semi-retirement in 1957. From then on, Ricca and Accardo allowed several others, such as Giancana, Alderisio, Joey Aiuppa, William "Willie Potatoes" Daddano and Jackie "the Lackey" Cerone
Jackie Cerone
John "Jackie The Lackey" Cerone was a Chicago mobster and boss of the Chicago Outfit, during the late 1960s. He was the younger brother of mobster Frank "Skippy" Cerone and father of lawyer, John Peter Cerone and husband to the late Clara Cerone.He was born to John Cerone Sr. and Rose Valant. He...
to serve as front men over the years, this due to some "heat
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
" that Accardo was originally getting from the IRS, in the 1950s. Most of the front bosses originated from the Forty-Two Gang. However, no major business transactions, and certainly no "hits
Contract killing
Contract killing is a form of murder, in which one party hires another party to kill a target individual or group of people. It involves an illegal agreement between two parties in which one party agrees to kill the target in exchange for consideration, monetary, or otherwise. The hiring party may...
," took place without Ricca and Accardo's knowledge and approval. By staying behind the scenes, Ricca and Accardo lasted far longer than Capone. Ricca died in 1972, leaving Accardo as the sole power behind the throne.
The Outfit reached the height of its power in the 1960s. With the aid of Meyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky , known as the "Mob's Accountant", was a Polish-born American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the "National Crime Syndicate" in the United States...
, Accardo used the Teamsters
Teamsters
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of several local and regional locals of teamsters, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue-collar and professional workers in both the public and private sectors....
pension fund to engage in massive money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
through the Outfit's casinos, aided by the likes of Sidney Korshak
Sidney Korshak
Sidney R. Korshak was a labor lawyer and "fixer" for businessmen in the upper echelons of power and the Chicago Outfit in the United States. His reputation as the Chicago mob's man in Los Angeles made him one of Hollywood's most fabled and influential fixers...
and Jimmy Hoffa
Jimmy Hoffa
James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa was an American labor union leader....
. The 1970s and 1980s were a hard time for the Outfit, as law enforcement continued to penetrate the organization, spurred by poll-watching politicians. Off-track betting
Off-track betting
Off-track betting refers to sanctioned gambling on horse racing outside a race track.-US history:...
reduced bookmaking profits and illicit casinos withered under competition from legitimate casinos. Replacement activities like auto theft and professional sports betting
Sports betting
Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome.-United States of America:Aside from simple wagers such as betting a friend that one's favorite baseball team will win its division or buying a football "square" for the Super Bowl, sports betting is...
did not replace the lost profits.
Operation PENDORF (codenamed for penetrate Allen Dorfman
Allen Dorfman
Allen Dorfman was an American attorney, and a leading official of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters . He was a close associate of longtime IBT President Jimmy Hoffa...
) and the "Strawman" case ended the Outfit's skimming and control of their Las Vegas casinos. These events are fictionalized in the film Casino
Casino (film)
Casino is a 1995 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese...
.
Operation GAMBAT proved to be a crippling blow to the Outfit's tight grip on the Chicago Political Machine. Pat Marcy
Pat Marcy
Pat Marcy was a legendary political boss with great influence over the Illinois Democratic Party. According to Federal prosecutors, as well as informants Robert Cooley and Michael J. Corbitt, he was also a trusted and valued associate of the Chicago Outfit...
, a made man in the Outfit, ran the city's First Ward which represented most of downtown Chicago. With the help of Alderman Fred Roti and Democratic Committeeman John D'Arco Sr., close Outfit associates, Marcy and company controlled the circuit courts from the 1950s until the late 1980s. Together, the First Ward fixed cases involving everything from minor traffic violations to murder. Attorney and First Ward associate, Robert Cooley
Robert Cooley
Robert Cooley is a former Mafia lawyer, government informant and author of the 2004 autobiography, "When Corruption was King."-Early life:...
, was one of the attorneys that represented many mafioso and associates in which cases were fixed. As a trusted man within the First Ward, Cooley was approached and asked to take out a city police officer. Cooley, who was also an addicted gambler and in debt to certain undesirables, approached the U.S. Justice Department’s Organized Crime Strike Force, declaring he wanted to "destroy Marcy and the First Ward." Cooley was soon in touch with the FBI and began cooperating as a federal informant. Through the years, Cooley kept close with Marcy and the big shots of the First Ward. He wore a wire recording valuable conversations at the notorious, "First Ward Table" located at "Counselor's Row" across the street from Chicago City Hall. The result in Operation Gambat(Gambling Attorney) were convictions of 24 corrupt judges, lawyers and cops.
Accardo died in 1992. In a measure of how successfully he'd managed to stay out of the limelight, he never spent a day in jail (or only spent one day, depending on the source) despite an arrest record dating to 1922. Compared to how organized crime leadership transitions take place in New York city, Chicago's transition from Accardo to the next generation of Outfit bosses has been more of an administrative change than a power struggle.
21st century
On April 25, 2005, the U.S. Department of Justice launched Operation Family SecretsOperation Family Secrets
Operation Family Secrets was an FBI investigation of mob related crimes in Chicago. According to the FBI it was one of the most successful investigations of organized crime done by the FBI ever. The investigation and trial was accurately dubbed "Family Secrets" because of the betrayal within the...
, which indicted 14 Outfit members and associates under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...
(RICO). U.S. District Court Judge James Zagel
James Zagel
James Block Zagel is a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and a novelist.- Early life and education :...
presided over the Family Secrets trial. The federal prosecutors were Mitchell A. Mars, T. Markus Funk
T. Markus Funk
T. Markus Funk is an American lawyer, author, and academic.- Before working for Justice :Prior to joining the Department of Justice, Funk taught law at Oxford University, and was a law clerk to Judge Morris S. Arnold, U.S. Court of Appeal for the Eighth Circuit, and Catherine D. Perry, U.S....
, and John Scully. The jury found James Marcello, Joseph Lombardo, Frank Calabrese, Sr.
Frank Calabrese, Sr.
Frank Calabrese, Sr. , also known as "Frankie Breeze," is a made man and a caporegime who ran major loansharking and illegal gambling operations for the Chicago Outfit. He is best known as a central figure in Operation Family Secrets and the subsequent Federal trial.-Early life:Frank Calabrese, Sr...
, Paul Schiro, and Anthony Doyle guilty of all counts, which included extortion, illegal gambling, tax fraud, loan sharking, and murder (Doyle was not found guilty of murder) on September 10, 2007. Scully retired, and Mars died prior to sentencing (which was handled by Funk). Paul Schiro was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Frank Calabrese, Sr.
Frank Calabrese, Sr.
Frank Calabrese, Sr. , also known as "Frankie Breeze," is a made man and a caporegime who ran major loansharking and illegal gambling operations for the Chicago Outfit. He is best known as a central figure in Operation Family Secrets and the subsequent Federal trial.-Early life:Frank Calabrese, Sr...
was sentenced to life in prison on January 28, 2009. On February 2, 2009, Joseph Lombardo
Joseph Lombardo
Joseph Patrick “Joey the Clown” Lombardo Sr. , also known as "Joe Padula," "Lumbo," and "Lumpy", is an imprisoned American mafioso and a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit crime organization...
was sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
. James Marcello
James Marcello
James J. “Little Jimmy, Jimmy Light” Marcello , also known as Jimmy "the Man" Marcello, is an imprisoned crime boss who was a front boss for the Chicago Outfit criminal organization in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s...
also received life imprisonment on February 5, 2009. March 12, 2009, Anthony Doyle received 12 years of prison. Nicholas Calabrese
Nicholas Calabrese
Nicholas W. Calabrese is the first made man ever to testify against the Chicago Outfit. His testimony and cooperation with federal prosecutors helped result in the 2007 murder convictions of mobsters Joseph Lombardo, James Marcello and Frank Calabrese, Sr.- Early life and work outside of the...
was sentenced to 12 years, 4 months of imprisonment. This lenient sentence was due in part to Calabrese's cooperation with the government. Nick Calabrese turned government witness in the early 2000s and was the star witness at the Family Secrets trial. Additional punishment was added on April 6, 2009. to the five guilty men, over $24 million in fines and restitutions to be paid. Also, $4.3 million to the relatives of the 14 men murdered by the Outfit. The five would split the restitution cost, but Doyle has to pay the least. Zagel's words, "...I hold Defendants Calabrese, Sr., Marcello, Lombardo, and Schiro jointly and severally liable." Judge Zagel found that Calabrese during the closing argument threatened to kill prosecutor Funk (muttering "You're a fucking dead man" in Funk's direction); Calabrese reportedly was subsequently incarcerated under highly-restrictive measures.
However, during the Family Secrets' trial, it was found that a Deputy U.S. Marshal named John Thomas Ambrose had leaked information on Nicholas Calabrese
Nicholas Calabrese
Nicholas W. Calabrese is the first made man ever to testify against the Chicago Outfit. His testimony and cooperation with federal prosecutors helped result in the 2007 murder convictions of mobsters Joseph Lombardo, James Marcello and Frank Calabrese, Sr.- Early life and work outside of the...
that led back to the Chicago mob as early as 2002. Ambrose would eventually be put on a Mob Leak trial himself (with Markus Funk returning as the lead prosecutor, assisted by Diane MacArthur) and a jury would find him guilty on April 28, 2009. He was charged with theft of Justice Department property, disclosing confidential information and lying to federal agents who questioned him about the leak. He was however acquitted of two charges of lying to federal agents. The information went to William Guide, a father figure to Ambrose and an officer convicted in the Marquette 10, and then to the mob. This is noteworthy as the first ever breach in the Witness Protection Program. In the end, Ambrose was sentenced to 48 months incarceration, which was almost three times higher than the top of his sentencing guidelines range—Judge Grady found "nothing mitigating" about Ambrose's leaks to the Chicago mob. Also a restaurant owner in the northwest suburbs was also indicted.
Document's revealed at John Ambrose's trial show that the Justice Department's Family Secrets also intended to indict and convict Alfonso "Pizza Al" Tornabene
Al Tornabene
Alfonso "Al the Pizza Man" Tornabene was a Chicago-area resident who was reported by several newspapers to have been a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit crime organization.- Career as a pizzeria owner :...
and John DiFronzo
John DiFronzo
John "No Nose, Bananas, Johnny Bananas" DiFronzo is a Chicago mobster and the reputed boss of the Chicago Outfit.A former enforcer and caporegime, DiFronzo was convicted along with then-current Chicago boss Samuel "Black Sam" Carlisi on federal racketeering charges in 1993, however, the conviction...
.
Boss (official, acting and front)
- 1910–1920 — Giacomo "Big Jim" ColosimoJames ColosimoGiacomo Colosimo , better known as Big Jim Colosimo, was an Italian-American Mafia crime boss who built a criminal empire in Chicago based on prostitution, gambling, and racketeering. Immigrating from Italy in 1895, he gained power through petty crime and the heading of a chain of brothels...
("James", "Diamond Jim") (1877–1920) - 1920–1925 — John "Johnny The Fox" Torrio (1882–1957)
- 1925–1932 — Alphonse "Al" CaponeAl CaponeAlphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
("Scarface") (1899–1947) - 1932–1947 — Paul "The Waiter" RiccaPaul RiccaPaul Ricca, also known as "The Waiter" , was a Chicago mobster who served as the nominal or de facto leader of the Chicago Outfit for forty years.-Early life:...
(1897–1972) - remained as senior consultant (Consigliere) with final say on all decisions, he shared this power with Accardo from 1947 until his death.- Front Boss 1931–1943 — Frank "The Enforcer" NittiFrank NittiFrancesco Raffaele Nitto , also known as Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti, was an Italian American gangster. One of Al Capone's top henchmen, Nitti was in charge of all strong-arm and 'muscle' operations...
(1888–1943) was the figurehead/front boss for Ricca. - Acting 1943–1947 — Tony "The Big Tuna" AccardoTony AccardoAntonino Joseph Accardo , also known as "Joe Batters" or "Big Tuna", rose from small-time hoodlum to the position of day-to-day boss of the Chicago Outfit in 1947, to ultimately become the final Outfit authority in 1972, until his death...
(promoted to Boss, Ricca became Consigliere.)
- Front Boss 1931–1943 — Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti
- 1947–1992 — Tony "The Big Tuna" AccardoTony AccardoAntonino Joseph Accardo , also known as "Joe Batters" or "Big Tuna", rose from small-time hoodlum to the position of day-to-day boss of the Chicago Outfit in 1947, to ultimately become the final Outfit authority in 1972, until his death...
("Joe Batters") (1906–1992) - With Accardo becoming Consigliere in 1957 the Boss position became the Front Boss from 1956–1992, with Ricca (until his death in 1972) and Accardo retaining the real power. All of the front bosses had to get Ricca and Accardo's approval for all major transactions. Accardo remained Outfit's consigliere until his death.- Front Boss 1957–1966 — Salvatore "Sam" GiancanaSam GiancanaSalvatore Giancana , better known as Sam Giancana, was a Sicilian-American mobster and boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1957-1966...
("Momo," "Mooney") (1908–1975) - Front Boss 1966–1967 — Samuel "Teets" BattagliaSam BattagliaSamuel "Teets" Battaglia was a Chicago mobster and high-level member of the Chicago Outfit criminal organization.-Early career:...
(1908–1973) - Front Boss 1967–1969 — Jackie "the Lackey" CeroneJackie CeroneJohn "Jackie The Lackey" Cerone was a Chicago mobster and boss of the Chicago Outfit, during the late 1960s. He was the younger brother of mobster Frank "Skippy" Cerone and father of lawyer, John Peter Cerone and husband to the late Clara Cerone.He was born to John Cerone Sr. and Rose Valant. He...
(1914–1996) - Front Boss 1969–1971 — Felix "Milwaukee Phil" AlderisioFelix AlderisioFelix "Milwaukee Phil" Alderisio was a prominent enforcer, bagman, hitman and burglar for the Chicago Outfit, serving as an underboss to Salvatore Giancana during the 1960s and as boss for a short time from 1967 before being sent to prison in 1969 and dying there.-Early life:Alderisio began his...
(1912–1971) - Front Boss 1971–1986 — Joseph John AiuppaJoseph AiuppaJoseph John Aiuppa , also known as "Doves," "Mourning Doves," "O'Brien," or "Joey Doves," was a Chicago mobster who became a leader of the Chicago Outfit.-Early career:...
("Joey Doves", "Joey O'Brien") (1907–1997) - Front Boss 1986–1989 — Joseph "Joe Nagall" FerriolaJoseph FerriolaJoseph Ferriola , also known as, "Joe Nagall," "Mr. Clean" and "Oscar," was an American mobster who helped run the Chicago Outfit, from 1985 to 1988, after Joseph Aiuppa and John Cerone went to prison for skimming Las Vegas casino profits.- Early life :Joseph Anthony Ferriola was a product of...
(1948–1989) - Front Boss 1989–1993 — Samuel "Sam" Carlisi ("Wings") (1914–1997)
- Front Boss 1957–1966 — Salvatore "Sam" Giancana
- 1993–present — John DiFronzo John "No Nose" DiFronzo (1928) - undisputed boss from 1994–1999; Co-boss with Consigliere Michael A Aultman
- 2009-present- Michael A Aultman Michael "The Spade" Aultman (1988) "Consigliere " controls all action for the lower united states is rumored to have put hits out on several of known associates that flipped and is currently under investigation for extortion, loan sharking, racketeering and insider trading.
Iowa faction
In Des Moines, IowaDes Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
there is a faction that works under the Chicago Outfit.
- 1936-1954 - Charles "Cherry Nose" GioeCharles GioeCharles "Cherry Nose" Gioe was a lieutenant in the Chicago Outfit criminal organization and a partner in the Hollywood extortion scandals of the 1930s....
- 1954-1967 - Louis "Cock Eyed" FrattoLouis FrattoLouis Thomas Fratto , born Luigi Tomaso Giuseppi Fratto, also known as "Lew Farrell" and "Cock-eyed", was a labor racketeer and organized crime figure in Chicago, Illinois, from the 1930s to 1960s. Fratto was allegedly shifted over to become Des Moines, Iowa's, top crime boss in about 1940, until...
Las Vegas faction
In Las VegasLas Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
there is a faction that works under the Chicago Outfit.
- 1931-1964 - Johnny Roselli
- 1964-1971 - Marshall Caifano
- 1971-1986 - Anthony "Tony the Ant" SpilotroAnthony SpilotroAnthony "The Ant" Spilotro was an Italian-American mobster and enforcer for the Chicago Outfit in Las Vegas during the 1970s and 1980s. His job was to protect and oversee the Outfit's illegal casino profits...
- 1986-1993 - Donald "The Wizard of Odds" AngeliniDonald AngeliniDonald "The Wizard of Odds" Angelini was a mobster with the Chicago Outfit criminal organization who specialized in gambling operations....
Milwaukee faction
The outfit also operates in Milwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
, doing most of the Milwaukee crime family's
rackets
Los Angeles faction
In Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
there is a faction that works under the Chicago Outfit.
- 1924-1943 - Johnny "The Hollywood Kid" Roselli
Nebraska faction
In Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
there is a faction that works under the Chicago Outfit.
- 1920s-1951 - Anthony "Fat Tony" Oddo
San Diego faction
In San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
there is a faction that works under the Chicago Outfit.
Outfit associates
The Outfit has used other ethnic groups besides Italian Americans as high ranking associates since the family's earliest days. A prime example of this was Jake "Greasy Thumb" GuzikJake Guzik
Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik was the financial and legal advisor, and later political “greaser”, for the Chicago Outfit.-Early life:...
, who was the top "bagman" and "accountant" for decades until his death. He was Jewish and either Polish or Russian (depending on the source). Others were Murray Humphreys
Murray Humphreys
Llewelyn Morris Humphreys , was a Chicago mobster of Welsh descent who was the chief political and labor racketeer in the Chicago Outfit during Prohibition...
, who was of Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
descent, and associate Ken Eto
Ken Eto
Ken Eto , also known as Tokyo Joe and "The Jap", was a Japanese-American mobster with the Chicago Outfit and eventually an FBI informant who ran Asian gambling operations for the organization...
(aka Tokyo Joe), who was a Japanese-American. The Outfit also had Michael J. Corbitt
Michael J. Corbitt
Michael Jerome Corbitt was a police chief of Willow Springs, Illinois, and an associate of Chicago Outfit mobsters such as Sal Bastone, Sam "Mo Mo" Giancana and Antonino "Tony," "Joe Batters" Accardo. He became a cooperating witness after being convicted of aiding in the murder of Chicagoan Diane...
, who was a police officer.
In popular culture
The Chicago Outfit has a long history of portrayal in Hollywood as the subject of films and televisionFilms
- ScarfaceScarface (1932 film)Scarface is a 1932 American gangster film starring Paul Muni and George Raft, produced by Howard Hughes, directed by Howard Hawks and Richard Rosson, and written by Ben Hecht based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Armitage Trail...
(1932) - Chicago Syndicate (1955)
- The Scarface Mob (1957)
- The St. Valentine's Day MassacreThe St. Valentine's Day Massacre (film)The St. Valentine's Day Massacre is a 1967 gangster film based on the 1929 Chicago mass murder of seven members of the Northside gang, directed against George "Bugs" Moran by Al Capone...
(1967) - BullittBullittBullitt is a 1968 American police procedural film starring Steve McQueen, Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Vaughn. It was directed by Peter Yates and distributed by Warner Bros. The story was adapted for the screen by Alan Trustman and Harry Kleiner, based on the 1963 novel Mute Witness by Robert L....
(1968) begins with an Outfit associate who flees to San Francisco to turn state's evidence. - The OutfitThe Outfit (1973 film)The Outfit is a 1973 film directed by John Flynn. It stars Robert Duvall, Karen Black, Joe Don Baker and Robert Ryan. The film is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Richard Stark and features a character modeled on Parker, who was introduced in The Hunter.- Plot :Released from prison In...
(1973) - The UntouchablesThe Untouchables (1987 film)The Untouchables is a 1987 American crime-drama film directed by Brian De Palma and written by David Mamet. Based on the book The Untouchables, the film stars Kevin Costner as government agent Eliot Ness. It also stars Robert De Niro as gang leader Al Capone and Sean Connery as Irish-American...
(1987) - CasinoCasino (film)Casino is a 1995 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese...
(1995) directed by Martin ScorseseMartin ScorseseMartin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
is a depiction of the Chicago Outfit's skimming operations in Las Vegas. - Payback (1999), Mel GibsonMel GibsonMel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
fights organization crime initially called, "The Syndicate," then later in the movie called, "The Outfit". - Road to PerditionRoad to PerditionRoad to Perdition is a 2002 American crime film directed by Sam Mendes. The screenplay was adapted by David Self, from the graphic novel of the same name by Max Allan Collins. The film stars Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, and Daniel Craig...
(2002) was a film in which Al Capone and Frank 'The Enforcer' Nitti were depicted acting in concert with an Irish gang in Rock Island, IllinoisRock Island, IllinoisRock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,884 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities...
during prohibition. - Public Enemies (2009 film) shows the organization as chiefly an off-screen presence, though Frank Nitti and his associates do appear numerous times. The chief examples of the Outfit being shown on screen are their network of safe houses, and their independent wire service that opened in Chicago, as well as mentions of their money laundering and whore house network.
T.V. series
- The UntouchablesThe Untouchables (1959 TV series)The Untouchables is an American crime drama that ran from 1959 to 1963 on ABC. Based on the memoir of the same name by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, it fictionalized the experiences of Eliot Ness, a real-life Prohibition agent, as he fought crime in Chicago during the 1930s with the help of a...
television series (1959–63; 1993–94) - The F.B.I. showcased numerous, fictionalized, real Outfit cases on its television program during the 1960s and in to the 1970s.
- In The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "Viva Ned FlandersViva Ned Flanders"Viva Ned Flanders" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons tenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 10, 1999. In the episode, Ned Flanders, who is revealed to be 60 years old, feels that he has not lived his life to the fullest...
" the Las VegasLas Vegas StripThe Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
wedding-chapel priest cites the Chicago Outfit for vesting the power in him to marry. - Crime StoryCrime Story (TV series)Crime Story is an NBC TV drama created by Gustave Reininger and Chuck Adamson. The executive producer was Michael Mann, who had left Miami Vice to oversee Crime Story and direct the film Manhunter. The show premiered with a two hour pilot — a movie which had been exhibited theatrically —...
, ran from 1986-88 on NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, portraying a fictional Chicago mobster rising through the ranks of the "Chicago Outfit". - The Playboy ClubThe Playboy ClubThe Playboy Club is an American television series that ran on NBC from September 19, 2011 to October 3, 2011. Set in 1961, the series centers around the employees of the original Playboy Club operating in Chicago....
, a NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
TV series (2011) set in the 1960s in Chicago whose plot involves the interactions between the Chicago Mob and the titular club - Prison BreakPrison BreakPrison Break is an American television serial drama created by Paul Scheuring, that was broadcast on the Fox Broadcasting Company for four seasons, from 2005 until 2009. The series revolves around two brothers; one has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, and the other devises an...
a FOXFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
's TV series (2005–2009), character John Abruzzi is the incarcerated boss of the "Chicago Outfit". - In the Star TrekStar Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
episode, "A Piece of the Action", the EnterpriseUSS Enterprise (NCC-1701)The USS Enterprise, NCC-1701, is a fictional starship in the Star Trek media franchise. The original Star Trek series depicts her crew's mission "to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before" under the command of Captain James...
visits Sigma Iotia II, a planet that based its culture on the Chicago Outfit (specifically the book Chicago Mobs of the Twenties, which in the episode was a work of nonfiction published in 1992). - In Boardwalk Empire (2010-)
See also
- Joe AielloJoe AielloGiuseppe "Joe" Aiello was a Chicago bootlegger during the 1920s and early 1930s who had a longstanding, bloody feud with Chicago Outfit boss Al Capone.-Arrival in America:...
- rival to Al Capone during Prohibition-Era, Aiello was also allied to Salvatore MaranzanoSalvatore MaranzanoSalvatore Maranzano was an organized crime figure from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss in the United States. He instigated the Castellammarese War to seize control of the American Mafia operations, and briefly became the Mafia's "Boss of Bosses"...
during the Castellammarese WarCastellammarese WarThe Castellammarese War was a bloody power struggle for control of the Italian-American Mafia between partisans of Joe "The Boss" Masseria and those of Salvatore Maranzano. It was so called because Maranzano was based in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily...
. - North Side GangNorth Side GangThe North Side family Gang, also known as the North Side Mob, was the dominant Irish-American criminal organization within Chicago during the Prohibition era from the early to late 1920s and principal rival of the Johnny Torrio-Al Capone organization, later known as the Chicago Outfit.- Early...
- a rival gang to Al Capone - Hired Truck ProgramHired Truck ProgramThe Hired Truck Program was a scandal-plagued program in the city of Chicago that involved hiring private trucks to do city work. It was overhauled in 2004 after an investigation by the Chicago Sun-Times revealed that some participating companies were being paid for doing little or no work, had...
scandal - Organized Crime in ChicagoOrganized crime in ChicagoThe following is a timeline of Organized Crime in Chicago.-1910s:*1910 - Chicago police arrest over 200 known Italian gangsters and known Black Hand members in a raid in Little Italy...
- Unione SicilianeUnione SicilianeThe Unione Siciliana was a Sicilian-American fraternal organization which eventually was rumored to have controlled much of the Italian American vote within the United States during the early twentieth century...
- Grand Rapids HotelGrand Rapids HotelThe Grand Rapids Hotel was a hotel that existed outside of Mount Carmel, Illinois in Wabash County, Illinois, United States in Southern Illinois in the 1920s during a timeperiod that is commonly referred to as the Roaring Twenties, the Jazz Age, and the Golden Twenties. The hotel was located on...
- Nolan, John Matthew "2,543 Days: A history of the Hotel at the Grand Rapids Dam on the Wabash River"
General References
- Binder, John. The Chicago Outfit. Arcadia Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0-7385-2326-7
- Cooley, Robert When Corruption was King: How I Helped the Mob Rule Chicago, Then Brought the Outfit DownWhen Corruption was KingWhen Corruption Was King: How I Helped the Mob Rule Chicago, then Brought the Outfit Down is a memoir written by Robert Cooley, a lawyer who worked for Mafia criminals in Chicago, U.S.A., but eventually turned in his former clients. The book is co-written by journalist Hillel Levin and was...
, 2004. ISBN 0-7867-1583-9 - Russo, GusGus RussoGus G. Russo was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He is a Mafia and John F. Kennedy assassination researcher who was part of a team of researchers that worked on the 1993 Frontline Lee Harvey Oswald documentary, "Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald?," for PBS...
. The Outfit: The Role of Chicago's Underworld in the Shaping of Modern America, Bloomsbury USA, 2002. ISBN 1582342792 - Mark LombardiMark LombardiMark Lombardi was an American Neo-Conceptualist and an abstract artist who specialized in drawings attempting to document financial and political frauds by power brokers, and in general 'the uses and abuses of power'.- Biography :...
: Global Networks. Mark Lombardi, Robert Carleton Hobbs, Judith Richards; Independent Curators, 2003. (published for the traveling exhibition of his work, "Mark Lombardi Global Networks"). ISBN 0-916365-67-0 - The F.B.I. (historical archives)
- The Chicago Syndicate
- http://www.ipsn.org/cc97.html
- Nolan, John Matthew "2,543 Days: A history of the Hotel at the Grand Rapids Dam on the Wabash River"