Joseph Esposito (born Giuseppe Esposito, , October 6, 1871 - March 21, 1928) was an American politician best known for his involvement in bootlegging, extortion,

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

and labor

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and of ...

in Chicago, Illinois during the Prohibition era.

Early life

Esposito was born on October 6, 1871, in Acerra, Campania, Italy. He immigrated to Illinois and joined one of the street gangs terrorizing Chicago's Little Italy during the early 1900s. When the Volstead Act was enacted and

Prohibition in the United States In the United States from 1920 to 1933, a Constitution of the United States, nationwide constitutional law prohibition, prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtai ...

began, Esposito's organization, the 42 Gang, which included Sam "Momo" Giancana and Paul "The Waiter" Ricca, entered into bootlegging. Esposito's early success with the Genna Brothers may have been a factor in the 1920 murder of rival

James "Big Jim" Colosimo James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, a long time racketeer who had been hesitant to begin his own bootlegging operations.

Rise to power and politics

By the early 1920s, Esposito earned another nickname, Diamond Joe, due to his frequent wearing of diamond cufflinks, diamond rings, and other jewelry. Esposito had become a Republican ward boss of the Nineteenth Ward in Chicago. He was one of the earliest

Italian Americans Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...

elected as aldermen. Esposito provided political protection to the bootlegging gangs of Chicago's Italian communities, including the South Side gang of mob boss Johnny Torrio and the Genna brothers. In May 1921, Esposito famously attended the funeral of his political protégé Antonio D'Andrea. Several years later, Esposito also attended the funeral of another criminal ally, Angelo Genna murdered on May 25, 1925.

Rivalry with Al Capone and death

After Torrio's retirement, Esposito rivaled the activities of his old gang, now led by

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

and known as the Chicago Outfit. On March 21, 1928, Esposito was attacked and killed in a drive-by shooting on his front steps, with his two nieces right inside the house. It is often speculated Capone was behind the murder.

References

External links

Joseph "Diamond Joe" Esposito
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Esposito, Joseph 1871 births 1928 deaths People from Acerra American political bosses from Illinois Politicians from Chicago American gangsters of Italian descent People murdered in Illinois Male murder victims Deaths by firearm in Illinois Illinois Republicans

Early life

Rise to power and politics

Rivalry with Al Capone and death

References

Further reading

External links