Saffo the Greek
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saffo the Greek was a longtime organized crime figure in Chicago's vice district known as "The Levee" prior to Prohibition. However, following the official closing of the area by State Attorney John E.W. Wayman in 1912, he was forced to leave within two years.
In July 1914, he was in attendance with other figures of the Levee including John Torrio (representing Jim Colosimo), John Jordan, Jackie Adler and Harry Hopkins at Port Lamp Burke's roadhouse near Cedar Creek, Indiana several hours after gunman Roxie Vanilli, a cousin of Torrio whom he had brought in from New York, had shot and killed Chicago detective Sgt. Stanley Birns.
[edit] Further reading
- Asbury, Herbert. The Gangs of Chicago: An Informal History of the Chicago Underworld. New York: Alfred A. Knoff, 1940. ISBN 1-56025-454-8
