Nitti accorded ‘sneak burial;’ mobsters hide
Widow, son and only few relatives attend services
Chicago, Illinois (UP) –
One of the shortest and most unpretentious funeral processions in the history of Chicago’s underworld followed Frank “The Enforcer” Nitti to his “sneak burial” yesterday, as former members of the Al Capone gang he led hid from the eyes of federal authorities.
Nitti committed suicide Friday less than six hours after he and seven other members of the syndicate had been indicted by a federal grand jury in New York for violations of the anti-racketeering law.
Buried ‘ahead of time’
Nitti was buried 24 hours before the announced time for his funeral, and only his widow and son and a few relatives were present. The men who gave Nitti the title “Enforcer” because of his ruthless dealings with the gang’s enemies, refused to make his last rites a replica of the expensive and flamboyant funerals that attended the demise of other underworld lords.
A $5,000 bronze casket was the only sign reminiscent of the heydays when a top flight gang leader’s funeral included thousands of dollars’ worth of floral displays, long processions of limousines and marching mourners.
Flowers lack cards
Yesterday the floral pieces included a red and white heart from the widow; a cross and pillow, with no card; and several baskets of flowers, also without cards. One auto was sufficient to carry the party from the undertaker’s chapel to the grave.
Nitti, a Catholic, was buried without benefit of clergy, it is the practice of the church to deny a funeral to a person who takes his own life, and to deny him space in consecrated cemeteries. Nitti, however, owned the lot in which he was buried at Mt. Carmel Cemetery. The undertaker said a few words, and then concluded with:
That concludes the ceremony, folks; please return to the car.
Hoodlums stay away
The hoodlums who backed Nitti’s domination of the old Capone syndicate stayed far away from the chapel and cemetery. They had no desire to flaunt their association with “The Enforcer” even in death.
Even the undertaker craved anonymity. He removed the company nameplate from the hearse before beginning the trip to the cemetery.