Dark Chicago    The Usual Suspects    Power Brokers      The Outfit

“It ain’t a gang. It’s a government. You just don’t get to vote.”

Category: Criminal Syndicate
Primary Power Base: Citywide—especially Cicero, West Side, Near South Side, Back of the Yards, and Oak Park
Reach: National influence through Las Vegas, Havana, and parts of Florida, but tightest grip in Cook County
Veil Involvement: Denied, but several Outfit operations sit on known Veil activity zones

Public Face:

There isn’t one. The Outfit doesn’t court press. It doesn’t spray paint its name. It doesn’t issue press releases. It operates through fronts—taverns, unions, trucking companies, casinos, and construction firms. Most Chicagoans know who really runs the city. They just don’t say it out loud.

True Influence:

The Outfit controls illegal gambling, loansharking, protection rackets, and key unions across the South and West Sides. They’ve got judges, aldermen, and cops on payroll. They own voting precincts and influence entire elections. They run backroom casinos in Bridgeport, skim from hotels in Cicero, and funnel profits through crooked developers. When the Outfit wants someone gone, they vanish. When they want a law passed, it passes.

Known Members:

• Tony “Joe Batters” Accardo – Boss of Bosses (1953) – Quiet, calculating, untouchable. Lives like a businessman, moves like a ghost.
• Paul “The Waiter” Ricca – Advisor/Elder Don – Semi-retired, but still has a voice in major decisions.
• Sam Giancana – Rising Lieutenant – Cocky, violent, charming. Running operations in the Near West and beginning to muscle into national politics.
• Jake “Greasy Thumb” Guzik – Financial Chief – Doesn’t pull triggers, but signs all the ledgers.
• Murray “The Camel” Humphreys – Labor Fixer – Smart, polished, and quietly terrifying. Handles union infiltration.
• Joe “Bagels” Testa – Local Boss, Back of the Yards – Runs a tight ship south of 47th. Loyal. Ruthless. Has limits.
• Frankie Vassallo – Enforcer & Crew Chief – Operates out of Vassallo Meats. Known for quiet cleanups and red aprons.

Allies & Rivals:

• Allies: Local ward bosses (especially Quinn in the 3rd), multiple CPD officers in Districts 9, 10, 11, and 18, friendly labor unions, Outfit-linked casinos in Cicero and Berwyn
• Rivals: TODO

Assets & Quirks

• Asset: Hundreds of businesses—delis, laundromats, clubs, and garages—used to move money, store weapons, or serve as meeting points.
• Quirk: Outfit soldiers avoid “Veil-touched” properties unless paid extra—some believe the Outfit has a cursed ledger from Capone’s time that lists the names of those who crossed the line.
• Quirk: Every new lieutenant must make a quiet offering at “The Corner Table” at a specific tavern near Cicero Avenue. No one says why.

Current Agenda:

Expand drug trade quietly, lock down union control before the next election, crush upstart gangs like the Cornel Boys, and keep Veil-sensitive assets under surveillance—or buried.

Rumors & Hooks:

• A secret safe beneath Vassallo Meats contains contracts written in blood—literally—and signed by long-dead names.
• Bagels is trying to push into territory near Union Station but something’s pushing back—and it ain’t the Bulls.
• A psychic medium on the Outfit payroll has started seeing Capone in her dreams. He’s furious.
• The Outfit is smuggling something other than money through Maxwell Street—and the crates whisper.
• A retired hitman wants out and is offering names for protection. The problem? He’s already dead. Or should be.
• Accardo knows about the Veil. He just refuses to talk about it. The one time he did, the guy listening died a week later.
• The crew is offered work “off-book” to intercept a shipment of Veil-tainted cash—if they don’t mind taking on both the Arcane Division and the Outfit.
• A new player is rising in Bridgeport. Not Outfit. Not mortal. The streets are watching. The Outfit’s watching harder.