Joining The Mob
While in Cuba, Ricca had met Joseph "Diamond Joe" Esposito, a Chicago bootlegger and restaurant owner. After Ricca arrived in New York, Esposito brought him to Chicago. Esposito put Ricca to work smuggling whiskey from Cuba and moonshine liquor from Kentucky to Chicago. Sensing Ricca's potential, Esposito appointed him as maitre d' at the Bella Napoli, Esposito's Chicago restaurant. This job was the source of Ricca's nickname "The Waiter". The Bella Napoli was popular with many Chicago gangsters, including the leader of the South Side Gang (the precursor to the Chicago Outfit), Al Capone. Sharing several mutual friends among Neapolitan gangsters who had returned to Italy, Ricca soon gave up his restaurant job and joined the South Side Gang.
Read more about this topic: Paul Ricca
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