Big Jim Colosimo was assassinated, shot behind the ear on May 11, 1920. His life ended in the foyer of a night-club he owned; Colosimo’s Cafe at 2126 South Wabash Ave. At the time, Big Jim was considered to be the most powerful crime boss in Chicago. He was the first Don of an organization that would later be known as the Chicago Outfit.
Excerpts from an editorial, Chicago Tribune, May 13, 1920: “Jim Colosimo ruled in his world. Out of his rule came suddenly death to him. Raised to the throne of the half-world, he was a maker and breaker of political aspirations. His methods were ruthless, considering the law only so far as to avoid its penalties. The penalty which came to him was not of the law but of the kingdom which he had built up.”
While his murder remains unsolved, the authorities and subsequent historians believe the hit was the brainchild of Big Jim’s right-hand man, Johnny Torrio. The Boss assassinated by his trusted consigliere and enforcer who then inherited the “Kingdom” that Big Jim had built up. Johnny “The Fox” Torrio was an honorary pallbearer at the funeral.
Colosimo’s ill-gotten gains allowed him the means to be interned in a casket and mausoleum that was worth as much as the average workingman’s home. A one-mile long motorcade made the trip to Chicago’s Oak Woods Cemetery.
In the procession were Colosimo’s business associates; the gangsters, gamblers, madams and pimps, the leading citizens of the underworld. At the front marched 1,000 members of the First Ward Democratic Organization and 53 honorary pallbearers that included three Judges, eight aldermen, an assistant state’s attorney, a congressman, a state representative and leading artists of the Chicago Opera Company
Excerpts from Chicago Tribune: “Such a tribute to men set up to make and enforce our laws, to a man who in much of his life was a law unto himself, is more than a tribute to friendship. It is a tribute to power, regardless of the source or justice of that power.”
The service ended with a quartet singing ”Nearer My God to Thee.”
For those wanting more information I highly recommend the book, The First Vice-Lord, Big Jim Colosimo and the Ladies of the Levee, by Arthur J. Bilek.
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