Family Secrets Mob Trial Sentencing Dates Set

A federal judge has set sentencing dates for five men convicted in September 2007 at Chicago's Operation Family Secrets mob trial.

They were convicted of a decades-long conspiracy that allegedly included loan sharking, squeezing victims for "street taxes" and a series of mob murders.

Judge James Zagel on Tuesday set the sentencings of Paul Schiro and Anthony Doyle for Jan. 26, Frank Calabrese on Jan. 28, Joseph Lombardo for Feb. 2 and James Marcello on Feb. 5.

Zagel set Feb. 23 for sentencing Calabrese's brother, Nicholas, an admitted hit man who became the government's star witness.

Junior Gotti Requests to be Freed on Bail

Mob heir John A. "Junior" Gotti should be freed on bail while he awaits trial on racketeering charges, his lawyers argued Monday.

Gotti's lawyers said in papers filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan that their client should be freed because he has always complied with bail conditions, there is strong evidence he is no longer connected to organized crime and he is not a risk to flee.

The lawyers said he also should benefit from the fact prosecutors made inaccurate claims regarding his possible danger to the community before three other Manhattan racketeering trials, which ended in hung juries.

"In this case, as in the previous three trials, the government will undoubtedly struggle to cobble together some attenuated theory with which it will attempt to defeat Gotti's defense that he withdrew from the charged conspiracy and renounced his former life of crime," the lawyers said.

Gotti's lawyers said new evidence gathered by prosecutors through cooperating witnesses in the last two years has shown members of organized crime no longer consider Gotti among their ranks.

The court papers also noted that the government in February 2008 did not include Gotti when it indicted 62 people accused of being members and associates of the Gambino family, which was headed by his father, John Gotti, before he was convicted of racketeering. The elder Gotti died in prison while serving a life sentence.

The younger Gotti was arrested last year on an indictment brought against him in Tampa, Fla. A judge there found the charges in the case similar to those he had faced in the three New York racketeering trials and transferred the case to Manhattan. Gotti has not yet been moved to New York.

Gotti's lawyers described as "nonsensical" the government's argument that he should not get bail because a conviction could result in a life sentence. "He has a proven record of standing to face whatever fight is before him," they said.

Prosecutors declined through a spokeswoman to comment on the defense submission.

Thanks to Larry Neumeister

Did America's First - A Fictitious Book about the Mob in Chicago, Helping Put a President into the White House, Predict the Election of Barack Obama?

The author of "America's First" has contacted us and provided a comparison between his book and the recent election of Barack Obama as President. He points out several similarities between the work of fiction and real life events. Since there is a Chicago Mob element in the comparisons, take a look and judge for yourself.

Back in the year 2000, a very interesting book was published and introduced at the American Book Expo in Chicago (at the McCormack Place convention center), at a time when 99 percent of the country had never heard of Barack Obama.

America's First is a fictional story of a U.S. Senator from the state of Illinois, who is sworn in as America's first black president on December 7, 2005, after the stability of the United States government is rocked to its very foundation.

This book is heavy reading that will shock today's readers on how similar this political thriller of fiction has so many similarities to today's current events.

TAKE A LOOK AT THESE FACTS vs. FICTION and their similarities between the author's work and the current events of today….

FACT vs. FICTION

FACT: America's First debuts in 2000, at the American Book Expo conference, held in Chicago, Illinois at the McCormack Place convention center.

FACT: George W. Bush is sworn in as the 43rd President of the United States on January 20, 2001.

FICTION: Senator Calvin Smart is an African-American senator, representing the state of Illinois before being sworn in as president in America's First, which was first published in the year 2000.

FACT: In November 2004, Barack Obama wins the office of U.S. Senator, and becomes the only African-American senator in the nation. He is also a U.S. Senator representing the state of Illinois.

FICTION: Both of Calvin Smart's parents are deceased in America's First, and Smart was raised by his grandfather.

FACT: Both of Barack Obama's parents are deceased. Barack Obama was raised by his maternal grandparents, unbeknown to the author at the time of writing his novel.

FICTION: Calvin Smart is a loyal husband to his wife, Audrey Smart, who also bares a similar physical description to Michelle Obama, the real life wife of Barack Obama.

FACT: Barack Obama is a very articulate speaker and his physical description is almost identical to that of Calvin Smart's character. In addition, Obama holds an obscure public office in the year 2000. Therefore, the author has no reason to use him as a model for his book. It is a pure coincidence. Who would have thought back in 1996 when Obama was first elected as a state senator that he would run for Congress in 2000 and lose to Congressman Bobby Rush, let alone, one day run for President of the United States?

FICTION: Calvin Smart's opponent accuses him in a press conference of receiving money to finance his campaign from the Chicago mob. (pgs. 24-25 – America's First).

FACT: Barak Obama is linked to receiving campaign funds from Tony Resko, who has a long history of being a purported front for the Chicago mob. A modern day Sidney Korshak, as one reporter once described Resko.

America's First's also has interesting similar fiction concerning presidential issues that resemble George W. Bush's administration well before: a) Bush was sworn into office; and b) before 9/11 occurred.

FICTION: President Calvin Smart's first trip abroad since being sworn into office is to the central region of the Dominican Republic (pg. 98) to meet secretly with a Colombian cartel boss and members of the Commission of Families in a remote mountain called Pico Duarte (pg. 107). The purpose of the meeting? To discuss thwarting possible legislation over the legalization of drugs in the United States.

FACT: On January 30, 2001 (less than two weeks after President Bush is sworn into office) Mexican foreign minister, Jorge G. Castaneda was in Washington to prepare President Bush for his visit to Mexico in February 2001 (his first international trip abroad as president). Castaneda said in an interview in Washington that Mexico is very "sensitive" to the worries about the spread of the Colombian conflict into Mexico and that the United States should be too. The Bush administration inherits a multi-billion dollar "anti-drug offensive" plan from the Clinton administration that was suppose to help Colombia's government fight rebels from producing drugs.

FICTION: The United States is accused of assassinating Saddam Hussein's two sons in the fiction thriller America's First that was published well before they were killed by U.S. Troops in 2003. Saddam Hussein threatens retaliation later in the book.

FACT: Saddam Hussein's two sons were actually killed by U.S. Troops in the northern city of Mosul in the year 2003. Saddam Hussein later threatens retaliation against the U.S. after his two sons' dead bodies are plastered on the front pages of just about every major newspaper across the country.

FICTION: For nearly a quarter-of-a-century, Don Vincent (crime boss of the Giovinci family) sat as chairman of the Commission of Families (a board made up of crime bosses representing the twelve most powerful mafia families in America). Their survival and evasion of public scrutiny is based on the commission's motto: "Our destiny d epends upon our ability for our actions not to exist." (pg. 1)

FACT: It was revealed publicly for the first time and reported on February 9, 2001 in the Chicago Sun-Times that mobster John Gotti was queried by the feds about a "mob commission" that reportedly met in Florida. The commission reportedly attracted cartels from Cuba and Colombia, along with mobsters from Italy. (see Sneed's column on 2/9/01, printed in the Chicago Sun-Times).

FICTION: It was written in America's First back in the year 2000: "The Flamingo Country Club (located just off20the Florida straits, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean) was built on a small island. This tiny island was expropriated by the Commission of Families from the Fidel Castro regime right before Castro came into power over Cuba. The country club is the only place in the world where commission members feel comfortable talking when meeting their mutual associates from around the world or their contacts inside the CIA." (pg. 178 – America's First)

FICTION: President Calvin Smart gives a speech in which he states: "….because of my profound belief that our nation is faced with a challenging task to win this war against drugs…and because innocent children and honest Americans demand that we win this war…I feel deep down in my heart that legalizing drugs is the only way at this time to win this dreadful war. A war that has robbed honest Americans the right to achieve the American dream." (entire speech pgs. 273-274)

FACT: Syndicated columnist George Will writes in the Chicago Sun-Times on January 18, 2001: "Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield may be seeing the light about our losing fight in Colombia's drug war. Asked about the $1.6 billion spent so far undertaking to help fight the drug war in Colombia, Rumsfield said he had not formulated an opinion."

Martin Scorsese to Present "Gomorrah" in the U.S.

When IFC Films releases the Italian crime drama “Gomorrah” in the United States on Feb. 13, it will come with a new endorsement in the credits: “Martin Scorsese Presents,” the distributor has announced. The film, directed by Matteo Garrone, takes an inside look at the Camorra, a crime organization in the Naples area, and is based on the book of the same title by Roberto Saviano, an Italian journalist. “Gomorrah” won the grand prix at Cannes last year and went on to become Italy’s highest grossing film of last year. It is also the official Italian entry for the Academy Awards. “I admire the bluntness of this picture, and the devotion of Garrone and his actors in their pursuit of a terrible truth,” Mr. Scorsese said in a statement. “ ‘Gomorrah’ is despairing, but it’s also enlightening and, because of its frankness, strangely heartening.”

An Interview with Roberto Saviano, Author of "Gomorrah: A Personal Journey Into the Violent International Empire of Naples' Organized Crime System"

Roberto Saviano's life mirrors that of the mobsters who have vowed to kill him: He has gone into hiding, even from his neighbors.

Saviano, 29, is the author who fingered the Camorra Mafia in a bestseller. Last year, Italian police learned of what they call a credible plan to murder him.

The reason: His book "Gomorrah: A Personal Journey Into the Violent International Empire of Naples' Organized Crime System," drew attention to the crime bosses of the Campania region and its capital, Naples. "Gomorrah" has sold almost 2 million copies in 33 countries; the U.S. edition, translated by Virginia Jewiss, has just been published in paperback (Picador, $15). A movie based on the book captured the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and has been nominated for a Golden Globe.

Sitting in a brown-leather armchair in his publisher's office in Rome, Saviano discusses his plans for a new book and his life in isolation under armed guard. His crown is bald; black stubble covers his jaw. He wears three silver rings, a local custom symbolizing the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. His security detail waits in two dark sedans outside.

Can you describe your life on a typical day?

I've lived with five bodyguards and two armored cars for two years. I don't have a home, and that's the hardest part. People won't rent a house to me because they're afraid.

There's a horribly negative opinion of me in Campania and in southern Italy. Many think I defamed their territory and drove away tourists. When a landlord rented me one place, the neighbors forced me to leave. Now I live in a house where I have to hide. I return home in the evenings after setting out early in the morning. I'm living as if I were a fugitive - as if I committed some crime.

I've read in court documents how Mafia fugitives cope with this life. When things are really bad, I pile all the furniture in the center of the room and run laps. I learned that from them.

Are friends able to visit you?

Sometimes. When I'm in Naples, I often stay in the military-police barracks. It's hard to have people over when I stay there. In Rome, people visit me, but it's difficult. I'm trying to reconstruct my life. I dream of starting a family.

Is there a greater danger of Mafia infiltration of the economy now, during the financial crisis?

During a crisis, people lower their guard. Studies show that two markets never suffer during a crisis: the criminal market and the art market. I'm convinced that this crisis is bringing huge advantages to criminal syndicates.

Organized crime is a capitalist force that is restructuring the free market. European authorities will notice what criminal capital is doing only when it's too late. Not just capital coming from Italy, but also from Serbia, Russia, Albania and Nigeria. Several investigations demonstrate that criminal cartels are investing in Romania, in Poland. They're buying sovereign bonds. Half of Europe is already in their hands.

Will the whole world start looking like the bleak Naples suburb seen in the movie?

My intention wasn't to tell the story of Naples to the world, but to tell the story of the world through Naples. The screenwriters were careful not to create just a slice of Naples. If you didn't know the film was set in Italy, you might think it shot in Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, the suburbs of Istanbul or parts of Spain and Greece.

The movie and the book are very different.

The big difference between the movie and the book is that I'm obsessed with money and with telling the story of the economic network, while the director is obsessed with the faces, the environment. But the stench of money is missing. The movie didn't betray the book; it simply took a different path.

Will your next book be about organized crime?

I think so, though not about Italy's or not only about Italy's, definitely not about the Camorra. I'm studying the Mexican and African crime syndicates.

Thanks to Steve Scherer

Al Capone the Golfer, Is that a Driver or a Tommy Gun?

MOB boss Al Capone used Scottish caddies to improve his golf - and hid guns with his clubs.

The infamous gangster - known as Scarface - hired bagmen and professional players from the home of golf when he ruled the streets of Chicago in the 1920s and 30s.

Capone ran his criminal empire at a time when Scots were flooding America and pioneering the game there. And the mobster - whose racketeering during the Prohibition era involved illegal booze, gambling and prostitution - made sure some of them joined up to 20 henchmen on the course for the weekly rounds at "his" Chicago clubs.

A new book reveals that Capone and members of his outfit hid tommy guns and revolvers in the Scots' golf bags.

Billy Kay, author of The Scottish World: A Journey Into The Scottish Diaspora, studied the role Scots played in US golfing history.

The historian said: "Scottish professionals profoundly influenced the development of American golf.

"During the boom period, nearly all the professionals and caddies at burgeoning clubs all over the States were Scots.

"Every city had gangsters but the country clubs were built and financed by the social elite and gangsters were not allowed near.

"But Chicago was a unique set-up. Al Capone and his gang ran the golf clubs in Chicago.

"There, mobsters like Capone drew protection money from the country clubs and they had access to the golf courses.

"Capone would have thought of himself as part of the elite and used the Scots pros and caddies. He would have needed protection around him and they concealed their machine guns in their golf bags."

Bruce Oswald's dad Roland emigrated to Chicago as a golf pro in 1927. The Scot told how his father took mob money after finding it lying on a golf course.

Bruce explained: "One of the courses he worked at had some notorious members.

"And their golf bags came equipped with more than clubs. Caddies were expected to carry around certain weapons.

"We are talking machine guns and other side arms. These were high rollers, people with a lot of cash.

"One morning, my father was out playing and he and the caddie looked down and found a huge wad of dollar bills in large denominations. The guy in the tractor had gone over it.

"He said, 'There wasn't anyone in front of us at the time, I didn't know whose it was and I knew if I told anybody that would be more trouble - so we split the bills'."

Capone was behind one of the most notorious gangland killings of the 20th century - the 1929 St Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago. Seven members of crime rival "Bugs" Moran's gang were slaughtered. And the guns and police uniforms used by Capone's thugs to dupe their rivals are said to have been buried at Burnham Woods Golf Course in Chicago.

Capone is said to have played there up to twice a week. His usual partner was Jack "Machine Gun" McGurn, the main architect of the St Valentine's Day massacre. He would also be joined by the hitman Sam "Golf Bag" Hunt, who liked to track victims with a shotgun in a golf bag.

Once, Capone is said to have taken a shot in the leg from a revolver hidden in a bag and was in hospital for a week.

Thanks to George Mair

Jane Byrne's Chicago

Earlier this year, I purchased a great book authored by former Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne called My Chicago (Chicago Lives).

It was originally published in 1992, but is still available and well worth the read if you're interested in Chicago and its political history. Byrne's book, in great detail, tells the story of the Windy City's past and her tumultuous term as chief executive.

Byrne's vivid memories and storytelling abilities make this book a riveting read. Whether it's standing up to the Daley regime, or the gang-bangers she'd confronted by moving in to Cabrini-Green as mayor, or calling a Chicago mob boss at his hotel room and threating his livelihood, it is easy to understand why Chicagoans fell in love with this North Side Irish-Catholic politician. Additionally, there are heartwarming stories about Byrne's overcoming of adversity. Her husband was killed just months after the birth of their daughter. She dealt with a bitterly divided city in respect to race, class, and geography. Jane Byrne is a fascinating political figure in a complex and interesting city -- therefore this book is highly recommended."

Thanks to John Sylvester

Wayne Newton Talks About Past Mafia Allegations and Frank Sinatra

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of Wayne Newton's first Las Vegas, Nevada performance.

A quick story about Sinatra. A contemporary of his, another singer, brought his new album to Frank one night and said, "Frank, when you get some time, I want you to listen and tell me what's wrong with it." Frank said, "I can tell you before I listen." Frank wouldn't hurt people by being mean-spirited, but if you ask him, be prepared for his answer. The guy said, "What?" And Frank said, "Some singers are connected between the throat and the heart, which is the way it should be. You're not connected anywhere." This was probably 1984 or so, and Frank had just had it with bullshit. Everybody reaches that point eventually.

In the late 1970s, I made a bid to buy the Aladdin. And someone started the rumor that I had the backing of the Mafia. Those were the days that if you had your picture taken with somebody who was undesirable in the gaming industry, then of course you were guilty by association. That wasn't a problem for me, 'cause I was a guy from Virginia, half Native American, half German and Irish, so my background totally precluded me having any involvement with the Mafia. I was sitting in my TV room when the first report came on NBC News. My mother left the room in tears. And I was livid. Your first thought is, Where did they come up with this crap? Over a period of nine months, there were three broadcasts. One rumor was that Wayne Newton was going to be the star witness against the Mafia in Rhode Island or Connecticut. So my life is in danger. All of a sudden I get a call from Frank Sinatra, and he said, "Kid, just keep your nose clean and let us see if we can find out what this is all about." About three weeks later, I get a call from an FBI agent, and he said, "Your name has been removed from the hit list, go home." It took me seven years, but I won that lawsuit against NBC. Frank never mentioned it again.

Another quick story about Frank. He was working a place in Philadelphia, and one night the place was packed and young girls were screaming. I would later work at the same place, and the owner told me that it was a rainy night and Frank was late. It was a two-story building, and he walked out onto the porch above the alley to see if Sinatra was on his way. He said, "Right then, I see Frank jump out of a cab and run like hell down the alley, and when he got a hundred feet from the stage door, he stopped, took off his coat, hung it over his shoulder, straightened his hat, and slowly walked in." Now that's a picture worth remembering.

Thanks to Mark Warren

ATP Tennis Influenced by Organized Crime Claims Former Mobster

Former mafia crime boss Michael Franzese says top-level tennis matches are being influenced by gamblers and the sport would be his prime focus were he still in the business of impacting outcomes.

Franzese, a former boss in the Colombo crime family, serves as a consultant and speaker regarding his days with the mob and has spoken with ATP players about the methods that are used to spread corruption in sport.

"It's definitely going on," Franzese said. "If I were in this business now, tennis would be my major target because one player can impact the game. That's all you need."

An FBI probe in the 1980s and a decade in prison helped push Franzese to change his ways and help those who safeguard the integrity of sport, but his crime contacts lead him to believe organized crime remains involved in tennis.

"I have to believe they are, certainly from the feedbacks I've gotten since I got involved with the ATP," Franzese said. "Sports has become such an incredibly lucrative racket, so to speak, for guys on the street."

Franseze, 57, has spoken with National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, tennis stars and elite US college athletes about the dangers of match-fixers, often counseling newcomers on how to avoid being ensnared in gambling woes.

His talks included a March 2007 session with ATP players.

"They told me there's a problem in the sport. It is something that has to be addressed," he said. "Mainly, I told them how damaging and dangerous it could be for them to get involved in gambling and get around the wrong people.

"Gambling is a very serious business. If you put yourself in a gambling situation, you're most likely going to attract the wrong people because those same people are watching you. They want to find out who's got a gambling problem."

Less than five months after Franzese spoke came a match in Sopot in which unusual on-line betting patterns were registered about Russian Nikolay Davydenko's loss to Argentina's Martin Vassallo-Arguello.

An ATP investigation into the match concluded last September that there was no wrongdoing by Davydenko or his rival.

"He is a pretty top player. Something else is going on there. Somebody has a hook on him," Franzese said.

Franzese claims first-hand expertise at influencing athletes to drop a match to satisfy gamblers, including threats of bodily harm for failure to comply.

"None of these players want to do it. They do it because they're put in a situation," he said. "It's sad because they're doing it against their will. They have no way out. They all regret it. And that's why it's so damaging to their career. Psychologically, it gets to them.

"I've seen it happen so many times. They just can't perform the same. It does affect them. It affects their careers. Sometimes it's irreversible."

The impact on the sport could be as damaging as on the players. If supporters feel betrayed and have no faith the match results are legitimate, interest is likely to fade.

"All of them have a fear of gambling. All of them are not quite sure how to deal with it because they know it can happen at any time," Franseze said.

"In this country, we've had dog fighting incidents, a massive steroid scandal in baseball. They can overcome those things. They will not be able to overcome a major gambling issue.

"Once people start to believe that sports are fixed, that it becomes staged, forget it, the sport is done. Every pro sport knows that."

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