Samuel A. Carlisi also known as "Black Sam" and "Sam Wings" (December 15, 1914 – January 2, 1997), was an American gangster who was the

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, a p ...

of the

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, ...

criminal organization Between 1989 – 1996. Sam Carlisi's brother Roy was a

caporegime A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to capo or informally referred to as "captain" or "skipper", is a rank used in the Mafia (both the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia) for a '' made member'' of an Italian crime family who ...

in the

Buffalo crime family The Buffalo crime family, also known as the Magaddino crime family, Buffalo Mafia, The Arm, the New York State crime family, the Upstate New York Mafia, and the Todaro crime family, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Buffalo, Ne ...

, otherwise known as the Magaddino crime family. Roy was close to legendary Buffalo Mafia boss

Stefano Magaddino Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino (; October 10, 1891 – July 19, 1974) was an Italian-born crime boss of the Buffalo crime family in western New York. His underworld influence stretched from Ohio to Southern Ontario and as far east as Montrea ...

, which gave Sam direct access to various east coast crime families that were aligned with the Buffalo Mafia such as those based in Rochester and

Utica, New York Utica () is a city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 U.S. Census. Located on the Mohawk River at the foot ...

and in Northeastern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

. Sam was known to use these connections to further his gambling and bookmaking interests, to fence stolen goods and possibly for narcotics operations he was overseeing or involved in. He was a cousin of mobster Al Tornabene. Carlisi started his criminal career with the Outfit as a driver for mobster

Joseph Aiuppa Joseph John Aiuppa (December 1, 1907 – February 22, 1997), also known as "Joey O'Brien" and "Joey Doves", was a Chicago mobster who became a leader of the Chicago Outfit from 1971 until his skimming conviction in 1986. Early career Joseph A ...

when he was boss of the

Cicero, Illinois Cicero (originally known as Hawthorne) is a suburb of Chicago and an incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 85,268. making it the 11th largest municipality in Illinois. The town of Cic ...

crew. He is the uncle to

mobsters

Dominick DiMaggio Dominic is a name common among Roman Catholics and other Latin-Romans as a male given name. Originally from the late Roman-Italic name "Dominicus", its translation means "Lordly", "Belonging to God" or "of the Master". Variations include: Domini ...

and

Nicholas DiMaggio Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the name and its ...

. When Aiuppa was convicted in 1986 for the skimming of the Las Vegas casinos, Carlisi served as his replacement and as a front man. Carlisi earned his nickname "Wings" because he often flew around the country as a mob courier during the 1970s. When Ferriola became the boss of the Outfit, Carlisi served as his

underboss Underboss ( it, sottocapo) is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian, Greek, and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss. The under ...

. This followed the murders of

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

and Tony Spilotro, in which Carlisi had supposedly been involved. After Ferriola was diagnosed with cancer, he assigned the day-to-day supervision of the Outfit to Carlisi. After Ferriola died, Carlisi became the new boss. In March 1996, Carlisi was convicted of mob

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and ...

loansharking A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law. Description Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably ...

, and

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

in connection with an illegal gambling business in the Chicago area and the West suburbs and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Convicted with Carlisi were his chauffeur James "Little Jimmy" Marcello, Anthony Zizzo, Anthony Chiaramonti. On January 2, 1997, Carlisi died with fluid in his lungs as he was being force rushed/dragged out of a prison unit to a waiting golf cart. This caused

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

while in prison.

References

External links

The Mob & Friends - Sam "Black Sam"/"Wings" Carlisi Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlisi, Sam 1914 births 1997 deaths Chicago Outfit bosses American gangsters of Italian descent People convicted of racketeering American people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in United States federal government detention