In a shocking revelation, Tekiela, a highly regarded firefighter paramedic and father of two, has come forward with the confession that he lived a clandestine double life as a hitman for the Chicago mob. Now, his son Kyle is exposing his father’s story in a true-crime podcast named “Crook County,” a collaboration between iHeartPodcasts and Tenderfoot TV.
The podcast delves into how Tekiela, known as “The Kid,” ascended the ranks of the Chicago Outfit and the enduring impact this had on his family. It features candid interviews with Tekiela and other close relatives. Kyle Tekiela, an award-winning filmmaker and Ken Tekiela’s eldest son, is leading the charge to shed light on these hidden family secrets.
“These are truths that perhaps should have remained buried,” Kyle acknowledged. “But they have come to the surface, and grappling with them is no easy feat. It took me a while to process everything before I felt ready to share it with others. I had to ask myself whether we keep this buried forever or own up to it, embracing it as a part of our identity and possibly learning from it as well.”
Ken Tekiela, captured here cooking in the firehouse kitchen, cleared all hurdles in 1982 to become a firefighter paramedic. Kyle shared that his father sought permission from the original capo who recruited him into the Outfit to pursue his dream of serving in the fire department. The capo, whose identity remains undisclosed, granted his approval.
During his formative years, Kyle viewed his father as a “local hero” who was revered in their community. Tekiela’s demanding 24-hour shifts and periods away from home were routine, yet he always maintained his unwavering commitment to his most crucial role – that of a father.
The genesis of Tekiela’s devotion to duty can be traced back to a tragic event in 1979 when American Airlines Flight 191 crashed near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, claiming 273 lives. At the time, Tekiela was around 23 years old.
“Observing the selfless actions of first responders, firefighters, and paramedics at the crash site ignited something within him,” explained Kyle. “It motivated him to say, ‘I want to be that. I want to assist people.’ Up until then, he had been involved with the mob, not aiding people.”
According to “Crook County,” Ken Tekiela managed to conceal his mafia connections from his family and closest confidants for over two decades. Prior to his firefighting duties, Tekiela recounted a tumultuous upbringing, being expelled from his home by his mother at 16. Enduring hardship and living out of his car, a desperate Tekiela resorted to robbing a drug dealer, unwittingly the nephew of a
He showed determination and courage. Recognizing his potential, the capo brought him into their circle when he had nowhere else to turn. He became known as “The Kid,” eager to make an impression. According to Kyle, Tekiela’s role in the Outfit involved removing individuals who were causing trouble or acting selfishly within the organization. In 1984, Tekiela married his then-girlfriend, Holly. Kyle credits his father’s survival in the criminal world to not asking too many questions and simply focusing on his job as a firefighter paramedic. By maintaining a low profile and avoiding illegal activities, Tekiela distanced himself from the risky behaviors of his associates. The Chicago Outfit, active in the city during the ’70s and ’80s, had connections to figures like mob boss Joseph “Joey” Aiuppa. Tekiela’s dual life remained hidden from his wife and children as he navigated between his respectable career and criminal ties. However, his involvement with drugs took a toll, leading to addiction and the eventual unraveling of his connections with the mob.
While Tekiela was recovering at a detox facility, he felt a yearning to rebuild his relationship with his son, which prompted him to start opening up about his past. In a revealing interview, Kyle shared, “I think he feels relief and has accepted his reality, his history. He hasn’t lived a very good life over the last 10, 15 years. It’s been hard. I pay his rent. I just bought him a car. He’s like a child. And I think everyone knows my dad messed up big time and destroyed our whole family. But they didn’t know why.” The last time Kyle saw his father was in 2023, reflecting on their tumultuous journey, Kyle pondered, “Even though the context is horrible, it’s still his story, and his story has meaning. I think for him, he thought, ‘Am I going to be a drug dealer or a drug addict who ruined my family, or am I going to finally tell people who I was, how I got there, how I tried to get out but couldn’t and how it fell apart?'” Despite the pain and struggles of dealing with his father’s addiction, Kyle expressed his enduring love and respect, stating, “Even after he told me all this stuff, even after all the pain and struggle we went through with his addiction, I still love him. And I respect him more now that he finally told me everything. Now I know there was a reason why he was keeping secrets. There’s a reason why he was on drugs. It’s hard to keep a secret, and he had to deal with the pain somehow.” As a husband and father himself, Kyle found his conversations with Tekiela for the podcast to be a healing experience. Although they now speak on the phone occasionally, Kyle suspects his father is still using drugs to some extent. He noticed a genuine remorse in Tekiela when he recounted his past actions, sharing, “I can see the real remorse in him. When he tells these stories – these awful things he had to do – there’s real remorse. He’s ashamed of it all.” Today, Tekiela has “zero fear” of speaking out, a sentiment Kyle shares. In his book “Crook County,” Tekiela tells his story, which Kyle describes as “not just another story about the mob,” but a profound journey of discovery between a father and a son, highlighting growth and the importance of addressing difficult truths within families. Kyle emphasized, “It’s so important for families to talk about hard truths. As soon as you start keeping secrets, that’s when it all falls apart.”
