An important Illinois political story took place on Wednesday.
It didn't happen in Springfield or at Chicago's City Hall.
It took place on a quiet street in Oak Park. There were no TV cameras, no press aides. It was a somber ritual marking the transfer of power.
Sam Banks, the longtime political boss of the 36th Ward on the Northwest Side of Chicago, was laid to rest. He passed away after a long bout with cancer. The funeral was held at St. Giles Roman Catholic Church.
One of Sam's pallbearers was his former political apprentice, State Sen. James DeLeo, D-How You Doin'?
Sam was the guy for years. But there's a new guy now, reaching beyond the ward, from Rush Street to Rosemont and beyond:
Jimmy.
The night before, at Salerno's Galewood Chapels on North Harlem Avenue, thousands of clout-heavy people attended the wake in rooms crammed with flower arrangements.
Attendees included trucking barons, asphalt kings, Republican and Democratic officials from across the state, right down to Christy Spina, the former driver for imprisoned Outfit boss Joey "The Clown" Lombardo. And there were plenty of judges, who along with the lawyers, helped form Sam Banks' network.
Criminal defense lawyer Tom Breen delivered the eulogy in church.
"If I were writing a newspaper column about Sam Banks," said Breen, "my newspaper column would be about a man who worked hard all his life, who loved his family, his career. That's the Sam Banks I would write about.
"He was a good person, he was a generous person. And I think we will miss him terribly."
Banks did love his family, and Breen is a fine lawyer. But he's no newspaper columnist. You can't write a column about the 36th Ward without asking some FBI types about the Chicago Outfit.
Almost two decades ago now, the old mobbed-up 1st Ward was scattered to the winds by federal prosecutions. The late Ald. Fred Roti, 1st, was sent to prison. With City Hall's official position that there is no Outfit, the old 1st Ward boundaries were erased on the city political maps.
"Once Roti was out of business, they did have other people to assume the same power and control in the 36th Ward," said Jim Wagner, the former head of the Chicago Crime Commission and longtime chief of the FBI's organized-crime section.
"If you're in organized crime, you're not going to give up the position of influence and authority," Wagner said. "You're going to turn to a replacement. That's what they are thought to have done."
Banks was low-key. He wasn't a showoff, no spaccone, like some. Again, remember, despite federal theories, there have been no Outfit-related charges. Sam was never charged. It's not illegal to know guys who know guys.
"What does that mean, ‘mob-associated?'" said DeLeo years ago, when the Sun-Times asked about political contributions he received from businesses connected to reputed Outfit boss John DiFronzo.
"In the year 2001, is there really a mob in Chicago?" DeLeo asked then, perhaps rhetorically.
Jimmy can be amusing. He's a funny guy.
Shortly after that witty comment, Chicago was treated to the most significant Outfit investigation in history. The "Family Secrets" case led to what amounts to life prison terms for top mob bosses and hit men.
In the "Family Secrets" trial, DeLeo and Sam's son, zoning lawyer and banker James Banks, were named in testimony by Ann Spilotro, widow of slain gangster Michael Spilotro, as the buyers of a business she owned. In other testimony, Sam Banks was named by a convicted burglar as an alleged conduit for protection money to corrupt cops.
Then in 2008, pressure on the 36th Ward organization increased. The Chicago Tribune investigative series "Neighborhoods for Sale" documented how clout influenced the politics of zoning in Chicago. While Sam Banks was strong, the Banks family was the first family of zoning in the city.
His brother William Banks was the alderman. For decades, Billy was chairman of the powerful City Council Committee on Zoning. Back when I covered City Hall, every time James Banks appeared before Uncle Billy's committee with a zoning matter, Uncle Billy would stand up and loudly excuse himself, saying he wanted no conflict of interest.
Then Billy would walk into the back room, perhaps have a sandwich, and wait while the other aldermen approved his nephew's zoning request. They probably didn't want a conflict of interest with Sam.
Recently, things have changed. With the feds interested in the 36th Ward, Billy has retired from the City Council. Jimmy might let him keep the Democratic committeeman's job and play with the precinct captains and pretend he's got power, but that's about it.
In his eulogy Wednesday, Breen said that moments after the family asked him to speak in church, his phone rang. It was the guy. It was Jimmy.
"He (DeLeo) said, ‘Tom, you know there is a time limit and you know that it's in a church, right?'" Breen recalled, getting some laughs. "So the golf jokes were out the window. The dinner jokes were out the window."
Jimmy is now retiring from the state Senate. He'll become a lobbyist. He still has his title insurance company business partner, Senate President John Cullerton, D-DeLeo, running things in Springfield.
Like Sam before him, it's time for Jimmy to go low-key. After all, he's the guy.
Thanks to John Kass
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Reputed Mob Lawyer Sam Banks Succumbs to Cancer
Whether he was prosecuting comic Lenny Bruce on obscenity charges, defending a client, or fending off talk that he was a mob mouthpiece, lawyer Samuel V.P. Banks was a bulldog in the courtroom.
"Sam" Banks, who questioned witnesses with the force and cadence of a jackhammer, died of cancer Saturday at age 73 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
He was a member of one of Chicago's most politically connected families. His brother, former Ald. William J.P. Banks (36th), headed the City Council zoning committee until he retired last year; his son, James, is a zoning lawyer; his brother, Ronald J.P. Banks, was a judge, and his daughter, Karen, married state Rep. John A. Fritchey (D-Chicago).
Some of the city's most colorful federal probes -- and characters -- were braided through Mr. Banks' career.
Ronald Banks said his brother believed everyone deserved a strong defense. "He was good," Ronald Banks said. "He was not afraid to try any case. He believed you're innocent till proven guilty."
Sam Banks represented 1st Ward Ald. Fred Roti in 1989 after "Operation Kaffeeklatsch" broke wide open when a busboy found hidden recording equipment at a favorite pols' haunt: the old Counsellor's Row restaurant. Roti was a "made member" of the mob, according to the FBI.
In the 1991 "Gambat" probe of 1st Ward corruption, Mr. Banks defended Pasquale "Pat" Frank De Leo against charges he bribed Judge David J. Shields to fix a case.
At the 2007 "Family Secrets" trial of mobster Joey "The Clown" Lombardo, a former burglar testified he believed he'd passed bribes to police through Sam Banks. But the man admitted he never saw money change hands.
In 1989 at the Operation Greylord trial, former mob gambling boss Ken Eto -- who entered protective custody after a botched "hit"--linked Mr. Banks to a ticket-fixing scheme.
Mr. Banks was never charged with any wrongdoing.
"Sam used to say 'I take 'em as I find 'em," his brother Ronald said. "Insinuations, they do it all the time."
Mr. Banks loved the chess game of a trial, and never stooped to anything untoward because of his courtroom skill, his brother said. "Sam had too much dignity and class for that -- he was a talented man."
He grew up in the Austin neighborhood and graduated from Austin High and Loyola University. He worked his way through school as an investigator for what was then the city Welfare Department. His specialty was tracking deadbeat dads.
"One time, they knocked on a door and said they were with the Department of Welfare," his brother said. "Four bullet holes went through the door."
Mr. Banks had to call police to arrest the man inside.
Mr. Banks received his law degree from DePaul University, where he impressed Dan Ward, who was dean of DePaul's law school before becoming chief justice of the state Supreme Court.
When Mr. Ward became Cook County state's attorney, he asked Sam Banks to join him.
Mr. Banks successfully prosecuted comic Lenny Bruce on allegations of obscenity in his act at the Gate of Horn nightclub in 1963.
He was proud that he was Mr. Ward's protege, said retired defense attorney Patrick Tuite, who was sworn in as a prosecutor on the same day as Mr. Banks. "Some assistant or secretary was giving him some guff," Mr. Tuite recalled, "and he said, 'I didn't get this job through the Tribune want ads.' ''
"When I started out, he sent me a case and he gave me some encouragement and kind words," said defense attorney Terry Gillespie. "He was an aggressive, determined lawyer in the courtroom, but he had a compassionate side, especially with young lawyers."
To avoid anti-Italian bigotry, Mr. Banks' father, currency exchange owner Vincenzo Giuseppe Panebianco, anglicized his name to James Joseph and added "Banks" to their surname, said Ronald Banks. All his sons continue to use "P" or "Panebianco" in front of "Banks."
A resident of River Forest, Mr. Banks loved golfing at La Grange's Edgewood Valley Country Club and Riverside Golf Club.
He is also survived by his wife, Dorothy, his sister Marlene Panebianco, and two grandchildren. Visitation is from 3 to 9 p.m. today at Salerno's Galewood Chapels, 1857 N. Harlem. A funeral mass is scheduled at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. Giles Church, Oak Park. Burial is at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside.
Thanks to Maureen O'Donnell
"Sam" Banks, who questioned witnesses with the force and cadence of a jackhammer, died of cancer Saturday at age 73 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
He was a member of one of Chicago's most politically connected families. His brother, former Ald. William J.P. Banks (36th), headed the City Council zoning committee until he retired last year; his son, James, is a zoning lawyer; his brother, Ronald J.P. Banks, was a judge, and his daughter, Karen, married state Rep. John A. Fritchey (D-Chicago).
Some of the city's most colorful federal probes -- and characters -- were braided through Mr. Banks' career.
Ronald Banks said his brother believed everyone deserved a strong defense. "He was good," Ronald Banks said. "He was not afraid to try any case. He believed you're innocent till proven guilty."
Sam Banks represented 1st Ward Ald. Fred Roti in 1989 after "Operation Kaffeeklatsch" broke wide open when a busboy found hidden recording equipment at a favorite pols' haunt: the old Counsellor's Row restaurant. Roti was a "made member" of the mob, according to the FBI.
In the 1991 "Gambat" probe of 1st Ward corruption, Mr. Banks defended Pasquale "Pat" Frank De Leo against charges he bribed Judge David J. Shields to fix a case.
At the 2007 "Family Secrets" trial of mobster Joey "The Clown" Lombardo, a former burglar testified he believed he'd passed bribes to police through Sam Banks. But the man admitted he never saw money change hands.
In 1989 at the Operation Greylord trial, former mob gambling boss Ken Eto -- who entered protective custody after a botched "hit"--linked Mr. Banks to a ticket-fixing scheme.
Mr. Banks was never charged with any wrongdoing.
"Sam used to say 'I take 'em as I find 'em," his brother Ronald said. "Insinuations, they do it all the time."
Mr. Banks loved the chess game of a trial, and never stooped to anything untoward because of his courtroom skill, his brother said. "Sam had too much dignity and class for that -- he was a talented man."
He grew up in the Austin neighborhood and graduated from Austin High and Loyola University. He worked his way through school as an investigator for what was then the city Welfare Department. His specialty was tracking deadbeat dads.
"One time, they knocked on a door and said they were with the Department of Welfare," his brother said. "Four bullet holes went through the door."
Mr. Banks had to call police to arrest the man inside.
Mr. Banks received his law degree from DePaul University, where he impressed Dan Ward, who was dean of DePaul's law school before becoming chief justice of the state Supreme Court.
When Mr. Ward became Cook County state's attorney, he asked Sam Banks to join him.
Mr. Banks successfully prosecuted comic Lenny Bruce on allegations of obscenity in his act at the Gate of Horn nightclub in 1963.
He was proud that he was Mr. Ward's protege, said retired defense attorney Patrick Tuite, who was sworn in as a prosecutor on the same day as Mr. Banks. "Some assistant or secretary was giving him some guff," Mr. Tuite recalled, "and he said, 'I didn't get this job through the Tribune want ads.' ''
"When I started out, he sent me a case and he gave me some encouragement and kind words," said defense attorney Terry Gillespie. "He was an aggressive, determined lawyer in the courtroom, but he had a compassionate side, especially with young lawyers."
To avoid anti-Italian bigotry, Mr. Banks' father, currency exchange owner Vincenzo Giuseppe Panebianco, anglicized his name to James Joseph and added "Banks" to their surname, said Ronald Banks. All his sons continue to use "P" or "Panebianco" in front of "Banks."
A resident of River Forest, Mr. Banks loved golfing at La Grange's Edgewood Valley Country Club and Riverside Golf Club.
He is also survived by his wife, Dorothy, his sister Marlene Panebianco, and two grandchildren. Visitation is from 3 to 9 p.m. today at Salerno's Galewood Chapels, 1857 N. Harlem. A funeral mass is scheduled at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. Giles Church, Oak Park. Burial is at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside.
Thanks to Maureen O'Donnell
Las Vegas Mobster Presentation at the Far West Popular Culture and American Culture Association Annual Conference
Organized crime and Las Vegas have a long, complex history that is well-known. But the extent of the mob’s actual involvement in the conception and development of the city is debatable.
This month, a professor and a graduate of Missouri University of Science and Technology will present their research on the subject at a popular culture conference that just happens to take place in “Sin City” itself.
Dr. Larry Gragg, chair and Curators’ Teaching Professor of history and political science at Missouri S&T, and Amanda Kamps, a 2009 history graduate of the university, will present papers at the Far West Popular Culture and American Culture Associations’ annual conference, which will be held from Friday, March 12, to Sunday, March 14, in Las Vegas.
“This will be our first opportunity to present at a popular culture conference,” says Gragg. “Our papers are certainly relevant to the conference’s location.”
Kamps is looking forward to the conference. “I have spent the last two years writing about mobsters in Las Vegas,” she says. “This will be my first chance to actually visit ‘Sin City’ and see the places I’ve detailed in my work.”
Gragg has had a longtime interest in the connections between organized crime and Las Vegas. “My paper, ‘Film Depictions of Organized Crime in Las Vegas,’ deals with the ways motion pictures contributed to the general beliefs Americans had about the mob’s role in the development of Las Vegas after World War II,” he says. He is also writing a book on the subject.
Kamps’ paper, “Exploiting Stereotypes: Benjamin Siegel’s Reliance Upon Reputation in Las Vegas,” focuses on the notorious mobster, Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel.
“Amanda’s paper highlights the ways that Siegel was able to use his various personae to open his Flamingo Hotel and Casino in 1946-1947,” says Gragg.
Kamps says her study of Siegel offers a great insight into the interactions between the community of Las Vegas and the mobsters who descended upon the frontier town. “My paper focuses on Siegel’s use of his reputation as a brutal killer to accomplish his business goals,” she says. “This not only demonstrates Bugsy’s own deviousness, but also sheds light on how the perception of mobsters was perpetuated.”
This month, a professor and a graduate of Missouri University of Science and Technology will present their research on the subject at a popular culture conference that just happens to take place in “Sin City” itself.
Dr. Larry Gragg, chair and Curators’ Teaching Professor of history and political science at Missouri S&T, and Amanda Kamps, a 2009 history graduate of the university, will present papers at the Far West Popular Culture and American Culture Associations’ annual conference, which will be held from Friday, March 12, to Sunday, March 14, in Las Vegas.
“This will be our first opportunity to present at a popular culture conference,” says Gragg. “Our papers are certainly relevant to the conference’s location.”
Kamps is looking forward to the conference. “I have spent the last two years writing about mobsters in Las Vegas,” she says. “This will be my first chance to actually visit ‘Sin City’ and see the places I’ve detailed in my work.”
Gragg has had a longtime interest in the connections between organized crime and Las Vegas. “My paper, ‘Film Depictions of Organized Crime in Las Vegas,’ deals with the ways motion pictures contributed to the general beliefs Americans had about the mob’s role in the development of Las Vegas after World War II,” he says. He is also writing a book on the subject.
Kamps’ paper, “Exploiting Stereotypes: Benjamin Siegel’s Reliance Upon Reputation in Las Vegas,” focuses on the notorious mobster, Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel.
“Amanda’s paper highlights the ways that Siegel was able to use his various personae to open his Flamingo Hotel and Casino in 1946-1947,” says Gragg.
Kamps says her study of Siegel offers a great insight into the interactions between the community of Las Vegas and the mobsters who descended upon the frontier town. “My paper focuses on Siegel’s use of his reputation as a brutal killer to accomplish his business goals,” she says. “This not only demonstrates Bugsy’s own deviousness, but also sheds light on how the perception of mobsters was perpetuated.”
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
City of Chicago Honors Al Capone
Chicago seems finally to be ready to honor its most famous gangster.
For years, everyone knew where Al Capone's infamous hangouts were, but the city wouldn't dare put up an official sign acknowledging him. But now, that's changed. The Chicago Department of Transportation has put up a sign at the site of the old Lexington Hotel, which stood until 1995 at 2135 S. Michigan Ave.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports the sign at the site acknowledges the Lexington and Metropole hotels, which were built next to each other on the site in the early 1890s, and says they were "outfitted for Capone's needs with secret stairwells, doors and passages, underground tunnels and every amenity required by their primary resident."
Capone came to Chicago from Brooklyn in 1919, and soon began working for Johnny Torrio, who at the time ran the Chicago mob – called the Outfit – and operated its bootlegging, gambling and prostitution operations. But soon after Torrio was shot and injured and left Chicago, Capone took over, and began raking in millions a year in both illegal and legitimate industries, according to the Chicago History Museum.
Prosecutors finally got Capone on tax evasion charges in 1931, and he was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He died in 1947. But the Lexington Hotel gained its greatest notoriety nearly four decades after that, when Capone's vault underneath the building was blasted open as part of a television special hosted by Geraldo Rivera.
The vault was blasted open on April 21, 1986, in what CBS 2's John Drummond called the biggest excavation since archaeologists dug up King Tut's tomb. But the effort ended up being fairly futile, given that all workers found behind the brick-and-concrete wall was a few bottles of Prohibition-era liquor, and a lot of dirt and rubble.
The Lexington Hotel had been granted landmark status in 1985. Nonetheless, it was demolished in the fall of 1995, after repeated attempts to renovate it failed.
The Lexington Park Condo building now stands on the site.
Thanks to WBBM 780
For years, everyone knew where Al Capone's infamous hangouts were, but the city wouldn't dare put up an official sign acknowledging him. But now, that's changed. The Chicago Department of Transportation has put up a sign at the site of the old Lexington Hotel, which stood until 1995 at 2135 S. Michigan Ave.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports the sign at the site acknowledges the Lexington and Metropole hotels, which were built next to each other on the site in the early 1890s, and says they were "outfitted for Capone's needs with secret stairwells, doors and passages, underground tunnels and every amenity required by their primary resident."
Capone came to Chicago from Brooklyn in 1919, and soon began working for Johnny Torrio, who at the time ran the Chicago mob – called the Outfit – and operated its bootlegging, gambling and prostitution operations. But soon after Torrio was shot and injured and left Chicago, Capone took over, and began raking in millions a year in both illegal and legitimate industries, according to the Chicago History Museum.
Prosecutors finally got Capone on tax evasion charges in 1931, and he was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He died in 1947. But the Lexington Hotel gained its greatest notoriety nearly four decades after that, when Capone's vault underneath the building was blasted open as part of a television special hosted by Geraldo Rivera.
The vault was blasted open on April 21, 1986, in what CBS 2's John Drummond called the biggest excavation since archaeologists dug up King Tut's tomb. But the effort ended up being fairly futile, given that all workers found behind the brick-and-concrete wall was a few bottles of Prohibition-era liquor, and a lot of dirt and rubble.
The Lexington Hotel had been granted landmark status in 1985. Nonetheless, it was demolished in the fall of 1995, after repeated attempts to renovate it failed.
The Lexington Park Condo building now stands on the site.
Thanks to WBBM 780
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Vintage Playboy Covers and Centerfolds to be Featured in MAFIA II
Ah, the 1950s -- an era when Elvis Presley ruled the radio waves, Senator Joseph McCarthy helped fuel Cold War paranoia, and the internet hadn't yet made Playboy 
magazine totally irrelevant. That's precisely the point in American history that 2K Games hopes to capture with Mafia II, and they're partnering with Playboy to help lend a little authenticity to the game's '50s mobster atmosphere.
The licensing deal allows developer 2K Czech to place more than 50 vintage covers and centerfolds from the magazine's early history throughout the world of Mafia II. According to the announcement, players will be able to collect these in-game copies of Playboy magazine as they progress through the game.
"For more than 55 years, Playboy has been a part of America's pop culture landscape, engaging its readers with insightful features, interviews, and fashion spreads, as well as pictorials of some of the world's most beautiful women,? reads a statement from Playboy magazine editorial director Jimmy Jellinek. "Mafia II is set when Playboy first came into vogue and features characters whose style and attitudes mirror content from our early issues. We're excited to bring an element of authenticity to the game that is unmatched in the men's publishing category."
Mafia II is currently scheduled for release sometime between August and the end of October this year.
Thanks to Dustin Quillen
magazine totally irrelevant. That's precisely the point in American history that 2K Games hopes to capture with Mafia II, and they're partnering with Playboy to help lend a little authenticity to the game's '50s mobster atmosphere.The licensing deal allows developer 2K Czech to place more than 50 vintage covers and centerfolds from the magazine's early history throughout the world of Mafia II. According to the announcement, players will be able to collect these in-game copies of Playboy magazine as they progress through the game.
"For more than 55 years, Playboy has been a part of America's pop culture landscape, engaging its readers with insightful features, interviews, and fashion spreads, as well as pictorials of some of the world's most beautiful women,? reads a statement from Playboy magazine editorial director Jimmy Jellinek. "Mafia II is set when Playboy first came into vogue and features characters whose style and attitudes mirror content from our early issues. We're excited to bring an element of authenticity to the game that is unmatched in the men's publishing category."
Mafia II is currently scheduled for release sometime between August and the end of October this year.
Thanks to Dustin Quillen
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Reputed Mob Poker King Out on Bail
The alleged video poker king of Chicago, who once said he wasn't sure who owned the Bridgeport home he lives in, saw that home pledged to make his $250,000 bond Friday for his release from jail.
Casey Szaflarski, 52, is charged with helping run a video gambling operation for the Chicago Outfit. His sister put up the house, which is held in a trust.
Szaflarski was equally vague when questioned by a court official on his finances, leading Assistant U.S. Attorney T. Markus Funk to say "there are more questions than answers as to his income. We believe he has provided false information."
Szaflarski's attorney, Catharine O'Daniel, said Szaflarski wasn't being dishonest, just cautious, because he did not know what he should say because his lawyer wasn't present during the interview on his finances.
The bond hearing turned into a family affair when it was revealed that Szaflarski illegally had two guns. His ex-wife, who still lives with Szaflarski, handed them over to a relative, Chicago Police officer Mary Versetto, who said she is keeping them in her home.
Szaflarski is the son-in-law of the late Chicago mobster Joseph "Shorty" LaMantia. Versetto is LaMantia's niece.
When Funk questioned her, Versetto had few details about Szaflarski's guns.
She said she didn't actually know whose guns they were.
She said she didn't know where the guns had been stored. But she did believe they weren't stored in the house where Szaflarski and his ex-wife live.
Versetto, who was not in court but questioned over a speakerphone, sounded impatient with the prosecution's questioning, at one point asking, "Is that it?"
Szaflarski is accused of sharing profits of his video gambling business with Michael Sarno, who is also charged in the case and is the reputed head of the mob's Cicero crew.
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
Casey Szaflarski, 52, is charged with helping run a video gambling operation for the Chicago Outfit. His sister put up the house, which is held in a trust.
Szaflarski was equally vague when questioned by a court official on his finances, leading Assistant U.S. Attorney T. Markus Funk to say "there are more questions than answers as to his income. We believe he has provided false information."
Szaflarski's attorney, Catharine O'Daniel, said Szaflarski wasn't being dishonest, just cautious, because he did not know what he should say because his lawyer wasn't present during the interview on his finances.
The bond hearing turned into a family affair when it was revealed that Szaflarski illegally had two guns. His ex-wife, who still lives with Szaflarski, handed them over to a relative, Chicago Police officer Mary Versetto, who said she is keeping them in her home.
Szaflarski is the son-in-law of the late Chicago mobster Joseph "Shorty" LaMantia. Versetto is LaMantia's niece.
When Funk questioned her, Versetto had few details about Szaflarski's guns.
She said she didn't actually know whose guns they were.
She said she didn't know where the guns had been stored. But she did believe they weren't stored in the house where Szaflarski and his ex-wife live.
Versetto, who was not in court but questioned over a speakerphone, sounded impatient with the prosecution's questioning, at one point asking, "Is that it?"
Szaflarski is accused of sharing profits of his video gambling business with Michael Sarno, who is also charged in the case and is the reputed head of the mob's Cicero crew.
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
Friday, March 05, 2010
John Ambrose Sent to The Prison Where His Father Died
A federal judge in Chicago said a former deputy U.S. marshal convicted of leaking information about the Operation Family Secrets mob investigation will have to serve his sentence in the same Texas prison where his father died.
In his ruling today, U.S. District Judge John F. Grady denied a request by John Ambrose to be assigned to any federal prison other than the one in Seagoville, Texas.
Ambrose was sentenced in October to four years in prison for leaking information that mob hit man Nick Calabrese was cooperating with authorities in the Family Secrets case.
Ambrose's father, Thomas, was a former Chicago police officer who was convicted of corruption in 1982 in the "Marquette 10" case.
Thomas Ambrose died in 1986 as he jogged around a track at the Seagoville prison.
In his ruling today, U.S. District Judge John F. Grady denied a request by John Ambrose to be assigned to any federal prison other than the one in Seagoville, Texas.
Ambrose was sentenced in October to four years in prison for leaking information that mob hit man Nick Calabrese was cooperating with authorities in the Family Secrets case.
Ambrose's father, Thomas, was a former Chicago police officer who was convicted of corruption in 1982 in the "Marquette 10" case.
Thomas Ambrose died in 1986 as he jogged around a track at the Seagoville prison.
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Casey "Whole Nervous System's Shot" Szaflarski Remains Behind Bars
The new alleged king of video gambling for the Chicago mob told a federal judge Tuesday that his "whole nervous system's shot" -- but it wasn't because the feds had just arrested him.
Casey Szaflarski told the judge at his initial court hearing that he had just had spinal cord surgery.
"I take a lot of medicine, your honor," Szaflarski said. "My whole nervous system's shot."
Despite his medical conditions, Szaflarski, 52, who lives in the Bridgeport neighborhood, will be held behind bars at least until his bond hearing Friday, after federal prosecutor T. Markus Funk said he could pose a danger to the community or might flee before trial.
Szaflarski was charged as part of the criminal case against alleged Cicero mob boss Michael "The Large Guy" Sarno, reputed high-ranking Outlaw motorcycle gang member Mark Polchan and five other men.
As one possible indication of how lucrative the video gambling business can be, federal prosecutors are seeking $3.6 million in illegal gambling proceeds from Szaflarski, Sarno and Polchan as part of the criminal case against the men, according to a new forfeiture allegation added to the case.
Szaflarski also is charged with failing to report more than $255,000 in income on tax returns from 2004 to 2006.
Szaflarski apparently took over the video gambling business run by the onetime head of the Chicago mob, James Marcello, and his half-brother, Michael. Szaflarski allegedly told a government informant that he learned the video poker business from Michael Marcello.
Szaflarski is accused of sharing proceeds of his gambling business with Sarno, a reputed mob leader who's also been dubbed "Big Mike" and "Fat Ass," according to court documents filed in the case.
Sarno, in turn, is charged with ordering the pipe bombing of a Berwyn video and vending machine business in 2003 that was competing with Szaflarski's business.
Investigators from the FBI, IRS and ATF gathered evidence against Szaflarski when they raided more than 20 bars and restaurants in Chicago and the suburbs last year with illegal video gambling machines. They seized thousands of dollars in illegal gambling proceeds and stripped the video poker machines of their circuit boards.
State lawmakers recently legalized video gambling, but bars and restaurants can't legally operate the devices until state regulators fashion rules overseeing what will be the largest expansion of gambling in Illinois history and distribute licenses.
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
Casey Szaflarski told the judge at his initial court hearing that he had just had spinal cord surgery.
"I take a lot of medicine, your honor," Szaflarski said. "My whole nervous system's shot."
Despite his medical conditions, Szaflarski, 52, who lives in the Bridgeport neighborhood, will be held behind bars at least until his bond hearing Friday, after federal prosecutor T. Markus Funk said he could pose a danger to the community or might flee before trial.
Szaflarski was charged as part of the criminal case against alleged Cicero mob boss Michael "The Large Guy" Sarno, reputed high-ranking Outlaw motorcycle gang member Mark Polchan and five other men.
As one possible indication of how lucrative the video gambling business can be, federal prosecutors are seeking $3.6 million in illegal gambling proceeds from Szaflarski, Sarno and Polchan as part of the criminal case against the men, according to a new forfeiture allegation added to the case.
Szaflarski also is charged with failing to report more than $255,000 in income on tax returns from 2004 to 2006.
Szaflarski apparently took over the video gambling business run by the onetime head of the Chicago mob, James Marcello, and his half-brother, Michael. Szaflarski allegedly told a government informant that he learned the video poker business from Michael Marcello.
Szaflarski is accused of sharing proceeds of his gambling business with Sarno, a reputed mob leader who's also been dubbed "Big Mike" and "Fat Ass," according to court documents filed in the case.
Sarno, in turn, is charged with ordering the pipe bombing of a Berwyn video and vending machine business in 2003 that was competing with Szaflarski's business.
Investigators from the FBI, IRS and ATF gathered evidence against Szaflarski when they raided more than 20 bars and restaurants in Chicago and the suburbs last year with illegal video gambling machines. They seized thousands of dollars in illegal gambling proceeds and stripped the video poker machines of their circuit boards.
State lawmakers recently legalized video gambling, but bars and restaurants can't legally operate the devices until state regulators fashion rules overseeing what will be the largest expansion of gambling in Illinois history and distribute licenses.
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
James Marcello Cleared of Parole Violation
Reputed Chicago mob boss James Marcello won a court skirmish with federal prosecutors Wednesday when a judge cleared him of an old charge of parole violation, but the victory did not win him his freedom.
Marcello left court to return to federal prison where the sexagenarian must continue to serve a life sentence for his part in an almost-two-decade organized crime wave that included a series of 18 long-unsolved murders.
U.S. District Judge William Hibbler ruled that federal prosecutors had failed to show that after Marcello's release from prison in 2005 he had violated the terms of his supervised release.
Marcello was arrested and put back behind bars a year later when prosecutors unsealed their sweeping Operation Family Secrets indictment of alleged leaders of the Chicago Outfit - the name of this city's organized crime family - and their followers.
He was convicted of murder in 2007 and sentenced to life in prison.
Prosecutors wanted Hibbler to revoke Marcello's supervised release. That way, there would still be a way to keep him behind bars if his conviction in the Family Secrets case were reversed.
Two other big-name reputed mobsters - Frank Calabrese Sr. and Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo - are serving life sentences as a result of their convictions in the Family Secrets case.
Thanks to NewsRadio 780
Marcello left court to return to federal prison where the sexagenarian must continue to serve a life sentence for his part in an almost-two-decade organized crime wave that included a series of 18 long-unsolved murders.
U.S. District Judge William Hibbler ruled that federal prosecutors had failed to show that after Marcello's release from prison in 2005 he had violated the terms of his supervised release.
Marcello was arrested and put back behind bars a year later when prosecutors unsealed their sweeping Operation Family Secrets indictment of alleged leaders of the Chicago Outfit - the name of this city's organized crime family - and their followers.
He was convicted of murder in 2007 and sentenced to life in prison.
Prosecutors wanted Hibbler to revoke Marcello's supervised release. That way, there would still be a way to keep him behind bars if his conviction in the Family Secrets case were reversed.
Two other big-name reputed mobsters - Frank Calabrese Sr. and Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo - are serving life sentences as a result of their convictions in the Family Secrets case.
Thanks to NewsRadio 780
"King Rudy" Acosta and 2nd Amendment Rights in Chicago
In its wisdom, the U.S. Supreme Court finally took up Chicago's ridiculous 27-year-old handgun ban on Tuesday.
Why is it ridiculous? Because only three classes of people are comfortable with handguns in the anti-handgun city: Cops, criminals and the politically connected.
Mayor Richard Daley sure is upset that the ban might be overturned. But he probably has more armed guards protecting him than the president of Venezuela.
Chicago aldermen are allowed to carry handguns. I wanted to ask the chairman of the City Council's police committee about those gun-toting aldermen. But there was no chairman. The last one just resigned after pleading guilty to federal bribery charges, so he wasn't around.
If the Supreme Court really wanted to know why some folks in Chicago have guns and others don't, they should have called an expert witness:
Rudy Acosta, the former "gangsta" rap impresario, or King Rudy, as he likes to be known.
King Rudy, 34, lives in Chicago. He's had lots and lots of handguns.
"Oh, leave Rudy alone," said his wily and high-profile criminal defense lawyer Joseph "The Shark" Lopez. "Rudy's just another hard-working average American trying to make a dollar."
King Rudy has been arrested at least twice with guns. But he's never been convicted of a felony.
He once told police he's a former member of the Satan Disciples street gang. He now has a video portraying him as a kingpin, a "man of respect," with fine cigars, sweet rides and power.
"That's a video from a long time ago [2008]," Lopez said. "He's a self-promoter. It's the American way."
Back then, I wrote a few columns about Acosta and his monstrous castle on the Northwest Side overlooking the Kennedy Expressway.
Although the neighbors objected to the construction, King Rudy understands the Chicago Way. His father was a Democratic machine precinct captain. Rudy hired a member of the political Banks family — the first family of zoning — to win castle approval from City Hall.
Back then, I wrote he'd been arrested by Chicago police, who said they found four illegal handguns and $112,000 in cash in a wall safe. But all charges were dropped because the elite politically connected unit that arrested King Rudy was itself the target of a federal corruption probe. Is that Chicago or what?
In a recent development, Rudy's guns got him in trouble again. On Oct. 11, 2009, he was arrested at his River North condo. Officers arrived in the lobby just before 6 a.m. to find building security guards cowering "behind a concrete wall."
According to police reports, Rudy was waving a loaded 12-gauge shotgun and screaming that there were robbers in his condo.
Rudy was pointing at security monitors, saying, "They're coming from the side! They're coming after me!"
"Rudy, put the gun away, it's a shadow," a security guard told Rudy.
The report also noted that Rudy relinquished the shotgun before accompanying police up to his condo, scene of the alleged robbery. Police found two men inside, who said they were much too relaxed for such hijinks.
They were Rudy's guests, and had been "drinking and doing lines of coke," the report said.
"Further observation of the offender's apartment revealed an open wall cabinet containing eight handguns and several boxes of ammunition," the report said. And where was the robber? Acosta explained, "There was a guy who climbed off my balcony using a rope." Employing the famous dry sarcasm of Chicago cops, officers noted in the report that Acosta's condo was 46 stories above the ground.
So Acosta was charged with breaking the city's handgun law and reckless conduct — both misdemeanors. But those charges were also dropped, when police failed to appear in court.
Lopez told me his client didn't plan on recovering his guns, but that he "has every right to have guns" in Chicago.
Pardon me?
"The police got their facts wrong," Lopez said. "He was in fear of his safety. And has a PERC card, he's fully licensed. He's not a convicted felon."
PERC stands for Permanent Employee Registration Card. The state government gives these out to private investigators so they can carry guns in the anti-handgun city.
We checked state records. Before the second arrest, Acosta became fully licensed to carry through May, 2012.
Lopez said Acosta has left the gangsta rap business and is now in the private security business and dabbles in real estate.
Whew. That will make the new neighbors feel safe. With Rudy packing all that heat, what criminal would be foolish enough to rob him and try to escape on a rope down the castle walls?
Sadly, Lopez said his client isn't going to move into the castle.
"He's putting it up for sale," Lopez said. "You forced him to sell his house with what you wrote about him. It's too hot now. He can't move in. The neighbors don't want him. He's just a hard-working guy."
The Chicago residents who appealed to the Supreme Court on Tuesday are hard-working, too. But they don't make videos portraying themselves as "gangstas."
All they want is to be able to protect themselves like the boss of Chicago and the politically connected, which is their constitutional right.
And Rudy?
He's just a hard-working guy with the right to bear arms, in the anti-handgun city that works.
Thanks to John Kass
Why is it ridiculous? Because only three classes of people are comfortable with handguns in the anti-handgun city: Cops, criminals and the politically connected.
Mayor Richard Daley sure is upset that the ban might be overturned. But he probably has more armed guards protecting him than the president of Venezuela.
Chicago aldermen are allowed to carry handguns. I wanted to ask the chairman of the City Council's police committee about those gun-toting aldermen. But there was no chairman. The last one just resigned after pleading guilty to federal bribery charges, so he wasn't around.
If the Supreme Court really wanted to know why some folks in Chicago have guns and others don't, they should have called an expert witness:
Rudy Acosta, the former "gangsta" rap impresario, or King Rudy, as he likes to be known.
King Rudy, 34, lives in Chicago. He's had lots and lots of handguns.
"Oh, leave Rudy alone," said his wily and high-profile criminal defense lawyer Joseph "The Shark" Lopez. "Rudy's just another hard-working average American trying to make a dollar."
King Rudy has been arrested at least twice with guns. But he's never been convicted of a felony.
He once told police he's a former member of the Satan Disciples street gang. He now has a video portraying him as a kingpin, a "man of respect," with fine cigars, sweet rides and power.
"That's a video from a long time ago [2008]," Lopez said. "He's a self-promoter. It's the American way."
Back then, I wrote a few columns about Acosta and his monstrous castle on the Northwest Side overlooking the Kennedy Expressway.
Although the neighbors objected to the construction, King Rudy understands the Chicago Way. His father was a Democratic machine precinct captain. Rudy hired a member of the political Banks family — the first family of zoning — to win castle approval from City Hall.
Back then, I wrote he'd been arrested by Chicago police, who said they found four illegal handguns and $112,000 in cash in a wall safe. But all charges were dropped because the elite politically connected unit that arrested King Rudy was itself the target of a federal corruption probe. Is that Chicago or what?
In a recent development, Rudy's guns got him in trouble again. On Oct. 11, 2009, he was arrested at his River North condo. Officers arrived in the lobby just before 6 a.m. to find building security guards cowering "behind a concrete wall."
According to police reports, Rudy was waving a loaded 12-gauge shotgun and screaming that there were robbers in his condo.
Rudy was pointing at security monitors, saying, "They're coming from the side! They're coming after me!"
"Rudy, put the gun away, it's a shadow," a security guard told Rudy.
The report also noted that Rudy relinquished the shotgun before accompanying police up to his condo, scene of the alleged robbery. Police found two men inside, who said they were much too relaxed for such hijinks.
They were Rudy's guests, and had been "drinking and doing lines of coke," the report said.
"Further observation of the offender's apartment revealed an open wall cabinet containing eight handguns and several boxes of ammunition," the report said. And where was the robber? Acosta explained, "There was a guy who climbed off my balcony using a rope." Employing the famous dry sarcasm of Chicago cops, officers noted in the report that Acosta's condo was 46 stories above the ground.
So Acosta was charged with breaking the city's handgun law and reckless conduct — both misdemeanors. But those charges were also dropped, when police failed to appear in court.
Lopez told me his client didn't plan on recovering his guns, but that he "has every right to have guns" in Chicago.
Pardon me?
"The police got their facts wrong," Lopez said. "He was in fear of his safety. And has a PERC card, he's fully licensed. He's not a convicted felon."
PERC stands for Permanent Employee Registration Card. The state government gives these out to private investigators so they can carry guns in the anti-handgun city.
We checked state records. Before the second arrest, Acosta became fully licensed to carry through May, 2012.
Lopez said Acosta has left the gangsta rap business and is now in the private security business and dabbles in real estate.
Whew. That will make the new neighbors feel safe. With Rudy packing all that heat, what criminal would be foolish enough to rob him and try to escape on a rope down the castle walls?
Sadly, Lopez said his client isn't going to move into the castle.
"He's putting it up for sale," Lopez said. "You forced him to sell his house with what you wrote about him. It's too hot now. He can't move in. The neighbors don't want him. He's just a hard-working guy."
The Chicago residents who appealed to the Supreme Court on Tuesday are hard-working, too. But they don't make videos portraying themselves as "gangstas."
All they want is to be able to protect themselves like the boss of Chicago and the politically connected, which is their constitutional right.
And Rudy?
He's just a hard-working guy with the right to bear arms, in the anti-handgun city that works.
Thanks to John Kass
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Berwyn Businessman Casey Szaflarski Arrested on Federal Illegal Gambling and Tax Fraud Charges; Added as Eighth Defendant in New Indictment
A Chicago man who allegedly helped a criminal organization run its illegal gambling activities was arrested today on federal gambling and tax fraud charges, federal law enforcement officials announced. The defendant, Casey Szaflarski, acting through his Berwyn business, Amusements, Inc., was charged with conducting an illegal gambling business since 2002, along with two other men—among seven total—who were charged previously. The gambling and tax charges against Szaflarski were brought in a superseding indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury last week and unsealed today following his arrest. The charges allege that Szaflarski failed to report more than $255,000 of business income between 2004 and 2006, and that he failed to file a federal income tax return for 2007.
Szaflarski, 52, was scheduled to be arraigned at 2:30 p.m. today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan in Federal Court in Chicago. He was charged with one count of conducting an illegal gambling business, three counts of filing a false federal income tax return, and one count of failing to file a federal income tax return, for a total of five counts in the 16-count superseding indictment.
The new indictment was announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Alvin Patton, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Andrew L. Traver, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal officials commended the assistance of the Berwyn Police Department and the Cook County Sheriff’s Department.
The charges against Szaflarski were brought in a superseding indictment in United States v. Polchan, et al., 08 CR 115, in which seven other defendants were indicted in May 2009 on racketeering conspiracy charges alleging eight years of criminal activity, including armed robberies and thefts, illegal gambling, obstruction of justice, and arson, including the pipe-bombing of a competing Berwyn video and vending machine business in 2003. Szaflasrki was not charged in the racketeering conspiracy or arson counts. He was charged with conducting an illegal gambling business, ongoing since at least 2002, with co-defendants Michael Sarno and Mark Polchan.
Today’s indictment adds a new forfeiture allegation seeking at least $3,607,201 from Szaflarski, Sarno, and Polchan as proceeds of the alleged illegal gambling activity. The indictment results, in part, from federal search warrants that were executed at more than two dozen suburban locations, including bars and restaurants, on May 27, 2009.
The three counts of filing false federal income tax returns allege that Szaflarski failed to report the following income from his closely-held business, Amusements, Inc.:
* at least $78,417 for 2004 when he reported total income of $373,736;
* at least $82,355 for 2005 when he reported total income of $262,842;
* at least $94,593 for 2006 when he reported total income of $286,071.
The indictment further alleges that Szaflarski failed to file a federal income tax return for 2007 when he received gross income of at least $95,911.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys T. Markus Funk and Amarjeet S. Bhachu.
The counts against Szaflarski alone carry the following maximum terms of incarceration: operating an illegal gambling business—five years; filing false federal income tax returns—three years; and failing to file a federal income tax return—one year. In addition, each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000, except the failing to file count, which is a misdemeanor and carries a maximum fine of $100,000. Defendants convicted of tax offenses must be assessed mandatory costs of prosecution and remain liable for any back taxes, interest, and penalties owed. If convicted, the Court must determine a reasonable sentence under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. Szaflarski and the defendants charged previously are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Szaflarski, 52, was scheduled to be arraigned at 2:30 p.m. today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan in Federal Court in Chicago. He was charged with one count of conducting an illegal gambling business, three counts of filing a false federal income tax return, and one count of failing to file a federal income tax return, for a total of five counts in the 16-count superseding indictment.
The new indictment was announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Alvin Patton, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Andrew L. Traver, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal officials commended the assistance of the Berwyn Police Department and the Cook County Sheriff’s Department.
The charges against Szaflarski were brought in a superseding indictment in United States v. Polchan, et al., 08 CR 115, in which seven other defendants were indicted in May 2009 on racketeering conspiracy charges alleging eight years of criminal activity, including armed robberies and thefts, illegal gambling, obstruction of justice, and arson, including the pipe-bombing of a competing Berwyn video and vending machine business in 2003. Szaflasrki was not charged in the racketeering conspiracy or arson counts. He was charged with conducting an illegal gambling business, ongoing since at least 2002, with co-defendants Michael Sarno and Mark Polchan.
Today’s indictment adds a new forfeiture allegation seeking at least $3,607,201 from Szaflarski, Sarno, and Polchan as proceeds of the alleged illegal gambling activity. The indictment results, in part, from federal search warrants that were executed at more than two dozen suburban locations, including bars and restaurants, on May 27, 2009.
The three counts of filing false federal income tax returns allege that Szaflarski failed to report the following income from his closely-held business, Amusements, Inc.:
* at least $78,417 for 2004 when he reported total income of $373,736;
* at least $82,355 for 2005 when he reported total income of $262,842;
* at least $94,593 for 2006 when he reported total income of $286,071.
The indictment further alleges that Szaflarski failed to file a federal income tax return for 2007 when he received gross income of at least $95,911.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys T. Markus Funk and Amarjeet S. Bhachu.
The counts against Szaflarski alone carry the following maximum terms of incarceration: operating an illegal gambling business—five years; filing false federal income tax returns—three years; and failing to file a federal income tax return—one year. In addition, each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000, except the failing to file count, which is a misdemeanor and carries a maximum fine of $100,000. Defendants convicted of tax offenses must be assessed mandatory costs of prosecution and remain liable for any back taxes, interest, and penalties owed. If convicted, the Court must determine a reasonable sentence under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. Szaflarski and the defendants charged previously are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Casey Szaflarski, Suspected Mob Video Poker King, Arrested on Gambling and Tax Fraud Charges
A Chicago man suspected of running a video poker business linked to the Chicago Outfit was arrested today on federal gambling and tax fraud charges, authorities said.
Casey Szaflarski, 52, was added to an indictment brought last year against Michael "the Large Guy" Sarno, a reputed mob figure accused of running a ring that pulled jewelry heists and bombed a competitor's video poker business.
Court records show authorities suspect that Szaflarski, who owned Amusements Inc. of Berwyn, entered the video poker business with the help of Mickey Marcello, a member of the mob's Melrose Park street crew who pleaded guilty in the landmark Family Secrets case.
Federal authorities carried out searches last year at businesses suspected of keeping machines run by Szaflarski's business, court records show. Agents also searched a 2007 black Hummer allegedly used by Szaflarski while making visits to businesses that used his machines. Authorities believe the machines could bring in more than $2,000 a day.
The charges against Szaflarski alleged he failed to report more than $255,000 of business income to the Internal Revenue Service between 2004 and 2006 and also failed to file a federal income tax return for 2007.
He was charged with one count of conducting an illegal gambling business, three counts of filing a false federal income tax return and one count of failing to file a federal income tax return.
Thanks to Jeff Coen
Casey Szaflarski, 52, was added to an indictment brought last year against Michael "the Large Guy" Sarno, a reputed mob figure accused of running a ring that pulled jewelry heists and bombed a competitor's video poker business.
Court records show authorities suspect that Szaflarski, who owned Amusements Inc. of Berwyn, entered the video poker business with the help of Mickey Marcello, a member of the mob's Melrose Park street crew who pleaded guilty in the landmark Family Secrets case.
Federal authorities carried out searches last year at businesses suspected of keeping machines run by Szaflarski's business, court records show. Agents also searched a 2007 black Hummer allegedly used by Szaflarski while making visits to businesses that used his machines. Authorities believe the machines could bring in more than $2,000 a day.
The charges against Szaflarski alleged he failed to report more than $255,000 of business income to the Internal Revenue Service between 2004 and 2006 and also failed to file a federal income tax return for 2007.
He was charged with one count of conducting an illegal gambling business, three counts of filing a false federal income tax return and one count of failing to file a federal income tax return.
Thanks to Jeff Coen
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Top 10 Courtroom Movies of All Time
Courtroom movies hold a special ability to provide mystery, suspense, and a good story that almost always reaches a neatly packaged conclusion, making this genre of movies appealing to a wide variety of audiences. Check out these movie recaps (including plot spoilers!) that span the entire 20th century, with black and white dramas, more modern dramas, and even a comedy and a documentary in the list. While it might not substitute for your training to become a court reporter, it certainly can’t hurt to spend some time watching these courtroom movies to understand the history and popular culture surrounding your chosen field of study.
- The Paradine Case (1947). Alfred Hitchcock directed this film that stars Gregory Peck as a barrister hired to defend Mrs. Paradine when she is accused of killing her wealthy, older husband. The barrister, happily married, begins to fall for the alluring Mrs. Paradine as he gets deeper into the case. The trial focuses on whether Mrs. Paradine or Mr. Paradine’s valet killed the man. During a particularly rough line of questioning by the barrister, the valet confesses to an affair with Mrs. Paradine. He leaves the courtroom and later kills himself. Upon learning of the death, Mrs. Paradine confesses to killing her husband, her love for the valet, and her hatred for the barrister, who she feels killed her lover. The barrister must then come to terms with how he handled the case and himself.
- 12 Angry Men (1957). A teenage boy is put on trial for killing his father. When the twelve men on the jury begin deliberation, what initially seemed an easy guilty verdict suddenly becomes much more complex when one juror (played by Henry Fonda) asks the other jurors to look closely at the facts of the trial. What results is a study in humanity as each of the jurors faces his own prejudices, emotions, and histories in a search for the truth.
- Witness for the Prosecution (1958). This stunning movie was adapted from a play written by the master mystery writer, Agatha Christie. Tyrone Power and Marlene Dietrich play Leonard and Christine Vole. Leonard is accused of killing a rich woman who left him a substantial amount of money. Leonard’s trial is full of twists and turns as his attorney fights to clear his name. When it appears that Christine has set Leonard up for murder and Leonard is cleared, the plot twists again.
- Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). Based on a real trial that took place in 1947, this powerful movie stars Spencer Tracy as an American judge determined to understand the truth at the heart of the case that has four German judges accused of human atrocities under the Nazi regime. Tracy’s search for the truth reveals heartache and emotional blindness. Eventually the truth is revealed when one of the judges on trial describes the reasons he and so many others followed along with such horrific acts. When this movie was released in 1961, all four judges on whom the movie was based were already released from prison.
- To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Based on the novel by Harper Lee, Gregory Peck stars as an attorney in a small southern town who is selected to defend a black man accused of raping a white woman. The story is told through the attorney’s young daughter, Scout. The trial and the events leading up to the trial depict both the rampant racism in the town as well as the beauty of humanity glimpsed between the other. While the trial does not end with justice being served, the movie ends with hope for the future as seen through Scout.
- The Verdict (1982). Paul Newman plays a lawyer who has turned to alcohol and shunned his career after his attempt to uphold justice was turned against him and he lost his partnership in a successful firm. A friend throws an easy medical malpractice case to him that is sure to settle out of court. When Newman’s character looks over the case, however, he feels it should go to trial. What follows is a study of the lawyer’s rebuilding his life and career in the face of both obstacles and infidelity as he wins the case for the family of a young mother left in a vegetative state.
- A Few Good Men (1992). Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, and Demi Moore star in this movie directed by Rob Reiner. Cruise plays an inexperienced lawyer for the Marines who defends two Marines accused of murdering a fellow Marine. The court case uncovers intense hazing that occurred under orders of the commanding officer and pits the green lawyer against a seasoned Colonel who verbally spar over what it means to have honor and to be a Marine. The lawyer wins the case, but the two he was defending are dishonorably discharged.
- My Cousin Vinny (1992). In a genre heavy with drama, this movie stands out as being both an excellent courtroom movie that is also a comedy. When two young men are accused of a murder they did not commit as they were passing through a small southern town, they hire the only lawyer they know and can afford–a cousin from Brooklyn who has only been a lawyer for a few weeks. The neophyte lawyer with his Brooklyn ways learns important lessons in courtroom etiquette as he bumbles his way through in a veteran judge’s well-oiled courtroom, culminating in the acquittal of the two young men.
- Philadelphia (1993). Based on a true story of the first AIDS discrimination case taken to court, Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington star in this movie that tells the story of an important lawyer at the largest law firm in Philadelphia who is fired from his position when it is discovered that he has AIDS. When the lawyer can find no one to represent him against the firm, he begins preparation to defend himself. A homophobic lawyer steps up to take the case and the two men take on and win the discrimination suit.
- Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996). The only documentary in this list, this movie details the trial of three teenage boys in Arkansas who are accused of killing three 8 year-olds. With real courtroom footage and interviews with suspects and others involved in the case, this movie documents a trial that even after its conclusion left many wondering about the effectiveness of the judicial system.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Joseph "The Shark" Lopez Responds to Media Reports on 15th Ave Adult Books in Melrose Park
Our most recent "Shark Tale" addresses the allegations brought against an adult bookstore in Melrose Park that has been accused of running a sex party room. Their attorney, Joseph "The Shark" Lopez, picks it up from here.
The press never seems to go away for some of my clients. Recently, FOX Chicago claimed to have went undercover in Robert Urbinati's wife's bookstore. Bobby was a codefendant of Tony Centracchio an alleged outfit boss who died before the feds could send him away for a few decades.
Bobby did his time like a man unlike Frank Calabrese Jr."the balless wonder" and his chicken man Uncle, Nick "The Slayer" Calabrese.
The bookstore is located in an industrial area of Melrose Park. There is a party room in the back which hosts can rent out for parties. Like any other party the guests can enjoy themselves and in this case they were swingers and freaks of all types. The Bookstore does not sell liquor, drugs or provide sex partners. These parties are be invitation only and not open the general public. The patrons pay an admission fee and receive a red band to enter. Once inside they do what people have been doing since "Adam and Eve" or "Eve and Eve" or "Adam and Adam". The party room remains under the control of the host and the owner does not provide anything other than the space to play. There is nothing illegal about this type of party.
The media hit on it because its in Melrose Park and there is an Italian name. Otherwise, its not a story if some other guy, like a Sam Tong, a Herb Gold, a Bob Perez, or a Mike Anderson, were the owners. Its news because of a few vowels. The media could not link it to "The Outfit" because there is not a link. This is America and its citizens have a constitutional right to assemble and party. They are exhibitionists who are protected by the constitution.
The feed back on the story has been positive. Its yesterday's news. The media reported a non-story because the bottom line was that nothing was illegal. I hope the free advertising helps the store in this troubled economy.
Thanks to Joseph "The Shark" Lopez
The press never seems to go away for some of my clients. Recently, FOX Chicago claimed to have went undercover in Robert Urbinati's wife's bookstore. Bobby was a codefendant of Tony Centracchio an alleged outfit boss who died before the feds could send him away for a few decades.
Bobby did his time like a man unlike Frank Calabrese Jr."the balless wonder" and his chicken man Uncle, Nick "The Slayer" Calabrese.
The bookstore is located in an industrial area of Melrose Park. There is a party room in the back which hosts can rent out for parties. Like any other party the guests can enjoy themselves and in this case they were swingers and freaks of all types. The Bookstore does not sell liquor, drugs or provide sex partners. These parties are be invitation only and not open the general public. The patrons pay an admission fee and receive a red band to enter. Once inside they do what people have been doing since "Adam and Eve" or "Eve and Eve" or "Adam and Adam". The party room remains under the control of the host and the owner does not provide anything other than the space to play. There is nothing illegal about this type of party.
The media hit on it because its in Melrose Park and there is an Italian name. Otherwise, its not a story if some other guy, like a Sam Tong, a Herb Gold, a Bob Perez, or a Mike Anderson, were the owners. Its news because of a few vowels. The media could not link it to "The Outfit" because there is not a link. This is America and its citizens have a constitutional right to assemble and party. They are exhibitionists who are protected by the constitution.
The feed back on the story has been positive. Its yesterday's news. The media reported a non-story because the bottom line was that nothing was illegal. I hope the free advertising helps the store in this troubled economy.
Thanks to Joseph "The Shark" Lopez
Is The Wife of a Former Police Officer with Mob Ties Running a Sex Club Out of a Bookstore?
From the outside, you'd think it was just another adult bookstore on a dead-end street. But a Melrose Park business is hiding a dirty little secret.
Our undercover camera revealed people showing up here -- for something other than books.
"It's shady,” a neighbor said. “Yeah, totally shady… Outrageous! Disgusting!”
The video, er, what we can show you of it makes it clear this place is operating more like a sex club than a book club. And charging admission.
An employee told our producer that multiple rooms are devoted to group sex acts.
Our producer said he observed one woman with a line of men in front of her.
Outraged neighbors are wondering why the place isn't shut down. "What are they thinking? It should be shut down, it's sick," one neighbor said. “I don't like the idea of having it around."
We wanted to ask Mayor Ronald Sirpico how it's able to stay open and show him our video.
We went to the village hall for our interview, and a staff member told us he wouldn't be able to make it. Instead they handed us a one-page statement.
The statement reads, in part, "Our police have followed up on numerous complaints and even used undercover tactics ... In an attempt to close the 15th Avenue bookstore. … Those efforts have proved fruitless thus far."
The mayor did tell FOX Chicago News on the phone that officers have gone in a dozen times to investigate and didn't find anything unusual.
FOX Chicago News went in one time and you can know what we found.
Attorney Joe Lopez represents Jeanette Urbinati, the owner of the bookstore.
“It is legal,” Lopez told FOX Chicago News.
Jeanette Urbinati is the wife of Robert "Bobby" Urbinati, a former Franklin Park police officer who did federal time for the operation of an illegal gambling business tied to the mob.
The feds said he was operating as the “cash man" between mob bosses Anthony Centracchio and James Marcello.
Lopez claimed the bookstore is doing nothing wrong. He also said there are signs posted all over warning customers not to have sex. "I think it's standard for you to remind people of that in adult entertainment places, " he said.
When was the last time you heard of an adult entertainment place with a shower for the customers?
Online chat rooms describe the activity from people who've been there: men looking for women or other men to go to the 15th Avenue bookstore to have sex.
On Craig’s List, you can find personals from people arranging to meet for all kinds of scenarios with random partners at the bookstore.
FOX Chicago News consulted with attorney Steven Greenberg.
"If Melrose Park is not taking any action, they obviously want it there," he said.
Greenberg said he was surprised when FOX revealed to him that inside the bookstore our producer was asked if he wanted to buy any alcohol.
“A business that doesn't have a liquor license shouldn't be serving liquor. That's the easiest way to shut it down,” Greenberg said. “Basically you padlock the door, pending a further hearing."
FOX Chicago News has learned the sheriff's department went inside and handed over possible violations for Melrose Park police to investigate. But the business hasn't been slapped with any violations.
FOX Chicago News called Melrose Park police but they wouldn't return our calls.
Whatever's going on inside, you can see how it looks to families from the outside, across the street from a go-kart center.
“Based on the sheriff’s investigation and your investigation, I think they need to look into it further,” Greenberg said.
He added: “It's been done in New York; they did it in Times Square. Chicago’s done it. Mayor Daley’s been known to fight these businesses. Any mayor can control it. It's like a fiefdom. Mayors are kings of their community; they can do what they want in their community."
Thanks to Anna Davlantes
Our undercover camera revealed people showing up here -- for something other than books.
"It's shady,” a neighbor said. “Yeah, totally shady… Outrageous! Disgusting!”
The video, er, what we can show you of it makes it clear this place is operating more like a sex club than a book club. And charging admission.
An employee told our producer that multiple rooms are devoted to group sex acts.
Our producer said he observed one woman with a line of men in front of her.
Outraged neighbors are wondering why the place isn't shut down. "What are they thinking? It should be shut down, it's sick," one neighbor said. “I don't like the idea of having it around."
We wanted to ask Mayor Ronald Sirpico how it's able to stay open and show him our video.
We went to the village hall for our interview, and a staff member told us he wouldn't be able to make it. Instead they handed us a one-page statement.
The statement reads, in part, "Our police have followed up on numerous complaints and even used undercover tactics ... In an attempt to close the 15th Avenue bookstore. … Those efforts have proved fruitless thus far."
The mayor did tell FOX Chicago News on the phone that officers have gone in a dozen times to investigate and didn't find anything unusual.
FOX Chicago News went in one time and you can know what we found.
Attorney Joe Lopez represents Jeanette Urbinati, the owner of the bookstore.
“It is legal,” Lopez told FOX Chicago News.
Jeanette Urbinati is the wife of Robert "Bobby" Urbinati, a former Franklin Park police officer who did federal time for the operation of an illegal gambling business tied to the mob.
The feds said he was operating as the “cash man" between mob bosses Anthony Centracchio and James Marcello.
Lopez claimed the bookstore is doing nothing wrong. He also said there are signs posted all over warning customers not to have sex. "I think it's standard for you to remind people of that in adult entertainment places, " he said.
When was the last time you heard of an adult entertainment place with a shower for the customers?
Online chat rooms describe the activity from people who've been there: men looking for women or other men to go to the 15th Avenue bookstore to have sex.
On Craig’s List, you can find personals from people arranging to meet for all kinds of scenarios with random partners at the bookstore.
FOX Chicago News consulted with attorney Steven Greenberg.
"If Melrose Park is not taking any action, they obviously want it there," he said.
Greenberg said he was surprised when FOX revealed to him that inside the bookstore our producer was asked if he wanted to buy any alcohol.
“A business that doesn't have a liquor license shouldn't be serving liquor. That's the easiest way to shut it down,” Greenberg said. “Basically you padlock the door, pending a further hearing."
FOX Chicago News has learned the sheriff's department went inside and handed over possible violations for Melrose Park police to investigate. But the business hasn't been slapped with any violations.
FOX Chicago News called Melrose Park police but they wouldn't return our calls.
Whatever's going on inside, you can see how it looks to families from the outside, across the street from a go-kart center.
“Based on the sheriff’s investigation and your investigation, I think they need to look into it further,” Greenberg said.
He added: “It's been done in New York; they did it in Times Square. Chicago’s done it. Mayor Daley’s been known to fight these businesses. Any mayor can control it. It's like a fiefdom. Mayors are kings of their community; they can do what they want in their community."
Thanks to Anna Davlantes
Former Crooked Cop with Ties to the Mob is Accused of Running a Sex Party Room at an Adult Bookstore
A Melrose Park pornography bookstore -- run with the help of a former crooked cop with ties to the mob -- offers a party room in the back where couples and singles have multiple sex partners as part of organized, late-night sessions.
It costs $30 or more per person to get in to the party room at 15th Avenue Adult Books, run for months out of a nondescript building in an industrial area.
Guests can linger at chairs and tables or get up on a stage and partake in the activities, according to people familiar with the business.
Finger foods, such as chicken wings, are provided. They also offer drinks. And despite months of investigation by local and county officials, there's apparently nothing illegal about it.
One of the people behind the business is Robert Urbinati, a former Franklin Park police officer, who runs the business with his wife. Urbinati was sentenced in 2002 to 33 months in prison for taking $500 in bribes each month from the mob to protect a lucrative video poker gambling operation.
Urbinati, 68, also allegedly was an Outfit message man, reportedly passing communications between two high-ranking mobsters, the late Anthony Centracchio and the onetime head of the Chicago Outfit, James "Little Jimmy" Marcello, now in prison after being convicted of racketeering and other crimes in the historic Family Secrets mob case.
Centracchio made the news in 2001 when it was revealed the geriatric mobster was caught on a secret FBI video recording having sex with a younger employee at the abortion clinic he ran.
As for Urbinati, "my client has done his time, and now he's moved on to the second phase of his life," said well-known criminal defense attorney Joseph "The Shark" Lopez, who has represented many alleged mobsters.
Urbinati could not be reached for comment.
Lopez stressed that there was no prostitution at the business, and no illegal drugs, just consenting adults doing their own thing. The party room is used for other activities too, Lopez said, like bachelor parties. "No different than the Sybaris, except more people," Lopez argued, referring to the motel chain where couples go for romantic weekends.
Since last year, the Cook County sheriff's police has sent in undercover officers on several occasions and found nothing illegal happening, a spokesman said.
Melrose Park Mayor Ronald M. Serpico said he'd rather not have the business in his town but there's nothing he can do about it. His own police have investigated it and called in the Cook County sheriff for assistance. The Cook County Department of Public Health investigated and found no issues, Serpico said.
"Is it fun for us? Absolutely not," Serpico said. "Do I want to be having this conversation with you?" the mayor asked. "I'd rather be talking about the Super Bowl."
The pornography bookstore meets village zoning requirements for such businesses, which were set up after Melrose Park was sued in federal court over the issue.
Serpico argued that the vast majority of Melrose Park residents don't even know the business is there or what goes on there, given its location.
"It couldn't be further away from civilization," Serpico said. "Not one resident has called to complain."
The mayor said he did not know who was running the bookstore until recently.
When asked if he had qualms about a onetime associate of organized crime helping operate a business in his town, Serpico said no, adding, "I can't control what somebody has done in the past."
The bookstore "is what it is," Serpico said. "I can't regulate morality."
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
It costs $30 or more per person to get in to the party room at 15th Avenue Adult Books, run for months out of a nondescript building in an industrial area.
Guests can linger at chairs and tables or get up on a stage and partake in the activities, according to people familiar with the business.
Finger foods, such as chicken wings, are provided. They also offer drinks. And despite months of investigation by local and county officials, there's apparently nothing illegal about it.
One of the people behind the business is Robert Urbinati, a former Franklin Park police officer, who runs the business with his wife. Urbinati was sentenced in 2002 to 33 months in prison for taking $500 in bribes each month from the mob to protect a lucrative video poker gambling operation.
Urbinati, 68, also allegedly was an Outfit message man, reportedly passing communications between two high-ranking mobsters, the late Anthony Centracchio and the onetime head of the Chicago Outfit, James "Little Jimmy" Marcello, now in prison after being convicted of racketeering and other crimes in the historic Family Secrets mob case.
Centracchio made the news in 2001 when it was revealed the geriatric mobster was caught on a secret FBI video recording having sex with a younger employee at the abortion clinic he ran.
As for Urbinati, "my client has done his time, and now he's moved on to the second phase of his life," said well-known criminal defense attorney Joseph "The Shark" Lopez, who has represented many alleged mobsters.
Urbinati could not be reached for comment.
Lopez stressed that there was no prostitution at the business, and no illegal drugs, just consenting adults doing their own thing. The party room is used for other activities too, Lopez said, like bachelor parties. "No different than the Sybaris, except more people," Lopez argued, referring to the motel chain where couples go for romantic weekends.
Since last year, the Cook County sheriff's police has sent in undercover officers on several occasions and found nothing illegal happening, a spokesman said.
Melrose Park Mayor Ronald M. Serpico said he'd rather not have the business in his town but there's nothing he can do about it. His own police have investigated it and called in the Cook County sheriff for assistance. The Cook County Department of Public Health investigated and found no issues, Serpico said.
"Is it fun for us? Absolutely not," Serpico said. "Do I want to be having this conversation with you?" the mayor asked. "I'd rather be talking about the Super Bowl."
The pornography bookstore meets village zoning requirements for such businesses, which were set up after Melrose Park was sued in federal court over the issue.
Serpico argued that the vast majority of Melrose Park residents don't even know the business is there or what goes on there, given its location.
"It couldn't be further away from civilization," Serpico said. "Not one resident has called to complain."
The mayor said he did not know who was running the bookstore until recently.
When asked if he had qualms about a onetime associate of organized crime helping operate a business in his town, Serpico said no, adding, "I can't control what somebody has done in the past."
The bookstore "is what it is," Serpico said. "I can't regulate morality."
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Alexi Giannoulias: He'd Make Tony Soprano Proud, Says The National Republican Senatorial Committee
Monday, February 08, 2010
Is Casey Szaflarski the King of Mob-Controlled Video Poker Throughout Chicagoland?
Casey Szaflarski allegedly runs a multimillion-dollar video poker business for the Chicago mob. But he's the first to tell you he has a fuzzy memory.
When lawyers in a civil case tried to figure out how much he was worth, he forgot to bring any financial documents -- even though he had been ordered to do so.
"An oversight," Szaflarski said.
He also told lawyers he doesn't own the Bridgeport home he lives in -- and isn't sure who does. He transferred his interest in the home to a trust, but wasn't sure how or when. And although federal court records suggest he's the new king of mob-controlled video poker in the Chicago area, he says he doesn't know how much he owns of Amusements Inc., a Berwyn company that distributes video gambling machines.
"Yeah, I have a bad memory," Szaflarski, 52, said at the time.
Szaflarski's bad memory got him sanctioned by the Cook County judge overseeing Szaflarski's civil case a few years ago. But that could just be the start of his problems.
Newly unsealed court documents show Szaflarski is a target of an ongoing federal investigation of mob-controlled video poker machines across the Chicago area. The investigation comes as the state has recently legalized video gaming in an effort to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into its coffers. But bars can't legally have the machines pay out until a state agency sets rules to regulate the machines and distributes licenses. Top mobsters, meanwhile, have been caught on secret FBI recordings welcoming the legalization of video poker machines, a business they have dominated over the years.
Last May, agents from the FBI, IRS and ATF simultaneously hit more than 20 Chicago and suburban bars, in one of the largest raids of its kind. Law-enforcement officials stripped the video gambling machines of their computer circuit boards, collected thousands of dollars in illegal gambling proceeds and took gambling records, according to court documents from the investigation overseen by prosecutors T. Markus Funk and Amarjeet S. Bhachu.
During the raids the afternoon of May 27, Szaflarski was stopped in his black H3 Hummer. He had $6,214 in cash on him. Szaflarski is accused in court documents of driving in his Hummer and making the rounds of bars where his video poker machines were located, then splitting the proceeds 50-50 with the bar owners.
The investigation of Szaflarski is part of a larger probe that has already resulted in charges against the reputed mob boss of Cicero, Michael "Fat Ass" Sarno, and an allegedly high-ranking member of the Outlaws motorcycle gang, Mark Polchan.
Sarno is charged with ordering a pipe-bombing in 2003 of a Berwyn video poker business that was competing with Szaflarski's company, court records show. Polchan allegedly organized the bombing and also worked to put Szaflarski's video poker machines in Outlaw clubhouses throughout the Chicago area.
To track the FBI investigation, Polchan allegedly received help from crooked suburban cops, whom he paid off with free sexual favors from prostitutes, court records show.
Szaflarski appears to have taken over the multimillion-dollar video poker distribution business of Chicago mob boss James Marcello and his half-brother Michael, court records show. James Marcello was convicted of racketeering and other crimes in 2007 in the historic Family Secrets mob trial, and his half-brother pleaded guilty to racketeering. Both are in prison.
Szaflarski told a government informant that he learned the video poker business from Michael Marcello, court records show.
Szaflarski has allegedly contributed money from the video poker business to Sarno, who is also known as "Big Mike" and "The Large Guy," according to a federal search warrant affidavit. Sarno recently made headlines when he received permission from a federal magistrate judge to get out of house arrest so he could have Christmas Eve dinner at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in downtown Chicago.
More indictments are expected in the Sarno case, but Szaflarski has not been charged with any crime.
Szaflarski could not be reached for comment, but an attorney who has represented many well-known Chicago mobsters, Joe "The Shark" Lopez, said Friday he was stunned by the allegations. "He's a businessman with a good reputation," said Lopez, who said he knows Szaflarski but does not represent him. "He's just a normal, everyday, Joe Citizen. I'm shocked to hear these allegations."
While operating a video gambling distribution business for at least 10 years, Szaflarski has managed to stay under the radar.
His wife, Denise, however, made the news during the city's Hired Truck scandal when the Chicago Sun-Times revealed she was one of the owners of a trucking firm that received more than $400,000 under the program.
Denise Szaflarski is the daughter of the late mobster Joseph "Shorty" LaMantia, who was a well-known Outfit burglar. Her brother, Rocco "Rocky" LaMantia, set up the trucking company, called Dialex Trucking. Rocky LaMantia is now in state prison, serving a six-year sentence for robbing a pawn shop.
Casey Szaflarski appears to have been making a profitable living from his business. From 2003 to 2005, he made an average of $142,000 in salary and other compensation from Amusements Inc., according to his tax records cited in a judicial order.
Szaflarski has a long history of legal battles. He was behind an unsuccessful lawsuit to throw out an Elmwood Park ban on video poker machines in town. And he's been involved in a series of lawsuits over legal bills stemming from that original case and a related one.
One of the attorneys who represented Szaflarski in the legal bill cases was Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica.
Peraica, who is also a private attorney, said Friday he represented Szaflarski because he knew him from living in Bridgeport and from attending the same church, St. Jerome.
Peraica said he had "no idea" Szaflarski had possible connections to organized crime and has not represented him in any criminal cases.
While his client has made a good living off video poker, Peraica himself has been one of the most vocal opponents of allowing video gambling into unincorporated Cook County.
Last year, the County Board voted to ban such devices after state lawmakers decided to legalize them to fill Illinois' depleted coffers.
Szaflarski's business donated $500 in 2008 and another $500 in 2009 to Peraica's political campaign fund. Peraica said he saw no conflict in accepting the contributions. Szaflarski never mentioned the video poker ban to him, and Peraica, in fact, voted for the ban, he noted.
"This is all rather remarkable," Peraica said, pledging to return the contributions if Szaflarski is indicted.
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
When lawyers in a civil case tried to figure out how much he was worth, he forgot to bring any financial documents -- even though he had been ordered to do so.
"An oversight," Szaflarski said.
He also told lawyers he doesn't own the Bridgeport home he lives in -- and isn't sure who does. He transferred his interest in the home to a trust, but wasn't sure how or when. And although federal court records suggest he's the new king of mob-controlled video poker in the Chicago area, he says he doesn't know how much he owns of Amusements Inc., a Berwyn company that distributes video gambling machines.
"Yeah, I have a bad memory," Szaflarski, 52, said at the time.
Szaflarski's bad memory got him sanctioned by the Cook County judge overseeing Szaflarski's civil case a few years ago. But that could just be the start of his problems.
Newly unsealed court documents show Szaflarski is a target of an ongoing federal investigation of mob-controlled video poker machines across the Chicago area. The investigation comes as the state has recently legalized video gaming in an effort to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into its coffers. But bars can't legally have the machines pay out until a state agency sets rules to regulate the machines and distributes licenses. Top mobsters, meanwhile, have been caught on secret FBI recordings welcoming the legalization of video poker machines, a business they have dominated over the years.
Last May, agents from the FBI, IRS and ATF simultaneously hit more than 20 Chicago and suburban bars, in one of the largest raids of its kind. Law-enforcement officials stripped the video gambling machines of their computer circuit boards, collected thousands of dollars in illegal gambling proceeds and took gambling records, according to court documents from the investigation overseen by prosecutors T. Markus Funk and Amarjeet S. Bhachu.
During the raids the afternoon of May 27, Szaflarski was stopped in his black H3 Hummer. He had $6,214 in cash on him. Szaflarski is accused in court documents of driving in his Hummer and making the rounds of bars where his video poker machines were located, then splitting the proceeds 50-50 with the bar owners.
The investigation of Szaflarski is part of a larger probe that has already resulted in charges against the reputed mob boss of Cicero, Michael "Fat Ass" Sarno, and an allegedly high-ranking member of the Outlaws motorcycle gang, Mark Polchan.
Sarno is charged with ordering a pipe-bombing in 2003 of a Berwyn video poker business that was competing with Szaflarski's company, court records show. Polchan allegedly organized the bombing and also worked to put Szaflarski's video poker machines in Outlaw clubhouses throughout the Chicago area.
To track the FBI investigation, Polchan allegedly received help from crooked suburban cops, whom he paid off with free sexual favors from prostitutes, court records show.
Szaflarski appears to have taken over the multimillion-dollar video poker distribution business of Chicago mob boss James Marcello and his half-brother Michael, court records show. James Marcello was convicted of racketeering and other crimes in 2007 in the historic Family Secrets mob trial, and his half-brother pleaded guilty to racketeering. Both are in prison.
Szaflarski told a government informant that he learned the video poker business from Michael Marcello, court records show.
Szaflarski has allegedly contributed money from the video poker business to Sarno, who is also known as "Big Mike" and "The Large Guy," according to a federal search warrant affidavit. Sarno recently made headlines when he received permission from a federal magistrate judge to get out of house arrest so he could have Christmas Eve dinner at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in downtown Chicago.
More indictments are expected in the Sarno case, but Szaflarski has not been charged with any crime.
Szaflarski could not be reached for comment, but an attorney who has represented many well-known Chicago mobsters, Joe "The Shark" Lopez, said Friday he was stunned by the allegations. "He's a businessman with a good reputation," said Lopez, who said he knows Szaflarski but does not represent him. "He's just a normal, everyday, Joe Citizen. I'm shocked to hear these allegations."
While operating a video gambling distribution business for at least 10 years, Szaflarski has managed to stay under the radar.
His wife, Denise, however, made the news during the city's Hired Truck scandal when the Chicago Sun-Times revealed she was one of the owners of a trucking firm that received more than $400,000 under the program.
Denise Szaflarski is the daughter of the late mobster Joseph "Shorty" LaMantia, who was a well-known Outfit burglar. Her brother, Rocco "Rocky" LaMantia, set up the trucking company, called Dialex Trucking. Rocky LaMantia is now in state prison, serving a six-year sentence for robbing a pawn shop.
Casey Szaflarski appears to have been making a profitable living from his business. From 2003 to 2005, he made an average of $142,000 in salary and other compensation from Amusements Inc., according to his tax records cited in a judicial order.
Szaflarski has a long history of legal battles. He was behind an unsuccessful lawsuit to throw out an Elmwood Park ban on video poker machines in town. And he's been involved in a series of lawsuits over legal bills stemming from that original case and a related one.
One of the attorneys who represented Szaflarski in the legal bill cases was Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica.
Peraica, who is also a private attorney, said Friday he represented Szaflarski because he knew him from living in Bridgeport and from attending the same church, St. Jerome.
Peraica said he had "no idea" Szaflarski had possible connections to organized crime and has not represented him in any criminal cases.
While his client has made a good living off video poker, Peraica himself has been one of the most vocal opponents of allowing video gambling into unincorporated Cook County.
Last year, the County Board voted to ban such devices after state lawmakers decided to legalize them to fill Illinois' depleted coffers.
Szaflarski's business donated $500 in 2008 and another $500 in 2009 to Peraica's political campaign fund. Peraica said he saw no conflict in accepting the contributions. Szaflarski never mentioned the video poker ban to him, and Peraica, in fact, voted for the ban, he noted.
"This is all rather remarkable," Peraica said, pledging to return the contributions if Szaflarski is indicted.
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Crime and Corruption in Present day Las Vegas: An Interview with Steve Miller
John L. Smith, a columnist at the Las Vegas Review Journal, once described Rick Rizzolo, the former owner of Las Vegas strip club the Crazy Horse Too, as an “affable wiseguy, high-rolling gambler, and former soft touch for politicians.” The one-time strip club owner has been described as a friend of Las Vegas’ current mayor, Oscar Goodman, as well as other authorities in Sin City. Steve Miller, a prolific journalist and well known figure in Las Vegas began investigating Rizzolo in 1999, when the strip club owner managed to obtain approval for the expansion for his business, even when he’d already implemented the changes and opened to the public. Casino Online spoke to the journalist about crime, corruption and celebrity status in Sin City.
Miller first began investigating Rizzolo when the strip club owner opened a new, extended bar “without a building permit; additional parking spaces; traffic plan; or certificate of occupancy from the fire department”. To still be legally allowed to open any sort of public entertainment venue without any of these requirements would usually be impossible and Miller became interested about just how Rizzolo had obtained the permission of officials such as former Las Vegas Councilman Michael McDonald. For the past eleven years, Miller has documented the exploits of Rizzolo and his council cohorts (McDonald wasn’t re-elected in 2003 and it has since been discovered he was receiving kickbacks of $5,000 a month from Rizzolo) and has collected his findings on www.AmericanMafia.com/Inside_Vegas/Inside_Vegas_Archive.html. In 2000, Rizzolo attempted to sue Miller for libel, but undaunted, Miller knew that the truth would prevail. However, as he told us, Rizzolo hasn’t left him alone: Over the past few years, the journalist has “received several written death threats and shared them with the police and FBI”.
Miller soon found that Rizzolo’s influence and danger to Las Vegas citizens extended far beyond his ability to wine and dine councilmen though. In October 2001, Kirk Henry had his neck broken by a bouncer at Rizzolo’s strip club, over an $80 bar tab. Henry, who has been paralysed since the attack, sued Rizzolo for attempted murder. Rizzolo denied that Henry had suffered a beating from one of his employees, suggesting in a letter to the Las Vegas Tribune that Henry merely “tripped”. Five years later, the Las Vegas Attorney’s Office revoked Rizzolo’s liquor license and, as part of a plea deal, Rizzolo and his employees “admitted to tax fraud, conspiracy to participate in racketeering and seeking to extort payment from club patrons”. The Las Vegas City Council also issued Rizzolo with a $2.192 million fine and, as part of his plea agreement, Rizzolo vowed to pay the Henry's $10 million in compensation. In 2007, Rizzolo was sentenced to a year and a day in prison, but since being released, the Henry’s have received just $1 million from Rizzolo's insurance company (not from Rizzolo personally) and are still waiting on the remaining millions owed to them. When asked why Rizzolo has managed to avoid paying the couple what he owes them (some would argue he owes them a lot, lot more) Miller suggested that he has “long believed Rizzolo has bought protection over the years and that Mr. Henry's case is being stalled by those subservient to Rizzolo until Henry either dies or settles for pennies on the dollar”.
Critics have suggested that Rizzolo’s connections have meant that the former club owner has managed to steer clear of major punishment. When you consider that Mayor Oscar Goodman used to be employed as his legal representative, it could be suggested that Rizzolo’s influence is far-reaching. Miller alleges that Goodman still has links to Rizzolo, suggesting that “Goodman, through his son's and business partner's law firms, is still representing mob figures including Rizzolo.” It may seem odd that voters would elect a man who’s been heavily involved with mob figures such as Tony “The Ant” Spilotro and Frank Cullotta, as well as Rick Rizzolo, but Miller believes Las Vegas residents just aren’t taking their politics seriously. Miller proposes that Vegas citizens “often vote for those with the highest name recognition like Goodman”. Miller, clearly jaded by the dirty politics of his city, suggests he has witnessed “time and again the stupidity of the average Las Vegas voter with who they continue to elect to public office, then treat the politician like a rock star afterwards, no matter how crooked the elected official may become.” It should be made clear that while Miller has his doubts about Goodman, the mayor has been credited with regenerating the city and has been described by Ed Koch, a journalist at The Las Vegas Sun, as a “stickler for parliamentary procedure”.
When asked about Mayor Oscar Goodman’s plans to open the “Mob Museum”, a forthcoming attraction in Las Vegas which will document “organized crime and law enforcement as each confronted the other”, it’s obvious that Miller sees the exhibition as merely a vanity project for the mayor. The journalist proposes that he’s ashamed “of having to live in a town (Miller makes it clear that Las Vegas hasn’t matured enough to be called a city) that would take public funds to glamorize the former (and current) clients of a mob lawyer-turned-mayor. The Mob Museum will do nothing to attract new, clean, high tech industry to Las Vegas, and will serve to further embarrass local residents who have long tried to show a better face for our town.”
While those of us outside of Las Vegas may see the mob as part of the city’s dark past, for Miller and others campaigning to clean up corruption, it’s still a daily part of their lives. Perhaps what’s most disturbing is Miller’s admission that casinos in Las Vegas now “mainly serve as drug money laundries for the mob” and “condone the use of massage parlors and escort services because such enterprises discourage gamblers from leaving the tables for more than an hour or so.” While the term, “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” may seem to most of us a reference to losses in a casino and perhaps over-indulgence when it comes to alcoholic refreshments, for Miller, the phrase holds much darker connotations.
Courtesy of CasinoOnline.co.uk
Miller first began investigating Rizzolo when the strip club owner opened a new, extended bar “without a building permit; additional parking spaces; traffic plan; or certificate of occupancy from the fire department”. To still be legally allowed to open any sort of public entertainment venue without any of these requirements would usually be impossible and Miller became interested about just how Rizzolo had obtained the permission of officials such as former Las Vegas Councilman Michael McDonald. For the past eleven years, Miller has documented the exploits of Rizzolo and his council cohorts (McDonald wasn’t re-elected in 2003 and it has since been discovered he was receiving kickbacks of $5,000 a month from Rizzolo) and has collected his findings on www.AmericanMafia.com/Inside_Vegas/Inside_Vegas_Archive.html. In 2000, Rizzolo attempted to sue Miller for libel, but undaunted, Miller knew that the truth would prevail. However, as he told us, Rizzolo hasn’t left him alone: Over the past few years, the journalist has “received several written death threats and shared them with the police and FBI”.
Miller soon found that Rizzolo’s influence and danger to Las Vegas citizens extended far beyond his ability to wine and dine councilmen though. In October 2001, Kirk Henry had his neck broken by a bouncer at Rizzolo’s strip club, over an $80 bar tab. Henry, who has been paralysed since the attack, sued Rizzolo for attempted murder. Rizzolo denied that Henry had suffered a beating from one of his employees, suggesting in a letter to the Las Vegas Tribune that Henry merely “tripped”. Five years later, the Las Vegas Attorney’s Office revoked Rizzolo’s liquor license and, as part of a plea deal, Rizzolo and his employees “admitted to tax fraud, conspiracy to participate in racketeering and seeking to extort payment from club patrons”. The Las Vegas City Council also issued Rizzolo with a $2.192 million fine and, as part of his plea agreement, Rizzolo vowed to pay the Henry's $10 million in compensation. In 2007, Rizzolo was sentenced to a year and a day in prison, but since being released, the Henry’s have received just $1 million from Rizzolo's insurance company (not from Rizzolo personally) and are still waiting on the remaining millions owed to them. When asked why Rizzolo has managed to avoid paying the couple what he owes them (some would argue he owes them a lot, lot more) Miller suggested that he has “long believed Rizzolo has bought protection over the years and that Mr. Henry's case is being stalled by those subservient to Rizzolo until Henry either dies or settles for pennies on the dollar”.
Critics have suggested that Rizzolo’s connections have meant that the former club owner has managed to steer clear of major punishment. When you consider that Mayor Oscar Goodman used to be employed as his legal representative, it could be suggested that Rizzolo’s influence is far-reaching. Miller alleges that Goodman still has links to Rizzolo, suggesting that “Goodman, through his son's and business partner's law firms, is still representing mob figures including Rizzolo.” It may seem odd that voters would elect a man who’s been heavily involved with mob figures such as Tony “The Ant” Spilotro and Frank Cullotta, as well as Rick Rizzolo, but Miller believes Las Vegas residents just aren’t taking their politics seriously. Miller proposes that Vegas citizens “often vote for those with the highest name recognition like Goodman”. Miller, clearly jaded by the dirty politics of his city, suggests he has witnessed “time and again the stupidity of the average Las Vegas voter with who they continue to elect to public office, then treat the politician like a rock star afterwards, no matter how crooked the elected official may become.” It should be made clear that while Miller has his doubts about Goodman, the mayor has been credited with regenerating the city and has been described by Ed Koch, a journalist at The Las Vegas Sun, as a “stickler for parliamentary procedure”.
When asked about Mayor Oscar Goodman’s plans to open the “Mob Museum”, a forthcoming attraction in Las Vegas which will document “organized crime and law enforcement as each confronted the other”, it’s obvious that Miller sees the exhibition as merely a vanity project for the mayor. The journalist proposes that he’s ashamed “of having to live in a town (Miller makes it clear that Las Vegas hasn’t matured enough to be called a city) that would take public funds to glamorize the former (and current) clients of a mob lawyer-turned-mayor. The Mob Museum will do nothing to attract new, clean, high tech industry to Las Vegas, and will serve to further embarrass local residents who have long tried to show a better face for our town.”
While those of us outside of Las Vegas may see the mob as part of the city’s dark past, for Miller and others campaigning to clean up corruption, it’s still a daily part of their lives. Perhaps what’s most disturbing is Miller’s admission that casinos in Las Vegas now “mainly serve as drug money laundries for the mob” and “condone the use of massage parlors and escort services because such enterprises discourage gamblers from leaving the tables for more than an hour or so.” While the term, “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” may seem to most of us a reference to losses in a casino and perhaps over-indulgence when it comes to alcoholic refreshments, for Miller, the phrase holds much darker connotations.
Courtesy of CasinoOnline.co.uk
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Plans to Dig Up the Old Giants Stadium to Search for Jimmy Hoffa's Body?
What do the New York Giants and Jets have in common with Jimmy Hoffa? Not much, unless you buy into the long-festering urban legend that they all shared the same residence in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
But now, the two football teams are headed to a new $1.6 billion facility nearby dubbed the New Meadowlands. And their departure may be the best opportunity to finally put to rest the endless stories that Hoffa is not "swimming with the fishes" in the swamps of New Jersey. Or is it?
The old stadium, which opened in 1976 and is often referred to as Giants Stadium, is being razed, with demolition beginning Thursday.
Urban lore has it that Hoffa,
the long-missing Teamsters leader, was killed by members of organized crime and buried in the end zone, or thereabouts, in Giants Stadium.
Representatives for the New Meadowlands stadium said that the field won't be dug up, but that the stadium will be torn down in large pieces and the land eventually will be a parking lot.
Is it possible that football and soccer players -- not to mention the hundreds of thousands of fans who have visited the stadium for concerts over the years -- have trod near the former union leader?
Few urban legends continue to capture the imagination like the disappearance of a union boss with a murky past. The story is now a traditional butt of comedians' jokes, and one shouldn't be surprised that in 2004, the show "Mythbusters" devoted a segment searching for Hoffa. Several areas of the field were tested, but nothing was found. Conclusive? Perhaps not. If you listen closely, you can hear Geraldo Rivera kicking himself for not doing an hourlong special.
A Google search of "Jimmy Hoffa" reveals many theories and opinions on the whereabouts of the controversial union leader, who was reportedly last seen in a suburban Detroit restaurant.
Hoffa skipped off to Brazil with a "go-go dancer" one union official swore. The Weekly World News claims NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has revealed Hoffa's body in a large hidden compartment with a special concrete block. "Crushed in automobile compactor" and "Ground up at a meat processing plant and dumped in Florida" are some of the other theories. Director Quentin Tarantino must be excited about the possibilities.
So just how did Hoffa supposedly end up in the end zone of a football stadium in New Jersey? According to one account, his body was mixed into concrete that was later used to construct the stadium. But why does this story seem to resonate and remain one of the top theories?
Jeff Hansen, an author and former Detroit police officer, says the rumors probably linger because the stadium is a well-known landmark. "It's the NFL," he said. "It's construction, organized crime and cement. Everyone wants to play on that."
Hansen did his own research, and in his recently released book "Digging for the Truth: The Final Resting Place of Jimmy Hoffa," he says the union leader was probably killed closer to home in Michigan and disposed of in a crematorium
.
John Samerjan is vice president of public affairs at the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which oversees the Meadowlands Sports Complex. He says he's heard it all before, and he dismisses the story by saying, "It's a complete urban myth."
"There was this mob lore that the mob dumped bodies in the weeds before the stadium was built. The meadowlands region was 'the weeds.' No one has taken this seriously," he said. "It would often come up because every so often, a mobster would write a book or a magazine article. I was here eight years ago when the calls came flooding in."
The rumor mill was so out of control then that a former publicity official recalled recently that the stadium posted a "He's not here" message on its electronic billboard outside the stadium.
The FBI office in Detroit says the investigation of Hoffa's disappearance is ongoing. "We follow up on leads," Detroit FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said.
The FBI office in Newark, New Jersey, doesn't plan to send anyone to the stadium when it's torn down. "Nope" was the response from Newark FBI spokesman Brian Travers, who says he's fielded several recent calls from the media about the matter.
"My question to you," Travers replied about the seemingly lunacy of the question, "is why would anyone think we would wait this long. We would have dug up the 50 yard line during the Super Bowl a long time ago if there was any credence to the rumor."
The issue of digging is very sensitive for New York sports fans. During the construction of the new Yankee Stadium, a construction worker, and Red Sox fan, buried a Red Sox jersey in wet concrete, hoping to hex the Yankees. The Yankees spent thousands of dollars to dig up the jersey and, in doing so, perhaps averted a future curse and urban legend.
Superstitious? The Yankees won the 2009 World Series.
Thanks to Chris Kokenes
But now, the two football teams are headed to a new $1.6 billion facility nearby dubbed the New Meadowlands. And their departure may be the best opportunity to finally put to rest the endless stories that Hoffa is not "swimming with the fishes" in the swamps of New Jersey. Or is it?
The old stadium, which opened in 1976 and is often referred to as Giants Stadium, is being razed, with demolition beginning Thursday.
Urban lore has it that Hoffa,
the long-missing Teamsters leader, was killed by members of organized crime and buried in the end zone, or thereabouts, in Giants Stadium.Representatives for the New Meadowlands stadium said that the field won't be dug up, but that the stadium will be torn down in large pieces and the land eventually will be a parking lot.
Is it possible that football and soccer players -- not to mention the hundreds of thousands of fans who have visited the stadium for concerts over the years -- have trod near the former union leader?
Few urban legends continue to capture the imagination like the disappearance of a union boss with a murky past. The story is now a traditional butt of comedians' jokes, and one shouldn't be surprised that in 2004, the show "Mythbusters" devoted a segment searching for Hoffa. Several areas of the field were tested, but nothing was found. Conclusive? Perhaps not. If you listen closely, you can hear Geraldo Rivera kicking himself for not doing an hourlong special.
A Google search of "Jimmy Hoffa" reveals many theories and opinions on the whereabouts of the controversial union leader, who was reportedly last seen in a suburban Detroit restaurant.
Hoffa skipped off to Brazil with a "go-go dancer" one union official swore. The Weekly World News claims NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has revealed Hoffa's body in a large hidden compartment with a special concrete block. "Crushed in automobile compactor" and "Ground up at a meat processing plant and dumped in Florida" are some of the other theories. Director Quentin Tarantino must be excited about the possibilities.
So just how did Hoffa supposedly end up in the end zone of a football stadium in New Jersey? According to one account, his body was mixed into concrete that was later used to construct the stadium. But why does this story seem to resonate and remain one of the top theories?
Jeff Hansen, an author and former Detroit police officer, says the rumors probably linger because the stadium is a well-known landmark. "It's the NFL," he said. "It's construction, organized crime and cement. Everyone wants to play on that."
Hansen did his own research, and in his recently released book "Digging for the Truth: The Final Resting Place of Jimmy Hoffa," he says the union leader was probably killed closer to home in Michigan and disposed of in a crematorium
.John Samerjan is vice president of public affairs at the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which oversees the Meadowlands Sports Complex. He says he's heard it all before, and he dismisses the story by saying, "It's a complete urban myth."
"There was this mob lore that the mob dumped bodies in the weeds before the stadium was built. The meadowlands region was 'the weeds.' No one has taken this seriously," he said. "It would often come up because every so often, a mobster would write a book or a magazine article. I was here eight years ago when the calls came flooding in."
The rumor mill was so out of control then that a former publicity official recalled recently that the stadium posted a "He's not here" message on its electronic billboard outside the stadium.
The FBI office in Detroit says the investigation of Hoffa's disappearance is ongoing. "We follow up on leads," Detroit FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said.
The FBI office in Newark, New Jersey, doesn't plan to send anyone to the stadium when it's torn down. "Nope" was the response from Newark FBI spokesman Brian Travers, who says he's fielded several recent calls from the media about the matter.
"My question to you," Travers replied about the seemingly lunacy of the question, "is why would anyone think we would wait this long. We would have dug up the 50 yard line during the Super Bowl a long time ago if there was any credence to the rumor."
The issue of digging is very sensitive for New York sports fans. During the construction of the new Yankee Stadium, a construction worker, and Red Sox fan, buried a Red Sox jersey in wet concrete, hoping to hex the Yankees. The Yankees spent thousands of dollars to dig up the jersey and, in doing so, perhaps averted a future curse and urban legend.
Superstitious? The Yankees won the 2009 World Series.
Thanks to Chris Kokenes
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Mafia II to set New Benchmark for Sandbox Gaming
2K Games has revealed its open world setting for Mafia II will set a new benchmark for sandbox gaming.
In an interview with IncGamers, the game’s senior producer Denby Grace emphasised that as well as having a strong narrative, on a technical level, Mafia II will stand out from the competition.
“As well as the story, the level of detail and realization of the world really is an amazing technical achievement for the team here at 2K Czech,” said Grace.
“No other open world city comes close with the texture quality, attention to detail and destructibility of our environments.”
Thanks to Andy Alderson
In an interview with IncGamers, the game’s senior producer Denby Grace emphasised that as well as having a strong narrative, on a technical level, Mafia II will stand out from the competition.
“As well as the story, the level of detail and realization of the world really is an amazing technical achievement for the team here at 2K Czech,” said Grace.
“No other open world city comes close with the texture quality, attention to detail and destructibility of our environments.”
Thanks to Andy Alderson
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Russian Mafia Involved with Saab Sale?
The U.S. Government participated in stopping General Motors from selling Saab to a Dutch automaker in December due to possible involvement in the deal by the Russian Mafia, a Swedish media outlet is reporting.
According to the Dagens Industri newspaper, the Swedish government asked its security force, the Sapo, to investigate the financial affairs of the Convers Group, a Russian investment group owned by the family of billionaire Alexander Antonov that was one of the major shareholders of Spyker when the Dutch automaker made the offer to buy Saab in December. That investigation reportedly turned up a "strong suspicion" of ties between the Antonovs and organized crime, information that was passed on to the FBI. The report goes on to say the the board of General Motors was then contacted by the U.S. Government and told to stop the sale.
Since then, Spyker founder Victor Muller has assumed ownership of the 4.6 million shares in Spyker that were controlled by the Convers Group, through a recently created holding group called Tenaci, which is run by Muller. This move apparently opened the door to another offer to purchase Saab, which was accepted by GM last week.
A spokesman for Spyker tells Foxnews.com that Victor Muller says the report is "nonsense and speculation."
In the weeks leading up to the sale several media outlets reported that GM was wary of the Antonovs' involvement over concerns that intellectual property rights could be transferred to competing automakers. When asked during a conference call following the agreement if GM was satisfied with the exclusion of the Antonov family from the deal, GM Vice President for Corporate Planning and Alliances John Smith responded, "as part of finding a sustainable solution for Saab, we are happy with the structures of the company that Victor Muller has put in place for Saab Spyker and I'll just leave it at that."
When contacted by Foxnews.com about the Dagens Industri story, General Motors issued the following statment:
"We are declining to comment in any way on the specifics of any negotiations, as they were covered by confidentiality agreements. Our interest was in finding a buyer that could create a viable future for Saab, and we believe we did."
Thanks to FoxNews
According to the Dagens Industri newspaper, the Swedish government asked its security force, the Sapo, to investigate the financial affairs of the Convers Group, a Russian investment group owned by the family of billionaire Alexander Antonov that was one of the major shareholders of Spyker when the Dutch automaker made the offer to buy Saab in December. That investigation reportedly turned up a "strong suspicion" of ties between the Antonovs and organized crime, information that was passed on to the FBI. The report goes on to say the the board of General Motors was then contacted by the U.S. Government and told to stop the sale.
Since then, Spyker founder Victor Muller has assumed ownership of the 4.6 million shares in Spyker that were controlled by the Convers Group, through a recently created holding group called Tenaci, which is run by Muller. This move apparently opened the door to another offer to purchase Saab, which was accepted by GM last week.
A spokesman for Spyker tells Foxnews.com that Victor Muller says the report is "nonsense and speculation."
In the weeks leading up to the sale several media outlets reported that GM was wary of the Antonovs' involvement over concerns that intellectual property rights could be transferred to competing automakers. When asked during a conference call following the agreement if GM was satisfied with the exclusion of the Antonov family from the deal, GM Vice President for Corporate Planning and Alliances John Smith responded, "as part of finding a sustainable solution for Saab, we are happy with the structures of the company that Victor Muller has put in place for Saab Spyker and I'll just leave it at that."
When contacted by Foxnews.com about the Dagens Industri story, General Motors issued the following statment:
"We are declining to comment in any way on the specifics of any negotiations, as they were covered by confidentiality agreements. Our interest was in finding a buyer that could create a viable future for Saab, and we believe we did."
Thanks to FoxNews
Friday, January 29, 2010
Rudy Fratto Says that Not Paying Taxes for 7 Years Was Just a Mistake
Rudy Fratto, reputed top lieutenant in the Chicago Outfit, proudly told me just before his sentencing on Wednesday that he'd never before been convicted of a crime.
Given all the attention the FBI has paid to him over the years—plus the fear he inspires in wiseguys when they spot him in their rear-view mirrors and the silence at the mention of his name—that's surprising.
"Before this, no convictions. Not federal. Not state," said Fratto, 66, whose lucky streak ended when he pleaded guilty to evading federal income tax payments for seven years. "They make me out to be some bad guy. But really, John, I'm not that bad. I'm just a good guy who made a mistake."
Fratto's "mistake" was avoiding federal income taxes by funneling cash into a defunct trucking company until he got caught.
He didn't dress like some flashy HBO gangster. He wore a beige suit, dark tie, gray hair combed forward, glasses. He looked like a tired clerk.
Fratto's attorney, the esteemed criminal defense counsel Art Nasser, looked more the part. Art's big head of gleaming gray hair, the sharp blue suit, the tan, the white teeth, the sarcasm in the eyes. Nasser could wear a camel-hair coat draped over his shoulders, without putting his arms through, and get away with it.
In court, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly sat through the tears and the familial pleas for mercy. He saw the truly heartbreaking sight of Fratto's sobbing teen-age sons begging to keep their dad out of prison. The boys, one in high school, one in college, used their neckties to dry their tears.
Then Fratto's wife, Kim, dressed in black, slowly hobbled up to the bench, gripping a walker. She sobbed that if Rudy went away, she'd lose the house and they'd be destitute. "And I've got two broken feet, judge, and now I'm going blind!" cried Kim, startling everyone in the courtroom.
Then Fratto spoke to the judge, admitted his crime, asked for mercy, and said, yes, indeed, his wife was going blind. "Yes, your honor, she told the doctor that she wanted to see the ocean, and he said she probably wouldn't see the ocean, or the beach, or whatever," Fratto said.
Kennelly announced he was forced to impose a prison sentence, rather than send a bad message to faithful taxpayers. "A year and a day," Kennelly said.
"A year and a day?" asked Nasser, who tried to stop a smile, but then his lips broke free of his teeth and there it was. "A year and a day, judge, means he'll be able to get to a halfway house in a few …"
Kennelly cut him off. "I'm not interested in that," the judge said brusquely. "That's up for the Bureau of Prisons to decide."
In federal court, a sentence of one year would have been worse than a year and a day. That's because federal sentencing guidelines mandate that if a sentence is one year or less, the defendant must serve every day of the time. But anything over a year and the defendant serves about 85 percent. But not all of it in prison. Fratto will do a few months, perhaps at the Club Fed in Oxford, Wis., where corrupt politicians will know who he is.
Chances are they've even nodded at him, respectfully, from across some steakhouse floor.
After a few months, Fratto will be moved to a federal halfway house in Chicago, sleeping there at night, spending his day working or whatever. Currently, Fratto is employed as a "technical consultant for the electronic entertainment industry," Nasser said.
Don't you love it? It sounds like a great trade once legalized video poker comes to Rush Street.
Not a word was mentioned in court about Fratto's reputed ties to organized crime, or his relationship with restaurant and nightclub owners. But some close to Fratto worry about other criminal investigations.
Before entering court, Fratto confronted Joe Fosco, a blogger son of a late Teamsters union official who has filed a civil suit against Fratto alleging that he'd been threatened. In the hallway, Fosco said Fratto had taken him for a ride through Melrose Park, and pointed at a sign for D&P Construction—controlled by the brother of Outfit boss John "No Nose" DiFronzo—while implying that DiFronzo wasn't happy with Fosco.
"It's all lies!" Fratto said, rounding on Fosco. "Get out of here, liar! You pervert! I'm not going into court if he's going in."
After the sentencing, the Fratto women, their tears dried by the court's mercy, confronted Fosco in the hallway. One of the women who'd just finished pleading for compassion and forgiveness showered Fosco with earthy insults.
"This is all a (expletive) joke," Rudy Fratto said, walking away.
That may be. He insists he's just a good guy who made one mistake, even if it happened seven years in a row.
Still, there's no mistaking the notion that federal investigators aren't finished with Fratto.
Thanks to John Kass
Given all the attention the FBI has paid to him over the years—plus the fear he inspires in wiseguys when they spot him in their rear-view mirrors and the silence at the mention of his name—that's surprising.
"Before this, no convictions. Not federal. Not state," said Fratto, 66, whose lucky streak ended when he pleaded guilty to evading federal income tax payments for seven years. "They make me out to be some bad guy. But really, John, I'm not that bad. I'm just a good guy who made a mistake."
Fratto's "mistake" was avoiding federal income taxes by funneling cash into a defunct trucking company until he got caught.
He didn't dress like some flashy HBO gangster. He wore a beige suit, dark tie, gray hair combed forward, glasses. He looked like a tired clerk.
Fratto's attorney, the esteemed criminal defense counsel Art Nasser, looked more the part. Art's big head of gleaming gray hair, the sharp blue suit, the tan, the white teeth, the sarcasm in the eyes. Nasser could wear a camel-hair coat draped over his shoulders, without putting his arms through, and get away with it.
In court, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly sat through the tears and the familial pleas for mercy. He saw the truly heartbreaking sight of Fratto's sobbing teen-age sons begging to keep their dad out of prison. The boys, one in high school, one in college, used their neckties to dry their tears.
Then Fratto's wife, Kim, dressed in black, slowly hobbled up to the bench, gripping a walker. She sobbed that if Rudy went away, she'd lose the house and they'd be destitute. "And I've got two broken feet, judge, and now I'm going blind!" cried Kim, startling everyone in the courtroom.
Then Fratto spoke to the judge, admitted his crime, asked for mercy, and said, yes, indeed, his wife was going blind. "Yes, your honor, she told the doctor that she wanted to see the ocean, and he said she probably wouldn't see the ocean, or the beach, or whatever," Fratto said.
Kennelly announced he was forced to impose a prison sentence, rather than send a bad message to faithful taxpayers. "A year and a day," Kennelly said.
"A year and a day?" asked Nasser, who tried to stop a smile, but then his lips broke free of his teeth and there it was. "A year and a day, judge, means he'll be able to get to a halfway house in a few …"
Kennelly cut him off. "I'm not interested in that," the judge said brusquely. "That's up for the Bureau of Prisons to decide."
In federal court, a sentence of one year would have been worse than a year and a day. That's because federal sentencing guidelines mandate that if a sentence is one year or less, the defendant must serve every day of the time. But anything over a year and the defendant serves about 85 percent. But not all of it in prison. Fratto will do a few months, perhaps at the Club Fed in Oxford, Wis., where corrupt politicians will know who he is.
Chances are they've even nodded at him, respectfully, from across some steakhouse floor.
After a few months, Fratto will be moved to a federal halfway house in Chicago, sleeping there at night, spending his day working or whatever. Currently, Fratto is employed as a "technical consultant for the electronic entertainment industry," Nasser said.
Don't you love it? It sounds like a great trade once legalized video poker comes to Rush Street.
Not a word was mentioned in court about Fratto's reputed ties to organized crime, or his relationship with restaurant and nightclub owners. But some close to Fratto worry about other criminal investigations.
Before entering court, Fratto confronted Joe Fosco, a blogger son of a late Teamsters union official who has filed a civil suit against Fratto alleging that he'd been threatened. In the hallway, Fosco said Fratto had taken him for a ride through Melrose Park, and pointed at a sign for D&P Construction—controlled by the brother of Outfit boss John "No Nose" DiFronzo—while implying that DiFronzo wasn't happy with Fosco.
"It's all lies!" Fratto said, rounding on Fosco. "Get out of here, liar! You pervert! I'm not going into court if he's going in."
After the sentencing, the Fratto women, their tears dried by the court's mercy, confronted Fosco in the hallway. One of the women who'd just finished pleading for compassion and forgiveness showered Fosco with earthy insults.
"This is all a (expletive) joke," Rudy Fratto said, walking away.
That may be. He insists he's just a good guy who made one mistake, even if it happened seven years in a row.
Still, there's no mistaking the notion that federal investigators aren't finished with Fratto.
Thanks to John Kass
Rudy "I'm a Reputed Good Guy" Fratto Heads to Prison and Yells at Blogger
For years, Rudy Fratto has been dubbed a reputed top Chicago mobster. But Fratto sees its differently.
“I’m a reputed good guy,” Fratto said Wednesday, outside a federal courtroom, just moments after a judge sentenced him to prison for a year a day for tax evasion.
Indeed, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly found Fratto “has done an outstanding job of raising a family,” but said Fratto’s crime was too serious to allow him to sentence Fratto to home confinement, as Fratto wanted, rather than prison.
Fratto, 66, of Darien, had avoided paying taxes on more than $800,000 on income over seven years by having various firms, including a gaming technology company, pay him through a bank account of a defunct trucking company that Fratto controlled.
“I was living beyond my means, and I was taking care of my family,” Fratto explained.
Fratto could have been sentenced up to 18 months in prison. By being sentenced to a year and a day, rather than a year, Fratto becomes eligible for good conduct time and could serve as little as 10 months of his sentence.
Fratto’s family tearfully requested that he not be sent to prison, citing him as the family’s role model.
Right after his sentencing, outside the courtroom, tensions ran high as Fratto and his family clashed with a blogger who attended the court hearing and has written negatively about Fratto. Irate family members had to be restrained as Fratto yelled at the blogger, “Get out of here.”
The tax evasion charge, investigated by the IRS, marks the first time Fratto’s been convicted of a crime.
Before his current problems, “I never been arrested for anything,” Fratto explained. “Not traffic. Not a DUI. Nothing.”
But he’s been a target of FBI investigators for years.
Most recently, federal investigators listed him as a top threat to Nick Calabrese, a former mob hitman who had turned into the star witness at the Family Secrets mob trial.
Fratto also allegedly attended a meeting in 2001 to approve the expansion of the video gambling territory of top mobsters James Marcello and his half-brother, Michael.
On Wednesday, Fratto tried to appear unruffled about the proceedings, but as he walked down the hall he shouted, “What a f------ joke!”
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
“I’m a reputed good guy,” Fratto said Wednesday, outside a federal courtroom, just moments after a judge sentenced him to prison for a year a day for tax evasion.
Indeed, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly found Fratto “has done an outstanding job of raising a family,” but said Fratto’s crime was too serious to allow him to sentence Fratto to home confinement, as Fratto wanted, rather than prison.
Fratto, 66, of Darien, had avoided paying taxes on more than $800,000 on income over seven years by having various firms, including a gaming technology company, pay him through a bank account of a defunct trucking company that Fratto controlled.
“I was living beyond my means, and I was taking care of my family,” Fratto explained.
Fratto could have been sentenced up to 18 months in prison. By being sentenced to a year and a day, rather than a year, Fratto becomes eligible for good conduct time and could serve as little as 10 months of his sentence.
Fratto’s family tearfully requested that he not be sent to prison, citing him as the family’s role model.
Right after his sentencing, outside the courtroom, tensions ran high as Fratto and his family clashed with a blogger who attended the court hearing and has written negatively about Fratto. Irate family members had to be restrained as Fratto yelled at the blogger, “Get out of here.”
The tax evasion charge, investigated by the IRS, marks the first time Fratto’s been convicted of a crime.
Before his current problems, “I never been arrested for anything,” Fratto explained. “Not traffic. Not a DUI. Nothing.”
But he’s been a target of FBI investigators for years.
Most recently, federal investigators listed him as a top threat to Nick Calabrese, a former mob hitman who had turned into the star witness at the Family Secrets mob trial.
Fratto also allegedly attended a meeting in 2001 to approve the expansion of the video gambling territory of top mobsters James Marcello and his half-brother, Michael.
On Wednesday, Fratto tried to appear unruffled about the proceedings, but as he walked down the hall he shouted, “What a f------ joke!”
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Rudy Fratto Sentenced to One Year and One Day in Federal Prison
Rudy Fratto, a reputed lieutenant in the Elmwood Park street crew of the Chicago Outfit, was sentenced in federal court today to a year and one day in prison for tax evasion.
Fratto, 65, of Darien, pleaded guilty last year to failing to report nearly $200,000 in income in 2005. Fratto, 65, admitted he had employers issue his checks to a defunct company that had an account he used for his expenses. Fratto said he did this between 2001 and 2007.
Fratto has been identified by authorities as an Outfit figure, and his name came up in recent years at the sentencing of corrupt Chicago police chief of detectives William Hanhardt and at the trial of former U.S. Marshal John Ambrose.
Thanks to Jeff Coen
Fratto, 65, of Darien, pleaded guilty last year to failing to report nearly $200,000 in income in 2005. Fratto, 65, admitted he had employers issue his checks to a defunct company that had an account he used for his expenses. Fratto said he did this between 2001 and 2007.
Fratto has been identified by authorities as an Outfit figure, and his name came up in recent years at the sentencing of corrupt Chicago police chief of detectives William Hanhardt and at the trial of former U.S. Marshal John Ambrose.
Thanks to Jeff Coen
The Chicago Syndicate AKA "The Outfit"
Reputed Mobster Rudy Fratto Jr. Seeks to Become a Homemaker
Although his Outfit ancestors were known as "Cock-eyed" and "One Ear," reputed suburban Chicago mob boss Rudy Fratto Jr. wouldn't mind being known as "the Homemaker."
After copping a plea as a tax cheat, Fratto, 65, has asked a federal judge in Chicago to give him a term of home confinement when he is sentenced on Wednesday afternoon.
"In light of the responsibilities and obligations he, and he alone has, not only to his family, but to his Government, we request that the Court impose a sentence of home confinement for a term and with the most stringent of conditions and requirements the Court deems appropriate," states a motion asking for mercy and leniency filed by Fratto's attorney Arthur Nasser.
Among Fratto's obligations according to the court filing, is the complete and total care of his wife Kim who is allegedly convalescing in their Darien home following a misstep out their front door. Kim Fratto broke bones in both of her feet in the accident last July and required surgery, states her husband's motion to avoid jail time. Fratto's attorney submitted extensive medical reports and copies of Mrs. Fratto's foot X-rays to support the contention that she is incapacitated.
A few months after the accident, Mr. Fratto pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to a single charge of tax evasion. In the plea agreement Fratto admitted not paying $141,192 in taxes on more than $835,000 income beginning in 2001. The prescribed penalty for such a violation is 12-18 months in federal prison.
"Mrs. Fratto's only caretaker since the accident to the present time and into the future is her spouse, defendant Rudy Fratto. He must attend to her most basic everyday needs" contends Fratto's lawyer. "In addition to attending to Mrs. Fratto's basic needs, he must also act as cook, house cleaner, dishwasher and chauffeur" for his wife and several of the couples' children.
Prosecutors are not convinced that Rudy "the Homemaker" Fratto deserves such mercy. At tomorrow's sentencing hearing, the government will contest any leniency for Fratto. "A sentence of home confinement would send the wrong message to him, his associates, and the public in general" say federal prosecutors in a pre-sentence filing with Judge Matthew F. Kennelly.
The associates of Fratto's who might get the wrong idea include his underlings who toil on the streets for the Outfit's powerful Elmwood Park Crew. Although never charged with a crime, Fratto has been named as a Mob associate and recently as a crime syndicate leader by local, state and federal law enforcement agents.
His most notable relative was Luigi Tomaso Giuseppi Fratto, who was a gangland leader and labor racketeer from the 1930s into the '60s. Luigi Fratto was also known as "Cockeyed Louie" due to his off-kilter eyeball.
As the I-Team first reported, federal investigators considered the modern-day Fratto to be a major threat to the safety of mob witness and reformed hitman Nicholas Calabrese. Calabrese' compelling testimony helped put away top hoodlums during the recent Family Secrets mob murder trial.
Fratto was also photographed over the years by federal surveillance teams during meetings with mob leaders. In 2001 he was seen at a secret Outfit summit to plot the takeover of video-poker turf in the suburbs.
On another occasion, Fratto was observed meeting with former Chicago Police Chief of Detectives William Hanhardt. The men were to work out details of a proposed gangland hit, according to testimony in 2002 during a sentencing hearing in Hanhardt's jewel theft case. The hit did not occur and Hanhardt is serving a federal prison sentence.
On Wednesday, the government will attempt to convince Judge Kennelly that Rudy Fratto should join Hanhardt in prison. Fratto's lawyer will argue that his client deserves home confinement-even with certain conditions.
"Those requirements can include electronic monitoring, periodic reporting to the United States Probation Office, unannounced residential visits during hours of confinement by designated law enforcement personnel, any method of telephonic monitoring of residential and mobile/cell telephones (or no cell phone), continued employment during specified hours which will enable him to carry on his income producing activities, all of which will enable him to pay off the outstanding income tax liabilities he has incurred as a result of his defalcation" states defense attorney Nasser in court papers.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie
After copping a plea as a tax cheat, Fratto, 65, has asked a federal judge in Chicago to give him a term of home confinement when he is sentenced on Wednesday afternoon."In light of the responsibilities and obligations he, and he alone has, not only to his family, but to his Government, we request that the Court impose a sentence of home confinement for a term and with the most stringent of conditions and requirements the Court deems appropriate," states a motion asking for mercy and leniency filed by Fratto's attorney Arthur Nasser.
Among Fratto's obligations according to the court filing, is the complete and total care of his wife Kim who is allegedly convalescing in their Darien home following a misstep out their front door. Kim Fratto broke bones in both of her feet in the accident last July and required surgery, states her husband's motion to avoid jail time. Fratto's attorney submitted extensive medical reports and copies of Mrs. Fratto's foot X-rays to support the contention that she is incapacitated.
A few months after the accident, Mr. Fratto pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to a single charge of tax evasion. In the plea agreement Fratto admitted not paying $141,192 in taxes on more than $835,000 income beginning in 2001. The prescribed penalty for such a violation is 12-18 months in federal prison.
"Mrs. Fratto's only caretaker since the accident to the present time and into the future is her spouse, defendant Rudy Fratto. He must attend to her most basic everyday needs" contends Fratto's lawyer. "In addition to attending to Mrs. Fratto's basic needs, he must also act as cook, house cleaner, dishwasher and chauffeur" for his wife and several of the couples' children.
Prosecutors are not convinced that Rudy "the Homemaker" Fratto deserves such mercy. At tomorrow's sentencing hearing, the government will contest any leniency for Fratto. "A sentence of home confinement would send the wrong message to him, his associates, and the public in general" say federal prosecutors in a pre-sentence filing with Judge Matthew F. Kennelly.
The associates of Fratto's who might get the wrong idea include his underlings who toil on the streets for the Outfit's powerful Elmwood Park Crew. Although never charged with a crime, Fratto has been named as a Mob associate and recently as a crime syndicate leader by local, state and federal law enforcement agents.
His most notable relative was Luigi Tomaso Giuseppi Fratto, who was a gangland leader and labor racketeer from the 1930s into the '60s. Luigi Fratto was also known as "Cockeyed Louie" due to his off-kilter eyeball.
As the I-Team first reported, federal investigators considered the modern-day Fratto to be a major threat to the safety of mob witness and reformed hitman Nicholas Calabrese. Calabrese' compelling testimony helped put away top hoodlums during the recent Family Secrets mob murder trial.
Fratto was also photographed over the years by federal surveillance teams during meetings with mob leaders. In 2001 he was seen at a secret Outfit summit to plot the takeover of video-poker turf in the suburbs.
On another occasion, Fratto was observed meeting with former Chicago Police Chief of Detectives William Hanhardt. The men were to work out details of a proposed gangland hit, according to testimony in 2002 during a sentencing hearing in Hanhardt's jewel theft case. The hit did not occur and Hanhardt is serving a federal prison sentence.
On Wednesday, the government will attempt to convince Judge Kennelly that Rudy Fratto should join Hanhardt in prison. Fratto's lawyer will argue that his client deserves home confinement-even with certain conditions.
"Those requirements can include electronic monitoring, periodic reporting to the United States Probation Office, unannounced residential visits during hours of confinement by designated law enforcement personnel, any method of telephonic monitoring of residential and mobile/cell telephones (or no cell phone), continued employment during specified hours which will enable him to carry on his income producing activities, all of which will enable him to pay off the outstanding income tax liabilities he has incurred as a result of his defalcation" states defense attorney Nasser in court papers.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie
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