Frank Nitti – March 19 1943

Frank Nitti was the most feared man in Al Capone’s Chicago Outfit — the enforcer who kept the empire running through violence and intimidation. In the end, it wasn’t a rival’s bullet that killed him. It was a prison sentence he couldn’t face.

Who Was Frank Nitti?

Francesco Raffele Nitto — known to the world as Frank Nitti — was born in Angri, Italy in 1886 and emigrated to the United States as a child. He grew up in Brooklyn before moving to Chicago, where he fell into the criminal world that would define his life.

By the late 1920s Nitti had become one of Al Capone’s most trusted lieutenants — his chief enforcer, the man responsible for ensuring that the Outfit’s enemies, rivals and non-payers faced swift and brutal consequences. His nickname, The Enforcer, was earned. He was not a man to be crossed.

When Capone was imprisoned for tax evasion in 1931, Nitti stepped into the public role of boss — though real power within the Outfit was distributed among several senior figures. He presided over one of the most powerful criminal organisations in American history at the height of its influence.

The 1932 Shooting — When Police Tried to Kill Him

On December 19, 1932, Chicago police Detective Sergeants Harry Lang and Harry Miller raided Nitti’s office in Room 554 at 221 N. LaSalle Street in Chicago. What happened next was one of the most brazen examples of police corruption in Chicago’s history — and there was considerable competition for that title.

Lang shot Nitti three times — in the back and neck. He then shot himself in the hand to make it appear that Nitti had fired first, claiming self-defence. It was a straightforward attempted murder disguised as a legitimate police shooting.

Nitti survived. He was rushed to hospital and spent weeks recovering from his wounds. In February 1933, he was acquitted of the charges against him. Lang was subsequently convicted of assault and dismissed from the police force. The incident revealed how deeply Chicago’s political machine was willing to go to remove Nitti — and how resilient he was.

The shooting left its mark. Nitti emerged from the experience deeply shaken and, according to those close to him, with an intensified fear of confinement that would ultimately shape the manner of his death.

The Federal Indictment — The Beginning of the End

By 1943 the world had changed around Frank Nitti. The golden age of Prohibition bootlegging was long gone. Federal prosecutors, emboldened by the tools that had brought down Capone, were coming for the Outfit through a new angle — extortion charges related to the Hollywood studio shakedowns that the Chicago mob had been running for years.

In March 1943, Nitti and several senior Outfit figures were indicted on federal extortion charges. The indictment was serious. Conviction was likely. Prison was almost certain.

For most mob bosses, prison was an occupational hazard — an inconvenience to be endured. For Nitti, it was something worse. He was a severe claustrophobic. His previous imprisonment had been an ordeal that had never left him. The thought of returning — for what would likely be a lengthy sentence — was unbearable.

There were also persistent rumours at the time, reported by several journalists who covered the Chicago underworld, that Nitti had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. If true, it would have made his calculation even starker: die in prison from illness, or die on his own terms.

March 19, 1943 — The Last Walk

On the morning of March 19, 1943, Frank Nitti’s wife Toni prepared to leave for church. As she headed for the door, Nitti said to her simply: “I’m going to take a walk.” It was the last thing he ever said to her. His last words are among the most haunting in mob history.

Nitti had been drinking heavily that morning. He took a .32 calibre pistol and walked to a nearby railroad yard in Riverside, Illinois. What followed was not clean or quick.

The first shot missed and passed through his fedora hat. The second shot entered his jaw and travelled through the top of his head — a serious wound, but not immediately fatal. Still standing, still conscious, Nitti fired a third time. This bullet entered behind his right ear and passed through his skull. He collapsed among the railroad tracks.

Workers found him shortly afterwards. He was taken to hospital but died from his wounds. Frank Nitti — Al Capone’s enforcer, the man who had survived three police bullets in 1932, the man who had run the most powerful criminal organisation in Chicago — was gone. He was 57 years old.

Frank Nitti in Popular Culture

Frank Nitti’s name has lived on far beyond his death. He is perhaps most famous to modern audiences as the villain in the 1987 film The Untouchables, directed by Brian De Palma, where he was portrayed by Billy Drago as a cold, calculating assassin — a depiction that took considerable liberties with the historical record but cemented his image in popular culture.

Earlier, the 1959-1963 television series The Untouchables featured Nitti as a recurring antagonist. A 1951 film was titled simply The Enforcer, though it fictionalised his story significantly.

The real Nitti was more complex than these portrayals suggest — a careful, politically shrewd operator who preferred to avoid unnecessary violence rather than the theatrical killer of Hollywood imagination. His death, far from dramatic, was the desperate act of a frightened man facing consequences he could not accept.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Frank Nitti die?

Frank Nitti died by suicide on March 19, 1943, at a railroad yard in Riverside, Illinois. He shot himself three times. The first two shots were not immediately fatal. The third shot, fired behind his right ear, killed him. He was 57 years old.

Why did Frank Nitti kill himself?

Frank Nitti killed himself because he faced federal extortion charges and could not bear the thought of returning to prison. He was a severe claustrophobic who had found his previous imprisonment deeply traumatic. There were also rumours of terminal cancer, though unconfirmed. He chose death over imprisonment.

Was Frank Nitti really Al Capone’s enforcer?

Yes. Nitti served as Al Capone’s chief enforcer throughout the late 1920s and early 1930s, responsible for the Outfit’s violence and intimidation operations. When Capone went to prison in 1931, Nitti became the public face of the organisation.

Was Frank Nitti shot by police in 1932?

Yes. On December 19, 1932, Detective Sergeant Harry Lang shot Nitti three times during a raid on his office, then shot himself to make it look like self-defence. Nitti survived. Lang was subsequently convicted of assault. It was a straightforward attempted murder sanctioned by corrupt elements of the Chicago political machine.

What was Frank Nitti’s nickname?

Frank Nitti’s nickname was “The Enforcer” — earned through his role managing violence and muscle operations for Al Capone’s Chicago Outfit.