Chicago Outfit Information, 1971-1972

[Frank]

Nicoletti went down the tubes real quick.

[Snakes]

Nicoletti went down the tubes real quick.

My opinion, from what I can gather from the files, is that he was in fairly good standing in the early seventies. Then, his stature went down pretty quickly. This may be for a couple of reasons, which I will elaborate on here:

1) He may have been miffed at Accardo choosing Aiuppa to be the top boss. However, we also know that Nicoletti wasn't necessarily craving the top position but when push came to shove, that may have been all smoke and mirrors. There are several instances in life of someone outwardly not wanting something but being inwardly upset if that something is given to someone else.

2) There may have been discontent between Nicoletti and the bosses over Giancana's death. The bosses may have thought "If you aren't with us, you're against us." Aiuppa may have also viewed him as a potential rival, particularly if he had control over the younger "hitters" of the organization as alluded to in several files and articles. Additionally, if the bosses viewed him as "weak," there was potential that he could be upset enough about Giancana to talk (see also, below). Therefore, he needed to be eliminated.

3) They may have found out he was informing in some capacity. I, personally, haven't seen any files that indicate this but I know Antilliar has and I see no reason to doubt him. The Outfit had a lot of connections in law enforcement at the time and may have discovered that he was a possible informant. Even if they suspected him as such, they could pair that with either of the above two reasons and develop an excuse to have him killed.

[Antiliar]

IN 1986 Federal prosecutors gave the federal court in Kansas City documents to keep Aiuppa in prison. It included documentation that Nicoletti was an informant. An FBI agent testified in an affidavit that Nicoletti was suspected to have been an informant and that Aiuppa approved his murder, along with the murders of several others such as Sam Giancana, Marty Buccieri, and George Vandermark of the Stardust Casino. Nicholas Gage reported in the New York Times in 1977 that Nicoletti was an informant. There was a secretary at the FBI who passed info to the mob.

[Villain]

IN 1986 Federal prosecutors gave the federal court in Kansas City documents to keep Aiuppa in prison. It included documentation that Nicoletti was an informant. An FBI agent testified in an affidavit that Nicoletti was suspected to have been an informant and that Aiuppa approved his murder, along with the murders of several others such as Sam Giancana, Marty Buccieri, and George Vandermark of the Stardust Casino. Nicholas Gage reported in the New York Times in 1977 that Nicoletti was an informant. There was a secretary at the FBI who passed info to the mob.

In the end, the old theory came out to be true that guys who were involved with the CIA usually snitched and were killed because of that

[Snakes]

IN 1986 Federal prosecutors gave the federal court in Kansas City documents to keep Aiuppa in prison. It included documentation that Nicoletti was an informant. An FBI agent testified in an affidavit that Nicoletti was suspected to have been an informant and that Aiuppa approved his murder, along with the murders of several others such as Sam Giancana, Marty Buccieri, and George Vandermark of the Stardust Casino. Nicholas Gage reported in the New York Times in 1977 that Nicoletti was an informant. There was a secretary at the FBI who passed info to the mob.

Thanks. I have that affidavit but it is entirely redacted.

[SolarSolano]

Niccoletti was also a drinker who was openly drunk at bars and clubs in Melrose Park and other places. Those Taylor Street guys all began falling fairly soon after Giancana was killed.

[Antiliar]

IN 1986 Federal prosecutors gave the federal court in Kansas City documents to keep Aiuppa in prison. It included documentation that Nicoletti was an informant. An FBI agent testified in an affidavit that Nicoletti was suspected to have been an informant and that Aiuppa approved his murder, along with the murders of several others such as Sam Giancana, Marty Buccieri, and George Vandermark of the Stardust Casino. Nicholas Gage reported in the New York Times in 1977 that Nicoletti was an informant. There was a secretary at the FBI who passed info to the mob.

In the end, the old theory came out to be true that guys who were involved with the CIA usually snitched and were killed because of that

Nicoletti was already on thin ice for approving the murder of Ned Bakes, according to one source. So I don't think his killing had anything to do with the CIA.

[SolarSolano]

Ned Bakes aka Iggy Spachese right? He was a close friend of Aiuppa and a Melrose guy - I'm not sure that helped. Niccoletti was a Taylor Street guy - its interesting to see these guys from other areas move in and take over and how many toes they step on.

[Antiliar]

Ned Bakes aka Iggy Spachese right? He was a close friend of Aiuppa and a Melrose guy - I'm not sure that helped. Niccoletti was a Taylor Street guy - its interesting to see these guys from other areas move in and take over and how many toes they step on.

Nicoletti took over the Willie Daddono crew, and he was almost an acting underboss while Cerone was in prison. He apparently was demoted after the Ned Bakes killing and may have started talking around that time.

[SolarSolano]

Nicoletti's nephew was Matt Raimondi, who was a major bookamaker Tony Spilotro ran with for years.

[Antiliar]

Guys appear to have moved between crews. Spilotro seems to have been under Buccieri, but after he was made he was with Battaglia and Alderisio. Nicoletti seems to have been most closely associated with the Battaglia crew, but was put in charge of the Daddono crew. The most obvious example of crew switching is Angelo LaPietra, who went from Buccieri/Torello to Chinatown, and he took several men with him, including the Calabrese brothers.

[cavita]

If Nicoletti was killed on the supposition of informing, was there no repercussions for his sponsor or his boss or is that not a Chicago thing? I know in other families the sponsor would have been killed for this, but I imagine Nicoletti's sponsor was long since dead.

[SolarSolano]

Guys appear to have moved between crews. Spilotro seems to have been under Buccieri, but after he was made he was with Battaglia and Alderisio. Nicoletti seems to have been most closely associated with the Battaglia crew, but was put in charge of the Daddono crew. The most obvious example of crew switching is Angelo LaPietra, who went from Buccieri/Torello to Chinatown, and he took several men with him, including the Calabrese brothers.

It's not always guys switching crews - in the Outfit, your success was tied to your crew and crews took over new territories and fought it out on a regular basis. I always thought the Outfit's crews operated like the Five Families - and Accardo like the head of the commission who had a final say. Crews generally had separate rackets and separate guys - they often went to war.

LaPietra grew up on Taylor Street but spent his formative years in Cicero. When his crew, the Buccieri/Cicero Crew, took over the Outfit, Angelo got a big spot there in Chinatown and took over. When Angelo and his brother were dead, another Cicero guy - Monteleone - took over Chinatown (but Monteleone never moved to Chinatown because he was from Cicero and stayed there). They never switched crews - the Cicero crew simply swallowed up Chinatown under LaPietra, while Ferriola and other loyal Buccieri guys took over Taylor Street and Chicago Heights.

You saw the North Side guys fall in with Grand Avenue and Elmwood Park when Solano was gone.

[Villain]

IN 1986 Federal prosecutors gave the federal court in Kansas City documents to keep Aiuppa in prison. It included documentation that Nicoletti was an informant. An FBI agent testified in an affidavit that Nicoletti was suspected to have been an informant and that Aiuppa approved his murder, along with the murders of several others such as Sam Giancana, Marty Buccieri, and George Vandermark of the Stardust Casino. Nicholas Gage reported in the New York Times in 1977 that Nicoletti was an informant. There was a secretary at the FBI who passed info to the mob.

In the end, the old theory came out to be true that guys who were involved with the CIA usually snitched and were killed because of that

Nicoletti was already on thin ice for approving the murder of Ned Bakes, according to one source. So I don't think his killing had anything to do with the CIA.

So what was the reason? Snitching or Bakes' murder? Or both? Lol

I also don't believe in coincidences.... especially in the Giancana, Nicoletti and Roselli hits

[Antiliar]

How LaPietra came to take control of Chinatown is debatable. Skid Caruso had health problems before passing away and his crew didn't have any respected leaders to succeed him. I could see Aiuppa or Carlisi moving LaPietra to head a different crew. Even if a crew expanded territory, it's not going to happen without the boss's approval. At any rate, after Monteleone it went back to the Caruso family. As far as I know, Caruso may have shut down the crew, leaving it open to whoever wants it.

Regarding the North Side, conflicting reports say that John Matassa took over after Solano, then it was disbanded, just like Chicago Heights. Whoever was still active had to join a different crew.