19 Facts About Paul Ricca

Paul Ricca had four younger sisters: Emilia Beatrice, Anna Clementina, Clementina Eleonora, and Luisa Maria.

Paul Ricca later claimed that he killed Parillo for breaking an engagement with his sister.

In 1917, Paul Ricca was convicted of murder, serving two years in prison.

Once released from prison, Paul Ricca killed Vincenzo Capasso, who had testified against him in the Parillo trial, by slitting his throat.

Paul Ricca became a naturalized US citizen in 1928 and legally changed his name to Paul De Lucia.

Paul Ricca, recognizing the oncoming danger, quickly ran to where Capone was sitting and warned him just in time for Capone to get down, saving him from getting shot.

Paul Ricca sustained a gunshot wound to his left shoulder and, when asked by the police for his name, identified himself with an alias, Louis Barko.

In 1929, Capone and Paul Ricca attended the Atlantic City Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the first meeting of all the major criminal gangs in the United States.

However, according to crime historian Carl Sifakis, Paul Ricca held the actual power in the Outfit.

Paul Ricca was relatively soft-spoken but was as ruthless as any crime boss.

However, unlike his former bosses, Esposito and Capone, Paul Ricca avoided the flamboyance and media attention-seeking that had helped bring about Esposito's and Capone's downfall, preferring to maintain a low profile to avoid attention from the media and law enforcement.

Paul Ricca now became the official boss of the Outfit, with enforcement chief Tony Accardo as underboss.

Paul Ricca began his sentence at the federal penitentiary in Atlanta but was lobbying for a transfer to Leavenworth Penitentiary in Kansas.

However, in 1957, Paul Ricca suddenly told Accardo that he wanted Sam Giancana, a Paul Ricca protege, to take Accardo's position.

Accardo was facing tax evasion charges, and Paul Ricca allegedly wanted him to disappear from public view.

In 1959, Paul Ricca was convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to nine years in federal prison.

In court, Paul Ricca maintained that his total income for 1963, $80,159, was earned at the race track.

Paul Ricca died of a heart attack on October 11,1972, at St Luke's Hospital in Chicago.

Paul Ricca is buried at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois.