Understanding Chicago

[Villain]

Had a chance to dig into Fratto's cooperation a little more. Like Maniaci in Milwaukee, Fratto says Capone was a Camorra member before joining the mafia, so that is two well-connected member sources with a Capone/Camorra reference which is interesting.

Here is Fratto's explanation of the induction process, which aside from the blood and burning card, is like any Cosa Nostra induction protocol:

This isn't Louie Fratto. The informant who gave info about "The Life" was Jewish or of Jewish ancestry, but had an Italian name and came from New York in the 1920s. He was accepted by the "Italian element." Doesn't say if the Outfit was aware of his Jewish ancestry; seems like he kept it a secret. So he may actually have been a made guy. Seems confused about the timeline of older events. This is the same guy who discussed the "war" between Accardo and Vincent "The Don" Benevento and the North Side. Fratto was born in Chicago in 1907 and was a cousin of Phil Alderisio.

Aside from that, found an interesting document with Fratto being the source:

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... 5&tab=page
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... 6&tab=page

Here's Rosselli being admonished by Giancana AND Humphreys:
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... 20rosselli
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... 0&tab=page

Thanks

[Villain]

I never saw you mention any of the Outfits informers such as Blasi or Fratto...

I haven't combed through all of their FBI reports firsthand, but I trust Ed's Rat Trap summaries of them:

On Fratto:

The unique Chicago experience forced the organization to open itself up to working with non-Sicilians and eventually with non-Italians altogether (within limits). The Outfit has probably had more non-Italians in senior positions through its history than any other Italian-American crime group.

For that reason, the Outfit used "Jews" to manage their money and carry out their orders. Fratto suspected this was common practice in every LCN crime family.

Not sure if the "senior positions" bit is Fratto's wording, but it supports the idea that non-Italians were highly respected and influential, though it is worded in a way that suggests other "Italian-American crime groups" had non-Italians in "senior positions". Watts and Rockman don't seem at all dissimilar to these Chicago guys, both being non-Italians in "senior positions" with their respective families, but Chicago no doubt had more of them yet still had "limits" on the relationship.

The bolded points are important. There were limitations to the involvement of non-Italians and he did not feel that using "Jews" to "carry out their orders" was unique to Chicago, but "every" Cosa Nostra family. Fratto had extensive contact with other Cosa Nostra families, so he would have understood how some of them operated.

On Blasi:

Blasi didn't define Alex's role, but he clearly saw him as a step below in power from Accardo and Aiuppa. Blasi said he wasn't "one of those individuals who had been led to believe that Gus Alex is currently one of the top leaders of the organized crime in Chicago." [18] He said Alex couldn't be "admitted to the innermost circle of leadership" because he wasn't Italian.

These statements don't need much interpretation. He explicitly says there were limitations to Gus Alex's leadership role in Chicago because he wasn't Italian. This fits with what Fratianno was told by Roselli.

Since Rosselli previously answered only to the boss, Jack Dragna, this would have been a real challenge to what he was used to. Once in Chicago, depending on the source, he could have been directly under Giancana or under Ferraro. Once they were out of the picture he was under Frank La Porte.

Good information. So Roselli took orders from Humphreys, who was authorized by boss Giancana (like Watts was authorized by Gotti), but he was officially assigned to a Cosa Nostra administration member or capodecina.

You are again taking some stuff out of context and spin the situation in your own view...

1. With limits means none of the non-Italians were able to become the boss or underboss and I believe that you very well know what senior positions means and it was nothing like that Watts

2. Again he was in the top 3 but couldnt become the official boss or underboss. On that one and only file that low level Jewish guy is talking in general regarding all non-Italians and CN affairs. (now ill sound like you ) By the mid 60s Blasi was a low level soldier and Fratto was semi-retired.

You are now showing these stuff while you previously tried to discredit statement made by Oufit acting boss Jack Cerone only because he was talking to a non-Italian? I think you have no idea on who Yaras was and you probably dont want for us to go there...

Heres the real detailed information on how the process went down which was far from the traditional one....even though they speak about the Italians, by looking at this, theres nothing traditional or CN....



Case closed.

3. Alex wasnt a Jew, and neither was Humphreys. The only lower level international Jew was Larner and yeah he took care of some of the Outfits cash but he answered to Aiuppa, Vogel and Alex. Case closed.

4. Humphreys and Alex being authorized by the BOSS of the organization was the same when all of the made guys were also authorized by the BOSS, not by some random CN member or capo like in the other families. Roselli received orders from Humphreys, same as Skids Caruso who took orders from Alex. Made guys and capos received orders from high ranking non-Italians, case closed.

Lets do it the other way...

Humphreys having the last word on all union matters...Lardino was a made guy and answered to both Humphreys and Aiuppa...naw this cant be right?!





Alderisio being subordinate to Alex...Alderisio was the underboss or major capo at the time....you might say that Alderisio was shy and loved dogs right?! Lol



Alex being the only leading guy for a short time period...Accardo was in Palm Springs at the same time...this is quite irrelevant right?!



Alex giving his vote and placing policy on whether the organization should be involved in narcotics...this also means nothing right?!









More documents from the 70s on Aiuppa Alex and Accardo...










Regarding the four major territorial bosses during the late 60s which also includes Alex.. there are similar documents from tge 70s regarding the theory...this is fantasy right?!




After reading all of these stuff, we can surely say that Alex was a boss among US CN members in his own right, made or not. Case closed

We are talking about the US here, not Italy and last time I checked the Italians werent the only ones who formed the country. You are being blinded by constantly researching those Sicilian bloodlines...which is great stuff but still...


No offence bud but when you say that the Outfit is poorly researched, you are insulting some of the fellas around here, including Antiliar, Snakes, Confederate and me. Even though we all dont agree on everything but still some of us spent countless days and hours of researching, and made more than few mutual conclusions and thats why I already told you that you are completely new to this Chicago subject so one small and honest "sorry" would be nice....i love talking about the Chicago stuff but i hate when somebody who recently entered these subjects tries to discredit us by jumping to conclusions and using provocative statements...im being honest here and you should be fair too and give us some credit for our sweat. Theres no "team" against you, you are simply wrong.

[Angelo Santino]

Had a chance to dig into Fratto's cooperation a little more. Like Maniaci in Milwaukee, Fratto says Capone was a Camorra member before joining the mafia, so that is two well-connected member sources with a Capone/Camorra reference which is interesting.

Here is Fratto's explanation of the induction process, which aside from the blood and burning card, is like any Cosa Nostra induction protocol:

This isn't Louie Fratto. The informant who gave info about "The Life" was Jewish or of Jewish ancestry, but had an Italian name and came from New York in the 1920s. He was accepted by the "Italian element." Doesn't say if the Outfit was aware of his Jewish ancestry; seems like he kept it a secret. So he may actually have been a made guy. Seems confused about the timeline of older events. This is the same guy who discussed the "war" between Accardo and Vincent "The Don" Benevento and the North Side. Fratto was born in Chicago in 1907 and was a cousin of Phil Alderisio.

Aside from that, found an interesting document with Fratto being the source:

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... 5&tab=page
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... 6&tab=page

Here's Rosselli being admonished by Giancana AND Humphreys:
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... 20rosselli
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... 0&tab=page

I'm getting the impression that making someone an official LCN member within Chicago was a very privileged and rare event. It doesn't seem like they "made everyone and anyone" and more information has come in recent years that many people we thought were made turns out were not. If membership was that selective, then that indicates it was still significant and separate than any associate at the highest level who could not obtain membership due to their heritage.

In the Family Secret's case Marcello's lawyer argued he could not be a made member because his mother was Irish and the Calabrese I think it was, responded that Marcello must have lied to the boss or it must not be true. Or Calabrese's chastising of a Chicago associate for "having NY guys believing he's a made guy" in prison. I don't think this cautiousness surrounding the membership was a new protocol and likely has historical relevance.

B.'s argument comparing Alex to Watts in the case of their interactions with made members I find to be illuminating. Both these men (and fucking Rockman- sorry to keeping bringing him in this) I was beginning to say were instrumental in organized crime activities surrounding the organization but not the internal mafia society itself. And that's not really true now is it. Alex and Humphreys were able to issue/pass orders onto made soldiers in Chicago, Watts proposing DiLeonardo for membership in the Binos and Cleveland looking to Rockman after Scalish' death.

When you and I spoke on Chicago you once raised the suspicion that Chicago in the 1970's "adopted" more LCN traditions to be closer to NY. B. kinda makes a good case that in every other instance they were moving away. You're working on Chicago and have to be careful what you mention or discuss, so if there's things you don't want to go into, no worries.

--

Honestly, I find this thread to be a great discussion, very enlightening on the subject and allows for non-Chicagoians to better understand this group.

[Villain]

When you and I spoke on Chicago you once raised the suspicion that Chicago in the 1970's "adopted" more LCN traditions to be closer to NY.

Thats completely true since Antiliar was the first one who brought that up and he was right, since my previous post on DiVarcos statement during the mid 70s certainly clears that up. Before the late 70s, the Outfit was different

Antiliar also gave a good example on the Humphreys/Roselli situation....and another example was when Humphreys "bashed" Cerone when he was considered "only" a capo at the time...same thing occurred with Charlie Inglesia and other high ranking made guys

[Snakes]

I posted this in another thread but feel it should be referenced here, as well. This is information concerning a large making ceremony in Chicago in 1956:

A top echelon informant in the Chicago office provided this information to agents in 1966:

According to the informant, about 25 to 30 individuals were "made" into the Outfit at this ceremony. Every group made about four or five individuals each, including Chicago Heights and Skid Caruso's group. Other individuals that were mentioned by the informant as being "made" were Anthony Maenza (Caruso), Vincent Inserro (not specified but probably Daddano), and James Allegretti (Prio). Allegretti's induction was apparently controversial, as several individuals who had done "heavy" work for the Outfit had been passed over and that Allegretti had been made solely on his connections. Carlo Colianni was apparently influential in Allegretti's making.

The informant related that Ferriola, who had been sponsored by Daddano in 1956, had since transferred to the Buccieri group as he had angered Daddano over a gambling raid that Ferriola had allegedly been responsible for.

Additionally, members stay with their sponsors until their sponsor dies, although there were apparently exceptions, as seen above. Likewise, sponsors are responsible for their members and must side with them even over the sponsor's own family. If a made member is to be hit, all other made members of the Outfit must vote on the hit, except for those members belonging to the same group as the target. Made members must make their sponsor aware of their activities at all times, even when they choose to go on vacation.

I looked at some of the names which were cited in the report but not mentioned specifically by the informant (probably to protect his identity). I've therefore made a rough estimate of others who were made at this same ceremony. The body of the report has ~6 names redacted, although the way in which it is structured seems to infer that they were all made under the same group or sponsor:

Charles English
Sam English
Leonard Gianola
Albert Frabotta
1 Unknown

Others referenced in the report whom I believe to be "group" leaders or sponsors at this time are listed below. The informant does not specifically say that a group leader had to sponsor a member into the Outfit. It could then be inferred that an existing member (with the group leader's approval) could sponsor an individual. A couple of these names could also have been made at this time, although all of them had Outfit reputations prior to 1956 that probably excludes them.

Fiore Buccieri
Phil Alderisio [Antilliar believes he could have been made at this ceremony from separate files]
Ross Prio
William Daddano
Joseph DiVarco
Sam Battaglia
Frank Caruso

[johnny_scootch]

Watts proposing DiLeonardo for membership in the Binos

Wasn’t Scars proposed by Paulie Zac?

[Villain]

I posted this in another thread but feel it should be referenced here, as well. This is information concerning a large making ceremony in Chicago in 1956:

A top echelon informant in the Chicago office provided this information to agents in 1966:

According to the informant, about 25 to 30 individuals were "made" into the Outfit at this ceremony. Every group made about four or five individuals each, including Chicago Heights and Skid Caruso's group. Other individuals that were mentioned by the informant as being "made" were Anthony Maenza (Caruso), Vincent Inserro (not specified but probably Daddano), and James Allegretti (Prio). Allegretti's induction was apparently controversial, as several individuals who had done "heavy" work for the Outfit had been passed over and that Allegretti had been made solely on his connections. Carlo Colianni was apparently influential in Allegretti's making.

The informant related that Ferriola, who had been sponsored by Daddano in 1956, had since transferred to the Buccieri group as he had angered Daddano over a gambling raid that Ferriola had allegedly been responsible for.

Additionally, members stay with their sponsors until their sponsor dies, although there were apparently exceptions, as seen above. Likewise, sponsors are responsible for their members and must side with them even over the sponsor's own family. If a made member is to be hit, all other made members of the Outfit must vote on the hit, except for those members belonging to the same group as the target. Made members must make their sponsor aware of their activities at all times, even when they choose to go on vacation.

I looked at some of the names which were cited in the report but not mentioned specifically by the informant (probably to protect his identity). I've therefore made a rough estimate of others who were made at this same ceremony. The body of the report has ~6 names redacted, although the way in which it is structured seems to infer that they were all made under the same group or sponsor:

Charles English
Sam English
Leonard Gianola
Albert Frabotta
1 Unknown

Others referenced in the report whom I believe to be "group" leaders or sponsors at this time are listed below. The informant does not specifically say that a group leader had to sponsor a member into the Outfit. It could then be inferred that an existing member (with the group leader's approval) could sponsor an individual. A couple of these names could also have been made at this time, although all of them had Outfit reputations prior to 1956 that probably excludes them.

Fiore Buccieri
Phil Alderisio [Antilliar believes he could have been made at this ceremony from separate files]
Ross Prio
William Daddano
Joseph DiVarco
Sam Battaglia
Frank Caruso

Thanks. This explains and also confirms a lof of stuff. I should go more often through your old posts lol

It is interesting to note that when Alex had to go on vacation or to the hospital, he first had to check with Accardo or Aiuppa. He wasnt allowed to leave Chicago on several occasions. Btw wasnt there some fbi list which showed Alex among many made guys? I believe there was....

[Villain]

The final decision is that countless evidences point out that the Outfit used to be quite different from most of the east coast or traditional CN families, besides having some similarities with some groups such as the Genoveses and adopting few CN "traditions", altough they changed their style after more than 4 decades. (where the fuck is Eboli when I really need him lol ?!?!?)

[Pete]

The final decision is that countless evidences point out that the Outfit used to be quite different from most of the east coast or traditional CN families, besides having some similarities with some groups such as the Genoveses and adopting few CN "traditions", altough they changed their style after more than 4 decades. (where the fuck is Eboli when I really need him lol ?!?!?)

I know I’m a little late to the party on this thread but to me everything your saying should be common knowledge to people that have followed the outfit. Interesting that there is that much debate on this

[Villain]

The final decision is that countless evidences point out that the Outfit used to be quite different from most of the east coast or traditional CN families, besides having some similarities with some groups such as the Genoveses and adopting few CN "traditions", altough they changed their style after more than 4 decades. (where the fuck is Eboli when I really need him lol ?!?!?)

I know I’m a little late to the party on this thread but to me everything your saying should be common knowledge to people that have followed the outfit. Interesting that there is that much debate on this

Thanks bro and believe me, after you said this, i really dont know why im bothering...but what the hell, this Corona/paranoia shit got me locked up at home with my kid so i need something to do, besides looking after this little devil of mine who is currently beside me lol btw your word also means a lot. Cheers

[Wiseguy]

The final decision is that countless evidences point out that the Outfit used to be quite different from most of the east coast or traditional CN families, besides having some similarities with some groups such as the Genoveses and adopting few CN "traditions", altough they changed their style after more than 4 decades. (where the fuck is Eboli when I really need him lol ?!?!?)

I know I’m a little late to the party on this thread but to me everything your saying should be common knowledge to people that have followed the outfit. Interesting that there is that much debate on this

Thanks bro and believe me, after you said this, i really dont know why im bothering...but what the hell, this Corona/paranoia shit got me locked up at home with my kid so i need something to do, besides looking after this little devil of mine who is currently beside me lol btw your word also means a lot. Cheers

I think where a lot of the confusion (and resulting debate) came from in the past was people assuming those differences with the Outfit continued longer than they did. There's a reason why, whenver the subject of the influence of non-Italians in Chicago comes up, the names of guys who have been dead for decades are the examples.

[Villain]

The final decision is that countless evidences point out that the Outfit used to be quite different from most of the east coast or traditional CN families, besides having some similarities with some groups such as the Genoveses and adopting few CN "traditions", altough they changed their style after more than 4 decades. (where the fuck is Eboli when I really need him lol ?!?!?)

I know I’m a little late to the party on this thread but to me everything your saying should be common knowledge to people that have followed the outfit. Interesting that there is that much debate on this

Thanks bro and believe me, after you said this, i really dont know why im bothering...but what the hell, this Corona/paranoia shit got me locked up at home with my kid so i need something to do, besides looking after this little devil of mine who is currently beside me lol btw your word also means a lot. Cheers

I think where a lot of the confusion (and resulting debate) came from in the past was people assuming those differences with the Outfit continued longer than they did. There's a reason why, whenver the subject of the influence of non-Italians in Chicago comes up, the names of guys who have been dead for decades are the examples.

I agree, there was a certain time period when this "non-Italian thing" lasted and as i previously said that by the 70s the old Capone mob was completely finished or dead, and the non-Italian element also went down with it. After that or during the 80s, Alex still controlled the First Ward together with Marcy and Roti and took his cut from the Patrick crew, but he was far from what he used to be, mainly because many of his influential associates from the old days were already dead and gone. I also believe that the death of the most important mainlander Ricca also had something to do with accepting the CN traditions to an extent, since they still kept their old structure or type of hierarchy which gave the feds a lot of headache on who was who or on which level or rank

[Antiliar]

I also believe that the death of the most important mainlander Ricca also had something to do with accepting the CN traditions to an extent, since they still kept their old structure or type of hierarchy which gave the feds a lot of headache on who was who or on which level or rank

That's a good point. Accardo was the top boss and policy maker after Ricca died, and he and Aiuppa were both of Sicilian ancestry. It would have been their decision to "normalize" the standard LCN ceremony. Ricca may have experienced two ceremonies. He may have been a Camorrista when he was young, then was probably one of the ten men made into Al Capone's original crew after Masseria made Capone. It may have been Masseria who skipped some of the formal ceremony, which Capone and his successors followed.

[Villain]

I also believe that the death of the most important mainlander Ricca also had something to do with accepting the CN traditions to an extent, since they still kept their old structure or type of hierarchy which gave the feds a lot of headache on who was who or on which level or rank

That's a good point. Accardo was the top boss and policy maker after Ricca died, and he and Aiuppa were both of Sicilian ancestry. It would have been their decision to "normalize" the standard LCN ceremony. Ricca may have experienced two ceremonies. He may have been a Camorrista when he was young, then was probably one of the ten men made into Al Capone's original crew after Masseria made Capone. It may have been Masseria who skipped some of the formal ceremony, which Capone and his successors followed.

I completely agree

[B.]

No offence bud but when you say that the Outfit is poorly researched, you are insulting some of the fellas around here, including Antiliar, Snakes, Confederate and me. Even though we all dont agree on everything but still some of us spent countless days and hours of researching, and made more than few mutual conclusions and thats why I already told you that you are completely new to this Chicago subject so one small and honest "sorry" would be nice....i love talking about the Chicago stuff but i hate when somebody who recently entered these subjects tries to discredit us by jumping to conclusions and using provocative statements...im being honest here and you should be fair too and give us some credit for our sweat. Theres no "team" against you, you are simply wrong.

I absolutely wasn't including you, Antiliar, Snakes, or other sincere researchers on here in with that statement and I should have been more specific to avoid confusion. I was talking about the authors of books, articles, and others that have been responsible for much of the public lore about Chicago, which has colored the Chicago discussion much like it did the Castellammarese War and the Luciano myths. It has taken decades to unravel that and I believe Chicago has to be similarly unraveled if the right sources can be found.

Hopefully my conduct on the board over the years has made it clear I'm not out to make cheap shots at other researchers or board members. My intention wasn't to discredit nor insult anyone who has dedicated so many hours to this subject.

I'm not brand new to Chicago, but I am certainly not an expert either. I'm learning a great deal in this thread and if I seem argumentative, it's because a lot of great good can come out of debate. While I do believe much of what I'm saying here, I am not emotionally invested in it and I see this as an exercise that will help me and hopefully others understand Chicago better.

You and Antiliar have made some great arguments and I've had to look at this subject from different angles and keep myself sharp, which is exactly what I want out of all this. I have personal friends on here and we have similar discussions off the board and the goal is always to sharpen each others' perspective.

As a rule, I only respond to someone on here if I respect them. You 100% have my respect, Villain, and I hope that remains clear whenever we cross paths. I also expect the same treatment in return and I will ignore the condescending remarks made earlier and attribute them to misunderstanding.

--

I don't think you're completely wrong by any means, and I don't think it's fair to say that I'm completely wrong either.

It is clear there are inconsistent accounts about Chicago both inside and outside of the organization. That is something we run into repeatedly in mafia research -- there is so much innuendo, word-of-mouth info, and incomplete history that often times the most we can do is decide what is or isn't part of the conversation, and it's clear to me that the points both of us have been making deserve to be part of the conversation.

My recommendation would be that you and other dedicated Chicago researchers don't take a "case closed" approach or "right vs. wrong" to some of these topics and instead present some of the conflicting information together. If you've already done that, then that is awesome.

I appreciate you sharing excerpts about Gus Alex. All of the information you've shared still comes across to me the same -- these were high-powered associates who were given more authority in mafia-sponsored activities than typical members, much like Watts and Rockman. While Chicago took it to a whole new level, I still don't see where it changed the fundamental nature of the organization.

Your point of view definitely deserves to be part of the conversation and I'm not looking to shut that point of view out. That fact that both of us can interpret the same reports differently is evidence that this not a black and white situation and my interpretations are not emotional, but based on years studying the parallels, differences, and overall trends in mafia families.

My opinion, based on the available evidence, is that Chicago was not as different from other mafia families as it is often made out to be, but it still has differences and unique qualities otherwise we wouldn't even be having this discussion.

Had a chance to dig into Fratto's cooperation a little more. Like Maniaci in Milwaukee, Fratto says Capone was a Camorra member before joining the mafia, so that is two well-connected member sources with a Capone/Camorra reference which is interesting.

Here is Fratto's explanation of the induction process, which aside from the blood and burning card, is like any Cosa Nostra induction protocol:

This isn't Louie Fratto. The informant who gave info about "The Life" was Jewish or of Jewish ancestry, but had an Italian name and came from New York in the 1920s. He was accepted by the "Italian element." Doesn't say if the Outfit was aware of his Jewish ancestry; seems like he kept it a secret. So he may actually have been a made guy. Seems confused about the timeline of older events. This is the same guy who discussed the "war" between Accardo and Vincent "The Don" Benevento and the North Side. Fratto was born in Chicago in 1907 and was a cousin of Phil Alderisio.

Aside from that, found an interesting document with Fratto being the source:

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... 5&tab=page
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... 6&tab=page

Here's Rosselli being admonished by Giancana AND Humphreys:
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... 20rosselli
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... 0&tab=page

My mistake if that's the case! The "St. Louis" informant might be Fratto, however, as Ed attributed similar statements to Fratto in his article but again if that's wrong my mistake. I definitely mistook some of the more specific similarities (especially the discussion about the Unione Siciliana and other early information) from the first source for Fratto either way.

Given it wasn't Fratto, the first informant was another insider who as you said may have snuck in as a made member given his account of initiation and other organization details, so I believe the points are still part of the conversation and actually add another source to this side of the discussion. If he had to hide his Jewish ancestry to maintain his status in the Chicago mafia, as it seems, that is very telling in and of itself and shows the differences between Italian and non-Italian participants in the Chicago underworld.

- The first doc is the one where Alex reportedly refers to the Chicago mafia group as "they". However, it does mention Alex was as high as someone can get in the organization. This seems inconsistent, but again it points to me that Alex was an outsider who was regarded with the authority of a leader, much like Joe Watts and Rockman.

- The second doc says that gossip in Chicago indicated Alex was being reduced in importance due to being non-Italian and that Accardo was concerned about Alex's level of knowledge of the Italian element in Chicago and felt Frank Ferraro may have given too much info to Alex. It also says Alex couldn't be as "close" to the Italian organization's activities because he was not Italian, though he was considered loyal and highly respected. This account is consistent with Blasi, Fratto's other info, and Roselli via Fratianno in that Alex was technically an outsider to the Italians even within Chicago.

- It is definitely interesting that Humphreys could criticize Roselli, but the presence of Giancana again means the boss authorized his actions. I definitely have no argument against the idea that figures like Humphreys and Alex were authorized by the bosses to express themselves as they saw fit to Chicago members, as Watts was authorized by Gotti (and possibly Castellano before him) and Rockman by Scalish to exercise authority in their respective families.

- The conversation in the last doc is very interesting. It's clear that Roselli got very "hot" at Humphreys, but Humphreys in turn could express himself pretty freely to Roselli in giving him advice/direction. At one point Baron says that Roselli was lucky it was Humphreys talking to him and not "Joe" (Accardo? Aiuppa?). This could be interpreted to mean that if Roselli had gotten similarly angry at "Joe", the outcome would have been more severe. From the way Humphreys describes the situation, he showed some level of tact toward Roselli despite Roselli's anger, whether by choice or because of his "outsider" position (technically speaking) I can't say.

Do you disagree with any of these interpretations? Hopefully I don't need to say it to you, but you should know how I value your perspective and research.

Watts proposing DiLeonardo for membership in the Binos

Wasn’t Scars proposed by Paulie Zac?

He was proposed by Zaccaria, but he said it was Watts who pushed/influenced him to be made. So Watts had the influence to push for someone to be made, but he was technically an outsider and DiLeonardo had to be sponsored by an Italian made member.

I am sure the same scenario would have played out in Chicago if Alex or Humphreys told Accardo/Giancana that an Italian should become a made member -- Alex/Humphreys could influence it, but couldn't sponsor the member.