Anthony Joseph Accardo (; born Antonino Leonardo Accardo, ; April 28, 1906 – May 22, 1992), also known as "Joe Batters" and "Big Tuna," was a mobster in the American Mafia. In a criminal career that spanned nearly eight decades, Accardo rose from small-time hoodlum to the position of day-to-day boss of the Chicago Outfit in 1947, to ultimately becoming the power behind the throne in the Outfit by 1972. Accardo moved the Outfit into new operations and territories, significantly increasing its power and wealth during his tenure as boss.

Early life

Tony Accardo was born on April 28, 1906, in Chicago's Near West Side, the second of six children of shoemaker Francesco Accardo and Maria Tilotta Accardo.

Career

Capone regime

During Prohibition, Accardo gained the nickname "Joe Batters" after using a baseball bat to murder three mobsters who had betrayed the Chicago Outfit.

Under Accardo's leadership in the late 1940s, the Outfit moved into slot and vending machines, counterfeiting cigarette and liquor tax stamps, and expanding narcotics smuggling. Accardo placed slot machines in gas stations, restaurants and bars throughout the Outfit's territory. Outside of Chicago, the Outfit expanded into Las Vegas and took influence over the city's gaming industry away from the Five Families of New York City. Accardo ensured all the legal Las Vegas casinos used his slot machines. In Kansas and Oklahoma, Accardo also took advantage of the official ban on alcohol sales to introduce bootlegged alcohol. The Outfit eventually dominated organized crime in most of the western United States. Accardo phased out some traditional activities, such as labor racketeering and extortion, to reduce the Outfit's exposure to legal prosecution. He also converted the Outfit's brothel business into call girl services. These changes resulted in a golden era of profitability and influence for the Outfit.

Accardo and Ricca emphasized keeping a low profile and let flashier figures, such as Sam Giancana, attract attention instead. For example, when professional wrestlers Lou Albano and Tony Altomare, wrestling as a Mafia-inspired tag team called "The Sicilians," came to Chicago in 1961, Accardo persuaded the men to drop the gimmick to avoid any mob-related publicity. By using tactics such as these, Accardo and Ricca were able to run the Outfit much longer than Capone. Ricca once said, "Accardo had more brains for breakfast than Capone had in a lifetime." Accardo became the Outfit's consigliere, stepping away from the day-to-day running of the organization, but still retained considerable power and demanded ultimate respect. Despite officially being boss, Giancana still had to obtain the sanction of Accardo and Ricca on major business, including murders.

Ricca died in 1972, leaving Accardo as the ultimate authority in the Outfit.

Home burglary

In 1978, while Accardo vacationed in California, burglars entered his River Forest home. Shortly afterward, the three suspected thieves and four related persons were found strangled and with their throats cut. Law enforcement officials believed Accardo had ordered the killings in retaliation for the burglary. Accardo's official job was as a beer salesman for a Chicago brewery. flying to Chicago to preside over Outfit "sit-downs" and mediate disputes. By that time, his personal holdings included legal investments in commercial office buildings, retail centers, lumber farms, paper factories, hotels, car dealerships, trucking companies, newspaper companies, restaurants and travel agencies.

Accardo spent his last years in Barrington Hills, Illinois, living with his daughter and son-in-law. On May 22, 1992, Anthony Accardo died of respiratory and heart conditions at age 86. He is buried in a crypt in the mausoleum at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, in Hillside, Illinois. Despite an arrest record dating back to 1922, Accardo spent at most only one night in jail. about Giancana and McGuire, Accardo is portrayed by Maury Chaykin.

  • In the television series Vegas, Accardo is referred to as "Tuna" by mobster Vincent Savino (Michael Chiklis) when he is preparing the monthly casino skim to depart to Chicago.
  • Mandy Patinkin plays Accardo in the movie November 1963 (2026).

See also

  • List of Havana Conference invitees

Notes

References

  • Testimony before the Kefauver Committee on 5 January 1951.
  • Testimony before the McClellan Committee in 1958.
  • LIUNA – Tony Accardo Obituary 22