The Outfit: The Role of Chicago's Underworld in the Shaping of Modern America by Russo, Gus - 2001

New York: Bloomsbury, 2001. 1st Edition. Soft cover. Near Fine/No Jacket. 8vo. Uncorrected Bound Galley. White paper wraps. 526 pp. Some darkening to spine, creasing to joints, very light soiling to head of rear cover. Pencil notations to last page. Near fine overall. The Outfit recounts the adventures and exploits of its bosses, Tony 'Joe Batters' Accardo (the real Godfather), Murray 'The Camel' or 'Curly' Humphreys (one of the greatest political fixers and union organizers this country has ever known), Paul 'The Waiter' Ricca, and Johnny Rosselli (the liaison between the shadowy world and the outside world). Their invisibility was their strength, and what kept their leader from ever spending a single night in jail. The Outfit bosses were the epitome of style and grace, moving effortlessly among national political figures and Hollywood studio heads-until their world started to crumble in the 1970s. With extensive research including recently released FBI files, the Chicago Crime files of entertainer Steve Allen, first-ever access to the voluminous working papers of the Kefauver Committee, original interviews with the members of the Fourth Estate who pursued the Outfit for forty years, and exclusive access to the journals of Humphrey's widow, veteran journalist Gus Russo uncovers sixty years of corruption and influence, and examines the shadow history of the United States.