Frank Zito

Frank Zito (February 24, 1893 – August 22, 1974) was an Sicilian-American mobster who controlled criminal activities in Central and Southern Illinois for over twenty years, providing protection from law enforcement and rival competitors from his base of operations in Springfield, Illinois. It can be debated if Zito was head of his own crime family or, he may have been a powerful Capo Regime of the Chicago Outfit with his own crew based in Central Illinois. This information is unclear and it seems as though the files on Mr. Zito lack the investigatory evidence that he was in fact the "Godfather of the Prairie." In any case, Zito was a very powerful force in Springfield and the Central and Southern areas of Illinois.

Born in San Giuseppe, Sicily, Zito immigrated with his family to Illinois. During Prohibition, Zito became involved in bootlegging, prostitution, and illegal gambling. During this period, Zito was convicted of violating federal liquor laws. Based in Springfield, Illinois, Zito and the St. Louis crime syndicate ran illegal gambling and drug trafficking operations in rural Illinois. While attending the 1957 Apalachin Conference in Apalachin, New York, Zito was captured with numerous other mobsters when the New York State Police raided the meeting. Although indicted in a federal investigation into organized crime in the Midwest, Zito remained in power into the 1970s.

On August 22, 1974, Frank Zito died of natural causes.

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