On August 31, 2006, Anthony Zizzo—better known in Chicago’s underworld by the nicknames “Little Tony” and “Little Toes”—left home and vanished.
Zizzo was no ordinary missing person. He was a longtime figure in the Chicago Outfit, the organized-crime network that had operated in the city for decades. At the time he disappeared, authorities believed he held a senior position within the organization.
His disappearance quickly became one of Chicago’s enduring mob mysteries. His vehicle was eventually located outside a restaurant in Melrose Park, but Zizzo himself was never found.
More than a decade later, investigators were still seeking answers.
From Chicago’s Little Italy to the Outfit
Anthony Zizzo was born on August 3, 1935, in Chicago’s Little Italy neighborhood. His parents were Italian immigrants who had settled in the United States, and Zizzo grew up in a working-class environment.
He left high school before graduating and eventually found work as a truck driver connected to the Chicago Outfit.
That job placed him close to the organization and its members, and over the years Zizzo moved deeper into the criminal underworld.
By the 1960s, he had reportedly become a trusted figure within the Outfit.
During the following decades, Zizzo was associated with several types of organized criminal activity, including illegal gambling, loan sharking and extortion.
Despite his long involvement in organized crime, he managed to avoid spending most of his life behind bars. He developed a reputation inside the underworld as someone who was intelligent, experienced and capable of navigating the dangerous world around him.
A Federal Case
Zizzo’s criminal career eventually attracted serious attention from federal authorities.
In 1992, prosecutors brought a racketeering case against Zizzo and ten other members of the Carlisi Street Crew.
By the 1990s, Zizzo was considered an important member of the Chicago Outfit’s leadership structure. Law enforcement believed he had been as high as third in command, making his position within the organization particularly significant.
That background would later become an important part of the mystery surrounding his disappearance.
The Night He Vanished
On August 31, 2006, Zizzo left his home.
At some point that day, he ended up at a restaurant in Melrose Park, Illinois.
But something went wrong.
Zizzo disappeared, while his car was later found outside the restaurant.
His wife eventually reported him missing, setting off an investigation into where he had gone and what might have happened to him.
There was no confirmed explanation for his disappearance.
Zizzo simply seemed to vanish.
What Happened to Little Tony?
Because of Zizzo’s position within the Chicago Outfit, investigators immediately had reason to consider the possibility that his disappearance was connected to organized crime.
One theory was that Zizzo may have become a potential liability because of what he knew about the Outfit.
Another possibility involved tensions between Zizzo and Michael Sarno, a powerful Outfit captain whom Zizzo was reportedly supervising.
There was also speculation that Zizzo might have gone into hiding voluntarily.
The FBI did not completely dismiss that possibility. However, as the years passed without any credible sign of Zizzo, investigators increasingly treated the case as a suspected mob killing.
A Suspected Murder
Authorities eventually came to believe that Zizzo was probably murdered, although his body has never been recovered.
In 2016, the FBI offered a $10,000 reward for information that could help solve the mystery surrounding his disappearance.
Investigators also identified Joseph Andriacchi as a prime suspect in Zizzo’s disappearance and presumed murder.
Andriacchi remained a person of interest in the case for years, but the mystery was never conclusively solved.
He died in August 2024, taking whatever information he may have had about Zizzo’s fate with him.
Still Missing
Nearly two decades after Anthony Zizzo disappeared, the central questions remain unanswered.
What happened after he left home?
Why was his vehicle found outside a Melrose Park restaurant?
Was his disappearance the result of an internal dispute within the Chicago Outfit?
Was he killed because investigators feared he might cooperate with authorities?
Or did he somehow manage to disappear on his own?
There are theories, suspects and years of investigation—but no body and no definitive public answer.
Anthony “Little Tony” Zizzo entered Chicago’s organized-crime world decades before his disappearance. On August 31, 2006, he disappeared into it.
And despite years of investigation, the final chapter of his story has never been written.
This story is based on publicly available information and reported facts. It has been independently written and presented for informational purposes. Images, if any, belong to their respective owners.