Paul Ricca
Encyclopedia
Paul Ricca, also known as "The Waiter" (1897 – October 11, 1972), was a Chicago
mobster who served as the nominal or de facto leader of the Chicago Outfit
for forty years.
, Italy
as Felice DeLucia. By age 17, Ricca was working for the Sicilian Mafia
. In 1915 Ricca stabbed Emilio Parrillo to death. Ricca later claimed that he killed Parillo for breaking an engagement to Ricca's sister. However, in reality Ricca killed Parrillo on Mafia orders. After serving two years in prison, Ricca then killed Vincenzo Capasso, who had testified against him in the Parillo trial, by slitting his throat. After killing Capasso, Ricca assumed the name Paolo Maglio and fled to the United States by way of Cuba
. On August 10, 1920, Ricca arrived in New York City and Americanized his name to "Paul Ricca".
, a Chicago bootlegger and restaurant owner. Esposito brought Ricca to Chicago and put him to work smuggling whiskey from Cuba and moonshine
liquor from Kentucky
. Sensing Ricca's potential, Esposito soon appointed him as maitre d' at the Bella Napoli, Esposito's restaurant. This job was the source of Ricca's nickname "The Waiter". The Bella Napoli was popular with many Chicago gangsters, including the leader of the South Side Gang (the precursor to the Chicago Outfit), Al Capone
. Sharing several mutual friends among Neapolitan gangsters who had returned to Italy, Ricca soon gave up his restaurant job and joined the South Side Gang.
in Atlantic City, New Jersey
, the first meeting of all the major criminal gangs in the United States. In 1930, Capone sent Ricca to New York City to serve as his emissary in peace talks aimed at ending the Castellammarese War
between the New York gangs. With the establishment of the National Crime Syndicate
in 1931, Ricca's prestige and visibility continued to rise.
In 1932, Capone was convicted of tax evasion and sent to prison. Nominally, Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti
succeeded Capone as boss of the Chicago Outfit with Ricca as underboss. However, Ricca held the real power, if not by 1932 then almost certainly by 1939. Ricca frequently overruled Nitti's orders by saying, "We'll do it this way. Now let's hear no more about it!" In addition, the leaders of the emerging Syndicate, including Lucky Luciano
, dealt with Ricca, not Nitti, as boss of the Outfit.
. Chicago mobster Johnny Roselli ("Handsome Johnny") gained control of the Projectors Union and threatened the studios with strikes and other labor problems. To avoid labor unrest, RKO
, Paramount
, MGM
and 20th Century Fox
paid several hundred thousand dollars to the Outfit. However, two Outfit men were arrested for extortion and agreed to testify against the Outfit leadership. In March 1943, Ricca, Nitti, and other mob leaders were indicted for extortion.
On March 18, 1943, Ricca and the Outfit leadership met with Nitti and demanded that he plead guilty to all the extortion charges as part of a deal to save them from prison. Terrified at the prospect of prison due to his severe claustrophobia
, Nitti shot himself to death the next day. Ricca now became boss of the Outfit in name as well as fact, naming enforcement chief Tony Accardo
as underboss
. Ricca and Accardo would run the together Outfit for the next 30 years.
Ricca was fairly soft-spoken, but was as ruthless as any crime boss. Whenever he wanted someone rubbed out, he said, "Make-a him go away." Crime historian Joe Sifakis described him as one of the most stereotypical gangsters ever produced by the Chicago Outfit.
lawyer Paul Dillon allegedly offered the head of the federal parole board payment to approve a transfer to Leavenworth for the Outfit mobster.
In May, 1945, against the recommendations of both wardens, Ricca and the other mobsters were moved to Leavenworth. During this period, the US Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) accepted a cash settlement from Ricca for back taxes. On August 13, 1947, after a one week deliberation, the parole board released Ricca and his co-defendants from prison on parole. However, as a condition of his parole, Ricca could have no contact with mobsters. Accardo replaced Ricca as boss. It was generally acknowledged, though, that Accardo shared power with Ricca, who stayed in the background as a senior consultant. No major transactions, and certainly no hits, took place without Ricca's knowledge.
, a Ricca protege, to take Accardo's position. Accardo was facing tax evasion charges and Ricca allegedly wanted him to disappear from public view. Although unhappy about the demotion, Accardo accepted it, joining Ricca in semi-retirement. However, it was understood that Giancana had to get Accardo and Ricca's approval for all major transactions, particularly hits. By staying in the background, Ricca and Accardo survived far longer than Capone ever had.
As Ricca aged, Accardo began to make more of the high level decisions, ultimately pushing Giancana out in favor of Sam Battaglia
in 1966.
government charged Ricca with illegally entering the United States under the alias "Paul Maglio". Three years earlier, the government had located the real Paul Maglio in Chicago and now brought him to testify against Ricca. Although the government won a deportation
order, it was later overturned.
In 1959, Ricca was convicted of tax evasion
and sentenced to nine years in federal prison. After serving 27 months of his sentence, Ricca was released. In 1965, Ricca was again indicted for tax evasion. In court, Ricca maintained that his total income for 1963, $80,159, was earned at the race track. Ricca was eventually acquitted. Ricca later moved to Detroit where he lived until his death.
Ricca died of a heart attack
on October 11, 1972.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
mobster who served as the nominal or de facto leader of the Chicago Outfit
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
for forty years.
Early life
Ricca was born in NaplesNaples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
as Felice DeLucia. By age 17, Ricca was working for the Sicilian Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
. In 1915 Ricca stabbed Emilio Parrillo to death. Ricca later claimed that he killed Parillo for breaking an engagement to Ricca's sister. However, in reality Ricca killed Parrillo on Mafia orders. After serving two years in prison, Ricca then killed Vincenzo Capasso, who had testified against him in the Parillo trial, by slitting his throat. After killing Capasso, Ricca assumed the name Paolo Maglio and fled to the United States by way of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. On August 10, 1920, Ricca arrived in New York City and Americanized his name to "Paul Ricca".
Joining the mob
While in Cuba, Ricca met Joseph "Diamond Joe" EspositoJoseph Esposito (mobster)
Joseph "Diamond Joe" Esposito was a Prohibition-era Chicago politician who was involved in bootlegging, extortion, prostitution and labor racketeering with the Genna Brothers...
, a Chicago bootlegger and restaurant owner. Esposito brought Ricca to Chicago and put him to work smuggling whiskey from Cuba and moonshine
Moonshine
Moonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...
liquor from Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. Sensing Ricca's potential, Esposito soon appointed him as maitre d' at the Bella Napoli, Esposito's restaurant. This job was the source of Ricca's nickname "The Waiter". The Bella Napoli was popular with many Chicago gangsters, including the leader of the South Side Gang (the precursor to the Chicago Outfit), Al Capone
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
. Sharing several mutual friends among Neapolitan gangsters who had returned to Italy, Ricca soon gave up his restaurant job and joined the South Side Gang.
Working with Capone and Nitti
Ricca rose very quickly in the gang ranks, frequently serving as Capone's emissary to the East Coast gangs. The two soon became good friends; in 1927, Capone served as the best man at Ricca's wedding. In 1929, Capone and Ricca attended the Atlantic City ConferenceAtlantic City Conference
The Atlantic City Conference held in 1929 was a historic summit of leaders of organized crime in the United States. It is considered by most crime historians to be the earliest organized crime summit held in the US...
in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
, the first meeting of all the major criminal gangs in the United States. In 1930, Capone sent Ricca to New York City to serve as his emissary in peace talks aimed at ending the Castellammarese War
Castellammarese War
The Castellammarese War was a bloody power struggle for control of the Italian-American Mafia between partisans of Joe "The Boss" Masseria and those of Salvatore Maranzano. It was so called because Maranzano was based in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily...
between the New York gangs. With the establishment of the National Crime Syndicate
National Crime Syndicate
The National Crime Syndicate was the name given by the press to a loosely-organized multi-ethnic organized crime syndicate. Its origins are uncertain....
in 1931, Ricca's prestige and visibility continued to rise.
In 1932, Capone was convicted of tax evasion and sent to prison. Nominally, Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti
Frank Nitti
Francesco Raffaele Nitto , also known as Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti, was an Italian American gangster. One of Al Capone's top henchmen, Nitti was in charge of all strong-arm and 'muscle' operations...
succeeded Capone as boss of the Chicago Outfit with Ricca as underboss. However, Ricca held the real power, if not by 1932 then almost certainly by 1939. Ricca frequently overruled Nitti's orders by saying, "We'll do it this way. Now let's hear no more about it!" In addition, the leaders of the emerging Syndicate, including Lucky Luciano
Lucky Luciano
Charlie "Lucky" Luciano was an Italian mobster born in Sicily. Luciano is considered the father of modern organized crime in the United States for splitting New York City into five different Mafia crime families and the establishment of the first commission...
, dealt with Ricca, not Nitti, as boss of the Outfit.
Hollywood extortion case
In the early 1940s, Nitti convinced Ricca and the rest of the Outfit leadership to participate in a labor racketeering and extortion scheme aimed at the movie studios in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Chicago mobster Johnny Roselli ("Handsome Johnny") gained control of the Projectors Union and threatened the studios with strikes and other labor problems. To avoid labor unrest, RKO
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
, Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
and 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
paid several hundred thousand dollars to the Outfit. However, two Outfit men were arrested for extortion and agreed to testify against the Outfit leadership. In March 1943, Ricca, Nitti, and other mob leaders were indicted for extortion.
On March 18, 1943, Ricca and the Outfit leadership met with Nitti and demanded that he plead guilty to all the extortion charges as part of a deal to save them from prison. Terrified at the prospect of prison due to his severe claustrophobia
Claustrophobia
Claustrophobia is the fear of having no escape and being closed in small spaces or rooms...
, Nitti shot himself to death the next day. Ricca now became boss of the Outfit in name as well as fact, naming enforcement chief Tony Accardo
Tony Accardo
Antonino Joseph Accardo , also known as "Joe Batters" or "Big Tuna", rose from small-time hoodlum to the position of day-to-day boss of the Chicago Outfit in 1947, to ultimately become the final Outfit authority in 1972, until his death...
as underboss
Underboss
Underboss is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss...
. Ricca and Accardo would run the together Outfit for the next 30 years.
Ricca was fairly soft-spoken, but was as ruthless as any crime boss. Whenever he wanted someone rubbed out, he said, "Make-a him go away." Crime historian Joe Sifakis described him as one of the most stereotypical gangsters ever produced by the Chicago Outfit.
Extortion conviction
On December 30, 1943 Ricca and his associates were convicted of extortion and sentenced to ten years each in federal prison. Ricca began his sentence at the federal penitentiary in Atlanta, but was soon lobbying to a transfer to Leavenworth Penitentiary in Kansas. The Atlanta warden, reportedly prejudiced against Italians, had severely beaten Outfit mobster Phil D'Andrea, making Ricca and the others fearful for their lives. After a series of contacts, St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
lawyer Paul Dillon allegedly offered the head of the federal parole board payment to approve a transfer to Leavenworth for the Outfit mobster.
In May, 1945, against the recommendations of both wardens, Ricca and the other mobsters were moved to Leavenworth. During this period, the US Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
(IRS) accepted a cash settlement from Ricca for back taxes. On August 13, 1947, after a one week deliberation, the parole board released Ricca and his co-defendants from prison on parole. However, as a condition of his parole, Ricca could have no contact with mobsters. Accardo replaced Ricca as boss. It was generally acknowledged, though, that Accardo shared power with Ricca, who stayed in the background as a senior consultant. No major transactions, and certainly no hits, took place without Ricca's knowledge.
Ricca and Giancana
As the 1950s began, Ricca started passing more of the day-to-day operation of the Outfit to Accardo. However, in 1957 Ricca suddenly told Accardo that he wanted Sam GiancanaSam Giancana
Salvatore Giancana , better known as Sam Giancana, was a Sicilian-American mobster and boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1957-1966...
, a Ricca protege, to take Accardo's position. Accardo was facing tax evasion charges and Ricca allegedly wanted him to disappear from public view. Although unhappy about the demotion, Accardo accepted it, joining Ricca in semi-retirement. However, it was understood that Giancana had to get Accardo and Ricca's approval for all major transactions, particularly hits. By staying in the background, Ricca and Accardo survived far longer than Capone ever had.
As Ricca aged, Accardo began to make more of the high level decisions, ultimately pushing Giancana out in favor of Sam Battaglia
Sam Battaglia
Samuel "Teets" Battaglia was a Chicago mobster and high-level member of the Chicago Outfit criminal organization.-Early career:...
in 1966.
Later years
In 1957, the federalUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government charged Ricca with illegally entering the United States under the alias "Paul Maglio". Three years earlier, the government had located the real Paul Maglio in Chicago and now brought him to testify against Ricca. Although the government won a deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
order, it was later overturned.
In 1959, Ricca was convicted of tax evasion
Tax evasion
Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
and sentenced to nine years in federal prison. After serving 27 months of his sentence, Ricca was released. In 1965, Ricca was again indicted for tax evasion. In court, Ricca maintained that his total income for 1963, $80,159, was earned at the race track. Ricca was eventually acquitted. Ricca later moved to Detroit where he lived until his death.
Ricca died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
on October 11, 1972.
External links
- American Mafia: "Like Cashmere On A Leper" (Part One) by John William Tuohy
- ISPN.org: Friends in High Places