Jack Zuta

Jack Zuta

John U. "Jack" Zuta (February 18, 1888-August 1, 1930) was an accountant and political "fixer" for the Chicago Outfit.

Early life

Zuta (also spelled as "Zoota") was born on February 18, 1888 to a Polish-Jewish peasant family in Poland, Eastern Europe. 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.

Mob Accountant

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 he 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." Jack Zuta was killed on August 1, 1930, shot dead by eight men in a roadhouse in Delafield, Wisconsin.

Aftermath

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 police raids on several breweries, as well as detailing Mafia payoffs to state and city officials. Some of the officials implicated were Chicago alderman Dorsey Crowe, Board of Education executive Nate DeLue, Judge Joseph W. Schulman, ex-Judge Emanuel Eller, Chicago police sergeant Martin C. Mulvihill, Evanston police chief William O. Freeman, and Illinois senator Harry W. Starr. 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".

Further reading

*Kelly, Robert J. "Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States". Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000. ISBN 0-313-30653-2
*Sifakis, Carl. "The Mafia Encyclopedia". New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3

External links

* [http://www.myalcaponemuseum.com/id36.htm My Al Capone Museum - Jack Zuta]
* [http://crimemagazine.com/zuta.htm Jack Zuta – Angina from the Grave] by Allan May
* [http://www.ci.waukesha.wi.us/History/jack_zuta.html City of Waukesha - Jack Zuta is killed]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20071014060533/http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/zuta_jack.htm Federal Bureau of Investgation: Freedom of Information Privacy Act - Jack Zuta]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Chicago Outfit — Das Chicago Outfit bezeichnet die US amerikanische Sektion der Mafia in Chicago. Es ist die einzige selbstständige Organisation außerhalb von New York City, die nicht von den dortigen fünf Familien (Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese und… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • List of Jewish American mobsters — This is a list of notable Jewish American mobsters and organized crime figures, ranging from the late 19th century to the present day.*Moses Annenberg (1877–1942) *David Berman (1903–1957) *Otto Berman (1889?–1935), Abbadabba *Abe Bernstein (c.… …   Wikipedia

  • North Side Gang — The North Side family Gang, also known as the North Side Mob, was the dominant Irish American criminal organization (although a large number of Polish Americans were members as well) within Chicago during the Prohibition era from the early to… …   Wikipedia

  • Jake Guzik — Jake Greasy Thumb Guzik (May 20, 1886 ndash; February 21, 1956) was the financial and legal advisor, and later political “greaser”, for the Chicago Outfit. Early lifeBorn near Kraków, Poland. (although other sources state Moscow, Russia) on May… …   Wikipedia

  • North Side Gang — Die North Side Gang war eine während der US amerikanischen Alkoholprohibition in den 1920er Jahren in Chicago operierende Bande. Die auf den ersten Blick vom irischstämmigen Mobstern beherrschte Gruppe wies aber z. B. auch einen Anteil an… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Joseph Saltis — Joseph Polack Joe Saltis [Soltis] (died 1947) was an early Prohibition gangster who, who with Frank McErlane, controlled bootlegging in the Southwest Side of Chicago, Illinois. Originally a Polish[1] saloon owner from Joliet, Illinois, Saltis… …   Wikipedia

  • Mike Heitler — Michael The Pike Heitler (died April 30, 1931) was a Prohibition gangster involved in prostitution for the Chicago Outfit. Heitler began operating brothels in Chicago during the early 1900s based out of west Madison Street. By 1911, he had become …   Wikipedia

  • Sheldon Gang — Die Sheldon Gang war eine Bande von Alkoholschmugglern während der Frühphase der US amerikanischen Alkoholprohibition in Chicago in den 1920er Jahren. Bekannt waren ihre Auseinandersetzungen mit den konkurrierenden Saltis McErlane Gang und den… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Jake Guzik — (20 mai 1886 21 février 1956) a été le conseiller financier et juridique, et plus tard politique graisseur , pour l Outfit de Chicago. Biographie Né près de Cracovie (Empire austro hongrois) le 20 mai 1886, Guzik immigra aux États Unis au début… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jake Guzik — Jake Greasy Thumb Guzik (* 20. Mai 1886 nahe Krakau; † 21. Februar 1956 in Chicago) war ein US amerikanischer Mobster polnisch jüdischer Herkunft und enger Assoziierter des Chicago Outfit, dem er lange Zeit als oberster Finanz , Rechts und später …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”