Sam DeStefano
Samuel "Mad Sam" DeStefano (September 13, 1909 – April 14, 1973) was an American criminal associated with the Chicago Outfit, operating primarily as a loanshark and enforcer noted for his extreme sadism and involvement in torture-murders.[1][2] DeStefano pioneered organized loansharking in Chicago, charging interest rates of 20-25% with Outfit leaders Anthony Accardo and Sam Giancana's approval, while maintaining independence by refusing formal induction into the syndicate.[2] Federal Bureau of Investigation agent William F. Roemer Jr., who tracked Outfit activities, described DeStefano as "the worst torture-murderer in the history of Chicago" due to his mentally unstable methods, including ritualistic violence and feeding victims to pigs.[1] DeStefano's criminal record began early, with a rape conviction at age 18 leading to three years imprisonment, followed by an 11-year sentence for a 1933 bank robbery in New Lisbon, Wisconsin, and additional time for counterfeiting sugar ration stamps during World War II.[1] Upon release in 1944, he escalated into Outfit-affiliated rackets, fixing legal cases for fees up to $20,000 for murder indictments and enforcing debts through brutality.[1] Notable for personally stabbing his brother Michael to death and orchestrating the torture-killing of suspected informant William "Action" Jackson over three days in the early 1960s, DeStefano's sadism extended to the 1963 murder of bookmaker Leo Foreman, whom he tortured in his brother Mario's basement as a purported "blood sacrifice."[2] Indicted in 1970 alongside brother Mario and associate Anthony Spilotro for Foreman's murder based on witness testimony and forensic evidence, DeStefano's courtroom disruptions—including self-representation in pajamas and use of a bullhorn—delayed proceedings until his death.[2] On April 15, 1973, he was shotgunned in his garage, an unsolved killing attributed by FBI sources to Spilotro and Mario DeStefano to prevent his testimony in the Foreman case.[2] DeStefano's unpredictable violence and devil-worship rumors made him a pariah even among mobsters, underscoring his role as an outlier in organized crime's hierarchical structure.[2]