Tony Accardo Wealth

Have to wonder how much money he had or at least should of had. He was at the top or at very worst in the top three for what 50 years or more? Was around when the outfit was making real money. Also important factors are that I don't recall any real legal issues that would of drained his coffers or IRS issues for that matter, also exceptmformthe infamous house he bought or built that ricca and the hump didn't agree with I don't think he ever spent crazy.

What are some other guys who would or should have similar wealth? He just seems to be a very rare combination that he was in the upper echelon of leaders for so long and never really had to give up any of his wealth and was around when they were really really earning.

The most wealthy Outfit members were the ones who invested their dirty cash in profitable legitimate businesses such as clubs, real estate, oil firms, food companies, car companies, music companies, garbage etc. These guys usually didnt want the top spot and remained as crew bosses or high profile associates. As crew boss Ross Prio was the guy that you can take as an example or Hyman Larner and Eddie Vogel as high profile associates. These guys almost had the same power as their bosses. According to some reports, when Vogel retired from the oranization he had over 20 mil stashed "under his bed" plus real estate

As for Accardo, yeah during his prime time he was maybe one of the most richest mobsters in Chicago but i dont belive that he had much money left when he died. The problem was that he was a very well known crime figure, almost like Al Capone, so it was very hard for him to use other people as fronts for his legitimate enterprises. Many people were scared. He coudnt operate from the shadows even if he wanted to. He elude the law very well but you can imagine the ammounts of cash that he spent just to acheive that.

There's simply no way to know for sure how much these guys were worth. This article is from Fortune 500....1986. Take it with a grain of salt. Just sharing info.


FORTUNE'S 50: FROM 'FAT TONY' TO 'THE HORSE'
RICK HAMPSON , Associated Press
Oct. 22, 1986 10:41 PM ET
NEW YORK (AP) _ Fortune magazine, known for ranking the 500 largest corporations, has come out with a new list: the ''50 Biggest Mafia Bosses,'' topped by Anthony ''Fat Tony'' Salerno of New York and ending with Frank ''The Horse'' Buccieri of Chicago.
Salerno was followed at the top of the mob list by two more Anthonys: ''Big Tuna'' Accardo of Chicago and ''Tony Ducks'' Corallo of New York, according to the rankings published in the Nov. 10 issue. The list is based on law enforcers' assessments of each mobsters' wealth, power and influence, Fortune said.
''Organized crime is, among other things, a potent economic force,'' managing editor Marshall Loeb explained in his biweekly note to readers. ''Yet rarely, if ever, has the press examined the mob as a business, one that has its own management style and culture...''
Try telling that to John Gotti, reputed boss of the Gambino family - the nation's largest single crime network - who ranked only 13th in the Fortune 50, just ahead of the long-retired and now imprisoned Joseph Bonanno.
Gotti's custom suits, Mercedes 450-SL and impeccable hairstyle - not to mention his alleged responsibility for the murder of his predecessor, Paul Castellano - have gained him more publicity than any mobster since Al Capone.
But ''his superstar status is more image than substance,'' sniffed Fortune. ''He does not seem qualified to run the Gambino family's complex businesses, which range from meat and poultry sales to a garment industry trade association.''
According to Fortune, ''the organization chart of a crime family or syndicate mirrors the management structure of a corporation,'' and mobsters act accordingly:
- Like many a chief executive, Accardo was called back from retirement in Palm Springs, Calif., when other leaders of Chicago's Outfit were imprisoned.
- Salerno and his fellow New York Mafia bosses fixed cement prices, charging a 2 percent fee for all superstructures costing more than $2 million.
- Carl DeLuna, reputed underboss of the Kansas City, Mo., Mafia family, submitted detailed expense accounts for trips to Las Vegas, Nev., where he supervised skimming of cash from the city's casinos.
The mob, Fortune notes, even has a yuppie: Michael Franzeze, 35, a racketeer's son who strayed from traditional scams to branch out into film production and gasoline tax evasion.
But only 24 of Fortune's 50 are currently free or not under indictment, and only 15 of those are under 70. Salerno, who owns an estate in upstate New York, resides in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, which he leaves each day to commute to his federal racketeering trial a few blocks away.
Accardo was the only non-New Yorker in the top 10, which was rounded out by Jerry Catena, reputedly a semi-retired leader of the Genovese family; Gennaro Langella, underboss of the Colombo family; Carmine Persico, Colombo boss; Christopher Funari, consigliere of the Lucchese family; Salvatore Santoro, Lucchese underboss; Philip Rastelli, the ailing Bonanno family boss; and Vincent DiNapoli, a Genovose family capo.
For all its attention to business, however, Fortune was unable to give any annual income or net worth figures for anyone in the Mafia, a network which the FBI estimates to have about 1,700 initiated members in about two dozen cities.
Peter Reuter, a Rand Corp. economist who has studied organized crime, said the rankings probably meant very little.
''I couldn't make an accurate list, and neither can anybody else,'' he said.
But he said most estimates of mob wealth are overstated. ''The old Meyer Lansky line - 'We're bigger than U.S. Steel' - is ridiculous,'' he said.
Comparing Mafia bosses to corporate executives, Reuter argued, ''is only mildly helpful. These are individuals who may respond to their superiors' bidding, but it doesn't mean they work on behalf of their organization very much.'' Most mob assets, he added, apparently are held by individuals, not their crime families.
The Fortune 50, he concluded, ''is entertainment, like most organized crime reporting.''
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Tony Accardo had millions hidden away but like you say the IRS would be watching him and what he spent. he had loads of things like hotels shops and loads of company's real states about 1 million in the bank in the 1980s tax paid plus he never had to spend a penny or a dime he could go any where for free he had over $250.0000 in his safe in the 1970s with vegas bank wraps round the notes he was worth millions but never had to spend any

How accurate is this? How do u know what he has?

By books about him and FBI files my friend all real info look it up you see it is true read the book about him its a good read its called ACCARDO THE REAL GODFATHER and read FBI FILES about him

I've read that book a long time ago by Bill Roemer. While I agree that Accardo was well off, NOBODY could accurately give his estimated net worth...certainly not the Feds. Accardo washed much of his money and only his kids know what was left.

millions.

you won't get it more precisly.

Agreed

I would say 100s of millions. He made millions a year from the 1930s to the late 1980s
Chicago was wide open in the 40s and 50s And really till the earl 90s, they owned the city,everything in the city was under they're control,They made billions..... The wiretaps from the 60s showed that Gus Alex and frank strong Ferraro were making 250k a month from sports betting in the loop and half of that was kicked up to "the WESTSIDE ,which was ricca and acardo and giancana and they had 9 capos and all the business ,street tax,strip clubs ,loan sharking ,pornography,restraunts,car dealerships,card games,vending machines, the laborers, the teamsters and the hotel and restraunt employees and I'm talking the heads of the national unions not just all of the locals etc etc. ...your talking about the most disciplined ,ruthless leadership,old school all the way and gangsters, there was no hemming and hawing...you fucked up and you were gone ,complete sticklers for the rules ...everybody kicked up..... In my opinion in terms of stashed cash ... He's the richest gangster of all time. The longevity is what does it ...he was boss 13 years before gambino and 13 years after. The family was his until the day he died in 92...your talking 48 years even at 2.2 million per year that's a 100 million and I'm thinking it was more like 30 million a year

I agree well said

Impossible to determine but very good reasoning Louie. Net worth at death can only be known by his family. He may have made that in his lifetime, but who knows what went out in payoffs, legal fees for senate hearings, living expenses etc. Payoffs alone in a city the size of Chicago had to have been astronomical. But I agree with your statement about Accardo being one of the wealthiest gangsters of all time...no doubt about it. But I also know some bosses from smaller families that had staggering wealth, John LaRocca in Pittsburgh was said to be worth nearly $40 million according to Andrew Susce, former IRS agent who tracked LaRocca for over 20 years. In a smaller city, there aren't as many layers of government to payoff. Jimmy Lanza in San Francisco was said to be worth upwards of $50 million. Tony Milano in Cleveland was in the rackets from around 1915 through 1978, his wealth was estimated by local FBI and IRS agents to be upwards of $60 million.

Guys like Moe Dalitz, Meyer Lansky, Morris Kleinman, Louis Rothkopf, and Samuel Tucker were some of the wealthiest gangsters in America. Dalitz very well could have had over $110 million according to the Feds, much of it legitimate money.

I know that the Midwest is in your wheelhouse, Oscar. But I know a thing or two about Dalitz through a (now deceased) old time Westsider who had interests in Vegas and knew Dalitz quite well. And you better believe he had AT LEAST 110 million when he died, most of it washed clean through shrewd business moves. He was a BRILLIANT man.

The funny thing PB is that everybody thought he was a gangster his entire life...and he certainly was for a period of time like many during the bootlegging days...but he was so fucking brilliant, he did what Michael Corleone couldn't do...he went legitimate. Don't forget about his right and left hands, Morris Kleinman and Sam Tucker. Tucker, Dalitz and Kleinman had all the illegal gambling at the Beverly Hills Club. His backing in Cleveland was brutal, all led by Tony & Frank Milano. In the midwest, the Calabrians did alot of business with the Jewish rackets figures and they all had a wonderful working relationship...it was about one thing...$$$

http://clevelandmob.com/ky.html

http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/moe-dalitz (Awesome Read)-It mentions the Jungle Inn, one of the largest illegal casinos in the country at the time in good ole Youngstown, OH.

Yup, agree across the board. Great stuff, Oscar .

PB, I love seeing you spit out some Midwest info The Ohio River Valley had the largest influx of Calabrians in history in the early 1900's, hence the black hand activity in those respected areas.

Getting back to the topic, I would have to estimate that Joe Profaci may have been one of the wealthiest mobsters in America with his Olive Oil Company...he made a fortune.

His so John currently owns Colavita, which is, in my opinion, one of the best olive oils currently available in the United States. They carry a helluva dried pasta line, too.

I love Colavita, but I normally use Sasso. I've had their dried pasta, Colavita is a great brand. I would think Profaci was wealthier than any of the other NY bosses with his company and his illegal rackets, no?

Speaking of Profaci, one of his daughters was married to Anthony Tocco, longtime Detroit Consigliere for his brother Jack and the other daughter was married to Joe Zerilli's son Anthony, former Underboss in Detroit. His niece was married to Bill Bonanno (the biggest liar in the history of the mafia)...the Profaci's were connected all over the country.

OMG - Bill Bonanno (the biggest liar in the history of the mafia)- A statement no truer words were spoken on this Board.

I remember vaguely about some Ohio guys wanting to get with him in Arizona to do some type of Development - Homebuilding/Remodeling some deal in Arizona/California or something like that I don't have a clear memory on that. I just remember that it didn't work out and they weren't too kind in Words for him.

i read somewhere once it was estimated that profaci was worth 70 million. how about carlo gambino he had to have been worth at least as much as profaci and probably more.

On paper? There's not a New York boss with a tenth of the money that John Profaci can "show." And I seriously believe that he doesn't have a single shady thing going on in his life.

And with the kind of money that he inherited from his father (call Joe Profaci greedy, but he had the foresight to launder his money before the Feds concentrated on such things), he'd have to be crazy to even cheat a nickel on his taxes. They're fucking loaded.

Friend of the family...when I hear Bill Bonanno speak it makes me want to throw up in my mouth. That spoiled, rotten brat that he always was is about as street smart as a wet fart.

Not for certain...Profaci built an EMPIRE with his legitimate company, Colavita Olive Oil. Carlo had his rackets, but not a legitimate powerhouse corporation like Profaci. Plus, Profaci had 30 years at the helm. Gambino had a bigger family, but Profaci had legitimate enterprises and was a brilliant business man. Carlo married his first cousin...nuff said!

If I'm not mistaken, I believe Ed DeBartolo Sr bought some property off of his father, Joe Bonanno in the early 1990's and developed a shopping mall...in fact, I'm positive about that. Mr. DeBartolo may have passed on some information to some of the fellas looking to get into legitimate real estate deals to wash their money, after all, Mr. DeBartolo had "friends" all over the country.

110% agreed. Colavita is an international brand name and does $36.8 million per year (as of 2015) as a "small, family owned business" in the United States alone. Another Italian who was smart and put his illegal gains into a completely legitimate business through connections in Sicily and made a fortune in America.

It actually wouldn't shock me if Big Paul Castellano had more money than Carlo Gambino. He came from wealth, owned huge corporations that sold meat to all the restaurants in NYC...he left his kids enough money that they are all extremely wealthy...I'd bet on it.

i dont dispute what you have said, but keep in mind during the gambino era there was a broader range of activities to make money from. including the old school street rackets. but also the unions, waste disposal, and narcotics were all huge money makers for a gambino family that was twice the size of the profaci family.

Profaci had those rackets as well...plus a multimillion dollar legitimate enterprise. I agree, Gambino should have been very wealthy, but I have a hard time giving credit to a guy who marries his first cousin...but yes, he was a very wealthy man.

marrying his first cousin really bothers you. i understand. but that wasnt so much out of the mainstream decades ago amongst the italians, and other ethnic groups as well. it was all about the tight circle of the family. its still practiced today among the n'drangheta.and yes im calabrese, as are you.

While I understand the history of our ancestors, and yes, my entire family hails from San Nicola Ardore, Tropea and Bianco...none of them married first cousins and "many" of my uncles and my all of my grandfathers (including my great grandfathers) had arranged marriages...which I found odd when I found out about it. I do have a case in my own family where my dad's brother and their first cousin actually had a son and a daughter who were married which makes them 3rd cousins..BUT, that side of the family settled in Connecticut and it wasn't arranged...and trust me, I crack jokes about that all the time.

understood. things were certainly different many moons ago. i know you to be knowledgeable, so im certain you know which don was born in tropea.

Probably the Lord High Executioner, he was Calabrese.

correct. otherwise known as Don Umberto.

The Milano's from Cleveland, Tony & Frank were both from Calabria as well. If I'm not mistaken, they came from San Roberto, which is about 65 miles south of Cantanzaro. Along with many other Calabrese mob bosses in the Ohio River Valley. Another infamous name who was a major boss was Gianni "John" Bazzano Sr., born in Reggio Calabria with strong ties back in Italy.

you can also include costello, yale, moretti, scarfo, carfano , mallamo, romeo among many others of calabrian origin.

What made Profaci so smart was like y'all mentioned, him washing his money in his olive oil company. Unlike Gambino and the others, he could live big time if he wanted (I don't know if he did or not) and the Feds wouldn't have to do anything but eat shit and watch unless they could tie the dirty money to the company which is easier said than done. I can't really blame these guys because a lot of them their kids are still living off their wealth and in some cases their grandkids. If I had to break the law to make sure my son lives comfortable you better believe I would.

Mallamo, Romeo, Prato all from Youngstown. I know them well to say the least, better than most We could also include Antonio Ripepi from Pittsburgh, Vincenzo Tripodi and Cosmo Quattrone both from Steubenville. How do you know about Mallamo/Romeo etc?

mallamo/romeo from what jcb has posted on this and other forums. i believe jcb was related to mallamo . talking about wealth. its been alleged that ripepi was worth 40 million legally from his business enterpises. now factor in his other income and he was quite wealthy.

Ripepi was extremely wealthy. Had the biggest vending machine company in Western PA as well as a cement block company. He also had a very large illegal gambling operation for decades.

Are your initials JB Jr? What is your moniker over on Black Hand?

no im faffy444 on the black hand forum as well.

New article on Calabrian OG in June issue of informer. Might be worth a look.

http://informer-journal.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/just-one-more-thing-calabrian.html

i have the issue, and it is a great article, well worth reading.

Looks like a pretty good issue all round, thanks for the recommend, I might even shell out $5 for the whole thing. And no! I don't have a vested interest! Don't even have a vest

they are well worth a fin apiece. i have them all.

House once owned by legendary Chicago Mafia boss Anthony Accardo sold for $1.5 million https://gangstersinc.org/blog/house-once-owned-by-legendary-chicago-mafia-boss-anthony-accardo

$32k/year in taxes. HolY shit. That's even the big house he owned.