Gangland Chronicles examines the history of The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Mafia or the South Side Gang, which rose to power in the 1920s under Johnny Torrio and Al Capone. The episode explores the Outfit’s rise, its involvement in Prohibition-era gang wars, and the eventual downfall of Capone.
Born in New York City in 1899, Capone joined the Five Points Gang as a teenager and later moved to Chicago, where he became a bodyguard for Torrio. With political protection through the Unione Siciliana, Torrio’s criminal syndicate dominated the illegal alcohol trade. Capone’s reign, however, ended when he was sent to prison at 33, and control of the Outfit passed to Frank Nitti in 1931.
The episode also touches on the Outfit’s wide-ranging criminal activities, including loansharking, illegal gambling, prostitution, extortion, political corruption, and murder, which continued even after Capone’s downfall.
Gangland Chronicles: The Chicago Outfit: The Capone Years airs Monday, September 9, 2024, at 10:03 PM on History.
