Capone and the Mafia

[Antiliar]

I may have made a post about this question several years ago: Who do you think were the ten men Capone made in 1928? Ricca was one of them.

[Eline2015]

I think few members of Heights faction

[Confederate]

I may have made a post about this question several years ago: Who do you think were the ten men Capone made in 1928? Ricca was one of them.

I don't know if you or Villain have any confimations about who those first 10 men were that Capone made, but if you had to take an educated guess, who do you think were the ones?
1). Paul Ricca
2). Frank Nitti (Nitto) ?
3). Ralph Capone ?
4). Dominic Roberto ?
5). Frank LaPorte ?
6). Phil Bacino ?
7). Tony Accardo ?

[DPG]

Frank Rio not a possibility? Wasn’t he Capone’s constant companion?

[Antiliar]

I may have made a post about this question several years ago: Who do you think were the ten men Capone made in 1928? Ricca was one of them.

I don't know if you or Villain have any confimations about who those first 10 men were that Capone made, but if you had to take an educated guess, who do you think were the ones?
1). Paul Ricca
2). Frank Nitti (Nitto) ?
3). Ralph Capone ?
4). Dominic Roberto ?
5). Frank LaPorte ?
6). Phil Bacino ?
7). Tony Accardo ?

Gentile didn't give us any names, so it's all guesswork. Here's my guess:

1) Paul Ricca
2) Ralph Capone
3) Frank Rio
4) Frank Nitto
5) Louis Campagna
6) Jack McGurn
7) Charles Gioe
8) Dominic Roberto
9) Charles Fischetti
10) Frank Maritote

[Confederate]

I may have made a post about this question several years ago: Who do you think were the ten men Capone made in 1928? Ricca was one of them.

I don't know if you or Villain have any confimations about who those first 10 men were that Capone made, but if you had to take an educated guess, who do you think were the ones?
1). Paul Ricca
2). Frank Nitti (Nitto) ?
3). Ralph Capone ?
4). Dominic Roberto ?
5). Frank LaPorte ?
6). Phil Bacino ?
7). Tony Accardo ?

Gentile didn't give us any names, so it's all guesswork. Here's my guess:

1) Paul Ricca
2) Ralph Capone
3) Frank Rio
4) Frank Nitto
5) Louis Campagna
6) Jack McGurn
7) Charles Gioe
8) Dominic Roberto
9) Charles Fischetti
10) Frank Maritote

Very good. Thanks.
So, I believe you said Capone was limited to only 10. Assuming that was the limit, then from some point in 1928 until when Masseria was killed, these were the 10 men ( by a good educated guess). After Masseria was killed, then the limit of ten was removed by Maranzano who then elevated or "recognized Capone as a "Boss". Correct?

[Antiliar]

Correct. Once he was boss he could make as many as he wanted.

[Villain]

Correct. Once he was boss he could make as many as he wanted.

Whats your opinion of the year 1929 or maybe even 1930? We have that picture with Capone together with DeGrazia, Campagna, Heeney, Maddox and Circella, followed by the most important fellas on that same pic, LaPorte and Emery.

I say "important" because we know by that time the boss of the Heights group, Dom Roberto fled the country and was in hiding, and so Emery probably succeeded him. So if Emery took Robertos place, it is possible that he was made before or during that same gathering.

On top of that, we know that LaPorte was also made by Capone himself, but we dont know if he was made during that same meeting or the following years, like when Capone became boss.

So my opinion is that between 1928 and 1931, it is possible that Capone made few more people or more then ten guys as capodecina or before becoming official boss...

[Antiliar]

Correct. Once he was boss he could make as many as he wanted.

Whats your opinion of the year 1929 or maybe even 1930? We have that picture with Capone together with DeGrazia, Campagna, Heeney, Maddox and Circella, followed by the most important fellas on that same pic, LaPorte and Emery.

I say "important" because we know by that time the boss of the Heights group, Dom Roberto fled the country and was in hiding, and so Emery probably succeeded him. So if Emery took Robertos place, it is possible that he was made before or during that same gathering.

On top of that, we know that LaPorte was also made by Capone himself, but we dont know if he was made during that same meeting or the following years, like when Capone became boss.

So my opinion is that between 1928 and 1931, it is possible that Capone made few more people or more then ten guys as capodecina or before becoming official boss...

Anything is possible, but we only have evidence for the ten members in 1928.

[motorfab]

Another possibility in the 10 guys could be Phil D'Andrea ?

[Villain]

Correct. Once he was boss he could make as many as he wanted.

Whats your opinion of the year 1929 or maybe even 1930? We have that picture with Capone together with DeGrazia, Campagna, Heeney, Maddox and Circella, followed by the most important fellas on that same pic, LaPorte and Emery.

I say "important" because we know by that time the boss of the Heights group, Dom Roberto fled the country and was in hiding, and so Emery probably succeeded him. So if Emery took Robertos place, it is possible that he was made before or during that same gathering.

On top of that, we know that LaPorte was also made by Capone himself, but we dont know if he was made during that same meeting or the following years, like when Capone became boss.

So my opinion is that between 1928 and 1931, it is possible that Capone made few more people or more then ten guys as capodecina or before becoming official boss...

Anything is possible, but we only have evidence for the ten members in 1928.

I agree and theres no doubt about that, but do you think its possible that Capone breached the limit? Or maybe it depended on the situation, meaning some1 had to lead the Heights faction at the time and so Capone was "forced" to make Emery? Also Jimmy Mondi couldve been another candidate at the time...

[Confederate]

Correct. Once he was boss he could make as many as he wanted.

Whats your opinion of the year 1929 or maybe even 1930? We have that picture with Capone together with DeGrazia, Campagna, Heeney, Maddox and Circella, followed by the most important fellas on that same pic, LaPorte and Emery.

I say "important" because we know by that time the boss of the Heights group, Dom Roberto fled the country and was in hiding, and so Emery probably succeeded him. So if Emery took Robertos place, it is possible that he was made before or during that same gathering.

On top of that, we know that LaPorte was also made by Capone himself, but we dont know if he was made during that same meeting or the following years, like when Capone became boss.

So my opinion is that between 1928 and 1931, it is possible that Capone made few more people or more then ten guys as capodecina or before becoming official boss...

Anything is possible, but we only have evidence for the ten members in 1928.

I agree and theres no doubt about that, but do you think its possible that Capone breached the limit? Or maybe it depended on the situation, meaning some1 had to lead the Heights faction at the time and so Capone was "forced" to make Emery? Also Jimmy Mondi couldve been another candidate at the time...

Another thing to consider is "HOW" or even "IF" the Capone Syndicate changed at all in Structure from 1927 to 1928. The Capone Syndicate in 1927 was not structured like a Mafia Family as we know it. It was run more like a true business. There was a cost of goods (liquor) there was an actual bookkeeper or financial guy (Guzik) who kept track of income versus expenses. My guess is that the 10 men Capone made in 1928 were simply Italian guys that were already top Supervisors in his Business Syndicate. So, for example, the guy in charge of buying the Liquor for the South side became a made guy in 1928 but still did the exact same thing he did in 1927. The guy that was in charge of Prostitution in Cicero became a made guy in the Mafia in 1928 but still did the same thing that he did in 1927. I don't see the structure changing much with the 10 made guys. Sometime in later years the structure became less of a regular business structure & more like a Mafia Structure IMO. Love to hear feedback on it.

[Confederate]

To further expand a little on this point, The Capone Syndicate in 1927 was very "Centralized". It wasn't like a Mafia Family were guys all did different things mainly on their own & simply "kicked up" a tribute. The Capone Syndicate had everything being very centralized through Guzik & Capone. In fact that is how the Feds convicted Capone of income tax evasion. They were able to obtain a ledger of the whole centralized operation which involved mainly Liquor but included Prostitution & a few other things. That's how they came up with the "Gross" figure of $105 million in Business that the Syndicate did in 1927. Capone's "Net" Income was way less but still very significant. Anyway, that's the way I saw it from a business perspective.

[Antiliar]

I agree and theres no doubt about that, but do you think its possible that Capone breached the limit? Or maybe it depended on the situation, meaning some1 had to lead the Heights faction at the time and so Capone was "forced" to make Emery? Also Jimmy Mondi couldve been another candidate at the time...

I have no idea. I don't like venturing out beyond the parameters of the evidence because that's when we tend to make mistakes. So yes, it's possible, but I have no idea if it's plausible. I naturally assumed that Capone kept to the limit until he was recognized as the boss. Other than that evidence we simply don't know. Until the 1960s the FBI didn't know anything about street crews, and the term street crews wasn't even used in Chicago criminal trials until around 1992. Unless the FBI decides to free up its redactions, our knowledge of the early period will remain a mystery.

[Villain]

To further expand a little on this point, The Capone Syndicate in 1927 was very "Centralized". It wasn't like a Mafia Family were guys all did different things mainly on their own & simply "kicked up" a tribute. The Capone Syndicate had everything being very centralized through Guzik & Capone. In fact that is how the Feds convicted Capone of income tax evasion. They were able to obtain a ledger of the whole centralized operation which involved mainly Liquor but included Prostitution & a few other things. That's how they came up with the "Gross" figure of $105 million in Business that the Syndicate did in 1927. Capone's "Net" Income was way less but still very significant. Anyway, that's the way I saw it from a business perspective.

I completely agree. They operated like a gang with a boss at the top and several prime lieutenants beneath him, before joining the mafia and after that, they still operated in the same manner, except this time they were part of the Mafia. This lasted until Capone became the official CN boss for the Chicago family and from that point on they created their own hierarchy, in a similar image of the one that the Mafia had at the time.

They were also "forced" to have few top accountants such as Guzik or Greenberg because of the huge income and as a matter of fact, by the early 1940s Guzik was still the top bookkeeper.