“Chicago Heights was originally a separate Mafia Family with its own Mafia bosses”

During the 20’s the Chicago Heights was a mobbed up territory. Many mobsters controlled their own operations,like gambling,bootlegging,prostitution and clubs.For example in 1925 Chicago’s West Side mafia boss Diamond Joe Esposito had his own Milano Club and also held many bootlegging and slot machine operations.Also Johnny Torrio made an initial foray into the Heights when he opened the Moonlight Café.In Chicago heights italians settled for the most part in the East side and the Hill, the east side was dominated by Sicilians so they controlled most of the rackets at the time.Most of these guys were extortionists since the 1910’s and during the reign of these Black Hand crews,the Chicago Heights was like a unexploited territory in the eyes of mobsters like Johnny Torrio,Al Capone,the Gennas and others.In the early 20’s Chicago Heights was also a battle ground for criminal gangs allegedly controlled by different criminal factions.The reason was plain and simple….the Chicago heights was a huge distillery and during prohibition,the local distilries made an ammount of 30 million dollars a year.War came along and reslusted,like any other bloody gang war,with many casulaties.In reality the whole thing was a chaos because rival factions fought for controll of the Chicago Heights and on top of that they had a independent bootlegers who fought for independence.So a lot back stabbing and double crossing occured during this gang wars,between or in the gangs.Legend goes that the connection between the Chicago Heights mafia and the Capone gang began when Frank Capone died.Chicago Heights mobsters sent several very big bouquets of flowers to his funeral.Before Chicago Heights most infamous gangsters Jim Emery,Dominic Roberto and Frank LaPorte became criminal legends,first they had to deal with other gangs that ruled the criminal underground in that area.


During the early 1920’s the Chicago Heights were ruled by two sicilian factions and one non-sicilian formed mostly by South Italians.The first sicilian faction was the Sanfilippo gang,later known as the Piazza gang and the other one was the Costello gang in alliance with other sicilian gangs.The gangs were located on the East Side and by this time these crews were involved mostly in extortion and bootlegging and some in gambling.


First Faction


In the early 20's the Chicago Heights were rulled by a sicilian mafia boss Antonio Tony Sanfilippo(boss from 1910-1924) who came from Palermo,Sicily.At first he worked as druggist and later became alderman in the Third Ward and had connections in the Unione Siciliano and was also a high class well respected and always well dressed "gentleman".In reality he was an old time sicilan mafioso(probably a black hand gangster)who mostly controlled extortion(on rich and poor people) and bootleging was his second biz and was closely connecyed with the Gennas from Little Italy.His best criminal underlings were club owners Phil Piazza and Jim Lamberta and his political fixer,Joe Martino.In 1915 Tony was elected alderman for the Third ward and was re-elected in 1917.So his business was booming and that annoyed his “loyal” underlings around him and also the ones that worked for the bootleging hungry Al Capone.So on April 3 1924 Sanfilippo was shot five times from close range with .38 revolver.All of the bullets went through his skull and his skin was burned from the close range.The hit was sanctioned by Al Capone and done on the orders of Jim Emery,Dominic Roberto and Frank LaPorte(non-sicilian faction),Sanfilippos rivals.There are also other rumours that he was killed by his own gang,Jim Lamberta did the job on the orders of Phil Piazza.Tony was 46 years of age and lurked the Chicago Heights for 21 years.Theorists believed that the killing was done by one or possibly two men.Sanfilippos funeral was one of the biggest in Chicago Heights history.


Joseph Martino came from Palermo,Sicily and was very close with mafia boss Tony Sanfilippo and was his second in command.He was a very flamboyant mobster and was the boss of bootlegging and extortion enterprises in Chicago Heights and was also a political fixer and held a position in the Unione Siciliano.He had a lot of police protection and theres a legend that Eliot Ness wanted to meet Martino for some help about finding Capones stills.Martino gave information about his rival and with that Ness obtained warrants for eighteen stills and participated in the raids...in reality the mafiosi killed the agents chauffeur and the investigation was cancelled.True or not rumours came out that Martino was a stool pigeon and on November 30 1928 Joe was shot in the head several times by a "close friend".


When mafia boss Sanfilippo met his end,another prominent sicilian mafioso Phil Piazza,became the boss of the Chicago Heights.He was a very flamboyant cold blooded mobster,well respected by his fellow gangsters and it was said that he worthed over 200.000$ a month.Story goes that Piazza was a rival of the Torrio/Capone gang and was connected with the Gennas from Little Italy.On July 23 1926 Piazza was shot to death outside a café on Lowe Avenue allegedly by the rival non-sicilian faction led by Dominic Roberto.


Jim Lamberta also a sicilian mafioso was a party mobster and a real womenazier.He worked as enforcer and collector for Piazza and was in alliance with the Gennas.He was shot to death on June 2 1926 while goin on a party accompanied by two ladies.During the attack one of the women Mrs. Crystal Barrier was also shot to death and other was wounded.Lamberta was lured into a death trap and Joe Guzzino(non-sicilian faction)and another gunman did the rest of the job.Frank Camera was the other guman involved in Lambertas murder but had trouble with the police because he was a suspect and people thought that he might talk.Later he was killed by his own gang.Joe Salvo was a nephew of mafioso Jim Lamberta and was a bootlegger and a big time vice leader.He was also murdered by the Roberto/Ememry gang on August 3 1926.He was hit four times and was blown away.One of the shooters used a sawed off shotgun.


Joseph Nerone aka Anthony Spano aka "The Cavalier"was Phil Piazza's nephew and a partner in bootleging interests.He was a mathematics genius and also a well dressed killer(and a traitor) with an aristocratic persona.He also had close ties with the Genna gang in the bootleging biz and worked as their partner in crime and was also second in command after Piazza.After Piazza's death Nerone took over the rackets or what really remained.Two of his best henchmen were Joe Pavia and Peter Maggioe.Story goes that Nerone turned his back at the Gennas and that his name had been whispered by Anthony Genna before he died because he lured Tony to his death spot.The police had been looking for "The Cavalier" ever since they had overheard that whisper, but when they found him he was cold and dead.On August 20 1926 Nerone was shot four times and died in the spot and rumours are that Tony Aiello did the job on behalf of the Gennas.Nerone died on one of the five infamous “Death Corners”.Sotry goes that when Nerone became boss of the Chicago Heights,he wanted to cut the Gennas out because he felt his Mafia skills were not appreciated by them and made an alliance with the Drucci gang from the North Side. On August 29 1926 Frank Capello,who worked for Nerone as one if his chief enforcers was killed in his car allegedly by two men.Also on September 2 1926 was Antonio DeStefano Pelledrino,a Nerone enforcer,was found dead.It was the end of Piazza’s gang.


Second Faction


The Costello Brothers led the first big sicilian criminal group in Chicago Heights.Sam,Charlie and Nick Costello were sicilian gangsters that were a supreme force during the early 1920’s that ruled an empire on the East Side and from 19 street Chicago South to Kankakee to Gary Indiana and west to Joilet Ill. The Costello’s were in connection with the Perry bros,Macaluso bros,the DiGiovanni bros and the Zarante bros with Pete Zarante.For example,the DiGiovanni's and Zarante's were well respected gangsters and a big time bootleggers and were also supreme force over the Sicilian population in the Chicago Heights.They were arrested many times during the 20’s for operating illegal stills and were loyal to the Costello gang.The DiGiovanni’s and Zarante’s were involved in criminal operations in Chicago Heights untill the 1950s.At first the Costello’s were in alliance with the Piazza gang but later switched sides with the non-sicilian faction,Jim Emery,Dominic Roberto and others who were in alliance with the Capone gang.


Charlie Costello was the leader of the gang and was given the name “The Capone of the Chicago Heights”.Charlie was in connection with the Capone gang and Dominic Roberto.He helped them take over bootlegging rackets and eliminate competition.He was also involved in the Jim Lamberta murder because Costello was the one who lured Lamberta to his demise. Story goes that Charlie Costello,on behalf of Dominic Roberto,left the party with Lamberta and lured him into a trap and signaled the killers.


Sam Costello was the king of the slot machine racket in Chicago Heights during the early 1920’s.He operated big gambling operations,mostly by placing slot machines around the area and was also involved in bootlegging.Sam was a also a very close friend of Al Capone and was known for wearing a diamond studded belt buckle wich was a gift from Al.Later he was also one of Jim Emery’s top men until his death in 1938.


Nick Costello was a also a bootleger and a big time saloon owner.Together with his two brothers,he owned a legit business,a whole sale candy biz named The Costello Brothers Inc.The Costello’s also controlled the sugar trade in the Chicago Heights during the 20’s wich brought a lot of profits.


During the late 20’s and the end of prohibition,the Roberto/Emery gang became supreme force in Chicago Heights and ruled the underground in alliance with the Costello group.In the mid 30's the Costello’s wanted to muscle in on some of the Roberto/Emery gangs gambling operations and that was the end of the Costello bros.Sam Costello was given the “handshake technique” and was shot to death on February 9,1938.During the attack his brother Nick and two others were wounded.The remaining Costellos later went legitimate with their cash stashed from bootleging.


This article is completed from various infos that can be found on the internet.

awesome info thank you. What do you know about the 'Bloody Gennas'?

No problem man and thanks.You can find a lot of various infos on the Genna's out there.My general opinion is that in the early days the gang was a Taylor street Black Hand gang,first involved in extortion and later in bootleging and polititcs.Also they were very close to mafia boss Diamond Joe Esposito and many other sicilian gangs like the Aiello's.General opinion is that the Genna's were eliminated by the North Side gang,like the Drucci's but other sources also say that the Capone gang was behind their murders...wich i belive also

the landscape of the chicago underworld in the 20s and 30s was very dynamic and diverse. Not sure there was another city like it.

Nicely said