Lawrence ("Dago") Mangano did business in Chicago for more than 20 years. Like many another poor youth he began modestly, as a pimp, burglar and small-time gambler. But Dago Mangano had brains and a pleasant, breezy personality. He soon became known as a man of executive ability. When Al Capone ran Chicago's Syndicate, Mangano was a trusted lieutenant. After Capone there was much unrest. The late Frank (The Enforcer) Nitti, Jack Guzik (TIME, May 1) and the incumbent Tony Accardo, successively became Syndicate chieftains.
But Dago Mangano never discounted the element of risk involved in business ventures; he always made...