Chicago wasn’t the only city in Illinois to host a Mafia Family. A mafioso by the name of Frank Zito headed a small borgata in Springfield, Illinois, a small city smack dab in the middle of the state.
The quiet, midwestern city of Springfield, Illinois is situated smack dab in the middle of the state and spans a little over 67 miles geographically. It is also the capital of the state. Although small in comparison to the City of Chicago, with a total population of around 117,000, it is considered the largest city in central Illinois. Springfield was also the place Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States called home.
Yet, despite its cozy small-town feel, rich history, and charm, for many years, Springfield had a seedier side to it as well. Since at least the early 1920s, Sprinfield was the headquarters for a small but vibrant Mafia family that considered that city its own personal fiefdom and underworld turf.
