Working With Capone and Nitti
Ricca rose very quickly in the gang ranks, frequently serving as Capone's emissary to the East Coast gangs. The two soon became good friends; in 1927, Capone served as the best man at Ricca's wedding. In 1929, Capone and Ricca attended the Atlantic City Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the first meeting of all the major criminal gangs in the United States. In 1930, Capone sent Ricca to New York City to serve as his emissary in peace talks aimed at ending the Castellammarese War between the New York Italian-American gangs. With the establishment of the National Crime Syndicate in 1931, Ricca's prestige and visibility continued to rise.
In 1932, Capone was convicted of tax evasion and sent to federal prison. Capone's nominal successor was Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti as boss of the Chicago Outfit with Ricca as underboss. However, Ricca held the real power in the family. Ricca frequently overruled Nitti's orders by saying, "We'll do it this way. Now let's hear no more about it!" In addition, the leaders of the emerging Syndicate, including Lucky Luciano, dealt only with Ricca, not Nitti.
Read more about this topic: Paul Ricca
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