Despite the fact the Mafia network in the City of Rockford largely lived and operated in the shadows of their more infamous Windy City neighbor to the south, for nearly a century the low-keyed Joseph Zammuto Family successfully maintained a tightly structured, very successful and profitable — if smaller — Mafia Clan.
Located in the most northerly part of Illinois, the “Rockford Family” — headquartered in Winnebago County — was led for decades by a quiet and shadowy Sicilian-born mafioso by the name of Giuseppe Zammuto.
Rockford, with 145,000 city residents — which more than doubled to 350,000 when its surrounding Greater Metropolitan Area was counted it — was still small potatoes compared to Chicago. Yet, for many years it served as fertile territory for Zammuto and his men who operated a variety of lucrative rackets and semi-legitimate businesses there.
It is believed that this particular Cosa Nostra network never exceeded a formal inducted membership of more than 25 to 30 soldiers at the height of its power and influence from the 1930s through the 1970s.
Note: The expanded chart that follows depicts the known membership and structure of the Rockford family from its early formation in the mid-1930s through the late 1990s era. Collectively, we name 200 Family members, 89 of whom were soldiers and 111 were associates.
