The Mafia’s Most Notorious Poacher

As previously reported, the status of America's largest typical whitetail was thrown into uncertainty when details surrounding the harvest came to light. Even if the public overlooks the inaccurate harvest date of the Aiuppa buck, which places the kill outside the firearm season, questions remain about the alleged wanton waste and the absence of any record of a deer tag for 1991.

When we began digging deeper into the Aiuppa story, we stumbled upon another famous Aiuppa: his uncle. The man who ran Chicago with an iron fist or, more accurately, a steel Tommy gun. Joseph “Doves” Aiuppa was at one time described as a "cigar-chomping, scowling, hot-tempered boss of Taylor and Company and the chief of gambling in Cicero, Illinois.”

Joseph "Joey Doves" Aiuppa was the head of the Chicago Mafia and a one-time employee of Al Capone. In his earlier days, he went by the name Joey O'Brien to avoid the stereotypes associated with Italian-sounding names. An amateur boxer, he began working for Capone in the 1930s as a soldier and enforcer, collecting debts and protecting Capone's bootlegging and prostitution rackets.

Aiuppa was reportedly a friend of John Dillinger and was investigated by the FBI in 1935 for allegedly supplying Public Enemy No. 1 and his gang with machine guns and ammunition. Over the years, he was linked to more than a dozen murders, including those of Teamsters union financier Allen Dorfman and Mafia boss Sam Giancana. These were among the killings the FBI was able to connect to him. Referred to in FBI documents as “one of the most ruthless killers and hoodlums in the Chicago area.” With each body and each duffel bag of cash delivered, he climbed higher in the hierarchy of the Chicago mob.

Later, Aiuppa served as second-in-command to mob boss and friend Tony "Big Tuna" Accardo. He eventually became the leader of the Midwest operation of La Cosa Nostra, using Chicago as his home base. His involvement in organized crime, including the skimming of Las Vegas casino profits, eventually landed him in prison. The scheme was famously portrayed in the film Casino, starring Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci.

FBI reports from 1961 described Aiuppa as someone who was "known to carry guns and has allegedly committed murder in the past and should be considered armed and dangerous.”

When Aiuppa wasn't orchestrating hits on rivals, running gambling operations, or meeting with associates, he was hunting and fishing. He was an avid outdoorsman. An informant once reported that "Mr. O'Brien (Aiuppa alias) is a hunting enthusiast and makes frequent hunting trips. <Redacted> added Mr. O'Brien has a large assortment of guns and other hunting equipment and also keeps three hunting dogs on the premises."

On one occasion, after being stopped by police, Aiuppa was found in possession of a .30-30 rifle and two .38 revolvers. He comically explained to police that he "was going pheasant hunting."

Aiuppa didn't limit his hunting to the United States. He and Mafia overseer Tony Accardo traveled to Africa on a hunting safari that would have cost more than $200,000 in today's money. When they returned home, they had reportedly been permitted to bring 3,300 pounds of meat and taxidermy back duty-free. Their African bounty included elephants, lions, warthogs, reedbucks, impalas, water buffalo, and ostriches.

Aiuppa and other hoodlums used Chicago's Towne Hotel and its Turf Lounge as a meeting place to discuss their illegal gambling interests and other vice activities. Later the FBI raided the hotel on the pretext of "illegal taxidermy," but Aiuppa was convinced it was a ruse to place wiretaps within his establishment.

The Chicago Tribune outlined how the FBI allegedly installed listening devices inside the taxidermy displayed throughout the hotel. Wildebeests, kudu, and other African trophies were used to conceal the devices. Shortly after a suspicious fire engulfed the hotel and razed it to the ground, with many speculating that it was an attempt by Aiuppa to end the FBI surveillance. What remains of Joey’s taxidermy collection now resides with the Micek side of the family.

The FBI overheard Aiuppa discussing his African hunting trip with gangster James "The Turk" Torello. Telling him, "A kudu is hard to bring down, and a wildebeest ain't no pushover, either." Aiuppa often used hunting and fishing as a way of escaping from the police or congressional hearings, frequently attending an unnamed Jacksonville hunting lodge. The FBI attempted to use Aiuppa's love of hunting and fishing against him by staking out sporting goods stores in the hopes of intercepting him while he was hiding out in rural Illinois.

Joey didn't leave his criminal ways behind when he ventured into the woods and streams. Police and game wardens connected him to several notable wildlife violations and controversial incidents.

The Yorkshire Quail Club

Joey Aiuppa was enjoying a very comfortable lifestyle and had begun spending his wealth on outdoor pursuits, hunting lodges and firearms. FBI agents reported that Joey Aiuppa boasted an enviable arsenal of hunting rifles and shotguns. Allegedly, Joey also wasn't afraid of throwing his weight around with government agencies.

It’s been reported that Joey allegedly leaned on the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to obtain hunting and breeding permits for his hunting preserve. In fact, state officials reportedly assisted him in establishing his 1,000-acre private hunting and animal-breeding facility, known as the Yorkshire Quail Club. In a weak attempt to validate the DNR’s involvement, Reginald Clark, the state supervisor of shooting preserves, was quoted as saying, "I know Joey Aiuppa… He is very interested in quail propagation."

The thinly veiled attempt to hide Joey ‘Doves’ involvement, the club's gun club permits were allegedly issued to Aiuppa's brother, Sam Sr., and his son, Sam Jr. (the man associated with the infamous Aiuppa buck). When relative Nick Micek was asked about the permits in an interview, he responded, “Yeah, that makes sense, everything was put in the name of relatives, property, everything.”

Reporters from the Chicago Tribune once visited Aiuppa's quail club but were refused entry by the guards. One reporter managed to sneak a peek inside through a window. The interior was reportedly filled with taxidermy and photographs of Aiuppa dressed in hunting attire alongside his hunting dogs and companions. The FBI routinely surveilled the club because it was one of the primary locations for hunting parties attended by prominent members of the Chicago mob.

The club's Department of Natural Resources permits were promptly revoked when Aiuppa's ownership and leadership became public. After the club was shut down, Aiuppa and his crew moved their hunting activities to the Pinewood Hunting Club. FBI documents also link Aiuppa and his associates to the Santa Fe Saddle and Gun Club and the Maywood Sportsmen's Club.

One of the last public mentions of the club came from the discovered bodies of the Splitorro brothers, two infamous mafiosos who were murdered and buried in a farmer's field just around the corner from Joey's Yorkshire Quail Club. A scene graphically depicted at the end of Martin Scorsese's movie Casino. The murders were said to have been orchestrated and approved by Joey “Doves” Aiuppa.

The World-Record Musky

In 1949, the Chicago Outfit and organized crime were in the crosshairs of federal law enforcement and Congress. To let things cool down and avoid a congressional hearing, Aiuppa reportedly traveled to Wisconsin to lay low and spend some time hunting and fishing.

According to Spence Petros, a Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Famer and renowned guide, as well as Jimmy "Pepsi" Buonamo, Aiuppa's personal bodyguard and fishing companion, Joey Aiuppa caught the world-record musky.

The story goes that while hiding out in Wisconsin, Aiuppa went fishing for musky at night on the Chippewa Flowage, reportedly in an area where fishing was prohibited. After hauling in the massive fish, Aiuppa recognized the significance of his catch, as well as the predicament he was in. He couldn't claim credit for it while hiding from the law. His solution was to sell the fish for $50 to Louis Spray, a well-known record chaser in the fishing community.

The story remains unconfirmed, but several people including Petros, Buonamo and even Aiuppa’s nephew Nick Michek have attested to its authenticity. Not to mention, a local fishing guide who was out with clients at the location Spray identified as the catch site said that Spray was nowhere to be found.

That wasn't the only wildlife violation connected to Joey.

How Joey Aiuppa Earned the Nickname "Doves"

With Mafia nicknames such as Scarface, Machine Gun, the Bull, and Ice Pick, the moniker "Doves" seems almost tame. Joey “Doves” Aiuppa was an avid bird hunter who often invited his Mafia associates along on hunting trips.

In 1962, he invited a group of men to go bird hunting in the Pittsburgh area of Kansas. Aiuppa and his companions reportedly shot more than 1,000 birds. The Chicago American Newspaper detailed the hunt as using “Capone-era assassination techniques to slaughter 1,400 doves... The Chicago sportsmen are said to have shot the birds with shotgun blasts from speeding autos while the birds perched on phone wires and tree limbs."

The legal limit was just 24 birds.

Aiuppa reportedly planned to deliver the birds to a local meat locker before planning to sell them through his restaurants and hotel in Chicago. His plans were derailed when state troopers pulled him over as he arrived home and discovered 562 mourning doves in his trunk.

Relative Nick Micek thinks Joey got a bad break and that the government was eager to nail him in any way they could. “Uncle Joe, he gets a bad wrap with that stuff in Kansas, with the doves, they made them seem like they were hitting birds off a wire with a tommy gun… Uncle Joe was, no bullshit, an outdoors guy, all he did was fish and hunt.” Nick was adamant that the doves were shot with a large group of people and that it wasn’t as bad as the press made it out to be.

Joey Aiuppa was arrested for violating the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The presiding judge described the incident as an "unconscionable slaughter." Following a lengthy appeals process, Aiuppa was eventually sentenced in August 1963 on two counts of illegally possessing and transporting mourning doves. The judge handed down a sentence of three months in prison and a $1,000 fine.

The incident and subsequent conviction helped cement his nickname: "Doves."

The contrast was striking: a fragile, graceful bird associated with a formidable and menacing gangster. As Mafia member Frank Cullotta once said, "Looking at Aiuppa was like staring at death. There was nothing nice about him. Nothing."

Even when incarcerated, Aiuppa was still thinking about the great outdoors. While spending time in prison for skimming Las Vegas casino profits, Aiuppa was reportedly “told stories about his hunting and fishing trips from all around the country."

The Aiuppa Buck Connection

Of course, the sins of an uncle are not those of his nephew. Nevertheless, this history raises questions about the family's relationship with wildlife laws. Like many Mafia organizations, the Chicago Outfit was built around close friendships and family ties. The Aiuppas were no different. FBI agents documented that Aiuppa “is very devoted to his relatives. He (informant) believes that he is financing or has financed the college education of some of his nephews.”

As mentioned previously, Aiuppa utilized family members to work for him and to apply for permits related to his hunting club, the Yorkshire Quail Club. His brother, Sam, and nephew, Sam Aiuppa Jr., were listed as employees of the club. Joey’s brother Sam was listed as an employee of the infamous Towne Hotel and Turf Lounge as well as being listed as the secretary for the investment company that owned it.

Sam Aiuppa Jr. was reportedly a projectionist in the same union that the Mafia had allegedly used for "no-show" jobs dating back to the 1930s. Deadline described IATSE Projectionists Local 110 in Chicago as a union that "was once widely believed to be one of the most mobbed-up unions in America, a crooked outfit packed with members of the Chicago mob and their relatives."

Federal investigators also reportedly linked relatives of several prominent Mafia figures to the union, including Sam Giancana, John Cerone, and Sam Battaglia.

When asked by Deadline in 2015 how he gained entry into the infamous union, Sam Aiuppa Jr. declined to answer. Sam has remained a member in good standing as recently as 2025.

The family appears to have maintained close ties with its connected relatives. Sam was not estranged from that side of the family; quite the opposite. When contacted to provide their side of the family story, Sam Aiuppa’s son required us to sign an NDA in order to interview the family, which we declined. Attempts to reach them afterwards were not successful.

It is important to note that, aside from the Illinois DNR investigation and the wildlife violations that have since expired under the statute of limitations, Sam Aiuppa does not appear to have a criminal record.