Mafia Boss Tries Witchcraft to Thwart Prosecutors

A federal judge Thursday unsealed a handwritten incantation that Bonanno crime boss Vincent (Vinny Gorgeous) Basciano stashed in his shoe to put a curse on prosecutors, FBI agents and mob turncoats during his 2006 racketeering trial.

Basciano has been jailed under conditions usually reserved for terrorists because the feds suspect it was a hit list to eliminate the gangster's enemies.

Basciano's lawyers say it was merely Santeria witchcraft meant to drive away bad vibes.

The spell goes: "Before the house of the judge, three dead men look out the window, one having no tongue, the other no lungs, and the third was sick, blind and dumb."

The words are to be repeated on the way to court and inside the courtroom, an Internet gypsy book of magic says.

Basciano must have been a lousy warlock, because he was convicted of murder and racketeering.

The beleaguered mafioso got a break from his stifling confinement yesterday after Brooklyn Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis ordered the government to allow Basciano to spend one hour in the courthouse with his mistress and their 6-year-old son - under the supervision of FBI agents.

Thanks to John Marzulli

Threat to "The Sopranos" Eliminated

A federal jury on Wednesday ruled against a man who says he helped "The Sopranos" creator David Chase develop ideas for the hit HBO mob drama.

The jury dismissed the claims of Robert Baer, ruling the aspiring writer and former prosecutor was not owed anything for help he provided while Chase wrote an early draft of the pilot.

Chase's lawyers hugged after hearing the verdict, which came after less than two hours of deliberations on the trial's fifth day.

Baer claimed he arranged meetings with police and prosecutors during a three-day tour of New Jersey mob sites in 1995 and engaged in subsequent conversations — sparking ideas for what became the hit HBO mob drama that ended in June.

Both men testified that Baer turned down compensation from Chase three times. But Baer claimed Chase agreed to "take care of him" if the show was a hit. Baer said no monetary figure was ever discussed. Chase never offered him a writing job on the show.

Chase's attorneys contended it was not the industry practice to pay advisers for help during the writing of a pilot.

Chase said Baer himself was not an expert in the Mafia, and that Baer introduced the Emmy-winning writer-producer to people with knowledge. When Chase rewrote "The Sopranos" pilot after it was rejected by Fox and other networks, he turned to "a true Mafia expert," Dan Castleman, his defense maintained.

Castleman, chief of the Manhattan district attorney's investigations division, testified that he provided free consulting services to Chase, over several dozen phone calls, as Chase worked on rewriting the pilot.

Castleman didn't enter into a contract as a technical adviser with HBO until after the pilot was written. He was paid $3,000 for help in filming the pilot, and got $1,000 for each of the 12 subsequent episodes in the first season. He declined to say how much he was paid for his role throughout the five seasons that followed until the show ended in June.

Castleman also eventually appeared on the show nine times in the role of a federal prosecutor, and prosecuted Tony's uncle, Corrado "Junior" Soprano, in his federal trial in Newark.

Thanks to Janet Frankston Lorin

The Story of the Kansas City Mob

Forget Las Vegas and Chicago — for most of the 20th century Kansas City was a gangster’s paradise.

The details of politics’ cozy relationship with organized crime in Kansas City stunned Frank Hayde while he was researching his book, The Mafia and the Machine: The Story of the Kansas City Mob, which will come out in January.

“I think people in Kansas City are hungry for a story that is exciting and colorful,” said Hayde, a Prairie Village native. “My story is not sensationalistic at all — all my facts come from documented sources. Organized crime in Kansas City was a phenomenon of the 20th century and we should view it in a historical standpoint — it wasn’t all violence and tabloid talk.”

Hayde’s book looks at the link between organized crime and politics in Kansas City during a 100-year span.

He became interested in the topic four years ago when he started reading about organized crime in other cities. There was always some mention of Kansas City, which sparked his interest and his research.

He spent the next few years traveling back and forth to Kansas City from his Colorado home, looking up old newspapers, local history books, police reports, government reports and court files.

It wasn’t easy — a lot of police files from the early 20th century had simply vanished because the police department had been corrupted by the Mafia.

Making the research understandable also took time. “I didn’t want a 500-page book with footnotes,” Hayde said, with a laugh. “I really wanted something readable yet hard-hitting.”

Hayde, a U.S. park ranger, doesn’t regret the long evening hours and weekends spent working on his book. Writing had been his favorite hobby since he graduated from the University of Kansas with an English degree in 1993.

Plus, his job has allowed him to maintain his writing skills. “In the park service, you have to write a lot of incident reports, which forces you to write in a concise, descriptive way,” he said. “Most officers hate writing reports, but I don’t it because it’s helped me write a book.”

Although his co-workers were surprised at his latest literary accomplishment, his parents in Prairie Village didn’t blink an eye.

History is a big part of their lives — Hayde’s family has been residing in the Kansas City area since the 1860s.

His father, John, believes he may have helped whet his son’s appetite for organized crime in Kansas City.

Seeing the mob in the news was a big part of John Hayde’s childhood — he remembers when the Union Station Massacre was splashed across the local newspapers. “Those years — the jazz years in Kansas City — were so exciting and my parents talked about it all the time, it was all over the newspapers,” he said. “I was absolutely intrigued to read Frank’s book and think, ‘My golly, it’s all coming alive in my memory, like a movie.’”

Frank Hayde hopes his writing experience won’t end at the Kansas City Mafia — there are several local stories he would love to tell.

For now, however, he just wants to take his literary career one step at a time.

Thanks to Jennifer Bhargava

Las Vegas Museum to be Mobster Lite?

Where's the respect?

Las Vegas, the flamingo city of lights, has the gumption to be planning a mob museum. But since Las Vegas is the town where the mob tried to go straight, this proposed museum will probably be more like Mobster Lite.

Imagine: Chicago -- the town run by Al Capone, where the St. Valentine's Day Massacre became the iconic event of the Era of the Mobster, where John Dillinger was welcomed with a hail of bullets outside the Biograph Theater, where police and judges raked in bribes by the tens of millions during Prohibition -- being upstaged by upstart Las Vegas.

Where do they get the ego? Even the most famous Las Vegas mob hit -- of Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel -- took place in Los Angeles.

Chicago, New York and maybe Cleveland were home to the real gang activity of the teens and '20s. Hundreds of larger and lesser mobsters in those towns met their violent rewards on the streets, in barber chairs and at quiet restaurants with checkered tablecloths.

Las Vegas was the Johnny-come-lately spot with only a few mob hits as the violence waned and the old crime families withered on their way to going straight.

The FBI thinks the museum is a good idea.

The feds, of course, want good local billing in it. They certainly were more successful in cleaning up Las Vegas than they were in Chicago (but far more credit in Las Vegas goes to the Nevada Gaming Commission).

At such a museum there probably is money to be raked in. They better just hope New York and Chicago mob families don't demand a cut.

Many think America's old mobsters looked like James Cagney, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and George Raft rather than Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano or syphilis-marked Capone.

Still, menacing gangsters behind glass in an air-conditioned museum would be more palatable than on the doorstep in the morning, demanding protection money as you open your mom-and-pop sundry store.

Give Las Vegas three bars on a slot machine for coming up with another tourist draw. But this museum sounds like it might be to the old mob what fine cabernet is to bathtub gin.

Thanks to TCH

Lucchese Crime Family Partners with The Bloods Street Gang

State authorities on Tuesday broke up what Attorney General Anne Milgram said was an “alarming alliance” between the Luchese crime family and the Bloods street gang to supply drugs and cellphones to gang members inside a New Jersey prison.

Two members of the Luchese family connected to the prison scheme, Ms. Milgram said, were also involved in a sports gambling ring. The gambling operation took in $2.2 billion in bets over 15 months, mainly through the Internet, law enforcement officials say, and relied on violence and extortion to collect debts.

All told, the authorities charged 32 people, 27 from New Jersey and 5 from New York, in connection with the prison and gambling operations, on charges ranging from racketeering and money laundering to conspiracy to distribute heroin and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault.

Among those arrested were three high-ranking members of the Luchese organization and a New Jersey prison guard who is accused of acting as the conduit for the drugs and cellphones.

“With today’s arrests and charges, we have disrupted the highest-echelon organized crime family in both New York and New Jersey,” Ms. Milgram said at a news conference.

During the yearlong investigation, Ms. Milgram worked with her former boss, Robert M. Morgenthau, the Manhattan district attorney, and other law enforcement agencies.

New York’s five organized crime families have long built alliances with nontraditional organized crime groups in the city, including Russians, Cubans and Asians. Nationwide, organized crime groups are also no stranger to running criminal operations inside prisons. But in New Jersey, which has seen a rapid growth in gang activity in the cities and the suburbs, law enforcement officials said, the prison scheme provided the first evidence of an organized crime family from New York working with the Bloods street gang, one of the state’s largest. Moreover, Ms. Milgram said, the potential for more cooperation was great, given their shared interests in “violence, illegal drugs and quick profits.”

“What we have here in this case is really the realization of what we feared: connecting old-school organized crime, the Mafia, with new-school organized crime, gangs,” Ms. Milgram said. “We’ve heard anecdotes about overlap, but this is the first time we’ve had a direct link between the two organizations.”

As part of what they called Operation Heat, investigators executed search warrants at 10 locations in New Jersey and 2 in New York, Ms. Milgram said. They seized two shotguns, one handgun, one hand grenade, 2,000 OxyContin-grade pills and $200,000 in cash. State officials also obtained court orders to take possession of 7 homes and 13 luxury cars.

Ms. Milgram, together with Gregory A. Paw, director of the state’s Division of Criminal Justice, made the announcement at the West Orange Armory, where the New Jersey suspects were processed on Tuesday. The suspects’ first court appearances were expected in a Morris County courtroom on Wednesday.

According to law enforcement officials, the prison scheme revolved around a prisoner, Edwin B. Spears, 33, who has served time for a variety of offenses since 2002.

Officials said that Mr. Spears, who is reputed to be a “five-star general” in the Nine Trey Gangsters faction of the Bloods, cooperated with two Luchese members — Joseph M. Perna and Michael A. Cetta — to smuggle heroin, cocaine, marijuana and prepaid cellphones into East Jersey State Prison in Woodbridge.

They enlisted the help of Michael T. Bruinton, a senior prison guard, by offering him $500 each time he allowed smuggled goods to pass through, Ms. Milgram said. Mr. Bruinton has worked in corrections since 1987, always at the same prison, said Danielle Hunter, a spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections.

Mr. Perna and Mr. Cetta are suspected of having given money to Mr. Spears’s brother, Dwayne E. Spears, to buy drugs and phones. Dwayne Spears then passed the goods to Mr. Bruinton, officials said, and they were given to inmates who had placed orders with Edwin Spears.

As of Tuesday night, Mr. Bruinton was one of five suspects still at large. “He wasn’t home or at work,” said Peter Aseltine, a spokesman for Ms. Milgram. Attempts to reach him for comment on Tuesday were unsuccessful.

The gambling operation was more conventional. Law enforcement officials said it involved agents who brought in bets from hundreds or even thousands of gamblers who bet on, among other things, basketball, football, greyhound races and the lottery.

The gambling operation used what officials called a wire room in Costa Rica, where bets were taken over the Internet or a toll-free phone line, and tabulated.

The gambling operators in the metropolitan area made tribute payments to two of the Luchese family’s top bosses in New York, Joseph DiNapoli, of Scarsdale, and Matthew Madonna, of Selden, both 72, according to Ms. Milgram. Sometimes, debtors were forced to take loans at annual interest rates exceeding 200 percent. Some debtors were even forced to refinance their homes.

The New Jersey group was said to have been led by Ralph V. Perna, of East Hanover, who officials said was named top capo for the New Jersey division of the Luchese family this year. Three of his sons, including Joseph, and his daughter-in-law, were also charged in the investigation.

It is not clear whether the Bloods were involved with the gambling operation. But officials said the accusation that they joined forces with the Mafia was surprising but not unexpected.

According to Marc Agnifilo, the former head of the gang unit in the United States attorney’s office in New Jersey, the cultural differences between the two groups would appear to be too great to allow for a long-term alliance.

Mafia crews try to run their enterprises quietly, Mr. Agnifilo said, while street gangs like the Bloods and Crips are prone to ostentatious shows of raw power. “No self-respecting mobster would want anything to do with the Bloods or Crips because those gangs are the antithesis of the Mafia,” he said. “The mob is concerned with making money over the long haul, trying to appear respectable. But the Bloods are concerned with projecting their status, so they’re all, ‘I’m going to shoot up the block and wear a red bandanna.’”

Yet Mr. Agnifilo said that when he had prosecuted both organized crime and street gang cases between 1998 and 2003, he frequently heard members of the Bloods speak of Mafia members and customs with admiration. “The Blood guys love mobsters because they’re the old-school gangsters,” he said. “A lot of my Mafia informants in prison would complain that they couldn’t get away from the Bloods’ always following them and fawning over them.”

Thanks to David W. Chen and David Kocienwski

Sopranos Reunion This Weekend

The cast of THE SOPRANOS will reunite on Saturday, December 22nd, to raise money for two former crew members' cancer battles.

Six months after the final episode aired, the Soprano family - James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Jamie-Lynn Sigler; Robert Iler and Michael Imperioli will join up to 20 other cast members at a benefit in New York. The team is reuniting at the Mirage in Westbury, Long Island, to help raise money for two former employees, one of whom is fighting terminal cancer; the other who has beaten the disease but faces crippling medical bills.

Organizer and backstage assistant Jeff Marchanti says of the two anonymous crew members, "(One is) one of our most beloved prop guys, who's been on the show from the beginning. His name is Anthony B., but he wanted to remain nameless. "He's battling lymphoma and nobody knew about it, until a month and a half after we wrapped. Everybody loves the guy because we are absolutely a true family and we're gonna support him in every possible way we can." The other crew member, who is in cancer remission, also asked to remain anonymous.

US Attorney Denies Interrogating US Marshal about Leak to the Mob

The U.S. Attorney in Chicago has denied in grand jury proceedings he interrogated a U.S. Marshal suspected of leaking information to the mob.

Patrick Fitzgerald said he summoned federal Marshal John Ambrose to FBI offices in September 2006 for "a conversation," and not an interrogation, the Chicago Tribune reported Thursday.

Ambrose is suspected of leaking information to a mob star witness in another trial he was assigned to protect.

On Tuesday, Ambrose said while meeting with Fitzgerald he was closely guarded by FBI agents, including when he went to the washroom, and was never read his Miranda rights, the Chicago Sun-Times said.

Fitzgerald in turn said Ambrose was agitated, and the agents only accompanied him to the washroom because "I did not want to see him kill himself."

The hearing is set to resume Jan. 3 with further cross-examination of Fitzgerald, the report said.

Deputy US Marshal Breaks Down Meeting with Prosecutors Regarding Mob Leak

A deputy U.S. marshal from Chicago, once a rising star in his office and now accused of leaking information to the mob, was questioned about possible contacts with other reputed mobsters, according to testimony in federal court Tuesday.

Investigators quizzed Deputy U.S. Marshal John Ambrose about any contacts he had with top reputed mobsters John "Pudgy" Matassa and Tony Zizzo, who is now missing, according to testimony. Ambrose denied even knowing who the men were.

Ambrose, 39, is charged with lying to the feds about leaking secret information about mob killer Nicholas Calabrese, who decided to cooperate with the government and was in the witness protection program.

The feds caught on tape two mobsters, reputed Chicago Outfit boss James Marcello and his half brother, Michael, talking about Calabrese's "baby-sitter" -- their code name for Ambrose -- and the information "the baby-sitter" was providing to them.

The hearing was to determine whether statements that Ambrose made to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and Robert Grant, the head of the FBI in Chicago, should be tossed out.

Ambrose contends he was in custody when he made statements and was not read his Miranda rights, so the statements shouldn't be allowed in. The feds say he wasn't in custody and gave the statements freely in talks with Fitzgerald and Grant in September 2006. Fitzgerald testified Tuesday that he told Ambrose he was not under arrest -- which Ambrose denies.

U.S. Marshal Kim Widup, Ambrose's boss, backed Ambrose's account in one key detail. Widup said he believed Ambrose was in custody when he was being questioned, which could support Ambrose and undermine the prosecution's case. Ambrose's uncle, Gerald Hansen, a retired Chicago police officer and current federal court security officer, visited Ambrose while he was at FBI offices and also said he believed his nephew was in custody.

It's unclear how much those statements will assist Ambrose. U.S. District Judge John Grady said he likely wouldn't consider their opinions all that helpful.

Ambrose broke down on the witness stand as he described how he was confronted by Fitzgerald and Grant.

"I was thinking about my wife and how she was going to raise the kids if we were separated, how we were going to provide," Ambrose said, tears coming to his eyes. "I felt I had been hurled into a vat of quicksand, and Mr. Fitzgerald was throwing bricks at me," Ambrose said.

Investigators were worried that Ambrose might kill himself, and lured him to FBI offices on a ruse.

Ambrose had to hand over his gun, a customary procedure, before he went up to 10th floor conference room at FBI offices, where he was confronted by Fitzgerald and Grant.

Thanks to Steve Warmbir

America's Most Wanted to Feature Chicago Drug Conspiracy Case and Unknown Chicago Jane Doe

Unknown Rashawn Brazell Killer: Police in New York want to know who would want to decapitate 19-year-old Rashawn Brazell, stuff his body parts into trash bags and leave them in a New York Subway station. That's why they've turned to AMW to help solve this gruesome murder. AMW received lots of tips the first two times we aired this story. Now, cops hope the third time is a charm in finding Rashawn's killer.

James Bell: Parents near Providence , R.I. , were in for the shock of their lives when they found out that James Bell -- the trusted gymnastics coach at a local YMCA -- was accused of molesting their children. What's more, cops say this is just one incident in a long history of sexual abuse and manipulation. But now, Bell has disappeared, and police are on the manhunt for a predator they say is responsible for victimizing girls across the country.

Troy Bolin: Police say although fugitive Troy Lane Bolin might be a thin, scruffy looking guy, he's as dangerous as child predators come. Bolin is wanted for molesting two young girls repeatedly over the course of several years.

Evelyn Guzman: Evelyn Guzman was only spotted once by FBI agents, but what they saw was enough to convince them that she was part of a large drug conspiracy that been operating for months in Chicago.

James Roberts: Police say Toby Roberts had a mission, and he wasn't going to stop until it was completed. Cops say he tried to kill his girlfriend, and he was so determined, he used three different tools to finish the job. But he might not have known his girlfriend as well as he thought, because she wasn't going down without a major fight.

Augusto Rodriguez: Most fugitives will do anything to avoid being recognized -- use an alias, change their hairstyle, you name it. But the FBI says one Pennsylvania kidnapper has gone even further. According to reports, Augusto Rodriguez is so afraid of getting caught, he may have taken on the ultimate disguise -- dressing like a woman.

Unknown Chicago Jane Doe: Chicago Police are doing everything they can to identify an unknown murder victim, even reaching out to one of AMW's favorite crimefighters for help -- forensic artist Karen Taylor. With Karen's illustrations and clay recreations, Windy City detectives are hoping someone recognizes the victim and that will lead them to her killer.

Mark Everett: Once upon a time, Mark Everett was a child actor who craved time in front of the camera. Now, cops say he's a killer on the lam who's doing everything he can to stay out of sight -- and his run from justice isn't easy with a kid in tow.

Bobby Weatherton: U.S. Marshals say Bobby Weatherton -- accused of rape, kidnapping, attempted murder and violating his federal probation -- very nearly killed a female friend he'd assaulted and held prisoner. She managed to escape, and now the Feds are hot on Bobby's trail.

Shorty Rodriguez: Police announced the capture of a suspected career criminal -- Ronald "Shorty" Rodriguez -- at a press conference Thursday in New York . Nassau County , N.Y. cops say it all went down in the picturesque beach resort of Coney Island after Shorty's family saw him on AMW; police believe people close to Rodriguez turned on him to save themselves from getting into serious trouble. Rodriguez is now in custody awaiting trial on a number of charges.

Lucchese Gambling Ring Broken Up

Dozens of alleged members of the Lucchese Crime Family were arrested Tuesday morning in raids in New Jersey and New York that authorities say broke up a major sports betting ring.

Police say the 32 suspects were taken into custody at their homes and are being processed at the West Orange Armory.

They will be arraigned, likely tomorrow, at the Morris County Courthouse in Morristown.

Taken into custody, according to authorities, were the crime family's New Jersey capo, 61-year-old Ralph Perna of East Hanover, as well as several leaders of the New York faction. Also arrested were Ralph's son, Joseph, and 41-year-old Michael Cetta, both of Wyckoff.

Investigators with the New Jersey Attorney General's Office reportedly swooped down on the suspects' homes in Bergen and Morris counties this morning to make the arrests.

Cetta's Wyckoff home was described as a $1.9 million mansion, which investigators were searching this morning. He is a reputed member of the Bonanno crime family, but linked by marriage to the Luccheses.

The suspects were believed to behind a sports betting operation that took in more than $2 billion over the past 15 months. Along with gambling, the suspects are allegedly linked to loan sharking and extortion. Their operation is said to be based in Northern New Jersey and in New York.

Officials say the arrests are the culmination of a year-long investigation by the New Jersey Attorney General's Office.

Earlier this year, authorities arrested a 56-year-old East Hanover man as part of a Lucchese crime family gambling operation. At that time, the quiet Morris County town was described as a hub for illegal gambling activity run by organized crime.

US Marshal Accused of Being Mob Mole Appears in Court

A U.S. marshal accused of leaking information about a key mob trial witness says he felt he'd been "thrown into a vat of quicksand" when he realized he faced possible criminal charges.

A sometimes tearful John Ambrose testified Tuesday at a hearing to determine whether statements he made before being formally charged will be admissible in court.

Ambrose says he was intimidated into making the 2006 statements to prosecutors.

Defense attorneys say Ambrose was effectively under arrest and should've been read his rights. Since he wasn't, they say his statements shouldn't be admissible. But prosecutors say Ambrose wasn't under arrest and made the statements freely.

Attorneys gave no indication what Ambrose told prosecutors.

Crime Time Blogs

A few weeks ago, this site was named to the ABA journal Blawg 100. It was their editor's way to honor the best 100 blogs "by lawyers for lawyers". Although, I mentioned this back when it was first released and I added a Vote for this Blog button on the left side column, I wanted to mention each of the other blogs that were classified in the Crime Time category. If you want to vote for this blog, that is fine with me. If you find another from the list below that is more in tune with your interests, vote for them. If you do not want to vote at all, fine by me too.

Crime Time Blawgs

Blonde Justice
A pretty-in-pink anonymous take on life as a pink-suited public defender in an unnamed city, with some details fudged to keep identities private.

Capital Defense Weekly
Nothing fancy, but a solid source of death penalty news, litigation updates and case information published on the blog as they are found, then shipped direct in a weekly e-mail.

Clews The Historic True Crime Blog
Proof positive that truth is stranger than fiction, Clews draws in true-crime enthusiasts with stories from the horrifying to the surreal.

Crime and Consequences
Takes a prosecutorial, victim’s-rights view of the criminal justice system and is hosted by the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation.

Crime Scene KC
All the crime that’s fit to print in Kansas City. The cops’ beat is updated throughout the day and organized by dozens of criminal justice categories.

Grits for Breakfast
Covers criminal justice news and events, with a healthy dose of Texas-size politics.

Meeting the Sin Laws
Like the blog says, nothing generates more controversy (except maybe when a Wal-Mart comes to town) than when a strip, er, gentleman's club opens up. Covers a range of so-called vice industry laws and legal developments.

Sentencing Law and Policy
Highly respected and oft-cited, Professor Doug Berman’s scholarship and avant-garde commentary is open for discussion.

Simple Justice
Entertainingly jaded take on criminal justice news and issues within and sometimes beyond New York City’s borders.

The Chicago Syndicate (Yours Truly)
The Syndicate blog has made our hit list as a go-to site for courtroom mafia news. Syndicate is a historical repository for a list of infamous made men—plus, recently, marathon coverage of Chicago’s Family Secrets trial.

Illinois Governor Blagovich Leads List of Politicians Receiving Contributions from Friend of Mob Boss

An Oak Brook businessman who has extensive financial and personal ties to the former head of the Chicago mob has given more than $200,000 in contributions to Illinois politicians through personal and corporate donations -- with Gov. Blagojevich receiving the most money, $35,000, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.

Among other top recipients of donations from the businessman, Nicholas Vangel, a longtime friend of mob boss James "Little Jimmy" Marcello, were former Gov. George Ryan, House Speaker Michael Madigan and state Rep. Angelo "Skip" Saviano, an analysis of the political contributions shows.

Vangel has not been accused of any wrongdoing and did not return phone messages Friday. He has denied in court documents any connections to organized crime. Some politicians who received contributions from Vangel or his businesses told the Sun-Times they were either unaware of Vangel's relationship with Marcello or had no idea who he was.

"We don't know much about the person in question and are still reviewing the contributions," said Doug Scofield, a spokesman for the governor's campaign.

A spokesman for Madigan, who received more than $17,000 over 10 years, had no idea who Vangel was and noted the amount contributed was relatively small per year. Saviano, who got more than $20,000, did not return phone messages.

Vangel, 66, and his family have extensive investments in several nursing homes throughout the Chicago area, as well as other businesses, but another side of him was shown during the recent Family Secrets mob trial.

In a secret videotape made by the FBI and played to jurors, Vangel was shown chatting as he visited Marcello at the federal prison in Milan, Mich., in February 2003. As Marcello snacks on a bag of Fritos, Vangel talks with him about the secret ongoing federal investigation of unsolved mob murders, including which mob leaders have been swabbed for DNA testing. Vangel tells Marcello he will find out what he can.

The men at times speak in code, and Vangel tells Marcello he wishes an unnamed individual had gone to testify before the grand jury investigating the mob murders. "Fact is, I mean to tell ya the truth, I was almost hopin' he'd a gone to find out what they were gonna ask him," Vangel tells Marcello.

His assistance to Marcello did not end there.

Vangel at times would deliver cash to Marcello's mistress, according to the woman's testimony. The woman was also put on the payroll of one of Vangel's businesses, so she could get health insurance.

After Marcello was arrested in the Family Secrets case in 2005, Vangel offered to put up his home, which had more than $1 million in equity, for Marcello's bond.

The judge refused to release Marcello, but if he had gotten out, Marcello could have returned to the job Vangel gave him, which involved calling upon several nursing homes on behalf of Vangel's management company.

In the Family Secrets case, Marcello was convicted of racketeering and was found to have taken part in the 1986 murders of the mob's man in Las Vegas, Anthony Spilotro, and his brother, Michael.

Marcello drove the brothers to what they believed was a mob meeting at a Bensenville area home, where they were lured into a basement and beaten to death, according to court testimony.

Vangel is an investor in another company with the wife of a Marcello associate. Vangel is listed on the corporate records of a temporary worker business called Patriot Staffing Management Inc. with Susan Zizzo, wife of missing mobster Anthony "Little Tony" Zizzo, records show.

Vangel's interests do not end there. He has been, for instance, an investor in the well-known Rush Street restaurant Tavern on Rush, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Vangel is the former owner of the Carlisle banquet hall in west suburban Lombard and was among nine people arrested there during a gambling raid of a Super Bowl party in 1991. Among those arrested were William Galioto, who is a former Chicago Police officer and Marcello's brother-in-law. Galioto has been identified by the Chicago Crime Commission as a mob lieutenant. Also there were two union leaders, who lost their positions after their locals were found to be mobbed up.

Charges against all the men were dropped when prosecutors missed a filing deadline, authorities said.

Thanks to Steve Warmbir