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A photo of Tony Accardo by Associated Press –

Top 10 Facts about the Italian Gangstar Tony Accardo

Tony Accardo officially known as Anthony Joseph Accardo, also known as “Joe Batters” and “Big Tuna”, was a notorious and accomplished American mobster who rose through the ranks of organized crime over the course of several decades. Starting as a small-time hoodlum, he eventually rose to the day-to-day boss of the Chicago Outfit in 1947 and held this position until his death in 1992.

Accardo demonstrated exceptional leadership skills and keen business acumen throughout his criminal career, expanding the Outfit’s influence and wealth through various operations and ventures. Under his guidance, the Outfit became a formidable and lucrative criminal organization, solidifying Accardo’s reputation as an influential figure in the underworld.

1. His Father was a shoemaker

Tony Accardo was born on April 28, 1906, in the Near West Side neighbourhood of Chicago, Illinois as the second of six offspring to Francesco and Maria Tilotta Accardo. His father, Francesco, was a shoemaker by profession and his mother, Maria, was a homemaker who dedicated her time and energy towards raising their large brood.

Prior to Tony’s birth, his parents had migrated from Castelvetrano, Sicily, Italy to the United States in pursuit of better opportunities. Growing up in Accardo, a street in Chicago, Tony was surrounded by a tight-knit family and a rich cultural heritage that would play a significant role in shaping his future.

2. He joined a gang at 14 years

At the tender age of fourteen, Tony Accardo forsook his academic pursuits and took to frequent the local billiard halls. This marked the beginning of his association with the Circus Cafe Gang, a criminal organization run by Claude Maddox and Tony Capezio in one of the poverty-stricken neighbourhoods of Chicago. These street gangs served as a reservoir of potential recruits for the city’s larger criminal enterprises, providing a pipeline for the development of future talent.

It was in this milieu that Accardo caught the attention of Jack “Machine Gun” McGurn, a notorious hitman associated with the Chicago Outfit, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the city at the time. Impressed by Accardo’s potential, McGurn inducted him into his crew, along with Tony Mazlack, a longtime associate from Gary, Indiana. This marked the beginning of Accardo’s ascent to the upper echelons of the criminal underworld.

3. During prohibition  Accardo got the nickname “Joe Batters”

During the era of Prohibition, Tony Accardo earned the moniker “Joe Batters” as a result of his use of a baseball bat as a means of eliminating three individuals who had committed treachery against the Outfit. This act of violent retribution marked Accardo as a formidable figure within the criminal underworld, and cemented his reputation as a ruthless enforcer who would stop at nothing to protect the interests of the organization he served. The nickname “Joe Batters” served as a testament to Accardo’s predilection for using brute force to settle disputes, and as a warning to others who might consider crossing the Outfit.

4. Chicago newspapers dubbed Accardo “The Big Tuna”

The media in Chicago eventually bestowed upon Tony Accardo the moniker “The Big Tuna”, a moniker that reflected both his reputation and his status within the criminal underworld. This sobriquet, derived from the large predatory fish of the same name, conveyed a sense of power, strength, and unyielding determination, synonymous with Accardo’s character.

The label “The Big Tuna” served as a symbol of Accardo’s preeminence within the criminal landscape of Chicago and as a testament to his influence and the fear that he inspired among his contemporaries.

5. Accardo also claimed that he was amongst the gunmen who murdered  Frankie Yale

Tony Accardo proclaimed himself to be among the assassins responsible for the murder of Brooklyn gang leader Frankie Yale, carried out at the behest of Al Capone as a means of resolving a conflict. However, this assertion has been met with scepticism by many experts in the field, who hold that Accardo’s involvement in the killing was, at best, tangential.

Furthermore, there is widespread consensus that Gus Winkler carried out the execution of Yale, Fred Burke, and Louis Campagna, rather than Accardo. This has led many to question the veracity of Accardo’s claims and to view his involvement in the affair as purely anecdotal, with no substantial evidence to support it.

6. Accardo may have participated in the assassination Hymie Weiss

On October 11, 1926, there is a possibility that Tony Accardo was involved in the targeted killing of Northside gang leader Hymie Weiss in the vicinity of the Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. While the exact details of Accardo’s role in this event are uncertain and the available evidence is circumstantial, it cannot be discounted that he may have played a part in the execution of Weiss, who was a formidable rival of the Outfit at the time.

Whether Accardo’s involvement was direct or indirect, the fact remains that he was operating within a milieu characterized by violence and cunning and that he was known to associate with individuals capable of carrying out such acts.

7. The conviction and the sentence of Capone was a happy ending for Accardo

With the conviction of Al Capone for tax evasion and his subsequent eleven-year imprisonment in 1932, the criminal underworld of Chicago underwent a significant shift. During this period of transition, Tony Accardo, who was among the closest associates to Capone, was positioned to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the changing landscape.

With Capone removed from the scene, Accardo was able to emerge as a dominant figure within the Outfit, leveraging his experience, cunning, and connections to exert his influence and expand his sphere of control.

In the wake of Capone’s downfall, Accardo demonstrated his acumen as a leader by consolidating power within the organization and by maintaining its cohesion in the face of challenges from rival gangs and law enforcement. This period represented a critical juncture in Accardo’s career, as he was able to establish himself as a key figure within the Outfit and lay the foundation for a long and illustrious career as a criminal kingpin.

Thus, the conviction of Capone for tax evasion provided Accardo with the opportunity to demonstrate his leadership skills and establish himself as a major player in the criminal underworld. With Capone behind bars, Accardo was able to consolidate his position and exert his influence over the Outfit, laying the foundation for a career marked by both wealth and power.

8. Accardo continued to gain power in the Outfit in the 1940s

In the 1940s, Tony Accardo’s ascension within the Outfit continued as he solidified his position of power and influence within the criminal organization. During this decade, several senior members of the Outfit were investigated and charged with utilizing their control over labour unions to engage in extortion, extracting vast sums of money from Hollywood studios through the threat of strike action. This situation resulted in the suicide of Frank Nitti, who was afraid of facing a second prison term. Paul Ricca, who had effectively been running the Outfit since Al Capone’s imprisonment, officially assumed the role of boss, designating Accardo as his underboss.

Under Ricca and Accardo’s leadership, the Outfit experienced a period of stability and prosperity, with the two men serving as the organization’s de facto leaders for the next three decades until Ricca’s death in 1972. When Ricca was later sentenced to ten years in prison as a result of his involvement in the Hollywood scandal, Accardo took on the role of acting boss. And three years after that, when Ricca was restricted from any contact with members of the Outfit as a condition of his parole, Accardo assumed the position of boss, while Ricca served as a senior advisor in the background.

9. Accardo passed on his official title of the Head of the Outfit to Sam Giancana in 1957

In the aftermath of the year 1957, Accardo relinquished his official title as the head of the Outfit to Sam Giancana. Despite ceding the mantle of authority, Accardo still wielded considerable influence and commanded deference from the rest of the organization. He took on the role of consigliere, retreating from the operational aspects of the Outfit but maintaining a significant degree of power. Giancana was required to secure the endorsement of both Accardo and Paul “The Waiter” Ricca on weighty matters, including matters of lethal import. This arrangement ensured that Accardo remained a force to be reckoned with, even as he operated in the background.

10. Unlike many other known gangsters, Accaro was a family man