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The Outfit: The Role of Chicago's Underworld in the Shaping of Modern America, by Gus Russo
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From Publishers Weekly
Investigative reporter Russo (Live by the Sword: The Secret War Against Castro and the Death of JFK) offers an impressive in-depth history of Chicago's elusive crime syndicate. Unlike their trigger-happy East Coast counterparts, Chicago's gangsters stressed businesslike discretion following the chaotic Capone era, and they had a wide-ranging impact on American culture, entertainment and politics that has never been fully documented. Russo has new sources, ranging from entertainer Steve Allen's "crime files" to the widow of the book's most memorable figure, the Outfit's financial manager, "Curly" Humphreys. Others, like Paul "The Waiter" Ricca, will be known to Mob aficionados, but even they will note Russo's novel thesis, that the lucrative scams carried out during the group's 40-year heyday involved members of the respected "upperworld." These ventures ranged from the well known, such as the gambling operations that fueled Chicago's civic corruption, to the surprising (Mob-linked dairies were the first to use "sell by" dates). The Outfit started off-track betting and Top 40 charts and, in its declining years, the Outfit's "fixer," Sidney Korshak, vetted the cast of The Godfather. According to Russo, their "respectable" partners who publicly abhorred the gangster element included Joe Kennedy, MCA president Jules Stein, Bing Crosby, Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, and innumerable public servants. Russo humanizes the shadowy gangsters without denying their violent proclivities. He also examines them in the context of traditional immigrant ambitions. Russo's illuminating history may disorient some readers; still, this is the book to beat in examining this midcentury criminal empire. B&w photos not seen by PW. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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From Library Journal
In this impressive work, investigative journalist Russo (Live by the Sword: The Secret War Against Castro and the Death of JFK) combines hundreds of his own interviews and newly revealed government files with the latest in exposes (e.g., Sally Denton and Roger Morris's The Money and the Power, on Las Vegas) to present an in-depth history of the Chicago mob from the 1920s through the 1960s. Russo shows how, during that period, "The Outfit," as it called itself, helped elect several presidents, created Las Vegas, and bankrolled Hollywood. The book is studded with revelations, such as the true story of "The Untouchables," Bing Crosby's debt to the mob, and Al Capone's surprise conviction for tax evasion. The author has no sympathy for those in political power, decrying corruption in the Roosevelt, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations. In an afterword he reveals his strong opinions on the topic, stating that white-collar criminals ("the upperworld") have been ignored at the expense of those in the "underworld" because of prejudice against Italians and the poor in general. Whether or not the reader agrees, Russo has written the most detailed book on the subject to date. Recommended for general collections. Harry Charles, Attorney at Law, St. Louis Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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Product details
Series: Illinois
Hardcover: 550 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA; 1st edition (April 24, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1582341761
ISBN-13: 978-1582341767
Product Dimensions:
5.4 x 1.8 x 11.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
Average Customer Review:
4.2 out of 5 stars
90 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#231,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The best part of this book was that it encompassed a wide range of material but stayed primarily about the Chicago Outfit. Many books of this type take a broader view that winds up distorting the readers impressions of what happened in Chicago. However, I was disturbed by the organization of the material, and had trouble following when events happened. As presented the material spanned time periods and jumped between then, often with poor transitions that required me to backtrack constantly to find out when something occurred (and sometimes I could not find it at all!). I also felt that the writer was too quick to point out conclusions that may have been suggested but certainly not proven, thus passing off his opinions as fact. There were also many spelling and grammatical errors, which were surprising based on the experience of the writer. However, it one is looking for a lot of information about the Chicago Outfit, this is perhaps the most comprehensive, almost encyclopedic, source I have encountered, and it is definitely worth reading on that basis.
I read the book "The Outfit" by Gus Russo some years ago and then this year just finished Russo's next book on the same topic, underworld crime in the US. It is called the "Supermob" and follows how the guys from the Outfit (the criminal element) in Chicago sprung some of their people loose to initiate/develop controlled criminal activities in other cities and then from those pieces put together an integrated and intesely controlled national puzzle of outfit types loosely connected into one supermob. Both books are eye-opening and intriguing reading for those interested in: 1. law enforcement, 2. the politics of the USA city by city and 3. how criminality reaches into our national level. Of course there are supermobs and outfits existing in all ethnic groups across the world, but these two books focus on the three ethnic groups that started and sustained the groups in the US. Read the two books and think about our country.
Russo shows how times have changed. Bombings and murders were commonplace decades ago. Today far more damage than was ever caused by the mob is caused by the banksters, oligarchs and plutocrats who use pens, emails, bribery and "campaign contributions" and who masquerade as "legitimate businessmen." Russo points out the totally blurred definitional line between legitimate and illegitimate when he shows the integration between organized "legitimate" crime and organized illegitimate crime. Citizens United has brought on the ultimate merger between legitimate and illegitimate. Russo's strength is in his portrayal of the overarching merger between the two and how in many ways they feed from the same trough.Russo also brings out many historical elements of the structural dynamics in the organization of the crime world: how it went from gang bosses to corporate structures with boards of directors, etc. He also pointed out that in hard times, organized crime was a true job creator and provider of social services, though that was not the main goal of the organizations. All of the bribes eventually cycled through the economy to legit local businesses.Having grown up in Chicago, it was interesting to read the names of the biggest crooks who now have their names on roads, parks, and public buildings; and how in politics only the names have changed to protect the not-so-innocent.This should be part of every high school and college history program.
I wanted to know more about how Chicago grew up, and this is a big part of it. Sure, the story concerns the rise of Vegas, the development of Hollywood and countless other national and international institutions. But the base was here in Chicago, and the main heirs of Al Capone were here as they schemed.The book had what I was looking for: the various mayors and their interactions with the Outfit, along with the aldermen, police officers and ward bosses that were made or otherwise in the Outfit's pocket. But it explained so much more, as well, such as the continuous takeover of underworld schemes by the upperworld (Vegas, offtrack betting, lottery, etc.), which kept the Outfit on its toes looking for new sources of income (with the obvious parallel to today's expensive "war on drugs").Russo does a masterful job of sticking mainly to the facts; I've seen some reviews question his use of single, unnamed sources and hearsay, but the book seems to be respected as one of the most factual on the topic. His only obvious diversion is one that comes up often: he holds law enforcement and the legal system in general in low esteem for their focus on Italians when, first, the other waves of immigrants had done much the same things to survive initially in this land, and, second, the upperworld capitalist bosses went unpunished and unpursued for what would be considered greater crimes against humanity.
I had about three books I was reading before I opened up this one but quickly found that I could not put it down. Its pages turn as if they were spun by reels. And what I liked best, perhaps, was his introductory section on Chicago history. I am a little weak in that department and enjoyed his description of the city on pillars that gave rise to the term "underworld." If you ever were hazy about the background of the bosses in Casino you won't be after you finish the Outfit--which is actually a name that Joe Pesci uses to describe their thing at the start of the Scorsese picture. Russo's narrative makes clear the corporate nature of these particular Mafiosi which was crucial to their success. Their vision was crafted by Johnny Torrio and confirmed by Al Capone along with Joe Accardo. The sections on the fifties and sixties were the most interesting as were the roles played by LBJ and Ramsay Clark in their partial rebirth after the death of JFK. This is a book both entertaining and educational.
Long and detailed history of the Chicago mob. Noticed one glaring, but irrelevant error: Albert Anastasia's known nicknames were "The Mad Hatter" and "The Lord High Executioner", not "Tough Tony" (that was his brother... Tony).
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