@@erics7763 On that one I was wondering if it was because whoever was recording the conversation had an intermittent connection? Maybe if two or three of you record the conversation, then you could pick the best quality version? Just an idea though - I am no production expert. Cheers
I stand corrected, I was one of the people who would argue the point that there is no such thing as 2 bosses in a Cosa Nostra Family, but it was based on the idea of 2 bosses sharing power, the idea of a council was not mentioned, now it makes sense as within this council the 2 most elder, influential and powerful members were Tony Accardo & Paul Ricca
Fantastic episode guys, as ever! You have actually completely revolutionised my view of the Chicago Outfit from being the least traditional family to one of the most traditional 😂. Great discussion on the concept - or concepts - of Consiglieri. I guess it might be interesting to discuss that with Michael DiLeonardo, for at least a late era NY view. Given that he was offered the role he must have a decent understanding of what it meant in that family at that time at least. One other thing, you said that in many families, and I think probably Chicago (my comment is a few days after watching so I may be mixing things with your other episodes), that a hit of a made member had to be approved by the Consiglio. Did you also say elsewhere though that it had to be approved by the Commission? If so, how strictly was that adhered to, because you look at places like Philly under Scarfo and seems pretty out there. And Tony - was great to see your comments under my comment recommending you guys on the Mob Vlog channel! And yes, I said North Side instead of South Side in relation to Capone - doh! Cheers Fellas, from a Brit currently in Romania
Great discussion you guys!! Great content here!! Mikey scars really picked a good name for y'all... You dig DEEP when you're researching!! Please keep these videos coning
When I read about them I thought that was Extremely intelligent to run it that way unlike others. After Al Capone To have three heads Tony Accardo Paul Ricca and Murray Humphreys (a ruling panel) and had a street boss to insulate them using Frank Nitti, Sam Giancana and etc. It wasn't just one head one boss. Smart
LOL what in gods name are you talking about 🤦🏻😆. Humphries was never a boss in the Outfit. Also, the ruling panel was Nitti/Ricca/Campagna. Nitti nor Mooney were ever fronts for anyone. They were the top bosses during their primes. Ricca jockeyed to get nitti to step down. Mooney CHOSE to step down, as he began to view the Mafia as beneath him (Mooney was one of the most famous globetrotting celebrities on planet earth at that point in time; he transcended Cosa Nostra)
Listening to OC Shorts a few months back he discuses Tony Ricci of the Genovese family and Johnny Torrio coming to Chicago in or around 1954 to intervene in a dispute between Paul Ricca and Tony Accardo to prevent bloodshed between the two would you know about this , I was always of the opinion that those two were like two peas in a pod .
Great content again. Loving the videos. Always had an interest in Chicago ever since reading the outfit by gus Russo. Would love to know more about Ross prio but can never find much info on him. Do you know of any articles etc on him online. Many thanks from Liverpool England
Thanks for the comments man. What would you like to know about Prio? For starters I can tell you that Rosario Priolo was his adopted name, he was born Rosario Fabricini in Ciminna, Palermo province, the same town that old time Chicago boss Rosario Dispenza was from. Prio was also close to Gaetano “Black Tom” Oneglia, a capodecina who was also from Ciminna and was killed in the 1940s. Sometime around 1950, so far as we know, Prio became the capodecina of the Northside/Rush St crew and by the 1960s seems to have been a member of Chicago’s Consiglio (ruling council). Prio may also have been a relative of longtime Chicago member Giuseppe Priola (who was from Ficarazzi, next to Villabate where Joe Profaci was from), who died at about 100 years old in 1967 and was the father of Phil Priola who wound up getting made into the Rockford outfit. After Prio died in 1972 he was succeeded as Northside capo by Dom DiBella.
@@Oneleven1 thanks so much for coming back to me this is great stuff. Obviously he was extremely powerful within the outfit but you hardly ever hear him mentioned by anyone else when discussing Chicago which is why i love the content you guys are doing. I suppose I would like to know if there was anything on how he rose through the ranks, what his major rackets were and in general were there any other interesting stories about him or anything he did. Also I'd be interested to know what level you thought his power and influence fell into? Was he on a par with the top top guys like accardo and Ricca? I know these old guys were very shrewd and secretive so I appreciate there might not be a lot of sources to draw on but thought I would ask. Thanks again Jay
@@jamessteele394 As with a lot of Chicago guys, there are major gaps in our knowledge in terms of organizational details, as there were few member sources who told us much. As is often the case, we’re uncertain exactly when Prio was made, though it was most likely in the 1940s - 1950s. After Ricca and Frank Nitto were convicted in the Hollywood extortion case and Nitto killed himself, there was clearly a struggle or internal war for control of the Family. Vincenzo Benevento, a member from Partanna, Trapani, seems to have been a Grand Ave based capo (same neighborhood as Accardo) who fought with Accardo and his faction. A bunch of guys got killed in the mid-1940s over this, including Piro’s paesan’ and probable mentor O’Neglia, though we don’t know who exactly was on what side. Longtime Chicago associate Teddy DeRose informed to the FBI in the 1960s and claimed that Prio and the “three doms” (DiBella, Nuccio, Brancato) had initially been on Benevento’s side but then double-crossed him, leading to them getting rewarded by Accardo. This could mean that Prio was rewarded by getting made, or if he was already made, it led to him being bumped up to capo. It’s hard to say exactly when he was made captain, as Jim DeGeorge and Nick DeJohn were also named by sources as having been captains, though we don’t know that the crews back in the 1940s were necessarily the same ones that we know of later. By sometime in the 50s it’s pretty clear that Prio was a capo. His crew was involved in gambling, juice loans, operating taverns and nightclubs in the Rush St district, prostitution/porn, and likely narcotics. Prio was also a partner or backer, allegedly, of Hugh Hefner’s original Playboy Club in Chicago. There’s every reason to think that Prio was a powerful capo and we have sources that place him as being on Chicago’s Consiglio in the 1960s. He was never a boss of the Family, so in that sense he didn’t have the stature of Ricca and Accardo, but if he hadn’t died in 1972 I think it’s a possibility that he might have wound up boss instead of Aiuppa (if he had, he’d have been the second boss of Chicago from Ciminna, after Rosario Dispenza). But, for all we know maybe he didn’t want the position anyway.
@@jamessteele394 Prio was with the Northside group that he took over after he betrayed them and revealed their plot to take over the Outfit when Ricca and Campagna went to prison around 43. He was given the task to take them out including Oneglia who I don't believe was a capo. Allegedly, Prio tasked the "three Doms" to hunt down and kill everyone involved. We don't know for sure who did the actual job but it somebody in fact, did hunt down 6 or 7 guys and eliminated them. Prio took over but kept a low profile while he amassed billions in today's money with legitimate businesses. He was put into that position so it's difficult to say how much influence and power he held. Like Cerone who was always an underling and never a boss of anything. (Arguably and it will be). The real power of the outfit until the mid fifties were Campagna, Capezio, Claude Maddox and Ricca. Humphreys was a killer who rose to be a bagman. Sorry to all the fans of Russo's book which should have been called the curly Humphrey story, but he was not the Mastermind of the outfit. Frankie Laporte was also very powerful and Chicago Heights could be considered a second family in the outfit but he was very loyal to the old guys. I don't know how much muscle Prio had but there's no way he could compete with Grand Avenue and Cicero on that end. That northsider Insurrection is a very interesting story that I just found out about after studying Chicago mob for the last 40 years
I was unfamiliar with your channel until now and I enjoyed the episode. The only comment I have is that I’ve heard “dark” multiple times describing the Chicago family. Growing up in Chicago, in Italian American family, with all of my family and extended family coming from Italy (with a layover in NY for a yr or so, still have fam there) I was in close proximity of “the boys” since I was a kid. What I always witnessed, were fun times, from a random night of a couple guys playing cards at the house, to a large party, for the most part, the guys that did it right lived a charmed life. The ruling body of La Cosa Nostra, the Outfit, Mafia whatever the heck you want to call it, is violent, no matter what city you’re in. So if killing gives a dark feeling to it, I can’t argue with that, but every city kills as a penalty or inflicts some sort of violence as a penalty. When it came to outfit, business in Chicago, that’s exactly what it was business, not a party. Chicago didn’t do it like other cities put it into the street in front of everybody like a bunch of spaccones! Because they handled it like that maybe it gave a feeling of being dark but I never got that sense, so I’m really not sure. I will also say that a lot of the insight that the general public gets, not necessarily you guys, but the general public got it from the Calabrese family, which was pretty dysfunctional by any standard.
I’ve always read that Gus Alex helped run the family at some point does that mean he was actually sitting in on member meetings? It seems that Chicago took the rules very seriously and he would’ve never been allowed to sit in those meetings. I was always curious about that. Keep up the great work guys. Love the new content.
Great video and discussion! I had to watch it twice to get my thoughts together. I would agree that most of the confusion with the Chicago family, comes with it's administration. I've read quite a bit of conflicting reports over the years. I did have a few questions..... 1) Starting in 1931, after the formation of the Commission, do we have a best guess at the administration? We know that Capone was Boss, I had assumed Nitti was Underboss and Ricca was consigliere? Where would that leave Fishetti and Campagna? Or do we assume that this is where the Consiglio started? 2) The debate between who took over as Boss between Nitti and Ricca after Capone went away is fascinating, I must admit. I’ve now read arguments for both. Maybe Ricca took over as Boss and Nitti stayed Underboss? 3) We DO know that Accardo eventually took over in the 40’s as Boss, do we know who his Underboss was? I had assumed it was Giancana, but according to Roselli, Giancana was a soldier who reported directly to Accardo. I had assumed that Ricca was now acting in the Consigliere role for Accardo. 4) We know that Giancana’s Underboss was Frank Ferraro, when Frank passes is it Sam “Teets” Battaglia who replaces him? Also, this would be where the Consiglio of Accardo and Ricca fill the Consigliere role for Mooney? 5) After Giancana is exiled, you often hear that Accardo and Ricca come back to run the family. Also that FBI document has every position as OPEN in 1969. It would make sense that the Consiglio is now running the family until they establish Joey Aiuppa as the Official Boss? 6) Do we know what year Aiuppa officially takes over as Boss? I’ve heard 71’, 72’ and 73’? 7) Did the Consiglio END after the death of Ricca? I ask this because after Giancana gets whacked in 1975, Johnny Roselli makes it pretty clear to Jimmy Fratianno that the administration now consists of Joey Aiuppa as Boss, Jackie Cerone as Underboss, and Tony Accardo is now the official Consigliere. When Nicky Calabrese flips he doesn’t mention a Consiglio, and states that the family has a Boss, Underboss, Consigliere administration. I’m assuming his knowledge of this would be from the 80’s-2000’s. So I wonder if the Consiglio structure dissolved in favor of a traditional one in the mid 70s. 8) Finally, we do we know who were the undisputed, non contested (Nitti/Ricca) bosses of the family? I had it as, Capone, Accardo, Giancana, Aiuppa, Carlisi, and DiFronzo? Thank you for the excellent podcast!!
Really excellent questions here, thanks for taking the time to engage so thoughtfully and thoroughly with the episode. These are all questions that we have grappled with for years, and to the extent that I can help to shed light on them according to my understanding, I will. As a preface, I should state that the use of the Consiglio was a feature of other Families in both Sicily and the US, so our assumption is that the Consiglio was most likely in Chicago going back to when the mafia arrived from Sicily (for example, in 1926 sources were telling investigators and the press that the “mafia”in Chicago was led by a “council” of shadowy men, which could well be an earlier reference to the Consiglio). 1) The period from 1931 to the 1950s remains murky, as the FBI only began to systematically collect organizational info from the early 60s on. LA member Sal Piscopo, who was a CI in the early 60s, explicitly stated that Ricca was the boss in the 1930s, not Nitto. Piscopo was very close to Roselli for many years and I believe that Piscopo was in the position to know this. Piscopo’s claim is also supported by Bill Bonanno, who has Ricca as Chicago’s Commission representative after Capone, so it seems pretty clear to me that Ricca was the boss (rappresentante). We don’t actually now for sure what rank Nitto held, nor other important guys like D’Andrea, Campagna, Rio, Maritote, Fischetti, Accardo, Capezio. Some of them were presumably capidecina during this period, but we don’t really know who would’ve been sottocapo (though Nitto probably remains the best guess) or chairman of the Consiglio/official Consigliere. Piscopo stated that the other “members of the leadership” of the “Chicago brugad” (borgata) during the 1930s when Ricca was boss were Nitto, Accardo, Charlie Gioe, Campagna, Maritote, and D’Andrea. Note that there are 7 men (Consiglie would have an odd number to avoid a stalled vote), so this may be the closest we’ll get to a strong guess as to who the Consiglio was at this time. These were also the men Bioff stated were present when the plans for the Hollywood extortion stuff was discussed, and I would assume that a racket operation on that scale would require approval from the highest levels of the Family’s leadership. 2) See above 3) For Accardo’s underboss, we don’t know for sure. Giancana is obviously the best guess. But, as you note, Frattiano reported that Roselli claimed that Giancana was a soldier direct to Accardo, which could easily appear to someone that he was the sottocapo. If Frattiano’s claim was correct, was that true for the entire time Accardo was boss (up until 1956), or was Giancana a soldier at first and then UB? IIRC, Bill Bonanno, in “The Last Testament”, directly contradicts himself by stating in separate passages that Giancana was a sottocapo and a capodecina before succeeding Accardo, so he’s not of any help here. Regarding Ricca, I think it’s a good assumption that following his release in 1947 until his death in 1972, he was the chairman of the Consiglio (which seems to have been the equivalent of the official Consigliere in Families that didn’t use the Consiglio), though we don’t know for sure. 4) I think it’s a strong guess that Battaglia succeeded Ferraro as sottocapo, but we don’t know for sure if he was official in that position or just acting, as Chicago’s admin obviously went into crisis when Giancana fled the country in ‘65. Around this time, Augie Maniaci identified as Battaglia as sottocapo, though he seems to have done so before Ferraro died, so I’m not sure what to make of that (he also claimed at this time that Tony DeMonte, Caifano, and Alderisio were capidecina, so he may have been a bit confused about the actual ranks in Chicago). Later, in ‘69, Bompensiero reported that Alderisio had stated that Battaglia had been a acting boss before he was himself jailed, which further supports that Battaglia was possibly sottocapo prior to Giancana leaving. 5) There was CI intel circa 1970 that specifically stated that Accardo and Ricca had come out of “retirement” as acting bosses in Giancana’s absence. We know this from Bompensiero as well, as they were essentially manning the ship until a new boss could formally be appointed (prior candidates like Battaglia and Cerone having been taken out by legal issues). 5) Still haven’t seen a smoking gun for exactly when Aiuppa became official rappresentante. As late as 1974, Bompensiero reported from a conversation with Pilotto that Pilotto, Torello, and Lombardo (all capidecina by that point) were on the council helping Accardo run the Family; Aiuppa wasn’t mentioned. So it’s possible that he wasn’t official until as late as 74-75. 7) Roselli’s admin breakdown isn’t at all inconsistent with having a functioning Consiglio, as so far as we understand the chairman of the Consiglio was the equivalent of the official Consigliere. By this period, I believe that Roselli was also in serious hot water with the Chicago admin, as LaPorte had reported to Accardo that he had to bring an issue with Roselli to the council and that Roselli’s fate was “in their hands” (they were going to hold a vote to decide whether to hit him); clearly, they spared Roselli for the time being, but this didn’t last long (as Frank Calabrese later said “they don’t tell ya a third time”). Therefore, I’m not sure exactly how in the loop Roselli was with ongoing developments in Chicago at the time. I feel pretty confident in interpreting the famous “Last Supper” photo from ‘76 as a meeting of the Consiglio. How long it lasted after that is anyone’s guess; as the use of the Consiglio declined in other Families over time, it probably faded out in Chicago (though I’ve suspected that a less formal vestige could be been present into the ‘90s with guys like Lombardo and LaPietra, but who knows). As you note, Nicky C didn’t mention any council, though of course he was a solider and was also not sure about captains and members outside of his own crew. Chicago’s operational security was clearly very high - guys didn’t gossip much about the formal mafia organization and you certainly did not ask questions. While it’s possible that some sort of council was still meeting into the 80s (and Nick I’d imagine wouldn’t have been told about such things), my guess is that it was in decline if not gone by that time. 8) Yeah, though as per above I think it’s a pretty safe bet to put Ricca in between Capone and Accardo. Following DiFronzo, my understanding is that it was Monteleone and then Tornabene (though the latter may have just been acting for Marcello). Obviously there have been others since, but we generally don’t discuss the living on this show ;)
@@Oneleven1 Awesome! I love this discussion. I just wanted to follow up a bit in response.. 1) That makes sense. It never made sense to me that Nitti held the Boss position until his suicide. I guess my question now turns to the Consiglio itself. If I understand this correctly, there is a head chairman who is also recognized as the official Consigliere to other families, but the other members in the Consiglio are made up of certain soldiers and capos? This board serves to keep the Boss in check and votes on certain issues to overrule the Boss and can go to the Commission and get the Boss removed. Then is the Boss the most powerful position? Or is it the head of the Consiglio? Because often you’ll hear that Sam Giancana and every boss after were merely a “front boss” for Ricca and Accardo. Or you’ll hear that Chicago had a position known as the “top boss”. But that never really made sense to me as we know that Giancana sat on the Commission and had an official seat, why wouldn’t that be the “top boss” position if there was one? This gets confusing so I can understand why so many assume that every boss was just the “front boss” for Ricca and Accardo but if THAT were the case, then who was the Consigliere or head of the Consiglio? We know from Nicky C that the Consigliere was a position in the family and I believe Marco D’Amico was the last. Side note: I just reread Fratianno’s book and in 1960, Roselli said “Sam’s the Boss, but he doesn’t make any big moves without consulting Paul”. To make it even more confusing, Roselli also mentions Nitti in a few parts as well. Clearly Nitti was some part of the Administration. (In 1947, Roselli also claimed that Charles Fishetti was a Caporegime) 3) Are we sure that Accardo takes over as the official Boss in 1947? In 1960, Roselli claims that Giancana started as a soldier in Jack McGurn’s crew (first I’ve heard of McGurn being referenced as a Capo) and eventually started working directly under Accardo in 1953, still as a Soldier. He claims that he himself was never under a Capo either and worked directly for Capone and then Dragna in LA. We know McGurn was murdered in 1936, so there’s a bit of a time gap there. But he says that now Sam has a group of soldiers directly under him (Caifano, Aldersio, Frabotta and Cerone). If Ricca remains the Head of the Consiglio/Consigliere from 1947 to his death in 1972, what does that make Accardo when he steps aside for Giancana in 1956? I thought that at this point Ricca was retired completely and Accardo had become Giancana’s official Consigliere. But if Ricca remains head chairman/elder statesman of the Consiglio, does that mean Accardo is now demoted back to soldier??? How often would a Boss get demoted back to a Soldier? There is a 16 year gap between Accardo stepping down and Ricca’s death. We know Ferraro is the Underboss, so what else would Accardo become? A Capo? 7) I feel like from 1975 to 1986 is the decade when we have the clearest picture of the Chicago Family’s Administration. From what Roselli says in 1975, we have FBI documents from the 80’s that all confirm exactly what he reported. An Aiuppa/Cerone/Accardo administration. Now to make it confusing again, in 1988 when Angelo Lonardo (Cleveland Underboss) testifies. He says that he knew that up to 1983 that Accardo was Boss of the Chicago Family and headed the “Chicago Commission” BUT we have Nicky C in 1983, testifying that at his initiation AIUPPA was the one who was sitting at the table and when asked “At this time was Aiuppa the Boss of the Outfit”, Nicky C says “yes”. So now we’re right back to square one lol. Who the hell was the Boss? If ACCARDO was the real Boss or top boss and Aiuppa was just the “Front Boss”, then who the hell was the Consigliere or Head of the Consiglio. We know that at this time Accardo buys property in Palm Springs, California and moves away.
@@EM-ve9bhnitti was a genius & essentially organized what became known as the Chicago Outfit, via assigning capos to territories that still stand today, for the most part. Ricca pushed him out later on because concerns began to arise regarding Nittis ability to do time
Detroit operated with its Hierarchy in a very similar way… And it was these two Borgatas that really invented the StreetBoss or FrontBoss position. NOT the Genovese Family!
It’s important to know that under Giancana, Milwaukee Phil didn’t answer to anyone but Mooney, but he wasn’t a capo, he and most likely Nicoletti were in charge of enforcement matters. Then spilotro took over that position while still part of the grand ave crew. A very good example of how confusing Chicagos structure is Chicago guys themselves, they are as confused an anyone
From what we know, their families were not from the same town, but from nearby areas in Campania, so they still would’ve considered each other paesani. The Federal government was able to prove that Felice DeLucia was born in Napoli proper, while his sisters were all born in the town of Ottaviano. Willie Messino’s father, Crescenzo Messina, was from Acerra (the hometown of Diamond Joe Esposito, as well as the DeLaurentis, Inendino, and many other families in Chicago), while the parents of his mother Brigida Serpico were from Marigliano (hometown of Genovese captain Ruggiero Boiardo) and San Vitaliano (which borders Scisciano, the hometown of the Ebolis and Ariolas). Unlike most of the members of the Elmwood Park crew, Willie Messino was not from Grand Ave, but rather grew up by Polk and Morgan in the Taylor St “Patch”.
@@billmason6976 Crescenzo “Christ” Messina was born in 1886 in Acerra, and immigrated to the US at NYC around 1902 and married Brigida Serpico in Chicago in 1910. Crescenzo worked as a laborer his whole life, in various industries. In 1940, he was employed in street construction, indicating that he likely had a position with the precursor to the City Streets and San department. He died in Chicago in 1961.
@@billmason6976 He may have heard the story, but Willie was pinched on a robbery charge for sticking a guy up at Albany and Van Buren with another kid named Jimmy Ippolito and sentenced to one year to life in 1935, when he was 19. It was reported that Willie had boasted that he had “political pull” and could “beat any rap”.
I’m not aware that he did. Sonny was 14 when Al was sent away on his tax charges. It’s possible but not confirmed that Sonny’s dad, like Capone, was part of the old Camorra before that was merged with the mafia in the 1920s, so it’s possible that there could have been some connections, though again I’ve seen nothing to demonstrate that. Sonny was locked up in Milan FCI in the 90s with Chicago guys, however, and definitely knew Frank Calabrese Sr (Frank was on wiretap telling Frank Jr about Sonny).
Michael Franzese said that his father told him he met Capone, but the timeline doesn't work. Sonny was wayyy too young and in New York. Sonny was prone to exaggerating. I doubt they ever met.
@@Frodojack always thought that, Michael has said some very obviously untrue tales over the years. Similar to this ‘gangster’ here in England called Dave Courtney, claims he ran with the Kray Twins yet he was a small child when they went away haha
One of the things that drives me crazy the most if the misinformation about the outfit in the 50s and 60s. Please know that Giancana was NOT a puppet for Accardo, that’s a bunch of BS from tv documentaries. Giancana had such a power base on Taylor st by 1938 that it was clear to everyone that he was a man best left alone. If Giancana answers to anyone it was Ricca and it would have been out of respect. In no way, shape or form was Sam second to Accardo. Sam was Accardos underboss while Ricca was in prison and that gave Taylor st even more power. After he took the policy from the blacks, it was over, Mooney was top dog in Chicago. Accardo would have been killed if Mooney wanted that to happen
It isn’t spelled “Catura”, it’s spelled “Catuara”. It’s a surname from Agrigento province in Sicily and that’s how it’s spelled. That was how Vincenzo “James” Catuara, who was from Sant’Angelo Muxaro, Agrigento, spelled it on all of his documents, that was how his father Carmelo Catuara, his uncles, etc., spelled it, because that’s how it’s spelled.
@@maximus3160 Correct; Catuara is a surname specific to the area around the comuni of Raffadali, San Biagio Plàtani, and Sant’Angelo Muxaro in Agrigento province, the latter two of which had a colony on the Southside of Chicago. Jimmy Catuara’s relatives back in the day were in the leadership of the Sant’Angelo Society, formerly located at 28th and Lowe in Bridgeport. There was also a Lucchese member, Salvatore Catuara, with ancestry from the same area of Agrigento who may have been a relative of Jimmy Catuara.
Multiple Chicago CIs in the 60s/70s specifically stated that it was called “the mafia”, as well as “the outfit”, “the family”, and “the life”. “outfit” and “mafia” were used synonymously and interchangeably as they were in other Families like Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, KC, St Louis, LA, etc. This isn’t something that we made up, it’s directly from documented evidence from guys in that life.
Wrong. They had a formal making ceremony since 1933, when they were awarded a Commission seat, and Ricca/Nitti/Campagna organized the formal territories/assigned capo positions. 1933-present day, Chicago has a formal ceremony. You aren’t able to be seated on the Commission without making people & keeping books, it’s very organized.
The Chicago Outfit hasn't been the mafia for over 50 years now. Biggest difference between Chicago and everywhere else is its use of non-Italian and half-Italians in semi-leadership positions and other important jobs. Guys like Harry Aleman, Frank Schweihs, Gus Alex, and Jake Guzik were as powerful as some made men. Nor did they ever refer to themselves as a Family.
@@BostonsF1nest its not a family. An organization, an entity, but not a family. And the Outfit had Gus Alex in charge with Aiuppa back in the early 70s
@@geoff3103 😂 whatever fuckin term you wanna use makes no difference- family, organization, criminal group. It’s all the same thing. It’s a family just like any other mafia family in America. Same hierarchy. Same titles. Same operation.
@@geoff3103 plus Chicago was on the commission back in the day. They adhered to all the same rules and principles as other LCN families. Ppl like you just get hung up on the name “outfit” as if that means they werent a mafia family. Lol it’s ridiculous
@@BostonsF1nest "plus Chicago was on the commission back in the day" Thats a fanboy response. (rolling eyes) Gee really? They were? Sooooooo glad you told me that, golly.
You guys are awesome. I’ve always wanted clarity on the mafia in Chicago and I now have it
No you don’t
@@marcbasil🤣🤣🤣
Hi guys i saw you all on the Scars channel. Great info
What’s up guys Where you been? Looking forward to future content.
This was great. I always wondered how other families other than New York are structured
They’re not structured differently than NY
Great video guys! I’m going prick my finger and take an oath to this channel!!! Love Chi-Town mob info. Ricca is one of OC’s greatest bosses. Bravo 👏🏽
Enjoy the show alot! Love outfit shows! Only negative is he sound quality, but keep at it guys. I'm looking forward to the next one
Thanks, T. This one had some internet connection issues but we're working on some of the tech stuff. Appreciate the feedback.
@@erics7763 On that one I was wondering if it was because whoever was recording the conversation had an intermittent connection? Maybe if two or three of you record the conversation, then you could pick the best quality version? Just an idea though - I am no production expert. Cheers
Amazing content
I stand corrected, I was one of the people who would argue the point that there is no such thing as 2 bosses in a Cosa Nostra Family, but it was based on the idea of 2 bosses sharing power, the idea of a council was not mentioned, now it makes sense as within this council the 2 most elder, influential and powerful members were Tony Accardo & Paul Ricca
Accardo wasn’t an elder when Ricca was around. And he never controlled the outfit
@@marcbasil Ok Boka... He was and he did.
Fantastic episode guys, as ever! You have actually completely revolutionised my view of the Chicago Outfit from being the least traditional family to one of the most traditional 😂. Great discussion on the concept - or concepts - of Consiglieri. I guess it might be interesting to discuss that with Michael DiLeonardo, for at least a late era NY view. Given that he was offered the role he must have a decent understanding of what it meant in that family at that time at least. One other thing, you said that in many families, and I think probably Chicago (my comment is a few days after watching so I may be mixing things with your other episodes), that a hit of a made member had to be approved by the Consiglio. Did you also say elsewhere though that it had to be approved by the Commission? If so, how strictly was that adhered to, because you look at places like Philly under Scarfo and seems pretty out there.
And Tony - was great to see your comments under my comment recommending you guys on the Mob Vlog channel! And yes, I said North Side instead of South Side in relation to Capone - doh!
Cheers Fellas, from a Brit currently in Romania
This is a very interesting and academic discussion of the hierarchy of the Chicago mob…a bit distracted by the forums audio and video glitches.
I appreciate the details into the Outfit. My grandfather was a solider in NY. So it’s interesting learning about the outfit
Good show
Great stuff fellas. Eric bring back the handle bars
Great discussion you guys!! Great content here!! Mikey scars really picked a good name for y'all... You dig DEEP when you're researching!! Please keep these videos coning
Good insight on San Jose. I never knew that. And that’s a family you rarely hear about.
When I read about them I thought that was Extremely intelligent to run it that way unlike others. After Al Capone To have three heads Tony Accardo Paul Ricca and Murray Humphreys (a ruling panel) and had a street boss to insulate them using Frank Nitti, Sam Giancana and etc. It wasn't just one head one boss. Smart
This is a big false narrative going on for years now. Nobody told Giancana what to do. He was the boss
LOL what in gods name are you talking about 🤦🏻😆. Humphries was never a boss in the Outfit. Also, the ruling panel was Nitti/Ricca/Campagna. Nitti nor Mooney were ever fronts for anyone. They were the top bosses during their primes. Ricca jockeyed to get nitti to step down. Mooney CHOSE to step down, as he began to view the Mafia as beneath him (Mooney was one of the most famous globetrotting celebrities on planet earth at that point in time; he transcended Cosa Nostra)
@@marcbasil what's up Boka?
Listening to OC Shorts a few months back he discuses Tony Ricci of the Genovese family and Johnny Torrio coming to Chicago in or around 1954 to intervene in a dispute between Paul Ricca and Tony Accardo to prevent bloodshed between the two would you know about this , I was always of the opinion that those two were like two peas in a pod .
This channel is so dope
Ricca and accardo were the top dogs for decades!! Murray humphreys was also very powerful in his day!
Great content again. Loving the videos. Always had an interest in Chicago ever since reading the outfit by gus Russo. Would love to know more about Ross prio but can never find much info on him. Do you know of any articles etc on him online. Many thanks from Liverpool England
Thanks for the comments man. What would you like to know about Prio? For starters I can tell you that Rosario Priolo was his adopted name, he was born Rosario Fabricini in Ciminna, Palermo province, the same town that old time Chicago boss Rosario Dispenza was from. Prio was also close to Gaetano “Black Tom” Oneglia, a capodecina who was also from Ciminna and was killed in the 1940s. Sometime around 1950, so far as we know, Prio became the capodecina of the Northside/Rush St crew and by the 1960s seems to have been a member of Chicago’s Consiglio (ruling council). Prio may also have been a relative of longtime Chicago member Giuseppe Priola (who was from Ficarazzi, next to Villabate where Joe Profaci was from), who died at about 100 years old in 1967 and was the father of Phil Priola who wound up getting made into the Rockford outfit. After Prio died in 1972 he was succeeded as Northside capo by Dom DiBella.
@@Oneleven1 thanks so much for coming back to me this is great stuff. Obviously he was extremely powerful within the outfit but you hardly ever hear him mentioned by anyone else when discussing Chicago which is why i love the content you guys are doing. I suppose I would like to know if there was anything on how he rose through the ranks, what his major rackets were and in general were there any other interesting stories about him or anything he did. Also I'd be interested to know what level you thought his power and influence fell into? Was he on a par with the top top guys like accardo and Ricca? I know these old guys were very shrewd and secretive so I appreciate there might not be a lot of sources to draw on but thought I would ask. Thanks again
Jay
@@jamessteele394 As with a lot of Chicago guys, there are major gaps in our knowledge in terms of organizational details, as there were few member sources who told us much. As is often the case, we’re uncertain exactly when Prio was made, though it was most likely in the 1940s - 1950s. After Ricca and Frank Nitto were convicted in the Hollywood extortion case and Nitto killed himself, there was clearly a struggle or internal war for control of the Family. Vincenzo Benevento, a member from Partanna, Trapani, seems to have been a Grand Ave based capo (same neighborhood as Accardo) who fought with Accardo and his faction. A bunch of guys got killed in the mid-1940s over this, including Piro’s paesan’ and probable mentor O’Neglia, though we don’t know who exactly was on what side. Longtime Chicago associate Teddy DeRose informed to the FBI in the 1960s and claimed that Prio and the “three doms” (DiBella, Nuccio, Brancato) had initially been on Benevento’s side but then double-crossed him, leading to them getting rewarded by Accardo. This could mean that Prio was rewarded by getting made, or if he was already made, it led to him being bumped up to capo. It’s hard to say exactly when he was made captain, as Jim DeGeorge and Nick DeJohn were also named by sources as having been captains, though we don’t know that the crews back in the 1940s were necessarily the same ones that we know of later. By sometime in the 50s it’s pretty clear that Prio was a capo. His crew was involved in gambling, juice loans, operating taverns and nightclubs in the Rush St district, prostitution/porn, and likely narcotics. Prio was also a partner or backer, allegedly, of Hugh Hefner’s original Playboy Club in Chicago. There’s every reason to think that Prio was a powerful capo and we have sources that place him as being on Chicago’s Consiglio in the 1960s. He was never a boss of the Family, so in that sense he didn’t have the stature of Ricca and Accardo, but if he hadn’t died in 1972 I think it’s a possibility that he might have wound up boss instead of Aiuppa (if he had, he’d have been the second boss of Chicago from Ciminna, after Rosario Dispenza). But, for all we know maybe he didn’t want the position anyway.
@@Oneleven1 amazing stuff thank you so much for taking the time to come back on this older post.
@@jamessteele394 Prio was with the Northside group that he took over after he betrayed them and revealed their plot to take over the Outfit when Ricca and Campagna went to prison around 43.
He was given the task to take them out including Oneglia who I don't believe was a capo. Allegedly, Prio tasked the "three Doms" to hunt down and kill everyone involved. We don't know for sure who did the actual job but it somebody in fact, did hunt down 6 or 7 guys and eliminated them. Prio took over but kept a low profile while he amassed billions in today's money with legitimate businesses. He was put into that position so it's difficult to say how much influence and power he held. Like Cerone who was always an underling and never a boss of anything. (Arguably and it will be). The real power of the outfit until the mid fifties were Campagna, Capezio, Claude Maddox and Ricca. Humphreys was a killer who rose to be a bagman.
Sorry to all the fans of Russo's book which should have been called the curly Humphrey story, but he was not the Mastermind of the outfit. Frankie Laporte was also very powerful and Chicago Heights could be considered a second family in the outfit but he was very loyal to the old guys.
I don't know how much muscle Prio had but there's no way he could compete with Grand Avenue and Cicero on that end.
That northsider Insurrection is a very interesting story that I just found out about after studying Chicago mob for the last 40 years
I was unfamiliar with your channel until now and I enjoyed the episode. The only comment I have is that I’ve heard “dark” multiple times describing the Chicago family. Growing up in Chicago, in Italian American family, with all of my family and extended family coming from Italy (with a layover in NY for a yr or so, still have fam there) I was in close proximity of “the boys” since I was a kid. What I always witnessed, were fun times, from a random night of a couple guys playing cards at the house, to a large party, for the most part, the guys that did it right lived a charmed life.
The ruling body of La Cosa Nostra, the Outfit, Mafia whatever the heck you want to call it, is violent, no matter what city you’re in. So if killing gives a dark feeling to it, I can’t argue with that, but every city kills as a penalty or inflicts some sort of violence as a penalty.
When it came to outfit, business in Chicago, that’s exactly what it was business, not a party. Chicago didn’t do it like other cities put it into the street in front of everybody like a bunch of spaccones! Because they handled it like that maybe it gave a feeling of being dark but I never got that sense, so I’m really not sure. I will also say that a lot of the insight that the general public gets, not necessarily you guys, but the general public got it from the Calabrese family, which was pretty dysfunctional by any standard.
I’ve always read that Gus Alex helped run the family at some point does that mean he was actually sitting in on member meetings? It seems that Chicago took the rules very seriously and he would’ve never been allowed to sit in those meetings. I was always curious about that. Keep up the great work guys. Love the new content.
Great video and discussion! I had to watch it twice to get my thoughts together. I would agree that most of the confusion with the Chicago family, comes with it's administration. I've read quite a bit of conflicting reports over the years. I did have a few questions.....
1) Starting in 1931, after the formation of the Commission, do we have a best guess at the administration? We know that Capone was Boss, I had assumed Nitti was Underboss and Ricca was consigliere? Where would that leave Fishetti and Campagna? Or do we assume that this is where the Consiglio started?
2) The debate between who took over as Boss between Nitti and Ricca after Capone went away is fascinating, I must admit. I’ve now read arguments for both. Maybe Ricca took over as Boss and Nitti stayed Underboss?
3) We DO know that Accardo eventually took over in the 40’s as Boss, do we know who his Underboss was? I had assumed it was Giancana, but according to Roselli, Giancana was a soldier who reported directly to Accardo. I had assumed that Ricca was now acting in the Consigliere role for Accardo.
4) We know that Giancana’s Underboss was Frank Ferraro, when Frank passes is it Sam “Teets” Battaglia who replaces him? Also, this would be where the Consiglio of Accardo and Ricca fill the Consigliere role for Mooney?
5) After Giancana is exiled, you often hear that Accardo and Ricca come back to run the family. Also that FBI document has every position as OPEN in 1969. It would make sense that the Consiglio is now running the family until they establish Joey Aiuppa as the Official Boss?
6) Do we know what year Aiuppa officially takes over as Boss? I’ve heard 71’, 72’ and 73’?
7) Did the Consiglio END after the death of Ricca? I ask this because after Giancana gets whacked in 1975, Johnny Roselli makes it pretty clear to Jimmy Fratianno that the administration now consists of Joey Aiuppa as Boss, Jackie Cerone as Underboss, and Tony Accardo is now the official Consigliere. When Nicky Calabrese flips he doesn’t mention a Consiglio, and states that the family has a Boss, Underboss, Consigliere administration. I’m assuming his knowledge of this would be from the 80’s-2000’s. So I wonder if the Consiglio structure dissolved in favor of a traditional one in the mid 70s.
8) Finally, we do we know who were the undisputed, non contested (Nitti/Ricca) bosses of the family? I had it as, Capone, Accardo, Giancana, Aiuppa, Carlisi, and DiFronzo?
Thank you for the excellent podcast!!
Really excellent questions here, thanks for taking the time to engage so thoughtfully and thoroughly with the episode. These are all questions that we have grappled with for years, and to the extent that I can help to shed light on them according to my understanding, I will. As a preface, I should state that the use of the Consiglio was a feature of other Families in both Sicily and the US, so our assumption is that the Consiglio was most likely in Chicago going back to when the mafia arrived from Sicily (for example, in 1926 sources were telling investigators and the press that the “mafia”in Chicago was led by a “council” of shadowy men, which could well be an earlier reference to the Consiglio).
1) The period from 1931 to the 1950s remains murky, as the FBI only began to systematically collect organizational info from the early 60s on. LA member Sal Piscopo, who was a CI in the early 60s, explicitly stated that Ricca was the boss in the 1930s, not Nitto. Piscopo was very close to Roselli for many years and I believe that Piscopo was in the position to know this. Piscopo’s claim is also supported by Bill Bonanno, who has Ricca as Chicago’s Commission representative after Capone, so it seems pretty clear to me that Ricca was the boss (rappresentante). We don’t actually now for sure what rank Nitto held, nor other important guys like D’Andrea, Campagna, Rio, Maritote, Fischetti, Accardo, Capezio. Some of them were presumably capidecina during this period, but we don’t really know who would’ve been sottocapo (though Nitto probably remains the best guess) or chairman of the Consiglio/official Consigliere. Piscopo stated that the other “members of the leadership” of the “Chicago brugad” (borgata) during the 1930s when Ricca was boss were Nitto, Accardo, Charlie Gioe, Campagna, Maritote, and D’Andrea. Note that there are 7 men (Consiglie would have an odd number to avoid a stalled vote), so this may be the closest we’ll get to a strong guess as to who the Consiglio was at this time. These were also the men Bioff stated were present when the plans for the Hollywood extortion stuff was discussed, and I would assume that a racket operation on that scale would require approval from the highest levels of the Family’s leadership.
2) See above
3) For Accardo’s underboss, we don’t know for sure. Giancana is obviously the best guess. But, as you note, Frattiano reported that Roselli claimed that Giancana was a soldier direct to Accardo, which could easily appear to someone that he was the sottocapo. If Frattiano’s claim was correct, was that true for the entire time Accardo was boss (up until 1956), or was Giancana a soldier at first and then UB? IIRC, Bill Bonanno, in “The Last Testament”, directly contradicts himself by stating in separate passages that Giancana was a sottocapo and a capodecina before succeeding Accardo, so he’s not of any help here. Regarding Ricca, I think it’s a good assumption that following his release in 1947 until his death in 1972, he was the chairman of the Consiglio (which seems to have been the equivalent of the official Consigliere in Families that didn’t use the Consiglio), though we don’t know for sure.
4) I think it’s a strong guess that Battaglia succeeded Ferraro as sottocapo, but we don’t know for sure if he was official in that position or just acting, as Chicago’s admin obviously went into crisis when Giancana fled the country in ‘65. Around this time, Augie Maniaci identified as Battaglia as sottocapo, though he seems to have done so before Ferraro died, so I’m not sure what to make of that (he also claimed at this time that Tony DeMonte, Caifano, and Alderisio were capidecina, so he may have been a bit confused about the actual ranks in Chicago). Later, in ‘69, Bompensiero reported that Alderisio had stated that Battaglia had been a acting boss before he was himself jailed, which further supports that Battaglia was possibly sottocapo prior to Giancana leaving.
5) There was CI intel circa 1970 that specifically stated that Accardo and Ricca had come out of “retirement” as acting bosses in Giancana’s absence. We know this from Bompensiero as well, as they were essentially manning the ship until a new boss could formally be appointed (prior candidates like Battaglia and Cerone having been taken out by legal issues).
5) Still haven’t seen a smoking gun for exactly when Aiuppa became official rappresentante. As late as 1974, Bompensiero reported from a conversation with Pilotto that Pilotto, Torello, and Lombardo (all capidecina by that point) were on the council helping Accardo run the Family; Aiuppa wasn’t mentioned. So it’s possible that he wasn’t official until as late as 74-75.
7) Roselli’s admin breakdown isn’t at all inconsistent with having a functioning Consiglio, as so far as we understand the chairman of the Consiglio was the equivalent of the official Consigliere. By this period, I believe that Roselli was also in serious hot water with the Chicago admin, as LaPorte had reported to Accardo that he had to bring an issue with Roselli to the council and that Roselli’s fate was “in their hands” (they were going to hold a vote to decide whether to hit him); clearly, they spared Roselli for the time being, but this didn’t last long (as Frank Calabrese later said “they don’t tell ya a third time”). Therefore, I’m not sure exactly how in the loop Roselli was with ongoing developments in Chicago at the time.
I feel pretty confident in interpreting the famous “Last Supper” photo from ‘76 as a meeting of the Consiglio. How long it lasted after that is anyone’s guess; as the use of the Consiglio declined in other Families over time, it probably faded out in Chicago (though I’ve suspected that a less formal vestige could be been present into the ‘90s with guys like Lombardo and LaPietra, but who knows). As you note, Nicky C didn’t mention any council, though of course he was a solider and was also not sure about captains and members outside of his own crew. Chicago’s operational security was clearly very high - guys didn’t gossip much about the formal mafia organization and you certainly did not ask questions. While it’s possible that some sort of council was still meeting into the 80s (and Nick I’d imagine wouldn’t have been told about such things), my guess is that it was in decline if not gone by that time.
8) Yeah, though as per above I think it’s a pretty safe bet to put Ricca in between Capone and Accardo. Following DiFronzo, my understanding is that it was Monteleone and then Tornabene (though the latter may have just been acting for Marcello). Obviously there have been others since, but we generally don’t discuss the living on this show ;)
@@Oneleven1 Awesome! I love this discussion. I just wanted to follow up a bit in response..
1) That makes sense. It never made sense to me that Nitti held the Boss position until his suicide. I guess my question now turns to the Consiglio itself. If I understand this correctly, there is a head chairman who is also recognized as the official Consigliere to other families, but the other members in the Consiglio are made up of certain soldiers and capos? This board serves to keep the Boss in check and votes on certain issues to overrule the Boss and can go to the Commission and get the Boss removed.
Then is the Boss the most powerful position? Or is it the head of the Consiglio? Because often you’ll hear that Sam Giancana and every boss after were merely a “front boss” for Ricca and Accardo. Or you’ll hear that Chicago had a position known as the “top boss”. But that never really made sense to me as we know that Giancana sat on the Commission and had an official seat, why wouldn’t that be the “top boss” position if there was one?
This gets confusing so I can understand why so many assume that every boss was just the “front boss” for Ricca and Accardo but if THAT were the case, then who was the Consigliere or head of the Consiglio? We know from Nicky C that the Consigliere was a position in the family and I believe Marco D’Amico was the last.
Side note: I just reread Fratianno’s book and in 1960, Roselli said “Sam’s the Boss, but he doesn’t make any big moves without consulting Paul”.
To make it even more confusing, Roselli also mentions Nitti in a few parts as well. Clearly Nitti was some part of the Administration.
(In 1947, Roselli also claimed that Charles Fishetti was a Caporegime)
3) Are we sure that Accardo takes over as the official Boss in 1947?
In 1960, Roselli claims that Giancana started as a soldier in Jack McGurn’s crew (first I’ve heard of McGurn being referenced as a Capo) and eventually started working directly under Accardo in 1953, still as a Soldier.
He claims that he himself was never under a Capo either and worked directly for Capone and then Dragna in LA. We know McGurn was murdered in 1936, so there’s a bit of a time gap there. But he says that now Sam has a group of soldiers directly under him (Caifano, Aldersio, Frabotta and Cerone).
If Ricca remains the Head of the Consiglio/Consigliere from 1947 to his death in 1972, what does that make Accardo when he steps aside for Giancana in 1956? I thought that at this point Ricca was retired completely and Accardo had become Giancana’s official Consigliere. But if Ricca remains head chairman/elder statesman of the Consiglio, does that mean Accardo is now demoted back to soldier??? How often would a Boss get demoted back to a Soldier? There is a 16 year gap between Accardo stepping down and Ricca’s death. We know Ferraro is the Underboss, so what else would Accardo become? A Capo?
7) I feel like from 1975 to 1986 is the decade when we have the clearest picture of the Chicago Family’s Administration. From what Roselli says in 1975, we have FBI documents from the 80’s that all confirm exactly what he reported. An Aiuppa/Cerone/Accardo administration.
Now to make it confusing again, in 1988 when Angelo Lonardo (Cleveland Underboss) testifies. He says that he knew that up to 1983 that Accardo was Boss of the Chicago Family and headed the “Chicago Commission”
BUT we have Nicky C in 1983, testifying that at his initiation AIUPPA was the one who was sitting at the table and when asked “At this time was Aiuppa the Boss of the Outfit”, Nicky C says “yes”.
So now we’re right back to square one lol. Who the hell was the Boss? If ACCARDO was the real Boss or top boss and Aiuppa was just the “Front Boss”, then who the hell was the Consigliere or Head of the Consiglio. We know that at this time Accardo buys property in Palm Springs, California and moves away.
Nitti was the boss for the press and police, Ricca ran the show, period until Giancana took over. Joe Accardo stepped in for Ricca from time to time
@@SayerofThingswrong
@@EM-ve9bhnitti was a genius & essentially organized what became known as the Chicago Outfit, via assigning capos to territories that still stand today, for the most part. Ricca pushed him out later on because concerns began to arise regarding Nittis ability to do time
Detroit operated with its Hierarchy in a very similar way…
And it was these two Borgatas that really invented the StreetBoss or FrontBoss position.
NOT the Genovese Family!
I miss the 90s Hanging on rush
It’s important to know that under Giancana, Milwaukee Phil didn’t answer to anyone but Mooney, but he wasn’t a capo, he and most likely Nicoletti were in charge of enforcement matters. Then spilotro took over that position while still part of the grand ave crew. A very good example of how confusing Chicagos structure is Chicago guys themselves, they are as confused an anyone
This isn’t true. Alderisio was indeed capo of Taylor St, and briefly became boss of the entire mafia in Chicago
@@marcbasil No he wasn't.
@@maximus3160 yes, he was. Basic Chicago LCN knowledge. What’re you talking about..?
in chicago it was called syndicate was changed to outfit
It’s called that everywhere
Good show but this episode, at times, had to much talking over each other
We're just lucky nobody got violent, it being a Chicago discussion and all.
Ricca and Messino had a bond for the same town in Naples they’re from. The families are still close today.
From what we know, their families were not from the same town, but from nearby areas in Campania, so they still would’ve considered each other paesani. The Federal government was able to prove that Felice DeLucia was born in Napoli proper, while his sisters were all born in the town of Ottaviano. Willie Messino’s father, Crescenzo Messina, was from Acerra (the hometown of Diamond Joe Esposito, as well as the DeLaurentis, Inendino, and many other families in Chicago), while the parents of his mother Brigida Serpico were from Marigliano (hometown of Genovese captain Ruggiero Boiardo) and San Vitaliano (which borders Scisciano, the hometown of the Ebolis and Ariolas). Unlike most of the members of the Elmwood Park crew, Willie Messino was not from Grand Ave, but rather grew up by Polk and Morgan in the Taylor St “Patch”.
@@Oneleven1wow super cool I’ve heard his grandson say Acerra. You guys got some good info!
Do you know what profession Crescenzo Messino was in
@@billmason6976 Crescenzo “Christ” Messina was born in 1886 in Acerra, and immigrated to the US at NYC around 1902 and married Brigida Serpico in Chicago in 1910. Crescenzo worked as a laborer his whole life, in various industries. In 1940, he was employed in street construction, indicating that he likely had a position with the precursor to the City Streets and San department. He died in Chicago in 1961.
@@billmason6976 He may have heard the story, but Willie was pinched on a robbery charge for sticking a guy up at Albany and Van Buren with another kid named Jimmy Ippolito and sentenced to one year to life in 1935, when he was 19. It was reported that Willie had boasted that he had “political pull” and could “beat any rap”.
I know this is off-topic but did Sonny Franzese know Al Capone?
yes he did
I’m not aware that he did. Sonny was 14 when Al was sent away on his tax charges. It’s possible but not confirmed that Sonny’s dad, like Capone, was part of the old Camorra before that was merged with the mafia in the 1920s, so it’s possible that there could have been some connections, though again I’ve seen nothing to demonstrate that. Sonny was locked up in Milan FCI in the 90s with Chicago guys, however, and definitely knew Frank Calabrese Sr (Frank was on wiretap telling Frank Jr about Sonny).
Michael Franzese said that his father told him he met Capone, but the timeline doesn't work. Sonny was wayyy too young and in New York. Sonny was prone to exaggerating. I doubt they ever met.
@@Frodojack always thought that, Michael has said some very obviously untrue tales over the years. Similar to this ‘gangster’ here in England called Dave Courtney, claims he ran with the Kray Twins yet he was a small child when they went away haha
@@NiktheEnglishGreekCypriot It's possible that Sonny told Michael some tall tales.
At this point in time, there must be only 10 members left of the Chicago mob.
One of the things that drives me crazy the most if the misinformation about the outfit in the 50s and 60s. Please know that Giancana was NOT a puppet for Accardo, that’s a bunch of BS from tv documentaries. Giancana had such a power base on Taylor st by 1938 that it was clear to everyone that he was a man best left alone. If Giancana answers to anyone it was Ricca and it would have been out of respect. In no way, shape or form was Sam second to Accardo. Sam was Accardos underboss while Ricca was in prison and that gave Taylor st even more power. After he took the policy from the blacks, it was over, Mooney was top dog in Chicago. Accardo would have been killed if Mooney wanted that to happen
Nonsense
@@maximus3160not all of it. But much of what this guy says is. However, Mooney was almighty
Sam Giancana wacking accardo? You lost your mind. If Giancana was so powerful he would not have been taken out the way he was.
@thechi2848 Cia job. Look at all the People connected to jfk that were killed around the church committee time.
I know all the details of the NY 5 families. But Chicago I know zero.
Damn! They killed "hacksaw" Jim's dad. They're lucky he didn't grab his flag and his 2 x 4 piece of wood and come looking for them 👍Hoooiooooooo!!!
Catura. It’s sounds like it’s spell don’t put any Italian on it. CAT- URA
It isn’t spelled “Catura”, it’s spelled “Catuara”. It’s a surname from Agrigento province in Sicily and that’s how it’s spelled. That was how Vincenzo “James” Catuara, who was from Sant’Angelo Muxaro, Agrigento, spelled it on all of his documents, that was how his father Carmelo Catuara, his uncles, etc., spelled it, because that’s how it’s spelled.
No it's not it's Catuara... goof
@@maximus3160 Correct; Catuara is a surname specific to the area around the comuni of Raffadali, San Biagio Plàtani, and Sant’Angelo Muxaro in Agrigento province, the latter two of which had a colony on the Southside of Chicago. Jimmy Catuara’s relatives back in the day were in the leadership of the Sant’Angelo Society, formerly located at 28th and Lowe in Bridgeport. There was also a Lucchese member, Salvatore Catuara, with ancestry from the same area of Agrigento who may have been a relative of Jimmy Catuara.
For starters,.......you NEVER EVER call the thing in Chicago "The Mafia"!
Multiple Chicago CIs in the 60s/70s specifically stated that it was called “the mafia”, as well as “the outfit”, “the family”, and “the life”. “outfit” and “mafia” were used synonymously and interchangeably as they were in other Families like Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, KC, St Louis, LA, etc. This isn’t something that we made up, it’s directly from documented evidence from guys in that life.
I’m
Guys in Chicago weren’t “made” until the 80s when they started the ceremony. Before that a guy would be known as a “mustache”
Wrong. They had a formal making ceremony since 1933, when they were awarded a Commission seat, and Ricca/Nitti/Campagna organized the formal territories/assigned capo positions. 1933-present day, Chicago has a formal ceremony. You aren’t able to be seated on the Commission without making people & keeping books, it’s very organized.
The Chicago Outfit hasn't been the mafia for over 50 years now. Biggest difference between Chicago and everywhere else is its use of non-Italian and half-Italians in semi-leadership positions and other important jobs. Guys like Harry Aleman, Frank Schweihs, Gus Alex, and Jake Guzik were as powerful as some made men. Nor did they ever refer to themselves as a Family.
They were a family tho. Out of all the families in America the only one to ever actually name a non Italian an actual boss was Boston- Frank Salemme
@@BostonsF1nest its not a family. An organization, an entity, but not a family. And the Outfit had Gus Alex in charge with Aiuppa back in the early 70s
@@geoff3103 😂 whatever fuckin term you wanna use makes no difference- family, organization, criminal group. It’s all the same thing. It’s a family just like any other mafia family in America. Same hierarchy. Same titles. Same operation.
@@geoff3103 plus Chicago was on the commission back in the day. They adhered to all the same rules and principles as other LCN families. Ppl like you just get hung up on the name “outfit” as if that means they werent a mafia family. Lol it’s ridiculous
@@BostonsF1nest "plus Chicago was on the commission back in the day" Thats a fanboy response. (rolling eyes) Gee really? They were? Sooooooo glad you told me that, golly.