Crime in Chiccago Organized Crime

Crime in Chiccago

Organized Crime in Chicago

Starting with the middle of the twentieth century, the city of Chicago has been confronted with increasing criminality rates. The efforts of the police department have materialized in some control over the situations, but drastic improvements have yet to be achieved. In the month from February 27, 2009 to March 29, 2009, 32,554 crimes were registered in Chicago, with a peak on the 6th of March, when 1,258 crimes were committed in a single day. 36% of all crimes refer to battery and theft, followed by criminal damage and narcotics with 12, respectively 10%. In terms of the place where they occur, 25% of the crimes take place in the street, followed by residential areas with 18%, apartments with 12%, the sidewalk with 10%, schools, parking lots and other locations.

But instead of focusing on the already debated statistics, it would be interesting to approach the matter relative to its development. The question that is being posed then refers to the evolution of Chicago criminality from the Italian and Irish Mafia to the contemporaneous street gangs.

2. Genesis of Crime Organizations in Chicago

Crimes in Chicago have existed ever since the establishment of the city, but they were basically characterized by sporadic events and divided gangs. These gangs were specialized in a particular type of crime and would not cross the established boundaries. One gang was for instance active in gambling, another in labor unions and a third in prostitution. The end of the nineteenth century did however bring about the organized crime movement, set by the emergence of mafia clans. Five Italian-American families joint their forces under the name "The Chicago Outfit" or simply "The Outfit" and they fought to control the streets and the power. The history of the Outfit commences with the immigration of Giacomo "James," "Big Jim" Colosimo from Italy to the United States in 1895. Colosimo initially under "Bathhouse" Coughlin and "Hinky Dink" Kenna, to eventually become their bagman (a person that collects the money a crime organization demands from other less powerful groups in exchange for protection; if the targeted groups do not pay the requested money, they are subjected to violent attacks, often originated from the powerful group collecting racket protection). Throughout this period, Big Jim set the basis for strong relations with the police and the political forces, and these relations would, in the future, help him become one of the most notorious mobsters in history.

Bathhouse Coughlin and Hinky Dink Kenna were the leaders of the Levee, a district in the southern part of Chicago, famous for high criminality rates, mostly associated with the red-light district, where prostitution and the adjacent traffic were in blossom. It was called the red light district in reference to the red bulbs that were hanged in front of each bordello. The Levee attracted numerous wealthy individuals who resided in South Chicago and its growth is often assimilated with the fact that four railway tycoons resided in the region. When the district lost its popularity, the two leaders made an agreement with future mayor William Hale Thompson. The "New Levee" as it was called after relocation, rapidly gained a reputation as a vice location, hosting no less than 200 bordellos and gambling facilities. Various civic and religious movements to reform the city were launched and the last bordello in Levee was officially closed in 1914. The election of William Hale Thompson brought hope to the advocates of the Levee, but the moral reform had gained significant momentum and the Levee remained closed.

Soon after immigrating to the U.S., Colosimo began to run several prostitution, gambling and other vice houses in the Levee. With the direct support of Thompson, the empire established by Colosimo continued to increase. They however became the targets of the Black Hand, a practice used to extort money in exchange for protection. To deal with the problem, Colosimo called his nephew from New York, Giovanni "Johnny the Fox" Torrio, who in time came to also handle other operations.

Gradually, Colosimo increased his power and he himself begun to engage in Black Hand operations. By 1910, Big Jim was the head of the largest (to that day) organization collecting protection racketing -- the Outfit. The group was multi-ethnic, with members of various nationality backgrounds, including Jews, Irish, Italian, Greek as well as other nationalities, but the Italian families made all decisions and had the most influence. In 1919, the notorious Al Capone came to Chicago to join Colosimo's gang (it is believed that Capone was trying to escape some problems he was having in Brooklyn). The same year, the American politicians voted the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, a law that prohibited the manufacturing, transportation and consumption of alcohol-based beverages. Johnny Torrio saw in this a great opportunity to increase their profits by millions of dollars, even more so when he anticipated the ends of the Levee. Colosimo was however reluctant to becoming engaged in bootlegging operations, and, as he was considered a hindrance, Big Jim was assassinated. He was found shot in the head and the main suspects were young Al Capone and Frankie Yale, the new assistants of Johnny Torrio.

Despite being part of the Outfit, the Irish mob in Chicago had a history of its own. Established in the nineteenth century, the Irish mafia represents the oldest crime organization within the United States. Aside Chicago, the Irish mobsters were present in most American cities, such as New York, Boston, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Atlantic City and so on. Similar to the Italian mafia, the Irish mobsters activated in labor unions, prostitution, gambling and protection racketeering and became increasingly profitable and notorious during the Prohibition (1919-1933).

Crime statistics of the 1913 Chicago reveal a total number of 97,393 individuals arrested for felonies and misdemeanors. Out of them, 3,364 were of Italian origins and 2,746 were of Irish origins. The large majority of criminals were of Russian nationality, with a total of 8,546 arrests, followed by Germans with 7,757 arrests and Australians with 3,683 arrests. Less than half of these arrests (44.79%) were finalized with convictions.

The creation of the gangs can easily be associated with race and other socio-economic features. For instance, both Italian and Irish were strangers in a foreign country. Their employment possibilities were limited and they had to work extremely hard to make ends meet. Some of the new immigrants joined police forces, but few remained loyal to the legislative cause. In a city in which corruption levels were fairly high among the police force, the novice policemen began to perform small chores for their corrupted officers, to soon occupy leading position in the Irish and Italian mob groups. Others did not take the path through the police force, but simply joined these crime groups from the moment they arrived to Chicago.

The Italian and Irish groups were often enemies and competed against each other in various terms, such as the gambling, prostitution or protection racketeering. Each group had well defined boundaries and they would not cross each other's paths. The respect for the imposed boundaries was due to a 'code of honor', but also to the fear of the repercussion which might be felt in case violent altercations were started between the two groups. In the incipient days, the Italian and Irish mafia clans were renowned for being "honest crooks," implying they had respect for each other and were man of their words. The oxymoron is taken from Oscar, a 1991 film staring Sylvester Stallone, the former mobster trying to follow the right path, with an action set in the 1931s, during the Prohibition and the great economic crisis.

Another important characteristic of the two mafia groups is that they were homogenous within, but heterogeneous relative to other groups. Basically, this means that the members of one group were brought together by similar principles, fears, desires or necessities. The most eloquent example in this sense is given by race, as the mafia groups in Chicago were "influenced by deep-seated racism, racial politics, real estate speculation, segregation, police brutality, and white supremacist terrorism."

This issue will be detailed further on as it is most obvious with the emergence of the African-American gangs in Chicago.

The reactions of the American community to the newly emerged criminal organizations were divided. While some argued that the Black Hand, or the Mafia, was inexistent, others revealed highly emotional manifestations. "Official reports, books, pamphlets, magazine articles and newspaper stories criticized and analyzed, lamented and decried Italian criminality. Some writers argued that Italians naturally possessed criminal inclinations, others blamed slum conditions in American cities, and still others denied the existence of lawbreaking organizations in the United States patterned after the Sicilian Mafia or the Neapolitan Camorra."

3. Organized Crime in Prohibition Chicago

The period before the Prohibition was the one in which criminal organizations established their basis and became formed. However, during this time, they operated mostly within their Italian and Irish immigrant communities, impacting as such only their co-nationals. The Prohibition made these mobsters however more daring and they begun to become involved in criminal operations that affected the American communities as well. Aside the Prohibition, it has to be stated that at that time, the United States was also facing severe economic problems. This was as such the moment organized crime was born. There were numerous nations conducting illicit operations during Prohibition, including the Irish, the Jews, the Poles, the Germans or even native-born Americans, but due to their superiority and the large portion owned in the underworld, the Italians are the most notable ones.

In 1920, just at the legislation for forbidding manufacturing, commercialization and consumption of alcohol was enforced, Johnny Torrio commenced rum-running and bootlegging operations (both concepts refer to illegal traffic of alcohol, with the difference that rum-running involves transportation by water and bootlegging involves transportation by land). Torrio was recognized for his entrepreneurial skills and it was due to these abilities that he managed to create a strong distribution scheme. He, for instance, employed all his political connections to ensure the success of his operations and he used the principle of divide and conquer to better control the Chicago districts. "Known as a "calm, poised, efficient businessman," Torrio built strong alliances with political leaders in Chicago and its suburbs, created a system of cooperation between various gangs by dividing the city into spheres of influence, and generally systematized the manufacture and distribution of alcohol in much of the city. As a result, by 1924, Torrio had become the undisputed "overlord" of the underworld."

Torrio united the Chicago gangs into a union similar to the today's cartels and assigned clear responsibilities and territorial delimitations. Problems emerged from both within as well as outside the Outfit. For instance, the clans not included in the cartel wanted a part of the profits. Then, each gang in the cartel wanted to increase its share of the profits and frequently crossed the boarders into the territories of other gangs. Violent conflicts emerged and often ended with deaths. At that time, there were seven other gangs in the city that formed the cartel:

the North Siders, east of the Chicago River's north branch, led by Dion O'Banion

the Guilfoyle gang, on the north side of the western branch of the river the Gennas in Little Italy, near the Taylor Street

the West Side O'Donnells, located on the highly Irish populated West Side

the Druggan-Lake gang, on the Near Southwest Side

the Saltis-McEarlane gang by the stockyards, and finally the Sheldon gang, on the south side of the Irish belt

The fact that Torrio was the "overlord" of the liquor industry automatically propelled him to the peaks of the most powerful men in Chicago. This situation came to being for the simple reason that whoever controlled the alcohol also controlled gambling and prostitution, occurring in the facilities located in the southern part of the city.

But Torrio's power was short-lived as he became the target of a 1925 assassinate attempt. He survived, but was extremely weakened, so he handed over his position to Alphonse Gabriel "Al," "Scarface" Capone. At the time Al Capone became leader, the Chicago underworld was tormented by a violent shooting war between gangs. In the war, several gangs were dissolved and the members joined Capone; other gangs left town, whereas others continued to remain Capone's enemies. The gang wars continued throughout several years, but by 1931, Capone had managed to take over the North Side and became the undisputed leader of the Chicago underworld.

The Outfit had expanded his operations outside the city as well, selling and buying alcohol-based beverages to and from locations such as Detroit, Milwaukee, Kentucky, Iowa and even Canada; he also traded beer and hard liquors with other gangs in the Chicagoan suburbs. Foremost, foreseeing the end of the Prohibition, Capone turned his attention once again to gambling, prostitution and protection rackets.

It has to be mentioned that throughout the 1920s, the members of the Chicago underworld could not be apprehended by the federal Bureau of Investigation as the latter were never able to gather sufficient evidence. Foremost, local police and the gangs had a tight relationship, which allowed bootlegging and vice operations to flourish. Policemen received the highest bribes in history to turn a blind eye to the underworld operations. With corruption at political levels skyrocketing, many situations were reported when the politicians were at the mercy of the underworld, rather than having an ability to control the scene. This agenda was even supported by the Chicago Mayor, William "Big Bill" Thompson, who had his mind set on reshaping Chicago as a "wide-open city. Vice operations were permitted to flourish, and organized crime became even more widespread with the proliferation of bootlegging enterprises during Prohibition. Because of this unofficial alliance between local politicians and gangsters, Al Capone and his syndicate were largely untouchable by the local law enforcement officials during most of the 1920s, and federal agents were never able to amass sufficient evidence to secure Capone's indictment for violating the Volstead Act, the law implementing Prohibition."

In 1931 however, frustrated with the corruption and incapability of the local authorities, the federal government launched a two step assault on Al Capone. In the first offensive, the Prohibition agents attacked Capone's breweries; in the second offense, the agents of the Internal Revenue Service put together a strong case of tax evasion -- in the most successful years of operations, Capone's Outfit had registered profits of millions of dollars. He was sent to the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta in May 1932 and then transferred to Alcatraz. His place was taken by Frank Nitti.

Statistically, the city of Chicago was not registering skyrocketing criminality rates during the 1920s and 1930s. But still, the city's reputation was growing to that of nest for criminality and vice, dressed in myth and symbol. Writers have even argued that the situations encountered in the southern side of Chicago were not uncommon to other American cities, but that, in fact, Chicago was representing everything that was American -- from the desire for a better future to the measures one has to take to make this dream a reality -- but at a higher level. "The myths of Chicago crime were compelling because they spoke to larger concerns -- about morality, economic competition, ethnicity, sexuality, the pursuit of pleasure, and its dangers."

4. After the Prohibition

Despite the incarceration of its leader, the Outfit continued its operations. When the Prohibition was ceased in 1933, the criminal organization reassessed its enterprises in the meaning that they returned to prostitution and gambling. Additionally, they developed new interests such as call operations, the B-Girls or narcotics. But as the effects of the 1929-1933 economic depression began to take their toll, Capone's organization realized that people were no longer able to spend the little money they had in brothels or gambling houses; the city as a whole was totaling a debt of $280,000,000 and more than 40,000 public employees were not receiving their salaries. As such, the Chicago Outfit focused on protection racketeering. In 1927 for instance, the authorities in the city reported a total of 23 organizations being controlled by racketeers; these companies were activating in various industries, including parking garages, fish and poultry stores, garbage collectors or dry cleaners. One year later, the Cook County State's Attorneys reported a total of 91 unions and trade associations being controlled by crime organizations.

The after-Prohibition endeavors of the crime organizations in Chicago also took a turn due to massive industrialization and the opening of numerous industries and factories. These consequently led to employees' demanding of more rights. Factory owners would often call members of the underworld to break labor unions and intimidate the employees and the union leaders. "Most gangsters did not infiltrate the unions as is popularly believed but were invited in by the unions themselves. Big business was no friend of organized labor and often hired underworld figures to break strikes and crash picket lines. The under-world, however, owed no loyalty to industry and frequently switched allegiance to labor in return for the appointment of racketeers to positions of authority within the union itself."

At this stage, many gangs had been dissolved and their members had moved on to other lives, or were serving the time for their crimes. Several ethnicities realized that the United States offered equal opportunities for all citizens and decided to move on. They managed to move on to the middle class, raised families and sent their children to college. Yet, the underworld had not disappeared, but structural modifications occurred in the meaning that organized crimes in Chicago were mostly the doings of the Italian clans, rather than gangs of other ethnicities.

5. 1950s and Beyond

Despite the significant reduction in criminality and the operations of the underworld due to the federal involvement and the emergence of the Great Economic Depression, the actions of the Chicago Outfit continued well beyond the 1950s. The Outfit of the period was no longer exclusively Italian (however the large majority of its members were Italians), but it was formed from all members of the past gangs that had dissolved. Winning the war and gaining once again access to economic prosperity, the American population returned to its habits in gambling and prostitution. The Outfit opened numerous casinos and the revenues generated by these new facilities granted them the power to once again play a decisive part in Chicago's status.

Changes were however obvious in the meaning that the police force was now less cooperative with the underworld. As a result then, the Outfit would constantly move its operations and 'headquarters' so that it could not be detected by the authorities. Also, they changed their approach to the customer by offering more 'classy' brothels. In this order of ideas, they opened various striptease clubs, where the girls would engage in sexual intercourse at the request of the client. Also, they expanded their casinos to various regions, first the friendlier Havana and Cuba, but then also to Las Vegas. Income tax evasions on the profits made by the casinos occurred on regular basis but were seldom proven and acted upon.

The 1960s brought about a decline of the Outfit. First of all, there was the "free love" movement, militating for a liberalization of sexual relations outside the institution of marriage. This severely cut the demand for the organization's brothels. Then, in the same time period, the federal authorities had their heart set on drastically reducing organized crime. They installed microphones and assiduously followed the members of the Outfit. The new leader, Sam "Mooney" Giancana was offered immunity in exchange for cooperation. He refused and was incarcerated. His followers shared similar fates as the position of leader was constantly targeted by the feds, turning as such the mobster boss position into a "revolving door. In the years that followed, virtually every top mobster in Chicago, including everyone who sat in the boss's chair, was convicted and jailed."

On a simultaneous field, the Federal Bureau of Investigation launched investigations on corrupted labor unions and arrested Jimmy Hoffa, the leader of the Teamsters Union, controlled by the Outfit. Raids were organized in gambling facilities and numerous casinos were closed down. The new police force was determined to eradicate the industry of vice and redeem Chicago's reputation. Financial pressure was also felt as more and more legit entrepreneurs were beginning to operate casinos in Las Vegas and created strong competition.

Given this increasing pressure, the members of the Outfit were once again forced to adapt their operations. They as such began to dismember automobiles and sell the untraceable components, given that the endeavor was easier to complete in comparison to the theft of the entire car. Also, they made sufficient money from organizing bets in professional sports. But despite this, revenues continued to decline even more when their gambling stopped to be profitable, in a context in which the United States was beginning to legalize sports betting. By the 1970s, most of the political scene had changed and the influence of the Outfit once manifested over politicians was rapidly dissolving. As a result, the gangs could only operate in the few restricted areas where they still held the power. It was also during this time that televised coverage of mob actions were circulating and the population and politicians became less tolerant of organized crime.

Similar trends were observed throughout the 1980s, when the Outfit's operations continued to adapt to the new societal forces (new revenues were generated by usury, or the practice of lending money at large interest and the extorting the borrowers). However, their endeavors became restricted in terms of both areas operated as well as profits registered. At this stage, the Outfit was almost out of Nevada and the large majority of its members were investigated for fraud. In 1990, the organization was divided into six small gangs, covering the North Side, Chinatown, the West Side, the Western Suburbs, Grand Avenue and Lake County. The operations in Vegas were overseen by a different group, led by Chris Petti, after the prior leader was found buried in a corn of field in Indiana

. The ultimate thing that can be rounded up about the criminal organization in the post-war Chicago is that their importance and role significantly reduced relative to the status they enjoyed in the Prohibition years. However, they continued to adapt and find new sources of income, the forces having yet to be entirely eradicated.

6. African-American Gangs

The African-American gangs made their presence felt in the city of Chicago in the 1920s, but are treated as a different category as for several years they remained segregated from the white gangs. The Chicago School argues that the occurrence and development of organized crime and gangs in the city is not related to race, but to space. Fredric Thrasher argues that gangs are found in regions where traditional systems (such as schools) have failed. He believes that gang members are not united by race, but by sharing similar socio-economic conditions, such as reduced access to education or increased levels of poverty. He also argues that ultimately, the American Dream and the industrial economy would integrate all individuals and that gangs would naturally dissolve.

More recent studies do however tend to incline towards a race-based organized crime. John Hagedorn argues that space did not play a major part in the formation and development of gangs, but that these were structured on racial considerations -- in the author's own words, "Chicago's gangs have been influenced by deep-seated racism, racial politics, real estate speculation, segregation, police brutality, and white supremacist terrorism."

The number of Africa-Americans in Chicago increased with the end of the First World War. Upon arrival in the city, the African-Americans were directed into marginal zones of the city, an area seen as transitional from arrival to the ability to make a decent living and move to the middle class. Few managed to get out of these early ghettos and the locations soon became linked to immigrants and crime. Also, in a context of increasing numbers of African-Americans and an intensifying competition for jobs after the war, the white gangs were not willing to have their supremacy challenged. 1919 saw the Chicago Race Riot, one of the most violent manifestations in the history of organized crime, and it constituted a clear statement of racial hostility. It is believed that during this riot, the white gangs came up with the "drive-by shooting" when they drove to black communities and shot people on sight. The African-Americans would however respond promptly.

The situation of the African-American was different from that of the Irish and the Italian. The Irish gangs were for instance 'institutionalized' during the 1920s, and various politicians opened "social athletic clubs" (SACs). The endeavor was aimed to attract more electorate and the SACs revolved around offering young Irish immigrants a chance to succeed in life. The young members of the SACs would often get jobs in the police force, firefighting force or even in politics. These opportunities allowed the Irish mobsters to establish strong relationships with the political field. As such, while Irishmen ruled politics and the police, Italians had built the Outfit and the bootlegging empire, the African-American gangs were barely even recognized. Throughout several years, the corrupted Irish politicians, policemen and gangs played a crucial role in ensuring racial segregation of the Chicagoan gangs.

By 1966, Martin Luther King had entered the political scene and he met with gang leaders in order to convince them to renounce violent activities. His success was however limited, but what it did still was to increase awareness of problems confronting the African-American communities. Local authorities began to collaborate with blacks' representatives to resolve several social and economic issues, but the outcomes were as well limited. The 1970s brought a severe economic crisis, in which many manufacturing jobs of the African-Americans were lost and these communities were facing harsh conditions, including constant abuse on the part of the police (the African-American communities did not have a good relationship with the police, who was at the time dominated by the Irish mafia). Black gangs of this period were also facing dramatic challenges and fought to maintain their existence.

It was during these times that the black gangs introduced cocaine, more expensive and easy to handle than marijuana. This led to a considerable increase in the economic stability of African-American gangs. Other gangs began to sell cocaine and this led to numerous drug wars throughout the 1990s. "Chicago's African-American gangs that had been founded in the 1950s, grew in the 1960s, were jailed in the 1970s, grew through drug trafficking in the 1980s, and fought deadly "crack wars" going into the 1990s. These gangs would become institutionalized on the streets since they had few channels to legitimate jobs and a lack of political power. They filled a void left by the decimation of Chicago's black social institutions and used the crack economy to strengthen and expand their operations."

7. The Result of the Evolution -- Organized Crime in Today's Chicago

However some sources will indicate that corruption at political levels associated with mafia still exists in the city of Chicago, fact remains that this has significantly decreased and the aim of the modern police force is that of eradicating organized crime. The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines organized crime as "any group having some manner of formalized structure whose primary objective is to obtain money through illegal activities."

These groups maintain their power through blackmail, extortion, violence acts or the corruption of public officials. Throughout the United States, the mafia is known as La Cosa Nostra (LCN), but in Chicago, it remains known as the Outfit. Mafia revenues come primarily from gambling, bookmaking, extortion, juice loans or protection taxes. After the massive arrests in the 1990s, the members of the Outfit regrouped and adapted their operations. In this order of ideas, aside the traditional operations, they also became infiltrated in white-collar industries, the healthcare industry, stock manipulation, technology exploitation, hi-tech crimes or the laundering of money through the internet.

The Outfit continues to play an important part in Chicagoan organized crime, but the past decade has seen the emergence of more street gangs than ever. These are generally smaller groups and are not as infiltrated in the police and politics as the mafia. The most notable eight street gangs are: the Latin Kings, the Vicelords, the Spanish Lords, El Rukns, Black P. Stones, the Bishops, the Gaylords, Latin Counts, Kents and the Mickey Cobras. These groups are organized into two alliances -- the People Nation and the Folk Nation

. Most of these gangs are multiracial, with the interethnic tension being less common. In this light of events then, it can be said that the modern street gangs in Chicago are united by socio-economic conditions -- space rather than race -- this constituting a large difference from the Italian and Irish mafia organizations.

The number of members within each gang varies; Latin Kings is however estimated to total up about 25,000 members. The gangs have special insignia to identify them, such as tattoos, blings or other elements. Acts of violence and thefts are common and these target victims with all types of backgrounds. In the commencement of organized crime in the immigrant communities, the Italian and Irish mobsters would only act against the members of their immigrant community, considering the native born Americans out of limits. This changed however and today's gangs attack whom ever they desire. The sources of income are highly similar and revolve around thefts, protection taxes, gambling and mostly, drug trafficking. This is also different from the Outfit, which does not engage in trade of illegal drugs -- or at least not openly. The organization removed the ban on drug traffic starting with the 1990s in the meaning that it allowed made members (a made member is someone who was initiated in the gang and has respectable authority) to trade drugs, but they had to do this in their own time. The Outfit wanted nothing to do with drugs and did not share the profits from these operations. Also, the organization did not become involved in salvaging its members that were apprehended as a result of drug trafficking.