Joseph Glimco
| Joseph Paul Glimco | |
|---|---|
Joseph Glimco testifies before the U.S. Senate, April 24, 1958
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| Born |
January 14, 1909 Salerno, Italy |
| Died | April 28, 1991 (aged 82) Berwyn, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation |
gangster labor racketeer |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Spouse(s) | Lena Alex Glimco |
| Children | Joseph Glimco, Jr. and Jo Anne Glimco |
Joseph Paul Glimco (January 14, 1909 – April 28, 1991) was an Italian American labor leader and well-known organized crime figure based in Chicago, Illinois. He was considered "Chicago's top labor racketeer" in the 1950s. One high-ranking Chicago Teamsters leader noted in 1954, "He is the mob. When he opens his mouth, it's the syndicate talking." Glimco was active in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and a close associate of Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa. He was a capo in the Chicago Outfit, an organized crime syndicate, and oversaw the syndicate's labor racketeering efforts. He worked closely with Tony "Joe Batters" Accardo, who led the Chicago Outfit from 1943 to 1957, and Sam "Momo" Giancana, who led the syndicate from 1957 to 1966. A United States Senate committee once claimed that Glimco ran "the nation's most corrupt union."
Among his numerous aliases were Joey Glimco, "Tough Guy" Glimco, Joseph Glinico, and Joseph Glielmi. He was also known as "Little Tim Murphy," a reference to Timothy "Big Tim" Murphy, a Chicago mobster and labor racketeer (also well known for his close ties to the Teamsters) whom the Chicago Outfit feared and subsequently murdered in 1928.
Glimco was born in Salerno, Italy, in 1909 and emigrated to the United States with his family in 1913. He had at least two brothers and a sister. The family settled in Chicago. Glimco attended public school but quit after the seventh grade to earn a living as a shoeshiner and newspaper delivery boy. He owned two newsstands when he was 20 years old. Glimco's criminal career began about the same time as his departure from school. By the time he was 18, he had been arrested five times and convicted twice for disorderly conduct and once for larceny (receiving six months to a year's probation each time). By the time he was 25, he had been arrested another 16 times—including arrests for murder (twice), bootlegging (twice), motor vehicle theft, criminal intimidation, bombing, and public brawling.
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