Organized Crime Figure. He was a long time power in the Chicago, Illinois Mafia syndicate known as “The Outfit”. He began his criminal career as a muscleman and hired gun for Al Capone in 1935; by 1970 he had risen high in the Chicago mob. Though he controlled the mob’s operations in Cicero and the western suburbs of Chicago, he was always a number two or three man in the hierarchy of the Outfit . His nominal boss during the time was Greek crime figure Gus Alex, who, along with Murray “The Camel” Humphreys, supplied the intelligence and direction for the group. After the execution of syndicate leader Sam (Momo) Giancana in 1975, crime figure Tony Accardo resumed full leadership of the Outfit, having gone into self-imposed exile for ten years. Following Giancana’s death, Joseph Aiuppa’s rose in prominence under Accardo, and he became his chief enforcer, and it was delegated to deal with insurgent figures desiring Giancana’s vacated position. In 1984 he was indicted, along with crime figures John (Jackie) Cerone and Angelo LaPietra, for skimming millions from Las Vegas casinos. Convicted in 1985, he was sentenced to 28 years.  On January 19, 1996, Aiuppa was released from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons Federal Medical Facility at Rochester, MN. On February 22, 1997, Joseph Aiuppa died of natural causes at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital in Elmhurst, Illinois.