On this day in 1978 a special federal grand jury was held to get to the bottom of the deaths of burglary murder victims associated with the break-in of Tony Accardo’s home.

Accardo was the first witness and flew through his time by taking “The Fifth”.

On September 30, 1978, a special federal grand jury convened in Chicago to investigate one of the most brazen — and ultimately most costly — episodes of criminal miscalculation in Outfit history. The proceedings centred on a series of murders connected to a burglary at the River Forest home of Tony Accardo, the man widely regarded as the most powerful mob boss in America. When Accardo took his seat before the grand jury that day, he did what career criminals of his stature always do when faced with inconvenient questions — he invoked the Fifth Amendment, repeatedly and without hesitation, breezing through his testimony without uttering a single incriminating word.

The backstory was as brutal as anything Chicago had seen in years. In late 1977 and early 1978, a crew of professional burglars made the catastrophic mistake of breaking into Accardo's palatial home on Ashland Avenue whilst he was away in California. The thieves helped themselves to jewellery, silverware, and other valuables. It was, by any measure, the worst career decision any thief could make. Within weeks, the bodies began turning up. At least five men connected to the burglary were found dead, tortured and murdered in characteristically savage fashion. The message from the Outfit was unmistakable — nobody touched Tony Accardo and lived to spend the proceeds.

Accardo's standing in the Chicago Outfit was virtually unparalleled. Having risen through the ranks under Al Capone himself in the 1920s, he had served as a trusted enforcer before ascending to leadership following the decline of Frank Nitti and Paul Ricca. Unlike many of his contemporaries on the East Coast — figures who answered to the structures shaped by Lucky Luciano and the Commission — Accardo operated with a degree of autonomy that made Chicago a law unto itself. He was known in mob circles as "Joe Batters," a nickname bestowed by Capone, and he had survived decades of federal scrutiny without ever serving a significant prison sentence, a record that stood as a testament to both his cunning and his discipline.

The 1978 grand jury investigation ultimately failed to produce charges against Accardo. Federal prosecutors could place him at the centre of a culture of lethal retribution, but proving it in court was another matter entirely. Accardo walked out of those proceedings as he had walked out of every other legal confrontation in his life — untouched. His ability to remain beyond the reach of justice for the entirety of his criminal career cemented his reputation as the most durable and formidable organised crime figure America ever produced.