On this day in 1973 one of the most notorious sociopathic enforcers for the Chicago Outfit, would die at the age of 63.

Mad Sam DeStefano was so mentally unstable that he would never become a made man in the family. On one occasion he served FBI agents ‘Special Italian Coffee’ which in reality was partly made with his own urine.

On this day in 1973, one of the most notorious and genuinely feared figures in the history of the Chicago Outfit met his end in a manner that was, in its own way, fitting for a man who had lived his entire life steeped in violence. Mad Sam DeStefano was shot dead with a shotgun in his own garage on April 14th, murdered on the orders of the very organisation he had served so brutally for decades. He was 63 years old, and very few people mourned his passing.

Born in Mixture, Illinois in 1909, DeStefano grew up in the rough streets of Chicago during the tail end of the Al Capone era, absorbing the culture of organised crime from an early age. He carved out a particularly vicious niche for himself as a loan shark and enforcer, operating with a sadistic enthusiasm that went far beyond what even hardened Outfit figures considered necessary or acceptable. His methods of collecting debts and punishing enemies were legendary in their cruelty, reportedly involving prolonged torture sessions that he appeared to genuinely relish. It was this unhinged quality that ultimately cost him the one honour he craved most — despite his years of loyal and brutal service, DeStefano was considered far too mentally unstable and unpredictable to ever be formally inducted as a made man in the Chicago Outfit.

His erratic behaviour extended beyond the torture chamber. When FBI agents came to question him, DeStefano reportedly served them what he called "Special Italian Coffee," a beverage that — to his evident delight — was partially composed of his own urine. He would represent himself in court proceedings, using the courtroom as a stage for wild theatrical outbursts that bewildered judges and embarrassed the Outfit in equal measure. His behaviour during the 1973 trial of his associate Tony Spilotro, another notoriously dangerous Outfit figure, was reportedly the final straw. Fearing that DeStefano's instability would bring unwanted scrutiny and legal jeopardy to the organisation, the Outfit sanctioned his murder before he could do any further damage.

He was found slain in his garage, the victim of a calculated hit carried out by men he likely considered colleagues, possibly even friends. It was a cold and businesslike end for a man who had been anything but businesslike throughout his criminal career.

Mad Sam DeStefano remains one of the most chilling and psychologically disturbing figures in American organised crime history, a reminder that the world of the mob was never short of men for whom violence was not merely a tool, but a genuine pleasure.