On Nov. 15, 1950, the Senate Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce held the seventh in a series nationwide hearings in Las Vegas. Commonly referred to as the Kefauver Hearings, the televised hearings kept an estimated 30 million Americans on the edge of their seats as they watched with rapt attention a parade of crime bosses, bookies, pimps, and hit men discuss a salacious topic that had never before been publicly exposed or discussed. Held in 14 cities across the country, the hearings were led by U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver (Democrat-Tennessee) to expose and control organized crime.
Yet, ironically, historians generally credit the hearings with cementing Las Vegas as the gaming capital of the country since the crackdown on illegal gambling that followed the hearings drove operators to Las Vegas and Nevada – known as the "open city," and the only city/state in the country where gambling was then legal.
The hearings were also significant for revolutionizing the then new medium of television as a source for news and current events. Twice the audience of the 1950 World Series flocked to restaurants, bars and neighbors' homes to watch the all-day hearings. Some school systems even dismissed students early so they could watch with their parents.
As The Mob Museum prepares to open in just three months on Valentine's Day 2012, final touches are being put on the restoration and rehabilitation of The Museum's centerpiece - the courtroom where the Las Vegas Kefauver hearings occurred. Soon you'll be able to explore this notorious piece of Mob history for yourself.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Reputed Mob Boss, Thomas Gioeli, to Miss Daughter's Wedding
A reputed Mafia boss won't be trading his prison stripes for a pinstripe suit on his daughter's wedding day.
Brooklyn Federal Judge Brian Cogan rejected on Wednesday Thomas (Tommy Shots) Gioeli’s request for a prison furlough to attend his oldest daughter’s nuptials.
Cogan stated that he "conferred with the U.S. Marshals Service and with other judges in the courthouse and concludes such a release is not feasible."
Prosecutors opposed the wedding pass, arguing it would be impossible for the feds to prevent Gioeli from slipping messages to underlings at the ceremony and reception, endanger cooperating witnesses scheduled to testify against him.
Cogan cited security issues and the serious charges against Gioeli in denying the request. The alleged Colombo family boss is on trial for six gangland killings.
Earlier this year Cogan approved a plan to have U.S. Marshals escort Gioeli from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to the Long Island Federal Courthouse to view the casket containing his deceased father. Gioeli apparently objected to paying his last respects in the courthouse garage and refused to leave his prison cell.
Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis allowed Bonanno associate Patrick Romanello to leave prison to attend his two daughters’ weddings in 2004 and 2005. But sources said the Romanello situation was different because he was not a high-ranking mobster who could order acts of violence as Gioeli is capable of doing.
Gioeli's lawyer, Adam Perlmutter, said the father of the bride deserved to give his daughter away. "I find it sad that in America an individual who enjoys the presumption of innocence can be denied the right to attend his father's funeral and walk his daughter down the aisle," defense lawyer Adam Perlmutter said.
Thanks to John Marzulli
Brooklyn Federal Judge Brian Cogan rejected on Wednesday Thomas (Tommy Shots) Gioeli’s request for a prison furlough to attend his oldest daughter’s nuptials.
Cogan stated that he "conferred with the U.S. Marshals Service and with other judges in the courthouse and concludes such a release is not feasible."
Prosecutors opposed the wedding pass, arguing it would be impossible for the feds to prevent Gioeli from slipping messages to underlings at the ceremony and reception, endanger cooperating witnesses scheduled to testify against him.
Cogan cited security issues and the serious charges against Gioeli in denying the request. The alleged Colombo family boss is on trial for six gangland killings.
Earlier this year Cogan approved a plan to have U.S. Marshals escort Gioeli from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to the Long Island Federal Courthouse to view the casket containing his deceased father. Gioeli apparently objected to paying his last respects in the courthouse garage and refused to leave his prison cell.
Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis allowed Bonanno associate Patrick Romanello to leave prison to attend his two daughters’ weddings in 2004 and 2005. But sources said the Romanello situation was different because he was not a high-ranking mobster who could order acts of violence as Gioeli is capable of doing.
Gioeli's lawyer, Adam Perlmutter, said the father of the bride deserved to give his daughter away. "I find it sad that in America an individual who enjoys the presumption of innocence can be denied the right to attend his father's funeral and walk his daughter down the aisle," defense lawyer Adam Perlmutter said.
Thanks to John Marzulli
Twenty Defendants, Including Five Allegedly Tied to the Zetas Cartel, Indicted on Federal Narcotics Charges
Twenty defendants are facing federal narcotics charges, including five alleged members of a Chicago-based cell of the Zetas Mexican drug cartel who were responsible for transporting millions of dollars in drug proceeds between Chicago and Mexico, federal law enforcement officials announced. A joint investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation resulted in the charges, as well as accumulated seizures during 2010 of more than $12.4 million cash and approximately 250 kilograms of cocaine in the Chicago area. An additional $480,000 cash and two kilograms of heroin were seized yesterday.
Federal agents executed simultaneous arrests in the Chicago area and in Laredo, Tex., of defendants stemming from the multi-jurisdiction investigation of drug-trafficking and the flow of its narcotics proceeds. Twelve of the 20 defendants indicted in Chicago were arrested in Chicago and a 13th in Laredo.
The 20 Chicago defendants were charged in five separate indictments that were returned by a federal grand jury on Nov. 2 and unsealed following the arrests. The 12 Chicago defendants arrested appeared in U.S. District Court and remain in federal custody pending detention hearings. Five defendants remain fugitives; one was already in federal custody and another is hospitalized.
The seizures of cash and heroin occurred during the arrests and execution of search warrants at the residence of one defendant in Bellwood and another defendant’s residence in Bolingbrook, as well as a safe deposit box.
All 20 Chicago defendants were charged with various narcotics offenses, including conspiracy to possess and distribute quantities of cocaine and using a telephone to facilitate narcotics trafficking. The five alleged members of the money transportation cell were also charged with conspiracy to transfer narcotics proceeds outside the United States. If convicted, 12 defendants face a mandatory minimum of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison and a $10 million fine, while the remaining eight defendants face a mandatory minimum of 5 years to a maximum of 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine. The money transportation conspiracy carries a maximum of 20 years in prison and fine of twice the value of the money involved. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
“One indictment in this group signals the first federal prosecution in Chicago of defendants allegedly tied to the Zetas drug-trafficking cartel, and the seizures of cash represented a significant blow to the operation of this alleged money transportation cell,” said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. He praised the dedication and teamwork of the local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in Chicago that worked tirelessly to disrupt these alleged drug-trafficking conspiracies.
Mr. Fitzgerald announced the charges together with Jack Riley, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration; Robert D. Grant, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Gary J. Hartwig, Special Agent-in-Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Chicago; Alvin Patton, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; and Garry F. McCarthy, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.
“DEA’s commitment to hitting alleged drug trafficking organizations from all angles is especially evident when you consider the impact of the seizure of over $12 million in suspected drug proceeds. In the specific indictment that alleges affiliation of some of the defendants with the Zetas, the influence of Mexican criminal organizations in the wholesale Chicago drug market is apparent. The severing of those ties is of the upmost importance to the DEA,” Mr. Riley said.
Mr. Grant said: “The extensive cash seizures made during the course of this investigation illustrates how lucrative the illicit drug trade can be. Combined with the apparent presence of the Zetas in the Chicago area, the charges announced today should serve as a wake-up call to law enforcement throughout the state.”
The prosecutions were coordinated with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, and federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas also assisted in the investigation. The Illinois Attorney General’s Office conducted a separate but related investigation that resulted in the arrest of eight defendants on state narcotics charges last week in Galesburg, Ill. The federal investigation was conducted under the umbrella of the U.S. Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the Chicago High-Intensity Drug-Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA).
One indictment alleges that defendant Eduardo Trevino, a fugitive believed to reside in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, directed a money transportation network for the Zetas from Nuevo Laredo, and that this network coordinated the transfer of money from places such as Chicago to Laredo, and then from Laredo to Mexico. At the direction of the Zetas, defendant Salvador Estrada allegedly collected, processed and concealed cash from the sale of drugs so that the narcotics proceeds could be transported by truck drivers, including defendants Miguel Arredondo and Vicente Casares, from Chicago to Laredo, knowing that the proceeds would be transported to the Zetas in Mexico. Defendant Juan Aguirre allegedly worked with the others to coordinate the delivery of cash proceeds to truck drivers.
Estrada allegedly identified and maintained safe houses where drug proceeds were secretly collected, packaged and concealed, such as 1241 South Wenonah Ave., Berwyn, and 3800 West 24th St., Chicago.
According to the indictment, the following seizures, totaling $12,452,685, were made during the course of the investigation:
The 14-count indictment against Trevino and the five alleged Chicago cell members seeks forfeiture of approximately $13 million, including the $12.45 million seized previously. Five of the six (named above) were charged with conspiracy to transport narcotics proceeds outside the United States. Together with defendant, Aureliano Montoya-Pena, all six were charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and various other narcotics offenses.
The other four indictments charge the remaining 14 defendants with various narcotics distribution offenses.
The government is being represented by Assistant United States Attorneys William Ridgway, Gregory Deis and Heather McShain.
The public is reminded that indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Federal agents executed simultaneous arrests in the Chicago area and in Laredo, Tex., of defendants stemming from the multi-jurisdiction investigation of drug-trafficking and the flow of its narcotics proceeds. Twelve of the 20 defendants indicted in Chicago were arrested in Chicago and a 13th in Laredo.
The 20 Chicago defendants were charged in five separate indictments that were returned by a federal grand jury on Nov. 2 and unsealed following the arrests. The 12 Chicago defendants arrested appeared in U.S. District Court and remain in federal custody pending detention hearings. Five defendants remain fugitives; one was already in federal custody and another is hospitalized.
The seizures of cash and heroin occurred during the arrests and execution of search warrants at the residence of one defendant in Bellwood and another defendant’s residence in Bolingbrook, as well as a safe deposit box.
All 20 Chicago defendants were charged with various narcotics offenses, including conspiracy to possess and distribute quantities of cocaine and using a telephone to facilitate narcotics trafficking. The five alleged members of the money transportation cell were also charged with conspiracy to transfer narcotics proceeds outside the United States. If convicted, 12 defendants face a mandatory minimum of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison and a $10 million fine, while the remaining eight defendants face a mandatory minimum of 5 years to a maximum of 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine. The money transportation conspiracy carries a maximum of 20 years in prison and fine of twice the value of the money involved. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
“One indictment in this group signals the first federal prosecution in Chicago of defendants allegedly tied to the Zetas drug-trafficking cartel, and the seizures of cash represented a significant blow to the operation of this alleged money transportation cell,” said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. He praised the dedication and teamwork of the local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in Chicago that worked tirelessly to disrupt these alleged drug-trafficking conspiracies.
Mr. Fitzgerald announced the charges together with Jack Riley, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration; Robert D. Grant, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Gary J. Hartwig, Special Agent-in-Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Chicago; Alvin Patton, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; and Garry F. McCarthy, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.
“DEA’s commitment to hitting alleged drug trafficking organizations from all angles is especially evident when you consider the impact of the seizure of over $12 million in suspected drug proceeds. In the specific indictment that alleges affiliation of some of the defendants with the Zetas, the influence of Mexican criminal organizations in the wholesale Chicago drug market is apparent. The severing of those ties is of the upmost importance to the DEA,” Mr. Riley said.
Mr. Grant said: “The extensive cash seizures made during the course of this investigation illustrates how lucrative the illicit drug trade can be. Combined with the apparent presence of the Zetas in the Chicago area, the charges announced today should serve as a wake-up call to law enforcement throughout the state.”
The prosecutions were coordinated with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, and federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas also assisted in the investigation. The Illinois Attorney General’s Office conducted a separate but related investigation that resulted in the arrest of eight defendants on state narcotics charges last week in Galesburg, Ill. The federal investigation was conducted under the umbrella of the U.S. Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the Chicago High-Intensity Drug-Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA).
One indictment alleges that defendant Eduardo Trevino, a fugitive believed to reside in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, directed a money transportation network for the Zetas from Nuevo Laredo, and that this network coordinated the transfer of money from places such as Chicago to Laredo, and then from Laredo to Mexico. At the direction of the Zetas, defendant Salvador Estrada allegedly collected, processed and concealed cash from the sale of drugs so that the narcotics proceeds could be transported by truck drivers, including defendants Miguel Arredondo and Vicente Casares, from Chicago to Laredo, knowing that the proceeds would be transported to the Zetas in Mexico. Defendant Juan Aguirre allegedly worked with the others to coordinate the delivery of cash proceeds to truck drivers.
Estrada allegedly identified and maintained safe houses where drug proceeds were secretly collected, packaged and concealed, such as 1241 South Wenonah Ave., Berwyn, and 3800 West 24th St., Chicago.
According to the indictment, the following seizures, totaling $12,452,685, were made during the course of the investigation:
- $9,428,950, from the 24th Street stash house on April 30, 2010;
- $2,000,010, also on April 30, 2010;
- $999,310, on May 27, 2010; and
- $24,415, on Dec. 18, 2010, along with a Mosberg 100 ATR .308 rifle and a Colt .22 semi-automatic handgun.
The 14-count indictment against Trevino and the five alleged Chicago cell members seeks forfeiture of approximately $13 million, including the $12.45 million seized previously. Five of the six (named above) were charged with conspiracy to transport narcotics proceeds outside the United States. Together with defendant, Aureliano Montoya-Pena, all six were charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and various other narcotics offenses.
The other four indictments charge the remaining 14 defendants with various narcotics distribution offenses.
The government is being represented by Assistant United States Attorneys William Ridgway, Gregory Deis and Heather McShain.
The public is reminded that indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Mike Sarno to be Sentenced 2/8/12
Chicago mob boss Mike ''The Large Guy'' Sarno will find out on February 8, 2012, how long he will spend behind bars.
Sarno was supposed to be sentenced Friday but one of his attorneys is dealing with a family emergency and asked for the hearing to be delayed. The sentencing has been put off a number of times already.
It's been almost a year since Sarno was convicted of running a racketeering enterprise in connection with a suburban gambling business. The six-week trial proved Sarno had carved an alliance between the Chicago Outfit and the Outlaws motorcycle gang.
Outlaw biker members Anthony and Samuel Volpendesto, Mark Polchan and Casey Szaflarski were also convicted in the case punctuated by the 2003 bombing attack of a Berwyn video poker machine company. The firm had been competing with Sarno's Outfit-run video poker business.
Federal prosecutors are asking that Sarno receive the maximum sentence. Last month, the government submitted to the court a 2003 I-Team report to support their argument that Sarno be sentenced to the longest possible term in prison.
ABC 7's broadcast in June 2003 focused on a restructuring of the Chicago mob ordered by imprisoned outfit leader James Marcello. "Little Jimmy," as he is still known, was doing time for racketeering, gambling violations and extortion, and still running the outfit's business from the barbed-wire Hilton.
Included in the June 3, 2003, I-Team report was this information about who had been tapped to oversee the Chicago outfit: "This mob heavyweight, 350-pound Michael 'Fat Boy' Sarno, whom Marcello has just installed, according to U.S. law enforcement source."
Based on his organized crime stature, the government will ask that Sarno's sentence be enhanced to 25 years.
Defense attorneys dispute the contention that Sarno is a crime boss. They have submitted 100 letters from Sarno's friends, neighbors and relatives that portray him as a good family man and a fine American. They also cite his numerous health problems that they say could be compromised by a lengthy stay in prison.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie and Barb Markoff
Sarno was supposed to be sentenced Friday but one of his attorneys is dealing with a family emergency and asked for the hearing to be delayed. The sentencing has been put off a number of times already.
It's been almost a year since Sarno was convicted of running a racketeering enterprise in connection with a suburban gambling business. The six-week trial proved Sarno had carved an alliance between the Chicago Outfit and the Outlaws motorcycle gang.
Outlaw biker members Anthony and Samuel Volpendesto, Mark Polchan and Casey Szaflarski were also convicted in the case punctuated by the 2003 bombing attack of a Berwyn video poker machine company. The firm had been competing with Sarno's Outfit-run video poker business.
Federal prosecutors are asking that Sarno receive the maximum sentence. Last month, the government submitted to the court a 2003 I-Team report to support their argument that Sarno be sentenced to the longest possible term in prison.
ABC 7's broadcast in June 2003 focused on a restructuring of the Chicago mob ordered by imprisoned outfit leader James Marcello. "Little Jimmy," as he is still known, was doing time for racketeering, gambling violations and extortion, and still running the outfit's business from the barbed-wire Hilton.
Included in the June 3, 2003, I-Team report was this information about who had been tapped to oversee the Chicago outfit: "This mob heavyweight, 350-pound Michael 'Fat Boy' Sarno, whom Marcello has just installed, according to U.S. law enforcement source."
Based on his organized crime stature, the government will ask that Sarno's sentence be enhanced to 25 years.
Defense attorneys dispute the contention that Sarno is a crime boss. They have submitted 100 letters from Sarno's friends, neighbors and relatives that portray him as a good family man and a fine American. They also cite his numerous health problems that they say could be compromised by a lengthy stay in prison.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie and Barb Markoff
Thursday, November 17, 2011
2010 Hate Crime Statistics
The Federal Bureau of Investigation released Hate Crime Statistics, 2010 based on information submitted by law enforcement agencies throughout the nation. These data indicate that 6,628 criminal incidents involving 7,699 offenses were reported in 2010 as a result of bias toward a particular race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity/national origin, or physical or mental disability.
Hate Crime Statistics, 2010 includes the following information:
Hate Crime Statistics, 2010 includes the following information:
- Of the 6,624 single bias incidents, 47.3 percent were motivated by a racial bias, 20.0 percent were motivated by a religious bias, 19.3 percent were motivated by a sexual orientation bias, and 12.8 percent were motivated by an ethnicity/national origin bias. Bias against a disability accounted for 0.6 percent of single-bias incidents.
- There were 4,824 hate crime offenses classified as crimes against persons. Intimidation accounted for 46.2 percent of these crimes, simple assaults for 34.8 percent, and aggravated assaults for 18.4 percent. In addition, seven murders were reported as hate crimes.
- There were 2,861 hate crime offenses classified as crimes against property; most of these (81.1 percent) were acts of destruction/damage/vandalism. The remaining 18.9 percent of crimes against property consisted of robbery, burglary, larceny theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, and other offenses.
- Of the 6,008 known offenders, 58.6 percent were white and 18.4 percent were black. For 12.0 percent, the race was unknown, and the remaining known offenders were of other races.
- The largest percentage (31.4 percent) of hate crime incidents occurred in or near homes. Another 17.0 percent took place on highways, roads, alleys, or streets; 10.9 percent happened at schools or colleges; 5.8 percent in parking lots or garages; and 3.7 percent in churches, synagogues, or temples. The location was considered other or unknown for 14.3 percent of hate crime incidents. The remaining 16.9 percent of hate crime incidents took place at other specified locations or multiple locations.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
"Mob Wives" Season Two Starts January 1st, 2012, "Mob Wives: Chicago" Coming This Spring
There’s no better way to start off the New Year than with ‘the family.’ “Mob Wives” is back and the drama has gone to a whole new level. The highly-anticipated second season premiere of VH1′s hit reality television series premieres on Sunday, January 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Viewers will also be introduced to a new group of ‘Syndicate Sisters’ with the debut of the franchise’s first spin-off “Mob Wives: Chicago” this Spring, where the legendary home of Al Capone will serve as the backdrop. Both shows are produced by TWC, Electus, Left/Right and JustJenn Productions.
The second season of “Mob Wives” picks up where the first left off – with each cast member dealing with major personal life issues. The rift between Karen and Drita is far from over – will they ever be able to ‘bury the hatchet’? Renee goes under the knife for major plastic surgery that may have some unexpected consequences, while also contemplating her future with her ex-husband Junior. Drita is considering her options when it comes to leaving her husband Lee – while Carla’s relationship with her estranged husband Joe may take an unexpected twist. And, of course, everyone wants to know what’s in Karen’s soon-to-be-released book – the one she moved back to New York to write!
Last season,”Mob Wives” gave viewers an unfiltered look into the closed-door society of Renee, Karen, Carla and Drita, four struggling “allegedly” associated women who have to pick up the pieces and carry on while their husbands or fathers do time for Mob-related activities. United by a bond which few understand, the women are all struggling with their identities and their futures as they raise their kids as single parents in the New York City area.
The franchise expands as VH1 announced the pickup of “Mob Wives: Chicago.” A spin-off from the original east coast-based series,”Mob Wives: Chicago” will introduce a new cast of women suffering the stronzi and agita of their Mafiosi connections. The series will air in Spring 2012.
“Our viewers connected so strongly with our New York cast that we were skeptical about trying to repeat that success, said Jeff Olde, Executive Vice President, Original Programming & Production. “But once we met these ladies from Chicago and heard their truly unbelievable stories, we knew that viewers would become just as captivated as we did. These women’s life experiences may be far different from our own, but their current struggles to stand on their own two feet are relatable to everyone.”
“After a terrific first season, Electus is incredibly proud to partner once again with The Weinstein Company, JustJenn Productions and VH1 to bring the second season of Mob Wives to air so that audiences can see how the ladies’ compelling stories progress,”said Jimmy Fox, Executive Producer and Head of Creative Development for Electus.”We are equally thrilled that Mob Wives will be coming to Chicago, a town that was once home to some of the mob’s most notorious gangsters. Audiences will be blown away by the larger-than-life characters with their own unique stories to tell.”
“The first season of “Mob Wives” pulled back the curtain on a much-discussed yet mysterious world inhabited by four fascinating and strong-willed women,”stated Meryl Poster, TWC’s President of Television.”The viewer response to the genuine and gripping storylines that unfolded on the show was immediate and passionate, and we are grateful to these extraordinary ladies for inviting the cameras back into their lives for season two. We know that the viewing audience will feel a similar connection to the cast of “Mob Wives Chicago” and look forward to bringing their remarkable stories to the small screen this spring.”
“The furs, the money, the parties, the respect – it’s all part of the intrigue of the world I grew up in,” said series Creator and Executive Producer Jennifer Graziano of JustJenn Productions. “But at any time, the other shoe can drop and these women find themselves going on prison visits. I have long thought that this was a story that needed to be told, and am so thankful that we can continue this journey with the original “Mob Wives” – as well as expanding the franchise to Chicago. I have always heard the legends about Al Capone and Chicago, but it wasn’t until I actually went to the city that I became enamored with the rich mob history there. These women’s lives are right off the pages of a storybook!”
The second season of “Mob Wives” picks up where the first left off – with each cast member dealing with major personal life issues. The rift between Karen and Drita is far from over – will they ever be able to ‘bury the hatchet’? Renee goes under the knife for major plastic surgery that may have some unexpected consequences, while also contemplating her future with her ex-husband Junior. Drita is considering her options when it comes to leaving her husband Lee – while Carla’s relationship with her estranged husband Joe may take an unexpected twist. And, of course, everyone wants to know what’s in Karen’s soon-to-be-released book – the one she moved back to New York to write!
Last season,”Mob Wives” gave viewers an unfiltered look into the closed-door society of Renee, Karen, Carla and Drita, four struggling “allegedly” associated women who have to pick up the pieces and carry on while their husbands or fathers do time for Mob-related activities. United by a bond which few understand, the women are all struggling with their identities and their futures as they raise their kids as single parents in the New York City area.
The franchise expands as VH1 announced the pickup of “Mob Wives: Chicago.” A spin-off from the original east coast-based series,”Mob Wives: Chicago” will introduce a new cast of women suffering the stronzi and agita of their Mafiosi connections. The series will air in Spring 2012.
“Our viewers connected so strongly with our New York cast that we were skeptical about trying to repeat that success, said Jeff Olde, Executive Vice President, Original Programming & Production. “But once we met these ladies from Chicago and heard their truly unbelievable stories, we knew that viewers would become just as captivated as we did. These women’s life experiences may be far different from our own, but their current struggles to stand on their own two feet are relatable to everyone.”
“After a terrific first season, Electus is incredibly proud to partner once again with The Weinstein Company, JustJenn Productions and VH1 to bring the second season of Mob Wives to air so that audiences can see how the ladies’ compelling stories progress,”said Jimmy Fox, Executive Producer and Head of Creative Development for Electus.”We are equally thrilled that Mob Wives will be coming to Chicago, a town that was once home to some of the mob’s most notorious gangsters. Audiences will be blown away by the larger-than-life characters with their own unique stories to tell.”
“The first season of “Mob Wives” pulled back the curtain on a much-discussed yet mysterious world inhabited by four fascinating and strong-willed women,”stated Meryl Poster, TWC’s President of Television.”The viewer response to the genuine and gripping storylines that unfolded on the show was immediate and passionate, and we are grateful to these extraordinary ladies for inviting the cameras back into their lives for season two. We know that the viewing audience will feel a similar connection to the cast of “Mob Wives Chicago” and look forward to bringing their remarkable stories to the small screen this spring.”
“The furs, the money, the parties, the respect – it’s all part of the intrigue of the world I grew up in,” said series Creator and Executive Producer Jennifer Graziano of JustJenn Productions. “But at any time, the other shoe can drop and these women find themselves going on prison visits. I have long thought that this was a story that needed to be told, and am so thankful that we can continue this journey with the original “Mob Wives” – as well as expanding the franchise to Chicago. I have always heard the legends about Al Capone and Chicago, but it wasn’t until I actually went to the city that I became enamored with the rich mob history there. These women’s lives are right off the pages of a storybook!”
Chicago Version of VH1's "Mob Wives" in the Works?
This one should set tongues to wagging from Bridgeport to Chicago Heights and along Grand Avenue to Elmwood Park.
The folks behind “Mob Wives,” VH1’s hit reality television show following the lives of four tough-talking, loud-living Staten Island women with personal ties to New York mob figures, plan to start filming a new Chicago spinoff within the next month.
Talk about your Operation Family Secrets.
The biggest secret is which Chicago women have been signed up by the network to participate.
Jennifer Graziano, the show’s producer, is keeping that information within the family, so to speak, despite numerous scouting trips here over the last several months to lay the groundwork for a series that is expected to air in the spring.
I’ve heard a couple of names, including one you can bet wouldn’t be doing this if her father were still alive, but both women angrily hung up on me.
Television gossip isn’t my normal turf, but it’s been too hard to resist this story since Graziano’s co-producer called this summer looking for Chicago mob insights.
Apparently, big city daily newspaper columnists are supposed to have lots of sources inside the mob, and I hate to break it to my readers, but unfortunately I’m fresh out.
Still, I know a spit storm brewing when I see one. I can’t tell you about New York, but in Chicago, mob wives — and daughters and girlfriends — are still supposed to stay out of the public eye.
Chicago lawyers who have represented mob clients were beyond skeptical when asked if they were aware of the project. “It’s inconceivable,” one said. “I just don’t think it would meet with approval here.”
I tried to make the same point to Graziano when she stopped by the office around Labor Day between meetings with prospects. But Graziano, whose father is Anthony “The Little Guy” Graziano, reputed consigliere to the Bonnano crime family, just gave me a knowing look as if to indicate she had her bases covered.
“I’ve got some family contacts here, people that have known my family and friends of mine,” said Graziano, whose sister Renee is one of the stars of the show along with Karen Gravano, daughter of Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, the mob hit man who became a government witness and took down John Gotti and the Gambino crime family. “One of the selling points is we don’t write about anything that hasn’t been in the news,” Graziano said. “We don’t divulge any secrets.”
While hoping to land a recognizable mob family name or two for the Chicago cast, Graziano said it was more important that the characters “pop” on television.
I suggested they pay a visit to former Cicero Mayor Betty Loren-Maltese. That was the weekend Betty happened to be having a garage sale, so it seemed pretty obvious she could use the money. I also assured them Betty “pops” on television. But they weren’t certain Betty fit the demographic they were seeking, in other words, too old. Sorry, Betty. I tried.
I’ve never watched “Mob Wives” myself. “Wives” shows give me the heebie-jeebies. But my wife assured me “Mob Wives” was the best show on television during its first season, and I can attest she is a connoisseur of a certain kind of TV — the trashy kind.
“Mob Wives,” as I understand it, is way more raw, more intense, more real, than any of those “Housewives” shows. When these women have a fight, as they often do, you fully expect somebody to get hurt.
My wife’s favorite character is Drita D’avanzo. She is particularly impressed with how effortlessly Drita slips off her high heels while charging headlong into battle. You’ve got to admire that in a woman.
This embrace of mob stereotypes has received its share of criticism in New York, and anticipating the same here, I called Dominic DiFrisco, president emeritus of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans. “I wish them nothing but failure,” said DiFrisco, who hasn’t seen the show but knows the type. “I think it’s a very ugly continuation of the long-standing slandering and defaming of the Italian-American people.”
If the characters pop, I can’t imagine it will be a failure. But this being Chicago, you still have to wonder if somebody will get popped.
Thanks to Mark Brown
The folks behind “Mob Wives,” VH1’s hit reality television show following the lives of four tough-talking, loud-living Staten Island women with personal ties to New York mob figures, plan to start filming a new Chicago spinoff within the next month.
Talk about your Operation Family Secrets.
The biggest secret is which Chicago women have been signed up by the network to participate.
Jennifer Graziano, the show’s producer, is keeping that information within the family, so to speak, despite numerous scouting trips here over the last several months to lay the groundwork for a series that is expected to air in the spring.
I’ve heard a couple of names, including one you can bet wouldn’t be doing this if her father were still alive, but both women angrily hung up on me.
Television gossip isn’t my normal turf, but it’s been too hard to resist this story since Graziano’s co-producer called this summer looking for Chicago mob insights.
Apparently, big city daily newspaper columnists are supposed to have lots of sources inside the mob, and I hate to break it to my readers, but unfortunately I’m fresh out.
Still, I know a spit storm brewing when I see one. I can’t tell you about New York, but in Chicago, mob wives — and daughters and girlfriends — are still supposed to stay out of the public eye.
Chicago lawyers who have represented mob clients were beyond skeptical when asked if they were aware of the project. “It’s inconceivable,” one said. “I just don’t think it would meet with approval here.”
I tried to make the same point to Graziano when she stopped by the office around Labor Day between meetings with prospects. But Graziano, whose father is Anthony “The Little Guy” Graziano, reputed consigliere to the Bonnano crime family, just gave me a knowing look as if to indicate she had her bases covered.
“I’ve got some family contacts here, people that have known my family and friends of mine,” said Graziano, whose sister Renee is one of the stars of the show along with Karen Gravano, daughter of Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, the mob hit man who became a government witness and took down John Gotti and the Gambino crime family. “One of the selling points is we don’t write about anything that hasn’t been in the news,” Graziano said. “We don’t divulge any secrets.”
While hoping to land a recognizable mob family name or two for the Chicago cast, Graziano said it was more important that the characters “pop” on television.
I suggested they pay a visit to former Cicero Mayor Betty Loren-Maltese. That was the weekend Betty happened to be having a garage sale, so it seemed pretty obvious she could use the money. I also assured them Betty “pops” on television. But they weren’t certain Betty fit the demographic they were seeking, in other words, too old. Sorry, Betty. I tried.
I’ve never watched “Mob Wives” myself. “Wives” shows give me the heebie-jeebies. But my wife assured me “Mob Wives” was the best show on television during its first season, and I can attest she is a connoisseur of a certain kind of TV — the trashy kind.
“Mob Wives,” as I understand it, is way more raw, more intense, more real, than any of those “Housewives” shows. When these women have a fight, as they often do, you fully expect somebody to get hurt.
My wife’s favorite character is Drita D’avanzo. She is particularly impressed with how effortlessly Drita slips off her high heels while charging headlong into battle. You’ve got to admire that in a woman.
This embrace of mob stereotypes has received its share of criticism in New York, and anticipating the same here, I called Dominic DiFrisco, president emeritus of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans. “I wish them nothing but failure,” said DiFrisco, who hasn’t seen the show but knows the type. “I think it’s a very ugly continuation of the long-standing slandering and defaming of the Italian-American people.”
If the characters pop, I can’t imagine it will be a failure. But this being Chicago, you still have to wonder if somebody will get popped.
Thanks to Mark Brown
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Robert DeLuca Expected to Testify Against Whitey Bulger
In a Mafia induction ceremony in 1989, Robert Deluca drew blood from his trigger finger as fellow alleged mobsters burned a Madonna prayer card and vowed to never betray the mob’s code of silence.
“As burn this Saint, so will burn my soul. I enter into this organization alive, and I will have to get out dead,’’ Deluca recited in Italian as he became a “made man” in the mob at the Medford initiation that was secretly bugged by the FBI.
Newscenter 5 has learned that Deluca, who is a reputed capo in the New England crime family, has betrayed the blood oath. He has agreed to cooperate with the FBI and act as a star witness in the James “Whitey” Bulger case, several sources said.
In 1995, DeLuca was indicted along with Bulger, Steven “The Rifleman” Flemmi, James “Jimmy the Bear” Martorano and Francis “Cadillac Frank” Salemme in a plethora of racketeering charges. But, by the time Deluca and his codefendants were arrested, Whitey Bulger was gone. He was tipped off to the pending indictment and went on the lam until his arrest in Santa Monica this June.
While Whitey Bulger was on the run, Deluca pleaded guilty to six counts of conspiracy, racketeering and interference with commerce by threats of violence charges and served 34 months in a federal prison, according to court documents.
By the time Bulger – who topped the FBI’s Most Wanted List – was captured, law enforcement sources said Deluca was losing his Rhode Island power base as the Mafia’s leadership roles shifted back to Boston.
In recent months, Deluca vanished from his base on Federal Hill and has not been seen in the North End. His North Providence home has been sold. His wife and two kids have vanished. “We saw the moving truck there and they were gone,’’ said Grace Olsen, Deluca’s next-door neighbor.
Deluca is one of several mob bosses to “flip” in recent years. In New York, Bonanno crime family boss Joseph “Big Joey” Messina cooperated with the government to avoid a death sentence. The Philadelphia Mafia’s boss, Ralph Natale, also made a deal.
“Historically it was very rare,’’ retired Massachusetts State Police Det. Lt. Bob Long said of Mafia leaders becoming cooperators. “Now rumors are that Deluca is doing the same thing…
“It appears that the old days of following the code of silence, the omerta, of this thing of ours is crumbled. It’s like a bygone era,” said Long.
Deluca’s neighbor said living next to a mob boss had its benefits. “We were very sad to see him go,’’ Olsen said.
When asked if she knew about his cooperation agreement, she nodded. “Knowing him and having broken bread with him,’’ she said, “I think that he did what he had to do to protect his young family.”
Thanks to Michele McPhee
“As burn this Saint, so will burn my soul. I enter into this organization alive, and I will have to get out dead,’’ Deluca recited in Italian as he became a “made man” in the mob at the Medford initiation that was secretly bugged by the FBI.
Newscenter 5 has learned that Deluca, who is a reputed capo in the New England crime family, has betrayed the blood oath. He has agreed to cooperate with the FBI and act as a star witness in the James “Whitey” Bulger case, several sources said.
In 1995, DeLuca was indicted along with Bulger, Steven “The Rifleman” Flemmi, James “Jimmy the Bear” Martorano and Francis “Cadillac Frank” Salemme in a plethora of racketeering charges. But, by the time Deluca and his codefendants were arrested, Whitey Bulger was gone. He was tipped off to the pending indictment and went on the lam until his arrest in Santa Monica this June.
While Whitey Bulger was on the run, Deluca pleaded guilty to six counts of conspiracy, racketeering and interference with commerce by threats of violence charges and served 34 months in a federal prison, according to court documents.
By the time Bulger – who topped the FBI’s Most Wanted List – was captured, law enforcement sources said Deluca was losing his Rhode Island power base as the Mafia’s leadership roles shifted back to Boston.
In recent months, Deluca vanished from his base on Federal Hill and has not been seen in the North End. His North Providence home has been sold. His wife and two kids have vanished. “We saw the moving truck there and they were gone,’’ said Grace Olsen, Deluca’s next-door neighbor.
Deluca is one of several mob bosses to “flip” in recent years. In New York, Bonanno crime family boss Joseph “Big Joey” Messina cooperated with the government to avoid a death sentence. The Philadelphia Mafia’s boss, Ralph Natale, also made a deal.
“Historically it was very rare,’’ retired Massachusetts State Police Det. Lt. Bob Long said of Mafia leaders becoming cooperators. “Now rumors are that Deluca is doing the same thing…
“It appears that the old days of following the code of silence, the omerta, of this thing of ours is crumbled. It’s like a bygone era,” said Long.
Deluca’s neighbor said living next to a mob boss had its benefits. “We were very sad to see him go,’’ Olsen said.
When asked if she knew about his cooperation agreement, she nodded. “Knowing him and having broken bread with him,’’ she said, “I think that he did what he had to do to protect his young family.”
Thanks to Michele McPhee
J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI's Reputation Soared with High-Profile Arrests of Gangsters
It is fitting to begin in the heart of Washington D.C., where J. Edgar Hoover lies at rest.
He was a local kid who grew up on Capitol Hill, just a few blocks away.
He's buried in his family plot
, but Rebecca Roberts, program director at Congressional Cemetery, says former FBI agents built the fence and added a bench - creating a memorial that draws new recruits. "Every now and then some young men in dark suits with little wires coming out of their ears come in the front gate of the cemetery, coming to pay their respects to the director," Roberts said.
The director for an astonishing 48 years, starting in 1924, J. Edgar Hoover became one of the most powerful men in American history - a man who collected secrets and knew how to use them.
He made the FBI a symbol of professional law enforcement and a source of pride for Americans: "The Federal Bureau of Investigation is as close to you as your nearest telephone," Lowell Thomas said in a 1930s newsreel. "It seeks to be your protector in all matters in its jurisdiction. It belongs to you." But Hoover also turned the Bureau into his personal fiefdom: "Presidents were afraid of firing Hoover," said author Ron Kessler. "Congress didn't want to do any oversight. The FBI was a law unto itself."
Kessler has written three books about the FBI. He says that, ironically, in the beginning Hoover, a young Justice Dept. lawyer, was charged with cleaning up a corrupt division. "Hoover emphasized the need for professionalism, not hiring people just because they were friends of someone or family members," Kessler said. "He established the fingerprint operation, he established the indexing system with files."
He also established the FBI Academy, to train agents in crime-busting techniques - making sure he got the credit. In fact, the Bureau's reputation (and Hoover's) soared with high-profile arrests of gangsters like John Dillinger. But out of the spotlight, the director was consolidating his power in another way - collecting dirt. "Hoover, for one thing, would tell for example the head of the Washington field office, 'I want material on Congressmen,' and that would include affairs that they might be having, or they were picked up for seeing a prostitute the night before," said Kessler. "And then he would make sure that they knew that he knew what they had done."
Hoover kept files on celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, John Lennon, Elvis Presley, and even Albert Einstein - "In part because he wanted to have little gossip items to impart to presidents," said Kessler, "or on the other hand, just to maintain his aura as being this powerful person who knew everything."
"That is complete fabrication," said Cartha "Deke" Deloach, now 91, who was one of Hoover's top lieutenants. He insists that if the FBI kept files on public figures, it was for legitimate reasons.
Case in point: The information that President John F. Kennedy was sharing a girlfriend, Judith Campbell Exner, with Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana. "That came to our attention because of a wiretap and microphone that the Attorney General approved, the White House knew about them, that we had on Giancana," said Deloach. "As a result, the White House sometimes would call Exner and it would be overheard by a wiretap."
As for the bugging of Martin Luther King Jr., who feuded with Hoover over the Bureau's enforcement of civil rights, the FBI's alleged justification for tapping King was an investigation into two of his advisers who were said to be Communists. But the taps ended up recording evidence of King's extramarital affairs.
"Hoover was outraged that King was having affairs and projecting himself as a minister, but at the same time Hoover also was jealous of King because he got the Nobel Prize, and that really infuriated Hoover," said Kessler. "Hoover just totally went after him. He would even write letters to people who wanted to give awards to King saying, "You know, we shouldn't do that.'"
Hoover may have amassed information on the sex lives of many prominent figures, but his own personal life has long been the subject of speculation. "There were for years reports and rumors that Hoover used to cross-dress," said Braver.
"Yeah, the rumor that Hoover cross-dressed and wore a red dress to the Plaza was a concoction of someone who actually had been convicted of perjury and was quoted in a book," said Kessler. "It didn't happen."
But how about Hoover's relationship with his top deputy, Clyde Tolson? "Tolson and Hoover would go on vacations together, would take adoring pictures of each other, would have lunch and dinner together almost every single day," said Kessler. "There is no actual evidence of a sexual relationship, but I believe he was homosexual, and that he had a spousal relationship with Tolson."
"Deke" Deloach says he never saw anything other than friendship between the two men, but that Hoover was aware of rumors. "He's actually said to have agents go and visit people and say 'I understand you're talking about the director,'" said Braver.
"I did," Deloach said. "I was told to do it, saying, 'You have made remarks concerning Mr. Hoover being a homosexual. Give me the evidence.' And they'd always back down."
Through the years, under eight presidents, Hoover became so entrenched that he was all but untouchable.
LBJ allowed Hoover to serve beyond the 70-year age limit. He signed an executive order exempting him from compulsory retirement for an indefinite period of time. And Richard Nixon didn't fire him, either. "Nixon was afraid to do it," Deloach said.
"Were people afraid to do it because they were afraid Hoover would go ballistic on them and start leaking out bad stuff about them?" Braver asked. "That was part of it. They were afraid of him."
Hoover died in 1972 at age 77.
His funeral was a state occasion. But shortly after his death, details began leaking of a controversial domestic spying program, known as COINTELPRO, and of Hoover's own personal abuses - for example, using FBI agents to work on his home.
"What do you think happened to Hoover along the way?" asked Braver.
"Hoover, being as powerful as he was and having all this adulation all the time, did think he was God," said Kessler. "Initially he was very far-sighted. He did create this great organization. But as time went on, he became a despot."
Shortly after Hoover's burial, Clyde Tolson, who inherited Hoover's entire estate, bought the closest available plot. And almost 40 years after J. Edgar Hoover's death, we are still wondering about his secrets - Those he used, and those he kept.
Thanks to Rita Braver
He was a local kid who grew up on Capitol Hill, just a few blocks away.
He's buried in his family plot
, but Rebecca Roberts, program director at Congressional Cemetery, says former FBI agents built the fence and added a bench - creating a memorial that draws new recruits. "Every now and then some young men in dark suits with little wires coming out of their ears come in the front gate of the cemetery, coming to pay their respects to the director," Roberts said.The director for an astonishing 48 years, starting in 1924, J. Edgar Hoover became one of the most powerful men in American history - a man who collected secrets and knew how to use them.
He made the FBI a symbol of professional law enforcement and a source of pride for Americans: "The Federal Bureau of Investigation is as close to you as your nearest telephone," Lowell Thomas said in a 1930s newsreel. "It seeks to be your protector in all matters in its jurisdiction. It belongs to you." But Hoover also turned the Bureau into his personal fiefdom: "Presidents were afraid of firing Hoover," said author Ron Kessler. "Congress didn't want to do any oversight. The FBI was a law unto itself."
Kessler has written three books about the FBI. He says that, ironically, in the beginning Hoover, a young Justice Dept. lawyer, was charged with cleaning up a corrupt division. "Hoover emphasized the need for professionalism, not hiring people just because they were friends of someone or family members," Kessler said. "He established the fingerprint operation, he established the indexing system with files."
He also established the FBI Academy, to train agents in crime-busting techniques - making sure he got the credit. In fact, the Bureau's reputation (and Hoover's) soared with high-profile arrests of gangsters like John Dillinger. But out of the spotlight, the director was consolidating his power in another way - collecting dirt. "Hoover, for one thing, would tell for example the head of the Washington field office, 'I want material on Congressmen,' and that would include affairs that they might be having, or they were picked up for seeing a prostitute the night before," said Kessler. "And then he would make sure that they knew that he knew what they had done."
Hoover kept files on celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, John Lennon, Elvis Presley, and even Albert Einstein - "In part because he wanted to have little gossip items to impart to presidents," said Kessler, "or on the other hand, just to maintain his aura as being this powerful person who knew everything."
"That is complete fabrication," said Cartha "Deke" Deloach, now 91, who was one of Hoover's top lieutenants. He insists that if the FBI kept files on public figures, it was for legitimate reasons.
Case in point: The information that President John F. Kennedy was sharing a girlfriend, Judith Campbell Exner, with Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana. "That came to our attention because of a wiretap and microphone that the Attorney General approved, the White House knew about them, that we had on Giancana," said Deloach. "As a result, the White House sometimes would call Exner and it would be overheard by a wiretap."
As for the bugging of Martin Luther King Jr., who feuded with Hoover over the Bureau's enforcement of civil rights, the FBI's alleged justification for tapping King was an investigation into two of his advisers who were said to be Communists. But the taps ended up recording evidence of King's extramarital affairs.
"Hoover was outraged that King was having affairs and projecting himself as a minister, but at the same time Hoover also was jealous of King because he got the Nobel Prize, and that really infuriated Hoover," said Kessler. "Hoover just totally went after him. He would even write letters to people who wanted to give awards to King saying, "You know, we shouldn't do that.'"
Hoover may have amassed information on the sex lives of many prominent figures, but his own personal life has long been the subject of speculation. "There were for years reports and rumors that Hoover used to cross-dress," said Braver.
"Yeah, the rumor that Hoover cross-dressed and wore a red dress to the Plaza was a concoction of someone who actually had been convicted of perjury and was quoted in a book," said Kessler. "It didn't happen."
But how about Hoover's relationship with his top deputy, Clyde Tolson? "Tolson and Hoover would go on vacations together, would take adoring pictures of each other, would have lunch and dinner together almost every single day," said Kessler. "There is no actual evidence of a sexual relationship, but I believe he was homosexual, and that he had a spousal relationship with Tolson."
"Deke" Deloach says he never saw anything other than friendship between the two men, but that Hoover was aware of rumors. "He's actually said to have agents go and visit people and say 'I understand you're talking about the director,'" said Braver.
"I did," Deloach said. "I was told to do it, saying, 'You have made remarks concerning Mr. Hoover being a homosexual. Give me the evidence.' And they'd always back down."
Through the years, under eight presidents, Hoover became so entrenched that he was all but untouchable.
LBJ allowed Hoover to serve beyond the 70-year age limit. He signed an executive order exempting him from compulsory retirement for an indefinite period of time. And Richard Nixon didn't fire him, either. "Nixon was afraid to do it," Deloach said.
"Were people afraid to do it because they were afraid Hoover would go ballistic on them and start leaking out bad stuff about them?" Braver asked. "That was part of it. They were afraid of him."
Hoover died in 1972 at age 77.
His funeral was a state occasion. But shortly after his death, details began leaking of a controversial domestic spying program, known as COINTELPRO, and of Hoover's own personal abuses - for example, using FBI agents to work on his home.
"What do you think happened to Hoover along the way?" asked Braver.
"Hoover, being as powerful as he was and having all this adulation all the time, did think he was God," said Kessler. "Initially he was very far-sighted. He did create this great organization. But as time went on, he became a despot."
Shortly after Hoover's burial, Clyde Tolson, who inherited Hoover's entire estate, bought the closest available plot. And almost 40 years after J. Edgar Hoover's death, we are still wondering about his secrets - Those he used, and those he kept.
Thanks to Rita Braver
Monday, November 14, 2011
Chicago Mob Hangouts in Wisconsin
Members of the U.S. temperance movement believed that eliminating the demon alcohol would cure society of many ills. It would solidify family life, get people back to work, and make society more respectable. Little did they suspect that Prohibition would create effects quite the opposite.
Banning the sale, manufacture and transportation of alcohol from 1920 to 1933 did not cure Americans' thirst for it. In effect, Prohibition forced the supply chain underground. With liquor no longer legally available, gangsters stepped in to fulfill the public's craving.
Chicago was well-known as a gangster city, with mob figures such as Al Capone, Baby Face Nelson, "Polack Joe" Saltis and others. When pressure from the law got hot in Chicago, some gangsters found remote, wooded northern Wisconsin the perfect place to hide out.
Scattered throughout the North Woods are the old haunts of the Capone brothers Al and Ralph, Saltis, Nelson and John Dillinger.
A recent road trip took me back to the remnants of that time when the Roaring '20s, followed by the Great Depression, accentuated the "sin" in Wisconsin. A tour of these historical places is a great way to see the state and learn about an era that affected the development of many small towns of the North Woods.
Among the most well-known stops along the way:
Little Bohemia Lodge in Manitowish Waters: Once a resort where the FBI botched a shootout with John Dillinger's gang and Baby Face Nelson, and recently immortalized by the movie "Public Enemies" with Johnny Depp, it's now a restaurant still called Little Bohemia. The rooms where Dillinger stayed have been turned into a little museum and left mainly as they were, with bullet holes intact.
Dillman's Bay Resort in Lac du Flambeau: Cabin No. 5 is where Baby Face Nelson holed up after the shootout at Little Bohemia, holding an Ojibwe couple hostage for three days.
Minocqua still has several places once allegedly frequented by gangsters, including Norwood Pines Supper Club, which had gambling and a brothel upstairs. BJ's Sportshop on U.S. Highway 51 used to house "Trixies," the most famous whorehouse in the North Woods. The Belle Isle Sports Bar and Grill had a direct line to Arlington Race Track near Chicago. Bosacki's Boat House restaurant also was a popular hangout for the Chicago mob.
Couderay : Al Capone's home on Cranberry Lake was privately operated and open to the public but closed in 2009. Capone used to fly alcohol in from Canada and unload it at his dock. Not far away at Barker's Lake Lodge near Winter, Saltis built a log lodge with cabins for his friends and fellow gangsters. Saltis was a mob boss from Chicago who operated speakeasies. The resort is still open for business and has a nine-hole golf course built by Saltis.
Garmisch USA near Cable: Was built as a lodge by wealthy Chicago businessman Jacob Loeb, who hired the famous attorney Clarence Darrow to represent his teenage nephew after the youth killed another young boy for the thrill. Garmisch still has the beautiful old lodge and now has many cabins as well.
Hurley, Hayward and hell made up what locals called the Devil's Triangle: They were rough logging towns that became notorious for their speakeasies and brothels during Prohibition and were often frequented by the likes of Capone and his cronies. Brothels and bars lined Silver St. in Hurley, where many establishments had tunnels connecting each other, and one allegedly ran under the Montreal River into Michigan. One block of Silver St. still houses strip clubs.
What is now Dawn's Never Inn has the rooms of an old brothel upstairs where Al Capone used to stay.
Mercer : Located on Highway 51 between Hurley and Minocqua, Mercer was the longtime home of Al Capone's older brother Ralph, who ran a couple of taverns. Mitch Babic, now in his 90s, was a fishing and hunting guide for the rich and famous and chronicled Mercer's history over his lifetime with photographs. He knew Ralph well and claims to have been at Little Bohemia on the night of the shootout with Dillinger as a teenager.
Thanks to Gary Porter
Banning the sale, manufacture and transportation of alcohol from 1920 to 1933 did not cure Americans' thirst for it. In effect, Prohibition forced the supply chain underground. With liquor no longer legally available, gangsters stepped in to fulfill the public's craving.
Chicago was well-known as a gangster city, with mob figures such as Al Capone, Baby Face Nelson, "Polack Joe" Saltis and others. When pressure from the law got hot in Chicago, some gangsters found remote, wooded northern Wisconsin the perfect place to hide out.
Scattered throughout the North Woods are the old haunts of the Capone brothers Al and Ralph, Saltis, Nelson and John Dillinger.
A recent road trip took me back to the remnants of that time when the Roaring '20s, followed by the Great Depression, accentuated the "sin" in Wisconsin. A tour of these historical places is a great way to see the state and learn about an era that affected the development of many small towns of the North Woods.
Among the most well-known stops along the way:
Little Bohemia Lodge in Manitowish Waters: Once a resort where the FBI botched a shootout with John Dillinger's gang and Baby Face Nelson, and recently immortalized by the movie "Public Enemies" with Johnny Depp, it's now a restaurant still called Little Bohemia. The rooms where Dillinger stayed have been turned into a little museum and left mainly as they were, with bullet holes intact.
Dillman's Bay Resort in Lac du Flambeau: Cabin No. 5 is where Baby Face Nelson holed up after the shootout at Little Bohemia, holding an Ojibwe couple hostage for three days.
Minocqua still has several places once allegedly frequented by gangsters, including Norwood Pines Supper Club, which had gambling and a brothel upstairs. BJ's Sportshop on U.S. Highway 51 used to house "Trixies," the most famous whorehouse in the North Woods. The Belle Isle Sports Bar and Grill had a direct line to Arlington Race Track near Chicago. Bosacki's Boat House restaurant also was a popular hangout for the Chicago mob.
Couderay : Al Capone's home on Cranberry Lake was privately operated and open to the public but closed in 2009. Capone used to fly alcohol in from Canada and unload it at his dock. Not far away at Barker's Lake Lodge near Winter, Saltis built a log lodge with cabins for his friends and fellow gangsters. Saltis was a mob boss from Chicago who operated speakeasies. The resort is still open for business and has a nine-hole golf course built by Saltis.
Garmisch USA near Cable: Was built as a lodge by wealthy Chicago businessman Jacob Loeb, who hired the famous attorney Clarence Darrow to represent his teenage nephew after the youth killed another young boy for the thrill. Garmisch still has the beautiful old lodge and now has many cabins as well.
Hurley, Hayward and hell made up what locals called the Devil's Triangle: They were rough logging towns that became notorious for their speakeasies and brothels during Prohibition and were often frequented by the likes of Capone and his cronies. Brothels and bars lined Silver St. in Hurley, where many establishments had tunnels connecting each other, and one allegedly ran under the Montreal River into Michigan. One block of Silver St. still houses strip clubs.
What is now Dawn's Never Inn has the rooms of an old brothel upstairs where Al Capone used to stay.
Mercer : Located on Highway 51 between Hurley and Minocqua, Mercer was the longtime home of Al Capone's older brother Ralph, who ran a couple of taverns. Mitch Babic, now in his 90s, was a fishing and hunting guide for the rich and famous and chronicled Mercer's history over his lifetime with photographs. He knew Ralph well and claims to have been at Little Bohemia on the night of the shootout with Dillinger as a teenager.
Thanks to Gary Porter
Sunday, November 13, 2011
The Russian Mafia's Pakhan
In the Russian Mafia, the equivalent of the Don is called the Pakhan. This boss controls four operating "cells" through his second in command. The number two man is called the Brigadier. Given that this organized crime family structure originated in Russia, where secret police once ruled with terror and fostered a paranoid environment, the Pakhan employs spies to keep an eye on the Brigadier. The cells are made up of the usual suspects - soldiers who deal in drugs, prostitution, extortion, bribery and all manner of criminality. The members of the individual cells do not know members of the other cells, though they all report to the Pakhan. Just as the American Mafia mirrors the legitimate capitalistic world, the Russian Mafia reflects the communist regime where it was spawned.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Mafia Inc.: The Long, Bloody Reign of Canada’s Sicilian Clan by André Cédilot and André Noël
As with its actors and professional football players, Canada’s Mafia families were long considered to be little more than farm teams for their many big brothers to the south. Montreal journalists André Cédilot and André Noël turn this notion on its ear to show that, perversely, this country’s organized crime underworld is arguably deeper, darker and more violent than the goings-on in New York’s five boroughs or elsewhere.
Cédilot and Noël, veteran crime reporters for La Presse, spin an exhaustive and compelling read. Much like the mob itself, Mafia Inc.’s narrative tendrils are long and widespread, and converge on an imposing subject: Montreal’s Rizzuto clan. Hailing from Sicily, Nick Rizzuto arrived in Montreal and in short order usurped the Cotroni clan to become patriarch of the country’s most important crime family. His son Vito, who helped cement the deal with bullets pumped into the bodies of rivals, eventually took over.
For whatever reason—luck of the devil, the RCMP’s zealous ineptitude, or what Cédilot and Noël call “Canadian judicial authorities’ incomprehensible indolence” toward the mob—Vito stayed out of jail, and his decades-long reign expanded the family’s influence to New York, Italy and beyond. The book is larded with keen details. For example: who knew that the Lebanese civil war was the reason why Montreal organized crime moved from hashish to cocaine, or that leaders of Quebec’s biker gangs had a childlike adoration of Montreal’s Mafia types?
The genius of Mafia Inc. is its all-important connections between organized crime, legitimate business and government. The chapter on the alleged cozy relationship between former Liberal minister Alfonso Gagliano and the Rizzuto clan (Gagliano denies any Mafia ties) is alone worth the price of admission. And the authors show how the Rizzutos, like any big and violent Mafia clan worth its salt, were crippled much as they started: with hubris and a hail of bullets.
Thanks to Martin Patriquin
Cédilot and Noël, veteran crime reporters for La Presse, spin an exhaustive and compelling read. Much like the mob itself, Mafia Inc.’s narrative tendrils are long and widespread, and converge on an imposing subject: Montreal’s Rizzuto clan. Hailing from Sicily, Nick Rizzuto arrived in Montreal and in short order usurped the Cotroni clan to become patriarch of the country’s most important crime family. His son Vito, who helped cement the deal with bullets pumped into the bodies of rivals, eventually took over.
For whatever reason—luck of the devil, the RCMP’s zealous ineptitude, or what Cédilot and Noël call “Canadian judicial authorities’ incomprehensible indolence” toward the mob—Vito stayed out of jail, and his decades-long reign expanded the family’s influence to New York, Italy and beyond. The book is larded with keen details. For example: who knew that the Lebanese civil war was the reason why Montreal organized crime moved from hashish to cocaine, or that leaders of Quebec’s biker gangs had a childlike adoration of Montreal’s Mafia types?
The genius of Mafia Inc. is its all-important connections between organized crime, legitimate business and government. The chapter on the alleged cozy relationship between former Liberal minister Alfonso Gagliano and the Rizzuto clan (Gagliano denies any Mafia ties) is alone worth the price of admission. And the authors show how the Rizzutos, like any big and violent Mafia clan worth its salt, were crippled much as they started: with hubris and a hail of bullets.
Thanks to Martin Patriquin
Friday, November 11, 2011
Is the Russian Mafia Now the Strongest in the World?
Officials with the US State Department believe that the Russian mafia is the mafia of all mafias. World-known mafia brands such as Cosa Nostra and Yakuza pale in comparison with the great and terrible Russian gangsters. What does that mean?
In July, Barack Obama signed a decree to introduce tough sanctions against transnational criminal groups. If US authorities suspect you of having any relation to these dark forces, they may deny you entry to the United States, block your bank accounts, and so on and so forth.
The US Department for Treasury included Russian citizens on the Brothers' Circle black lists. Officials with the ministry said that the circle operates in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and, of course, poses a strategic danger to the interests of the United States. Thus, it just so happens that Russian gangsters rule the world.
It appears that Russia is supposed to be eternally grateful to US experts for their struggle against our mafia. However, it also appears that it is very easy to get into this mafia and very hard to get out of it. It is not the gangsters, but American officials that make you stay in the mafia.
One of the prominent members of the Russian mafia (as US officials say), Anzori Aksentyev-Kikalishvili said: "In 1994, I wrote an open letter to then-President Clinton, in which I urged him to stop the escalation of the new ideological weapon called the "Russian mafia." That letter made me a mafia mob once and for all. Now I am a dreadful mob, even more dreadful than Soviet singer Joseph Kobzon (the Americans labeled the singer a mafia mob too -ed.). He even wondered once what was so special about me that made me more dreadful for the Americans than him."
For fairness sake, we have to admit that the Americans are not alone with their opinion about it. Britain's the Daily News wrote a year ago that the Russian mafia controlled 70 percent of the Russian economy, as well as the prostitution business in Macao, China and Germany. According to British reporters, the Russian mafia controls drug trafficking in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the money-laundering business in Cyprus, Israel, Belgium and England. The list continues with car theft and nuclear materials smuggle.
This is very impressive indeed! How large a criminal group must be to control prostitution in China alone?
Russian criminals are highly sophisticated and uncatchable for the West. As soon as the Soviet Union collapsed, Russian criminals started to look for new homes far away from the motherland. Vyacheslav Ivankov, for example, bought a ticket to the United States as soon as he came out of prison in Russia. That was a perfect opportunity for him to change his image. In Russia, he was known as a jailbird. In the States, he earned the reputation of Robin Hood; US newspapers referred to him as the new Solzhenitsyn. Afterwards, Mr. Ivankov showed the States how to love freedom.
The deeds of Mr. Ivankov in particular and the Russian mafia in general are dramatized and demonized in the West. The Russian mafia definitely exists, but it does not stand out from others of the ilk, such as Cosa Nostra, Yakuza, Ndrangheta, etc. The myth that has been created is much more profitable. Special departments were created and colossal funds were allocated to struggle against the Russian mafia. Reporters would make attention-catching headlines, and politicians would earn their scores.
The Russian mafia has thus become a brand. We have to acknowledge that Russian godfathers would often add more fuel to the fire as they decide to share their stories with the world every now and then. It is impossible to imagine a member of Cosa Nostra or Yakuza arranging a news conference. Russian mafia mobs do not hesitate to give interviews.
As a result, in 1993, the FBI headquarters in Washington established a special department for the struggle against Russian organized crime. A similar department was subsequently established in New York. It is about time the Americans should thank the Russian gangsters for creating jobs.
A typical news story about the Russian mafia is as follows: "A criminal group fraudulently appropriated $3.4 million having staged a car accident." How can the Russian mafia be the richest and the most powerful if it is the drugs that bring the largest income in the criminal world? The Russians do not produce drugs - they can only transit them. Agents can never leave suppliers behind. For example, the incomes of Colombian drug lords let them maintain a whole army, with helicopters, that can resist the attacks from US regular forces. Russian gangsters are nowhere near.
Thanks to Mikhail Sinelnikov
In July, Barack Obama signed a decree to introduce tough sanctions against transnational criminal groups. If US authorities suspect you of having any relation to these dark forces, they may deny you entry to the United States, block your bank accounts, and so on and so forth.
The US Department for Treasury included Russian citizens on the Brothers' Circle black lists. Officials with the ministry said that the circle operates in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and, of course, poses a strategic danger to the interests of the United States. Thus, it just so happens that Russian gangsters rule the world.
It appears that Russia is supposed to be eternally grateful to US experts for their struggle against our mafia. However, it also appears that it is very easy to get into this mafia and very hard to get out of it. It is not the gangsters, but American officials that make you stay in the mafia.
One of the prominent members of the Russian mafia (as US officials say), Anzori Aksentyev-Kikalishvili said: "In 1994, I wrote an open letter to then-President Clinton, in which I urged him to stop the escalation of the new ideological weapon called the "Russian mafia." That letter made me a mafia mob once and for all. Now I am a dreadful mob, even more dreadful than Soviet singer Joseph Kobzon (the Americans labeled the singer a mafia mob too -ed.). He even wondered once what was so special about me that made me more dreadful for the Americans than him."
For fairness sake, we have to admit that the Americans are not alone with their opinion about it. Britain's the Daily News wrote a year ago that the Russian mafia controlled 70 percent of the Russian economy, as well as the prostitution business in Macao, China and Germany. According to British reporters, the Russian mafia controls drug trafficking in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the money-laundering business in Cyprus, Israel, Belgium and England. The list continues with car theft and nuclear materials smuggle.
This is very impressive indeed! How large a criminal group must be to control prostitution in China alone?
Russian criminals are highly sophisticated and uncatchable for the West. As soon as the Soviet Union collapsed, Russian criminals started to look for new homes far away from the motherland. Vyacheslav Ivankov, for example, bought a ticket to the United States as soon as he came out of prison in Russia. That was a perfect opportunity for him to change his image. In Russia, he was known as a jailbird. In the States, he earned the reputation of Robin Hood; US newspapers referred to him as the new Solzhenitsyn. Afterwards, Mr. Ivankov showed the States how to love freedom.
The deeds of Mr. Ivankov in particular and the Russian mafia in general are dramatized and demonized in the West. The Russian mafia definitely exists, but it does not stand out from others of the ilk, such as Cosa Nostra, Yakuza, Ndrangheta, etc. The myth that has been created is much more profitable. Special departments were created and colossal funds were allocated to struggle against the Russian mafia. Reporters would make attention-catching headlines, and politicians would earn their scores.
The Russian mafia has thus become a brand. We have to acknowledge that Russian godfathers would often add more fuel to the fire as they decide to share their stories with the world every now and then. It is impossible to imagine a member of Cosa Nostra or Yakuza arranging a news conference. Russian mafia mobs do not hesitate to give interviews.
As a result, in 1993, the FBI headquarters in Washington established a special department for the struggle against Russian organized crime. A similar department was subsequently established in New York. It is about time the Americans should thank the Russian gangsters for creating jobs.
A typical news story about the Russian mafia is as follows: "A criminal group fraudulently appropriated $3.4 million having staged a car accident." How can the Russian mafia be the richest and the most powerful if it is the drugs that bring the largest income in the criminal world? The Russians do not produce drugs - they can only transit them. Agents can never leave suppliers behind. For example, the incomes of Colombian drug lords let them maintain a whole army, with helicopters, that can resist the attacks from US regular forces. Russian gangsters are nowhere near.
Thanks to Mikhail Sinelnikov
Thursday, November 10, 2011
CRIME BEAT RADIO SHOW’S UPCOMING SCHEDULE FOR NOV 10, 2011, THROUGH JANUARY 5, 2012, FEATURES HIT MEN, MANHUNTS, JFK ASSASSINATION, AND MAFIA LESSONS FOR LEGITIMATE BUSINESSES
CRIME BEAT: ISSUES, CONTROVERSIES AND PERSONALITIES FROM THE DARKSIDE on Artist First World Radio Network is pleased to announce its forthcoming schedule for November 10, 2011, through January 5, 2012.:Topics covered include hit men, a sensational Canadian murder investigation, Mafia lessons for legitimate business, the JFK Assassination, manhunts, and more. Here is the lineup:
- November 10—David Gibb, investigative journalist and author of Camouflaged Killer: The Shocking Double Life of Canadian Air Force Colonel Russell Williams.
- November 17—John Douglass, author of JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters.
- November 24—Rick Porrello, author of To Kill the Irishman: The War that Crippled the Mafia, which has recently been made into the Hollywood movie, Kill an Irishman. A command appearance.
- December 1—Benjamin Runkle, Author of Wanted Dead or Alive: Manhunts from Geronimo to Bin Laden.
- December 8—Larry Mazza, Tommy Dades and Bob Mladnich discuss the Colombo Mafia war of the early 1990s...Dades was a detective during that period and Larry Mazza, a hitman. Mladinich is writing a book on the topic.
- December 15—Anthony Amore and Tom Mashberg authors of Stealing Rembrandts: The Untold Stories of Notorious Art Heists, and Eric Rasmussen, author of The Shakespeare Thefts: In Search of the First Folios.
- December 22— Lou Ferrante, author of Mob Rules: What the Mafia Can Teach the Legitimate Businessman.
- December 29— Tim Donaghy, former NBA referee and author of Personal Foul: A First-Person Account of the Scandal that Rocked the NBA. A command appearance.
- January 5— Wahida Clark, best-selling urban fiction author and entrepreneur who honed her writing skills behind bars. A command appearance.
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Anti-Mafia Tourism Comes to Sicily
In pop culture, the mafia may enjoy an image romanticized by the Sopranos, the Godfather and tabloid coverage of dapper dons. Dealing with organized crime in the real world, however, is as much fun as living down the street from the Crips and Bloods.
In Italy, groups like Sicily’s Cosa Nostra are destructive as well as economically vexing. Mob operatives routinely extort protection money from businesses, intimidating and inflicting violence on those that don’t cooperate.
These days, tourists and specialized travel agencies in Southern Italy are fighting back, by supporting business that defy the mafia. It’s a burgeoning form of responsible or ethical tourism in a region with much to offer: splendid Mediterranean countryside, stunning shorelines, hearty wines and cuisine that’s superlative even by Italy’s standards — influenced by the Greeks, Arabs, Spanish and French who invaded the island.
“There is a strong demand for [anti-mafia tourism],” said Francesca Vannini Parenti, the founder of Addiopizzo Travel, a Palermo-based agency that offers mafia-free holidays. “People want to know which shops, restaurants and hotels don’t pay protection money to the mafia.”
The addio pizzo — literally “goodbye protection money” — network of businesses was created in 2004 by a few young locals outraged that they couldn’t open a bar without paying up. Back then, organizing the mafia resistance movement was revolutionary. Today, about 700 local businesses in the Palermo region are part of the network — an encouraging if small number in an area with about 25,000 retailers. In Sicily about 70 percent of 50,000 retailers pay the protection money, according to the 2010 statistics of SOS Impresa, the anti-racketeering office of Confesercenti, the national retailers’ association.
Addiopizzo directs tourists to the shops, restaurants and hotels where it is certain none of their money will go to the mob. Addiopizzo can make reservations and publishes a map of Palermo indicating these establishments. The group offers holiday packages to discover the "hot spots" in the fight against the mafia in Palermo and its surroundings. These include meetings with locals on the frontlines of the resistance. Participants in their tours say these are crucial to increasing their understanding of the mafia and what fighting it entails.
“I was very moved” said one German student on the tour, after meeting with Ignazio Cutro, a businessman who is under police protection after exposing men who tried to extort money from him. “He and his family live in complete isolation now. Afterward, his children lost all their friends at school – even his brother doesn’t speak to him anymore.”
So far, Addiopizzo mainly offers guided tours for schools and university students but it hopes to attract larger crowds. In September, Addiopizzo launched a one-day tour of Palermo which includes stops at the mafia victims square, the courthouse, police headquarters and the home of Paolo Borsellino, a leading anti-mafia prosecutor, assassinated in 1992.
Through the tour, participants learn the history of the resistance to the mafia, as old as the mafia itself, dating back to the end of the 19th century. They hear details about the legal fight against the mafia over the years led by prosecutors and the difficulties faced by police officers charged with tracking the mafiosi.
The guides also detail the collusion between the mafia and political elites, and they recount the Catholic Church's attitude toward the Cosa Nostra: mostly silence for decades, except for the resistance of a couple of isolated priests. And to illustrate how film has portrayed the mafia, the tour visits the steps of Palermo’s opera house where one of the famous and final scenes of Godfather III was shot. In that scene, Mary, the daughter of Michael Corleone, the Godfather, is killed in front of him by a rival clan.
Meanwhile, the tour stops for lunch at the Focacceria San Francesco. The restaurant, which offers a celebrated veal spleen and ricotta sandwich, is also well known for its owner, Vincenzo Conticello. He was one of the first in Palermo to expose his extortionists.
In 2005, a man came to the Focacceria to ask him to pay a regular fee. He refused and reported the incident to the police. The man and two accomplices were arrested and in 2008, received prison sentences of 10 to 16 years for extortion. Conticello has been living under police protection since then. “This is one of the very publicized cases, the majority of the ones who (report the mafia) today face limited risks," said Valerio d’Antoni, a lawyer affiliated with Addiopizzo who provides support to businesses to resist the mafia. "When the businessman is very determined, the mafia understands it is better to let it go.”
Still, there can be repercussions, says Parenti.
Last year about 50 acts of intimidation occurred in Palermo, according to SOS Impresa. These included arson, vandalism and “glue attacks” in which a shop’s locks are glued shut, a sign that the property doesn’t really belong to the owner. “Often the ones who (resist) become isolated," Parenti said. "One of our members, a bar owner in a small town, lost all his clients after [resisting]. If everybody would stand up against the mafia, we wouldn’t need heroes anymore.”
Addiopizzo is not alone in using tourism to fight the mob. Another organization, Libera Terra (Free land), specializes in finding socially productive uses of assets seized from the mafia. In Italy, more than 11,500 assets have been seized from the mafia half of that in Sicily, according to government estimates.
Libera Terra, offers similar "ethical" travel packages, shows visitors how socially conscious organizations are currently producing organic pasta, wine, and traditional preserves on the land once owned by Cosa Nostra. In the stunning Sicilian hinterlands close to Corleone, a small town made famous by The Godfather and home of famous mafia bosses, Libera Terra farms about 300 hectares of land.
It also runs a bed and breakfast on the “Corleone lands” nearby. The charming stone farmhouse with a beautiful view of the surrounding hills once belonged to top mafia boss Toto Riina in the 1980s and the mastermind behind the assassinations of the famous anti-mafia prosecutors Falcone and Borsellino in 1992. He is currently in prison.
Since its inception 10 years ago, Libera Terra has pushed to create businesses that are run legally, respecting labor laws, worker’s rights and the environment. It offers higher wages, benefits and dignity to its employees, say officials. “Our message is that one can work legally and make a decent living out of it, that there is an alternative to the mafia," said Francesco Galante, Libera Terra communication director. In Sicily, the unemployment rate reaches 14.7 percent. That gives the mafia a powerful lure.
“At the beginning we felt very isolated," said Galante. "Nobody wanted to work with us or commit to it. But things changed when workers understood that we offered better working conditions and also that there was no danger.”
In the early years, the organization's crops were vandalized or set on fire and their agricultural tools were stolen. A decade later, that type of intimidation has ceased. “The mafia knows that if they attack us, we will get lots of media attention and official support," Galante said. "With this visibility, they will have more difficulties doing business.”
Today, Libera employs 30 people and is flooded with job applications. It sells its own brands of organic wine, olive oil and pasta throughout Italy and visitors are starting to crowd the scenic bed and breakfast and its restaurant.
“The campaigns for responsible consumer behavior have had a notable impact," said Umberto Santino, author of a book on the anti-mafia movement and director the Giuseppe Impastato Sicilian Information Center on the mafia. "They have received a lot of support from consumers.”
“However, if we look at how many businesses participate, this is still a very small minority," he added. "We have made progress since the 1990’s but there is still a long way to go.”
Thanks to Caroline Chaumont
In Italy, groups like Sicily’s Cosa Nostra are destructive as well as economically vexing. Mob operatives routinely extort protection money from businesses, intimidating and inflicting violence on those that don’t cooperate.
These days, tourists and specialized travel agencies in Southern Italy are fighting back, by supporting business that defy the mafia. It’s a burgeoning form of responsible or ethical tourism in a region with much to offer: splendid Mediterranean countryside, stunning shorelines, hearty wines and cuisine that’s superlative even by Italy’s standards — influenced by the Greeks, Arabs, Spanish and French who invaded the island.
“There is a strong demand for [anti-mafia tourism],” said Francesca Vannini Parenti, the founder of Addiopizzo Travel, a Palermo-based agency that offers mafia-free holidays. “People want to know which shops, restaurants and hotels don’t pay protection money to the mafia.”
The addio pizzo — literally “goodbye protection money” — network of businesses was created in 2004 by a few young locals outraged that they couldn’t open a bar without paying up. Back then, organizing the mafia resistance movement was revolutionary. Today, about 700 local businesses in the Palermo region are part of the network — an encouraging if small number in an area with about 25,000 retailers. In Sicily about 70 percent of 50,000 retailers pay the protection money, according to the 2010 statistics of SOS Impresa, the anti-racketeering office of Confesercenti, the national retailers’ association.
Addiopizzo directs tourists to the shops, restaurants and hotels where it is certain none of their money will go to the mob. Addiopizzo can make reservations and publishes a map of Palermo indicating these establishments. The group offers holiday packages to discover the "hot spots" in the fight against the mafia in Palermo and its surroundings. These include meetings with locals on the frontlines of the resistance. Participants in their tours say these are crucial to increasing their understanding of the mafia and what fighting it entails.
“I was very moved” said one German student on the tour, after meeting with Ignazio Cutro, a businessman who is under police protection after exposing men who tried to extort money from him. “He and his family live in complete isolation now. Afterward, his children lost all their friends at school – even his brother doesn’t speak to him anymore.”
So far, Addiopizzo mainly offers guided tours for schools and university students but it hopes to attract larger crowds. In September, Addiopizzo launched a one-day tour of Palermo which includes stops at the mafia victims square, the courthouse, police headquarters and the home of Paolo Borsellino, a leading anti-mafia prosecutor, assassinated in 1992.
Through the tour, participants learn the history of the resistance to the mafia, as old as the mafia itself, dating back to the end of the 19th century. They hear details about the legal fight against the mafia over the years led by prosecutors and the difficulties faced by police officers charged with tracking the mafiosi.
The guides also detail the collusion between the mafia and political elites, and they recount the Catholic Church's attitude toward the Cosa Nostra: mostly silence for decades, except for the resistance of a couple of isolated priests. And to illustrate how film has portrayed the mafia, the tour visits the steps of Palermo’s opera house where one of the famous and final scenes of Godfather III was shot. In that scene, Mary, the daughter of Michael Corleone, the Godfather, is killed in front of him by a rival clan.
Meanwhile, the tour stops for lunch at the Focacceria San Francesco. The restaurant, which offers a celebrated veal spleen and ricotta sandwich, is also well known for its owner, Vincenzo Conticello. He was one of the first in Palermo to expose his extortionists.
In 2005, a man came to the Focacceria to ask him to pay a regular fee. He refused and reported the incident to the police. The man and two accomplices were arrested and in 2008, received prison sentences of 10 to 16 years for extortion. Conticello has been living under police protection since then. “This is one of the very publicized cases, the majority of the ones who (report the mafia) today face limited risks," said Valerio d’Antoni, a lawyer affiliated with Addiopizzo who provides support to businesses to resist the mafia. "When the businessman is very determined, the mafia understands it is better to let it go.”
Still, there can be repercussions, says Parenti.
Last year about 50 acts of intimidation occurred in Palermo, according to SOS Impresa. These included arson, vandalism and “glue attacks” in which a shop’s locks are glued shut, a sign that the property doesn’t really belong to the owner. “Often the ones who (resist) become isolated," Parenti said. "One of our members, a bar owner in a small town, lost all his clients after [resisting]. If everybody would stand up against the mafia, we wouldn’t need heroes anymore.”
Addiopizzo is not alone in using tourism to fight the mob. Another organization, Libera Terra (Free land), specializes in finding socially productive uses of assets seized from the mafia. In Italy, more than 11,500 assets have been seized from the mafia half of that in Sicily, according to government estimates.
Libera Terra, offers similar "ethical" travel packages, shows visitors how socially conscious organizations are currently producing organic pasta, wine, and traditional preserves on the land once owned by Cosa Nostra. In the stunning Sicilian hinterlands close to Corleone, a small town made famous by The Godfather and home of famous mafia bosses, Libera Terra farms about 300 hectares of land.
It also runs a bed and breakfast on the “Corleone lands” nearby. The charming stone farmhouse with a beautiful view of the surrounding hills once belonged to top mafia boss Toto Riina in the 1980s and the mastermind behind the assassinations of the famous anti-mafia prosecutors Falcone and Borsellino in 1992. He is currently in prison.
Since its inception 10 years ago, Libera Terra has pushed to create businesses that are run legally, respecting labor laws, worker’s rights and the environment. It offers higher wages, benefits and dignity to its employees, say officials. “Our message is that one can work legally and make a decent living out of it, that there is an alternative to the mafia," said Francesco Galante, Libera Terra communication director. In Sicily, the unemployment rate reaches 14.7 percent. That gives the mafia a powerful lure.
“At the beginning we felt very isolated," said Galante. "Nobody wanted to work with us or commit to it. But things changed when workers understood that we offered better working conditions and also that there was no danger.”
In the early years, the organization's crops were vandalized or set on fire and their agricultural tools were stolen. A decade later, that type of intimidation has ceased. “The mafia knows that if they attack us, we will get lots of media attention and official support," Galante said. "With this visibility, they will have more difficulties doing business.”
Today, Libera employs 30 people and is flooded with job applications. It sells its own brands of organic wine, olive oil and pasta throughout Italy and visitors are starting to crowd the scenic bed and breakfast and its restaurant.
“The campaigns for responsible consumer behavior have had a notable impact," said Umberto Santino, author of a book on the anti-mafia movement and director the Giuseppe Impastato Sicilian Information Center on the mafia. "They have received a lot of support from consumers.”
“However, if we look at how many businesses participate, this is still a very small minority," he added. "We have made progress since the 1990’s but there is still a long way to go.”
Thanks to Caroline Chaumont
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Uncle Al Capone…The Untold Story From Inside His Family – By The Last Of The Capones
Deirdre Marie Capone lived in the house of the infamous Al Capone, her uncle. He taught her to swim, ride a bike, and play the mandolin. In her tell-all memoir, Uncle Al Capone - The Untold Story from Inside His Family, Deirdre, the last member of the family born with the name Capone, shares what it was really like growing up a Capone – definitely not the way most people would have imagined it to be. It is the only book ever written about America’s most notorious mobster by someone who knew him well.
Already a best-seller on Amazon, Deirdre’s fascinating memoir tells what really happened in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, what the ‘outfit’ was really all about, and what the ‘family’ were really like, especially the one person she confided in more than anyone – her Aunt Maffie (short for Mafalda – the Italian princess she was named after); a strong woman with whom she shared a close bond as one of the only two girls in the Capone family.
Uncle Al Capone is packed with absorbing stories about Al and his family, along with never-before-published photos and authentic Capone family recipes for the food that Al and his family enjoyed. Simply stated, there is no one else left who could ever share this piece of history with the world.
Deirdre relates what life was like growing up the grand niece of Public Enemy #1, Al Capone. Her own life had been saddened by the fact that her father, who had tried to live a more legitimate lifestyle than the rest of the family, couldn’t shake the shame of the Capone name and ended up taking his own life when Deirdre was just ten years-old. For most of her life she too had made every effort to hide the fact that she was a Capone and in 1972, in her early thirties, she left Chicago and her family history behind to reinvent herself in Minnesota, making sure that no one other than her husband knew her ancestry. She succeeded.
That is, until her past caught up with her on the day her nine year-old son came home from school and announced they were studying Al Capone in a class project. She and her husband agreed it was time to tell the kids but she was afraid for them – she had not wanted them growing up shunned by others or not having other kids to play with once they knew her name. She need not have worried – her kids thought it was totally ‘cool.’ So, at age 34, she finally accepted herself as Deirdre Marie Capone and today her 14 grandchildren are proud to tell the story of their ancestry.
Uncle Al Capone grabs the reader’s attention right from the start with its true life dialogue of the Capone family - from their ancestral roots in Angri, Italy to Brooklyn, New York, and later to Chicago. Deirdre offers a true portrait of an American family and gives a decidedly different look at her favorite uncle, endlessly depicted as the iconic mastermind behind some of the century’s most brutal killings.
For all the dissension, for all the pain, there comes a moment in our lives where we have to stand up and say: This - the good and the bad – is who I am, says Deirdre Marie Capone.
Already a best-seller on Amazon, Deirdre’s fascinating memoir tells what really happened in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, what the ‘outfit’ was really all about, and what the ‘family’ were really like, especially the one person she confided in more than anyone – her Aunt Maffie (short for Mafalda – the Italian princess she was named after); a strong woman with whom she shared a close bond as one of the only two girls in the Capone family.
Uncle Al Capone is packed with absorbing stories about Al and his family, along with never-before-published photos and authentic Capone family recipes for the food that Al and his family enjoyed. Simply stated, there is no one else left who could ever share this piece of history with the world.
Deirdre relates what life was like growing up the grand niece of Public Enemy #1, Al Capone. Her own life had been saddened by the fact that her father, who had tried to live a more legitimate lifestyle than the rest of the family, couldn’t shake the shame of the Capone name and ended up taking his own life when Deirdre was just ten years-old. For most of her life she too had made every effort to hide the fact that she was a Capone and in 1972, in her early thirties, she left Chicago and her family history behind to reinvent herself in Minnesota, making sure that no one other than her husband knew her ancestry. She succeeded.
That is, until her past caught up with her on the day her nine year-old son came home from school and announced they were studying Al Capone in a class project. She and her husband agreed it was time to tell the kids but she was afraid for them – she had not wanted them growing up shunned by others or not having other kids to play with once they knew her name. She need not have worried – her kids thought it was totally ‘cool.’ So, at age 34, she finally accepted herself as Deirdre Marie Capone and today her 14 grandchildren are proud to tell the story of their ancestry.
Uncle Al Capone grabs the reader’s attention right from the start with its true life dialogue of the Capone family - from their ancestral roots in Angri, Italy to Brooklyn, New York, and later to Chicago. Deirdre offers a true portrait of an American family and gives a decidedly different look at her favorite uncle, endlessly depicted as the iconic mastermind behind some of the century’s most brutal killings.
For all the dissension, for all the pain, there comes a moment in our lives where we have to stand up and say: This - the good and the bad – is who I am, says Deirdre Marie Capone.
Monday, November 07, 2011
“Figuring Out How to Do What’s Right…" Keynote Address by Michael Franzese
Ever wonder what it’s like to be in the mafia? What about being at a corporation when an ethical scandal is discovered? What do you do when you’re at work and a baseball player is shooting up behind you?
Ethical dilemmas are a part of everyone’s life, both personal and professional. You will be faced with a range of ethical questions here at Bryant, at home, and in the workplace. So how do you know what decision to make? When are you crossing the line?
On Tuesday, November 8th, the Interfaith Center is sponsoring “Figuring Out How to Do What’s Right…” featuring a panel discussion and keynote speaker Michael Franzese. The panel will consist of Gina Spencer, an ombudsman at Covidien who worked at Tyco when a scandal was uncovered in 2002, Professor Tom Roach, who teaches the ethics-based classes here at Bryant, and Kevin McNamara, a writer for the sports section of the Providence Journal. The panel will discuss where values come from, how to find the courage to make the right decision, and examples of ethical dilemmas that come up with their work.
Following the panel, keynote speaker Michael Franzese will take the stage. Franzese, a former member of the Colombo family, will discuss life in organized crime and working with the Russian Mafia. He will talk about leaving a life of crime, deciding between right and wrong, and how his life has improved since leaving the Mafia.
The event will be hosted by Professor Mike Roberto, and takes place on November 8th in the MAC. The panel discussion will begin at 2PM, with Franzese to follow at 3PM. For more information, please contact John Nesbitt, Program Coordinator of the Ronald K. & Kati C. Machtley Interfaith Center at jnesbitt@bryant.edu.
Thanks to Katie Colton
Ethical dilemmas are a part of everyone’s life, both personal and professional. You will be faced with a range of ethical questions here at Bryant, at home, and in the workplace. So how do you know what decision to make? When are you crossing the line?
On Tuesday, November 8th, the Interfaith Center is sponsoring “Figuring Out How to Do What’s Right…” featuring a panel discussion and keynote speaker Michael Franzese. The panel will consist of Gina Spencer, an ombudsman at Covidien who worked at Tyco when a scandal was uncovered in 2002, Professor Tom Roach, who teaches the ethics-based classes here at Bryant, and Kevin McNamara, a writer for the sports section of the Providence Journal. The panel will discuss where values come from, how to find the courage to make the right decision, and examples of ethical dilemmas that come up with their work.
Following the panel, keynote speaker Michael Franzese will take the stage. Franzese, a former member of the Colombo family, will discuss life in organized crime and working with the Russian Mafia. He will talk about leaving a life of crime, deciding between right and wrong, and how his life has improved since leaving the Mafia.
The event will be hosted by Professor Mike Roberto, and takes place on November 8th in the MAC. The panel discussion will begin at 2PM, with Franzese to follow at 3PM. For more information, please contact John Nesbitt, Program Coordinator of the Ronald K. & Kati C. Machtley Interfaith Center at jnesbitt@bryant.edu.
Thanks to Katie Colton
Catherine Greig, Girlfriend of Whitey Bulger, Denied Bail
Catherine Greig, charged with aiding her fugitive boyfriend, notorious mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger, was denied bail on Friday by a federal judge who ruled she was a serious flight risk.
Greig's lawyers had requested that she be released on bail to home confinement and electronic monitoring, with her own house and the home of her identical twin sister as additional collateral. But the judge denied that request.
"She walked away from both 16 years ago when she left Massachusetts with Bulger, demonstrating a willingness to leave everything and everyone behind," U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer Boal said in a written ruling.
Greig, 60, is scheduled to go on trial in April 2012 on federal charges that she conspired with Bulger and others to conceal and harbor the aging gangster during the 16 years the pair hid from authorities.
Bulger, 82, fled Boston in late 1994 after receiving a tip from a corrupt FBI agent that federal charges were pending. Bulger has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, including over 19 killings from the 1970s and 1980s.
Greig, who joined Bulger in hiding, faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
Bulger and Greig were arrested in California in June with a stash of about 30 firearms and $822,000 in cash hidden in holes in the wall of their apartment.
The judge said she had considered Greig's skill in eluding authorities for 16 years while aiding Bulger on the run, including her use of assumed names and false identification documents.
In denying bail, the judge also said the brutal nature of the crimes that Bulger was accused of committing added weight to Greig's charges. "While the crime of harboring a fugitive is not normally considered a crime of violence, the court cannot ignore the fact that Greig is charged with harboring a fugitive who is accused of 19 murders," Boal wrote.
Bulger for years led the Winter Hill Gang, a mostly Irish-American organized crime operation that operated in Boston.
Greig's lawyers had requested that she be released on bail to home confinement and electronic monitoring, with her own house and the home of her identical twin sister as additional collateral. But the judge denied that request."She walked away from both 16 years ago when she left Massachusetts with Bulger, demonstrating a willingness to leave everything and everyone behind," U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer Boal said in a written ruling.
Greig, 60, is scheduled to go on trial in April 2012 on federal charges that she conspired with Bulger and others to conceal and harbor the aging gangster during the 16 years the pair hid from authorities.
Bulger, 82, fled Boston in late 1994 after receiving a tip from a corrupt FBI agent that federal charges were pending. Bulger has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, including over 19 killings from the 1970s and 1980s.
Greig, who joined Bulger in hiding, faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
Bulger and Greig were arrested in California in June with a stash of about 30 firearms and $822,000 in cash hidden in holes in the wall of their apartment.
The judge said she had considered Greig's skill in eluding authorities for 16 years while aiding Bulger on the run, including her use of assumed names and false identification documents.
In denying bail, the judge also said the brutal nature of the crimes that Bulger was accused of committing added weight to Greig's charges. "While the crime of harboring a fugitive is not normally considered a crime of violence, the court cannot ignore the fact that Greig is charged with harboring a fugitive who is accused of 19 murders," Boal wrote.
Bulger for years led the Winter Hill Gang, a mostly Irish-American organized crime operation that operated in Boston.
Sunday, November 06, 2011
Crime in Chicago Seminar
Join The Chicago History Museum for an exploration of Chicago crime from historical and contemporary perspectives. Programs begin at 7:00 p.m.
Lecture - The Chicago “Outfit:” Traditional Chicago Organized Crime from its Earliest Roots to Operation Family Secrets
Tuesday, November 8, 7:00 p.m.
Arthur Bilek is the Executive Director of the Chicago Crime Commission, a civilian “watchdog” agency that has monitored organized crime activity in Chicago since 1919. Art served under Cook County Sheriff Richard B. Ogilvie in a key investigative role from 1962-1966, and is the author of two books “The First Vice Lord: Big Jim Colosimo and the Ladies of the Levee", and “St. Valentine's Day Massacre: The Untold Story of the Gangland Bloodbath That Brought Down Al Capone.” A recognized authority on the mob and its inner workings, Art will discuss the history of the Outfit from its earliest days through the defining government prosecutions of the 1990s and the recent Operation Family Secrets that has significantly crippled operations locally.
Cost: $10, $8 members
Bus Tour - Murder and Mayhem in Chicago: North by Northwest
Saturday, November 12, 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
We’ll visit famous North Side and Northwest side crime scene locales and discuss what happened, the aftermath, and their historical implications on life in Chicago and the city’s identity.
Cost: $45, $40 members
History Pub Crawl - Booze, Bars, and Bootlegging! Prohibition Era Chicago
Sunday, November 13, 1:00 p.m.-4p.m.
Find out what makes Chicago untouchable. Get a taste of infamous speakeasies frequented by some of Chicago’s infamous gangsters like Capone, Moran, and Dillinger. On this trolley tour, learn how prohibition came to be, some fascinating facts about the era, and how it ultimately shaped the city and its image.
Cost: $30, $25 members
Film - Madness In The White City
Sunday, November 13, 1:30 p.m.
It’s 1893 and the Columbian Exposition is taking center stage in Chicago. Amidst all the new and wonderful buildings and innovations at the fair, was an evil predator that threatened the lives of many. This film takes a closer looks at the life of H.H. Holmes, one of America's first serial killers. In collaboration with Kurtis Productions. 50 Minutes.
Cost: Free with Museum admission
Lecture - Street Gangs in Chicago
Tuesday, November 15, 7:00 p.m.
John M. Hagedorn is a Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Illinois and a subject matter expert on contemporary inner-city street gangs. He is the author of “A World of Gangs: Armed Young Men and Gangsta Culture (Globalization and Community),” and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Illinois Chicago’s Great Cities Institute. Assisted by historian and author Richard Lindberg, Professor Hagedorn’s discussion will be framed around the historical roots of gangs in Gaslight Era Chicago; contemporary gangs and who they are what they represent today.
Cost: $10, $8 members
Bus Tour - Murder and Mayhem in Chicago: South and West
Saturday, November 19, 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
We’ll visit famous South Side and West side crime scene locales and discuss what happened, the aftermath, and their historical implications on life in Chicago and the city’s identity.
Cost: $45, $40 members
Walking Tour - Crime of the Century: Leopold & Loeb and the Murder of Bobby Franks
Saturday, November 19, 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
On May 21, 1924, in the city of Chicago, a young boy went missing. The next morning his father, Jacob Franks, received a phone call informing him that his son, Bobby, had been beaten to death. This gruesome and senseless murder has stained Chicago history and still leaves many baffled. Join us as we return to the scene of the crime and tour the Kenwood neighborhood where we will visit sites relevant to Leopold and Loeb’s murder of Bobby Franks.
Cost: $15, $10 members
Lecture - The Chicago “Outfit:” Traditional Chicago Organized Crime from its Earliest Roots to Operation Family Secrets
Tuesday, November 8, 7:00 p.m.
Arthur Bilek is the Executive Director of the Chicago Crime Commission, a civilian “watchdog” agency that has monitored organized crime activity in Chicago since 1919. Art served under Cook County Sheriff Richard B. Ogilvie in a key investigative role from 1962-1966, and is the author of two books “The First Vice Lord: Big Jim Colosimo and the Ladies of the Levee", and “St. Valentine's Day Massacre: The Untold Story of the Gangland Bloodbath That Brought Down Al Capone.” A recognized authority on the mob and its inner workings, Art will discuss the history of the Outfit from its earliest days through the defining government prosecutions of the 1990s and the recent Operation Family Secrets that has significantly crippled operations locally.
Cost: $10, $8 members
Bus Tour - Murder and Mayhem in Chicago: North by Northwest
Saturday, November 12, 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
We’ll visit famous North Side and Northwest side crime scene locales and discuss what happened, the aftermath, and their historical implications on life in Chicago and the city’s identity.
Cost: $45, $40 members
History Pub Crawl - Booze, Bars, and Bootlegging! Prohibition Era Chicago
Sunday, November 13, 1:00 p.m.-4p.m.
Find out what makes Chicago untouchable. Get a taste of infamous speakeasies frequented by some of Chicago’s infamous gangsters like Capone, Moran, and Dillinger. On this trolley tour, learn how prohibition came to be, some fascinating facts about the era, and how it ultimately shaped the city and its image.
Cost: $30, $25 members
Film - Madness In The White City
Sunday, November 13, 1:30 p.m.
It’s 1893 and the Columbian Exposition is taking center stage in Chicago. Amidst all the new and wonderful buildings and innovations at the fair, was an evil predator that threatened the lives of many. This film takes a closer looks at the life of H.H. Holmes, one of America's first serial killers. In collaboration with Kurtis Productions. 50 Minutes.
Cost: Free with Museum admission
Lecture - Street Gangs in Chicago
Tuesday, November 15, 7:00 p.m.
John M. Hagedorn is a Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Illinois and a subject matter expert on contemporary inner-city street gangs. He is the author of “A World of Gangs: Armed Young Men and Gangsta Culture (Globalization and Community),” and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Illinois Chicago’s Great Cities Institute. Assisted by historian and author Richard Lindberg, Professor Hagedorn’s discussion will be framed around the historical roots of gangs in Gaslight Era Chicago; contemporary gangs and who they are what they represent today.
Cost: $10, $8 members
Bus Tour - Murder and Mayhem in Chicago: South and West
Saturday, November 19, 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
We’ll visit famous South Side and West side crime scene locales and discuss what happened, the aftermath, and their historical implications on life in Chicago and the city’s identity.
Cost: $45, $40 members
Walking Tour - Crime of the Century: Leopold & Loeb and the Murder of Bobby Franks
Saturday, November 19, 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
On May 21, 1924, in the city of Chicago, a young boy went missing. The next morning his father, Jacob Franks, received a phone call informing him that his son, Bobby, had been beaten to death. This gruesome and senseless murder has stained Chicago history and still leaves many baffled. Join us as we return to the scene of the crime and tour the Kenwood neighborhood where we will visit sites relevant to Leopold and Loeb’s murder of Bobby Franks.
Cost: $15, $10 members
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