Firefighter paramedic led secret life as mafia hitman before family fell apart: son

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In 2013, Ken Tekiela revealed a secret to his son that he had been keeping for over 20 years.

At the time, he had been battling a crippling heroin addiction for about a decade and had been estranged from the 28-year-old for about five years. But his firstborn, who believed things were worsening for the patriarch, put him in a detox facility to help him get clean.

“He relapsed a few times, but his journey to recovery was positive,” Kyle Tekiela told Fox News Digital. “Once he felt like he had recovered . . . I think that opened up some doors for him. And I think it gave him the confidence to tell me. But it was a huge shock. It was like, ‘Did I hear that correctly?’”

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Ken Tekiela at the firehouse, circa 1984. (Kyle Tekiela)

Tekiela, a celebrated firefighter paramedic and father of two, confessed that he had led a secret double life as a hitman for the Chicago mob.

Kyle is now detailing his father’s story in a true-crime podcast titled “Crook County,” a co-production of iHeartPodcasts and Tenderfoot TV. 

It explores how Tekiela, known as “The Kid,” reportedly rose through the ranks of the Chicago Outfit and its lasting impact on his family. It features candid sit-down interviews with Tekiela and other loved ones.

Kyle Tekiela is an award-winning filmmaker and Ken Tekiela’s oldest son. (Kyle Tekiela)

“These are family secrets that probably should have stayed buried,” Kyle admitted. “But they’ve come to light, and it’s not easy to digest.

“It took a long time for me to process it before I was confident enough to share it with others. But I did have to ask myself, is this something we bury forever? Or do we own it and say, ‘This is who we are,’ and make the best of it and maybe learn some lessons from it, too?”

Ken Tekiela is seen here cooking in the firehouse kitchen. In 1982, he passed all his tests to become a firefighter paramedic. Kyle Tekiela said his father asked the original capo who invited him into the Outfit if he could pursue his dream of working for the fire department. The capo, whose name wasn’t revealed, gave him his blessing. (Kyle Tekiela)

Growing up, Kyle saw his father as “a local hero” who was revered in his community. Working 24-hour shifts and being away from home was normal for Tekiela and his family. However, he always remained devoted to his most important role – that of father.

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“Crook County” is available for streaming. (iHeartPodcasts and Tenderfoot TV)

“That was his job,” said Kyle. “We thought we had a super dad growing up. He was a firefighter paramedic, and their schedules are typically somewhere around 24, 48 hours or somewhere in between. That gave him a lot of time away from home.”

Tekiela’s dedication to duty stemmed from tragedy. In 1979, American Airlines Flight 191 crashed near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. A total of 273 people died. Tekiela was about 23 years old at the time.

Aerial view of emergency vehicles the morning after the plane crashed at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on May 26, 1979. (UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)

“Watching all these first responders, firefighters and paramedics go and try to get control of the scene inspired him,” said Kyle. “That’s what made him go, ‘I want to be that. I want to help people.’ At that point, he had been working for the mob, not helping people.”

According to “Crook County,” Ken Tekiela successfully kept his mafia life a secret from his family and closest friends for over two decades. (Kyle Tekiela )

But before duty called, Tekiela described having a tumultuous childhood. He said he was kicked out of his house by his mother at age 16. Struggling to find a way and living out of his car, a desperate Tekiela robbed a drug dealer, who turned out to be the nephew of a capo. The FBI describes a capo in the mafia as a ranking made member who leads a crew of soldiers, similar to a military captain.

The Chicago Outfit was the city’s branch of the American mafia. Its most notorious leader was Al Capone. (Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Tekiela was 17 at the time. Kyle said the capo found his father and questioned him. Then he made an offer that the patriarch couldn’t refuse.

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Ken Tekiela’s high school photo. (Kyle Tekiela)

“It was the wrong place, wrong time, wrong decision,” Kyle explained. “But he had spunk. And the capo saw that. So they brought him in. He had nowhere else to go, so he had no choice. . . . He was the little guy under their wings. He was ‘The Kid.’ And he wanted to impress them.”

According to Kyle, Tekiela’s role in the Outfit was to “take out the people that the mob wanted out of the mob.”

“People who were f—–g up and being selfish, or stealing from the organization,” Kyle explained.

Ken Tekiela with his then-girlfriend, Holly. They married in 1984. (Kyle Tekiela)

Kyle believes that the secret to his father’s survival – not getting killed or thrown in jail – was “not asking too many questions.” In 1982, Tekiela became a firefighter paramedic, making him an asset to the Outfit.

“It was about just doing your job, doing it well, and going home – not doing anything extra,” said Kyle. “A lot of these guys did stuff on the side to get extra money. They’re selling drugs, which you’re not supposed to do. They were running girls. They were stealing. . . . He didn’t want to be like those other guys. And I think mentally, that took him a long way.”

The Chicago Outfit was active in the city during the ‘70s and ’80s. Seen here is a mugshot of Chicago Outfit mob boss Joseph “Joey” Hohn Aiuppa (1907-1997), circa 1980. (Potter and Potter Auctions/Gado/Getty Images)

“Who knows what would have happened if he didn’t become a firefighter,” Kyle reflected. “And I think selfishly, the mob realized that, as a first responder, he’s an asset. They’ve got someone going to crime scenes. . . . He can have a family, be a civilian, but [the mob] also has a guy on the inside who can do their bidding – or their beating, I should say.”

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Ken Tekiela in his 20s. By then he was working with the Chicago Outfit, his son claimed. (Kyle Tekiela)

Tekiela’s wife never suspected that her husband may have had a double life. They married in 1984 and Kyle was born a year later.

“For my mom, ignorance was bliss,” said Kyle. “She believed everything he told her. She didn’t dig. She wasn’t suspicious. And if she’s not suspicious, the kids are not suspicious. 

“He was able to keep that whole world away from our little home that he kept outside the city in the suburbs. It was just a regular middle-class town. And because of his career as a firefighter, he had respect in the community. And he had that time away from the house to do whatever he needed to do for the Outfit.”

Ken Tekiela fighting a fire. In 1999, he suffered a work-related injury that resulted in an addiction to heroin. (Kyle Tekiela)

Things took a turn when Kyle was in high school. When he was about 16 years old, his parents began fighting frequently. He noticed that his father’s inflamed veins “were terrible” and that he acted “erratic.”

“When I was 14, he got into an accident,” said Kyle. “He was holding a ladder for a firefighter who was going up into the attic of a tall ceiling warehouse during a fire. . . . The ladder kicked out, and it fell on top of the firefighter.

“The ladder and firefighter fell on top of my dad. . . . It almost killed him. He had a bunch of surgeries, and the doctors were prescribing opiates. . . . Then he just started using [heroin]. In his words, ‘I took a liking to those painkillers, but after a while it wasn’t enough.’ He got addicted, and it just became out of his control.”

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Ken Tekiela with his wife Holly. Kyle Tekiela was 17 when he first suspected that his father was using drugs. (Kyle Tekiela)

The podcast details how Tekiela ultimately lost his job, and “everything fell apart pretty quickly” with the mob.

It was during Tekiela’s recovery at a detox facility, and a yearning to rebuild his relationship with his son, that he started opening up about his past.

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“I think . . . he feels relief and has accepted his reality, his history,” said Kyle. “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 f—d up big time and destroyed our whole family. But they didn’t know why.”

Kyle Tekiela said the last time he saw his father was in 2023. (Kyle Tekiela)

“Even though the context is horrible, it’s still his story, and his story has meaning,” Kyle reflected. “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?’

“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,” Kyle continued. “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.”

Kyle, himself a husband and father to a 10-year-old son, said that speaking to Tekiela for the podcast has been “a healing experience.” Today, Kyle and Ken speak on the phone “occasionally.” Kyle said he assumes his father is “still using in some capacity.”

Kyle Tekiela speaks to his father on the phone occasionally. (Kyle Tekiela)

“I can see the real remorse in him,” said Kyle. “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. Kyle feels the same way.

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Ken Tekiela tells his story in “Crook County.” (Kyle Tekiela)

“This is not just another story about the mob,” said Kyle. “It’s a journey of discovery between a father and a son. . . . There’s a lot of growth. And the thing is, a lot of people don’t want to talk about their feelings. They feel it’s weak to talk about your feelings or to seek therapy. But by watching my dad essentially treat me like a therapist and tell me everything – I could see the weight lift off of him.”

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“I think it’s so important for families to talk about hard truths,” said Kyle. “As soon as you start keeping secrets, that’s when it all falls apart.”

New episodes of “Crook County" are available for streaming weekly.

Stephanie Nolasco covers entertainment at Foxnews.com.