Friends of ours: Al "Pizza Man" Tornabene, John "No Nose" DiFronzo, James "Little Jimmy" Marcello, Michael Marcello, Anthony "Little Tony" Zizzo, Frank Calabrese Sr., Nick Calabrese
Who will be the new Tony Soprano of the Chicago mob?
With so many mob leaders on trial or dead, the Chicago Outfit is in disarray, law enforcement sources say.
It could be the "Pizza Man" acting as caretaker.
Or "No Nose" could still be pulling the strings, some Outfit watchers believe.
The "Pizza Man" is Al Tornabene, the 84-year-old former owner of a suburban pizza parlor. He has kept an extremely low profile for a reputed mob leader and has never been arrested by the FBI. Recently, his name has come up in conversations the FBI secretly recorded in prison between reputed top Chicago mob boss James "Little Jimmy" Marcello and his younger brother, Michael Marcello.
Tornabene has been seen eating in Rush Street restaurants with another top reputed mobster, Anthony "Little Tony" Zizzo, who was last seen leaving his Westmont home in August last year and hasn't been heard from since. Zizzo was responsible for overseeing one of the Outfit's most lucrative enterprises, the illegal video poker machines in bars throughout Chicago.
Tornabene has long been a mob leader, authorities say. In 1983, for instance, he presided over a ceremony at which several mobsters were inducted into full membership rights of the Outfit, court records show. Among the men who were made were Zizzo, reputed mob hit man Frank Calabrese Sr. and his brother, Nick Calabrese, who has admitted in a plea agreement with the feds that he killed at least 14 people for the Chicago Outfit. He is cooperating with the FBI.
"No Nose" is the much better known John DiFronzo, who is in his late 70s and has long been reputed to be a respected elder of the Chicago Outfit. DiFronzo is known for his business acumen and wide range of investments, including car dealerships. Some mob watchers think DiFronzo has long been rivals with James Marcello and is not overly upset over his arrest.
Tornabene hung up during a phone call Friday when asked if he was running the Outfit.
DiFronzo could not be reached for comment.
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
Sunday, June 10, 2007
The Final Sopranos Episode Ever
This week, Dr. Melfi has cut her ties, Silvio's in a coma, and Bobby has been derailed - now, there is no more hiding. Don't miss The Final Episode of the groundbreaking series The Sopranos, Sunday at 8pm, Central Time.
Mob War Breaking Out in New York?
Friends of ours: Colombo Crime Family, Gambino Crime Family, Genovese Crime Family, Paul Castellano, John Gotti, Rudolph "Cueball" Izzi, Robert DeCicco, Frank DeCicco, George DeCicco
Friends of mine: Sopranos Crime Family
A pair of mob shootings in three days, one of them reminiscent of a hit on last week's episode of "The Sopranos," prompted speculation of a nascent Mafia war in New York City.
Not likely, according to mob experts who say "The Life" - as mobsters refer to their criminal pursuits - rarely imitates art these days. In an era of dwindling Mafia initiates and multiplying federal informants, gangsters are more dangerous to each other by sitting on the witness stand than by "going to the mattresses" as in "The Godfather."
"Years ago, there were things worth killing for," said Howard Abadinsky, a St. John's University professor and author of several books on organized crime. "It wasn't like today. It sounds funny, but murder is a serious thing to get involved in these days from a wiseguy's point of view."
Recent history bears him out. The last real New York mob war, involving the Colombos, began in 1991 and claimed 13 victims, including a teen bagel shop worker killed in a case of mistaken identity.
The last hit on a mob boss occurred six years earlier, when "Big Paul" Castellano was murdered by John Gotti and a cadre of Gambino family underlings.
The Mafia's ruling Commission has been widely reported as having imposed a moratorium on murder within the ranks, with the heads of New York's five families acknowledging that internecine killings are bad for business.
"Murders were ruled off limits in the '90s, after the Colombo war," said veteran mob chronicler Jerry Capeci, author of "The Complete Idiots' Guide to the Mafia." "Murders were out to keep the heat off."
That wasn't enough to save Rudolph "Cueball" Izzi, a 74-year-old reputed Genovese family bookmaker and loan shark. Izzi was found dead Thursday on a bed in his Brooklyn apartment, a single gunshot wound in his head.
Two days earlier, a Gambino family associate with a lengthy mob lineage was wounded in a drive-by shooting just 1 1/2 miles from Izzi's home. Robert DeCicco, 56, was winged while sitting in his car outside a Brooklyn pharmacy in a neighborhood that serves as the mob's heartland.
That shooting echoed the penultimate episode of "The Sopranos," where killers blasted at consigliere Silvio Dante in a car outside the New Jersey strip club that fictional Tony Soprano's gang uses as a headquarters.
There was one major difference: the television shooters were more accurate. Silvio ended up in a coma; DeCicco walked out of a police station hours after the attempt on his life. "I'm all right," he said while walking down the precinct steps. "I feel very good."
FBI spokesman Jim Margolin acknowledged the twin shootings raised the question of whether a mob war was possible. "I'm not aware that it's one we've answered," he said.
Several theories were broached: Gambling debts were involved. Revenge was a motive. The killings were linked. Or perhaps someone with a grudge against Izzi used the DeCicco shooting as a smoke screen to take him out.
No arrests were made in either case.
The murder try on Robert DeCicco was familiar, if unfortunate, terrain for his family. His uncle, Frank DeCicco, had lured Castellano to his death outside Sparks Steak House in December 1985. Frank, who became the Gambino family underboss, was killed four months later by a retaliatory car bomb.
Robert's father, George, continued in the family business after Frank's death, becoming a constant presence on the Mafia scene.
Hours after his son was shot, George DeCicco told reporters outside his home that an explanation was beyond him.
"You got all these crazy people, these terrorists doing crazy things," he said. "I'm shocked just like anybody else."
Thanks to Larry McShane
Friends of mine: Sopranos Crime Family
A pair of mob shootings in three days, one of them reminiscent of a hit on last week's episode of "The Sopranos," prompted speculation of a nascent Mafia war in New York City.
Not likely, according to mob experts who say "The Life" - as mobsters refer to their criminal pursuits - rarely imitates art these days. In an era of dwindling Mafia initiates and multiplying federal informants, gangsters are more dangerous to each other by sitting on the witness stand than by "going to the mattresses" as in "The Godfather."
"Years ago, there were things worth killing for," said Howard Abadinsky, a St. John's University professor and author of several books on organized crime. "It wasn't like today. It sounds funny, but murder is a serious thing to get involved in these days from a wiseguy's point of view."
Recent history bears him out. The last real New York mob war, involving the Colombos, began in 1991 and claimed 13 victims, including a teen bagel shop worker killed in a case of mistaken identity.
The last hit on a mob boss occurred six years earlier, when "Big Paul" Castellano was murdered by John Gotti and a cadre of Gambino family underlings.
The Mafia's ruling Commission has been widely reported as having imposed a moratorium on murder within the ranks, with the heads of New York's five families acknowledging that internecine killings are bad for business.
"Murders were ruled off limits in the '90s, after the Colombo war," said veteran mob chronicler Jerry Capeci, author of "The Complete Idiots' Guide to the Mafia." "Murders were out to keep the heat off."
That wasn't enough to save Rudolph "Cueball" Izzi, a 74-year-old reputed Genovese family bookmaker and loan shark. Izzi was found dead Thursday on a bed in his Brooklyn apartment, a single gunshot wound in his head.
Two days earlier, a Gambino family associate with a lengthy mob lineage was wounded in a drive-by shooting just 1 1/2 miles from Izzi's home. Robert DeCicco, 56, was winged while sitting in his car outside a Brooklyn pharmacy in a neighborhood that serves as the mob's heartland.
That shooting echoed the penultimate episode of "The Sopranos," where killers blasted at consigliere Silvio Dante in a car outside the New Jersey strip club that fictional Tony Soprano's gang uses as a headquarters.
There was one major difference: the television shooters were more accurate. Silvio ended up in a coma; DeCicco walked out of a police station hours after the attempt on his life. "I'm all right," he said while walking down the precinct steps. "I feel very good."
FBI spokesman Jim Margolin acknowledged the twin shootings raised the question of whether a mob war was possible. "I'm not aware that it's one we've answered," he said.
Several theories were broached: Gambling debts were involved. Revenge was a motive. The killings were linked. Or perhaps someone with a grudge against Izzi used the DeCicco shooting as a smoke screen to take him out.
No arrests were made in either case.
The murder try on Robert DeCicco was familiar, if unfortunate, terrain for his family. His uncle, Frank DeCicco, had lured Castellano to his death outside Sparks Steak House in December 1985. Frank, who became the Gambino family underboss, was killed four months later by a retaliatory car bomb.
Robert's father, George, continued in the family business after Frank's death, becoming a constant presence on the Mafia scene.
Hours after his son was shot, George DeCicco told reporters outside his home that an explanation was beyond him.
"You got all these crazy people, these terrorists doing crazy things," he said. "I'm shocked just like anybody else."
Thanks to Larry McShane
The Sopranos vs. The Chicago Outfit
Friends of ours: Frank Calabrese Sr., Nick Calabrese, James Marcello
Friends of mine: Soprano Crime Family, Frank Calabrese Jr.
As the "Sopranos" ends its lengthy run tonight on HBO, has the popular show gotten mob life right?
Here's a look at how the series has been right on the money, and when it hasn't, compared to the Chicago Mob:
On the money
1. Mob families are screwed up.
Look no further than Chicago's own Calabrese family. At the upcoming federal Family Secrets trial, the brother of reputed mob hitman Frank Calabrese Sr. will testify against him. So will Calabrese Sr.'s son, Frank Jr., who secretly recorded his father while they were in prison. Calabrese Sr. allegedly confessed to mob killings. To say there's bad blood in this family is an understatement.
2. The rules are the rules, until they aren't.
Tony Soprano is well known for enforcing strict discipline among his crew until his rules inconvenience him. The same attitude is true of many a Chicago Mob leader, observers say. The bosses make the rules -- and break the rules when it suits them.
3. I love you, and now I'm going to kill you.
This season, viewers were shocked when Tony Soprano suffocated his nephew, Christopher Moltisanti. But mob observers say such ruthless behavior is not unusual in the Mafia. When Frank Calabrese Sr. learned that his brother, Nick, might be cooperating with the feds, Calabrese Sr. allegedly gave his blessing if Nick got whacked, according to secret tape recordings.
Outta whack
1. The mob takes care of its own.
In the "Sopranos," mobsters always take care of families of crew members who die or go to prison. Not always so in Chicago. Promises are made but not always kept. Frank Calabrese Sr., for instance, allegedly did not take care of the family of his brother, Nick, while both were in prison, despite assurances he would do so. Calabrese Sr. let other family members down, too. Taking up the slack, reputed Chicago mob boss James Marcello allegedly made monthly payments of $4,000 to Nick Calabrese's wife. A lot of good it did him -- Nick Calabrese will be a key witness against Marcello in the upcoming trial.
2. Fashion sense
No offense to Chicago mobsters, but the wise guys in the "Sopranos" generally dress much nattier than typical gangsters here, observers say.
3. Mobster therapy?
It's always seemed a stretch to some mob experts that a mob leader would ever see a shrink. The secret prison recordings of Frank Calabrese Sr. are not filled with him wondering how he could have been a better father or discussing his panic attacks. At one point, he allegedly talks about spreading lime on a dead guy.
Friends of mine: Soprano Crime Family, Frank Calabrese Jr.
As the "Sopranos" ends its lengthy run tonight on HBO, has the popular show gotten mob life right?
Here's a look at how the series has been right on the money, and when it hasn't, compared to the Chicago Mob:
On the money
1. Mob families are screwed up.
Look no further than Chicago's own Calabrese family. At the upcoming federal Family Secrets trial, the brother of reputed mob hitman Frank Calabrese Sr. will testify against him. So will Calabrese Sr.'s son, Frank Jr., who secretly recorded his father while they were in prison. Calabrese Sr. allegedly confessed to mob killings. To say there's bad blood in this family is an understatement.
2. The rules are the rules, until they aren't.
Tony Soprano is well known for enforcing strict discipline among his crew until his rules inconvenience him. The same attitude is true of many a Chicago Mob leader, observers say. The bosses make the rules -- and break the rules when it suits them.
3. I love you, and now I'm going to kill you.
This season, viewers were shocked when Tony Soprano suffocated his nephew, Christopher Moltisanti. But mob observers say such ruthless behavior is not unusual in the Mafia. When Frank Calabrese Sr. learned that his brother, Nick, might be cooperating with the feds, Calabrese Sr. allegedly gave his blessing if Nick got whacked, according to secret tape recordings.
Outta whack
1. The mob takes care of its own.
In the "Sopranos," mobsters always take care of families of crew members who die or go to prison. Not always so in Chicago. Promises are made but not always kept. Frank Calabrese Sr., for instance, allegedly did not take care of the family of his brother, Nick, while both were in prison, despite assurances he would do so. Calabrese Sr. let other family members down, too. Taking up the slack, reputed Chicago mob boss James Marcello allegedly made monthly payments of $4,000 to Nick Calabrese's wife. A lot of good it did him -- Nick Calabrese will be a key witness against Marcello in the upcoming trial.
2. Fashion sense
No offense to Chicago mobsters, but the wise guys in the "Sopranos" generally dress much nattier than typical gangsters here, observers say.
3. Mobster therapy?
It's always seemed a stretch to some mob experts that a mob leader would ever see a shrink. The secret prison recordings of Frank Calabrese Sr. are not filled with him wondering how he could have been a better father or discussing his panic attacks. At one point, he allegedly talks about spreading lime on a dead guy.
Mafia Allies: The True Story of America's Secret Alliance with the Mob in World War II
The Mafia is one of the most feared and powerful criminal organizations the world has ever known. It was also, briefly during World War II, Americas ally--a fact that had a profound effect on the fortunes of the Fascists, and on those of the Mafia, whom Mussolini had effectively crushed.
This book brings to light a little-known chapter in the history of World War II, and of organized crime. It tells how Cesare Mori, deputized by Mussolini to "cauterize the sore of crime in Italy," waged all-out war on the Mafia in the name of fascism; and how the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943 (Operation Husky) gave the Mafia an opening to regain its strength--and its hold on political power--in the vacuum created by the Fascists defeat.
A provocative account of how the rise and ultimate defeat of fascism in Italy affected the worlds largest and most notorious criminal organization, Mafia Allies also illuminates a dark truth about the unexpected long-term consequences of wartime alliances of convenience.
This book brings to light a little-known chapter in the history of World War II, and of organized crime. It tells how Cesare Mori, deputized by Mussolini to "cauterize the sore of crime in Italy," waged all-out war on the Mafia in the name of fascism; and how the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943 (Operation Husky) gave the Mafia an opening to regain its strength--and its hold on political power--in the vacuum created by the Fascists defeat.
A provocative account of how the rise and ultimate defeat of fascism in Italy affected the worlds largest and most notorious criminal organization, Mafia Allies also illuminates a dark truth about the unexpected long-term consequences of wartime alliances of convenience.
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