@dixie Ricca gained power by being close to Esposito and by just going back and forth to New York.Ricca was the one that they often saw and he was the one that they trusted the most because they knew him even before Nitti's rise up. So when big things had to be done they called upon Ricca and not Nitti. So i think that Ricca became power during the Capone era, especialy after the murder of Esposito. Ricca and Capone inherited Esposito's criminal empire. When Al was sent to jail, Ricca was the one who inherited everything. Also after Capone the newspaper men needed a new target because the stories about gangsters were selling like crazy so they targeted Nitti and Paul played it smart by staying behind the scene.

@AllDay27 Most of the old Chicago bosses started their careers in New York Esposito, Torrio, Capone, Ricca, Campagna etc. Esposito was very close to Masseria,Costello and Luciano and since Ricca worked for him, thats how he got close to thouse individuals. When Capone and Ricca killed Esposito,the New York faction needed a new guy who flew under the radar so they contuined their associations to Chicago through Ricca. So my point is that Esposito was the main reason for Ricca's connections to the Big Apple. Also dont forget that when Ricca first arrived in New York he was already a Camorra associate and a murderer so maybe he already established some criminal connections over there. And as additional info, Esposito was also the main reason for Chicago's and New York's connections to Cuba since he was importing and selling sugar to every big time bootlegger. Esposito was a very smart,influental and powerful individual but his problem was that he wasnt a very violent person but Ricca was...