Antonino Joseph Accardo (born
Antonino Leonardo Accardo; April 28, 1906 – May 22, 1992), also known as
"Joe Batters" or
"Big Tuna", rose from small-time hoodlum to the position of day-to-day boss of the
Chicago OutfitThe 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...
in 1947, to ultimately become the final Outfit authority in 1972, until his death. Accardo moved The Outfit into new operations and territories, greatly increasing its power and wealth during his tenure as boss.
Early life
Born Antonino Leonardo Accardo (also known as Anthony Joseph Accardo) on
ChicagoChicago 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...
's
Near West SideThe Near West Side, one of the 77 defined community areas of Chicago, is located , adjacent to the downtown central business district . The rich history of the Near West Side of Chicago has its genesis in the Hull House phenomenon...
, the son of Francesco Accardo, a shoemaker, and Maria Tillota Accardo. One year prior to his birth, the Accardos had emigrated to America from
CastelvetranoCastelvetrano is a town and comune in the province of Trapani, Sicily, Italy. The archeological site of Selinunte is located within the territory of the comune. It was the birthplace of Giovanni Gentile, the key philosopher of the Fascist movement in Italy.The town is predominantly a farming town,...
,
SicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, in the
Province of TrapaniTrapani is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital is the city of Trapani.It has an area of 2,460 km², and a total population of 425,121...
. At age 14, Accardo was expelled from school and started
loiteringLoitering is the act of remaining in a particular public place for a protracted time. Under certain circumstances, it is illegal in various jurisdictions.-Prohibition and history:Loitering may be prohibited by local governments in several countries...
around neighborhood
pool hallA billiard/billiards, pool or snooker hall is a place where people get together for playing cue sports such as pool, snooker or carom billiards...
s. He soon joined the Circus Cafe Gang, one of many street gangs in the poor neighborhoods of
ChicagoChicago 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...
. These gangs served as talent pools (similar to the concept of
farm teamIn sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team or nursery club, is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point...
s) for the city's adult criminal organizations. In 1926,
Jack "Machine Gun" McGurn"Machine Gun" Jack McGurn was an Italian-American mobster and key member of Al Capone's Chicago Outfit.-Early life:...
, one of the toughest hitmen of Outfit boss Alphonse Capone ("Big Al," "Scarface Al"), recruited Accardo into his crew in the Outfit.
"Rising star" on the streets
It was during
ProhibitionProhibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
that Accardo received the "Joe Batters" nickname from Capone himself due to his skill at hitting a couple of Outfit traitors with a baseball bat at a dinner Capone held just to kill the two men. Capone was quoted as saying, "Boy, this kid's a real Joe Batters"' The Chicago newspapers eventually dubbed Accardo, "The Big Tuna," after a fishing expedition where Accardo caught a giant
tunaTuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
. In later years, Accardo boasted over federal wiretaps he participated in the infamous 1929
St. Valentine's Day MassacreThe 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...
in which, allegedly, Capone gunmen murdered seven members of the rival
North 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...
. Accardo also claimed that he was one of the gunmen who murdered Brooklyn, New York gang boss
Frankie YaleFrancesco 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...
, again by Capone's orders to settle a dispute. However, most experts today believe Accardo had only peripheral connections with the St. Valentine's Day Massacre and none whatsoever with the Yale murder. However, on October 11, 1926, Accardo may have participated in the assassination of then Northside Chicago gang leader
Hymie WeissHymie 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:...
near the
Holy Name CathedralHoly Name Cathedral, formally the Cathedral of the Holy Name, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, one of the largest Roman Catholic dioceses in the United States. It is also the parish church of the Archbishop of Chicago...
in Chicago.
Caporegime
In 1929, Capone was convicted of
tax evasionTax 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,...
and sent to prison for an 11-year sentence, and
Frank "The Enforcer" 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...
became the new Outfit boss, after serving his own 18-month sentence for tax evasion. By this time, Accardo had established a solid record making money for the organization, so Nitti let him establish his own crew. He was also named as the Outfit's head of enforcement.
Accardo soon developed a variety of profitable rackets, including gambling, loansharking, bookmaking,
extortionExtortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
, and the distribution of untaxed alcohol and cigarettes. As with all caporegimes, Accardo received 5% of the crew's earnings as a so-called, "street tax." Accardo in turn paid a tax to the family boss. If a crew member were to refuse to pay a street tax (or paid less than half of the amount owed), it could mean a death sentence from The Outfit. The Accardo crew would include such future Outfit heavyweights as
Gus "Gussie" AlexGus Alex was a Greek-American mobster and high ranking member of the Chicago Outfit, who succeeded Jake Guzik as the Syndicate's main political "fixer".-Early life:...
and
Joseph "Joey Doves" 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:...
.
Personal life
In 1934, Accardo met Clarice Pordzany, a Polish-American chorus girl. They later married and had four children. In fact, Accardo had two grandsons, one of whom was
Eric KumerowEric Kumerow is a former American football linebacker who played three seasons for the Miami Dolphins and one season with the Chicago Bears in the National Football League. Despite being a first round draft pick , his brief NFL career has been widely criticized as a disappointment...
, who was drafted by the
Miami DolphinsThe Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the
National Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. Unlike the majority of his colleagues, Accardo had a strong marriage and was never known to have been unfaithful to his wife. Clarice Accardo died on November 15, 2002, at age 91, of natural causes. For most of his married life, Accardo lived in
River Forest, IllinoisRiver Forest is a suburban village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Two universities make their home in River Forest, Dominican University and Concordia University Chicago. The village is closely tied to the larger neighboring community of Oak Park, Illinois. There are significant...
, until he started getting heat from the IRS about his apparent high lifestyle. So, he bought a ranch home on the 1400 block of North Ashland Avenue, in River Forest, and installed a vault. Accardo's official job was that of a beer salesman for a Chicago brewery.
Chicago Boss
In the 1940s, Accardo continued to gain power in the Outfit. As the 1940s progressed, it became evident that a number of Outfit bosses and members were going to have to face serious consequences for their parts in the extortion of the Hollywood movie industry's unions. However, because Nitti was claustrophobic, he was fearful of serving a second prison term, the first for tax evasion. So, Nitti committed suicide in 1943.
Paul "The Waiter" 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:...
, who had been the de facto boss since Capone's imprisonment, became the boss in name as well as in fact and named Accardo as
underbossUnderboss is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss...
. Ricca and Accardo would run the Outfit either officially or as the powers behind the throne for the next 30 years, until Ricca's death in 1972. When Ricca subsequently received a 10-year prison sentence for his part in the Hollywood scandal, Accardo became acting boss. Three years later, as a parole condition, Ricca was barred from contact with mobsters. Accardo then became boss of the Outfit. In practice, he shared power with Ricca, who remained in the background as a senior consultant.
Under Accardo's leadership in the late 1940s, the Outfit moved into slot machines and vending machines,
counterfeitTo counterfeit means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
ing cigarette and liquor tax stamps and expanded
narcoticThe term narcotic originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with any sleep-inducing properties. In the United States of America it has since become associated with opioids, commonly morphine and heroin and their derivatives, such as hydrocodone. The term is, today, imprecisely...
s smuggling. Accardo placed slot machines in gas stations, restaurants and bars throughout the Outfit's territory. Outside of Chicago, The Outfit expanded rapidly. In
Las VegasThe 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 ...
, The Outfit took influence over gaming away from the
five crime familiesThe 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 CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Accardo made sure that all the legal Las Vegas casinos used his slot machines. In
KansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
and
OklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, Accardo took advantage of the official ban on alcohol sales to introduce bootlegged alcohol. The Outfit eventually dominated organized crime in most of the Western
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. To reduce the Outfit's exposure to legal prosecution, Accardo phased out some traditional organized crime activities, such as labor racketeering and extortion. He also converted the Outfit's
brothelBrothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
business into
call girlA call girl or female escort is a sex worker who is not visible to the general public; nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by an escort agency...
services. The result of these changes was a golden era of profitability and influence for the Outfit.
By keeping a low profile and letting flashier figures such as
Sam GiancanaSalvatore Giancana , better known as Sam Giancana, was a Sicilian-American mobster and boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1957-1966...
attract attention, Accardo and Ricca were able to run the Outfit much longer than Capone. Ricca once said, "Accardo had more brains for breakfast than Capone had in a lifetime."
Also in the late 1950s, the
Federal Bureau of InvestigationThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI) had to finally admit that organized crime in
AmericaThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is real, because of FBI Director
J. Edgar Hoover'sJohn Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
embarrassment over the local law enforcement's uncovering of the 1957
Apalachin MeetingThe Apalachin Meeting was a historic summit of the American Mafia held on November 14, 1957, at the home of mobster Joseph "Joe the Barber" Barbara in Apalachin, New York. The meeting was attended by roughly 100 Mafiosi from the United States, Canada, and Italy...
. Thus, the FBI began to employ all types of surveillance against mobsters.
Change of leadership
After 1957, Accardo turned over the official position as boss to long-time, money-making associate Giancana, because of "
heatSurveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
" from the IRS. Accardo then became the Outfit's
consigliereConsigliere is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The word was popularized by Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather , and its film adaptation...
, stepping away from the day-to-day running of the organization, but he still retained considerable power and demanded ultimate respect and won it from his men. Giancana still had to obtain the sanction of Accardo and Ricca on major business, including all assassinations.
However, this working relationship eventually broke down. Unlike Accardo, the widowed Giancana lived an ostentatious lifestyle, frequenting posh nightclubs and dating high-profile singer Phyllis McGuire. Giancana also refused to distribute some of the lavish profits from Outfit casinos in
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and
Central AmericaCentral America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
to the rank-and-file members. Many in The Outfit also felt that Giancana was attracting too much attention from the FBI, who was forever "tailing" his car throughout the greater-Chicago area.
Around 1966, after spending a year in jail on federal
Contempt of CourtContempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
charges, Accardo and Ricca replaced Giancana with street-crew boss
Joseph "Joey Doves" 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:...
. In June 1975, after spending most of his Outfit-exile years in Mexico and unceremoniously being booted from that country, Giancana was assassinated in the
basement apartmentA basement apartment is an apartment located below street level, underneath another structure—usually an apartment building, but possibly a house or a business. Rent in basement apartments is usually much lower than it is in above-ground units, due to a number of deficiencies common to basement...
of his home, in
Oak Park, IllinoisOak Park, Illinois is a suburb bordering the west side of the city of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is the twenty-fifth largest municipality in Illinois. Oak Park has easy access to downtown Chicago due to public transportation such as the Chicago 'L' Blue and Green lines,...
, while cooking Italian sausages and escarole.
Some conspiracy theorists, however, are divided as to whether this "
hitContract 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...
" was sanctioned by the Outfit bosses or possibly by the U.S. government, which had
subpoenaA subpoena is a writ by a government agency, most often a court, that has authority to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of subpoena:...
ed Giancana just before he was murdered to testify on his knowledge of certain alleged government conspiracies.
Ricca died in 1972, leaving Accardo as the ultimate authority in the outfit.
The burglary
In 1978, while Accardo vacationed in California, burglars brazenly entered his
River ForestRiver Forest is a suburban village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Two universities make their home in River Forest, Dominican University and Concordia University Chicago. The village is closely tied to the larger neighboring community of Oak Park, Illinois. There are significant...
home. Within a month, five of the suspected thieves were found strangled and with their throats cut. Prosecutors at the time believed Accardo, furious that his home had been violated, had ordered the killings.
In 2002, this theory was confirmed on the witness stand by Outfit turncoat
Nicholas CalabreseNicholas 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...
, who had participated in all of the subsequent murders. The surviving assassins were all convicted in the famous, "
Family SecretsOperation 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...
Trial," and sentenced to long prison terms.
Death and burial
In later years, Accardo spent much of his time in
Palm Springs, CaliforniaPalm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
, flying to Chicago to preside over Outfit "sit-downs" and mediate disputes. By this time, Accardo's personal holdings included legal investments in commercial office buildings, retail centers, lumber farms, paper factories, hotels, car dealerships, trucking companies, newspaper companies, restaurants and travel agencies.
Accardo spent his last years in
Barrington Hills, IllinoisBarrington Hills is a village located about northwest of Chicago in the U.S. state of Illinois. It straddles approximately over four counties, Cook, Kane, Lake, and McHenry. The population was 4,209 at the 2010 census...
living with his daughter and son-in-law. On May 22, 1992, Anthony Accardo died of
congestive heart failureHeart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...
at age 86. He left behind heirs including younger second generation nephew Michael Anthony Accardo who presumably is the only relative left to carry on the family name.
Accardo was buried in
Queen of Heaven CemeteryQueen of Heaven Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery in Hillside, Illinois, a suburban community near Chicago. The cemetery is operated by the Archdiocese of Chicago....
, in
Hillside, IllinoisHillside is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,155 at the 2000 census.One notable landmark in Hillside is the Mount Carmel Cemetery. On the grounds of the cemetery are the graves of a number of organized crime figures, such as Al Capone and Dion O'Bannion...
. Despite an arrest record dating back to 1922, Accardo spent only one night in jail or avoided the inside of a cell entirely (depending on the source).
In popular culture
- In the 1995 television movie Sugartime (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117777/) about Giancana and McGuire, Accardo is portrayed by Maury Chaykin
Maury Alan Chaykin was an American-born Canadian actor. Best known for his portrayal of detective Nero Wolfe, he was also known for his work as a character actor in many films and on television programs.-Personal life:...
.
External links