So now the ex-convict had to be also very careful because the government was watching his every step. He went back to the streets and tried to get back as boss of the Outfit but there was too much heat and pressure and also too much obstacles. One of the biggest obstacles was that he could not associate with known mobsters. So I believe that in 1947/48 Accardo officially was elevated to the top position of the Outfit but with Ricca as his top advisor. The “top advisor” position within the Chicago Outfit was very different than the “advisor” position among the New York crime families for example. In New York that particular high level member of the organization has the role of the voice or representative of the members within the family, and that he may help to resolve or mediate in disputes for the family. In some cases they even had their own operations and schemes and also crew members. But in Chicago, the “top advisor” position was a boss who went to semi-retirement and lived on a “pension” but still had his own voice and sometimes last word on major decisions. That individual also took a cut only from the most lucrative illegal or legal operations and even had the power to issue a “contract” on another man’s life. So Accardo might’ve been the day-today boss of the Outfit, but still he did not make a large move without Ricca’s approval and by studying these two individuals, I believe that they respected each other very much and always backed each other on certain matters. In fact, Ricca and Accardo will lead the way for the Chicago mob for a quite long period, thus controlling a huge illegal empire and leaving many dead bodies along the way.
In July, 1948, a congressional committee considered an unsolved problem on how these four notorious gangsters were given federal paroles and so the congressmen Rep. Clare Hoffman and Rep. Fred Busbey issued arrest warrants and asked for re-imprisonment of Ricca, Campagna, Roselli, D’Andrea and Gioe. The first one that the government managed to hunt down was Gioe. He was seized in his Chicago apartment and was quickly checked in prison while Campagna, who evaded arrest at his Michigan estate to gain a habeas corpus hearing in Chicago, was also back in a cell in Atlanta prison. Campagna and Gioe were in fact sent back to prison for a hearing as to why they violated their paroles. Ricca was arrested on a similar warrant, but his return to prison was halted by court action, D’Andrea had serious health issues so he was watched at his home and as for their underling Johnny Roselli, he was permitted to remain in Los Angeles jail. But on December 20, 1948, Federal Judge E. Marvin Underwood said “The evidence, adduced and unrebutted, shows that there was no violation of parole, and therefore no reliable information upon which to base the warrants" and so he released all of the bosses and all posted bonds of $5,000 each. This was a huge win for the Chicago Outfit and Ricca continued to laugh in the face of justice.
By now the West Side Bloc controlled the political destiny of the "River Wards" for nearly 20 years and the Bloc's hold was so powerful that the common people were very afraid to vote against it. It was composed of six or seven members whom the gangsters have put in the legislature as if they were elected as Republicans, but in reality they didn’t voted Republican. They voted Ricca because they belonged to the Outfit. Most of them were lawyers, and as such members of the judiciary committee. Also some of the Outfit’s political candidates, started out as procurers or business agents for prostitutes. And so the Outfit financed the politicians with the kind of gambling profits such as the “never- give-the-sucker-a-break gambling” or “pay-off-the- politicians-and-cops gambling.” One of Ricca’s associates and member of his organization was James Adduci, who was elected for State Representative back in 1935. Adduci was typical example of the new breed of crooked politicians who came to power at the same time when Ricca and the Outfit established their stronghold in Chicago. So Adduci in fact represented Ricca’s enclave on the city’s West Side, who also switched his alliance from the Republicans to the Democrats to suit his purpose. But in October 1948 election for the 2nd district, William John Granata, the Republican candidate, was running against State Representative Adduci and Granata’s attempt to unseat Adduci proved to be fatal because Ricca issued a contract on his life. One day Granata was returning home when an armed assassin with a meat cleaver crept from behind on him as he entered his building. Later Granata was found with his skull split wide open. Another rumour also spread that Granata was killed because he and his brother Rep. Peter Granata, had refused to trade votes that they controlled on the West Side for the benefit of Paul Ricca and the Chicago Outfit. My opinion is that the gruesome murder of Granata was a sign of the West Side crew, or to be specific, the assassin was probably Marshall Caifano, younger brother of Leonard Caifano and close associate to the former 42 gang headed by Giancana and Battaglia. There are many reports that by now almost every joint owner or criminal gang on the West Side together with the West Side political bloc, were eating out of Ricca's hand.
James Adduci
Remember Peter Fosco, the guy who was arrested with Ricca on a train to New York back in the 1930’s? Well by 1949, Ricca still had his fingers in the union business thanks to that same Peter Fosco, and also Tony D’Andrea, brother of Outfit Mafia chief Phil D’Andrea. He and Fosco ruled over many thousands of Italian-American laborers in Chicago and vicinity. D’Andrea was the president of the Construction and General Workers District Council of Chicago and Fosco became a very powerful politician as Democratic committeeman of the First Ward and also main representative of the Hod Carriers’ Union. D’Andrea came under the late Mike Carrozzo, labor boss of more than 20 unions with over 15,000 members. As for Fosco, he was the main connection between Ricca and other high level politicians and on top of that, everybody knew that he and Ricca were long time close friends. Fosco’s main lieutenant and precinct captain on the city’s West Side was Ignatius Spachese a.k.a. Ned Bakes, who was also a close friend with Ricca and the late Nitti. Besides handling few gambling houses on the West Side for Ricca and the Chicago Outfit, also a trucking company and a restaurant, back in the early 1940’s Bakes also worked as a Cook County deputy sheriff and also as a messenger between the bosses and Ricca. Fosco and Bakes were few of the main suspects in the parole investigations of the bosses back in 1948. Bakes was said to have told friends he was informed that federal bureau of investigation agents would call on him to ask what help he had given Paul Ricca and the rest of the bosses in getting out of prison and that he had told the FBI nothing. Some of the investigators wanted to know if Bakes could tell the identity of a "mysterious Mike Ryan," the man who paid $15,000 to Attorney Maury Hughes as a fee for handling matter preliminary to securing federal paroles for the bosses. As additional info, Hughes was a close pal of United States Attorney General Tom Clark, who was also probably involved in the securing of the paroles.
Also in October, 1949, the Sheriffs of Palm Beach County in Florida went to see Governor Fuller Warren regarding some “mysterious” mob rivalry around the state. It was reported that during the winter season in Miami, two hoodlum groups one led by New York mobsters and another one by the Chicago mob, allegedly fought for control over the gambling rackets through out the entire Florida area. The alleged principal leaders in this situation were Ricca, Jack Guzik and Murray Humphreys on one side, and Meyer and Jack Lansky, Joe Adonis and Abner Zwillman on the other. Later, information was received that the Chicago Outfit had allegedly contributed $40,000 for the campaign of Governor Warren. Following the visit of the two Sheriffs, the Governor left Florida by plane to an unknown location.
In September, 1950, Ricca and the rest of the top echelon of the Chicago mob were served with subpoenas regarding the hearings of the Kefauver U.S. Senate Committee in Washington. This was the first huge public attention for the mob across the country but also a first big win for the government over this secret criminal society. Here’s a small part of the investigation regarding Ricca’s shady financial status:
The Chairman: Mr. De Lucia, you have been previously sworn in this proceeding, and Mr. Robinson has some additional questions he wants to ask you.
Mr. De Lucia: Before you start, Mr. Robinson, I received a letter the other day about me bringing some more checks. I tried to see you yesterday, and I want to explain. I haven't got them checks. That was from away back.
Mr. Robinson: I see. I think you previously testified regarding the fact that you had in cash the sum of $300,000 before you went into the penitentiary.
Mr. De Lucia: Yes.
Mr. Robinson: And that you had that sum, of course, when you came out of jail.
Mr. De Lucia: That is right.
Mr. Robinson: Was that the total amount that you had?
Mr. De Lucia: I had about that much, yes. I give it the best I could.
Mr. Robinson: What have you done with that $300,000 since you came out of the penitentiary?
Mr. De Lucia: I used it on my farm, for living, and that is all.
Mr. Robinson: How much of it do you have left at the present time?
Mr. De Lucia: I told you I had about $40,000 left.
Mr. Robinson: $40,000 left out of the $300,000.
Mr. De Lucia: That is right.
Mr. Halley: You testified some time ago that you still had $30,000 or $40,000 left of your own money.
Mr. De Lucia: Now, yes.
Mr. Halley: Is that in addition to the $40,000?
Mr. De Lucia: No, all included.
Mr. Halley: So that right now is it your testimony that you are broke except for the money you borrowed from Mr. Hugo Bennett (real name Benvenuti)?
Mr. De Lucia: No, I ain't broke. I got about $40,000.
Mr. Halley: You have about $40,000.
Mr. De Lucia: Yes.
Mr. Halley: But you say you got $40,000 from Mr. Bennett a few months ago?
Mr. De Lucia: Yes.
Mr. Halley: Is the $40,000 you have in addition to what you got from Mr. Bennett?
Mr. De Lucia: No, I mixed all I had. When I got the money I mixed it with some money I had in the bank.
Mr. Halley: So right now you have…
Mr. De Lucia: $40,000. It would be a little less now.
Mr. Halley: That $40,000 is what you owe Mr. Bennett, is that right?
Mr. De Lucia: Yes.
Mr. Halley: Also you owe him another $40,000 on the mortgage?
Mr. De Lucia: That is right.
Mr. Halley: Why is it that when you get a sum as large as $40,000 you take that in cash and do not put it in the bank?
Mr. De Lucia: That is a lot of money to put in a bank, $40,000, all at one time, Mr. Halley…
Mr. Halley: Don't you think it is a lot of money to keep in your house in cash?
Mr. De Lucia: Well, I needed some cash for the house. I needed some cash, you know, you never can tell. So I figure I can keep the money. I always like to keep money in my hands.
Mr. Halley: For what did yon need sums in money in cash?
Mr. De Lucia: I always like to keep money in cash on hand. I was told when I was a boy to keep cash money on hand at all times.
Mr. Halley: That is very nice, Mr. Ricca, but we are serious about that. I don't care about what yon were told since you were a boy. What I want to know is this: We have seen your books. They were kept for the benefit of the parole officer, and everything is paid by check and kept in the books in great detail. Will you tell this committee what you needed large sums of money in cash for 3 or 4 months ago?
Mr. De Lucia: I always have cash in my home.
The Chairman: Mr. Ricca that is not a very satisfactory answer. You have a bank account and keep a lot of money there.
Mr. De Lucia: Senator that is the best answer. Maybe you won't believe it, but that is true.
The Chairman: There isn't anything about this security matter. The money is more secure in a bank than it is in a box in your house.
Mr. De Lucia: That is right.
The Chairman: We want to know why you had to keep such large sums of money in your house or on yourself.
Mr. De Lucia: I am sorry, Senator, I can't give a better answer than that, and I mean it. I am sincere about it. I always like to keep money in my hands.
From the above conversation we can see that Ricca, whether true or false, answered all of the questions that were presented by the committee. In fact, he never used the 5th amendment although it was his right to do so but instead, Ricca lied like a son of a b*tch. It sounds really funny to me when a senate committee such as this one, asks the gangsters to take an oath and expect them to give truthful answers. I mean Ricca was a criminal and a killer at the same time, he lied, and in fact his job was to lie and to swindle people. So how can you expect from a person like that to give a truthful answer?! As additional info, after Ricca’s testimony, Hugo Bennett resigned as track auditor from the Sportsman’s Race Track.
Ricca at the Kefauver hearings
In 1950, the Outfit’s commission was ruled by Ricca and Campagna at the top, with Accardo as the day-to-day boss and Campagna still having his own territory which was the Cicero area, the lower and upper west sides were headed by one old time Capone mobster named Tony Capezio and his protégé Sam Giancana, the West Side suburbs were controlled by Rocco DeGrazia and Sam Battaglia, and since D’Andrea was retired from the mob because of his health problems, now the Near South Side and the Loop was controlled by one of his old Mafia lieutenants Bruno Roti Sr. and the Southwest, South Suburbs and North Side still belonged to Rocco Fischetti, Jim Amaratti and Ross Prio. Accardo was very well respected by Ricca and the Outfit in general because he expanded their gambling operations and took over some of the nations sports betting wire services. Accardo controlled the wire operations and betting parlors from northwest Indiana to the northern suburbs of Chicago. But he was always careful not to act superior around Ricca, the man who had trained him for the top position. During this period many people claim that Ricca and Accardo shared an equal power over the Outfit but I have to disagree because Ricca was once Accardo’s boss and always remained as one. Plus Ricca was older than Accardo so he always has been like his mentor and with that he always had the last word regarding important decisions. But one day the good relationship between Accardo and Ricca became threatened.
In 1951, Accardo made his first dumb move by buying a huge mansion which was one of the largest homes in the River Forest area and with that he also brought the heat from the FBI and also the envy from his fellow mobsters. So the next year the government issued warrants for two of Accardo’s associates in the horse meat business, Joel Miller and Joe Siciliano. The horse meat business was a very lucrative operation and because of that Ricca wanted the operations to remain untouched by the government. But the problem was that government agents had already uncovered the multimillion dollar trade in horse meat sold as hamburgers at restaurants and many other locals around the Chicago area. On 27 March, 1952, Accardo was wanted for questioning by the special Cook county grand jury that was investigating the horse meat racket. The group wanted to question Accardo about the several beatings of a mystery witness whose identity has been kept secret by the state's attorney and the disappearance of Joel Miller. But things got worst when the body of Joel Miller was taken out from the Illinois River and investigators said that this had connection with the horse meat scandal and that the murder was ordered by Outfit members. Also investigators believed that Miller was a "muscle man" for the horse meat racketeers. In fact, Miller was a high ranking associate in the company of Siciliano and a “stone in the shoe” for Accardo. So Siciliano has refused to submit to a lie detector about Miller's disappearance and was placed under indictment in Lake County on charges of bribery and conspiracy. Joseph Siciliano was sentenced to 5 years in prison on charges of bribing a state food inspector and during the trial 4 high ranking Outfit members were mentioned, including Ricca, Campagna and Gioe. The scandal was so big that it became national.
Story goes that Ricca became very angry at Accardo for the disruption of the horse meat business. He was mostly mad because he controlled a big number of butcher shops and meat markets on the city’s West Side. On March 30, that same year, the Chicago Tribune published an article named “RICCA REPLACES ACCARDO AS TOP SYNDICATE BOSS!” The article stated that information came from reliable underworld sources that Accardo has been ousted for bungling the Outfit’s handling of the horse meat and cigarette tax stamp rackets. During a secret meeting, the organization, still headed by Ricca and Campagna, agreed that Accardo should have picked better men to head the meat and cigarette rackets. The few who defended him pointed out that the rackets grew so vast in Illinois that the ordinary secret syndicate method of operation was impossible. But Ricca and Campagna, as the elderly leaders of the Outfit’s commission, were interested only in numbers and secrecy, which in this particular case, both things were being disrupted. One of the bosses allegedly commented that "Accardo picked too many lugs, too many palookas, like that Siciliano. We should have put that guy’s legs in cement." So it was decided that a sharper man was needed at the top so he can make the syndicate comfortable, with better direction and ability to escape detection. In other words, Ricca, Campagna and Accardo groomed one of their best until he became ready to take the top position. That individual was Sam Giancana. As additional info, some FBI reports claim that after Accardo was ousted as boss, Campagna took the position while Giancana prepared himself for the huge responsibility.
So the problems continued when that same year, Ricca and Campagna were arrested again on the suspicion regarding their involvement in the recent murders of former police lieutenant William Drury and Marvin Bas, an attorney. In fact, the two Outfit bosses went voluntarily to police offices accompanied by their attorney, William Scott Stewart. Stewart said that they had heard that the police wished to question them and that the suspects wished to come in and make statements rather than face arrest by states attorney’s police. Ricca explained to the cops that he was at home watching an eclipse of the moon the night Drury and Bas were killed and Campagna said that he was at his farm near Berrien Springs, Michigan and that was that. The cops had no evidences to hold the two crime bosses so they had to let them go.
Ricca and Campagna
Both Ricca and Accardo had many new tax trials on their way and so naturally the bosses became a little bit more paranoid from the pressure that the government gave them. Ricca started to sense informers everywhere around him and often used his famous phrase "Make'a him go away", a commandment which was often given to Giancana and his crew. Usually these so-called “contracts” were first given as “proposals” by the area bosses of the organization. These “proposals” were usually given to Gus Alex or Murray Humphreys who in turn informed Accardo or Giancana. Then one of the two bosses took the information to Ricca who was the last individual that “signed the contracts.” And after that Accardo or Giancana took the order to Humphreys or Alex, who later turned it over to Sam Battaglia or Ross Prio.
