Real name: James Diamond Jim Colosimo Height: 6’3” Weight: 325 lb
James "Diamond Jim" Colosimo (16 February 1878-11 May 1920) was the boss of the Italian-American Chicago Outfit from 1910 to 1920, preceding Johnny Torrio. Colosimo built a chain of brothels in the city of Chicago, Illinois and became a powerful crime boss, taking the criminal Al Capone under his wing. He was murdered by his own right-hand man, Johnny Torrio, due to his refusal to enter the bootlegging business.
Biography[]
Colosimo after being shot
Vincenzo Colosimo was born in Colosimi, Calabria, Italy on 16 February 1878, and he emigrated to the US city of Chicago, Illinois in 1895 at the age of 17. Colosimo became the bagman for corrupt aldermen Michael Kenna and John Coughlin, giving him connections that he would use to become a pimp. Colosimo had a love of both women and money, and he established 200 brothels in the city before also creating gambling and racketeering crime rings. In 1909, he invited Johnny Torrio of New York City to become his second-in-command, and Torrio, in turn, brought along Al Capone as his valet. In 1920, however, Colosimo would anger Torrio by refusing to enter bootlegging, as he was old-fashioned; he preferred Caruso recordings to jazz music, and he did not understand Enoch Thompson's use of the slang word "clam" to refer to money. On 11 May 1920, Colosimo headed to his cafe and placed a record in the gramophone, leaning over it and listening to it. Frankie Yale silently approached him and shot him in the back of the head with a pistol, killing him. Torrio subsequently took over the organization.
| Don of the Chicago Outfit | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: N/A |
1910 - 1920 | Succeeded by: Johnny Torrio |