The Chicago Cheese War

[PolackTony]

Alderisio and Pranno were both members of Battaglia's crew. Daddono was another capo equal to Battaglia. When Battaglia moved up to acting day-to-day boss, Alderisio moved up to acting crew boss. The last word on promoting Battaglia to acting day-to-day boss was Ricca's, with the advice of Accardo. Battaglia was a good soldier who did what he was told even though he didn't want the job. When he went to prison Cerone was picked to replace him, but his reign was very short. After being sent to prison he learned his lesson and decided he didn't want to be the boss anymore, and when he came out he agreed to be Aiuppa's underboss.

Honestly this still remains a big question for me. Does it make sense to refer to Pranno (or Amabile after him) as "capos"? If we assume that a capo in the Outfit was still the equivalent rank of capodecina/caporegime, then one way to read this is that Battaglia, Daddono, and Buccieri were the capos over different Westside/suburban crews. Pranno then was a lieutenant under Battaglia, who functioned as a crew boss/district boss etc. under Battaglia. In LCN terms, Pranno was "just" a "soldier", though in the functional sense of Chicago's structure he acted as a "crew boss" with his own group of made and non-made guys answering to him. In this, Pranno was like Ferriola running the Wild Bunch, where Ferriola was not yet a "capo" in formal Mafia terms, but rather a lieutenant under Torello. Even much later, you have someone like Panozzo running the "P&K crew", but I don't think obviously that it makes any sense to describe Panozzo as a "capo". In the older days, he likely would've been referred to as a "crew boss" or equivalent, while formally being a "soldier" acting as a lieutenant under Vena or Spina as capo.

While some of this is semantics, it also points I think to the idiosyncratic ways that the Chicago LCN family fit within the larger structure of the Outfit as the Chicago "Syndicate". Cullotta in the past made the point of stating that in Chicago, made guys were referred to as "bosses". I take this to mean of course that a made guy in the Outfit, while just a "soldier" in terms of formal Mafia ranks, within the context of the Syndicate acted as the boss of a crew and/or district/town. Within this structure, these local or lower level "bosses" reported to their capo, who thus functioned as a territorial or factional boss in Syndicate terms. But the relationship within the "Life" or Chicago Mafia family was still that of capodecina to soldier. Again, for me this underscores the way that the Chicago LCN family functioned as the leadership strata of a criminal organization where a large portion of the rank and file consisted of non-made "Outfit guys".

[PolackTony]

Alderisio and Pranno were both members of Battaglia's crew. Daddono was another capo equal to Battaglia. When Battaglia moved up to acting day-to-day boss, Alderisio moved up to acting crew boss. The last word on promoting Battaglia to acting day-to-day boss was Ricca's, with the advice of Accardo. Battaglia was a good soldier who did what he was told even though he didn't want the job. When he went to prison Cerone was picked to replace him, but his reign was very short. After being sent to prison he learned his lesson and decided he didn't want to be the boss anymore, and when he came out he agreed to be Aiuppa's underboss.

Honestly this still remains a big question for me. Does it make sense to refer to Pranno (or Amabile after him) as "capos"? If we assume that a capo in the Outfit was still the equivalent rank of capodecina/caporegime, then one way to read this is that Battaglia, Daddono, and Buccieri were the capos over different Westside/suburban crews. Pranno then was a lieutenant under Battaglia, who functioned as a crew boss/district boss etc. under Battaglia. In LCN terms, Pranno was "just" a "soldier", though in the functional sense of Chicago's structure he acted as a "crew boss" with his own group of made and non-made guys answering to him. In this, Pranno was like Ferriola running the Wild Bunch, where Ferriola was not yet a "capo" in formal Mafia terms, but rather a lieutenant under Torello. Even much later, you have someone like Panozzo running the "P&K crew", but I don't think obviously that it makes any sense to describe Panozzo as a "capo". In the older days, he likely would've been referred to as a "crew boss" or equivalent, while formally being a "soldier" acting as a lieutenant under Vena or Spina as capo.

While some of this is semantics, it also points I think to the idiosyncratic ways that the Chicago LCN family fit within the larger structure of the Outfit as the Chicago "Syndicate". Cullotta in the past made the point of stating that in Chicago, made guys were referred to as "bosses". I take this to mean of course that a made guy in the Outfit, while just a "soldier" in terms of formal Mafia ranks, within the context of the Syndicate acted as the boss of a crew and/or district/town. Within this structure, these local or lower level "bosses" reported to their capo, who thus functioned as a territorial or factional boss in Syndicate terms. But the relationship within the "Life" or Chicago Mafia family was still that of capodecina to soldier. Again, for me this underscores the way that the Chicago LCN family functioned as the leadership strata of a criminal organization where a large portion of the rank and file consisted of non-made "Outfit guys".

Just as another example, one sees media references to Frankie Calabrese being called a "capo" of a "street crew", but of course in Mafia terms he was a soldier under the Lapietra crew, who ran his own sub-unit of underlings. Lower level guys working for a lieutenant like Calabrese would of course have understood him as their boss, who then answered to his own boss, who answered to the top boss/es. But Calabrese was not a lower level "capodecina" under the direction of the LaPietras, of course, holding the same formal Mafia rank as them but functionally under them in the hierarchy of the Outfit-as-Syndicate.

It would seem to me that those who held the equivalent rank to "capodecina" had some sort of formal ceremony or ssemi-formal function to recognize them, as evidenced by the infamous 1976 photo when Solano was officially recognized as "capodecina" or whatever term the Outfit used internally to refer to this rank.

[Villain]

Alderisio and Pranno were both members of Battaglia's crew. Daddono was another capo equal to Battaglia. When Battaglia moved up to acting day-to-day boss, Alderisio moved up to acting crew boss. The last word on promoting Battaglia to acting day-to-day boss was Ricca's, with the advice of Accardo. Battaglia was a good soldier who did what he was told even though he didn't want the job. When he went to prison Cerone was picked to replace him, but his reign was very short. After being sent to prison he learned his lesson and decided he didn't want to be the boss anymore, and when he came out he agreed to be Aiuppa's underboss.

Honestly this still remains a big question for me. Does it make sense to refer to Pranno (or Amabile after him) as "capos"? If we assume that a capo in the Outfit was still the equivalent rank of capodecina/caporegime, then one way to read this is that Battaglia, Daddono, and Buccieri were the capos over different Westside/suburban crews. Pranno then was a lieutenant under Battaglia, who functioned as a crew boss/district boss etc. under Battaglia. In LCN terms, Pranno was "just" a "soldier", though in the functional sense of Chicago's structure he acted as a "crew boss" with his own group of made and non-made guys answering to him. In this, Pranno was like Ferriola running the Wild Bunch, where Ferriola was not yet a "capo" in formal Mafia terms, but rather a lieutenant under Torello. Even much later, you have someone like Panozzo running the "P&K crew", but I don't think obviously that it makes any sense to describe Panozzo as a "capo". In the older days, he likely would've been referred to as a "crew boss" or equivalent, while formally being a "soldier" acting as a lieutenant under Vena or Spina as capo.

While some of this is semantics, it also points I think to the idiosyncratic ways that the Chicago LCN family fit within the larger structure of the Outfit as the Chicago "Syndicate". Cullotta in the past made the point of stating that in Chicago, made guys were referred to as "bosses". I take this to mean of course that a made guy in the Outfit, while just a "soldier" in terms of formal Mafia ranks, within the context of the Syndicate acted as the boss of a crew and/or district/town. Within this structure, these local or lower level "bosses" reported to their capo, who thus functioned as a territorial or factional boss in Syndicate terms. But the relationship within the "Life" or Chicago Mafia family was still that of capodecina to soldier. Again, for me this underscores the way that the Chicago LCN family functioned as the leadership strata of a criminal organization where a large portion of the rank and file consisted of non-made "Outfit guys".

Just as another example, one sees media references to Frankie Calabrese being called a "capo" of a "street crew", but of course in Mafia terms he was a soldier under the Lapietra crew, who ran his own sub-unit of underlings. Lower level guys working for a lieutenant like Calabrese would of course have understood him as their boss, who then answered to his own boss, who answered to the top boss/es. But Calabrese was not a lower level "capodecina" under the direction of the LaPietras, of course, holding the same formal Mafia rank as them but functionally under them in the hierarchy of the Outfit-as-Syndicate.

It would seem to me that those who held the equivalent rank to "capodecina" had some sort of formal ceremony or ssemi-formal function to recognize them, as evidenced by the infamous 1976 photo when Solano was officially recognized as "capodecina" or whatever term the Outfit used internally to refer to this rank.

Nice examples although i always take Alderisio as an example. Too many made guys under one "crew boss" dont you think? We cannot see the same situation within the Buccieri or Daddono crews from the 60s...Ferriola or Torello, while under Buccieri, werent even close to what Alderisio was...same story goes for Daddonos crew members, meaning we cannot see any of Daddonos lieutenants controlling their own large crews of made guys. By 1962/63, Alderisio was almost on the same level as Buccieri and Daddono. Also, when Pranno went to jail, his crew was succeeded by Amabile

[PolackTony]

Alderisio and Pranno were both members of Battaglia's crew. Daddono was another capo equal to Battaglia. When Battaglia moved up to acting day-to-day boss, Alderisio moved up to acting crew boss. The last word on promoting Battaglia to acting day-to-day boss was Ricca's, with the advice of Accardo. Battaglia was a good soldier who did what he was told even though he didn't want the job. When he went to prison Cerone was picked to replace him, but his reign was very short. After being sent to prison he learned his lesson and decided he didn't want to be the boss anymore, and when he came out he agreed to be Aiuppa's underboss.

Honestly this still remains a big question for me. Does it make sense to refer to Pranno (or Amabile after him) as "capos"? If we assume that a capo in the Outfit was still the equivalent rank of capodecina/caporegime, then one way to read this is that Battaglia, Daddono, and Buccieri were the capos over different Westside/suburban crews. Pranno then was a lieutenant under Battaglia, who functioned as a crew boss/district boss etc. under Battaglia. In LCN terms, Pranno was "just" a "soldier", though in the functional sense of Chicago's structure he acted as a "crew boss" with his own group of made and non-made guys answering to him. In this, Pranno was like Ferriola running the Wild Bunch, where Ferriola was not yet a "capo" in formal Mafia terms, but rather a lieutenant under Torello. Even much later, you have someone like Panozzo running the "P&K crew", but I don't think obviously that it makes any sense to describe Panozzo as a "capo". In the older days, he likely would've been referred to as a "crew boss" or equivalent, while formally being a "soldier" acting as a lieutenant under Vena or Spina as capo.

While some of this is semantics, it also points I think to the idiosyncratic ways that the Chicago LCN family fit within the larger structure of the Outfit as the Chicago "Syndicate". Cullotta in the past made the point of stating that in Chicago, made guys were referred to as "bosses". I take this to mean of course that a made guy in the Outfit, while just a "soldier" in terms of formal Mafia ranks, within the context of the Syndicate acted as the boss of a crew and/or district/town. Within this structure, these local or lower level "bosses" reported to their capo, who thus functioned as a territorial or factional boss in Syndicate terms. But the relationship within the "Life" or Chicago Mafia family was still that of capodecina to soldier. Again, for me this underscores the way that the Chicago LCN family functioned as the leadership strata of a criminal organization where a large portion of the rank and file consisted of non-made "Outfit guys".

Just as another example, one sees media references to Frankie Calabrese being called a "capo" of a "street crew", but of course in Mafia terms he was a soldier under the Lapietra crew, who ran his own sub-unit of underlings. Lower level guys working for a lieutenant like Calabrese would of course have understood him as their boss, who then answered to his own boss, who answered to the top boss/es. But Calabrese was not a lower level "capodecina" under the direction of the LaPietras, of course, holding the same formal Mafia rank as them but functionally under them in the hierarchy of the Outfit-as-Syndicate.

It would seem to me that those who held the equivalent rank to "capodecina" had some sort of formal ceremony or ssemi-formal function to recognize them, as evidenced by the infamous 1976 photo when Solano was officially recognized as "capodecina" or whatever term the Outfit used internally to refer to this rank.

Nice examples although i always take Alderisio as an example. Too many made guys under one "crew boss" dont you think? We cannot see the same situation within the Buccieri or Daddono crews from the 60s...Ferriola or Torello, while under Buccieri, werent even close to what Alderisio was...same story goes for Daddonos crew members, meaning we cannot see any of Daddonos lieutenants controlling their own large crews of made guys. Also, when Pranno went to jail, his crew was succeeded by Amabile

Yes, I do see what you mean with Alderisio. It still could be that under Battaglia he was still "just" a "soldier", though tasked with a very significant level of responsibility and lots of guys reporting to him. Perhaps the large membership of the Battaglia crew necessitated that a lieutenant take on this level of responsibility, despite him not formally holding the rank of "capo". IIRC correctly, Ange LaPietra described Jimmy Lap as his "sottocapo". I'm thinking that within a formally defined crew, the capo did have a number 2, and of course this guy wouldn't have the actual title or rank of "capo", though I'm not sure whether LaPietra was referring to a formal "underboss" position under the capo, or if this was just the way that Ange described his brother's level of responsibility under his regime. Still possible that Aldersio played the same role for Battaglia no?

[Villain]

Alderisio and Pranno were both members of Battaglia's crew. Daddono was another capo equal to Battaglia. When Battaglia moved up to acting day-to-day boss, Alderisio moved up to acting crew boss. The last word on promoting Battaglia to acting day-to-day boss was Ricca's, with the advice of Accardo. Battaglia was a good soldier who did what he was told even though he didn't want the job. When he went to prison Cerone was picked to replace him, but his reign was very short. After being sent to prison he learned his lesson and decided he didn't want to be the boss anymore, and when he came out he agreed to be Aiuppa's underboss.

Honestly this still remains a big question for me. Does it make sense to refer to Pranno (or Amabile after him) as "capos"? If we assume that a capo in the Outfit was still the equivalent rank of capodecina/caporegime, then one way to read this is that Battaglia, Daddono, and Buccieri were the capos over different Westside/suburban crews. Pranno then was a lieutenant under Battaglia, who functioned as a crew boss/district boss etc. under Battaglia. In LCN terms, Pranno was "just" a "soldier", though in the functional sense of Chicago's structure he acted as a "crew boss" with his own group of made and non-made guys answering to him. In this, Pranno was like Ferriola running the Wild Bunch, where Ferriola was not yet a "capo" in formal Mafia terms, but rather a lieutenant under Torello. Even much later, you have someone like Panozzo running the "P&K crew", but I don't think obviously that it makes any sense to describe Panozzo as a "capo". In the older days, he likely would've been referred to as a "crew boss" or equivalent, while formally being a "soldier" acting as a lieutenant under Vena or Spina as capo.

While some of this is semantics, it also points I think to the idiosyncratic ways that the Chicago LCN family fit within the larger structure of the Outfit as the Chicago "Syndicate". Cullotta in the past made the point of stating that in Chicago, made guys were referred to as "bosses". I take this to mean of course that a made guy in the Outfit, while just a "soldier" in terms of formal Mafia ranks, within the context of the Syndicate acted as the boss of a crew and/or district/town. Within this structure, these local or lower level "bosses" reported to their capo, who thus functioned as a territorial or factional boss in Syndicate terms. But the relationship within the "Life" or Chicago Mafia family was still that of capodecina to soldier. Again, for me this underscores the way that the Chicago LCN family functioned as the leadership strata of a criminal organization where a large portion of the rank and file consisted of non-made "Outfit guys".

Just as another example, one sees media references to Frankie Calabrese being called a "capo" of a "street crew", but of course in Mafia terms he was a soldier under the Lapietra crew, who ran his own sub-unit of underlings. Lower level guys working for a lieutenant like Calabrese would of course have understood him as their boss, who then answered to his own boss, who answered to the top boss/es. But Calabrese was not a lower level "capodecina" under the direction of the LaPietras, of course, holding the same formal Mafia rank as them but functionally under them in the hierarchy of the Outfit-as-Syndicate.

It would seem to me that those who held the equivalent rank to "capodecina" had some sort of formal ceremony or ssemi-formal function to recognize them, as evidenced by the infamous 1976 photo when Solano was officially recognized as "capodecina" or whatever term the Outfit used internally to refer to this rank.

Nice examples although i always take Alderisio as an example. Too many made guys under one "crew boss" dont you think? We cannot see the same situation within the Buccieri or Daddono crews from the 60s...Ferriola or Torello, while under Buccieri, werent even close to what Alderisio was...same story goes for Daddonos crew members, meaning we cannot see any of Daddonos lieutenants controlling their own large crews of made guys. Also, when Pranno went to jail, his crew was succeeded by Amabile

Yes, I do see what you mean with Alderisio. It still could be that under Battaglia he was still "just" a "soldier", though tasked with a very significant level of responsibility and lots of guys reporting to him. Perhaps the large membership of the Battaglia crew necessitated that a lieutenant take on this level of responsibility, despite him not formally holding the rank of "capo". IIRC correctly, Ange LaPietra described Jimmy Lap as his "sottocapo". I'm thinking that within a formally defined crew, the capo did have a number 2, and of course this guy wouldn't have the actual title or rank of "capo", though I'm not sure whether LaPietra was referring to a formal "underboss" position under the capo, or if this was just the way that Ange described his brother's level of responsibility under his regime. Still possible that Aldersio played the same role for Battaglia no?

Could be...although besides Alderisio, we also have Pranno which means Battaglia had two "underbosses"? Pranno answered directly to Battaglia, not to Alderisio.

[Villain]

But I can see your point Polack, meaning it could be that Battaglia had two "top lieutenants" mainly because he controlled a large crew...dont you think that by 1963 Alderisio was almost on the level as Buccieri or Daddono (if we count Alderisios crew members, the crew was the same size as Daddonos group, if not larger)? Afterall, in 1966 Alderisio became the underboss and was above Buccieri and Daddono...

[Villain]

Informant gave this info in 1964 which means he is talking about the previous years....

[PolackTony]

Informant gave this info in 1964 which means he is talking about the previous years....

Is it likely that when Battaglia was bumped up to underboss after Ferraro's death, Alderisio was the promoted to Capo? Or, if we assume that Battaglia continued to hold that official rank over his crew after he promoted to the admin, Alderisio was likely the "acting capo" at least by the time point in question. That does of course fit with the change in his stature and bearing that this CI noted.

[Villain]

Informant gave this info in 1964 which means he is talking about the previous years....

Is it likely that when Battaglia was bumped up to underboss after Ferraro's death, Alderisio was the promoted to Capo? Or, if we assume that Battaglia continued to hold that official rank over his crew after he promoted to the admin, Alderisio was likely the "acting capo" at least by the time point in question. That does of course fit with the change in his stature and bearing that this CI noted.

Yes, in 1964 Battaglia succeeded Ferraro and Alderisio became a capo but the informants says "4 or 5 years ago was considered only enforcer" which means that by 1960 Alderisio was lieutenant (he was made during the mid 50s) but things changed during the following years. It seems that during the years of 1962 and 63 Alderisio was already on some high position (possibly what you previously said like some type of "underboss"), and again this corresponds with the statements that Battaglia was the top rep for the west side during those same years and Alderisio took care of the largest part of his crew and areas such as MP, Grand av and parts of the North Side, while Pranno took care of Stone Park, Franklin Park and Northlake, which again corresponds with the statement regarding Battaglia controlling the whole west side and all western suburbs. In 1963 Alderisio was already giving orders to Nicoletti, the DeStefanos, Gianola, Caifano etc and Battaglia was still "capo" at the time...

[Villain]

This info is from 1962...

[Antiliar]

Alderisio and Pranno were both members of Battaglia's crew. Daddono was another capo equal to Battaglia. When Battaglia moved up to acting day-to-day boss, Alderisio moved up to acting crew boss. The last word on promoting Battaglia to acting day-to-day boss was Ricca's, with the advice of Accardo. Battaglia was a good soldier who did what he was told even though he didn't want the job. When he went to prison Cerone was picked to replace him, but his reign was very short. After being sent to prison he learned his lesson and decided he didn't want to be the boss anymore, and when he came out he agreed to be Aiuppa's underboss.

Honestly this still remains a big question for me. Does it make sense to refer to Pranno (or Amabile after him) as "capos"? If we assume that a capo in the Outfit was still the equivalent rank of capodecina/caporegime, then one way to read this is that Battaglia, Daddono, and Buccieri were the capos over different Westside/suburban crews. Pranno then was a lieutenant under Battaglia, who functioned as a crew boss/district boss etc. under Battaglia. In LCN terms, Pranno was "just" a "soldier", though in the functional sense of Chicago's structure he acted as a "crew boss" with his own group of made and non-made guys answering to him. In this, Pranno was like Ferriola running the Wild Bunch, where Ferriola was not yet a "capo" in formal Mafia terms, but rather a lieutenant under Torello. Even much later, you have someone like Panozzo running the "P&K crew", but I don't think obviously that it makes any sense to describe Panozzo as a "capo". In the older days, he likely would've been referred to as a "crew boss" or equivalent, while formally being a "soldier" acting as a lieutenant under Vena or Spina as capo.

While some of this is semantics, it also points I think to the idiosyncratic ways that the Chicago LCN family fit within the larger structure of the Outfit as the Chicago "Syndicate". Cullotta in the past made the point of stating that in Chicago, made guys were referred to as "bosses". I take this to mean of course that a made guy in the Outfit, while just a "soldier" in terms of formal Mafia ranks, within the context of the Syndicate acted as the boss of a crew and/or district/town. Within this structure, these local or lower level "bosses" reported to their capo, who thus functioned as a territorial or factional boss in Syndicate terms. But the relationship within the "Life" or Chicago Mafia family was still that of capodecina to soldier. Again, for me this underscores the way that the Chicago LCN family functioned as the leadership strata of a criminal organization where a large portion of the rank and file consisted of non-made "Outfit guys".

Just as another example, one sees media references to Frankie Calabrese being called a "capo" of a "street crew", but of course in Mafia terms he was a soldier under the Lapietra crew, who ran his own sub-unit of underlings. Lower level guys working for a lieutenant like Calabrese would of course have understood him as their boss, who then answered to his own boss, who answered to the top boss/es. But Calabrese was not a lower level "capodecina" under the direction of the LaPietras, of course, holding the same formal Mafia rank as them but functionally under them in the hierarchy of the Outfit-as-Syndicate.

It would seem to me that those who held the equivalent rank to "capodecina" had some sort of formal ceremony or ssemi-formal function to recognize them, as evidenced by the infamous 1976 photo when Solano was officially recognized as "capodecina" or whatever term the Outfit used internally to refer to this rank.

You got it exactly right. When I called Battaglia a soldier it was in the sense that Joe Bonanno used it in his book "A Man of Honor." In a certain sense, every member of a borgata is a "soldier." So I used it figuratively in his case. But you are correct, in the early 1960s Battaglia, Prio, Buccieri, LaPorte, Caruso, Daddono, Cerone, etc. were all caporegimes and were equal in rank. Some capos were more equal than others based on the size of their crews, respect, and authority given to them. The capos especially favored were groomed to be bosses, but they were still capos until they were promoted. Under each capo were soldiers, some who were inactive, some who worked with few people, and others, like Frank Calabrese and Rocco Pranno, who had their own crews. Frank Calabrese even had another made member - his brother Nick - working under him. This would probably confuse outsiders like newspaper reporters and law enforcement.

Capos often had their top lieutenants or "underbosses." While Cerone was a capo his underboss was Joe Gags, for Battaglia it was Alderisio, for Buccieri it was Torello, and for Prio it was Allegretti and then DiVarco.

[Villain]

Pranno had 3 or 4 made guys...Amabile, Dechiaro, Ariola and Albert Pranno was another possible member. Eboli later became made guy.

[Villain]

Since we mentioned Caruso and if the info about Battaglia being west side top rep is not enough, then lets transfer on the south side since Caruso is perfect example of being a less powerful capo with a top rep above him. From 1957 until 1964 Ferraro was the underboss while Alex was his top rep for the whole south side and loop and it seems that he was Carusos boss...even Marcy (made guy) said it, and i dont think that our chats and opinions hold more water than Marcys own word...even the protocol is nicely explained Caruso/Alex/Ferraro/Giancana

[PolackTony]

Since we mentioned Caruso and if the info about Battaglia being west side top rep is not enough, then lets transfer on the south side since Caruso is perfect example of being a less powerful capo with a top rep above him. From 1957 until 1964 Ferraro was the underboss while Alex was his top rep for the whole south side and loop and it seems that he was Carusos boss...even Marcy (made guy) said it, and i dont think that our chats and opinions hold more water than Marcys own word...even the protocol is nicely explained Caruso/Alex/Ferraro/Giancana

Thanks for these, I do think that the case of Caruso here is an interesting point to think about. Did Bruno Roti have this sort of subordinate status, or was he as a capodecina direct to the admin (I assume that later from what I know about him)? By all accounts, Caruso was notably less capable or powerful than Roti, and I'd imagine that for this reason he wound up falling under Ferraro and Alex's authority. Perhaps this also speaks to the Southside as historically being the least "LCN" modeled crew, with more of a stamp of the Capone Syndicate influence than other crews.

To look at it from another angle, might it not just have been the case that during the period in question, Ferraro was the underboss and thus Caruso was under him as a capo to the admin, rather than a lower level capo to a higher ranking capo? Caruso answering to Alex then could be simply due to Alex being tasked with some of Ferraro's responsibilities as he had a lot on his plate.

On a related note, did Caruso have any family ties to Tony and Phil D'Andrea? Caruso's mother was Francesca D'Andrea of Termini Imerese, and given that Termini isn't too far from Valledolmo it's certainly possible there was some connection, though I haven't been able to confirm it myself (apologies if this has already been covered elsewhere).

[PolackTony]

Alderisio and Pranno were both members of Battaglia's crew. Daddono was another capo equal to Battaglia. When Battaglia moved up to acting day-to-day boss, Alderisio moved up to acting crew boss. The last word on promoting Battaglia to acting day-to-day boss was Ricca's, with the advice of Accardo. Battaglia was a good soldier who did what he was told even though he didn't want the job. When he went to prison Cerone was picked to replace him, but his reign was very short. After being sent to prison he learned his lesson and decided he didn't want to be the boss anymore, and when he came out he agreed to be Aiuppa's underboss.

Honestly this still remains a big question for me. Does it make sense to refer to Pranno (or Amabile after him) as "capos"? If we assume that a capo in the Outfit was still the equivalent rank of capodecina/caporegime, then one way to read this is that Battaglia, Daddono, and Buccieri were the capos over different Westside/suburban crews. Pranno then was a lieutenant under Battaglia, who functioned as a crew boss/district boss etc. under Battaglia. In LCN terms, Pranno was "just" a "soldier", though in the functional sense of Chicago's structure he acted as a "crew boss" with his own group of made and non-made guys answering to him. In this, Pranno was like Ferriola running the Wild Bunch, where Ferriola was not yet a "capo" in formal Mafia terms, but rather a lieutenant under Torello. Even much later, you have someone like Panozzo running the "P&K crew", but I don't think obviously that it makes any sense to describe Panozzo as a "capo". In the older days, he likely would've been referred to as a "crew boss" or equivalent, while formally being a "soldier" acting as a lieutenant under Vena or Spina as capo.

While some of this is semantics, it also points I think to the idiosyncratic ways that the Chicago LCN family fit within the larger structure of the Outfit as the Chicago "Syndicate". Cullotta in the past made the point of stating that in Chicago, made guys were referred to as "bosses". I take this to mean of course that a made guy in the Outfit, while just a "soldier" in terms of formal Mafia ranks, within the context of the Syndicate acted as the boss of a crew and/or district/town. Within this structure, these local or lower level "bosses" reported to their capo, who thus functioned as a territorial or factional boss in Syndicate terms. But the relationship within the "Life" or Chicago Mafia family was still that of capodecina to soldier. Again, for me this underscores the way that the Chicago LCN family functioned as the leadership strata of a criminal organization where a large portion of the rank and file consisted of non-made "Outfit guys".

Just as another example, one sees media references to Frankie Calabrese being called a "capo" of a "street crew", but of course in Mafia terms he was a soldier under the Lapietra crew, who ran his own sub-unit of underlings. Lower level guys working for a lieutenant like Calabrese would of course have understood him as their boss, who then answered to his own boss, who answered to the top boss/es. But Calabrese was not a lower level "capodecina" under the direction of the LaPietras, of course, holding the same formal Mafia rank as them but functionally under them in the hierarchy of the Outfit-as-Syndicate.

It would seem to me that those who held the equivalent rank to "capodecina" had some sort of formal ceremony or ssemi-formal function to recognize them, as evidenced by the infamous 1976 photo when Solano was officially recognized as "capodecina" or whatever term the Outfit used internally to refer to this rank.

Nice examples although i always take Alderisio as an example. Too many made guys under one "crew boss" dont you think? We cannot see the same situation within the Buccieri or Daddono crews from the 60s...Ferriola or Torello, while under Buccieri, werent even close to what Alderisio was...same story goes for Daddonos crew members, meaning we cannot see any of Daddonos lieutenants controlling their own large crews of made guys. Also, when Pranno went to jail, his crew was succeeded by Amabile

Yes, I do see what you mean with Alderisio. It still could be that under Battaglia he was still "just" a "soldier", though tasked with a very significant level of responsibility and lots of guys reporting to him. Perhaps the large membership of the Battaglia crew necessitated that a lieutenant take on this level of responsibility, despite him not formally holding the rank of "capo". IIRC correctly, Ange LaPietra described Jimmy Lap as his "sottocapo". I'm thinking that within a formally defined crew, the capo did have a number 2, and of course this guy wouldn't have the actual title or rank of "capo", though I'm not sure whether LaPietra was referring to a formal "underboss" position under the capo, or if this was just the way that Ange described his brother's level of responsibility under his regime. Still possible that Aldersio played the same role for Battaglia no?

Could be...although besides Alderisio, we also have Pranno which means Battaglia had two "underbosses"? Pranno answered directly to Battaglia, not to Alderisio.

IIRC, weren't both Marcello and Zizzo described as "underbosses" in the Carlisi crew at the same time?