Johnny Bananna my dick!

Moe Giancana was nobody's puppet, let's get that out of the way. Tony Accardo never pulled the strings for anyone, he was a lifetime consigliere, which is a high-ranking position as is, obviously. But a guy like Accardo couldn't sniff a guy like Moe's fuckin jockstrap, you can bet your ass on that.

Joey 'O'Brien' Aiuppa, 'Old Man O'Brien', or simply 'The Old Man' as he is universally referred to here, was the single wealthiest boss in Chicago Outfit history, and believe me: He was THE BOSS. He & Cerone bullied Accardo into switching to their side in the late 60's & got him to turn his cheek when they took out Moe.

I think Aiuppa going away didn't hurt the Outfit too much on the streets here, because he had already set up such a rock solid base on the Southside & in general. He had already implanted the LaPietra people in Bridgeport/Chinatown & Cicero had been locked down for years. He also cut down street-level bullshit to a bare minimum, and completely streamlined the Outfit's business endeavors. He set up the modern Chicago Outfit, it would simply not exist if it were not for Old Man O'Brien.

Old Man O'Brien was a shrewd man. He dressed & acted like a ho-dump small town fisherman, you would have never been able to point him out on the street as the boss of the Chicago Outfit. But he was, and boy was he rich, and ruthless. Joey O. never had any kids of his own (he caught something at one of Capone's brothels that prevented him from ever procreating) but he loved two gangsters like they were his own son: Louis 'Louie The Mooch' Eboli & Marco 'The Mover' D'Amico. He sponsored both of them when they were made into the Outfit during the late 70's.

Still, Accardo never went to jail and the only time he was convicted it was immediately overturned, that should mean he had power and connections. Most of the “official” bosses went to jail sooner or later, he didn’t. As I said, I don’t know who is right in this debate because everything I know comes from the books and internet, so I can’t really express opinions, but Accardo seems an intelligent gangster due to his ability to evade justice. That’s a shame for the judicial system, really. The way he had those thieves who robbed his home flayed (or something like that, I don’t remember) is just crazy. In my opinion, it’s a strange combination of craziness and intelligence.

I completely agree, Ricca & Accardo were the two most elusive, long-term successful Outfit figureheads of them all. Their combined respective time spent outside of the joint is a mind-blowing stat.

For Ricca, it was pure cunning & absolute power/ruthlessness. He was truly the great one.

For Accardo, it was a combination of luck, savvy, & hiding behind other guys. Accardo was never as powerful as other top guys, he didn't have the rackets, wasn't a gambling guy, etc. He knew a lot about politics, knew how to butter up to top politicians, that is why Accardo was useful to the Chicago Outfit. He never made top decisions, never had the final say in anything. He was an intelligent guy, no doubt, and he was always loyal & friendly with other gangsters, which is why no one ever had the desire/reason to toss him under the boss.

But why do you think Accardo’s power was exaggerated? I mean, what are your information sources? You may feel offended by the way in which some other users asked this question, but if it’s asked in a polite way, why do you personally believe the official information to be wrong? After all, if it were made up by the FBI, it would be in their interest not to exaggerate, but to diminish Accardo’s importance since they were never able to catch him.

Haha I don't feel offended, I just know what I'm talking about. His IS slightly exaggerated; Joe Batters was a powerful guy, but he got to where he was by never stepping on toes & going along with the program.

It wasn't made up by the FBI, that's the information they got & they have every right to believe it. Fact is, Roemer was getting his info from Jackie Cerone, who was Aiuppa's right hand man, and Joey Aiuppa never wanted anyone to know he was the man, same with Paul Ricca. As I previously stated, Accardo was perfectly content being the front/fall guy, he was just that loyal.

I appreciate your rationality & polite nature, my friend. Any other questions you have, please grill me.