The Outfit: The American Mafia In Chicago

Al Capone. Everyone is bound to hear the name at least once in his or her life. The charming, broad smile, the greenish gray eyes, heavy set, and five foot ten and a half; a seemingly normal man. Until someone notices the scars. A faded purple, still fresh looking, Al Capone’s scars marred the normal face, they gave a glance into the life of the notorious gangster. But who was Mr. Alphonse “Scarface” Capone? One reporter comments, “… Here is a man [Capone] who is an enigmatic, a man who nobody knows, not even his closest intimates.’” (Eig 198) What did the public think of “Scarface”? Katherine Geroud said, "It is not because Capone is different that he takes the imagination;

CRIMES IN CHICAGO 1920 - 1940 Chicago during the 1920’s to 1940’s experienced many organized crimes due to growth of population resulting to weakening Chicago’s government with the growth of Chicago. Also, this time Chicago were experiencing the Great Depression and the “Roaring Twenties”. Many immigrants and other people that were from other states migrated to Chicago to find better job opportunities that would raise their lives. Organized crimes were increasing rapidly because many young children were exposed to crimes. Childhood gangs were created such as Stud Lonigan, Stud Lonigan were the first gang that transform to a “school ground” gang to a professional gang.

MAFIA - "a secret association having for its object the illicit control of any enterprise, legitimate or illegitimate, which it decides to infiltrate" (Allen 6).

Laura Beshears. The Journal of American Culture. Malden: Sep 2010. Vol. 33, Iss. 3; pg. 197, 10 pgs

In the 1940s the black population grew onward and since there were now more blacks in Chicago, there were buildings that were being built for low-income and poverty families and since the blacks were just now coming into Chicago looking for better employment they had to move to where they could afford. Now these buildings were being built on the west and south sides of Chicago. These buildings became like forts to these gangs These gangs grew intense over time in Chicago as well in New York. Gang war erupted over drug trafficking turf, which made black gang problems explode in the 1960s. It got so bad that law enforcement said that it was too dangerous for them to patrol around that area. Gangs of Chicago controlled many things like drug distribution

Life in the 1920s was reflected by the people and groups that were created as a result of Prohibition and The Great Depression. Al Capone, one of the most notorious gangsters in recorded history, was at the epicenter of organized crime groups that were extremely influential in everyday Chicago life. Throughout the history of the United States, people have immigrated here to live out the American Dream. In the 1920s, the introduction of Prohibition allowed for the creation of people like Alphonse Capone, who lived out a depiction of the American Dream while also going against numerous American regulations.

In his “Gangsters– Real and Unreal”, Nelson George discusses the rise of drug use and the manifestation of criminal activity originating from drugs, prostitution, and dominance relating from the influence of gangsta rap lyrics. George observes the rise of cocaine “[i]n the ‘Superfly’ ‘70s” (22) and the prevalence of its “first references” (26) in 1983, a sign of the rise in popularity, concurrently though slightly succeeding the crack price drop from 1980 to 1992. “The bitter street-hardened sense of irony” (George 55) is developed throughout gangsta rap lyrics, where George emphasizes on the growth, severity, prevalence, and influence that drug use has, specifically crack due to its widespread distribution and affordability in the era, on

Chicago is the posse capital of the United States. As indicated by the Chicago Crime Commission, a 2012 Chicago Police Department posse review found there are more than 600 gang groups in the city, with a base joined membership of 70,000. As the quantity of gang in the city build, it's troublesome for groups to control large zones. Rather, groups stick to avenues. Domain debate mean expanded contention and subsequently, more

The mafia started moving around the U.S. and started bringing chaos amongst the cities. The first mafia incident happened in New Orleans which got attention both national and international. “On October 25, 1890, New Orleans Police Superintendent David Hennessey was murdered execution-style. It is still unclear whether Italian immigrants actually killed him or whether it was a frame-up against the feated and hated underclass immigrants by racists. Hundreds of Sicilians were arrested on mostly baseless charges, and nineteen were eventually indicted for the murder. An acquittal followed, with rumors of bribed and intimidated witnesses. The outraged citizens of New Orleans organized a lynch mob and proceeded to kill eleven of the nineteen defendants.

Imagine living in a world where crime ruled. A world where gangsters were more powerful than politicians, owned the police, and ran the city in whatever way they felt. They robbed whom they wanted and killed when they didn't get their way. Now stop imagining and realize that this happened here in the United States of America in the 1920's. It was run by an organization made up mainly of Italians called the Mafia.

The Outfit is the most known, and feared gang in all of Chicago. Rumor has it; any business owner who refuses to do business with Capone gets their business burnt to the ground. With this kind of initiative driving local businesses to do business with him, Capone has built a moneymaking machine; with bootlegging, prostitution, and gambling Capone has made millions of dollars off his business (History.com Staff). Everyone knows not to mess with Capone, especially not the people he loves and surrounds himself. He prides himself as a respectable businessman (Bair, 41), and how he runs his operation as the type built on friendships and favors (Haller, Organized Crime in Urban Society). With the reputation of this gang, and how they run things,

The mafia in the 1980s took a violent change in their ways of carrying out their business. They had become wealthier than they had ever been, and the mafia became more brutal and reckless with its murders. The Cosa Nostra would carry out murders in the city center, and all of this was without any reaction from the state. The mafia through their countless murders proved that any person no how important would be killed if they stood in the way of the mafia.

The topic of this paper is gangsters in organized crime can either work alone or work with other gangsters. When people commit crimes with other criminals, their personal ties to each other become strong when there is especially trust or there could be no trust, however, those ties can become strong at some point.

The American Mafia, an Italian-American sorted out wrongdoing system with operations in urban communities over the United States, especially New York and Chicago, rose to control through its accomplishment in the illegal alcohol exchange amid the 1920s Prohibition period. After Prohibition, the Mafia moved into other criminal endeavors, from medication trafficking to illicit betting, while additionally invading worker 's parties and honest to goodness organizations, for example, development and New York 's article of clothing industry. The

     Exactly what is the Mafia? Mafia, more specifically the Italian-American Mafia, is a group of criminals organized into "families," and operating primarily in North America. Also known as La Cosa Nostra, at one time there were 26 families in the United States - roughly one for each major city. The Mafia composed of bosses of numerous families, mostly New York, was the overseeing authority for all of the other La Cosa Nostra families. New York City is the place of origin for organized crime in the United States. Currently, there are five families in the New York City outfit of the La Cosa Nostra. The five families are, the Gambinos, Genovese, Colombo,