Chicago Heights: Little Joe College, the Outfit, and the Fall of Sam Giancana

by Charles Hager, David T. Miller, Louis Corsino (Foreword)

Winner, ISHS Best of Illinois History Award, 2019In this riveting true story of coming of age in the Chicago Mob, Charles “Charley” Hager is plucked from his rural West Virginia home by an uncle in the 1960s and thrown into an underworld of money, cars, crime, and murder on the streets of Chicago Heights. Street-smart and good with his hands, Hager is accepted into the working life of a chauffeur and “street tax” collector, earning the moniker “Little Joe College” by notorious mob boss Albert Tocco. But when his childhood friend is gunned down by a hit man, Hager finds himself a bit player in the events surrounding the mysterious, and yet unsolved, murder of mafia chief Sam Giancana. Chicago Heights is part rags-to-riches story, part murder mystery, and part redemption tale. Hager, with author David T. Miller, juxtaposes his early years in West Virginia with his life in crime, intricately weaving his own experiences into the fabric of mob life, its many characters, and the murder of Giancana. Fueled by vivid recollections of turf wars and chop shops, of fix-ridden harness racing and the turbulent politics of the 1960s, Chicago Heights reveals similarities between high-level organized crime in the city and the corrupt lawlessness of Appalachia. Hager candidly reveals how he got caught up in a criminal life, what it cost him, and how he rebuilt his life back in West Virginia with a prison record. Based on interviews with Hager and supplemented by additional interviews and extensive research by Miller, the book also adds Hager’s unique voice to the volumes of speculation about Giancana’s murder, offering a plausible theory of what happened on that June night in 1975.  

Genres: Nonfiction, Crime, History

184 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 12, 2018

Reviews

[Kori · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is so/so for mob books. The author is writing about his life and how he remembers it. Good local read for sure but written at a simple level. I read it because I live in Chicago Heights, and I loved reading about all the familiar places his adventures took place.

[Brent Uzzell · Rating 5 out of 5]

“For now, with my father disabled and alcoholic, and my mother’s health failing rapidly back home, all I had in front of me was Uncle Columbus. ”Hey kid, watch yourself,” he said. “It’s a jungle out there.” Columbus must felt it was his job to lead me through that jungle. He was introducing me to a life of crime, but nothing could be worse than the alternative – a dirt-poor and miserable existence with no hope and no future.”
Chicago Heights is a riveting account of a pilgrim’s progress from an almost unbelievably hard scrabble childhood to a respected, and presumably feared, street soldier of Chicago’s organized crime families of the 1960’s and 70”s as told by the person who lived it and lived to tell. Charles Hager’s purpose in writing the account is to tell what he knows and demonstrate how he came to know about the manner of the killing of famed mob boss Sam Giancana but what I found compelling was the way he captured and juxta positioned his childhood existence in the rough mountains of Mingo County West Virginia; a picture of a close community of mutual aid riven with bullying and violence in a milieu of poverty and all of its concomitant pathogens.
Not well read on the topic of organized crime his vivid depiction of the daily realities, organizational manner and the reach of the mob into law enforcement and politics are captivating.
A short, riveting and engaging read, Chicago Heights prompts as many questions as it attempts to answer. A splendid read for the true crime aficionado or mob enthusiast for sure but for me it is simply a truly compelling human drama with profound insights into how people find a way to survive against structural impediments and personal trauma.

[Suzanne Lucio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, it was short and sweet and to the point. I liked reading about Little Joe College, who was not Italian and his journey into The Outfit. When you watch mob movies, you always assume everyone is 110% Sicilian, one generation away from “the old country”. But that’s not true. There were lots of men involved in organized crime that came from all corners of the ethnic world, especially Chicago.
It’s unbelievable to think that a long string of events happened due to one little customized .22 handgun won in a card game. But that’s life, and one little decision sets off
a domino effect of so many others. Joe College spent 5 years in jail, but that probably saved his life. As for the Sam Giancana theory, I believe it. Why would Bob lie? He was practically on his deathbed, so there was nothing to lose. He knew he owed Joe whatever he wanted for saving his life and if an explanation was all he wanted, Bob would give him that.
One thing I would’ve liked was a little more perspective on Joe College’s wife and four children. So, she has no idea he was working for The Outfit? If she was from Chicago Heights, I am pretty sure she knew how things go. How could she just leave him in jail and take off to go start a new life? That was pretty cold hearted, if you ask me.
As a lifelong Chicagoan, I really like to read about 60’s and 70’s Chicago mob life. It’s hard for me to imagine a Chicago Heights and Blue Island that the book describes because I’m only 42 years old and have never known them as Italian suburbs, but I know it was true. This book makes me want to read more about this time in Chicago history.

[Tim Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot has happened. My unwitting brushes with mobsters have gone foggy, become more palatable packaged as but a single vignette: my high school track coach, in that raspy, gruff voice of his, telling us between cigar puffs, of having bounced on Al Capone's knee when a tyke. Never mind the pizza parlors and pool halls, the accidental encounter with Santo Trafficante. What I keep is that one memory of an old Italian smoking cigars on the ride to a meet. Because of this, the book Chicago Heights—with its sub-title Little Joe College, The Outfit, And the Fall of Sam Giancana—was a must have. Clinching the deal were its primary settings of Chicago and West Virginia, my old haunts before stepping onto The Money Trail in Florida.

This is a true story about a guy's harsh beginnings in West Virginia leading to a place in the Chicago Underworld. Given my ties to both places, I could practically see him in my mind's eye and wondered if we might have crossed paths in a pizza parlor or pool hall back in the 70s when I was young and first venturing out into the big wild world.

In addition to explaining how an outsider could be brought inside into such a tight knit community of thieves and murderers, and given what seems a genuine accounting of that experience, readers are also included in mystery—still unsolved—of who killed mafia boss Sam Giancana.

This is a book for guys and dolls alike. It's a topic almost everyone will be interested in and the kind of efficient story-telling perfectly suited for a day on the beach or an afternoon in the hammock.

[Bobby Hager]

Yes great book. Charles is my father. I'm thinking about doing one myself, you know kinda like watching your father in the mob life through a child's eyes. They way i seen it, and when i knew something was different around my family compared to others. Yeah, i have a pretty good book in this head of mine.

[jess wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty good for a first-person/memoir mob story. It doesn't read as being highly fact-checked so that's worth noting.

I grew up in Park Forest and Chicago Heights so it was fun to read about some of the history of the area. I don't know a lot about the Outfit's history in Chicago Heights so it was a good introduction for me.

[Steve Cushman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I grew up in South Chicago Heights and worked many years in Chicago Heights bars and restaurants. As a result, I have been around several of the characters involved in this story. Quick easy read and recommended for those with local ties and interests.

[Joe Pestka · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good book, enjoyed reading it. Summarized a slice of history from one persons actual experience. Kept focus on the title and didn't go into the weeds on people or periods that weren't related to the title.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting true story of young man sucked into the life of the Chicago Mob in the 60's and 70's. Takes a somewhat graphic at times view of those living the mob lifestyle.

[Brian Callahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting description of a life connected to crime.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this in a Goodreads Giveaway. This is the first thing I've read by the author.

This is the story of a poor boy from West Virginia that tells how he became associated with and then got out of the Chicago Outfit. I found this to be an extremely interesting read. The writing felt authentic and I appreciate that the co-writer didn't try to change the way the author speaks to much. The only real downside to this story is that it is pretty short and takes place from the late 60's to the 80's which, let's be honest, isn't the time period most of us associate with an active Chicago Mob. There are some obvious holes but we can't expect the author to tell all, there are repercussions to that after all.

[A Cesspool · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential Outfit canon