Jake Guzik
His FBI Vault file describes him as business manager of some of the Capone underworld enterprises. The Seventh Circuit affirmed his 1930 income tax conviction in 1931.
- Died
- 1956-02-21
- Aliases
- Greasy Thumb, Jack Guzik, Jacob Guzik, John Guzik, Harry Stone Guzik, Jack Guzick, Jack Cusick, Jack Cusik, Sam Kusick, Short Pants, The Little Man, The Little Mayor of Cicero, The Little Guy
- Role
- Business manager of some of the Capone underworld enterprises, according to an FBI memorandum in his file
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited federal records state.
On the record
- 1886 — An undated FBI memorandum in his Vault file (p. 13) states: "John Guzik was born in Moscow, Russia, May 20th or 30th 1886." A clipping elsewhere in the file gives a different date, so the year is not entered in the born field.
- 1920s — The same memorandum says he began "as an operator of vice resorts and wildcat bootleg shops" and "later graduated to business manager of some of the Capone underworld enterprises."
- 8 April 1930 — The memorandum: "On April 8, 1930, he was sentenced to five years and a day" and fined for violation of the income tax laws. The FBI history essay "Al Capone" names Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik among those who were subjects of tax evasion charges.
- 10 December 1931 — Guzik v. United States, 54 F.2d 618 (7th Cir. 1931), affirmed his conviction on three counts of willfully attempting to evade income tax for 1927 through 1929: "The judgment is affirmed."
- 13 April 1944 — A Chicago FBI teletype (Vault, p. 8) reports a newspaper story that "JACK GUZIK, GAMBLING BOSS AND FROMER [sic] CAPONE BUSINESS MANAGER" had been kidnapped, and says police had not confirmed it.
- January 1951 — Kefauver Committee counsel stated that "the partnership of Accardo and Guzik took a tax loss of seven thousand-some-odd dollars on an investment described by Accardo as S. & G. Service" (Part 5).
- 21 February 1956 — An FBI report in the Vault file (p. 47) relays that the Chicago Sun-Times of February 22, 1956 reported his death on the evening of February 21, 1956. The death date on this page is the newspaper's, as the Bureau recorded it.
The aliases are from the FBI memorandum’s heading (p. 13), the 1944 teletype (“Jack Guzik”), and the FBI history essay (“Greasy Thumb”). The memorandum uses both “Jacob” and “John” as his first name.
The role line is the memorandum’s wording. The teletype’s phrase “gambling boss” is a newspaper’s description that the Bureau repeated, so it is quoted in the events but not used as a role.
Records
itemFBI Vault file on Jake GuzikThe FBI Vault's release of the Bureau file on Jake Guzik, 114 scanned pages, including a 1944 teletype, a memorandum on his aliases and career, and a 1956 report relaying newspaper accounts of his death.itemGuzik v. United States, 54 F.2d 618 (7th Cir. 1931)Seventh Circuit opinion of December 10, 1931 affirming Guzik's conviction for willfully attempting to evade income tax for 1927 through 1929.
itemKefauver Committee hearings, Part 5: Illinois (1950–1951)Printed hearings of the Senate Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, Part 5, Illinois: testimony taken from September 1950 to January 1951, including Paul DeLucia, Louis Campagna, Anthony J. Accardo, and Joseph Aiuppa.
itemAl Capone (FBI history page)The FBI's history essay on Capone. It states that he was released on November 16, 1939, and that he lived on Palm Island until his death due to a stroke and pneumonia on January 25, 1947.
itemKefauver Committee hearings, Part 5: Illinois (1950–1951)Printed hearings of the Senate Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, Part 5, Illinois: testimony taken from September 1950 to January 1951, including Paul DeLucia, Louis Campagna, Anthony J. Accardo, and Joseph Aiuppa.itemAl Capone (FBI history page)The FBI's history essay on Capone. It states that he was released on November 16, 1939, and that he lived on Palm Island until his death due to a stroke and pneumonia on January 25, 1947.