Reward Offered on Murder Case from Mob Burial Ground

Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and John E. Zaruba, DuPage County Sheriff, are asking for the public's help in solving the 1997 murder of ROBERT CHARLES CRUZ. In appealing to the public for help, they have also announced that a reward of up to $10,000 was being offered for information leading to the identification and arrest of the person or persons responsible for this crime.

CRUZ, age 50, was last seen in Kildeer, Illinois on December 4, 1997. His body was unearthed by a construction crew working on a site in unincorporated DuPage County on March 20, 2007. He had been shot twice in the head and wrapped in a roll of carpet. The site where CRUZ' body was discovered was just yards away from an area where two other bodies were found in 1988, in what became known as the "Mob Burial Ground".

CRUZ was released from prison in Arizona in 1995. He had a lengthy criminal record and was a known associate of members of the Chicago LCN and other criminal elements. It is possible that this association led to his death, although no claims of responsibility have ever been received by law enforcement.

Anyone having any information about CRUZ' murder is asked to call the Chicago FBI at (312) 421-6700

Did Chicago Go Easy on a Mob Connected City Vendor? African-American Politicians Say Yes

African-American politicians accused the Daley Administration on Thursday of giving a “slap on the wrist” to James Duff, head of a mob-connected family that became the poster child for minority business fraud in Chicago.

Instead of barring James Duff and his two co-defendants from ever doing business with the city -- as recommended by Inspector General David Hoffman -- newly-appointed Chief Procurement Officer Montel Gayles chose a three-year ban.

Hoffman strongly disagreed -- and African-American politicians sided with him.

White members of the Duff family fraudulently obtained $100 million in janitorial contracts earmarked for minorities and women through their company, Windy City Maintenance.

“If you can commit a $100 million fraud and get a three-year slap on the wrist, the next fraud may be $200 million with the precedent being established by the Duff’s that you get to come back and play. It might even be something that encourages fraud,” said U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.).

“To restore public trust, a more stringent penalty is needed — not only for the Duff’s, but for other companies that might take advantage. To do otherwise is to support a cycle of, ‘Let me get mine. After a few years off, I get to come back and participate again.’ That stinks of insider dealing.”

Ald. Ed Smith (28th) agreed that James Duff “should be made to pay severely — by never doing business with the city again.”

“As big as it is, they should have been an open-arms company sensitive to minority business. They should have tried to help minorities. Instead, they ripped them off. It was a disgrace.They should be made to pay for that much more severely than three years,” Smith said.

Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th) condemned the three-year penalty as “an incomprehensible slap on the wrist. What exactly do you have to do, then, to be barred permanently? If this isn’t sufficient cause, what is?”

Gayles could not be reached for comment. In arguing for a lifetime penalty, Hoffman cited a de-barment rule issued by the Department of Procurement Services in December, 2005.

At the time, Library Commissioner Mary Dempsey had been brought in to clean up the mess caused by the Duff scandal and other minority business fraud.

The rule states, “The period of de-barment may be for a stated period of time or -- if no duration is set at the time of the debarment -- indefinitely. Periods of de-barment may be imposed concurrently or consecutively.”

“They had the discretion … to go as high as they wanted to … The crimes to which Mr. Duff pleaded were very broad — including racketeering and money laundering. There’s no ordinance that restricts a de-barment period based on those convictions,” Hoffman said.

He added, “If contractors who commit serious misconduct are allowed to come back and compete for taxpayer-funded contracts, it becomes very hard to enforce a system of integrity.”

It’s not the first time City Hall has treated the Duff’s with kid gloves.

On New Year’s Eve, 1999, Corporation Counsel Mara Georges concluded that men ran Windy City and stripped the company of women’s business enterprise (WBE) status, which gave the company a leg up on city contracts. But, Georges insisted there was no evidence of fraud because ownership of the company evolved when Patricia Green -- Duff’s mother -- gradually withdrew from the company.

Six years later, James Duff pleaded guilty to engineering a $100 million fraud.

He is expected to be released from a South Dakota federal prison in 2014. He will become eligible to do business with the city in 2011.

Terrence Dolan, who was convicted with Duff, has already served his time and now works at a Hinsdale janitorial firm. Duff co-defendant William Stratton remains in a federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas. He is expected to be released in 2010.

Thanks to Fran Spielman

Lawsuit Claims Illinois Attorney General Office Falsely Accused Ex-Parole Board Member of Trading Vote on Mob Hit Man Harry Aleman

A former Illinois parole board member has filed a lawsuit against Attorney General Lisa Madigan and other state officials, alleging they falsely accused him of trading his vote to free a notorious mob hit man.

A Sangamon County judge cleared Victor Brooks last year of charges he voted to free Harry Aleman in 2002 in exchange for help landing Brooks' son a job as a singer in Las Vegas. Former Corrections Department executive Ron Matrisciano was also cleared of related charges.

Brooks contends Madigan, her assistants, state police officials or former colleagues on the Prisoner Review Board wrongly accused him or provided false information to investigators. He is seeking more than $2 million, according to the lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.

A Madigan spokeswoman declined to comment Tuesday. Aleman remains in prison serving 100 to 300 years for killing a Teamsters official.

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Mafia Selling Fake Antique Whiskey Online

The Italian mafia is targeting the rapidly growing fake antique whisky market in Scotland by selling counterfeit bottles for thousands of pounds online.

Though the industry has tried to clamp down on bogus bottles being sold in auction houses, The Scotsman quotes experts as saying that the trade has now moved to the Internet and describe it as a "faker's paradise".

Unwitting collectors are being fleeced after discovering the whisky they have bought is little more than modern-day spirits poured into old bottles.

Whisky enthusiast Serge Valentin has launched a website exposing the dubious trade after paying a "substantial" sum for a bottle of vintage whisky that turned out be a sophisticated forgery.

The Frenchman said the scam had been driven underground and online.

He said: "Internet auction sites like eBay have become a faker's paradise. You can buy old bottles, old labels, capsules and display boxes. There is nothing illegal about this, but obviously it can be misused by unscrupulous individuals."

Valentin said fake vintage whiskies online ranged from the downright crude to sophisticated forgeries.

His website, whiskyfun - features a rogue's gallery of dubious bottles.

Whisky writer Dave Broom says organised criminals may have put the fake whiskies on the market from Italy.

Thanks to The Cheers Magazine

Deputy Chief of US Attorney's Organized Crime Unit Heads to Private Practice

Sidley Austin LLP announced today that Timothy Treanor has joined the firm as a partner, resident in New York. Treanor, who most recently served as the Deputy Chief of the Organized Crime Unit in the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, will focus his practice on white collar defense and investigations.

Treanor is an experienced prosecutor and investigator of securities, healthcare and bank fraud, wire and mail fraud, racketeering, money laundering, tax evasion and other business crimes. He has conducted a dozen significant federal criminal trials, convicting all 24 defendants. Treanor joined the U.S. Attorney's office in 1999 and held several leadership positions before his appointment, by U.S. Attorney for the SDNY, Michael Garcia, to be Deputy Chief of the Organized Crime Unit in 2006.

“Tim is a highly respected trial lawyer who led the government’s efforts on a number of important white collar and criminal investigations and trials in recent years,” said Steven Bierman, a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and a global coordinator of the firm’s complex commercial litigation practice. “We look forward to working with him on the further expansion of our white collar practice in New York.”

“I am pleased to be joining a firm I have long respected,” said Treanor. “Sidley already has strength and a great reputation in white collar, securities and complex commercial litigation, and I am looking forward to expanding the depth of services we can offer to the firm’s impressive roster of clients.”

Treanor received his J.D. degree from Fordham Law School, where he was Notes and Articles Editor of the Law Review and graduated Order of the Coif. He received his B.A. degree from the College of the Holy Cross. Treanor clerked for U.S. District Judge Harold Allbritton III of the Middle District of Alabama.

Despite Recent Success in Fighting "The Outfit", Federal Prosecutors' Mob Focus Decreases

The ranks of the Chicago mob have taken some serious hits in recent years.

So have the ranks of federal prosecutors specializing in Outfit prosecutions.

The number of federal prosecutors dedicated solely to prosecuting Outfit cases has dwindled to an all-time low -- two attorneys -- just after one of the most significant victories ever by the U.S. attorney's office against the mob, the Family Secrets case.

Some prosecutors have been transferred out of the group over the years. Others have retired. And in the biggest blow to the group, its highly regarded chief, Mitchell Mars, died recently after battling cancer.

It's a fact that's causing great worry among some mob busters.

In interviews with the Chicago Sun-Times, six current or former law enforcement officials familiar with the situation said U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is making a mistake by not beefing up the unit.

The Outfit may be battered, but it is far from dead, they say. It's getting more sophisticated in how it carries out and covers up its crimes.

"The lessons learned from the Family Secrets trial should tell everybody that the Outfit is alive and active in the city," said James Wagner, a retired FBI agent who battled the mob in Chicago and is now the head of the Chicago Crime Commission.

The crime commission will send a letter to Fitzgerald this week asking him to increase the number of attorneys in the group, Wagner said.

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago had no comment on the matter.

The organized-crime group of prosecutors doesn't need the dozen or so lawyers it had in the early 1990s, officials say, with some suggesting that five or six attorneys would be enough these days.

"I think it's a strategic mistake," said Ken Holt, a retired FBI agent who worked on several high-profile Outfit cases.

Holt and others point to the fact that the organized-crime group has lost a great deal of institutional memory with the death of Mars and the retirement of prosecutor John Scully last year.

Mars led the prosecution of the Family Secrets case, which resulted in the convictions of Chicago mob boss James "Little Jimmy" Marcello and top mobster Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, among others.

Scully, another prosecutor on Family Secrets, also worked on the case of former Chicago Police chief of detectives William Hanhardt, who led a mobbed-up jewelry theft ring before being sent to prison.

Law enforcement officials say the group needs veteran attorneys who know the history of and the players in various Outfit street crews, attorneys who can understand, for instance, the significance of an obscure reference from a wiretapped conversation between two mobsters.

The cases are long and complex -- Family Secrets spanned activities covering nearly 40 years -- and they build upon one another, yet another reason to have dedicated attorneys there for the long haul, officials say. And even with some top mobsters behind bars, it's not going away.

"When one guy gets locked up, another guy replaces him," Holt said.

Thanks to Steve Warmbir

Widowed Alyssa Milano Works for Mafia in "Wisegal"

Here’s a news flash - things don’t work out so well when you get involved with the mob.

Yet screenwriters can’t seem to stop themselves from spinning gangster tales. There’s nothing particularly new about “Wisegal,” on Lifetime.

Alyssa Milano stars as Patty Montanari, a widowed mother of two young boys. Unable to pay her bills, Patty begins working for the Mafia - first by selling tax-free cigarettes, then by turning a failing mob-owned restaurant into a successful nightclub.

Along the way, she falls for married gangster Frank Russo (Jason Gedrick). Mob boss Salvatore Palmeri (James Caan) makes Patty a promise - he will provide for her family forever if she transports a half-million dollars across the Canadian border.

Even though “Wisegal” is based on a true story, any savvy TV viewer could write what happens next. Heck, anyone who caught 15 minutes of any “Sopranos” episode can forecast how this story will unfold. And writer Shelley Evans seems to know that. Her script often skips key points of exposition. Without explanation, Frank’s son Mouse (Zak Longo) is involved in drugs and this is a huge problem for the mob. Suddenly Frank is a violent threat to Patty and her family.

It may be predictable, but the movie is backed by creditability. Joseph Pistone, the real-life FBI agent who inflitrated the mob as Donnie Brasco, and Anthony Melchiorri, Patty’s real-life son, are executive producers. Melchiorri pays homage to his mother but doesn’t justify her actions. “These people helped me. I made them my family. I knew what I was doing,” Patty tells an FBI agent.

The acting imbues the movie with a higher level of quality. Milano (“Charmed,” “My Name is Earl”) is an extremely likable TV presence. Sporting her best New York accent (probably last heard when she played Long Island Lolita Amy Fisher in the 1993 TV movie “Casualties of Love”), she brings Patty’s scrappy determination to life.

Caan, who knows a thing or two about mob movies, has the right amount of benevolent malice. And Gedrick does a lot with his extremely underwritten role. So while “Wisegal” might not be anything new, it’s a perfectly entertaining way to spend a Saturday night.

Thanks to Amy Amatangelo

"Windy City"

The mayor of Chicago is found dead at his desk just past 11 p.m. in his boxer shorts, face-down in what's left of a poisoned extra-cheese-prosciutto-and-artichoke pizza.

As the mayor's inner circle convenes, his gay chief of staff commits suicide and his longtime secretary confesses to the cops her long-ago affair with hizzoner.

Ambitious city council members can't wait until the body is cold to start maneuvering to take over.

In a city legendary for its dead voting early and often, it's no surprise that the deceased mayor continues to weigh heavily on the postmortem proceedings.

Stepping forward as "interim acting mayor" amid this delectable political chaos is Windy City's articulate and witty protagonist, Indian-born Sundaran "Sunny" Roopini.

A stand-up alderman from the 48th district, Roopini must juggle the council members' egos, dirty secrets and dealmaking while pinch-hitting for the kingpin with appearances at weddings, church services and other mundane municipal duties.

A widower whose wife was murdered, Roopini shows so much tenderness and wisdom in quelling the storm at City Hall while raising two daughters that readers will not forget soon him.

Best known as the host of National Public Radio's Weekend Edition, Scott Simon is also the author of the sports-fan memoir Home and Away, the non-fiction book Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball, and Pretty Birds, his previous novel based in war-torn Sarajevo. But this compelling murder mystery, laden with insider big-city politics, is about Chicago and nowhere else.

Whether it's a paean to Chicago's bitter cold, or tips on how to make Indian dosas, or an embrace of the city's diverse populace, Simon leaves no doubt about his passion for the city.

The author's detailed descriptions are deep-dish, so self-indulgent sometimes that they make you feel like you've eaten too much of a good thing. And Windy City can be a windy novel. But just as you start thinking it's all too much, Simon comes up with another great line or a sneak-up-on-you aside so clever or humorous, you read on.

For Chicago lovers and city-politics fiends, this novel is a must-read.

For everyone else, the book offers an insider's view of the kind of urban political fray — albeit fictional — that Barack Obama emerged from as an Illinois state legislator representing Chicago's South Side.

Thanks to Don Oldenburg