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.
Often Imitated. Never Duplicated. Button Guys of The New York Mafia...There's Only One!
