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Chicago Outfit

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The Chicago Outfit is a crime syndicate that has a long and extensive history dating back to long before Prohibition and part of the U.S. phenomenon known as the Mafia. However, the Chicago Outfit is distinct from its cousins, the "Five Families" of New York's La Cosa Nostra.

The Chicago Outfit's power and influence rivals the New York Mafia. It is the only criminal organization that has a monopoly of traditional organized crime in their home city of Chicago, whereas the Five Families compete with each other for control of racketeering activities in New York. The Outfit's control reportedly reaches throughout the central U.S. to places as far away as Las Vegas and parts of Florida.

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[edit] Impact of the Chicago Outfit

The most well known impact would be during the Prohibition era when Al Capone monopolized the sale of illegal liquor in Chicago.

Allegations of voting fraud in the 1960 presidential election

Control of casinos in Las Vegas and the embezzlement of millions of dollars over the course of years

Alleged involvement in the Kennedy assassination

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[edit] History of the Chicago Outfit

[edit] Pre-Prohibition

The early years of organized crime in Chicago were marked by the division of various street gangs controlling the South Side and North Side as well the Black Hand organizations of “Little Italy”, before James Colosimo centralized control in the early 20th century.

"Big Jim", as he would later be nicknamed, was born in Calabria, Italy in 1877, emigrating to Chicago in 1895, where he became a criminal. By 1909 he was successful enough that he was encroaching on the criminal activity of the Black Hand.

This required the procurement of extra muscle, which came in the form of Colosimo's nephew Johnny Torrio 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 bootlegging, which Colosimo staunchly opposed. Torrio arranged for Frankie Yale to kill Colosimo, ending the argument.

Colosimo's mark on Chicago in general and on the criminal element specifically is quite indelible in that it was "Big Jim" who brought together differing parts of Chicago criminal activity.

[edit] Torrio-Capone and the birth of the Chicago Outfit

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 Bugs Moran and 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 due to witness intimidation and the bribing of city officials.

Capone's reign came to an end when Eliot Ness of the Bureau of Prohibition devised a strategy of using the Supreme Court's 1927 decision on the bootlegger Manny Sullivan (Sullivan had argued that the Fifth Amendment prevented him from reporting how much income tax evasion he had engaged in). Ralph Capone and a number of the other Outfit members were soon indicted, but Capone went unscathed until June 1931, when he was indicted for concealing more than $165,000 from the IRS.

[edit] From Accardo to Giancana Era

After Capone was jailed, Frank Nitti moved the Outfit into labor racketeering, gambling, and other things like exploitative loan sharking. Geographically, this was the period when the Outfit extended its tendrils to Milwaukee and Madison, and Kansas City, and especially in Hollywood and other Californian cities, where the Outfit's control of labor unions gave it leverage over movie production.

In the 1960s, the Outfit reached its apogee under Tony Accardo. With the aid of Meyer Lansky he 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 '70s and '80s would be a bad 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 sport betting did not replace the lost profits.

[edit] Recent years

Mobsters James Marcello, Nicholas Ferriola, Joseph "The Clown" Lombardo, Michael "Mickey" Marcello, Frank "The German" Schweihs, Frank "Gumba" Saladino, Frank Calabrese, Sr., Paul "the Indian" Schiro, former CPD officers Anthony "Twan" Doyle, and Michael Ricci, Thomas Johnson, Joseph Venezia, and Dennis Johnson are under indictment as of April 25, 2005 in connection with eighteen murders stretching back four decades.

Two among the indicted have died. Frank "Gumba" Saladino was found dead in a hotel in Hampshire, Illinois. FBI agent Robert Grant said there was no indication of foul play, and he did not believe Saladino, 59, had killed himself. Grant said $25,000 in cash and $70,000 in checks were recovered at the scene. Michael Ricci has also died.

In April 2005, federal indictments for racketeering and murder were brought upon many top mobsters for gangland slayings including Michael Albergo, Dan Seifert, Paul Haggerty, Henry Consentino, John Mendell, Donald Renno, Vincent Moretti, William and Charlotte Dauber, William "Butch" Petrocelli, Michael Cagnoni, Nicholas D'Andrea, Richard D. Ortiz, Arthur Morawski, Emil Vaci, Anthony Spilotro, Michael Spilotro and John Fecarotta [1].

[edit] Bosses of the Chicago Outfit

It has been alleged by law enforcement authorities that John "No Nose" DiFronzo, age 77, James "Little Jimmy" Marcello, age 62 and Joseph "The Clown" Lombardo, age 77, run the Outfit in tandem since 2003. Joseph Lombardo was indicted April 26, 2005, went on the lam and was arrested January 13, 2006 in Elmwood Park, Chicago. Seventy one year old Outfit Lt., Anthony "Little Tony" Zizzo disappeared en route to a Northside, Rush St. area meeting on August 31, 2006. Zizzo, who's SUV was found abandoned in a Division St., Westside suburban parking lot had been mislabeled as the Outfit's #2 man or Underboss by the media.


[edit] Note

  • This is not official. The Chicago Crime Commission identified John "No Nose" DiFronzo as Boss in 1997. It is speculated that either, John DiFronzo, James Marcello or Joseph Lombardo may be the current Outfit Boss. The Federal Bureau of Investigations claims that James Marcello is Boss of the Oufit. It is also speculated that the Outfit is led by a triumvirate of John Difronzo, Joseph Lombardo and Joseph Andriacchi, with James Marcello as front boss. In recent recordings made by law enforcement in the Family Secrets Case, Oufit members have identified DiFronzo as Boss, Marcello as Underboss & Lombardo as Consigliere, but since the Ricca-Accardo era, the Conigliere has also held the top position and Joey Lombardo may be the real Boss. All that is known for certain is that the Outfit controls 3 territories divided by the major highways, the territories of West Side, Dupage County, South Side, S. of Eisenhower, NW Indiana & North Side, Elmwood Park, Lake County, which are overseen by area bosses who control street bosses or Lt.s with crews of soldiers.

[edit] Consigliere

Unlike most Cosa Nostra Families in the U.S., the status of consigliere has been unique. Starting with Accardo who followed the advice of Paul Ricca to lower his profile and appoint Sam Giancana as boss, the position shifted importance. While far from being an inadequate boss, Accardo was a retired or senior member in a way, advising, but still with first recommendation and final say on all major business deals, assassinations, and so on. Accardo retained his power, but the limelight was off him. This still applies today. The Outfit has had fewer consiglieres than bosses mostly because of Accardo's long life and his inability to be incarcerated by authorities.

  1. Antonio Lombardo (1925-28) (killed)
  2. Charles "Charlie the Gentleman" Fischetti (1928-46) (died 1951)
  3. Paul "The Waiter" Ricca (1947-57) (senior advisor 1957-72) (died)
  4. Tony "Joe Batters" Accardo (1957-92) (died)
  5. Joseph "Joey Doves" Aiuppa (1992-97) (died)
  6. Angelo "the Hook" LaPietra (1997-99) (died)
  7. Joseph "The Clown" Lombardo (1999-Present)

[edit] Members

[edit] Associates

[edit] Areas

Territories are divided by the major highways

  • Westside, Dupage County
  • Southside, S. of Eisenhower, NW Indiana
  • Northside, Elmwood Park, Lake County

Respected Chicago Outfit member Anthony "Tony" Centracchio was Westside Area Boss from 1990 until he died on August 6, 2001, age 78. Feared Outfit enforcer, gambling kingpin and loanshark John "Johnny Apes" Monteleone was Southside Area Boss from 1994 until he died in January 2001, age 82. Monteleone was replaced by Anthony "Tony the Hatch" Chiaramonti, but he was murdered on November 20, 2001. Highly respected and low key Outfit member Joseph "Joe the Builder" Andriacchi, age 74, was promoted to Northside Area Boss in 1992 and currently holds the position. Law enforcement authorities have not named the current Westside and Southside Area Bosses.

[edit] Crews

The Outfit was made up of 6 crews:

  • Westside
  1. Cicero/Melrose Park Crew
  2. Grand Ave. Crew
  • Southside
  1. Chinatown/26th St./Southside Crew
  2. Chicago Heights Crew
  • Northside
  1. Rush St./Northside Crew
  2. Elmwood park Crew

The major highways divided up the 3 territories. However, since 1990, the number of crews have reduced from six to five, with the crews overseen by Street Bosses. The Chicago Heights crew merged with the Chinatown/26th St./Southside Crew after the 1990 imprisonment of Street Boss Albert "Caesar" Tocco, creating one large crew to oversee operations in the Southside area.

[edit] Current Street Bosses

  • Westside
  1. Cicero/Melrose Park Crew - Michael "Mickey" Marcello (56) (indicted and jailed April 26, 2005, in family secrets case).
  2. Grand Ave. Crew - Vincent "Jimmy" Cozzo (70)
  • Southside
  1. Chinatown/26th St./Chicago Heights/Southside Crew - Frank "Toots" Caruso Jr. (60)
  • Northside
  1. Rush St./Northside Crew - John "Pudge" Matassa Jr. (55)
  2. Elmwood Park Crew - Rudolph "Rudy" Fratto

[edit] In popular culture

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • Binder, John. The Chicago Outfit. Arcadia Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0-7385-2326-7
  • Russo, Gus. The Outfit: The Role of Chicago's Underworld in the Shaping of Modern America, Bloomsbury USA, 2002.
  • Mark Lombardi: Global Networks. Mark Lombardi, Robert Carleton Hobbs, Judith Richards; Independent Curators, 2003. (published for the travelling exhibition of his work, "Mark Lombardi Global Networks"). ISBN 0-916-36567-0

[edit] External links

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