Understanding Chicago

[Pogo The Clown]

Was this purely a business/criminal role, or was he involved in protocol and administration among the Italians? These non-Italians appear to have had immense importance in practical matters and maybe Chicago blurred some lines, but I'd be curious to know the exact details and how they were reported.

Al Capone replaced Toto LoVerde as head of the existing Chicago mafia family, whose hierarchy can be traced back. Al Capone had been inducted into the Masseria family which gave him access to a formal position in Chicago. No doubt the ranks were filled by other Italians with less commitment to tradition, but they weren't a separate gang that was "accepted" by the other families in 1931. They had to become members of the existing Chicago family first, as a formality if nothing else, just like what happened with the Milano group in Cleveland and the Neapolitan/Calabrians in the Pittsburgh and Genovese families.

In addition to what Villain said Roemers books mention that in the early 1970s the Outfit was run by a committee made up of Accardo, Joe Aiuppa and Alex.


If I remember right Capone was made in 1928. By then he had been Boss of his own group for years separate from the local Chicago LCN family. Remember the Outfit started out as a prostitution operation run by Jim Colosimo and his wife. Neither Johnny Torrio or Capone were inducted LCN members when they took over that operation.


Pogo

[Villain]

Was this purely a business/criminal role, or was he involved in protocol and administration among the Italians? These non-Italians appear to have had immense importance in practical matters and maybe Chicago blurred some lines, but I'd be curious to know the exact details and how they were reported.

Al Capone replaced Toto LoVerde as head of the existing Chicago mafia family, whose hierarchy can be traced back. Al Capone had been inducted into the Masseria family which gave him access to a formal position in Chicago. No doubt the ranks were filled by other Italians with less commitment to tradition, but they weren't a separate gang that was "accepted" by the other families in 1931. They had to become members of the existing Chicago family first, as a formality if nothing else, just like what happened with the Milano group in Cleveland and the Neapolitan/Calabrians in the Pittsburgh and Genovese families.

If I remember right Capone was made in 1928. By then he had been Boss of his own group for years separate from the local Chicago LCN family. Remember the Outfit started out as a prostitution operation run by Jim Colosimo and his wife. Neither Johnny Torrio or Capone were inducted LCN members when they took over that operation.


Pogo

Thats right and as I already said, they completely took over the CN organization in Chicago and the "governo centrale" in NY had no choice but to take them in. In fact, they all knew each other on both sides since day one and it was all NY/Chi politics at the time.

The Chi Outfit started more like a street gang, meaning besides having non-Italians in their ranks, they also had some heavy drug users or plane junkies during the old days, such as the DeGrazia bros and Willie Heeney. Rocco DeGrazia was a long time capo while Heeney was considered one time gambling and crew boss for Ralph Capone in Cicero, who in turn was in prison at the time, and on top of that Heeney allegedly played one of the major roles during the mid 40s regarding the early prison release of the Outfits top admin at the time. He died in 1950 or 51, i dont really remember

[Snakes]

Good discussion.

An informant (most likely Dominic "Butch" Blasi) described the Outfit leadership in 1976 as consisting of Tony Accardo, Joseph Aiuppa, and Gus Alex.

Accardo was described as "far and away" the most influential but desired not to be involved in the day-to-day operations of the Outfit and spent much of his time at his Palm Springs residence. He was only available concerning "major" policy decisions.

Aiuppa was the day-to-day leader and was described as the most "active."

Alex, although described as a member of the leadership team, was described by CTE as not "eligible" for top leadership of the Outfit as he did not possess Italian origin. Like Accardo, he spends much of his time at a second residence in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

James "Turk" Torello was considered the most "active" member below the leadership trio. Cuts of all gambling operations from the "area bosses" were submitted to Torello to turn over to Outfit leadership.

Jackie Cerone was mentioned as being Outfit leader prior to his incarceration and upon his release [1973] did not desire to return to his former position. However, he was not pleased with the income associated with this less active role and resumed a "top" leadership role. He and Torello were described as being on a "level below" the trio of Accardo, Aiuppa, and Alex.

Vincent Solano and Alfred Pilotto were described as being leaders of the North Side and Southern Suburbs, respectively. The South Side has not had a boss since the death of Ralph Pierce, with Torello taking over much of Pierce's former gambling operations. Frank "Skid" Caruso and James Catuara were described as having "small areas" of responsibility on the South Side.

Chuck Nicoletti was described as having "no particular area of responsibility" but CTE mentioned that he has done a lot of "heavy work" and directs much of the "disciplinary" tasks for the Outfit, i.e. murders.

Charles English was described in language more or less indicating he had been shelved since the murder of Sam Giancana.

[B.]

Milwaukee member CI Augie Maniaci described Capone as a Camorrista who was being abused by Aiello, so Capone began paying tribute to Masseria for protection. Following further abuse from Aiello, Maniaci says Capone was inducted into the Masseria family and promoted to capodecina to protect him further and ordered him to kill Aiello.

Nick Gentile confirms a similar story. He says Capone was paying tribute to Masseria and Lombardo told him to stop paying. When Masseria learned of Lombardo's meddling, he inducted Capone as a member, promoted him to capodecina, and ordered him to kill Lombardo and Aiello.

This is much different from a "street gang" forcing Cosa Nostra to accept them, but a more nuanced situation typical of mafia politics. There is a strong similarity to these two accounts, too, which come from completely different members sources who had no incentive to lie. Outsider accounts might paint a general picture of what happened, but we often come across member sources that completely change our perception of what happened, even of well-known events.

--

Was the group Capone was affiliated with in Chicago prior to the Masseria family the "Outfit" (a casual term popularized later to describe all organized crime relationships in Chicago), or a mainland group that may have been Camorra? Maniaci's story and other information from the era would suggest the latter. Similar groups were absorbed into the Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Genovese Cosa Nostra families and despite their power and influence, they used Cosa Nostra for their political and structural basis because that was the strongest currency in Italian-American organized crime.

It doesn't mean Capone wasn't powerful and influential before he joined Cosa Nostra. The boss of bosses maintaining contact with him in Chicago and inducting/promoting him speaks clearly of that. It appears to have been a mutually beneficial relationship, too, given that Capone was being abused/manipulated by the Chicago leadership and Masseria was at odds with them. After Capone's induction, he was legitimized and obviously dominated the Chicago Cosa Nostra group and helped push it in a unique direction.

[Wiseguy]

Non-Italians

Are there reliable accounts of non-Italians being recognized as Cosa Nostra members in Chicago? We have rare examples in other families of half- or even quarter-Italians becoming members, and Joe Fernandez of Montreal boasting that he and French-Canadian Desjardins were inducted by Vito Rizzuto, but I remain skeptical of any claim that someone with zero Italian blood has become a recognized Cosa Nostra member without a confirmed member source identifying them or a recording of a Cosa Nostra member acknowledging them as amico nostra.

I don't believe there's ever been a guy who was made who didn't have at least some Italian blood, whether in Chicago or anywhere else. I'd take what Fernandez said with a dump truck of salt.

[B.]

Non-Italians

Are there reliable accounts of non-Italians being recognized as Cosa Nostra members in Chicago? We have rare examples in other families of half- or even quarter-Italians becoming members, and Joe Fernandez of Montreal boasting that he and French-Canadian Desjardins were inducted by Vito Rizzuto, but I remain skeptical of any claim that someone with zero Italian blood has become a recognized Cosa Nostra member without a confirmed member source identifying them or a recording of a Cosa Nostra member acknowledging them as amico nostra.

I don't believe there's ever been a guy who was made who didn't have at least some Italian blood, whether in Chicago or anywhere else. I'd take what Fernandez said with a dump truck of salt.

I agree with that. Not to turn this thread too far sideways, but I don't believe the rumors about Campos' heritage in NYC either unless someone can show some proof.

[Angelo Santino]

Non-Italians

Are there reliable accounts of non-Italians being recognized as Cosa Nostra members in Chicago? We have rare examples in other families of half- or even quarter-Italians becoming members, and Joe Fernandez of Montreal boasting that he and French-Canadian Desjardins were inducted by Vito Rizzuto, but I remain skeptical of any claim that someone with zero Italian blood has become a recognized Cosa Nostra member without a confirmed member source identifying them or a recording of a Cosa Nostra member acknowledging them as amico nostra.

I don't believe there's ever been a guy who was made who didn't have at least some Italian blood, whether in Chicago or anywhere else. I'd take what Fernandez said with a dump truck of salt.

I agree with that. Not to turn this thread too far sideways, but I don't believe the rumors about Campos' heritage in NYC either unless someone can show some proof.

Agreed as well. Chicago and Cleveland were part of the LCN but locally they were semi-autonomous as Gus Alex and Maishe Rockman were essentially leaders of the local organization but not formally initiated nor part of the national network.

[Snakes]

Non-Italians

Are there reliable accounts of non-Italians being recognized as Cosa Nostra members in Chicago? We have rare examples in other families of half- or even quarter-Italians becoming members, and Joe Fernandez of Montreal boasting that he and French-Canadian Desjardins were inducted by Vito Rizzuto, but I remain skeptical of any claim that someone with zero Italian blood has become a recognized Cosa Nostra member without a confirmed member source identifying them or a recording of a Cosa Nostra member acknowledging them as amico nostra.

I don't believe there's ever been a guy who was made who didn't have at least some Italian blood, whether in Chicago or anywhere else. I'd take what Fernandez said with a dump truck of salt.

A 302 from an informant (Outfit associate Richard Mara) described Ronald Jarrett, Harry Aleman, and Frank Schweihs as being made (all were Italian on their mother's side). However, this is the only source of information on their membership and later files do not describe them as made. Later, Frank Calabrese, Sr. mentioned to his son on the prison tapes that Jarrett could not be made because he was only "half-Italian." Most likely, Mara was not familiar with the LCN definition and was basing his observations off of their higher status in the Outfit orbit, not whether or not they were made in the traditional manner of thinking

James Marcello is a big exception but being Italian on your father's side has shown on numerous occasions to be enough to be made on the East Coast.

[Pogo The Clown]

Milwaukee member CI Augie Maniaci described Capone as a Camorrista who was being abused by Aiello, so Capone began paying tribute to Masseria for protection. Following further abuse from Aiello, Maniaci says Capone was inducted into the Masseria family and promoted to capodecina to protect him further and ordered him to kill Aiello.

Nick Gentile confirms a similar story. He says Capone was paying tribute to Masseria and Lombardo told him to stop paying. When Masseria learned of Lombardo's meddling, he inducted Capone as a member, promoted him to capodecina, and ordered him to kill Lombardo and Aiello.

Interesting. I hadn't heard some of this before. Paying tribute to Masseria makes since Capone was close to that group from his NY days and I'm sure having at top Boss like that on his side had its benefits.


Though I find it hard to believe that he was being abused by Aiello and needed protection from Masseria. By the time Aiello became a Boss Capone was for all intents the power in Chicago and led a huge army compared to Aiello's small group. Also didn't Capone have the two previous LCN bosses (Patsy Lolardo and Joseph Giunta) before Aiello killed? If had the power to have 2 Bosses killed within a year why would he allow himself to be abused by their replacement in Aiello?


I don't recall but did Capone have the Bosses of the Chicago Heights family killed as well or dId that come from someone else?


Pogo

[Snakes]

Milwaukee member CI Augie Maniaci described Capone as a Camorrista who was being abused by Aiello, so Capone began paying tribute to Masseria for protection. Following further abuse from Aiello, Maniaci says Capone was inducted into the Masseria family and promoted to capodecina to protect him further and ordered him to kill Aiello.

Nick Gentile confirms a similar story. He says Capone was paying tribute to Masseria and Lombardo told him to stop paying. When Masseria learned of Lombardo's meddling, he inducted Capone as a member, promoted him to capodecina, and ordered him to kill Lombardo and Aiello.

Interesting. I hadn't heard some of this before. Paying tribute to Masseria makes since Capone was close to that group from his NY days and I'm sure having at top Boss like that on his side had its benefits.


Though I find it hard to believe that he was being abused by Aiello and needed protection from Masseria. By the time Aiello became a Boss Capone was for all intents the power in Chicago and led a huge army compared to Aiello's small group. Also didn't Capone have the two previous LCN bosses (Patsy Lolardo and Joseph Giunta) before Aiello killed? If had the power to have 2 Bosses killed within a year why would he allow himself to be abused by their replacement in Aiello?


I don't recall but did Capone have the Bosses of the Chicago Heights family killed as well or dId that come from someone else?


Pogo

You're right, some of the timeline seems off to me but I have not read much about it in a while.

[B.]

I would expect there's a member source or someone directly involved who could fill in the details, otherwise I'm extremely skeptical of LE and media accounts of murders and underworld politics in the 1920s / 30s. In other cities, especially NYC, outsider (i.e. LE and media) attempts to put the pieces together are often proven wrong once a member or even well-connected associate cooperates.

A modern example is the George Sciascia murder in NYC. We have multiple high-level cooperators involved in the murder and some serious discrepancies in the motivation; the boss and underboss disagree on why Sciascia was killed and when the murder happened they tried to paint it as a drug deal gone bad. We also have different accounts on why Sonny Napolitano and Tony Mirra were killed from the people who were directly involved. Trying to put the pieces together from the outside on events from the 1920s / 30s without high-level sources is a major guessing game.

In the same way that Maniaci and Gentile clear some things up about the Capone, Aiello, and Lombardo situation (and keep in mind their accounts aren't perfect either), we would need someone positioned who could tell us exactly what happened to Lolordo and Giunta as well. Maybe there are solid sources on those that someone can share.

My opinion is that Capone didn't kill Aiello until he had Masseria's approval because he understood mafia politics. No doubt he was capable of violence and had a fearsome group under him, but Capone wasn't a senseless brute. He was described as "jolly" by Joe Bonanno and Frank Bompensiero accompanied Jack Dragna to a meeting in Chicago where Capone served as peacemaker seeking to stop the violence happening in the California mafia. Gentile's account of Capone makes him out to be a shrewd mafia politician. He was also promoted to the Commission almost immediately after becoming boss -- the Commission was a slick group of politicians seeking to minimize the rampant violence of the previous few years. I'm not so sure they would have elected Capone to a seat if he had been a bowling ball knocking down every Cosa Nostra leader in his way like a bunch of Sicilian bowling pins... not unless he was sanctioned to do so in most cases, or otherwise justified.

[Villain]

Milwaukee member CI Augie Maniaci described Capone as a Camorrista who was being abused by Aiello, so Capone began paying tribute to Masseria for protection. Following further abuse from Aiello, Maniaci says Capone was inducted into the Masseria family and promoted to capodecina to protect him further and ordered him to kill Aiello.

Nick Gentile confirms a similar story. He says Capone was paying tribute to Masseria and Lombardo told him to stop paying. When Masseria learned of Lombardo's meddling, he inducted Capone as a member, promoted him to capodecina, and ordered him to kill Lombardo and Aiello.

This is much different from a "street gang" forcing Cosa Nostra to accept them, but a more nuanced situation typical of mafia politics. There is a strong similarity to these two accounts, too, which come from completely different members sources who had no incentive to lie. Outsider accounts might paint a general picture of what happened, but we often come across member sources that completely change our perception of what happened, even of well-known events.

--

Was the group Capone was affiliated with in Chicago prior to the Masseria family the "Outfit" (a casual term popularized later to describe all organized crime relationships in Chicago), or a mainland group that may have been Camorra? Maniaci's story and other information from the era would suggest the latter. Similar groups were absorbed into the Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Genovese Cosa Nostra families and despite their power and influence, they used Cosa Nostra for their political and structural basis because that was the strongest currency in Italian-American organized crime.

It doesn't mean Capone wasn't powerful and influential before he joined Cosa Nostra. The boss of bosses maintaining contact with him in Chicago and inducting/promoting him speaks clearly of that. It appears to have been a mutually beneficial relationship, too, given that Capone was being abused/manipulated by the Chicago leadership and Masseria was at odds with them. After Capone's induction, he was legitimized and obviously dominated the Chicago Cosa Nostra group and helped push it in a unique direction.

Ricca was probably already a young Camorrista when he arrived in Chicago and so when he became the boss, it is possible that he created a hierarchy in a similar fashion. He killed two guys back home and most of his family members in Italy were also criminals and killers, including one sister, and some were later involved in local politics. Dont forget that Riccas first boss Diamond Joe was also made into the Mafia, meaning it is possible that some of these fellas had dual memberships. Vito and Ricca were also close and allegedly did the work on Pollaccia together

I also hardly believe that Aiello abused Capone but he probably looked himself above the mainlander in the organization. Aiello was previously Lombardos underboss and had interests on both west and north sides of the city.

I agree that the whole situation was a political and bloody war between some of the most powerful NY clans and their battleground was Chicago at the time. After entering the organization, I also believe that the old guys were later swindled by their young associates such as Capone and Ricca, with the backing of NYs young turks such as Luciano and Genovese.

[Confederate]

An informant (most likely Dominic "Butch" Blasi) described the Outfit leadership in 1976 as consisting of Tony Accardo, Joseph Aiuppa, and Gus Alex.
Jackie Cerone was mentioned as being Outfit leader prior to his incarceration and upon his release [1973] did not desire to return to his former position. However, he was not pleased with the income associated with this less active role and resumed a "top" leadership role. He and Torello were described as being on a "level below" the trio of Accardo, Aiuppa, and Alex.

Roemer's other Informant (Ralph Pierce) said that Cerone was actually above Auippa & more like a Senior Advisor. Since Cerone was a Former Boss of the Outfit before he went to Prison, it is highly unlikely that he was a " level below" Auippa & Alex. Worst scenario, he was at least on the same level as Auippa but perhaps more in the background. It doesn't sound like Cerone took orders from Auippa according to everything I have read about it. Cerone was always closer to Accardo than Auippa anyway. Cerone was Accardo's protégé. According to Roemer, Cerone was smarter than Auippa & led him to believe he was the Boss but in reality it was more Accardo & Cerone.

[Villain]

Interesting thing to note is that around 74, Alex had to take his wife to some serious medical operation and so he gave a proposition to Accardo and Aiuppa for the freshly released Cerone to take his place. His wish was granted but he was also told that after finishing the process, he had to return. So during that time Cerone acted as senior adviser but when Alex returned on the scene in 75, that same year Cerone became the new underboss.

There was nothing unusual by constantly going up and down in the organization since it happened many times in the past. Cerone was a top capo who during the late 60s became the acting boss, and after his imprisonment he took the advisory role, a position created for cases such as his case at the time, and in the end he was the underboss.

The thing about who was more powerful, thats why i previously said that the Outfit had more of a horizontal hierarchy, meaning besides having official spots, by the late 70s we have Accardo, Aiuppa and Cerone on one straight line, which means that they shared almost the same power within the organization and brought all decisions together.

Beneath them was Alex and then we have another horizontal straight line which was made out of the four major capos such as Torello, Lombardo, Solano and Pilotto.

[Confederate]

The thing about who was more powerful, thats why i previously said that the Outfit had more of a horizontal hierarchy, meaning by the late 70s we have Accardo, Aiuppa and Cerone on one straight line, which means that they shared almost the same power within the organization and brought all decisions together.

Beneath them was Alex and then we have another horizontal straight line which was made out of the four major capos such as Torello, Lombardo, Solano and Pilotto.

Spot on 100%.