A BAD ARTIST

By Roger Esty

When Al Capone went to jail for income tax evasion,at the time, that was the stiffest sentence for such a charge. 11 years. Capone went to Atlanta Penitentiary and was going to appeal the case. That's when my father overheard Frank Nitti tell Capone's lawyers,Fink and Aherns,to keep Snorky in the cooler. His syphylis was going to
get him,anmd besides Nitti wanted to be the boss.

They talk about Capone's beef with the tax people,but Nitti was indicted also for not paying his fair share. He served 18 months. When he got released,Capone was still in the slammer working on an appeal. That's when my dad ,who must have been around 16 years of age, heard Frank give up Capone to the feds.

Nitti threatened to kill my father if he passed along what he had heard in the parlor at Al's mommy's house. My dad was no snitch. Besides, he got to liking breathing.

Though Nitti was next in line,he never earned the respect of the Outfit. They called him(not to his face)a "baccala",a lummox. Paul "The Waiter" Ricca who had worked as a young man in my grandfather's restaurant,The Bella Napoli, was the guy who eventually took over.

Diamond Joe,my grandfather,was fond of Ricca. Ricca like many of the Mob guys was somewhat diminutive. Only when riled would he show another side. A dangerous side.

Anyway Nitti,who never ran things very well(because he lacked the talent)accidently brought a couple of strong arm guys out West to control the studio unions. Los Angeles cops didn't like Chicago hoods in their neck of the woods. It was a bad investment for Nitti. Under indictment the Chicago boys rolled over.

Nitti,who's nickname was The Enforcer(because he enforced the rules) lost face with The Outfit. He also knew he was going to lose his life. In the suburb of Riverside where Nitti lived,he walked to the train station,brandished a gun and shot himself.

Nitti was a guy who never showed an art of running the operation. If you had put a brush in his hands ,he wouldn't have been able to paint by numbers.