The ringleaders of those who were making money
hand-over-fist at the Stardust in the early sixties had all grown out of the
old-time Chicago syndicate. Virtually all of them had been players in Capone's
mob and its war against the Touhy organization.
When Roger entered prison in 1934, there was some
question as to whether the Chicago syndicate, then under Frank Nitti's control,
would make it into the next decade. The end of prohibition had taken away its
beer money. Additionally, the Great Depression, which hit Chicago extremely
hard, had hurt its traditional rackets like white slavery and prostitution. To
top it off, the war with Touhy for control over labor unions had cost them
dearly.
But when Touhy was defeated, Nitti did take control
over most of Chicago's labor unions and even joined the New York and New Jersey
mob in an ill- fated move on the Hollywood entertainment locals. That collapsed
in 1942, when federal indictments locked up virtually all of the leaders of the
Chicago mob. The indictments even caused Frank Nitti to fire a bullet through
his own brain. But by 1959 the mob was under the firm leadership of Paul Ricca-
the man who had murdered Matt Kolb-and Tony Accardo, who was just a small-time
hood when Touhy had been locked away.
For appearances anyway, the outfit's official leader
was Sam "Momo" Giancana, a merciless thug who had fought the Touhys
as part of the 42 Gang under Rocco DeGrazio's command back in 1932.
But Giancana was nothing more then a lightning rod to
keep the government away from Accardo and Ricca. The fact was that Accardo was
the boss. In fact, he remains to this day the most powerful, successful and
respected boss known by the Chicago syndicate, or probably any other criminal
syndicate for that matter. He also had the distinction of being the mob leader
with the longest-lived career. During his tenure, Accardo's power was
long-reaching and frightfully vast.
He was so respected and feared in the national mafia
that in 1948 when he declared himself the arbitrator for any mob problems west
of Chicago- in effect proclaiming all of that territory as his-no one in the
syndicate argued.
He was the boss pure and simple. Unlike Torrio, Nitti
or Ricca, Tony Accardo looked exactly like what he was-a mob thug who could and
did dispatch men and women to their death over money or disrespect. He was a
self-professed peasant. But he was a reserved man and a thinker, unlike
Colosimo, Capone, Giancana and all those who came after Giancana.
Unlike the other bosses, Accardo knew his
limitations. He consulted often with Ricca, Murray the Camel Humpreys and Short
Pants Campagna because he recognized their intelligence and wisdom and liked to
use it.
He admitted lacking the crafty thinking ability of
Ricca, Nitti or Torrio and the flair and self deprecating wit of Capone or
Giancana. Despite his shortcomings, it was Accardo who expanded the outfit's
activities into new rackets after the end of the prohibition era. It was
Accardo who, recognizing the dangers of the white slave trade, streamlined the
old prostitution racket during the war years into the new call girl service
which was copied by New York families even though they laughed at the idea at
first.
Two decades after prohibition was repealed Accardo
introduced bootlegging to the dry states of Kansas and Oklahoma, flooding them
with illegal whisky. He moved the outfit into slot and vending machines,
counterfeiting cigarette and liquor tax stamps and expanding narcotics
smuggling on a worldwide basis.
Watching someone as clever as Paul Ricca and as smart
as Frank Nitti go to jail over the Bioff scandal, Accardo pulled the
organization away from labor racketeering and extortion. Under Accardo's reign
the Chicago mob exploded in growth and became increasingly wealthy.
The outfit grew because aside from the Kefauver
committee, there wasn't a focused attempt on the part of any law enforcement
agency to break it up. The FBI was busy catching Cold War spies and denied that
the Mafia or even organized crime existed at all.
Under Accardo's leadership, the gang set its flag in
Des Moines, Iowa; downstate Illinois; Southern California; Kentucky; Las Vegas;
Indiana; Arizona; St. Louis, Missouri; Mexico; Central and South America.
Accardo's long reign highlighted a golden era for the Chicago syndicate. But it
also ushered in the near collapse of the outfit as well. In 1947, as Tony
Accardo took the reigns of power from Paul Ricca, the outfit produced an
estimated $300 million in business per year, with Accardo, Humpreys, Ricca and
Giancana taking in an estimated forty to fifty million each per year.
Accardo pensioned off the older members of the mob
and gave more authority to its younger soldiers, mostly former 42 Gang members
like Sam Giancana, the Battaglias and Marshal Ciafano.
The money poured in. Hundreds of thousands of dollars
rolled in everyday from all points where Chicago ruled. The hoods who had
survived the shootouts, gang wars, purges, cop shootings, national exposes and
the federal and state investigations now saw rewards for what they had so
dilligently hustled for.
By 1959, the Chicago outfit was stealing millions of
dollars from the Teamsters' pension fund, which they had more or less turned
into their own piggy bank. The outfit was pouring much of that money into Las
Vegas casinos, including The Stardust which Jake the Barber fronted.
It was all so easy, and then Roger Touhy announced
that he intended to pursue a $300,000,000 lawsuit against John Factor and all
the others-Ricca, Humpreys, Accardo-who had helped railroad him to prison for
twenty-five years.
The bosses, Ricca and Accardo,
watched and worried. They thought they had buried Touhy alive in Statesville
but Johnstone got him out. This proved to the syndicate that Touhy's lawyer was
no hack. When he sued, he meant business.
Worse yet, the word on the street was that Touhy was
working with Ray Brennan, an investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
Brennan was
somebody to worry about. He knew what he was doing and he was
honest. Brennan kept turning up asking the wrong questions about Teamster loans
to the Stardust.
The way Ricca and Accardo saw it, there was only one
answer. Roger Touhy had to die.