William Daddano, Sr.

William Daddano, Sr. (December 28, 1912–September 9, 1975), aka William Russo and Willie Potatoes, was a top enforcer for the Chicago Outfit and a participant in some high-profile robberies.

Early years

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Daddano became a member of the Forty-Two Gang, a local street gang from Maxwell Street on Chicago's West Side. Gang members included future Outfit leaders Salvatore "Sam," "Momo," "Mooney" Giancana and Sam "Teets" Bataglia. William Daddano Jr., Daddano senior's son, married Bianca Fratto, the daughter of the late Rudolph Fratto Sr.

Enforcer and mobster

Giancana and Bataglia eventually recruited Daddano into the Outfit. By 1936, Daddano had accumulated an extensive criminal record, including nine counts of bank robbery, larceny, and auto theft. In 1944, Daddano was arrested for an attempting to steal three million war ration stamps. While police suspected that The Outfit was behind this crime, Daddano refused to name his accomplices. After World War II, Daddano had become a leading enforcer for The Outfit. He also controlled illegal gambling operations in the Chicago suburbs of Cicero and Berwyn, and in DuPage County, Illinois.

Prison

In May 1966, Daddano was arrested for hijacking $1,000,000 in silver bullion, but was later acquitted. Daddano was later arrested for conspiracy to rob the Franklin Park Bank, a heist planned by Daddano six years earlier. Daddano was sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment in the Marion, Illinois federal penitentiary

On September 9, 1975, William Daddano, Sr., died of natural causes in prison.

Further reading

*"A Report on Chicago Crime" Chicago: Chicago Crime Commission Reports, 1954-1968. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=0sD2OfgTYkPvc0Anpn&id=_LEKAAAAIAAJ&q=William+Daddano,+Sr.&dq=William+Daddano,+Sr.&ie=ISO-8859-1&pgis=1]
*United States Congress House Government Operations "Federal Effort Against Organized Crime: Role of the Private Sector". 1970. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=0VJ_ySvGJw_qr6RnTDMW4w-&id=Tk1SsUI-hqMC&q=William+Daddano,+Sr.&dq=William+Daddano,+Sr.&ie=ISO-8859-1&pgis=1]

References

*Kelly, Robert J. "Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States". Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-313-30653-2
*Sifakis, Carl. "The Mafia Encyclopedia". New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0-8160-5694-1
*Sifakis, Carl. "The Encyclopedia of American Crime". New York: Facts on File Inc., 2001. ISBN 978-0-8160-4040-7
*Bureau of Narcotics, U.S. Treasury Department, "Mafia: the Government's Secret File on Organized Crime, HarperCollins Publishers 2007 ISBN 0-06-136385-5

External links

* [http://www.americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_233.html AmericanMafia.com - The Rosemont Two Step] By John William Tuohy
* [http://www.ipsn.org/rosemont/sun-times_stephens_wacks.htm Chicago Sun-Times - Stephens: Probe proves no mob ties] by Robert Herguth, Chiris Fusco, Art Golab and Steve Warmbir