Chicago Outfit v. New York Cosa Nostra

Members of the BB:

In my composition class, we were assigned to write a comparative essay. I chose to write my essay comparing the Chicago Outfit to the American Cosa Nostra. I know some of the fundamental differences (different people, different structures, history, etc.) but I would be greatly appreciative if you could help me on maybe some of the more in-depth differences and similarities. I've planned on doing some research on my own, but I am aware of how informative people are on these boards, thus I've refused to let such a precious resource go to waste. I will be working on the paper off and on this weekend, as the rough draft will be due Monday, but won't be turned in until Wednesday, so I have basically a week to come up with stuff.

Grazie!

Well for starters id read the chicago outfit,by Gus Russo

For starters in Chicago you did not have to be Italian to be part of the outfit although nearly all of the top postions and desicions were made by italians/sicillians,there was also not formal making ceromony as there is/was in NY between the five famlies,one of the main brains behind the outfit was Muarry Humpheries who was of welsh decent all the italian gangsters respected humpherrys as he always made money and was a political mastermind,he was opne of the main reasons why JFK got voted in as presidant.

Also Jake Guzik was the financial and legal advisor, and later political “fixer”, for the Chicago Outfit.Guzik was born in Russia but it did not stop him rising so high in the Outfit,Capone never looked at somebody by the colour of there skin he was one of the first people to hire black jazz musicians for his Chicago clubs long nefore anybody else in the country.

Also Sam Giancana for a time was partners with a black numbers guy he met in prison,although for a time they wre partners Giancana eventually forced him out of there partnership buy kidnapping him and forcing him and his familly to cross the border into mexico and never return.

As Chopper implied: The Chicago Outfit was not a Cosa Nostra family, at least not initially. The founder of the Outfit, Johnny (the Fox) Torrio, was a Neapolitan, at a time (ca. 1920) all the Mafiosi in America were Sicilians. There was a Mafia organization in Chicago at the time of Torrio and Capone: the Unione Siciliana, which was a kind of civic association with muscle. Capone respected them, and attempted to put his own, Sicilian-born men into the Unione presidency. But as Chopper pointed out, Torrio and Capone reached out to non-Sicilians and even non-Italians. Jake Guzik ran the Outfit, with Frank (the Enforcer) Nitti, for several years while Capone was in prison.

Tony, a point you might want to consider:

Torrio/Capone's outreach to non-Sicilians and non-Italians was a harbinger of things to come. When Charlie Luciano formed the Commission in 1931, following the Castellemmarese War, he permitted non-Sicilians, like Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, and non-Italians, like Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel and Dutch Shultz, to participate in Commission meetings. Lansky remained the Commission's number-one counsel for decades.

Let's be careful about our use of terms. While it is true that the Chicago family utilized non-italians, it is an Italian organization just like the othr families across the nation. All of the families utilize non-Italians as associates, but only as that.

Chicago had a different attitude.

Tommy Guns, St Valentines Day Massacre, etc.

The Chicago Outfit under Torrio and Capone was an Italian-dominated outfit. But, as I was careful to point out, the Mafia in Chicago was an altogether separate organization at that time. And while it's true that other families utilized and still use non-Italian associates, advisers, partners, etc., I don't believe any non-Italians achieved the rank, status and operating responsibilities that Guzik and Humphreys did in the Outfit under Torrio and Capone.

TB is 100% correct.

And in case you're thinking Jack McGurn was a high ranking Irish member of Capone's gang, he wasn't. He was born Vincenzo Gibaldi, in Licata, Sicily.

I have to respectfully disagree. Gus Alex (a Greek) ran day-to-day operations of The Outfit for a time in a triumverate with Tony Accardo and Joey "Doves" Aiuppa.

I read this as "non Italians not achieving rank" referring to other families, not Chicago. Was that correct?

As others have mentioned the Chicago Outfit was dominated by Italians, especially in the leadership positions but non Italians were not per se excluded from membership, as was the case in New York. The Chicago Outfit did not (at least during its heyday) have formal "making" ceremonies or prevent most criminals from joining based on ethnicity.

Gus Alex was definitely a leader and in some ways a heir to the political corruptor/financial roles that were filled earlier by Jake Guzik, Johnny Rosselli, and Murray Humphreys.

There were plenty of respected Outfit leaders and members not of Italian extraction-Claude Maddox, Hymie Levine, Walter Stevens, Joe Epstein, and Sam "Golf Bag" Hunt for starters.

Another difference between Chicago and New York was that the Chicago Outfit was organized more like a corporation. There was not necessarily one overboss, although one could argue that Accardo was as close to that as anyone.

I have read works which argue that Ricca and Accardo and to a lesser extent Humphreys, retained ultimate control over Giancana when he was boss, much like a Board of Directors over a CEO.

Question for you Turnbull, what was Nitti's ranks before Capone was in prison and he ran the Outfit. Was he Underboss or Consigliere?

Since the Outfit wasn't a Mafia family, they didn't use Mafia ranks like consigliere or underboss. Nitti started (as did others) as a Capone bodyguard. John Kobler, author of the best Capone bio, had him as "treasurer," though I think he used that term rather loosely. Guzik was always business manager and de facto second in command. But, after Machine Gun Jack McGurn fell out of favor with Capone, Nitti rose. Guzik needed an Italian as a partner to run the Outfit while Capone was in prison, and Nitti was the next guy in line.
Interestingly, Al's brother Ralph never rose far in the hierarchy. After Capone got out of prison (as a near-vegetable due to his tertiary syphillis), Ralph was basically given a stipend from the Outfit to sustain himself and his brother.

Very interesting, thanks

I thank you all very much! I turned in my paper today.

Could you post it on here?

Only if I get an A :-)

Let's hope you do

I wanna see it!

I'm from Chicago and I simply love Chicago, but I don't remember all these names you all have mentioned. My great-grandmother lived next door to Giancana--she told me that his nickname was "Moon" or "Moonie", I can't remember exactly--she died quite a few years ago. She told me that Giancana and his game belonged to a gang called something like the "16th Street Boys" or something like that. Also, Capone was not a Chicagoan. He was from New York and most Italians in Chicago hated him. They called him and his men "The Black Hand". My own grandfather told me that. He also told me that Italians were terribly discriminated against in Chicago. He said that it was the Irish that treated the Italians like second class citizens. When my grandfather finally found work with a large business in Chicago, he started out as a ditch digger--eventually working his way up to become a supervisor when he retired in the late 60's. He told me that he was discriminated against simply because he was Italian for many years. He said that many men were promoted before he was because they were not Italian. It is interesting that my grandfather never displayed any anger, resentment or vengeance over this situation. Knowing him, I am sure he never complained, but just went along waiting his turn. He said many Italians were too afraid to complain.

~ Sadie

Hi welcome to the boards


Salvatore "Momo" Giancana nicknames included "Momo", "Mooney" and "Sam the Cigar" "Sam Flood"

Sam Giancana joined the 42 Gang, a juvenile street crew

Chopper: THAT'S RIGHT!!! I remember now that you mentioned the 42 gang. Being in England, how did you come to know so much about Chicago gangsters?

My dream is to someday visit England. I am half Italian and half English--my father and his family were English. His great-grandfather came from England. The name of the town (?) where he came from was Yorkshire. My father had just a twinge of an accent.

~ Sadie

Sadie, welcome to the boards! Nice to see a former Chicagoan step-out from behind the "cheddar curtain."

When your great grandmother lived next door to Giancana, was it when Giancana still lived in Chicago on Monitor Street or was it the house in Oak Park on Wenonah and Roosevelt?

tony b.