Retired KCPD Intelligence Detective Gary Jenkins looks at the life of the Chicago Outfit’s Paul Ricca. We learn he probably was responsible for the suicide of Frank Nitti, that he was a “behind the scenes” boss and made decisions with Anthony Accardo for many years.
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but hey are you wirecappers out there I have a story today it’s kind of a rehash I’ve been one of my old audio stories I did the uh just last week I think or a couple weeks ago now I posted a story on YouTube that was primarily uh audio and it was the story of it was an interview of a guy named Carlo Morelliwho was a guy that took Tony accardo’s daughter to the uh to her senior prom a couple other Accardo stories and it’s pretty interesting it’s kind of a one that once in a lifetime gig to get an inside information like that and Carlos deceased since I uh recorded that interview but somebody made a comment in the YouTube or the YouTube posting about and did you ever talk about Paul Rica or Paul the waiter who was a a Chicago boss out of the 40s and early 50s on up into the 60s who stayed way in the background a lot of people don’t know the name of
Paul Rican he was a really important guy
in in the Chicago outfit back in those
days so I dug out my old interview I did
an interview of him I never put it up on
YouTube so I dug up some pictures in
order for you to have some something to
look at while I tell the story of Paul
the waiter Rika uh interesting guy you
know he he stayed in the background just
like Tony Accardo did he and the cardo
really would sit together at Norwood’s
male restaurant that’s Meo restaurant
and I think the building still exists in
in Norwood I think is the name of the
suburb in Chicago anyhow they would sit
up there and people would come up and
and bring in envelopes and and they’d
make decisions and he always stayed in
the background with ocardo and and they
let guys like Sam giancana be out front
and you know he was a like a lightning
rod for uh for the FBI and and they sat
back there and never went to jail again
although the government never really
quit trying to deport Paul Rica which I
you know listen to the store and you’ll
learn a lot more about Paul Rica you
know one interesting little tidbit about
him he was once accused of doing a hit
in Kansas City of a guy who was running
a bunch of slot machines out in the
county and not kicking up to the Mob and
he was warm several times now I don’t
they showed his picture now why they
show this picture I don’t know uh but he
was uh during the 50s he well let’s
listen to the stories he’s a really
interesting guy well Paul Rica or Paul
the waiter Rika was born July 10 1898 he
died October the 11th 1972. he rose from
being a small time member of the Kimura
Mafia in Naples Italy to the boss of the
Chicago outfit by the time he died in
1898 Paul the waiter Rica was born
Felice de Lucia in Naples Italy by 1915
a 17 year old Felice de Lucia was an
associate of the Neapolitan Kimura Mafia
he got his first real taste of mob life
when he was ordered to murder a man
named Emilio perilio Elise de Lucia was
arrested and at trial a sicilian named
vicenzo capasso testified that he saw
Delicia murder prillio de Lucia
testified he had killed perlio because
berlio had disgraced his sister by
breaking an engagement with her in other
words it was an honor killing police
Delicia served two years in an Italian
jail before escaping after he escaped he
found that witness vicenzo capasso and
and you know what happens when a member
of the Kimura Mafia finds somebody who
testified against him he killed him by
slitting his throat de Lucia changed his
name to Paolo malio and fled to a small
town named aprissina about a hundred
miles north of Naples the heat was still
on cops are looking for him but Lucia
left for France once he got to France he
found passage on a boat to Cuba while in
Cuba he met a fellow member of the
Kimura Mafia from Naples a man named
Giuseppe Esposito Esposito was known as
Diamond Joe in Chicago and had graduated
from the Chicago street gangs in the
early 1900s young Felice de Lucia did
not know at this time but this
connection would determine Paula wader’s
future he arrived in New York shortly
after August 10 1920 just in time for
prohibition at that point in time or
sometimes sure shortly thereafter he
anglicized his name to Paul Rica 1919
the Volstead Act was passed and
prohibition began in January of 1920.
Giuseppe Esposito or Diamond Joe were
just beginning to form a bootlegging
gang in Chicago he recruited his young
friend from Cuba Paul Rica to come to
Chicago and and join his bootlegging
operation he also enlisted members of
the violent Chicago Street gang known as
known as the 42 gang and one of these
members was Sam Mooney giancana when
Paul Rica first arrived in Chicago of
course he moved to the Italian section
close to downtown he managed to get a
job as a theater Usher and Diamond Joe
hired him as a waiter for a small family
restaurant that he owned the easygoing
and genial Paula wetter was soon on a
first name basis with many of the
Mobsters who came in and out the door of
that restaurant one of these Mobsters
included Al Capone Rick and Capone had
several mutual friends among Neapolitan
gangsters who had returned to the Old
Country Capone enrika became good
friends Al Capone regularly visited a
restaurant and Paul Rica was soon hired
as a full-time gangster he rose very
quickly in the Capone organization he
was admired by Capone for his
intelligence and ability to obtain
cooperation from fellow gang members
they also became close personal friends
as well as fellow gang members Capone
was the best man at rika’s wedding in
get along with other gangsters other
Al Capone named Paul Rica as his
Emissary to the east coast mafia
families in connection with his
bootlegging organization in May 1932 Al
Capone was sent to Atlanta to the U.S
Penitentiary thereafter his conviction
for tax fraud the well-known Frank Nitty
became the new boss of the Chicago
outfit nydian Capone had agreed in
advance that Paul Rica would be the new
underboss in hindsight historians
learned that Frank Nitty was a reluctant
and unskillful boss most people today
agreed that Paul Rica soon became the
boss in all but title one problem with
nitty was that the East Coast mob bosses
did not think highly of knitting by 1932
Charles Lucky Luciano and mayor Lansky
had formed the national crime syndicate
they refused to deal with knitting Paul
Rica frequently overruled nitty’s orders
such a move would normally be
Unthinkable in any crime family but
nitty did not object for some reason
when prohibition ended in 1933 the
outfit had find other sources of income
because all East Coast action was
claimed by the New York and New Jersey
mobs the Chicago outfit turned its eyes
West to the open territory of Los
Angeles California the outfit saw the
film industry as a huge Cash Cow just
waiting to be milked nitty sent outfit
Capo Johnny roselli to Hollywood with a
plan to extort money from Major Movie
Studios like RKO Paramount MGM and 20th
Century Fox at this time Frank Nitty was
spending all the money he could earn in
the rackets that he owned he loved the
dice cars he was a huge Gambler roulette
wheels horse racing dropped a bunch of
money on horse racing and he needed more
and more money all the time roselli went
to boxing gyms in Los Angeles and hired
a lot of the old pugs with cauliflower
ears he used them to make visits to
Studio Executives and shake them down
when folks like high-powered Executives
think their lives and their livelihoods
are at stake they’ll pay up the outfit
sent another gangster named Willie byoff
buyoff had already created a Shakedown
operation of Chicago movie theater
projectionist he had infiltrated the
national Union of theater projectionists
and used its extortion plans in many
cities on the East Coast nitty sent buy
off to California he was instructed to
infiltrate the International Alliance of
theatrical stage employees buy off aided
by Johnny John handsome Johnny roselli
eventually became the collector for The
Syndicate controlled unions in Hollywood
they extorted millions of dollars from
major motion picture studios and buyoff
kept hundreds of thousands of dollars
for himself Willie buyoff was just a
small-time Chicago Thug who went to
Hollywood and it went to his head he
soon was living in a mansion had
expensive fancy suits wore a gold
jewelry drove expensive cars and had
solid gold business cards made up he
caused a lot of attention a big stir out
there in Hollywood and everybody knew
what was going on and they were afraid
well-known actor at the time Robert
Montgomery was a president of the Screen
Actors Guild and he got tired of it he
tipped off the IRS California Federal
grand jury was convened and a witness
testified that Willie byoff had demanded
a twenty five thousand dollar payment
from film executive Harry Warner because
the boys in Chicago expected a Christmas
present another witness testified that
buyoff told movie Mogul Louis B Mayer
there is no room for both of us in this
world and I will be the one who is here
in 1943 buyoff was indicted for tax
evasion and other related crimes as well
as extortion and racketeering they also
indicted several of his associates like
Paul the waiter Rica Philip d’andrea
Charlie Cherry knows Joey Johnny roselli
Lou Kaufman and Frank the enforcer
knitty from Chicago rather than face
prison for this buyoff decided he would
testify against his companions at this
time Frank Nitty lived in the southwest
suburb of Riverside Illinois on March 18
1943 local police would note a group of
mobster bosses were meeting at nitty
Suburban home it turns out that Willie
buyoff was the focus of this meeting at
that time they feared the buyouts had
turned government witness since he was
netty’s man knitty had to deal with a
problem they demanded that nitty shoot
by off even if he had to do it in a
crowded courtroom at this meeting Rika
ordered nitty to take the fall for all
of them then he was facing 15 years in
prison this suggestion did not go over
well with nitty but he did not know what
to do and by this point in time Paul
Rica had really asserted personal as
well as outfit dominance over Frank
Nitty Nitty suffered from severe
claustrophobia and he was terrified of
confinement in prison the next day March
19 1943 nitty’s lawyer phoned him to
tell him that he had been indicted after
getting that phone call that he hung up
the phone walked into the other room
took a pistol out of a drawer put it in
his coat pocket put on his Overcoat
walked back into the kitchen and told
his wife I’m going for a walk his actual
last words to his wife were I want you
to go to church this afternoon I want
you to go to a novena at our Lady of
Sorrow after that he walked away alone
Frank Nitty got to a railroad track
about a mile away and shot himself in
the head Paul Rica now became the actual
head of the Chicago mob and name as well
as in fact he appointed his friend Tony
Accardo as underboss after the Hollywood
prosecutions and for the rest of his
life Paula way to Rika was never caught
during a crime he always let others do
the crime for him and took part of the
money as any well-respecting mafia boss
would do in the subsequent trial Willie
byoff testified against all these
Chicago outfit guys he moved to Phoenix
under assumed name but Willie buyoff
always wanted to be a big time guy he
could not lay low by the 1950s even
Palling around with well-known
politician Barry Goldwater but his past
caught up with him November the 4th 1955
Willie byoff turned to key in his pickup
truck and a bomb bloomed to pieces in
regard to the Hollywood prosecutions on
December 30th 1943 a Federal grand jury
returned a guilty verdict for Rick and
his associates they each got the
sentence of 10 years in prison Paul Rica
and Louis Campagna were sentenced to the
federal penitentiary in Atlanta feeling
they were too far away from Chicago they
tried to get transferred to the
Leavenworth Prison in Kansas their
request for transfer was denied again
and again by Atlanta police and
officials the next request went a little
higher this time to the bureau prisons
in Washington D.C again this petition
was denied then working through
companion’s wife Charlotte Paul Dillon a
one-time campaign manager for Harry S
Truman in St Louis was contacted for
help in getting the transfer over the
vigorous opposition of the Atlanta
Warden the Atlanta prison board and the
board of prisons in Washington DC
companion Rica received her transfers to
Leavenworth Johnny roselli had been sent
to the federal prison at Terre Haute
Indiana he contacted a Washington D.C
lobbyist and gambler Named Sam beard to
help get the rest of the outfit men sent
to St Louis years later a memo will
surface showing that the U.S attorney
general Tom Clark requested that all the
Chicago outfit men who had been
convicted in the Hollywood extortion
crimes be transferred to Leavenworth
once their Chicago mob underbossed
Anthony Accardo and outfit political
fixer Murray the camel Humphreys paid
regular visits each time they came they
would both sign names as Joseph I Bulger
Rica and Campania were now back with old
mob Associates Johnny roselli Cherry
knows gioi and Philip d’andrea the group
now made attempts to get parole even
though less than one-third of their
sentences had been served a stumbling
block for Rika and Campagna was their
non-payment of back taxes toned almost
six hundred thousand dollars when a
cardo and Humphreys arrived in Kansas
City on the train to visit the prisoners
a young up-and-comer with the Kansas
City crime family named Nick Sabella
would meet them and drive in Leavenworth
next of Allah would go on to be the boss
of Kansas City and eventually become an
equal partner with outfit boss joy iupa
in the Vegas casino skim conspiracy in
the 1970s an attorney named Eugene
Bernstein was a former employee of the
eternal revenue he arranged for the six
hundred thousand dollars in backpacks
from money that he asserted was
Anonymous donations this was immediately
1946-47 Al Capone will die January the
8th 1947. the outfit will mobilize their
political machine in Chicago to work for
the election of Harry Truman and 1948
they make connections with political
fixtures close to the Truman campaign
again with the help of Paul Dillon a
former campaign manager for President
Truman a petition was filed for parole
this is about three years after they
were sentenced one week later Campagna
Rica Geo Deandrea and roselli were all
released on parole they all took the
train back to Chicago and a huge party
was held in their honor this travesty of
Justice caused a public outcry and the
men were warned to stay away from
Chicago through the efforts of their
attorneys the men were soon able to
return to their homes and businesses
however as a condition of his parole
Rika could no longer be present in the
company of other Mobsters Rika then on
the surface gave the appearance that he
was going into retirement what he did in
fact he continued to serve as a senior
consultant to the Auschwitz leadership
Tony Accardo and no decision would be
made again during his lifetime without
his knowledge the early paroles in the
case enraged the Chicago press which
published rika’s claim that his
influence extended clear into the White
House printed Accounts at Rika
instructing his lawyers to find out who
had the final say so in granting him a
early parole and he was quoted saying
that man must want something money
favors a seat in the Supreme Court find
out what he wants and get it for him
while several of the Chicago newspapers
were bitter enemies of President Harry
Truman the fact was that attorney
general Tom Clark who had been appointed
by Harry Truman did allow the early
parole of Paul Rick and the others Clark
was appointed to the next opening on the
Supreme Court 1952 the conservative
Chicago Tribune called for the
impeachment of the now Supreme Court
Justice Tom Clark because of his utter
unfitness for any position of public
responsibility and especially for a
position on the Supreme Court hits
vitriolic editorial race we have been
sure of his unfitness ever since he
played his considerable role in
releasing the Capone gangsters after
they served a bare minimum of their
terms once Rika was back in circulation
he became a real power in Chicago
underworld because of the parole
restriction he appointed Tony Joe
batters Accardo to be the boss remember
that Accardo had visited Rika and
Leavenworth by masquerading his his
attorney and had kept reconform to
Syndicate activities all along Rico
remained as a senior advisor and the
real power behind the business decisions
made in the outfit he and ocardo both
remained in the background as best they
could they remained well insulated from
any law enforcement investigations into
outfit activities the keep offer
committee hearings came along in the
1950s as they investigated the organized
crime families in each of the major
Eastern and Midwestern cities by the
time they got done in Chicago they were
to put out a statement and say that Paul
Rica was a national head of the crime
syndicate a few years later the
McClellan committee investigating
organized crime referred to
Rika as America’s most important
Criminal Rica’s testimony on the witness
stand before each of these committees
was punctuated by frequent pleas of the
fifth amendment in 1957 the government
was still after him Paul Rico was
stripped of his citizenship and two
years later deported he resorted to a
myriad of appeals and delaying actions
even getting a court order to stay on
deportation to Italy by bringing an
action before an Italian Court demanding
that his Italian citizenship be dropped
in a remarkable action the Italian
government would not take Rika back even
to serve out his old murder term
presumably because he might adversely
influence Italian prisons and Italian
criminals in Italian Kimora and Sicilian
mafia members frustrated American
Immigration officials ordered Rika to
apply to other countries to Grant him
Refuge following instructions Rika sent
letters to some 60 countries supposedly
seeking Asylum but apparently in an
idealistic desire for full disclosure he
also included a packet of news clip
instincts to explain why the United
States wanted him to immigrate elsewhere
no Nation expressed the slightest
interest in accepting him the government
was still trying to deport Rico when he
died in 1972. by then Rika might have
well-accepted deportation to Italy he
spent many hours at the Alitalia
terminal at O’Hare Airport listening to
Italian tourists speaking the native
tongue the consensus was that Rica had
turned a bit senile spending so much
time at the airport federal agents were
suspicious they believed he was
arranging meetings with Smugglers of
Contraband or drugs during the 1950s
Rika threw a cardo as the boss of the
outfit oversaw the outfit moving into
slot machines vending machines
counterfeiting cigarette and liquor tax
stamps expanding narcotic smuggling
Accardo plays slot machines in gas
station restaurants and bars throughout
the outfits territory which again
Chicago all the way up to Milwaukee all
the way down into Ohio Iowa outside of
Chicago the outfit expanded into Las
Vegas a car made sure that all the legal
Las Vegas casinos used his slot machines
in Kansas and Oklahoma that took
advantage of the of the official ban on
alcohol sales to introduce bootlegged
alcohol the outfit eventually dominated
organized crime in most of the western
United States to reduce the outfit’s
exposure to Legal prosecution Accardo
phased out some traditional activities
such as labor racketeering and extortion
he also converted the outfit’s brother
business into call girl Services the
result of these changes was a golden era
of profitability and influence for the
outfit cardo Enrique continued to
emphasize keeping a low profile they
allowed men like Sam giancana to attract
attention instead one great example of
this was in 1961 there was a wrestling
tag team getting a lot of attention two
men named Lou Albano and Tony altamare
were wrestling as a mafia inspired tag
team called the Sicilians Tony Accardo
supposedly went to them and asked them
to drop the gimmick in order to avoid
any mob-related publicity by being aware
of negative publicity and keeping a low
profile ocardo and Rika commanded the
outfit much longer than the Flasher Al
Capone this alleged that Paul Rica once
said Accardo had more brains for
breakfast than Capone had in a lifetime
in 1957 the IRS made it evident that
Tony Accardo was in their sights he and
Rika agreed to turn the official
position as outfit boss over to rika’s
Old bootlegging gang member Sam Mooney
giancana many suspected a large number
of Chicago area murder victims were men
who had been killed by giancana merely
because Paula waiter wished that they
would go away it is believed that
Accardo became giancana’s consiglieri
and removed himself from the day-to-day
running of the organization law
enforcement did note that ocardo
retained great respect they believed
that genkana still had to obtain the
approval of ocardo and Rika on major
business including all murders unlike
ocardo Enrique Sam diancana lived in
ostentatious lifestyle a frequented Posh
nightclubs he dated high-profile
well-known singer Phyllis McGuire and he
refused to distribute some of the
profits from outfit controlled casinos
in the Caribbean to other members it was
during this time that FB agent Bill
Romer and his top hoodlum Squad started
what became known as operation lockstep
Operation lockstep had agents assigned
follow giancana everywhere I went right
behind him if he left in a car they
drove they pulled away from the curb in
their car and didn’t even let one car
get in between them if he walked out and
walked down the street they walked a few
feet behind him if he went into a
restaurant the agents obtained a table
as close as possible Gen Con and his
party if he played golf they horned
their way in so they’ve become they
force them directly behind giancana if
he went to a movie they sat behind him
Rika and others in the outfit believed
that Jen Connor was tracking too much
attention because of this genkana was so
frustrated by this he sued the FBI in
civil court for harassment and then the
final decision the court ordered the FBI
agents had to at least maintain one
foursome between their foursome and
giancana soon after that soon after the
bureau was able to put giancana in jail
for federal contempt of court he got one
year for this in 1966. this was the
final straw in ocardo and Rika replaced
giancana with a much lower profile
hard case named Joy ayupa Rica died in
his bed October 1972. this was an event
that would cause some Shock waves in the
outfit now ousted outfit boss Sam
giancana and Paul Rico went back to the
42 gang days in Diamond Joe Esposito’s
bootlegging Empire for so long as Paul
the waiter was alive Jen Connor was safe
as were some of Jen Connor’s more
erratic backers like our friend mad Sam
DeStefano within months of rika’s death
DeStefano was murdered by other mob
members a couple of years later Jen
Connor was assassinated as well rika’s
hand was all-powerful but not from the
grave thus sends a story of Paul the
waiter Rika well-known mobster but spent
all of his life basically in the shadows
in the background thanks folks I hope
