I have commented on Fosco’s American News Post and personally have relatives who were affiliated with the Outfit (one who was murdered). The information about Chicago on this website is so totally off-base that it is offensive, intellectually. It is clear to me that the people providing information here get it from books or possibly some of the more outlandish ANP comments. Much of this site’s content is obviously people’s own armchair assessments and wishful thinking, a few true crime readers espousing romantic theories from behind the veneer of a message board. I have no admiration for the Outfit these days, and it is still frankly embarrassing to read some of the chatter on these forums. Though I got over my Outfit-ogling years ago, I feel strangely compelled to clear the air on some of this stuff.

The “number of made guys” is totally irrelevant. Johnny DiFronzo and his dog could be the Chicago Outfit if the numbers dwindled enough. Thirty is a decent, possibly even charitable, estimate. For those of you who are Outfit cheerleaders, this “low enrollment” is not a bad thing because over the past century numerous bosses established the corrupt political infrastructure and deep ties to law enforcement that will sustain the Outfit for decades to come. The Outfit does not need large numbers to do what it does. Having a large roster these days is not feasible and would probably be counterproductive.  In all likelihood, the 2013 Outfit would be just as lean and low-profile with Accardo at the helm. There are also plenty of wanna-bes and “star struck” posers (especially municipal workers, restaurateurs, and business owners), as well as sons, grandsons, and nephews of Outfit guys who will do anything to assist the Outfit just to feel attached to it. Since made guys share in the profits of the Outfit then it is obviously in its best interest of to keep their ranks “lite” especially when there is no shortage of volunteers willing to “work” for free. There is more loyalty to and admiration for the Outfit in certain pockets of Italian-American Chicago than there is in Brazil for particular soccer teams, and that is not an exaggeration.

Any source claiming that the Outfit formally initiates non-Italians is a nonsense source. Chicago is as much a traditional organization as any other LCN family in the U.S. In the first part of the 20th century, many Italian-Americans in Chicago adopted Anglo/Irish surnames to camouflage their ethnicity because Irish-Americans ran, and still run, the City of Chicago and State of Illinois to this day. (There was a news story last year about Michelle Obama being unnerved by the Irish-Catholic triumvirate running Chicago and Illinois—Daley, Madigan, and Hynes.) Obvious examples are: Jack McGurn, Joey O’Brien, Joe Arnold, Pat Marcy, etc., were all Italians whose adopted Irish names belied their true identities. The present day Banks family of the 36th Ward is Italian (Panebianco). This list goes on and on, and I am just restating the obvious.

Also, Chicago being the most segregated metropolis in the country, the Outfit has always worked with criminals of other cultural backgrounds (often Greek), and though these folks are not made, their relationship with the Outfit is often worthwhile. These “associates” can make more money than some of the more dimwitted or shelved made guys. Gus Alex (Greek) probably made more money than 99% of made guys. Present day money maker Casey Szaflarski has probably earned more under the tutelage of Outfit than most active made guys in the past ten years. Nick Calabrese, who was made, earned more on the legit as a union guy at McCormick Place than he ever did in the Outfit. Schweihs was a wealthy extortionist because he was a killer; he was never made. Porky (Polish) is just a killer, not made, certainly not a boss of any kind, and not wealthy at all. The only instance I can think of in which someone who did not have an Italian surname could have been “made” might have been Harry Aleman (Alemán), a killer who was half Latino but also had the benefit of being Joe Ferriola’s nephew. And that is only if Harry was made. I am not convinced that he ever was. (As a side note: Being one himself, Accardo had a latent suspicion of Italians, often preferring the company and trusting the business acumen of non-Italians.)

Family Secrets was certainly a tidal wave, but, aside from that, the Outfit’s low numbers have resulted in comparatively few major RICO cases against it. The made guys are very well insulated by all the layers of runners, lackeys, and knock-around-guys. There is a lot of loyalty, too, as many Outfit guys are related or “interrelated” in some way. I am pretty sure there will be another RICO major case before the end of the decade, but that will not be the end of the Outfit. The City of Chicago is such a travesty of what an American city should be (the same goes for the entire State) that it simply could not function without the existence of the Italian mob and concomitant Irish-American pollies who are really just are popularly elected gangsters themselves. The Outfit is part of Illinois political and economic infrastructure, and after Dion O’Banion was killed, it was almost as if all the Irish gangsters put on suits and became entrenched in politics.

For anyone pulling for the Chicago Outfit—don’t worry! It is not going anywhere! For the Outfit to die, the government would literally have to burn Illinois, Wisconsin, Arizona, Las Vegas, parts of Florida and Central America completely to the ground (possibly detonate a nuclear bomb in Melrose Park just to be absolutely sure), repopulate it with residents of other states, and start from scratch.