John U. "Jack" Zuta (February 18, 1888 - August 1, 1930) was an accountant and political "fixer" for the Chicago Outfit.
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Zuta (also spelled as "Zoota") was born on February 18, 1888, to a Polish-Jewish peasant family in Russian Empire. He immigrated to the United States around 1913. Living in Chicago, Zuta worked as a junk dealer on the West Side before becoming involved in prostitution. He eventually operated several brothels on west Madison Street. However he was put out of business by competition from Mike "The Pike" Heitler and the Guzik Brothers, Harry and Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik.
Zuta began working for Al Capone during Prohibition in the mid-1920s. He helped contribute $50,000 of Capone's money to Chicago Mayor William Hale Thompson's reelection campaign in 1927. However, Zuta defected to George "Bugs" Moran's North Side Mob during the gang war between Capone and Moran.
In June 1930, Zuta supposedly ordered the death of Chicago Examiner reporter Jake Lingle after Lingle tried to extort money from Moran's gambling operations. After Lingle's murder (for which Leo Vincent Brothers was convicted), Zuta was questioned by police. He was released the next day. While being given a police escort the police cruiser was fired on by several unidentified gunmen. The attackers killed two bystanders before being driven off by police. Zuta quickly fled Chicago, moving to Upper Nemahbin Lake, outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, living the last month of his life under the name, "J.H. Goodman." Zuta was killed on August 1, 1930, shot dead by eight men in a roadhouse in Delafield, Wisconsin.
Zuta's death however resulted in the uncovering of a large amount of corruption in Illinois. Zuta, a meticulous record keeper, had much information later found in various safe deposit boxes. This information lead to the capture of a large whiskey shipment to Moran and to information about police raids on several breweries, as well as detailing Mafia payoffs to state and city officials.
Some of the officials implicated were:
All denied involvement, however, particularly Crowe and Starr, who claimed the money was part of campaign contributions. The name, "Zuta," later became slang for revenge. In 1931, after a $50,000 bounty was placed on him, Capone said, "Nobody's gonna' 'Zuta' me."
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