Paul Ricca

Paul Ricca
Mugshot of Paul Ricca
Born	1897 (1897) Naples, Italy
Died	October 11, 1972(1972-10-11) (aged 74–75) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Paul Ricca, also known as The Waiter (1897 – October 11, 1972), was a Chicago mobster who served as the nominal or de facto leader of the Chicago Outfit for 40 years.

Ricca was born in Naples, Italy as Felice DeLucia. By age 17, Ricca was working for organized crime in Naples (Camorra). In 1915, Ricca stabbed Emilio Parrillo to death. Ricca later claimed that he killed Parillo for breaking an engagement to Ricca's sister. In reality Ricca killed Parrillo on Mafia orders. After serving two years in an Italian prison, Ricca then killed Vincenzo Capasso, who had testified against him in the Parillo trial, by slitting his throat.

After killing Capasso, Ricca assumed the name Paolo Maglio and fled to the United States by way of Cuba. On August 10, 1920, Ricca arrived in New York City and Americanized his name to "Paul Ricca".

While in Cuba, Ricca had met Joseph "Diamond Joe" Esposito, a Chicago bootlegger and restaurant owner. After Ricca arrived in New York, Esposito brought him to Chicago. Esposito put Ricca to work smuggling whiskey from Cuba and moonshine liquor from Kentucky to Chicago. Sensing Ricca's potential, Esposito appointed him as maitre d' at the Bella Napoli, Esposito's Chicago restaurant. This job was the source of Ricca's nickname "The Waiter". The Bella Napoli was popular with many Chicago gangsters, including the leader of the South Side Gang (the precursor to the Chicago Outfit), Al Capone. Sharing several mutual friends among Neapolitan gangsters who had returned to Italy, Ricca soon gave up his restaurant job and joined the South Side Gang.

Ricca rose very quickly in the gang ranks, frequently serving as Capone's emissary to the East Coast gangs. The two soon became good friends; in 1927, Capone served as the best man at Ricca's wedding. In 1929, Capone and Ricca attended the Atlantic City Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the first meeting of all the major criminal gangs in the United States. In 1930, Capone sent Ricca to New York City to serve as his emissary in peace talks aimed at ending the Castellammarese War between the New York Italian-American gangs. With the establishment of the National Crime Syndicate in 1931, Ricca's prestige and visibility continued to rise.