I have recently decided to share a photo of some Chicago Outfit hoodlums with my loyal readers who have a particular interest in my work on the Chicago Outfit. The photograph came to me through a very close source of my now late uncle through marriage, Romie Nappi.
For those interested in participating, please study the photo. The first person who contacts me via email with the correct names of at least 7 of the 10 gangsters in the photo will win a $100.00 cash prize. The bald guy whose back is facing us will count if you can name him as well.
If the winner names all 10 of the gangsters, he or she will also receive a T-shirt with the photo in question printed on it. My email address is jfosco@americannewspost.com.
Thank you and good luck!
For a full-sized copy, right click here and choose “Save Link As”
55 Comments
Great contest. The only guy I recongize is Accardo. I will keep looking.
Thanks for the compliment Geek.
I think I know 4,,,.Accardo,Joe Amato,Jack Cerone,and Caesar DiVarco?
Thanks for your effort Tom. I am unable to confirm your answers while the contest is still going. Please come back with at least 7-names. Good start! Tom, do you mind pointing out which person you believe is CD? Thanks. J
The guy with the glasses across from Accardo I think is DiVarco.I will keep looking
What a great pic….I think you should share more Joe.
Share more of what Funk?
Pics like this…assuming you have any more.
I have more. However, I try to wait for the right time to share them. In addition, I want to keep some on the side in case I wind up writing a book as I once considered doing.
I think your book would be immensely interesting. Hope you end up doing it!
Thank you for your vote of confidence. The one thing that has held me back in writing a book is the understanding that without being a celebrity, there is very little money to make on writing a book, if any at all. I realize that I may sound shallow speaking about the monetary side of things, but I am at a point in my life (unfortunately) where I have to focus on earning money.
I would assume its a niche market on top of it, which is really too bad. Side question, where was this taken….Elmwood Park…River Grove?
I am not sure of the exact location. Sorry.
As I said, I am not sure of the location. However, based on input by a living relative of one of the people in the photo, it is likely that the get together took place at Holiday Park (which was/is a beach), near Wauconda, Illinois.
Why aren’t you trying to make some coin of this concept? You should be the go-to for OC in Chicago. Look at Capeci, he’s charging for his news. Interview a few bust-outs that are in a bad way. Make some noise. Right now, you’ve got a few regular commenters that aren’t crazy and a few that are. Time to make a move. Interview someone from LE. Is Don Herion still alive? He was a media whore. Come on Joe.
Thanks for the support HDN. I will address your advice. 😉
That’s actually not a bad idea. Doing a Capeci style column for Chicago.
Thanks Funk. I was thinking joe should be covering all of US. Interview some previous bad guys, current good guys and maybe some victims. Joe should actually have questions prepared. And Franko Cocunuts is the wing man. No more of these long delays. Get a scheduled show together. Sell some advertising and take on some donations. That’s my vision for joe. A full time gig.
HDN, I’ll see what I can do. 😉
You know OC. Use it. Try Don Herion as a guest. He ran OC investigations for Cook County. He loves this stuff. I knew him in another life and he really despised Mags. He told me Mags ran dope. Hope he’s still alive. Speaking of alive, can you jog your memory under what circumstances Jimmy LaValley was murdered? Where? When?
I know Don. I’ll reach out to him. We’ll see.
The next time you reach out to your sources, can you please confirm the LaValley information to be accurate? Any details would be appreciated.
Tell him you take him for a round of golf at the Pines… Then he will do it for sure.
HDN:
Sorry I forgot to address your question on LaValley. If my memory serves me well, I think it was somewhere around 2008 or 2009 when he was purportedly found dead with at least one bullet in his head. I want to say that I heard that he was supposedly found somewhere around the East Coast. I originally heard this from some law-enforcement contacts that I have.
Here’s my “stab” at it. Accardo, Cerone, Nuccio, Amato, Depietto, DiBella, Brancato, Devarco, Gagliano
FFDM, you have 3.
The guy with the load in his pants is WILDBILL
Here’s my stab at it: Accardo, DiVarco, Amato, Politto, Solano, Messino, Catuara, Annoreno, Pranno, Ciapetta.
Awesome pic by the way!!
What year are we talking about?
A,
I believe the photo is from the early 50s.
The car on the right is a ’55 Chevy, so it can’t be prior to ’55. Probably between ’55-’57?
I thought the cars were early 50s. JJB, I stand corrected. Thank you. I will add that Joe B does look a bit older as if the photo was close to the 1960s.
And with the aid of a friend, I’ve learned that the car behind the tree is a ’66 Thunderbird.
Looks more like a ’56 Thunderbird. The front bumper changed in the ’58 model. Plus the ’66 had different front lights, two bulbs for each side in the ’60s compared to a single bulb for each side in the ’50s.
You’re correct, Ant. That was a typo on my part — it’s a ’56 Thunderbird, not ’66.
Here’s my list of names, from left to right:
1. Joe Amato
2. Joe Batters Accardo
3. Queenie Simonelli
4. Joe Gagliano? (smiling man with cap)
5. Rocco Fischetti
6. unknown (younger handsome man smiling)
7. unknown (man with back turned)
8. Nick Palermo
9. James Adduci (with glasses)
10. Jackie Cerone
11. Willie Messino (smiling man with sunglasses and cigar)
Dear A,
You definitely have 5 correct.
Let’s give this a shot (left to right, around the table):
1. Amato
2. Accardo
3. Pranno
4. Daddano (hat)
5. DeGrazia (blowing dice)
6. Caifano
7. Fosco (pants)
8. Palermo
9. Adduci (glasses)
10. Cerone
11. Ferraro (cigar)
Edit: change #6 to Aleman.
Pretty sure #3 (sitting on the table behind Accardo) is Rocco Pranno from Stone Park.
I know there’s a thumbnail picture allegedly of Pranno on another site, but I’m not sure it really is Pranno. To me it looks more like Simonelli, plus we know that Accardo was close to Simonelli while there’s no evidence he was close to Pranno.
Antiliar,
I admit that Simonelli (who was my friend) and Pranno bear a close resemblance. I realize that a pinky ring is on the same finger of the photos of Simonelli and the person in the photo with JB. However, making a determination by process of elimination which is in part based on a hunch that JB might not have been close to Pranno is a poor way to claim something as a fact. Based on source information, the man in the photo is Pranno. If someone conclusively proves my source incorrect, I will immediately issue a correction. Thank you.
In addition, Joe B did not bring Queenie Simonelli around Outfit guys very often. And Jack Cerone usually drove him around, which makes the need for Queenie at Holiday even less necessary.
Actually i just found a photo of Pranno in the Tribune from that time period and he looks nothing like the man in your photo.
Antiliar,
Send me the clip at jfosco@americannewspost.com. In the meantime, I have to go with source information, even over the Tribune. In my field, if it’s one thing I have learned well, it is not to rely too heavily on mainstream media for credible material on the Chicago Outfit. Lastly, I wish to state for the second time in this message thread that I will immediately issue a correction if I see conclusive evidence that my source is incorrect. Thank you.
Dear Antiliar,
Thank you for sending me the photo that you claim to have found in an old Chicago Tribune Newspaper. I have reviewed the Tribune photo and therefore find no reason whatsoever to doubt myself on this issue. However, I certainly thank you for your good work in researching this matter.
Hey Joe, any update on the identities?
1. Amato
2. JB
3. Pranno
4. Gagliano
5. Formosa
6. Potenza
7. Gianola
8. Palermo
9. Cerone
10. DeStefano
1. Amato
2. Batters
3. Pranno
4. DiBella
5. Fischetti
6. Potenza
7. Gianola
8. Palermo
9. Cerone
10. Cortina
Joe,
Are you ever going to release the names in the photo? It doesn’t look like anyone is going to guess enough to win.
Besides that,Are we ever going to see some more articles?
We give up, Joe. Give us some hints at least?
I will announce names sometime next month.
Could #7 be Frank Zimmerman?
It’s November, Joe; bring on the reveal, will ya?