The Outfit

by Russo, Gus

  Sanders, Coyne Steven, and Tom Gilbert. Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. New York: Quill William Morrow, 1993.

  Sasuly, Richard. Bookies and Bettors: Two Hundred Years of Gambling. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1982.

  Sawislak, Karen. Smoldering City. Chicagoans and the Great Fire, 1871-1874. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1995.

  Schem, David E. Contract on America: The Mafia Murders of John and Robert Kennedy. Silver Spring: Argyle Press, 1983.

  Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. Robert Kennedy and His Times. New York: Ballantine Books, 1978.

  Schoenberg, Robert J. Mr. Capone. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1992.

  Sebilleau, Pierre. Sicily. New York: Oxford University Press, 1968.

  Sheridan, Walter. The Fall and Rise of Jimmy Hoffa. New York: Saturday Review Press, 1972.

  Sinatra, Nancy. Frank Sinatra: An American Legend. Santa Monica: General Publishing Group, 1995.

  ———. Frank Sinatra, My Father. New York: Pocket Books, 1985.

  Smith, Alson J. Syndicate City: The Chicago Crime Cartel and What to Do About It. Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1954.

  Smith, Hedrick. The Power Game: How Washington Works. New York: Ballantine Books, 1988.

  Smith, Sally Bedell. In All His Glory: The Life of William S. Paley: The Legendary Tycoon and His Brilliant Circle. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990.

  Soule, George. Sidney Hillman: Labor Statesman. Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, 1939.

  Spada, James. Peter Lawford: The Man Who Kept the Secrets. New York: Bantam Books, 1991.

  Stone, Irving. Clarence Darrow for the Defense. New York: Doubleday, 1989.

  Sullivan, Edward D. Rattling the Cup on Chicago Crime. New York: Vanguard, 1929.

  Sullivan, William, with Bill Brown. The Bureau: My Thirty Years in Hoover’s FBI. New York: Pinnacle Books, 1979.

  Summers, Anthony. The Arrogance of Power: The Secret World of Richard Nixon. New York: Viking, 2000.

  ———. Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1985.

  ———. Official and Confidential: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1993.

  Swados, Harvey. Standing Up for the People: The Life and Work of Estes Kefauver. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1972.

  Taraborrelli, J. Randy. Sinatra: Behind the Legend. Secaucus: Carol Publishing Group, 1997.

  Teresa, Vincent, with Thomas C. Renner. My Life in the Mafia. Garden City: Doubleday & Company, 1973.

  Terkel, Studs. Coming of Age. New York: New Press, 1995.

  Theoharis, Athan, ed. From the Secret Files of J. Edgar Hoover. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1991.

  Thomas, Evan. Robert Kennedy: His Life. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000.

  Thornton, Russell. American Indian Holocaust and Survival: A Population History Since 1492. Norman and London: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987.

  Touhy, Roger, with Ray Brennan. The Stolen Years. Pennington Press, 1959.

  Trohan, Walter. Political Animals: Memoirs of a Sentimental Cynic. Garden City: Doubleday & Company, 1975.

  Truman, Margaret. Harry S. Truman. New York: Quill, 1972.

  Tuohy, John W. When Capone’s Mob Murdered Roger Touhy. Ft. Lee: Barricade, 2001.

  Turkus, Burton B. Murder, Inc.: The Story of the Syndicate. New York: Da Capo Press, 1992.

  Turner, Wallace. Gambler’s Money: The New Force in American Life. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965.

  Van Tassel, Bethel Holmes. Wood Chips to Game Chips: Casinos and People at North Lake Tahoe. Reno: privately published, undated.

  Walsh, George. Public Enemies: The Mayor, the Mob, and the Crime That Was. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1980.

  Washington Post. The Presidential Transcripts. New York: Dell Publishing Co., 1974.

  Watkins, T. H. Righteous Pilgrim: The Life and Times of Harold L. Ickes, 1874-1952. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1990.

  Webb, Royston. “The Life and Times of Llewelyn Morris Humphreys.” Doctoral dissertation, 2000.

  White, Theodore H. The Making of the President 1960. New York: Atheneum Publishers, 1961.

  Willoughby, Malcolm F., Commander USCG (Rt.). Rum War at Sea. Washington, D.C: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1964.

  Wilson, Earl. Sinatra: An Unauthorized Biography. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1976.

  Zeller, F. C. Duke. Devil’s Pact: Inside the World of the Teamsters Union. Secaucus: Carol Publishing Group, 1996.

  6. Articles

  Allen, Robert S. “How Congress Scuttled Kefauver.” U.S. Crime, December 7, 1951.

  Bartlett, Donald L., and James B. Steele. “Throwing the Game.” Time, September 25, 2000.

  Bilek, Arthur J. “Hit Team for the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.” Real Crime Book Digest, spring 1995.

  ——. “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Chicago Rat-tat-a-tat.” Real Crime Book Digest, spring 1995.

  “Bioff Show.” Newsweek, November 10, 1941.

  Brashler, William. “How the FBI Put the Heat on Giancana.” Chicago, February 1977.

  Candeloro, Dominic. “A Personal Essay on Italian Americans in Chicago and Illinois Politics in the Twentieth Century.” (Internet).

  Chandler, J. D. “Frank Sinatra and the Mob.” Crime Magazine, June 13, 2001.

  “Chicago Rebels Against Filly de Mignon.” Life, February 11, 1952.

  Clemens, Bob. “The Las Vegas Strip.” Variety, December 7, 1954.

  Earl, Phillip I. “The Legalization of Gambling in Nevada, 1931.” Nevada Historical Society Quarterly, Notes and Documents, spring 1981.

  “Estes Kefauver, RIP.” The National Review, August 27, 1963.

  Gilfoyle, Timothy J. “Making History Writing Law and History in Chicago: Interviews with John Hope Franklin and Abraham Lincoln Marovitz.” Chicago History 25, no. 3 (all 1996).

  Greenberg, David. “Was Nixon Robbed? The Legend of the Stolen 1960 Presidential Election.” Slate Archives, October 16, 2000 (Internet).

  Gribben, Mark. “Bugsy Siegel.” (Internet).

  Hopkins, A. D. “Capone Connection.” Las Vegas Review-Journal, March 21, 1999.

  ———. “The Developer’s Developer.” (Internet).

  IIT Technical Institute and the Chicago Crime Commission. “A Study of Organized Crime in Illinois.” 1972.

  Jackson, David. “Sordid Ties Tarnished City Police.” Chicago Tribune, October 22, 2000.

  Kelly, Jack. “How America Met the Mob.” Forbes American Heritage, August 2000.

  Kennedy, William. “Under My Skin.” The New York Times Magazine, October 7, 1990.

  Kurson, Robert. “Mob Lite.” Chicago Magazine, December 2000.

  “The Mafia of Domenico Airoma.” Institute for the Doctrine and the Social Information, undated (Internet).

  Lindberg, Richard. “The Death of the Don: The Legacy of Tony Accardo.” Illinois Police and Sheriffs News, September 1992 (Internet).

  ———. “The Memoirs of a Street Agent.” (Internet, undated).

  Lombardo, Robert M. “The Genesis of Organized Crime.” (Internet, undated).

  Long, Russ. “White-Collar Crime.” (Internet).

  Longmeyer, Joseph. “Blood, Sweat and Picket Lines: An Ex-Organizer’s Very Personal Account of How Unions Kill Themselves.” Undated.

  ———. “Gus & Lenny: Mob Marauders from the Security Set.” Privately published.

  Machi, Mario. “Chicago.” American Mafia.com. undated (Internet).

  Maloney, J. J. “The Greenlease Kidnapping.” Crime Magazine, 2000 (Internet).

  Marinacci, Michael. “Joseph Weil: The Yellow Kid.” (Internet 1997).

  Martin, John Bartlow. “Who Killed Estelle Carey? The Murder That Lifted the Veil on the Syndicate.” Harper’s, June 1944.

  ———. “Al Capone’s Successors.” American Mercury, June 1949.

  May, Allan. “The First Shooting of Frank Nitti.” (Internet, February 22, 19
99).

  ———. “Havana Conference.” Internet, December 22, 1996.

  ———. “The History of the Race Wire Services.” Crime Magazine, undated (Internet).

  ———. “The Last Days of Lepke Buchalter.” Crime Magazine, 2000 (Internet).

  ———. “A Sicilian Bedtime Story.” PER International, 1999 (Internet).

  McWilliams, Carey. “Chicago’s Machine-Gun Politics.” The Nation, March 15, 1952.

  “Mobsters Zeroing In on White Collar Crime as Lucrative Path to Riches. Organized Crime Digest 18, no. 4. (February 19, 1997).

  ’Moodys: Public Utilities, 1945,” (Western Union, AT&T).

  Moore, William Howard. “Was Estes Kefauver ’Blackmailed’ During the Chicago Crime Fiearings?: A Historian’s Perspective.” The Public Historian 4, no. 1 (winter 1982).

  Mosca, Alexandra Katherine. “Funerals of the Infamous.” American Funeral Director, July 2000.

  “The Mystery of Joe Kennedy.” Newsweek, September 12, 1960.

  Nellis, Joseph L. “Legal Aspects of the Kefauver Investigation.” Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science, July-August 1951.

  Nichols, Ron. “Lucky Luciano.” The Crime Library, undated (Internet).

  “Outcry of IBEW’s Jurisdictional Fight vs. IA May See New Officers.” Variety, August 22, 1933.

  Piccolo, Steve. “Chip Venues & Their History.” Chequers Magazine, August 2000 (Internet).

  Posner, Gerald. “The Fallacy of Nixon’s Graceful Exit.” Salon.com Politics, undated (Internet).

  “Rat Pack’s Hot Harem Nights.” Globe, April 21, 1998.

  Roemer, Bill. “A Place in the Sun: Las Vegas . . . from Capo to Corporate.” Illinois Police & Sheriffs News, 1995 (Internet).

  Roth, Andrew. “Bevan’s Bid for Power.” The Nation, March 15, 1952.

  Rowan, Roy. “The 50 Biggest Mafia Bosses.” Fortune, November 10, 1986.

  Smith, John L. “The Double Life of Moe Dalitz.” Las Vegas Review-Journal, undated (Internet).

  Smith, Sandy. “The Mob.” Life, May 30, 1969.

  Stevenson, Jack. “The Jukebox That Ate the Cocktail Lounge - the Story of Scopitone.” (Internet, 1999).

  Stewart, W. M. Scott. “Kefauverism: A Protest.” Papers of Robert P. Patterson, Library of Congress.

  Thomis, Wayne. “Abraham Lincoln Marovitz: A Moving Profile and His City.” Chicago Tribune, May 21-26, 1967.

  Tosches, Nick. “Hipsters and Hoodlums.” Vanity Fair, December 2000.

  ——. “The Man Who Kept the Secrets.” Vanity Fair, April 1997.

  Tuohy, John William. “Accardo.” Gambling Magazine, undated (Internet).

  ——. “Extortion 101.” Gambling Magazine, undated (Internet).

  ——. “Gone Hollywood.” Gambling Magazine, (undated (Internet).

  ——. “Guns and Glamor.” Gambling Magazine, undated (Internet).

  ——. “The Guns of Zangara.” Gambling Magazine, 2000 (Internet).

  ——. “The Last Days of Al Capone.” Gambling Magazine, undated (Internet).

  ——. “The Last Gangster: The Life and Times of Roger Touhy, John Factor and the Mob.” Gambling Magazine, undated (Internet).

  ——. “Power Play: The Nitti Shooting.” Gambling Magazine, undated (Internet).

  ——. “Roger Touhy, Gangster.” Gambling Magazine, undated (Internet).

  ——. “The Sands.” Gambling Magazine, undated (Internet).

  ——. “Ten Percent Tony: The Story of Chicago’s Most Corrupt Mayor.” Gambling Magazine, undated (Internet).

  ——. “Do the Mobs Dictate Your Crime Laws?” Reader’s Digest, March 1953.

  ——. “Secret ’Mr. Big’ of Florida.” Collier’s, May 5, 1951.

  Velie, Lester. “The Capone Gang Muscle.” Collier’s, September 30, 1950.

  ——. ’”The Man to See’ in New Jersey.” Collier’s, August 25, 1951.

  ——. “Rudolph Halley - Flow He Nailed America’s Racketeers.” Collier’s, May 19, 1951.

  Warren, James. “Nixon’s Hoffa Pardon Has an Odor.” Chicago Tribune, April 15, 2001.

  Wolcott, James. “When They Were Kings.” Vanity Fair, May 1997.

  Weberman, A. J. “The Godfather Part III: Why the Mob Rubbed Out Rosselli.” Assassination Archives and Research Center, undated.

  Zill, Oriana, and Lowell Bergman. “U.S. Business & Money Laundering.” Transcript of Frontline, October 10, 2000.

  7. Assorted Private Holdings

  Cal-Neva Resort Report, Lake Tahoe 2, no. 3 (fall-winter).

  Chicago Crime Commission (CCC). “Action Alert.” Fall 1995.

  ——. “Action Alert.” Winter 1996.

  ——. “Annual Report.” 1993.

  ——. “Annual Report.” 1995.

  ——. “Public Enemy Number One: Gangs, 75 Years of Fighting Crime in Chicagoland.” 1995.

  Cuban Information Archives. Document 0126: “Santo Trafficante, Jr.” 1961.

  Hoffman, Dennis E. “Business vs. Organized Crime: Chicago’s Private War on Al Capone, 19291932.” CCC. 1989.

  Peterson, Virgil W. “Criminal Statistics: A Report on Chicago Crime for 1967. CCC.

  ——. ’A Report on Chicago Crime for 1961.” CCC.

  ——. “A Report on Chicago Crime for 1962.” CCC.

  ——. “A Report on Chicago Crime for 1964.” CCC.

  ——. “A Report on Chicago Crime for 1965.” CCC.

  ——. “A Report on Chicago Crime for 1968.” CCC.

  “State by State Popular Vote and Electoral College Breakdown of the Presidential Election of 1960.”

  Acknowledgments

  In some respects, the Outfit’s story has been told before. Although there is much in this book that is new, the foundation was laid years ago by writers such as George Murray, Virgil Peterson, Sandy Smith, Art Petaque, Ovid DeMaris and many others. The history of Chicago crime has also been compiled by dozens of FBI agents, whose reports are scattered in various files at the Bureau’s headquarters and archival repositories. The Outfit owes a great debt to all of these trailblazers who have long deserved a wider audience for the intricate story they helped compile. I viewed my role as twofold: to coalesce all this reportage into a single narrative, and to add new material in the form of recently released documents and original interviews. However, this book could not exist without the contributions of my predecessors, and I thank them first for making The Outfit possible.

  That this dizzying trove of raw data is readable at all is due in large part to the initial line and copy editing of talented New York documentary producer Sally Rosenthal, who cheerily donated her time to the cause and consistently extricated me from the writing doldrums with her witty missives (she also got Boris Kostelanetz to pose for her). Sally’s work was further refined by Panio Gianopoulos at Bloomsbury. Any gaffs that remain are most certainly due to my occasional stubbornness in ignoring some of Sally’s and Panio’s suggestions.

  I also benefitted from the expert eye of Jack Clarke, possibly the most knowledgeable person regarding organized crime in Chicago. Jack took the time to read the manuscript and offer suggestions, leads, and critiques.

  I am further indebted to Jeanne Humphreys, who in 1996 decided to break her long silence and tell me her story, sharing her photos and handwritten journal in the process. Sadly, within days of my delivery of The Outfit manuscript, Jeanne passed away. Jeanne was that rare treasure who not only had a bird’s eye view of some of the most important conclaves in the history of twentieth century underworld America, but possessed a sharp memory, unaffected cynicism, and a total indifference to profiteering from her priceless stories. It was a privilege to be her friend and confidante.

  Chicago native and entertainment legend Steve Allen opened up his crime files to me at his Meadowlane office in Van Nuys, California. My work there was facilitated by Steve’s assistant, Gioia Heiser, and the Meadowlane staff. When I visited California, Steve, as Abbott of the Beverly Hills Friars Club, tr
eated me (and likely all of his friends) like visiting royalty at Club events. In addition to the great void in comedy and music, America lost a passionate voice for civility and ethics with Steve’s tragic passing in 2000.

  Tony Romano of Magellan Filmed Entertainment started as a business partner, and has since grown into a great friend, who both encouraged and supported me when I needed it most. Tony has a passionate interest in storytelling, and an astonishing insouciance regarding the Hollywood glitter and self-absorbtion that surrounds him. I doubt there is anyone quite like Tony working in Hollywood today, except perhaps Larry Berman - but that’s another story.