Joseph Aiuppa

Joseph John Aiuppa (pronounced, "I-U-PA") (December 1, 1907 – February 22, 1997), also known as "Doves," "Mourning Doves," "O'Brien," or "Joey Doves," was a Chicago mobster who became a leader of the Chicago Outfit.

Early career
Joseph Aiuppa was born in Melrose Park, Illinois, the eldest son of Simone Aiuppa (1883-1934) and Rosalia (1886-1968), Sicilian immigrants from Lascari, Province of Palermo, Sicily.

During the 1920s, former boxer, Aiuppa rose through the ranks of the Outfit, beginning as a driver for higher ranking Outfit leaders such as Tony Accardo before graduating to operating several gambling establishments in Cicero, Illinois. These clubs included bookmaking establishments and underground casinos with secret entrances. In the early 1930s, Aiuppa managed Taylor & Company, ostensibly a furniture manufacturer though in actuality a front for the manufacture of illegal slot machines.

Joey "Doves"
In a move reminiscent of Al Capone's infamous conviction for tax evasion, Aiuppa was convicted in 1966 for the unlawful possession and transportation of mourning doves across state lines. Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 it is illegal to possess more than 24 doves per person outside of hunting season; however, in September 1962, as part of Robert Kennedy's crackdown on the Chicago Outfit, FBI agents in Kansas searching Aiuppa's car discovered 563 frozen doves. Following a series of appeals, Aiuppa was eventually sentenced in August 1966, and received a 3-month jail sentence and a $1000 fine.

Giancana murder
In June 1975, Aiuppa allegedly conspired with Johnny 'Johnny Handsome' Roselli to kill Giancana. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) suspected that the Outfit killed Giancana because he refused to share his offshore gambling profits from Mexico. Another murder theory states that Giancana's murder was connected to the U.S. Senate's investigation into the alleged CIA role in the conspiracy to assassinate Cuba leader Fidel Castro. Roselli himself was also killed soon afterward for apparently being too forthcoming in the Church Committee hearings, which were being held at this time.

Sometime following the murder, Aiuppa had bought a house in Palm Springs, California.

Conviction and retaliation
In 1986, Aiuppa was convicted of skimming profits from Las Vegas casinos and received 28 years in prison. In June 1986, Tony "The Ant" Spilotro and his brother Michael were beaten and strangled to death in Bensenville, IL, and buried in a cornfield in Enos, IN, five miles away from Aiuppa property near Morocco, Indiana. It was commonly assumed that the Outfit ordered Tony Spilotro's murder because of his misbehavior in Las Vegas. It was also rumored that Aiuppa ordered the executions because he blamed Spilotro for the skimming conviction. However, in a 2010 interview with Maxim Magazine, while promoting the opening of the Las Vegas Mob Experience at the Tropicana Hotel, Tony Spilotro's son Vincent revealed that the real target was his uncle Michael, and Tony was killed to prevent any revenge.

In 1996, Aiuppa was released from prison. On February 22, 1997, Joseph Aiuppa died of natural causes at Elmhurst Hospital in Elmhurst, Illinois. He was buried at Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois.

In popular culture
In the 1995 film Casino, actor Pasquale Cajano's character, "Remo Gaggi," is loosely based on Aiuppa. The Spilotro murders were fictionalized in this film.