James Torello

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

James Vincent "Turk" Torello (December 1930-April 1979) was an Italian-American mobster and one time leading enforcer of the Chicago Outfit during the mid-to-late 1970s.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Torello's criminal history began with his first arrest in 1945 and would eventually include numerous charges including auto theft, armed robbery, burglary and hijacking before his arrest for violating the firearms act and sentenced to serve two years in a federal prison.

By the early 1970s, Torello had become a high ranking member within the Chicago crime syndicate and, by the time of Fiore "Fifi" Buccieri's death in 1973, he would be selected to succeed Buccieri as the organization's chief enforcer as well as becoming involved in loan sharking, illegal gambling and pornography before his death of cancer in April 1979, while staying at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

[edit] Further reading

United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Organized Crime in Chicago: Hearing Before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. 1983. [1]
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Professional Motor Vehicle Theft and Chop Shops: Hearings Before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. 1980. [2]