Frank Nitti

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Frank Nitti








Frank Nitti was nicknamed the "enforcer". Frank started off as a barber fencing stolen goods on the side. He would emerge as Capone's right-hand man. He joined the Outfit and rose to be the number two guy in Capone's Organization. Part of his responsibilities was to oversee the gambling operation. When Capone went to prison Nitti took control of the Oufit and served as the boss for eleven years. Nitti kept the operation very low-key, (the exact opposite of Al's public reign)and moved into prostitution. Frank was also greatly involved with controlling local elections, and corrupting as many judges, cops, and officials he could. Nitti endured many legal problems which would prove to disable his ability to move freely. On March 14, 1930 a federal grand jury indicted Nitti on five counts of evading taxes. He went into hiding following these charges but eventually was found living under a alias with his wife. Nitti's downfall came in the form of the Hollywood Extortion Case. This case involved Nitti (along with other members of his organization) extorting major Hollywood Movie Companies. They Controlled the unions, and would threaten a strike if a tribute in the form of money wasn't payed. This worked for a while but eventually everyone involved was indicted and sentenced to prison. Rather than face trial and perhaps prison time, on March 19, 1943, Frank Nitti walked to a Railroad, put a pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. Making him the only known mob boss to commit suicide.
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