NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Frank Nitti

Francesco Raffaele Nitto, better known as Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti (January 27, 1888 – March 19, 1943) was an Italian/American gangster, one of the top henchmen of Al Capone and later a mob boss in his own right. Nitty (or Nitti) may refer to: Nitty (musician) a Pop-rap artist Frank Nitti, a mobster Antero NiittymÃ¤ki, a hockey goalie Nitti (producer), a rapper and producer Francesco Saverio Nitti, an Italian economist and politician Nitty Gritty, a Reggae singer Francesco Fausto Nitti Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Category: ... is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Sicily (Sicilia in Italian and Sicilian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 kmÂ² (9,926 sq. ... is the 78th day of the year (79th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs in Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country United States State Illinois Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area - City 234. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Area Ranked 25th - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 kmÂ²) - Width 210 miles (340 km) - Length 390 miles (629 km) - % water 4. ... is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 78th day of the year (79th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Alphonse Gabriel Capone (January 17, 1899 â€“ January 25, 1947), popularly known as Al Capone, was an American gangster who led a crime syndicate dedicated to the smuggling and bootlegging of liquor and other illegal activities during the Prohibition Era of the 1920s and 1930s. ... It has been suggested that List of godfathers be merged into this article or section. ...

Early life and prohibition

Frank Nitti was born in Sicily in the 1880s; his gravestone lists his birth year as 1888, but his US immigration documents say 1883. He emigrated to New York Cit after the end of the First World War, and later moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he set up business as a barber, with a profitable line as a jewel fence on the side. Nitti built an extensive network of associates in the Chicago underworld, and eventually came to the attention of Chicago Mafia boss John "Johnny The Fox" Torrio. Sicily (Sicilia in Italian and Sicilian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 kmÂ² (9,926 sq. ... // Development and commercial production of electric lighting Development and commercial production of gasoline-powered automobile by Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler and Maybach First commercial production and sales of phonographs and phonograph recordings. ... â€œThe Great War â€ redirects here. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area City 606. ... A boy visiting a barber A barber (from the Latin barba, beard) is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, give shaves, and trim beards. ... In law enforcement, a fence is an individual who knowingly buys stolen property for later resale in a (usually) legitimate market. ... The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra), is an Italian criminal secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. ... Johnny The Fox Torrio (February 1882 - April 16, 1957) was an Italian-American mobster famous for building a criminal empire in Chicago during the 1920s that would later be inherited by his protege, Al Capone. ...

Nitti later worked for John Torrio's successor, Al Capone. Nitti ran Capone's Prohibition-busting liquor smuggling and distribution operation, importing whiskey from Canada and selling it through a network of speakeasies around Chicago. Nitti was one of Capone's top lieutenants, trusted for his leadership skills and business acumen. Despite his nickname "The Enforcer", Nitti used Mafia "soldiers" and other underlings to commit violence rather than do it himself. Alphonse Gabriel Capone (January 17, 1899 â€“ January 25, 1947), popularly known as Al Capone, was an American gangster who led a crime syndicate dedicated to the smuggling and bootlegging of liquor and other illegal activities during the Prohibition Era of the 1920s and 1930s. ... The term Prohibition, also known as A Dry Law, refers to a law in a certain country by which the manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beverages is restricted or illegal. ... Whisky (or whiskey) is an alcoholic beverage distilled from grain, often including malt, which has then been aged in wooden barrels. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

The Outfit under Nitti

In 1930, both Frank Nitti and Al Capone were convicted of income tax evasion and sent to prison. However, Nitti only received an 18 month sentence and while Capone was sent away for eleven years. Upon Nitti's release, the media hailed him as the new boss of the Chicago Mafia; in reality, Nitti lacked the iron control over the capos that Capone had enjoyed. The Capone empire now began to fragment, with Nitti acting as a frontman. This article discusses tax avoidance, tax evasion, tax mitigation, tax fraud, tax resistance and tax protest. ... Capo was a term used for Jews who worked inside the concentration camps during World War II. Their tasks included transporting victims of gassing to the ovens, cleaning the gas chambers of human excrement and blood, removal of gold from the teeth of the victims and shaving the heads of...

When Prohibition and bootlegging ended, Nitti and the Chicago Outfit branched out into other areas, including illegal gambling, prostitution, and the control of labor unions (which lead to the extortion of many businesses). Nitti operated considerably differently from the flamboyant Capone and quietly turned the Outfit into a streamlined model. Under Nitti, the Outfit started earning tremendous profits. The term Prohibition, also known as A Dry Law, refers to a law in a certain country by which the manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beverages is restricted or illegal. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

On December 19, 1932, a team of Chicago police headed by Detective Sergeants Harry Lang and Harry Miller, raided Nitti's office in Room 554 at 221 North LaSalle Street. Lang shot Nitti three times, then shot himself (a minor flesh wound) to make the shooting look like self-defense, claiming that Nitti had shot him first. Some historians believe Lang shot Nitti under orders from Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak. According to this theory, Cermak wanted his own underworld friends to take over Nitti's empire after his death.^{[citation needed]}. Anton Cermak Anton Cermak, in Czech AntonÃn ÄŒermÃ¡k, (May 9, 1873 â€“ March 6, 1933) was the mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1931 until his death in 1933. ...

Unfortunately for Lang and Miller (and whoever ordered the shooting), Nitti survived the shooting. In February 1933, Nitti was acquitted of attempted murder. During that same trial, Miller testified that Lang received $15,000 to kill Nitti. Another uniformed officer who was present at the shooting testified that Nitti was gunned down unarmed. Harry Lang and Harry Miller were both fired from the police force and each fined one hundred dollars for simple assault.

On February 15, 1933, Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak was shot as he was talking to President-Elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt after a speech in Miami. Cermak died three weeks later of his wounds. Some historians believe that the shooting was arranged by the Outfit in retalliation for Nitti's attempted murder, and that President Roosevelt was not the intended target. The shooter was a Sicilian immigrant named Giuseppe Zangara who pleaded guilty and was executed in the electric chair for the crime. Anton Cermak Anton Cermak, in Czech AntonÃn ÄŒermÃ¡k, (May 9, 1873 â€“ March 6, 1933) was the mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1931 until his death in 1933. ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ... This article is about the city in Florida. ... Giuseppe Zangara (September 7, 1900 â€“ March 20, 1933) attempted to kill United States President-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933. ... The electric chair is an execution method in which the person being put to death is strapped to a chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body. ...

Downfall and death

In 1943, many top members of the Chicago Outfit were indicted for extortion. These individuals included Nitti, Paul "The Waiter" Ricca, Joe Capagna, Ralph Pierce, John "Handsome Johnny" Roselli, Nick Circella, Phil D'Andrea, and Charles "Cherry Nose" Gioe. The Outfit was accused of trying to strong arm some of the largest Hollywood movie studios, including MGM Studios, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, and RKO Radio Pictures. The studios had cooperated with the Outfit to avoid union trouble stirred up by the mob. Paul The Waiter Ricca (1897-October 11, 1972) was an American Mafia figure based within Chicago. ... John Handsome Johnny Roselli (sometimes spelled Rosselli) (July 4, 1905 - August 9, 1976) was an influential Mafia soldier, one who had helped to control Hollywood and Las Vegas for the Chicago Mafia and who had allegedly been involved with the CIA plot to kill Cuban dictator Fidel Castro in the... Charles Cherry Nose Gioe (d. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A movie studio is a controlled environment for the making of a film. ... For alternate meanings of MGM, see MGM (disambiguation). ... Information in this article or section has not been verified against sources and may not be reliable. ... Twentieth (20th) Century Fox Film Corporation (known from 1935 to 1985 as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation) is one of the six major American film studios. ... The Columbia Pictures logo from 1993 to the present Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. ... The classic logo of RKO Radio Pictures. ...

At a meeting of Outfit leaders at Nitti's home, Nitti underboss Ricca angrily blamed Nitti for the indictments. Ricca said that since this had been Nitti's scheme and that the FBI informant, Willie Bioff, had been Nitti's trusted associate, Nitti should take the fall for the Outfit and go to prison. A severe claustrophobic, Nitti dreaded the idea of prison confinement. It is also rumored that Nitti was suffering from terminal cancer at this time. William Morris (Willie) Bioff (1900-November 4, 1955) was an organized crime figure who operated as a labor leader in the movie production business from the 1920s through the 1940s. ... Claustrophobia is an anxiety disorder that involves the fear of enclosed or confined spaces. ...

In any event, the day before a grand jury appearance, Nitti shared breakfast with his wife in their Riverside, Illinois home at 712 Selborne Road. As his wife was leaving for church, Nitti told her he planned to take a walk. After his wife left, Nitti began to drink heavily. He then loaded a thirty-two cailber relvolver, put it in his coat pocket, and walked five blocks to a local railroad yard. Two railroad workers (William F. Sebauer and Lowell M. Barnett) spotted Nitti walking on the track of an oncoming train and shouted a warning. They thought the train hit him, but Nitti had managed to jump out of the way in time. Then two shots rang out. The trainmen first thought Nitti was shooting at them, but then realized he was trying to shoot himself in the head. The two bullets went through his hat. Nitti finally sat on the ground against a fence and, with the railroad workers watching from a distance, shot himself in the head. Frank Nitti died on an Illinois Central railroad siding in North Riverside, Illinois on March 19, 1943. Nitti's underboss, Paul "The Waiter" Ricca assumed control of the outfit. Riverside is a name common to a number of cities and counties. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Area Ranked 25th - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 kmÂ²) - Width 210 miles (340 km) - Length 390 miles (629 km) - % water 4. ... Categories: Rail stubs | Defunct railroad companies of the United States | Defunct companies | Illinois railroads | Iowa railroads | Louisiana railroads | Missouri railroads | South Dakota railroads | Wisconsin railroads ... North Riverside is a village located in Cook County, Illinois. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Area Ranked 25th - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 kmÂ²) - Width 210 miles (340 km) - Length 390 miles (629 km) - % water 4. ... is the 78th day of the year (79th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Paul The Waiter Ricca (1897-October 11, 1972) was an American Mafia figure based within Chicago. ...

Contents

Early life and prohibition

The Outfit under Nitti

Downfall and death

Further reading

External links