Leaders of the Detroit Highwaymen Found Guilty of Racketeering, Drug, and Weapons Charges

Six leaders of the Detroit Highwaymen Motorcycle Club were found guilty on a variety of charges, including conspiracy to violate federal racketeering laws and conspiracy to commit murder, along with controlled substance, stolen property, and firearm violations, United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced. These six defendants are the first of 91 Detroit Highwaymen members and associates to go to trial.

United States Attorney McQuade was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Leonard “Dad” Moore, 61, Joseph “Little Joe” Whiting, 56, Anthony “Mad Anthony” Clark, 52, Michael “Cocoa” Cicchetti, 55, Aref “Scarfare” Nagi, 46, and Gary “Junior” Ball Jr., 44, were found guilty today by a federal jury in United States District Court empaneled before Judge Nancy G. Edmunds. The jury deliberated for approximately 25 hours before returning the verdict, concluding a two-month long trial.

United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade said, “Violent crime is a top priority of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and we will use all of the tools available to us to attack violent criminal organizations like this one.”

“Dismantling violent gangs is a continuing priority for the FBI. This verdict is the direct result of joint efforts with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, and we will continue to work diligently with our colleagues to investigate and eradicate gangs and the violence they perpetrate,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena. “Together we are committed to restoring safety and security to our neighborhoods.”

The Highwaymen Motorcycle Club is headquartered in southwest Detroit and has numerous chapters in the city of Detroit, in several cities in southeast Michigan, and has chapters in other states. Prosecutors were able to prove the violent nature of the club when witnesses testified to a range of criminal activity including armed robbery, attempted murder, conspiracies to kill witnesses, use of firearms during acts of violence, and the distribution of large amounts of marijuana, cocaine, and steroids.

Evidence at trial also established the highly structured organization and chain of the command of the Highwaymen. These six defendants represented many of the officers, or bosses, of the enterprise. Evidence also showed that other members of the club were heavily involved in narcotics trafficking and theft offenses.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and their Violent Crime Task Force, with the assistance of the Brownstown Township Police Department, Detroit Police Department, Wayne County Sheriff’s Department and the Michigan State Police. FBI Special Agent Ted Brzezinski was the lead case agent responsible for handling and coordinating the multi-year investigative effort.

Each defendant faces a potential life sentence due to the nature of the offenses. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Diane Marion and Christopher Graveline.

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Jon Burge Compared to Al Capone by Jury Prospect?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The trial is expected to take six weeks.

Thanks to Matthew Walberg

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks to Kim Janssen

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Two Upper Echelon Chicago Outfit Members Informing for the Feds?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks to Chuck Goudie and Ann Pistone

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Anthony "Little Tony" Zizzo Murdered According to Fed Theory

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

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

Was Zizzo, 71, cooperating with the feds?

Was he trunk music?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks to Steve Warmbir

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