- Frank Zito
Frank Zito (
February 24 ,1893 -August 22 ,1974 ) was anItalian-American mobster who controlled criminal activities in Central andSouthern Illinois for over twenty years, providing protection from law enforcement and rival competitors.Born in
Palermo, Sicily , Zito immigrated with his family to Illinois. DuringProhibition , Zito became involved in bootlegging, prostitution, and illegal gambling. During this period, Zito was convicted of violating federal liquor laws. Based inSpringfield, Illinois , Zito and the St. Louis crime syndicate ran illegal gambling and drug trafficking operations in rural Illinois. While attending the 1957Apalachin Conference inApalachin, New York , Zito was captured with numerous other mobsters when theNew York State Police raided the meeting. Although indicted in a federal investigation into organized crime in the Midwest, Zito remained in power into the 1970s.On August 22, 1974, Frank Zito died of natural causes.
Further reading
*Capeci, Jerry. "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia". Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN 0-02-864225-2
*United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field Publication. "Investigation of Improper Activities in the Labor Or Management Field", 1959. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=0dekEBGrjfUp_oNh737s9yW&id=3md7EN2kXasC&q=%22Frank+Zito%22+Illinois&dq=%22Frank+Zito&pgis=1]
*United States. Congress. Senate. Commerce. "Effects of organized criminal activity on interstate and foreign commerce". 1972. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=LCCN73601198&id=FRDxu__U_9AC&q=%22Frank+Zito%22&dq=%22Frank+Zito%22&ie=ISO-8859-1&pgis=1]
*United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. "Organized Crime and Use of Violence: hearings before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations". 1980. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC06679032&id=bRZ0MVEIHTwC&q=%22Frank+Zito%22&dq=%22Frank+Zito%22&ie=ISO-8859-1&pgis=1]
*United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. "Organized Crime". For sale by the Supt. of Docs., Congressional Sales Office, U.S. G.P.O., 1988. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC19099088&id=DQeMhDjHx58C&q=%22Frank+Zito%22+Illinois&dq=%22Frank+Zito&pgis=1]References
*Kelly, Robert J. "Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States". Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000. ISBN 0-313-30653-2
External links
* [http://www.sancohis.org/Historico2002.htm Sangamon County Historical Society]
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1252/is_4_130/ai_98572430 They're not goodfellas. For the Sins of My Father: A Mafia Killer, His Son, and the Legacy of a Mob Life] , a book review by Michael O. Garvey
* [http://www.americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_415.html Attendee Profiles At The 1957 Apalachin Mob Confab] By Mike La Sorte
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