Chicago outfit
| Founded | 1912 |
|---|---|
| Founded by | Big Jim Colosimo |
| Founding location | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Years active | 1910–present |
| Territory | Chicago metropolitan area, surrounding midwest. Other territories in Las Vegas and Florida. |
| Ethnicity | "Made men" are people of Italian descent, with some exception. 160 made members |
| Criminal activities | Racketeering, bribery, conspiracy, arson, burglary, coercion, labor racketeering, police corruption, hijacking, loansharking, drug trafficking, fencing, fraud, money laundering, murder, illegal gambling, extortion, |
| Allies | Five Families, Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis, Kansas City, Patriarca, Denver and Los Angeles crime families |
| Rivals | Various Chicago criminal groups that rivals it for power. |
The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois which dates back to the 1910s. It is part of the American Mafia originating in Chicago's South Side. The Outfit rose to power in the 1920s, under the control of Johnny Torrio and Al Capone and the period was marked by bloody gang wars for distribution of illegal alcohol during Prohibition. Since then, the Outfit has been involved in a wide range of criminal activities, including loansharking, gambling, prostitution, extortion, political corruption, and murder. Following Capone's conviction for income tax evasion, the Outfit was run by Paul Ricca and Tony Accardo for more than 50 years after Frank Nitti killed himself instead of going to jail. Accardo took over as boss sometime in the 1940s and was one of the longest sitting bosses of all time right up until his death in the early 1990s.
The Outfit did not have a monopoly on organized crime in Chicago, but they were by far the most powerful, violent and largest criminal organization in the Midwest. The Outfit's control, at its peak, included the West and East, to places as far away as California and Florida. Higher law enforcement attention and general attrition led to the Outfit's gradual decline since the late 20th century. The Chicago Outfit is currently believed to be led by John DiFronzo.
The early years of organized crime in Chicago, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, were marked by the division of various street gangs controlling the South Side and North Side, as well as the Black Hand organizations of Little Italy.
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