Jon Burge Compared to Al Capone by Jury Prospect?

A prospective juror accused of likening former Chicago Police Commander. Jon Burge to infamous mob boss Al Capone told a federal judge she did not recall saying that.

The juror was called in early this morning after another juror told the court Tuesday that the woman said that Burge, who is on trial for lying about the torturing suspects during the 70s and 80s, was like Capone because "he got away with a lot of stuff and now they're trying to hang him."

When asked about the alleged statement, the juror told U.S. District Court Judge Joan Lefkow, "I do not recall that."

Lefkow conferred privately with both sides and sent the woman back to the pool of prospective jurors.

Prior to questioning the juror, Burge attorney Marc Martin asked Lefkow to individually question each of the 43 prospective jurors about whether they had seen any news reports on the trial since Tuesday, saying the the alleged Capone statement was widely reported and was prejudicial to his client.

Lefkow agreed to question the panel as a group, and said she and the attorneys could later decide what to do with any prospective jurors who admitted to seeing or hearing news accounts of Tuesday's proceedings.

Opening statements are expected today in the trial. Jury selection is slated to wrap up earlier in the day.

Burge is charged with obstruction of justice and perjury for lying about torture that allegedly occurred in the 1970s and 1980s. He faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted on all
counts.

The trial is expected to take six weeks.

Thanks to Matthew Walberg

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Art Bilek, Mob Fighting Former Cop, to Head the Chicago Crime Commission

A former Chicago cop with decades of experience battling organized crime has been appointed to lead the Chicago Crime Commission.

Art Bilek, 80, helped arrest the “Burglars in Blue” — North Side cops fencing stolen goods — in 1960, and helped break up the Chicago Outfit’s “floating craps game” in the mid-1960s.

He says he plans to reintroduce a program that began in the 1920s: a “Most Wanted” top 10 list for Chicago.

He plans to continue the commission’s work identifying the city’s powerful street gang leaders, who he said pose a “far more serious problem than the Outfit in today’s Chicago,” and to continue campaigning against video gambling machines.

“If you asked 100 Chicagoans to identify who controls the drug trade, you probably wouldn't get a single name,” he said, “We want to change that.”

Bilek, Cook County Sheriff Richard Ogilvie’s police chief in the 1960s, founded the criminal justice department at the University of Illinois at Chicago and led corporate security for Hilton Hotels and First National Bank of Chicago.

Thanks to Kim Janssen

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Two Upper Echelon Chicago Outfit Members Informing for the Feds?

Federal authorities in Chicago have been cultivating information from two "upper echelon" members of the Outfit for decades, according to a court filing in a current Mob prosecution.

The existence of a pair of Mob moles, called "Confidential Informant One" and "Confidential Informant Two," were disclosed by the defense team in an Outfit-related bombing conspiracy.

"Confidential Informant One is an alleged upper echelon member of the 'Outfit' and has been providing information to the government for over 25 years" states the court filing.

Confidential Informant Two is "another upper echelon Outfit associate who had been providing information to the government since 1994."

Both snitches are said to have handed federal authorities information about Outfit boss Michael "Big Mike" Sarno of Westchester.

Sarno, 52, is among several men charged with a scheme to blow up a video poker company in Berwyn that was competing with a mob-controlled firm.

FBI spokesman Ross Rice declined to comment on whether the government had two high ranking Mob moles, noting that the court motion in which they were disclosed was "filed by the defense."

Rice said that "the government/prosecution has not yet responded. As such, there is nothing further I can say at this time."

The top-ranking Outfit informant told authorities that Mike Sarno was in charge of certain Mob rackets during the time Jimmy "The Man" Marcello and his brother Michael were in prison, according to the court filing.

That informant also reported that Sarno was "feuding" with west suburban Mob boss Anthony "Little Tony" Zizzo, an imbroglio that "came to a crescendo just before Zizzo was last seen."

The rotund Zizzo, 71, was last seen on Aug. 31, 2006 by his wife as he drove to a meeting from his Westmont home.

There were no names provided for the two informants. A third mole was also disclosed in the court filing, but no details were provided about that person's role in the Outfit.

Thanks to Chuck Goudie and Ann Pistone

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Anthony "Little Tony" Zizzo Murdered According to Fed Theory

It's a Chicago mob mystery that's still unsolved: Reputed Outfit boss Anthony "Little Tony" Zizzo -- an aging, longtime survivor of mob intrigue and betrayal -- drove away from his Westmont home on Aug. 31, 2006, never to be seen again.

His abandoned Jeep turned up at a Melrose Park restaurant, and speculation ran rampant.

Was Zizzo, 71, cooperating with the feds?

Was he trunk music?

Now, new information in a court record obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times sheds new light on the circumstances leading up to Zizzo's disappearance.

Investigators think Zizzo was murdered. New information suggests he was clashing with another top mobster just before his disappearance, according to the court filing.

Zizzo was feuding with reputed Cicero street crew boss Michael "Big Mike" Sarno, 52, and "that came to a crescendo just before Zizzo was last seen," according to a confidential federal informant described in the court document as an upper-echelon member of the Outfit who has been providing information to the government for more than 25 years. The informant is not identified.

Sarno is charged with ordering the bombing of a Berwyn company in 2003 that was competing with an Outfit-sanctioned video poker business. Federal prosecutors T. Markus Funk and Amarjeet Bhachu have alleged that Sarno used his ties to a motorcycle gang leader to carry out the pipe-bombing.

Sarno has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Zizzo, and Sarno's attorney, Michael P. Gillespie, rejected Friday any suggestion that Sarno had anything to do with Zizzo's fate. "That's absolutely ridiculous," Gillespie said. The attorney also said that claims that Sarno is a mob leader are "just not true."

The dispute between Sarno and Zizzo is not specified in the court document, which quotes an FBI affidavit filed in the case.

Both men, though, have allegedly been involved in a highly profitable mob business that has resulted in violence before.

Zizzo, at one point, oversaw video gambling for the mob. He was the boss of Anthony "The Hatch" Chiaramonti, who was gunned down outside a Brown's Chicken and Pasta in suburban Lyons in 2001 in a dispute over video poker territory.

Sarno is also allegedly involved in the video poker business, along with illegal bookmaking and juice money collection, and is known for his fearsome reputation on the street.

Both Sarno and Zizzo were among the reputed mobsters listed as threats to the physical safety of Nicholas Calabrese, a mob killer turned star federal witness in the historic Family Secrets case against mob leaders.

Sarno, now under house arrest, recently made headlines when he was allowed to attend a family Christmas-time dinner last year at the swanky Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in downtown Chicago.

Thanks to Steve Warmbir

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Harry Aleman Dies in Prison

Much-feared Chicago mob hit man Harry Aleman has died in prison of cancer, prison officials said. (In-depth Harry Aleman Profile)

Aleman was convicted of killing Teamster steward William Logan in 1972, but was a suspect in more than 20 other killings, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Sunday.

He was serving a 100- to 300-year sentence, having been convicted in 1997 in his second trial for the killing -- a trial conducted 20 years after his first trial for the murder, which ended with an acquittal.

The second trial was granted for the same crime as prosecutors argued the "double jeopardy" rule -- barring a second trial for the same crime -- did not apply because the judge in the first trial was found to have been bribed, which implied that trial did not put the defendant in any jeopardy.

"He was the hammer of the Chicago mob," the Chicago Tribune quoted former FBI agent Lee Flosi as saying about Aleman. "You never want him sitting in the back seat of your car."

Aleman died in the Hill Correctional Center in Galesburg, Ill. He was 71.

Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Sharyn Elman said "there was no foul play" in the mobster's death.

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Gangster Take Down - 78 Bloods & Latin Kings Indicted

In the pre-dawn chill of upstate New York, nearly 600 local, state, and federal law enforcement officers assembled at the armory to prepare for one of the area's largest gang takedowns in recent memory.

Indictments were unsealed against 78 members of two violent street gangs—the Bloods and the Latin Kings—and many of the unsuspecting gang members were about to wake up to SWAT teams, handcuffs, and a variety of federal drug charges.

“There are a number of neighborhood gangs in Newburgh, but these two national gangs are responsible for much of the drugs and crime in the city,” said Special Agent Jim Gagliano, who headed a 16-month, FBI-led Safe Streets Task Force investigation that culminated in this morning’s raids.

“Today’s arrests will severely disrupt and dismantle both organizations in Newburgh,” Gagliano said. “We are taking most of the local leaders of the Bloods and the Latin Kings off the streets. Some of them will likely be put away for so long they will never return to the city.”

Newburgh is located about 70 miles north of Manhattan. For a relatively small city of 29,000 people, it has an unusually large crime problem. When Gagliano arrived there two years ago, Newburgh led the state in per capita homicides, and everyone agreed that drug-related gang violence was at the root of the problem.

The Bureau established the Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force in April 2009—which now consists of about 20 local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies—and began dual investigations on the two gangs, dubbed Operation Blood Drive and Operation Black Crown. The plan was for the task force’s cooperating witnesses and undercover officers to make small street-level drug buys—mostly crack cocaine—from gang members over a period of time.

In all, the task force made nearly 100 drug buys, totaling more than five kilos of crack cocaine. “The majority of these buys were done while we recorded video and audio,” Gagliano said. “Not only did we get the subject’s voice on tape, we also see the exchange.”

He added, “In a city as small as Newburgh and as violent—there have already been four homicides this year, all directly related to gang violence—these arrests will have a substantial effect on the crime rate in the city.”

After an early-morning briefing, agents and officers fanned out over the city in teams. Those arrested were brought back to the armory for processing and booking. Of the 60 members of the Bloods and 18 members of the Latin Kings who were indicted—some were already in jail on other charges—approximately 61 were in custody by early this afternoon. The sweep also netted four guns and a large amount of cash. The search for those still at large is ongoing.

George Venizelos, acting assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York Field Office, had nothing but praise for today’s operation and the Safe Streets Task Force. “I have never been involved with a task force that had this many different member agencies who worked so well together,” Venizelos said. “It’s been a terrific partnership, and the proof of our success can be seen in today’s arrests.”

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Code of Silence for Reputed Mobster at Daughter's Wedding

By the time many a man and woman get married, their families aren’t speaking to each other.

In the case of an upcoming mob wedding in Chicago, though, the silence is court- ordered. A federal judge laid down the law in the wedding of Frank Caruso and Brittany Szaflarski.

Brittany’s dad, Casey Szaflarski, is the reputed video poker king of Chicago. He’s under house arrest and wanted the judge to let him out to attend his daughter’s wedding on Aug. 21 at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel.

The judge decided Szaflarski can go, but there’s a catch.

He can’t talk to his boss, the reputed head of the 26th Street mob crew, Frank “Toots” Caruso, who happens to be the father of the groom, also named Frank.

U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman ordered Casey Szaflarski not to utter one word to the elder Frank Caruso, or face jail. Federal prosecutors are concerned the men could talk mob business amid the nuptials.

Casey Szaflarski was arrested in March for allegedly running an illegal gambling operation. He was put under house arrest and ordered to wear an ankle monitor. He is charged in the case with seven other men, including the alleged head of the Cicero mob crew, Michael Sarno. Federal prosecutors T. Markus Funk and Amarjeet Bhachu allege Sarno ordered the bombing of a Berwyn business that was competing with Casey Szaflarski’s.

The elder Frank Caruso has not been charged in the case.

Casey Szaflarski asked the judge to let him attend a host of wedding activities. He wanted to go to his daughter’s bridal shower luncheon at the Hilton Chicago on Michigan Avenue and then the rehearsal dinner at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel Aug. 18. Casey Szaflarski also hoped to spend the night in the Palmer House, so he could attend the post-wedding brunch there the next day.

The judge nixed those requests.

As part of the judge’s ruling, prosecutors will receive a list of everyone who attends the wedding. The guest list could be interesting since the bride and groom come from families with extensive ties to organized crime.

The groom, the younger Frank Caruso, made national headlines when he was arrested for the 1997 racially charged beating of 13-year-old Lenard Clark as Clark was riding his bicycle through Armour Square. Frank Caruso was sentenced to eight years in prison. He is the great-grandson of the late Bruno Roti Sr., one of the earliest leaders of organized crime in Chicago and the head of what would become the 26th Street mob crew. The groom’s father, Frank “Toots” Caruso, was listed by the FBI as one of the Chicago mobsters who posed a threat to the safety of star mob witness Nicholas Calabrese, the onetime Outfit killer who testified in the Family Secrets case.

The bride, Brittany Szaflarski, is the granddaughter of the late Joseph “Shorty” LaMantia, a well-known mob burglar, who was accused in court papers of once paying $20,000 to one of the most corrupt judges in state history, Thomas Maloney, to acquit his son in a murder case.

Thanks to Steve Warmbir

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