As far as bosses go this guy had it all, I mean when we think about mob bosses, legendary bosses that is, we would usually think Carlo Gambino, Lucky Luciano, Frank Costello even Don Corleone, fictitious yes but when we say bosses these guys are the kind we think of, these are what we imagine great bosses to be. But let me tell you now Tony Accardo is every bit as legendary as any of these even more so. He was the boss of the Chicago crime family. Tony started out in Chicago in the days of prohibition and Al Capone. After doing a lot of bootlegging in his earlier years he eventually moved up the ladder to become Al Capone's body guard in the nineteen twenties after doing much strong arm work for big Al as these were the days when they were at war with a tough Irish mob to take over the entire bootlegging operations in Chicago. The Irish mob was headed by Bugs Moran and had resisted many lucrative offers from Capone to sell up and go away but continued to decline. And inevitably soon enough he was put away.

Big Al took control and a young Tony Accardo had made his bones in the Chicago outfit in some of the helacious mob wars of all times with major headline stories such as the most infamous valentines day massacre Tony Accardo had made his bones alright and had also shown just how capable he was. After prohibition was finished Al Capone had been put away and Frank Nitti had taken over as boss and Tony Accardo was moved up to capo status. Tony was extremely highly regarded throughout the outfit everyone respected him. None more so when he beat two guys to death with a baseball bat which of course where he got his nickname. Frank Nitti's reign would come to an end in nineteen forty three when he was indicted with his underboss Paul Ricca in the Hollywood studios extortion case Frank Nitti would take his own life by shooting his own brains out Paul Ricca was sentenced to ten years, of which he only done three. This dramatic chain of events would spearhead Tony to the summit of the outfit named as acting boss in forty-three and just three years later he would be named boss upon the release of Paul Ricca who stayed on as his underboss. These years were without a shadow of a doubt the best days of Chicago outfit particularly with these two at the helm. The Chicago outfit as the members knew it was different to the New York families. As New York was split between five families there was obviously going to be disputes between families which of course made things difficult to run smoothly.

Joe Batters didn't have to worry about such things though. In Chicago it was one unit of leadership controlling the whole of the city, each capo was responsible for his given territory which made things run crisply because you didn't have to worry about anyone from another family encroaching in on your area, which could end up in an all out mob war, these were not the problems Tony Accardo had to worry about each capo had a good share in things so they all served with the utmost obedience, and these were the foundations that made this probably the most successful organization with in the entire world of Cosa Nostra and these are the foundations that would become the fulcrum of the Accardo success story. Tony Accardo was everything that a Cosa Nostra boss should be; he kept himself out of the media spotlight a mistake that his successor Sam Giancana would come to regret. He was a mans man, and a complete family man he spent lots of time at home with his wife and children, unlike so many other made men who thought nothing about being unfaithful to their wife and children. He never stayed out in bars and would never get involved in courting prostitutes or any other activity where he would be in a position that would compromise his strong family values.

Tony was like the old Mafia dons used to be at the turn of the century in Sicily, where the dons were approachable, helpful; he was fair and never reacted wrongly in the face of adversity. Unlike the modern bosses who became arrogant, pigheaded and utterly selfish. He had everything that the men he dealt with could wish to be. Tony Accardo is the man who we all consider don Corleone to be, but unlike Marlon Brando's portrayal of the godfather Joe Batters wouldn't have to worry about being left for dead in the middle of the street because in Chicago nobody would even consider it, he was just too powerful and respected. Despite being the main man in Chicago, Tony would make a decision that would leave all of his fellow cohorts completely flabbergasted, in fifty-seven he would step down. His colleagues wouldn't understand this amazing U-turn because to them he would optimise what a Mafia boss is all about and even his adversaries would have a huge amount of respect for him. It was his decision to let Sam Giancana takeover Giancana had impressed Accardo when he secured all the numbers games throughout Chicago land and Accardo was more than happy to stay on as his consiglieri But Joe Batters was unlike any other consiglieri in the history of Cosa Nostra As most consiglieri would be there just to advise and offer his opinions Tony would still remain the power behind the throne, every major decision that had to made was made by him, if anyone would need to be put down he had the final word and he would remain the Chicago outfits representative on the commission and it was up to him who would takeover as boss when and if the problem would ever occur

His decision to stay on as consiglieri had a lot to do with the fact that he would never spend a night in jail, that and the fact that he always objected to the limelight of the media and he would always counsel his colleagues to do the same thing. Tony Accardo would stay on as the Chicago outfits hush hush boss right up to the mid eighties where upon his health would start to deteriorate and in ninety two he would pass away leaving his legendary legacy behind. In his criminal career he would make the Chicago outfit one of the biggest in the land second only to the New York families.

I wouldn't like to tell you that Accardo was a saint, far from it many men have died at his hands he is after all reputed to be involved in the Valentines Day massacre and when outraged at the antics of Sam Giancana he subsequently had had him chopped down. After all he was a Mafia boss so he will be remembered as someone who is all that is wrong with the world, but to me I see a man who came from a time when there was little opportunity for immigrants and like so many he swore his fidelity to Cosa Nostra where there was more opportunities to make money and live a more prosperous lifestyle. During his success he never let money or power rule his head, he became a man who had an infectious personality a leader, someone who people would come to depend upon on and despite his work and what he stood for, he would remain the same throughout his life, a man who always put his wife before anyone and a father that we all wish we could emulate....