Who Was Sam 'Teets' Battaglia? The Outfit Boss for One Bad Year
Mobsters DailySam "Teets" Battaglia was the Chicago Outfit boss who succeeded Sam Giancana in 1966 — and lost the job almost immediately, convicted of extortion in 1967 and sentenced to 15 years, the shortest full reign in Outfit history. He died in federal prison in 1973. Behind him, as always in Chicago, stood Tony Accardo, who simply picked the next man.
A made man from the old neighborhoods
Battaglia was born in 1908 and raised in Chicago's Near West Side, running with the 42 Gang — the same farm system that produced Giancana. His nickname "Teets" followed him from those street years. He built his money in gambling and loansharking, survived the Outfit's internal wars, and rose to capo under Giancana, waiting in the long line of men who served an organization that, as the story of Joey 'Doves' Aiuppa shows, always had the next boss already groomed.
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Boss for one bad year
When Giancana fled the country in 1966 rather than face a grand jury, the Outfit elevated Battaglia. It was the summit of a forty-year climb — and it lasted about a year. Federal prosecutors convicted him in 1967 in an extortion case out of Hobart, Indiana, and a 15-year sentence removed him as completely as any hit could have. The contrast with his predecessor is the whole lesson: Sam Giancana fell because he craved the spotlight, while Battaglia fell because the government had simply gotten better at its job. The Outfit's real continuity never sat in the boss's chair anyway — Accardo remained the power behind a rotating cast of front men for decades.
Death in custody
Battaglia never came home. He died in federal custody on September 7, 1973, still serving the sentence that had ended his reign. Chicago moved on without a pause: Aiuppa took the top job, the skim years boomed, and "Teets" Battaglia became the answer to a trivia question — the boss whose reign proves that in the Outfit, the chair was never the power.
Frequently asked questions
Why was Battaglia called 'Teets'? The nickname dated to his youth in Chicago's street gangs; like many Outfit monikers, its exact origin was never officially explained and he carried it for life.
Who replaced Battaglia as Outfit boss? After an interim period with Accardo and Paul Ricca guiding things, Joey Aiuppa emerged as boss in the early 1970s.
How long was Battaglia boss? Roughly a year, from Giancana's 1966 flight to his own 1967 conviction — the shortest full reign in the Outfit's history.
Keep reading: How Did Tony Accardo Avoid Prison for Four Decades? · Who Was Paul Ricca? 'The Waiter' Who Really Ran the Outfit
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