John U. Zuta (February 15, 1888 – August 1, 1930) was an accountant and political " fixer" for the

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, ...

and the

North Side Gang The North Side Gang, also known as the North Side Mob, was an Irish-Polish-American criminal organization within Chicago during the Prohibition era from the early 1920s to the mid-1930s. It was the principal rival of the South Side Gang, als ...

Early life

Zuta (also spelled as "Zoota") was born on February 18, 1888, in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

to a peasant family who practiced

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses ...

. He immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

around 1913. Living in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 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 ordered to hand over his operation to his competitors Mike "The Pike" Heitler and the Guzik Brothers, Harry and Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik.

Mob accountant

Zuta began working for Al Capone in the mid-1920s. He helped contribute $50,000 of Capone's money to Chicago Mayor

William Hale Thompson William Hale Thompson (May 14, 1869 – March 19, 1944) was an American politician who served as mayor of Chicago from 1915 to 1923 and again from 1927 to 1931. Known as "Big Bill", Reynolds, Paul (November 29, 2009)"US-UK 'Special Relationshi ...

's reelection campaign in 1927. However, Zuta defected to

Bugs Moran George Clarence "Bugs" Moran (; Adelard Leo Cunin; August 21, 1893 – February 25, 1957) was an American Chicago Prohibition-era gangster. He was incarcerated three times before his 21st birthday. Seven members of his gang were gunned dow ...

during the gang war between Capone and Moran. In June 1930, Moran and Zuta allegedly ordered the assassination of mobbed-up ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' reporter

Jake Lingle Alfred "Jake" Lingle (July 2, 1891 – June 9, 1930) was an American reporter for the ''Chicago Tribune''. He was shot dead gangland-style in the underpass leading to the Illinois Central Randolph Street station on the afternoon on June 9, 1930, ...

after Lingle demanded a cut of their

illegal gambling Gaming law is the set of rules and regulations that apply to the gaming or gambling industry. Gaming law is not a branch of law in the traditional sense but rather is a collection of several areas of law that include criminal law, regulatory law, ...

operations on the

's behalf. After the murder (for which former Egan's Rats gangster Leo Vincent Brothers was convicted), Zuta was arrested and 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 fled Chicago, and hid out in Upper Nemahbin Lake, west of

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

, living under the alias "J. H. Goodman". Zuta was shot to death, most likely by the

in revenge for the murder of Lingle, on August 1, 1930, at a roadhouse in

Delafield, Wisconsin Delafield is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, along the Bark River. The population was 7,085 at the 2010 census. The city of Delafield is a separate municipality from the Town of Delafield, both of which are situated in township 7 North ...

. He lies buried in the Jewish cemetery located in

Middlesboro, Kentucky Middlesboro ()Rennick, Robert. ''Kentucky Place Names'', University Press of Kentucky (Lexington), 1987p. 196 Accessed 26 August 2013. is a home rule-class city in Bell County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 10,334 at the 2010 U.S ...

Aftermath

Zuta's death exposed a large amount of political corruption in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. Zuta, a meticulous record keeper, had much information later found in various

safe deposit box A safe deposit box, also known as a safety deposit box, is an individually secured container, usually held within a larger safe or bank vault. Safe deposit boxes are generally located in banks, post offices or other institutions. Safe deposit ...

es. This information lead to the confiscation of a large

whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden ...

shipment intended for Moran and to information about police raids on several breweries, as well as detailing

kickbacks A kickback is a form of negotiated bribery in which a commission is paid to the bribe-taker in exchange for services rendered. Generally speaking, the remuneration (money, goods, or services handed over) is negotiated ahead of time. The kickbac ...

by the

to both state and city officials. Some of the officials implicated were: *Chicago

Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

Dorsey Crowe Dorsey Ryan Crowe (August 21, 1891 – July 1, 1962) was an American politician who served as alderman of Chicago's 21st ward from 1919 to 1923 and upon its redistricting into the 42nd ward from 1923 to his death. A Democrat serving most of the ...

*Board of Education executive Nate DeLue *Judge Joseph W. Schulman *ex-Judge Emanuel Eller * Chicago Police Department Sergeant Martin C. Mulvihill * Evanston Police Chief William O. Freeman *Illinois Senator Harry W. Starr All denied involvement, however, particularly Crowe and Starr, who insisted that the money was campaign contributions rather than bribes. I'm reference to Lingpe's murder, the name, "Zuta", later became slang for a

revenge killing Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." P ...

. In 1931, after a $50,000 bounty was placed on his head, Capone joked, "Nobody's gonna' 'Zuta' me."

References

External links

My Al Capone Museum - Jack Zuta
by Allan May * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zuta, Jack 1888 births 1930 deaths Al Capone associates Murdered American gangsters Chicago Outfit mobsters North Side Gang Prohibition-era gangsters American accountants American gangsters American people of Russian-Jewish descent Murdered Jewish American gangsters People murdered in Wisconsin Deaths by firearm in Wisconsin Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States

Early life

Mob accountant

Aftermath

See also

References

Further reading

External links