Joseph Aiuppa

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Joseph Aiuppa
Joseph Aiuppa
Born	December 1, 1907 Chicago, Illinois, USA
Died	February 2, 1997 Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Joseph John Aiuppa (December 1, 1907 - February 2, 1997), also known as "Ha Ha," "Doves," "Mourning Doves," "O'Brien," or "Joey Doves," was a member of the Chicago Mafia organization known as the Chicago Outfit. He spent his early years serving as a gunman for Al Capone, and in 1971 he became a mob boss for part of the city after the death of Paul "The Waiter" Ricca. Aiuppa got his nickname "Joey Doves" after he had been arrested transporting mourning doves unlawfully across state lines. Aiuppa later retired remaining in semi-retirement with advisor Tony "Big Tuna" Accardo turning control to Jackie "The Lackey" Cerone. He was later suspected of ordering the June, 1975 death of disgraced former Chicago Outfit boss Sam "Momo" Giancana, long claimed by organized crime figures to have been committed by the CIA, however many of Giancana's allies (such as Johnny Roselli) had been killed immediately before and after Giancana's death.

The FBI had long suspected Giancana's murder had been ordered by Aiuppa and Accardo in retaliation to Giancana's refusal to grant Aiuppa and Accardo a percentage of considerable proceeds from an illegal gambling ship operation in Mexico. In 1985 Aiuppa had been convicted of skimming profits from Las Vegas casinos, and died in prison at the age of 89. He was also thought to have been involved in ordering the death of Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, an Aiuppa representative for Las Vegas and Southern California, whose body was found in a shallow grave along with that of his brother Michael. Both men had been beaten to death and buried in a cornfield near Morocco, Indiana in March 1986 possibly as a result of his arrest.

In the film Casino, actor Pasquale Cajano's character, Remo Gaggi, is loosely based on Aiuppa.