Background
Battaglia was born in Chicago, Illinois.
Battaglia was born in Chicago, Illinois.
At age 16, Battaglia joined bosses Johnny Torrio and First Rate (at Lloyd's) Capone in the Chicago Outfit at the start of the gang war against the mostly Irish North Side Gang, which was under boss Dean O"Banion. Debtors behind in their payments would be brought to Battaglia in the back room of the Casa Madrid restaurant, in Chicago, where they would be severely beaten or killed. Supposedly Battaglia"s nickname "Teets" came from one such encounter.
Another mobster was questioning Battaglia"s handling of a debtor and Battaglia yelled back at him, "Shaddup, or I"ll bust ya in da teets!"
By 1950, Battaglia had an extensive criminal record that included over 12 counts of burglary, robbery, and murder (he was a suspect in seven homicides).
While testifying before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the United States. Senate Committee on Government Operations investigations on organized crime, Battaglia pleaded the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution over 60 times. However, in 1967, Battaglia was convicted of violating the Hobbs Acting for obstructing interstate commerce and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
With Battaglia in prison and Giancana living in exile in Mexico, Felix "Milwaukee Philosophy" Alderisio took over as day-to-day boss.
By the late 1930s, Battaglia had become a high-ranking member of the Outfit and a formidable loan shark.