| Founded | c. 1910 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Big Jim Colosimo |
| Founding location | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Years active | c. 1910–present |
| Territory | Primarily the Chicago metropolitan area, with additional territory throughout the Midwest, as well as Las Vegas, Phoenix, South Florida and Southern California [1] |
| Ethnicity | Italians as "made men" and other ethnicities as associates |
| Membership (est.) | 28 made members and 100+ associates (2007) [2] |
| Activities | Racketeering, gambling, loansharking, extortion, labor racketeering, police and political corruption, drug trafficking, bootlegging, hijacking, burglary, auto theft, fencing, fraud, money laundering, bribery, prostitution, pornography, assault, torture, and murder [3] |
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The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or the Organization, is an Italian American Mafia crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, and throughout the Greater Chicago area, originating in the city's South Side in the early 1910s.
The Outfit rose to power in the 1920s under the control of Johnny Torrio and Al Capone, and the period was marked by bloody gang wars for control of the distribution of illegal alcohol during Prohibition. The Outfit's power was solidified by Capone's leadership, consolidating the family into the larger American Mafia. Since then, the Outfit has been involved in a wide range of criminal activities, including loansharking, illegal gambling, prostitution, extortion, political corruption and murder. Capone was convicted of income tax evasion in 1931 and the Outfit was next run by Paul Ricca. Ricca and Tony Accardo shared power from 1943 until Ricca's death in 1972; Accardo became the sole power in the Outfit upon Ricca's death and was one of the longest-sitting bosses of all time upon his death in 1992. The family’s longest-serving boss was Joey Aiuppa, serving from 1971 until 1986.
Although it has never had a complete monopoly on organized crime in Chicago, the Outfit has long been the largest, most powerful and most violent criminal organization in Chicago and the Midwest in general. Unlike other Mafia factions such as the Five Families of New York City, the Outfit has been a unified faction since its conception. [10] Its influence at its peak stretched as far as California, Florida and Nevada and it continues to operate throughout the Midwestern United States and South Florida, as well as Las Vegas and other parts of the Southwestern United States. Heightened law enforcement attention and general attrition have led to its gradual decline since the late 20th century, though it continues to be one of the major and most active organized crime groups in the Chicago metropolitan area and the Midwest.
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 Hand organizations of Little Italy. In later years, the Outfit consisted of various street crews controlling different territories around Chicago including Elmwood Park, Melrose Park, Chicago Heights, Rush Street, Grand Avenue and Chinatown. [10]
Vincenzo "Big Jim" Colosimo centralized control in the early 20th century. Colosimo was born in Calabria, Italy, in 1878, and immigrated to Chicago in 1895, where he established himself as a criminal. By 1909, with the help of bringing Johnny Torrio from New York to Chicago, he was successful enough that he was encroaching on the criminal activity of the Black Hand organization. [11] [12] Colosimo also "cultivated deep political connections" after "serving as a precinct captain in the organization of First Ward Alderman Couglin and Kenna, and later [became] the bagman (collector of illegal profits and dispenser of bribes) in the vice-laden Levee District, which afforded him with blanket political protection". [13]
When Prohibition went into effect in 1920, Torrio pushed for the gang to enter into bootlegging, but Colosimo stubbornly refused. In March 1920, Colosimo secured an uncontested divorce from his wife, Victoria Moresco. [14] A month later, he and singer Dale Winter eloped to West Baden Springs, Indiana. Upon their return, he bought a home on the South Side. [14] On May 11, 1920, Colosimo was killed by a gunman waiting in the coat room of his restaurant, Colosimo's cafe. The killer was most likely Frankie Yale, fulfilling a contract commissioned by Johnny Torrio. [15]
Torrio's organization was made up predominately of ethnic Italians but had a large contingent of members from other immigrant backgrounds. Torrio's gang also differed from the other Chicago gangs by recruiting from New York's underworld, regularly welcoming that city's ambitious criminals into his organization's ranks. [15] Alphonse "Scarface Al" Capone had left New York for Chicago in 1919, likely under orders from mob boss Frankie Yale to leave town to avoid retaliation for previous violence they had committed in New York. Capone began in Chicago as a doorman at the Four Deuces club. By 1924, Capone's business acumen and shrewd intelligence had gained him a place as Torrio's right-hand man. Many rivals saw Capone as responsible for the proliferation of brothels in the city. [16] [17] [18] [19]
In 1923, William Dever was elected mayor of Chicago, and he began to crack down on Torrio's underworld activities within the city. Losing their political cover, the gang looked to the suburbs for a new base of operations. Torrio ordered Capone to lead a takeover of the town of Cicero, where he was able to corrupt city manager Joseph Z. Klenha. The gang set up dozens of brothels, speakeasies, gambling dens, and other businesses within the town. On April 1, 1924, Cicero municipal elections were threatening Kenha's leadership. Kenha appealed to Torrio and Capone for their support, which they responded to by terrorizing the opposition and voting public on election day. The gang guarded polling places, ensuring people knew the right way to vote and violently preventing entry to those who did not. They ransacked the local Democratic party campaign headquarters, forcibly detaining the election workers for hours. By that afternoon, the Chicago Police Department was ordered to step in to halt the violence by Cook County Judge Edmund J. Jareki. Seventy plainclothes officers, newly deputized as county sheriffs, descended on Cicero. Frank Capone, Al's brother, was killed that evening by detective sergeant William Cusack during an altercation on 22nd Street and Cicero Avenue. Charles Fischetti was also arrested at the scene. Kenha won the election, ensuring the Torrio-Capone gang's local immunity into the 1930s. [15]
Torrio was wary of being drawn into gang wars and tried to negotiate agreements over territory between rival crime groups. The smaller North Side Gang led by Dean O'Banion was of mixed ethnicity, and it came under pressure from the Genna brothers who were allied with Torrio. O'Banion found that Torrio was unhelpful with the encroachment of the Gennas into the North Side, despite his pretensions to be a settler of disputes. [20] The "Terrible" Genna brothers, as they were known, consisted of Peter, James, Angelo, Tony, Sam and Mike "The Devil" Genna. They were known for their ruthlessness and intemperate disposition. [21] In a fateful step, Torrio either arranged for or acquiesced to the murder of O'Banion at his flower shop on November 10, 1924. This placed Hymie Weiss at the head of the gang, backed by Vincent Drucci and Bugs Moran. Weiss had been a close friend of O'Banion and the North Siders made it a priority to get revenge on his killers. [22] [23] [16]
At the end of 1924, the Torrio-Capone gang had between 300–400 members, while the North Side gang could count on around 200 soldiers. [15]
In early 1925, the North Side began a string of retaliations for O'Banion's murder. First, in January 1925, Capone's car was shot up without him in it. Twelve days later, on January 24, Torrio was returning from a shopping trip with his wife Anna, when he was shot several times by North Side gunmen. After recovering, he effectively resigned and handed control to Capone, age 26 at the time. Torrio retired to New York and acted as an advisor to the New York Mafia in helping form the "Commission". [24]
During the beer wars, the Capone gang's enforcement group was led by "Machine Gun" Jack McGurn, and included Tony Capezio, Claude "Screwy" Maddox, Sam "Golf Bag" Hunt, Frank Rio, and others. 1925–1926 were the most violent years of Chicago's "Beer Wars" in which 133 gangsters were murdered. [21] On September 20, 1926, the North Side gang attacked Capone's headquarters at Cicero's Hawthorne Hotel, shooting hundreds of rounds and only narrowly missing Capone. Less than a month later, on October 11, North Side gang leader Hymie Weiss was gunned down with a Thompson in front of Holy Name Cathedral, allegedly by Jack McGurn. Weiss was succeeded by Vincent Drucci, a WW1 veteran and close friend of Weiss. [15]
In 1928, the Capone gang was active in the violent Pineapple Primary election. Capone had previously donated $200,000 to Big Bill Thompson's corrupt mayoral campaign, and then used his gangsters to intimidate, assault, and bomb Thompson's political rivals in an attempt to keep the Republican party in power. [15]
Capone was widely assumed to have been responsible for ordering the 1929 Saint Valentine's Day Massacre in an attempt to eliminate Bugs Moran, head of the North Side Gang. On that fateful and cold February morning, four Capone henchmen (two dressed as Chicago policemen) entered the S.M.C Cartage Company garage located at 2122 N. Clark St. Chicago, Illinois, to find seven men, which included five of Moran's soldiers, an auto mechanic, and a friend of the gangsters, awaiting a shipment of hijacked booze. All seven men were lined up against the wall in a mock police raid and shot to death. Moran escaped narrowly by accidentally arriving late to the meeting. [21] Moran was the last survivor of the North Side gunmen; his succession had come about because his similarly aggressive predecessors Vincent Drucci and Hymie Weiss had been killed in the violence that followed the murder of original leader Dean O'Banion. [25] [26] [27]
Capone was convicted on three counts of income tax evasion on October 17, 1931, [28] [29] [30] and was sentenced a week later to 11 years in federal prison, fined $50,000 plus $7,692 for court costs, and was held liable for $215,000 plus interest due on his back taxes. [31] [32] [33] [34] Capone later died of heart failure as a result of apoplexy on January 25, 1947. [35] [36]
In 1931, head of operations Frank Nitti was also convicted of tax evasion and sent to prison; however, Nitti received an 18-month sentence. [37] When Nitti was released on March 25, 1932, he took his place as the new boss of the Capone Gang. [37] However, some historical revisionists claim that the real power in the Outfit was his underboss, Paul Ricca. Not only did Ricca frequently overrule Nitti's orders, but the leaders of the National Crime Syndicate dealt solely with him. Ricca would be the crime boss of Chicago, either in name or in fact, for the next 40 years. [38]
Over the next decade, The Outfit moved into labor racketeering, gambling, and loan sharking. Geographically, this was the period when Outfit muscle extended 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 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 compose Hollywood's movie industry, and manipulating and misusing the Teamsters Central States pension fund. [39] 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 that he was claustrophobic, years earlier while in jail for 18 months (for tax evasion), 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 Anthony "Joe Batters" Accardo as underboss—the start of a partnership that lasted for almost 30 years. 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.
Ricca was sent to prison later in 1943 for his part in The Outfit plot to control Hollywood. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, along with a number of other mobsters. 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. Ricca could not associate with mobsters as a condition of his parole. Accardo nominally took power as boss, but actually shared power with Ricca, who continued behind the scenes as a senior consultant—one of the few instances of shared power in organized crime.
Accardo joined Ricca in semi-retirement in 1957 due to some "heat" that he was getting from the IRS. From then on, Ricca and Accardo allowed several others to nominally serve as boss, such as Giancana, Alderisio, Joseph "Joey Doves" Aiuppa, William "Willie Potatoes" Daddano, and Jackie "the Lackey" Cerone. Most of the front bosses originated from the Forty-Two Gang. However, no major business transactions took place without Ricca and Accardo's knowledge and approval, and certainly no "hits". 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 scenes.
During the 1960 presidential election, many claimed that the Mafia, and in particular, the Chicago Outfit, boosted candidate and future president John F. Kennedy. The strategy for boosting votes for Kennedy essentially ran through the Mafia-controlled unions, physically threatening those who did not vote for Kennedy. It was even said that Joseph Kennedy held a meeting with mob boss Sam Giancana before the election. [40] Supposedly, the Kennedys and the Mafia agreed that if John were elected president, he would lighten the pursuit of authorities on the mob group. However, after the election, President Kennedy turned on Giancana. Theories say this is what led to his and Robert Kennedy's assassinations. Further, many believe 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. [41] The Outfit failed in that endeavor and faced increasing indictments under the administration of President John F. Kennedy.
The Outfit reached the height of its power in the early 1960s. Accardo used the Teamsters pension fund, with the aid of Meyer Lansky, Sidney Korshak, and Jimmy Hoffa, to engage in massive money laundering through the Outfit's casinos. The Outfit controlled casinos in Las Vegas and "skimmed" 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 was used to build the Old Neighborhood Italian American Club, the founder of which was Angelo J. "The Hook" LaPietra. The 1995 Martin Scorsese movie Casino depicts The Outfit's activities in Las Vegas during the 1970s, where bookmaker Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal and made man Anthony "The Ant" Spilotro managed the Stardust, Fremont, Marina, and Hacienda casinos on behalf of Joey "Doves" Aiuppa. [42]
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. Activities such as auto theft and professional sports betting did not replace the lost profits. In the 1970s and early 1980s, a series of over 20 murders resulted from the Outfit's takeover of car theft rackets on the South Side of Chicago and Northwest Indiana. [43] [44] [45] [46] During this period, known as the "chop shop wars", James "Jimmy the Bomber" Cataura, the head of the Chicago Heights crew, was tasked by Outfit leaders with seizing control of auto theft operations from a vast network of independent car thieves in the Chicago area. [46] Cataura himself was a victim of the "chop shop wars" when he was killed in July 1978 amidst a power struggle within his own crew with underling Albert Tocco for control of the lucrative stolen car rings. [45] [46] The Outfit simultaneously waged a campaign to gain control over independent pornographic bookstores, massage parlors and strip clubs in and around Chicago, with several gangland-style murders being attributed to the "porn wars". [47] Beginning in 1977, the Outfit engaged in a "loose alliance" with the Outlaws Motorcycle Club to control and share the profits from organized prostitution in Chicago. [48]
Allen Dorfman, a key figure in the Outfit's money embezzlement operations, was investigated by the Department of Justice. In 1982, the FBI wire-tapped Dorfman's personal and company phone lines and was able to gather the evidence needed to convict Dorfman and several of his associates on attempts to bribe a state senator to get rid of the trucking industry rates. If Dorfman had succeeded, the Outfit would have seen a huge gain of profit. This was known as Operation Pendorf and was a huge blow to the Chicago crime syndicate. [49]
Operation GAMBAT (GAMBling ATtorney) 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. Marcy and company controlled the circuit courts from the 1950s until the late 1980s with the help of Alderman Fred Roti and Democratic Committeeman John D'Arco Sr. 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 lawyers who represented many mafiosi and associates in which cases were fixed. As a trusted man within the First Ward, Cooley was asked to "take out" a city police officer. Cooley was also an addicted gambler and in debt, so he approached the U.S. Justice Department's Organized Crime Strike Force, declaring that 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, he maintained close ties to Marcy and the big shots of the First Ward. He wore an electronic surveillance device, recording valuable conversations at the notorious "First Ward Table", located at "Counselor's Row" across the street from Chicago City Hall. The results in Operation Gambat (Gambling Attorney) were convictions of 24 corrupt judges, lawyers, and cops.
In February 1990, 20 members and associates of the Outfit's "Ferriola Street Crew", which was headed by Joseph Ferriola before being taken over by Ernest Rocco Infelice upon Ferriola's death, were indicted on various federal charges including murder, extortion and bribery following an eight-year FBI investigation. [50] [51]
Accardo died in 1992. [52] In a measure of how successfully he had 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. Chicago's transition from Accardo to the next generation of Outfit bosses has been more of an administrative change than a power struggle, distinct from the way that organized crime leadership transitions take place in New York City.
Higher law enforcement investigations and general attrition led to the Outfit's gradual decline since the late 20th century. [53] [54] The Old Neighborhood Italian American Club is considered to be the hangout of old timers as they live out their golden years.[ citation needed ] The club's founder was Angelo J. LaPietra "The Hook", who was the main Council at the time of his death in 1999.
On April 25, 2005, the U.S. Department of Justice launched Operation Family Secrets, [55] which indicted 14 Outfit members and associates under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), including Joseph Lombardo, Nicholas Calabrese, Frank Calabrese Sr. and James Marcello. 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. Facing a life sentence, Nicholas Calabrese became the first "made" member of the Chicago Outfit to become a witness for the federal government. [10] Calabrese gave information on 14 murders he was personally involved with and knowledge of 22 killings during the past 30 years. [10]
As of 2007, the Outfit's size is estimated to be 28 official members (composing its core group) and more than 100 associates. [2]
From 1996 to 2018, the Chicago Outfit was believed to be led by John DiFronzo. [56] As of 2021, the Chicago Outfit is believed to be led by Salvatore "Solly D" DeLaurentis. [57] On May 31, 2020, 24 year-old Bobby 'Boo Boo' English Jr. was murdered. The Cicero crew-affiliated 12th Street Players gang is suspected of ordering the hit. He was the son of Bobby "Taz" English, former boss of the 12th Street Players during the 1990s and early 2000s and currently in prison for attempted murder. [58]
The street boss is a high-ranking member appointed to run the outfit's daily activities for the boss. The position was created to protect the boss from federal investigations.
The Outfit is notable for having had other ethnic groups besides Italians as high-ranking associates since the family's earliest days. A prime example of this was Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik, a Polish Jew, who was the top "bagman" and "accountant" for decades until his death. Others were Murray Humphreys, who was of Welsh descent, Gus Alex, a Greek, and Ken Eto (aka Tokyo Joe), who was Japanese-American.
Another well-known associate of the Outfit is Jewish New York City mobster Benjamin Siegel. Siegel was a childhood friend of Capone. [161] Siegel's organization in Las Vegas and Los Angeles was an ally of the Outfit from 1933 to 1961 when the family boss, Mickey Cohen, was imprisoned and the family was decimated.
The Chicago Outfit is composed of a number of factions, or "street crews", involved in various criminal activities, including loan sharking, gambling and labor racketeering. A percentage of the profits generated by these crews is paid to the organization's leaders. [189] The Outfit's five original crews were based at Taylor Street, Grand Avenue, 26th Street, the North Side, and suburban Chicago Heights. [190] According to the FBI, four crews remain active as of 2025. [191]
| Name | Date | Rank | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vincenzo "Big Jim" Colosimo | May 11, 1920 | Boss | It is believed the murder of Colosimo was ordered by Johnny Torrio and committed by Frank Yale, who shot Colosimo at least once in the head at his restaurant located at 2126 South Wabash Avenue, Colosimo was reputedly murdered as he had refused the Chicago Outfit from entering into bootlegging. [194] [195] |
| Francesco "Frankie Yale" Ioele | July 1, 1928 | Unknown | Yale was shot multiple times in the head in a drive-by, by using Thompson submachine guns and a shotgun, located at 923 44th Street in Borough Park, Brooklyn. It is believed Yale was murdered by the Chicago Outfit or by the Genna Brothers, who were also active in Chicago, for hijacking an alcohol-whisky shipment bound for Chicago. [196] [197] |
| William Drury | September 25, 1950 | Associate | Drury served as a former Chicago police captain. Drury was killed by a shotgun blast inside of his car at the garage of his home located at 1843 W. Addison Street. It is believed Drury was murdered for testifying against the Chicago Outfit. [198] [199] |
| Charles Gross | February 6, 1952 | Associate | Gross served as a Republican Party politician for the 31st Ward in Chicago. It is believed Gross was murdered as a result of seeking to disrupt Chicago Outfit influence within Chicago. Gross was shot 7 times and killed by a shotgun in front of the Scandinavian Evangelical Church on the Northwest side. [200] [201] |
| Leonard "Fat Lenny" Caifano | June 19, 1952 | Soldier | Caifano was shot once in the head and killed during a botched attempt to kidnap Theodore "Teddy" Roe, a prominent African-American policy racket boss. It is believed that after Caifano identified Roe in the street, Roe's bodyguards who were off-duty police officers, responded by shooting Caifano in the head, located at 739 S. Western Avenue. Caifano allegedly targeted Roe to take over his illegal gambling operation. [202] [203] |
| Theodore "Tough Teddy" Roe | August 4, 1952 | Associate | Roe was an African-American policy kingpin based in the Southside of Chicago. Roe was shot 5 times and killed by two men using 12-gauge shotguns outside of his apartment located at 5239 S. Michigan Ave. |
| Paul "Needle Nose" Labriola and James Weinberg | March 17, 1954 | Associate | Both men were found in the trunk of a Pontiac vehicle in Chicago, drugged and strangled, for their brash and loud reputation. [204] |
| Charles "Cherry Nose" Gioe | August 19, 1954 | Captain | Gioe was shot once in the head inside of his car located at 1143 W Erie Erie Street, near May Street. It is believed Joseph Glimco ordered his murder for interfering in a labor dispute Glimco was having with a contractor. [205] |
| Frank "Frankie Diamond" Maritote | August 23, 1954 | Soldier/Associate | Maritote served as an enforcer for the Chicago Outfit, and he was also the brother-in-law to Al Capone. [206] It is believed he was shot multiple times by using a .28 calibre pistol and a shotgun inside of his car at the garage of his home in Cook County, Illinois, for possibly as a result of settling of accounts or power shifts. [207] |
| William Morris Bioff | November 4, 1955 | Associate | Bioff served as an associate for the Chicago Outfit and was heavily involved in labor racketeering. Bioff was killed in an explosion inside of his car in the driveway of his home located at 1250 East Bethany Home Road in Phoenix, Arizona. [208] It is believed Bioff was killed as a result of relocation due to his status as a government witness. |
| Alex Greenberg | December 8, 1955 | Associate | Greenberg had previously served as a financial adviser to the Capone gang. Greenberg was shot 4 times and killed outside of a restaurant located at the intersection of Union Avenue and Twenty-eighth Street, for testifying against members of the Chicago Outfit. [209] |
| Leon Marcus | March 31, 1957 | Associate | Marcus served as Chicago bank chairman. [210] It is believed his murder was revolved around a money dispute between Sam Giancana, or to prevent him testifying against the Chicago Outfit at his trial in September 1957, as Marcus was under indictment for misapplying bank funds and falsifying records. [211] [212] Marcus was shot once in the head by a .45 caliber pistol and he was found in a vacant lot in the Southside of Chicago. [213] |
| Salvatore Moretti | April 16, 1957 | Associate | Moretti allegedly served as a driver for Sam Giancana. [214] Moretti was found in the trunk of his car in Will County, Illinois, shot and strangled to death, possibly due to internal or power disputes. |
| Gus Greenbaum | December 3, 1958 | Associate | Greenbaum served as the overseer for the Chicago and New York families interests in Las Vegas for skimming the casinos. It is believed Greenabum, and his wife, were murdered as Greenbaum was stealing money from the casinos to fund his drug and alcohol addiction, Greenbaum and his wife were found with their throats slashed with a butcher knife, in Phoenix, Arizona. [215] [216] |
| Joseph Bronge | November 6, 1959 | Associate/Soldier | Bronge was a Chicago beer distributor and associate of Anthony Accardo. It is believed Bronge was shot 5 times in the head and killed outside of his office in Melrose Park, as the Outfit were seeking to take control of his territory. [217] |
| Roger Touhy | December 16, 1959 | Associate | Touhy was shot and killed by a shotgun blast at the garage of his home, just after 22 days from his release from prison after serving a 25-year prison sentence for kidnapping, allegedly for suing Anthony Accardo, located at 125 N. Lotus Avenue, Chicago. [218] [219] [220] [221] |
| William "The Saint" Skally | January 5, 1960 | Associate | Skally allegedly served as a liaison between a drug trafficking operation and Sam Giancana. Skally was shot to death inside of his car in Chicago. |
| Michael Urgo | October 13, 1960 | Associate | Urgo was an attorney and the son-in-law of Guido De Chiaro, a juke box distributor and Chicago Outfit affiliate. Urgo came to the aid of Chiaro and was shot in the chest. [222] |
| Ralph Del Genio | June 20, 1961 | Associate | Genio was a truck driver for the Chicago Bureau of Sanitation at the time of his death. It is believed Genio was murdered by the Outfit for acquiring gambling debts. [223] |
| Carmen Trotta | March 21, 1970 | Associate | Trotta, an Outfit associate, was shot to death in Lyons, Illinois. [224] Unknown who killed him or why. |
| Michael Albergo | August 1970 | Associate | The Chicago Outfit were worried Albergo, a Chicago Outfit associate and enforcer, would cooperate after being charged and arrested for loansharking. [225] [226] [227] It is believed Frank Calabrese was the killer. |
| Robert Pronger | June 17, 1971 | Associate | Pronger was a NASCAR driver and car racing champion. [228] He disappeared in 1971 and is believed to have been murdered by William Dauber and Steve Ostrowsky. |
| Sam Cesario | October 19, 1971 | Soldier | Cesario managed to get himself into a relationship with the girlfriend of Felix Alderisio, former Chicago Outfit boss and underboss to Sam Giancana. It is believed Cesario was shot and killed by Harry Aleman and another man. |
| Guido "Weeds" Fidanzi | August 8, 1972 | Associate | Fidanzi was shot 4 times and killed at a gas station located at Chicago Heights, Illinois, due to an internal dispute. [229] [230] |
| Richard Cain | December 30, 1973 | Associate | Ex-Cook County chief investigator officer Cain was shot twice with a shotgun in Rose's Sandwich Shop at 1117W. Grand Avenue by two assailants. [231] |
| Orion Williams | July 13, 1974 | Associate | Williams was found in the trunk of a car belonging to his girlfriend located at 70 E. 33rd St., with a shotgun blast, allegedly as the Chicago Outfit suspected him of being an informant. [232] Law enforcement have considered Harry Aleman as the killer. |
| Carlo DeVino | January 16, 1975 | A bookmaker, DeVino was shot by two assailants when he stepped out from his car in front of his home at 3631 N. Nora Avenue. [231] | |
| Marty Buccieri | May 12, 1975 | Associate | Buccieri was killed after demanding a finders fee for helping broker financing for casino executive Allen Glick's Argent Corporation. It is believed Tony Spilotro was the killer. |
| Ronnie Magliano | May 12, 1975 | Associate | Magliano served as an associate of the Chicago Outfit, and specialised in stolen goods. [233] Law enforcement have alleged Magliano was possibly killed over stolen goods, involving his friend Joseph Lipuma, who was murdered himself several weeks before the murder of Magliano, Magliano was shot once in the head by a .22-caliber pistol at his home located at 6232 S. Kilpatrick Ave., Chicago. |
| Harry Holzer and Linda Turner | June 16, 1975 | Associate & Civilian | Holzer and his wife were shot multiples at his home in Saugatuck, Michigan, possibly to prevent from Turner testifying against the Outfit. [234] Law enforcement have alleged Albert Tocco ordered their murders, with Chicago police officer, Edward McCabe, implicated as the killer in the murder. [235] Depending on the source, Holzer was found at his home or in the trunk of his car. [236] |
| Sam "Momo" Giancana | June 19, 1975 | Former boss | Giancana was shot once in the head and 5 times in the mouth by a silenced .22-caliber handgun at his home located at 147 S. Wenonah Ave., Oak Park, Illinois. [237] [238] Giancana was murdered as a result of refusing to share profits from his illegal gambling operations, and also to prevent Giancana from testifying against the Chicago Outfit. [239] [240] [241] |
| Frank Goulakos | August 28, 1975 | Goulakos was shot outside DiLeo's Restaurant at 5615 West Seminole Avenue, where he worked as a cook. [231] | |
| Nick Galanos | August 30, 1975 | A bookie conducting business at River Forest, and an informant, Galanos was shot 7 times in a basement at his home at 5301 W. Wabansia Avenue. [231] | |
| Frank Plum | October 8, 1975 | Plum was shot in the head four times in an alley behind 939 North California Avenue. [231] | |
| Anthony J. Reitinger | October 31, 1975 | Reitinger, a bookmaker, was killed by two assailants while he sat in Mama Luna's restaurant at 4346 W. Fullerton Avenue. [231] | |
| Tamara Rand | November 9, 1975 | Rand, a 54-year-old San Diego real estate investor, was suing Allen Glick, the front man for the Outfit's casinos in Las Vegas. [242] Tony Spilotro shot Rand in her home in the Mission Hills neighborhood of San Diego. [243] Los Angeles family member Frank Bompensiero was an accomplice in the murder. [244] | |
| Louis DeBartolo | January 31, 1976 | DeBartolo was found shot in the head, with a mop handle in his throat, in a store where he worked at 5945 W. North Avenue. | |
| Peter Bufala | October 8, 1976 | Associate | Bufala was a baccarat dealer at the MGM Grand Casino. Bufala found shot once in the head and in the chest in the driveway of his home located at 7376 South Spencer Ave., Las Vegas, Nevada. [245] [246] The murder of Bufala remains unsolved. |
| Ray Ryan | October 18, 1977 | Associate | Ryan was blown up in a car bomb in the parking lot of his Evansville, Indiana health club. Ryan had testified against Marshall Caifano in an extortion case and had tried to bribe his way out of a murder contract upon Caifano's release from prison. |
| Stevie Garcia | February 2, 1978 | Associate | Chicago Outfit burglar, he was found inside the trunk of a car at the Sheraton Hotel next to O'Hare International Airport with multiple stab wounds including slashed from ear to ear, he was suspected of breaking into the home of Anthony Accardo. |
| Vince Moretti and Don Renno | February 4, 1978 | Associates | Moretti was an ex-cop and Chicago Outfit burglar. Moretti was castrated and disemboweled, his face had been burned off with an acetylene torch and he and Renno also had their throats slashed. [247] |
| James "Jimmy the Bomber" Catuara | July 28, 1978 | Captain | Shot dead aged 72 in Cook County, Illinois behind the wheel of a Cadillac, paving the way for Albert Tocco to grab complete control of the Chicago Heights crew and the Outfit's lucrative chop-shop tax. [248] Catuara's crew allegedly oversaw illegal gambling and prostitution. |
| Michael Volpe | October 5, 1978 | Associate | Accardo's longtime housekeeper vanishes. The FBI alleges his disappearance is in connection to Volpe's testimony to a federal grand jury five days previous. [249] |
| Anthony "Little Tony" Borsellino | May 22, 1979 | Soldier | Borsellino, known as a Chicago Outfit hitman, was found shot five times in the back of the head and dumped in a Frankfort farm field. He was killed as a result of falling out with Gerry Scarpelli. |
| Timmy O'Brien | May 23, 1979 | Associate | O'Brien, a salvage yard owner and former friend and business partner of Richie Ferraro is found shot to death in the trunk of his car in Blue Island, Illinois. |
| Gerald "Jerry the Dinger" Carusiello | September 18, 1979 | Associate | Carusiello served as a driver and bodyguard to former Chicago Outfit boss, Joey Aiuppa, during the beginning of his criminal career and association with the Outfit. Carusiello was one of the men who broke into the home of Anthony Accardo, in River Forest, Chicago. Carusiello was shot once in the head and killed, he was found at a condo development located at 951 N. Highway 53 in Addison, Illinois. |
| Jerry Lisner | October 11, 1979 | Associate | Lisner was shot 12 times in the head by Frank Cullotta, the right-hand man of Anthony Spilotro in Las Vegas. Lisner survived the shots and was subsequently strangled with electrical cord before Cullotta reloaded his firearm and shot Lisner again, dying and dumped into the pool at Lisner's home. [250] It is believed Lisner was killed for informing on the Spilotro crew regarding their illegal activities in Las Vegas. [251] [252] [253] |
| Richard/Robert "Chick" Kurowski | May 24, 1980 | Associate | Kurowski owned a junk yard in Northeast Indiana. Kurowski was killed by a sniper bullet, as he was suspected of being an informant. [254] [255] |
| Frank "Frankie Blue" Bluestein | June 10, 1980 | Associate | Bluestein was a member of Anthony Spilotro's "Hole in the Wall Gang." [256] [257] Bluestein was shot and killed by Las Vegas police officers, Gene Smith and David Groover. [258] [259] |
| William "Billy the Chopper" Dauber | July 2, 1980 | Associate | Dauber was a hitman for the Outfit and is suspected in over 20 unsolved homicides, between 1969 and 1980. [260] Dauber was suspected of becoming a government informant several months before his murder, facing charges for gun and cocaine possession. [261] Law enforcement have implicated Frank Calabrese Sr., Ronnie Jarrett, William "Butch" Petrocelli, and Gerald Scarpelli as the killers, Dauber and his wife were shot and killed on a rural road in Will County, Illinois, located at the southwest corner of Manhattan-Monee Road and Scheer Road, by using a M1 carbine and a 12-gauge shotgun. [262] [263] [264] |
| William "Butch" Petrocelli | March 14-15, 1981 | Petrocelli was found inside of a 1977 Ford LTD vehicle, located at 4300 block of West 25th Street in Chicago, Illinois, stabbed twice in the chest, with his throat slashed and his burned off. [265] [266] [267] It is believed Petrocelli was possibly killed for being a government informant, and for skimming money which was intended to go to Chicago Outfit affiliates serving prison sentences. [268] | |
| Joseph Testa | June 30, 1981 | Associate | Testa served as responsible for collecting, distributing, and laundering Chicago Outfit money. Testa was also a wealthy land developer. [269] [270] It is believed Testa was murdered as a result of allegedly owing Marshall Caifano over $2 million in a business deal. Testa was killed in a bomb explosion inside of his car at Oakland Park, near Fort Lauderdale, Florida. [271] [272] |
| Nick D'Andrea | September 13, 1981 | Associate | D'Andrea was killed by Nick Calabrese and James Marcello. [273] It is believed D'Andrea was accidently killed whilst being interrogated for the botched murder of Al Pilotto, the head of Local 5 of the Laborers International Union. [274] [275] It has been alleged the murder of D'Andrea was ordered by Sam Carlisi, John Fecarotta, and Anthony Chiaramonte. |
| Robert Plummer | May-June, 1982 | Associate | It is believed Plummer was found in the trunk of his car in a parking lot in Mundelein, Illinois, beaten and strangled to death, after being lured to an illegal gambling den in Libertyville, Illinois, possibly for working with another gang or being an informant, although William Jahoda testified that Plummer was killed for being involved in drugs. [276] [277] [278] It has been alleged the murder of Plummer was orchestrated by Rocco Ernest Infelice and Salvatore DeLaurentis. |
| Allen Dorfman | January 20-23, 1983 | Associate | Dorfman was allocated as the overseer of the Teamster's labor union pension fund. [279] Dorfman was convicted of conspiring to bribe Howard Cannon, a United States senator, and for the bribery plot of Teamsters President Roy Williams, and for racketeering, and was murdered before he was handed a prison sentence. [280] [281] Dorfman was shot 8 times and killed at the parking lot of the Purple Hyatt Hotel in Lincolnwood, Illinois following a lunch meeting. [282] [283] It has been alleged Joey "The Clown" Lombardo was involved in the murder of Dorfman. The murder of Dorfman remains unsolved. |
| John Gattuso and Jasper "Big Jay" Campise | July 14, 1983 | Gattuso served as the Cook County Deputy Sheriff and Campise was a soldier of the Chicago Outfit. [284] [285] [286] Both men were found in the trunk of Campise's car, tortured, strangled and stabbed to death, located at Illinois Route 59 south of the East-West Tollway, I-88, near Naperville, Illinois. [287] It is believed they were murdered for participating in the botched murder of Ken "Tokyo Joe" Eto, which lead Eto to become a government witness. [288] | |
| Richard D. Ortiz and Arthur Morawski | July 23, 1983 | Associate | Ortiz had allegedly committed a murder which was not approved by the Outfit. The murder of his friend, Morawski, had not been intended. [289] |
| James "Mugsy" Tortoriello | November 26, 1984 | Soldier | Found in the trunk of a car, shot to death, at a warehouse near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. |
| Anthony Crissie | December 16, 1984 | Associate | Crissie was involved in financing for the Chicago Outfit and served as the manager of a bank in Chicago. Crissie was shot and killed after informing on the Outfit to the FBI and IRS. [290] |
| Leonard "Little Lenny" Yaras | January 10, 1985 | Associate | Yaras was allegedly known as an Outfit enforcer. Yaras was shot several times as he sat in his car. It has been alleged he was skimming profits from the Outfit. |
| Hal Smith | February 7, 1985 | Associate | Bookie Hal Smith, missing since February 7, was found in the trunk of his car on February 10, beaten and tortured to death, allegedly for refusing to pay street tax to the Outfit. [291] [292] |
| Charles "Chuckie English" Inglese | February 13, 1985 [293] | Soldier | Found shot several times in the head, possibly due to a power vacuum. [294] |
| Patrick "Patsy Rich" Ricciardi | July 24, 1985 | Unknown - Associate or Soldier | Shot twice in the back of the head whilst sitting inside of a stolen car, allegedly for skimming extortion money and suspected of being an informant. His body was found in the trunk of a car on July 26, two days after going missing. [295] |
| Mike Lentini | January 13, 1986 | Associate | 44-year old Lentini was shot to death while sitting inside of his car. Unknown why he was killed. |
| Richie DePrizio | January 27, 1986 | Associate | 36-year old DePrizio was shot several times in the head. It is believed he was murdered to prevent possibly testifying against the Outfit during a fraud trial. |
| Joe Cocozza | March 16, 1986 | Associate | Cocozza operated a gasoline station located at the North Side of Chicago. [296] Cocozza was found shot once in the head and killed inside of a car in Evanston, Illinois. It is believed Cocozza was killed for acquiring gambling debts to the Outfit. [297] |
| Emil "Little Mal" Vaci | June 7, 1986 | Associate | Vaci was shot 6 times in the head and killed by Nick Calabrese as the Chicago Outfit administration believed Vaci would become a government witness in an investigation related to a Las Vegas casino skimming operation. [298] [299] [300] [301] [302] Vaci was found in a canal at near 48th Street and Thomas Road in Phoenix, Arizona. |
| Giovanni "Big John" Fecarotta | September 14, 1986 | Soldier | It is believed Fecarotta was killed as a result of botching the Spilotro brother's burial. The crew Fecaroatta used to dispose of the Spilotro brother's bodies allegedly got scared and managed to get themselves lost in the Indiana cornfields, where they were getting rid of the bodies, leaving a half-dug grave which was quickly discovered. [303] Fecarotta was shot 5 times and killed by Nick Calabrese at the doorway of a bingo hall at 6050 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago. [304] [305] |
| Tommy McKillip | November 13, 1986 | Associate | McKillip was possibly murdered to prevent him from testifying against the Outfit for interstate theft. [306] McKillip was found in the trunk of a car outside of a supermarket located at the southeast corner of Dundee and Buffalo Grove roads in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, shot twice in the head and stabbed 5 times in the chest. [307] [308] The murder of McKillip remains unsolved. |
| John Castaldo | September 23, 1987 | Associate | Castaldo owned two beauty salons in River Forest, Illinois. [309] It is believed Castaldo was found shot to death in an alley at 100 block of Frederick Avenue in Bellwood, Illinois before his stolen car racket was taken over by the Chicago Outfit. [310] [311] The murder of Castaldo remains unsolved. |
| Phil Goodman | November 22, 1988 | Associate | Goodman served as an associate of the Chicago Outfit and was associated with Anthony Spilotro, Goodman returned to Chicago after Spilotro's murder in 1986. [312] Goodman was found beaten to death in a hotel room. [313] The murder of Goodman remains unsolved. |
| Jimmy Pellegrino | May 14, 1990 | Associate | Pellegrino was the owner of a trucking firm based in Chicago. Pellegrino was found shot once in the head and killed in the Des Plaines River near the Lawrence Avenue Bridge in June, 1990. [314] [315] [316] It is believed Pellegrino was murdered by Steve Manning, a corrupt Chicago police officer reputedly on the pay-roll of the Chicago Outfit, for descending into an argument together. [317] [318] [319] |
| Sam "Needles" Taglia | November 4-5, 1992 | Associate | Taglia was found shot twice in the head with his throat slashed inside the trunk of his Buick vehicle located at 100 block of North 13th Avenue, Melrose Park, Chicago. [320] [321] Law enforcement have alleged Albert "Albie the Falcon" Vena of being the killer. [322] |
| Giuseppe Vicari | November 5, 1994 | Associate | Vicari was found shot once in the head and killed at his restaurant located at 5243 N. Harlem, Chicago. At the time, Vicari was under indictment for illegal gambling, and he was possibly killed to prevent him from becoming a government witness. [323] [324] [325] |
| Herbert "Fat Herbie" Blitzstein | January 6, 1997 | Associate | It is believed Blitzstein was murdered by the Buffalo and Los Angeles families in order to take over his rackets. Blitzstein was shot once in the head at his home located at 3655 Mt. Vernon Ave, near the intersection of Pecos Road and Twain Avenue, at the Southeast of Nevada, Las Vegas. [326] Law enforcement have said Antonio Davi and Richard Friedman were the killers. |
| Mike Cutler | May 15, 1998 | Civilian | Cutler was shot once in the chest and killed before he was set to testify against the son of Outfit captain Frank "Tootsie" Caruso in an attempted murder trial, located at 5900 block of West Erie Street in Chicago. [327] Caruso had beaten 13-year-old Lenard Clark, a black male who was riding his bike in the neighbourhood of Bridgeport, Chicago, and placed him into a coma, which the police considered as a hate crime. [328] Frank Caruso Jr., who was 18 or 19 years of age at the time, was later convicted of a hate crime and aggravated battery, and he was given an 8-year prison sentence. [329] [330] [331] The murder of Cutler remains unsolved. |
| Ronnie Jarrett | January 25, 2000 [332] | Unknown - Associate or Soldier | Jarrett is shot in December 1999 due to an inner feud with other Outfit members, and dies in January 2000. [333] [334] |
| Anthony "Tony The Hatchet" Chiaramonti | November 22, 2001 | Captain | It is believed the murder of Chiaramonti was ordered by James Marcello or Michael Sarno and he was possibly killed over video poker and loansharking territories, he was shot 5 times and killed inside of a restaurant located at 3850 S. Harlem Ave., Lyons Township, Illinois. [335] Law enforcement have suspected Anthony "Tough Tony" Calabrese as the killer. [336] [337] [338] |
| Anthony Zizzo | August-September, 2006 | Underboss | Zizzo served as the underboss for the Outfit at the time of his death. Zizzo was last seen leaving his house, allegedly to attend a meeting, and his car was found at a restaurant in Melrose Park. [339] It his believed his murder was the result of a dispute with Michael Sarno over video poker machine businesses, or to prevent him from testifying against the Chicago Outfit. [340] Law enforcement have alleged Michael "The Large Guy" Sarno and Joseph "The Builder" Andriacchi were suspects in the murder of Zizzo. |
| Norberto Velez | November 26, 2010 | Associate | Velez allegedly served as an enforcer and debt collector for the Grand Avenue crew during the 2000s. It has been alleged Velez was shot and killed at his apartment located at the 900 block of West Addison Street, Chicago, for owing the Outfit a substantial amount of money, including taking out a loan to finance a drug deal. [341] |
| Bobby "Boo Boo" English Jr. | May 31, 2020 | Associate | English was shot behind the wheel of his car. His murder remains unsolved. [58] |
The Chicago Outfit has a long history of portrayal in Hollywood as the subject of film and television.[ citation needed ]
General:
From 1988 to 1992 the producers of child pornography in the United States found that as a result of aggressive law enforcement, the commercial production and distribution of child sexual abuse images became more difficult, expensive, and very risky. Additionally the reproduction of the child abuse images by child molesters became equally difficult and expensive. Even "The Chicago Outfit" that controlled most of the adult book stores in the United States bowed out of distributing child pornography by finding more customers and a lesser amount of law enforcement scrutiny in selling the other legal varieties of commercial pornography.
Al Capone, ex-Chicago gangster and prohibition era crime leader, died in his home here tonight.
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