Chicago Outfit Information, 1971-1972

[Antiliar]

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

I think the Bakes killing resulted in a demotion and the snitching resulted in his own murder.

[SolarSolano]

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.

Skid actually worked for Gus Alex I believe - who was a real Chinatown native - I believe when Alex went up to the top, Skid was likely put under Cicero and Buccieri's group early. I don't think Skid was a 'boss' outside of his neighborhood - he kicked up to Alex.

[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.

Skid actually worked for Gus Alex I believe - who was a real Chinatown native - I believe when Alex went up to the top, Skid was likely put under Cicero and Buccieri's group early. I don't think Skid was a 'boss' outside of his neighborhood - he kicked up to Alex.

How do you explain that Skid Caruso became boss of the Chinatown crew shortly after the previous capo, Bruno Roti (his father-in-law), died? This was in 1957 when Alex was still under Murray Humphreys.

[Snakes]

I think that Skid wasn't on as high a level as the "big" territorial bosses (Buccieri, Aiuppa, etc.) but he was a step above your run of the mill Outfit guy. Once I read more information on him I didn't really see any consistent association with Buccieri at all.

[SolarSolano]

At that point it was all about the Wards - the 11th Ward was one of the Outfit's strongest and that was Gus Alex and Frank Ferraro (Humphreys would have been an advisor by the late 50s). I always had the impression the connection guys got the pick of the litter in the rackets - Alex and Ferraro still were the bosses in that area and Skid Caruso ran the rackets kicking up to them. Maybe Skid ran the 26th Street Crew with Poopie Maenza but I had always read he was subservient to the Connection Guys because his gambling operations were in their ward. That said - I could be wrong, you could be right that they were separate.

[Snakes]

I think he had some gambling operations that he kicked up to Alex but he also had his own thing going too.

[Antiliar]

I think that Skid wasn't on as high a level as the "big" territorial bosses (Buccieri, Aiuppa, etc.) but he was a step above your run of the mill Outfit guy. Once I read more information on him I didn't really see any consistent association with Buccieri at all.

Maybe technically by rank he was at the same level as Buccieri and Aiuppa, but his crew seems to have been less active and less expansionist, not to mention being much smaller. It seems that the only aggressive member was Catuara, so that many thought he was a boss.

[SolarSolano]

Poopie Maenza was also extremely aggressive and under Skids - I believe he was a cop killer. I agree with Cataura he sounds like a nut.

The source for Caruso being under Alex and Ferraro was the large investigation they did into Alex and his various interests - I've been reading these things nonstop wish they weren't so redacted.
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... 2Poopie%22

[Snakes]

I think that Skid wasn't on as high a level as the "big" territorial bosses (Buccieri, Aiuppa, etc.) but he was a step above your run of the mill Outfit guy. Once I read more information on him I didn't really see any consistent association with Buccieri at all.

Maybe technically by rank he was at the same level as Buccieri and Aiuppa, but his crew seems to have been less active and less expansionist, not to mention being much smaller. It seems that the only aggressive member was Catuara, so that many thought he was a boss.

Didn't Catuara float back and forth between Caruso and LaPorte? I don't have much on Catuara. It seemed like where he operated was on the fringe between the two territories.

[SolarSolano]

Cataura I believe was from the Heights - or started there at least. There is a famous photo of him in his 20s with some other Heights guys in a book I have by Matt Luzi, who is an excellent guy and great source. There is another notable Outfit guy who operated in Blue Island (cannot think of his name but Crackers Mendino was his enforcer and he ran garbage and gambling) and seemed to have his own territory. I think Chicago was a lot looser than people think and probably a lot of guys ran smaller crews with freedom - it was all about who was kicking into the clique.

[Snakes]

You thinking of George Tuffanelli from Blue Island?

[Antiliar]

I think that Skid wasn't on as high a level as the "big" territorial bosses (Buccieri, Aiuppa, etc.) but he was a step above your run of the mill Outfit guy. Once I read more information on him I didn't really see any consistent association with Buccieri at all.

Maybe technically by rank he was at the same level as Buccieri and Aiuppa, but his crew seems to have been less active and less expansionist, not to mention being much smaller. It seems that the only aggressive member was Catuara, so that many thought he was a boss.

Didn't Catuara float back and forth between Caruso and LaPorte? I don't have much on Catuara. It seemed like where he operated was on the fringe between the two territories.

Originally Catuara appears to have been associated with Chinatown or whatever crew Jimmy Belcastro was with, until he went to prison. When he came out he helped run Calumet City for John Roberts (Roberto), the then-capo of the Chicago Heights crew. At some point, maybe in 1957 when Roberts died, Catuara became associated with Chinatown.

[Villain]

I also read about two other versions regarding Nicolettis demise, one being the unsanctioned hit on some member in Milwaukee I think, and the other was narcotics. There was also some beef between Alex and Nicoletti

In addition, Caruso worked for Alex, while back in the days both Sam Hunt and Murray Humphreys kicked up to Roti Sr. Later Ferraro and Humphreys took the crew from Roti, and after their deaths, Alex inherited it.

The Buccieri crew had interests in Chinatown since the 1940s. After Caruso, they completely took over his territory and crew, which was probably a deal between Alex and the Buccieris. By the late 60s Caruso's crew wasn't small at all since it included Cordovano, Maenza, Morris and Pete Caruso, Lamantia, Scalfaro, Garafolo, Tony Barbara, Piggy Joyce, Rancatore, Marassa, Ranza Mack, Sparacino etc.

Catuara was in Chinatown since day one, he later simply switched crews, from Belcastros to the Chicago Heights Mob until his demise. When he switched to Emery, he also received interests in Calumet City. Maybe someone can correct me on this, but I also don't think that John Roberto died in 57, but instead it was Emery aka Ammirato or whatever, and was officially succeeded by LaPorte. The Emery/Roberto/LaPorte situation again confirms the major or territorial bosses theory.

[SolarSolano]

You thinking of George Tuffanelli from Blue Island?

Yes George "Babe" Tuffanelli - he always seemed to run a subcrew of Chicago Heights - I believe he was another native of the Hungry Hill neighborhood in Chicago Heights.

[Villain]

You thinking of George Tuffanelli from Blue Island?

Yes George "Babe" Tuffanelli - he always seemed to run a subcrew of Chicago Heights - I believe he was another native of the Hungry Hill neighborhood in Chicago Heights.

Tuffanelli was a crew boss in his own right and Blue Island was his headquarters and also had interests in Calumet City, East Chicago and other areas, same as Francis Curry the boss of Joliet and Will County and other fellas, who also controlled their own crews under LaPorte