To understand Chicago, one must understand that the power was based upon Street Crews, which were like small to moderate sized families.
Ricca was the Boss of the West Side Crew around the First Ward which controlled Chicago and BOSS of the entire Outfit. Within his CREW was his protégé Sam Giancana & Sam Battaglia. They were both Capos. Sam Giancana had the West Side and Sam Battaglia had the West Suburbs.
Tony Accardo was Boss of the Grand Ave Crew & UNDERBOSS of the entire Outfit. Within his Crew was a Capo named Jackie Cerone.
In 1957, Ricca, at the age of 60, stepped back and Giancana became the Boss of the West Side Crew and Top Boss of the Outfit at the age of 49. The crew changed it's name to be known as the Taylor St. Crew. Fiore Bucciere moved up and became the other Capo. Ricca was now the Semi-Retired Senior Advisor.
Also, in 1957, Accardo stepped down and Semi-Retired with Ricca at the age of 51 and became the other Senior Advisor. Cerone became the Boss of the Grand Ave Crew which moved out further west and became known as the Elmwood Park Crew.
HERE COMES THE BIG ARGUEMENT THAT TOOK PLACE WITHIN THE OUTFIT:
Accardo wanted his man Cerone to be the UNDERBOSS of the entire Outfit and be partnered with Giancana the way Accardo was partnered with Ricca.
Giancana refused and there was really nothing Accardo could do about it.
When Giancana left Chicago in 1966, Sam Battaglia became the Boss of Taylor St. and the Top Boss of the Outfit. Phil Alderisio moved up and then became the other Capo. After Battaglia went to jail and died shortly thereafter, Alderisio then became the Boss of Taylor St and the Top Boss of the Outfit.
After Alderisio went to jail, Bucciere was too sick to take over and a lot of the Taylor St. men were dead and a couple were in jail like Willie Daddano.
Then came the big CHANGING OF THE GUARD. Around 1969 or 1970, Auippa and the Cicero Crew became partnered with Elmwood Park and THEY took over the Outfit. The Taylor St Crew was all but disbanded and the remaining men were either direct with Auippa and Cerone or they were now under Turk Torello who took Bucciere's place and became Boss of what became known as the 26th St Crew.
Lombardo became Boss of another Crew which became known as the Grand Ave Crew because Lombardo lived in Little Italy on Grand and Ogden.
Accardo's greatest power came AFTER the CHANGING OF THE GUARD.
Ricca died in 1972. After Ricca died, The Outfit killed a few left over Taylor St. men who didn't FIT IN properly.
The first to go was Sammy DeStefano. 1973
The second to go was Chuckie Nicoletti 1977
The third to go was Chuckie English 1985
Do you get the picture? It was based upon Street Crew Power, not individual power per se.
When Aiuppa and Cicero took over, was Taylor St's earning power effected or was there just a loss of power because they were no longer direct with the boss, Giancana? Or was there no loss at all?
Also, did the guys ever refer to themselves as the Cicero crew and 26th st crew, etc, or is that just something we are saying now to identify who they are? Would someone under Aiuppa say "I'm with Aiuppa" or would he say "I'm with Cicero"? Would a guy in Elmwood Park refer to someone as a Grand Ave guy or as The Clown's guy, when Lombardo was in charge?
Thanks.
