Big Jim Colosimo
The flamboyant vice lord who built Chicago's first modern crime syndicate, only to be murdered by his own ambitious protégé.
1878–1920 (age 42)·American mobster·Birthday: February 16·The Gilded Age
Biography
Big Jim Colosimo arrived in Chicago from Italy and saw opportunity in the city's chaotic underworld. Starting with petty theft, he quickly graduated to running a vast network of brothels, becoming the undisputed vice king of the Levee district. Colosimo lived large, favoring diamond rings and fine suits, and his eponymous restaurant was a hub for politicians, entertainers, and crooks. His genius was in systemizing vice and paying for political protection, creating the blueprint for organized crime in Chicago. His downfall was his own success; as Prohibition loomed, he was reluctant to enter the bootlegging trade. This hesitation proved fatal. In 1920, he was shot dead in his restaurant's vestibule, a hit widely believed to have been ordered by his own lieutenant and nephew, Johnny Torrio, who, with his young associate Al Capone, would violently usher in the city's gangland era.
The Gilded Age
1860–1882
Born during or after the Civil War, they built industrial America — the railroads, the steel mills, the first skyscrapers. An era of massive wealth, massive inequality, and the belief that the future belonged to whoever could build it fastest.
Big was born in 1878, placing them squarely in The Gilded Age. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Big Was Born
The biggest hits of 1878
Big's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1878Born
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
1883Started school
President: Chester A. Arthur
1891Became a teenager
President: Benjamin Harrison
1894Could drive
President: Grover Cleveland
1896Could vote
First modern Olympic Games held in Athens
President: Grover Cleveland
1899Turned 21
President: William McKinley
1908Turned 30
Ford Model T goes into production
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1918Turned 40
World War I ends; Spanish flu pandemic kills millions
President: Woodrow Wilson
1920Died at 42
Women gain the right to vote in the US
Home: $3,395President: Woodrow Wilson"Swanee" — Al Jolson
Key Achievements
- He established the criminal organization that later evolved into the Chicago Outfit under Al Capone.
- Colosimo built a highly profitable empire centered on brothels, gambling, and racketeering in the early 1900s.
- He successfully corrupted Chicago's political and police systems to protect his operations.
- His murder marked a pivotal power shift that led directly to the rise of Torrio and Capone.
Did You Know?
He was a close friend of the famous opera singer Enrico Caruso, who performed at his wedding.
Colosimo's lavish funeral featured a $50,000 solid silver casket and a procession of over 100 vehicles.
He owned Colosimo's Cafe, a high-class restaurant that was a popular nightspot for Chicago's elite.
Despite his criminal wealth, no one was ever charged or convicted for his assassination.
“A good front is worth more than a thousand guns.”
