Chicago's political class can't admit to losing control. They dare not even hint at it, particularly the mayor, what with his election coming up and his poll numbers tanking. But just about every cop in the city must feel it, with the murder Sunday of veteran Chicago police Officer Michael Bailey outside his home. As do some people in the neighborhoods.
"The man was in uniform," said Marcus Burks, 35, a bricklayer and a father who was one of the first to run to Bailey after he'd been killed in the 7400 block of South Evans Avenue.
"A Chicago police officer gets shot to death outside his house, he's in full uniform, and he gets killed because some thugs want to rob his car on Sunday morning?" Burks asked me.
Detectives canvassed the neighborhood in the heat. And people sat out on their porches, watching, some fanning themselves in the shade.
"I saw him on the ground," Burks said. "You couldn't mistake him being the police. And still they try to rob him? They shoot him down? Tell me what happened to this city? Just think about that."
Bailey, 62, had just spent the night guarding Mayor Richard Daley's home.
Bailey hadn't been running through some night alley after felons or doing the kinds of things that get cops killed. It was a hot sunny morning, and he had a spray bottle of Windex in his hand.
He'd been polishing the windows of his new car, a black Buick, a gift to himself for his retirement that was supposed to take place in a couple of weeks. Neighbors said he polished the windows of that new car every morning, after he'd spend the night guarding the mayor's house.
So his attackers most likely confronted him knowing he was a cop. And now he's the third Chicago police officer killed in the last couple of months. On May 19, Officer Thomas Wortham was shot to death outside his home in the Chatham neighborhood, as thugs tried to steal his motorcycle. And on July 7, in the parking lot of a police facility near 61st Street and Racine Avenue, Officer Thor Soderberg, also in uniform, was killed with his own gun after a struggle with an attacker.
"This has just been a terrible year, and I don't remember anything this bad, maybe if you go back to the early '70s when we came on and we were losing, what, maybe 10 guys a year? And that was before bulletproof vests," former Chicago police Superintendent Phil Cline said.
We were in the parking lot of police headquarters at 35th Street and Michigan Avenue. Cline had just finished speaking to a group of a couple of hundred police and their families from across Illinois, part of a bike-athon that would take them to the Gold Star Memorial, with the names of fallen police on the wall.
I asked Cline and other former and current officers gathered there what had changed, if anything, with Bailey's slaying. They all said the same thing: Bailey was in uniform. And still they tried to rob him.
There was a time when the sight of the uniform alone would stop them. Not now. And that is transformation.
"I think what you're seeing is that the gangbangers have lost their fear of the police — and that's not a good thing," Cline said. "The balance we always wanted was that the good citizens in the neighborhood to like the police, the gangbangers to fear us. Evidently, we've lost that.
"And that's something the department is going to have to work on, to take back the street from these gangs. The city is going to have to bite the bullet and hire more police." But the mayor and his rubber-stamp council have spent all the money. There is no money. They spent it on deals for the guys who know guys who got their beaks wet.
Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of deals went to the cronies. And now there's no money left to hire cops.
Police numbers are down. Cops are retiring at unprecedented rates. And there aren't enough young officers going through the academy to take their place. That puts even greater stress on sergeants and commanders.
Meanwhile, the mayor has a problem, and it's all about control. A new Tribune poll released Sunday shows that 53 percent of Chicago voters don't want Daley re-elected.
Sixty-eight percent disapprove of his handling of government corruption, with 13 percent offering no opinion. Figure that there are enough worried government workers in the 13 percent to make that 68 percent even greater. And 54 percent of voters disapprove of how he's handling crime, with 13 percent offering no opinion, so figure that 54 percent is higher than stated.
For almost 20 years, voters have shrugged off the corruption, figuring it was a price to pay for order. But voters finally understand that the cost of corruption has taken from funds available for public safety.
Politics and policing are a lot about public perception. And here's the one folks will have as they begin the work week on Monday: A veteran police officer in uniform, who spent the night guarding the mayor's house, shot to death outside his own home on Sunday morning, confronted by robbers while polishing his car, just weeks away from retirement.
Thanks to John Kass
Monday, July 19, 2010
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
FBI Files Released on Chicago's Most Feared Mobster Frank"The German" Schweihs
The FBI called him a "psychopath" and "an extremely ruthless, cold-blooded and malicious individual with a violent temper."
He was dubbed "one of the top 'hit men' in Chicago for the past 10 years," back in 1975.
Investigators were warned: "Extreme caution should be exercised ... in view of his propensity for violence." And a confidential source once told the FBI he was "a very mean individual and that he had on one occasion shot a girlfriend in the head."
One nickname he was known by was "The Nut."
But for decades, Francis John Schweihs was best known - and feared - on the streets of Chicago by a nickname that spoke only of his heritage: "The German."
Though he was reputed to be a prolific mob killer, Frank Schweihs never went on trial for a single murder.
He died in 2008 at the age of 76 from complications of cancer. It was just a few months before he would have faced the most serious charges of his life, as part of the landmark Operation Family Secrets case that sent top Chicago Outfit bosses and killers to prison.
Many of Schweihs' secrets went to the grave with him. But his once-secret FBI files - 531 pages in all, obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times - shed new light on a man widely considered to have been the most-feared Chicago mobster ever.
According to one report in the FBI files: "Sources have also indicated that Schweihs is allowed a free reign in Chicago due to his violent nature.
Sources have also indicated that Schweihs is called in by various Chicago crews to do hits."
His FBI file shows authorities were interested in Schweihs for many reputed mob hits in Chicago and elsewhere, including killings in M ilwaukee and Kansas City.
Schweihs' penchant for violence, his hair-trigger temper and his twisted behavior made him stand out even in the Chicago mob. Schweihs started his criminal career as a thief. One time, he defecated in a cash register while he and his young partners in crime robbed a business, sources say.
The late mobster Michael Spilotro warned his teenage daughter in the 1980s: If she ever saw Schweihs around their Oak Park home, call the cops and lock the door.
Schweihs once was caught on a secret government wiretap telling an undercover informant: "I won't see you for a while. I gotta - I got a f------ hit," according to a FBI transcript of the conversation.
Schweihs was also a member of a sophisticated burglary crew in Florida, where he spent much of his time when not in Chicago - and where he once ran into serious trouble with the law.
It was May 1975. He was arrested in Fort Lauderdale after two brothers, who were checking on their auto-body shop late at night, came across Schweihs and another man apparently trying to break into a Wells Fargo bank next door. Schweihs was convicted in that case in 1976. The prosecution victory in the Florida case was short-lived. A federal appeals court overturned Schweihs' conviction.
He wouldn't do prison time until the mid-1990s, when he was sentenced to 10 years behind bars for shaking down pornography bookstore owners for money.
In the mid-1970s, Schweihs was inves tigated for more than a year for allegedly extorting two restaurant-quality Vulcan ranges out of a guy who owed him money. Schweihs used them at his own Old Town restaurant, the Meat Block, according to the FBI files.
The Internal Revenue Service once had Richard Johnson - a legendary undercover agent - strike up a business relationship with Schweihs. It was a remarkable feat because Johnson was black, and Schweihs, beside being paranoid about law enforcement, was a virulent racist. Schweihs would brag about how he could sniff out FBI agents.
In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times in 2006, Johnson recalled how he convinced Schweihs that he was interested in buying a restaurant property from him that Schweihs had converted into an Italian bicycle shop when he had problems with his liquor license.
Another time, Johnson said, Schweihs wanted to show him how strong a Plexiglas screen in the building's vestibule was. So Schweihs picked up a baseball bat and hammered at it in a frenzy for a minute. "I'm looking at him and ducking at the same time," Johnson said. "It was like he was in another world."
Schweihs, oddly, given his own reputation for violence, told Johnson that Italians could learn something from black people, saying, "You guys march and raise hell and shoot each other." But Johnson's undercover investigation had to be cut short. Schweihs began threatening the life of then-Cook County Board President George Dunne, who Schweihs mistakenly believed was behind his liquor-license problems. Dunne was warned of the threat, and the investigation ended.
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
He was dubbed "one of the top 'hit men' in Chicago for the past 10 years," back in 1975.
Investigators were warned: "Extreme caution should be exercised ... in view of his propensity for violence." And a confidential source once told the FBI he was "a very mean individual and that he had on one occasion shot a girlfriend in the head."
One nickname he was known by was "The Nut."
But for decades, Francis John Schweihs was best known - and feared - on the streets of Chicago by a nickname that spoke only of his heritage: "The German."
Though he was reputed to be a prolific mob killer, Frank Schweihs never went on trial for a single murder.
He died in 2008 at the age of 76 from complications of cancer. It was just a few months before he would have faced the most serious charges of his life, as part of the landmark Operation Family Secrets case that sent top Chicago Outfit bosses and killers to prison.
Many of Schweihs' secrets went to the grave with him. But his once-secret FBI files - 531 pages in all, obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times - shed new light on a man widely considered to have been the most-feared Chicago mobster ever.
According to one report in the FBI files: "Sources have also indicated that Schweihs is allowed a free reign in Chicago due to his violent nature.
Sources have also indicated that Schweihs is called in by various Chicago crews to do hits."
His FBI file shows authorities were interested in Schweihs for many reputed mob hits in Chicago and elsewhere, including killings in M ilwaukee and Kansas City.
Schweihs' penchant for violence, his hair-trigger temper and his twisted behavior made him stand out even in the Chicago mob. Schweihs started his criminal career as a thief. One time, he defecated in a cash register while he and his young partners in crime robbed a business, sources say.
The late mobster Michael Spilotro warned his teenage daughter in the 1980s: If she ever saw Schweihs around their Oak Park home, call the cops and lock the door.
Schweihs once was caught on a secret government wiretap telling an undercover informant: "I won't see you for a while. I gotta - I got a f------ hit," according to a FBI transcript of the conversation.
Schweihs was also a member of a sophisticated burglary crew in Florida, where he spent much of his time when not in Chicago - and where he once ran into serious trouble with the law.
It was May 1975. He was arrested in Fort Lauderdale after two brothers, who were checking on their auto-body shop late at night, came across Schweihs and another man apparently trying to break into a Wells Fargo bank next door. Schweihs was convicted in that case in 1976. The prosecution victory in the Florida case was short-lived. A federal appeals court overturned Schweihs' conviction.
He wouldn't do prison time until the mid-1990s, when he was sentenced to 10 years behind bars for shaking down pornography bookstore owners for money.
In the mid-1970s, Schweihs was inves tigated for more than a year for allegedly extorting two restaurant-quality Vulcan ranges out of a guy who owed him money. Schweihs used them at his own Old Town restaurant, the Meat Block, according to the FBI files.
The Internal Revenue Service once had Richard Johnson - a legendary undercover agent - strike up a business relationship with Schweihs. It was a remarkable feat because Johnson was black, and Schweihs, beside being paranoid about law enforcement, was a virulent racist. Schweihs would brag about how he could sniff out FBI agents.
In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times in 2006, Johnson recalled how he convinced Schweihs that he was interested in buying a restaurant property from him that Schweihs had converted into an Italian bicycle shop when he had problems with his liquor license.
Another time, Johnson said, Schweihs wanted to show him how strong a Plexiglas screen in the building's vestibule was. So Schweihs picked up a baseball bat and hammered at it in a frenzy for a minute. "I'm looking at him and ducking at the same time," Johnson said. "It was like he was in another world."
Schweihs, oddly, given his own reputation for violence, told Johnson that Italians could learn something from black people, saying, "You guys march and raise hell and shoot each other." But Johnson's undercover investigation had to be cut short. Schweihs began threatening the life of then-Cook County Board President George Dunne, who Schweihs mistakenly believed was behind his liquor-license problems. Dunne was warned of the threat, and the investigation ended.
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
Monday, July 05, 2010
Agatha Christie 4:50 From Paddington
Pack your bags . . . for murder. Join Agatha Christie's famed sleuth, Miss Marple, in this classic "whodunit". Uncover clues, solve perplexing puzzles and unmask the murderer before it's too late. All aboard!
Play Agatha Christie 4:50 From Paddington Free!
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Legendary Organized Crime Figure Frank Colacurcio Sr. Dies
Frank Colacurcio Sr., the strip-club magnate whose organized-crime exploits covered more than half a century and helped define Seattle's history of police corruption and reform, died Friday. He was 93.
Mr. Colacurcio had been in declining health for some time, suffering from congestive heart failure. His death was confirmed by his attorney, Irwin Schwartz. Mr. Colacurcio died at University of Washington Medical Center, said spokeswoman Leila Gray.
In keeping with his life story, Mr. Colacurcio was under indictment at the time of his death, facing allegations of racketeering and promoting prostitution.
"It is the end of an era, hopefully one that won't be repeated," former Seattle U.S. Attorney Jeff Sullivan said Friday.
Mr. Colacurcio died only a week after the final dismantling of his strip-club operations by federal prosecutors, 67 years after he was first sent to prison for what was then called carnal knowledge with a teenage girl.
As Seattle's longest-running crime figure, Mr. Colacurcio often was portrayed by law-enforcement officials and the news media as one of Seattle's most notorious racketeering figures.
The reputation stemmed from convictions for tax evasion and racketeering that repeatedly sent him to prison. Adding to the lore were murky tales — involving corrupt cops and his cat-and-mouse dealings with law-enforcement officials — that no one could explain, except perhaps Mr. Colacurcio.
Despite his notoriety, Mr. Colacurcio wasn't flashy. He wore golf shirts, played cards and lived in a modest home in the Sheridan Beach neighborhood of Lake Forest Park at the north end of Lake Washington. His one indulgence was a 38-foot boat used for fishing in Alaska.
He benefited in the 1950s and 1960s when Seattle had rougher edges and police turned their eyes from vice and criminal activity in exchange for payoffs.
Eventually, he became a top target of federal and local law-enforcement officials.
For years, the feds and other investigators picked through his trash, eavesdropped on his conversations and recruited snitches. They finally got him in the 1970s, for racketeering and failing to pay taxes on money skimmed from his businesses. But their long-held suspicion that Mr. Colacurcio was involved in the execution-style slayings of several people who had crossed him never resulted in charges. In an interview a few years ago, Mr. Colacurcio dismissed the notion that he was involved in old killings or illegal activities. "They have been investigating me since the time I was born," he said.
Once considered Seattle's own connection to the Mafia, he more likely headed a homegrown organized-crime outfit, law-enforcement officials concluded.
"Mafia malarkey," he once complained, saying local investigators needed someone they could label as their own mob figure.
Yet he and his associates also seemed to enjoy the image. Five years ago, while he awaited a court hearing, a cellphone belonging to an investigator on his defense team rang. The ringtone: the theme song for the movie "The Godfather."
For some detectives, investigating Mr. Colacurcio was an obsession. They built dossiers with flow charts and pictures of his known associates. Once, they even rented a room next to his old SeaTac office to eavesdrop through an electrical outlet.
Mr. Colacurcio outlasted some investigators, who moved to other jobs or retired. One federal prosecutor who brought charges against him later became his defense attorney.
"I'll never be 'retired' retired," Mr. Colacurcio said in 1995. "Not until I'm in the grave."
He ran his operations from Talents West, a hiring agency and business office in a small building on Lake City Way. Its walls displayed photographs of scantily dressed women and a giant framed photo of Mr. Colacurcio leaving a courthouse.
Mr. Colacurcio was born in Seattle to immigrant parents on June 18, 1917. He quit school at age 15 to begin farming and started a produce-hauling business.
Beginning in the 1950s, he used thugs and threats to control Seattle's jukebox, pinball and cigarette-vending-machine business, competitors alleged. Those businesses historically had attracted organized crime because of their easily skimmed cash.
He also sought to expand into Portland, drawing the attention of a U.S. Senate committee investigating organized crime.
Under questioning by Robert F. Kennedy, chief counsel for the committee, James "Big Jim" Elkins, a Portland crime figure, told the committee that Mr. Colacurcio asked for Elkins' help in opening prostitution houses there.
"He wanted me to arrange so that he could take over three or four houses," Elkins testified. "I told him if he wanted the houses to go buy them."
Elkins described Mr. Colacurcio as a fellow racketeer and a "boy that had various things operating in Seattle."
In the 1960s, Mr. Colacurcio held an interest in several bars, restaurants and nightclubs in Seattle. He ran a beer garden at the Seattle World's Fair in 1962 and introduced go-go dancing to Seattle at the Firelite Room in 1965.
For years, the well-entrenched tolerance policy in Seattle and King County kept the police from bothering him until the payoff system crumbled, brought down by investigative reporters, Christopher T. Bayley, a reform-minded King County prosecutor, and Stan Pitkin, a hard-charging U.S. attorney in Seattle.
In a 1971 trial, Mr. Colacurcio was convicted of racketeering for bringing illegal bingo cards into the state. Federal prosecutors exposed a bribery scheme in which police were paid to ignore illegal gambling activities at area taverns. A nightclub owner testified that he paid Colacurcio $3,000 a month for police protection.
Around the same time, State Patrol investigators reported that Mr. Colacurcio had met in Yakima with Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno, the son of legendary New York Mafia boss Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno, to discuss a business relationship. Mr. Colacurcio famously responded to a reporter that he and his family had gone to Yakima to pick hot peppers, "but I didn't pick no bananas."
Although he served prison stints for the 1971 conviction and a 1981 tax-fraud conviction, Mr. Colacurcio opened topless taverns and strip clubs — another cash business that allowed profit-skimming — throughout the Seattle area and beyond, eventually operating in at least 10 Western states.
Law-enforcement officials banded together in 1984, driving him out of many states.
For a period, Mr. Colacurcio almost faded into local lore. After a 1991 guilty plea to tax fraud and his 36-year-year marriage to Jackie Colacurcio ended in divorce about the same time, he and his son, Frank Colacurcio Jr., concentrated on running a smaller number of nude-dancing clubs.
The clubs, which years earlier had stopped selling alcohol to avoid state liquor inspectors, made their money from cover charges, high-priced soft drinks and charging a hefty per diem to the dancers. But Mr. Colacurcio and his son landed on the front page of newspapers in 2003 when the "Strippergate" scandal jolted Seattle City Hall.
For years, the Colacurcios had tried to expand parking at Rick's, a Lake City Way strip club, but were repeatedly rejected. When the parking plan came before the council again in 2003, Colacurcio associates contributed thousands of dollars to three City Council members, who helped form a majority that approved the plan.
Strippergate also cast a spotlight on the long friendship between Mr. Colacurcio and former Washington Gov. Albert Rosellini. Rosellini, who served as governor from 1957 to 1965 and is now 100 years old, played a role in pushing for the parking-lot rezone.
Their ties had gone back for years, dogging Rosellini during his political career, although there was never proof of illegal dealings.
In the Strippergate case, prosecutors charged Mr. Colacurcio, his son and two others with skirting donation limits by secretly reimbursing contributors. In 2008, Mr. Colacurcio, his son and an associate pleaded guilty to criminal charges and paid fines. The fourth defendant was dismissed from the case. But even before that case was resolved, the Strippergate case prompted FBI and local law-enforcement officials to launch a broader investigation, looking for evidence of prostitution at Colacurcio clubs.
Investigators also reopened old homicide cases, trying to link Mr. Colacurcio or his associates to the slayings of five people in the 1970s and 1980s: a rival strip-club operator and his fiancée, a bar owner in Central Washington, a mechanic in a murder-for-hire scheme, and a police informant.
Neither Mr. Colacurcio nor his associates were tied to those cases, and involvement in the Central Washington case has been ruled out.
The four-year investigation culminated with racketeering charges brought against Mr. Colacurcio, his son and others last year, alleging they allowed rampant prostitution at Rick's and three other clubs in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties that generated million of dollars in business.
Last week, Frank Colacurcio Jr., 48, pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge that will cost him $1.3 million and likely land him in prison for a year and a day. Four close associates of his father earlier pleaded guilty to prostitution- and racketeering-related charges.
As part of plea deals, the Colacurcios' four strip clubs have been shuttered, and the government seized the buildings and other property valued at $4.5 million. The final piece of property, Talents West, was forfeited by Colacurcio Jr. under his plea.
In a final interview a year ago, while sitting in a leather chair, a blanket draped over his lap, Mr. Colacurcio was asked what he wanted his legacy to be. He paused, mulled the question and replied, "I think my background speaks for itself."
Thanks to Steve Miletich
Mr. Colacurcio had been in declining health for some time, suffering from congestive heart failure. His death was confirmed by his attorney, Irwin Schwartz. Mr. Colacurcio died at University of Washington Medical Center, said spokeswoman Leila Gray.
In keeping with his life story, Mr. Colacurcio was under indictment at the time of his death, facing allegations of racketeering and promoting prostitution.
"It is the end of an era, hopefully one that won't be repeated," former Seattle U.S. Attorney Jeff Sullivan said Friday.
Mr. Colacurcio died only a week after the final dismantling of his strip-club operations by federal prosecutors, 67 years after he was first sent to prison for what was then called carnal knowledge with a teenage girl.
As Seattle's longest-running crime figure, Mr. Colacurcio often was portrayed by law-enforcement officials and the news media as one of Seattle's most notorious racketeering figures.
The reputation stemmed from convictions for tax evasion and racketeering that repeatedly sent him to prison. Adding to the lore were murky tales — involving corrupt cops and his cat-and-mouse dealings with law-enforcement officials — that no one could explain, except perhaps Mr. Colacurcio.
Despite his notoriety, Mr. Colacurcio wasn't flashy. He wore golf shirts, played cards and lived in a modest home in the Sheridan Beach neighborhood of Lake Forest Park at the north end of Lake Washington. His one indulgence was a 38-foot boat used for fishing in Alaska.
He benefited in the 1950s and 1960s when Seattle had rougher edges and police turned their eyes from vice and criminal activity in exchange for payoffs.
Eventually, he became a top target of federal and local law-enforcement officials.
For years, the feds and other investigators picked through his trash, eavesdropped on his conversations and recruited snitches. They finally got him in the 1970s, for racketeering and failing to pay taxes on money skimmed from his businesses. But their long-held suspicion that Mr. Colacurcio was involved in the execution-style slayings of several people who had crossed him never resulted in charges. In an interview a few years ago, Mr. Colacurcio dismissed the notion that he was involved in old killings or illegal activities. "They have been investigating me since the time I was born," he said.
Once considered Seattle's own connection to the Mafia, he more likely headed a homegrown organized-crime outfit, law-enforcement officials concluded.
"Mafia malarkey," he once complained, saying local investigators needed someone they could label as their own mob figure.
Yet he and his associates also seemed to enjoy the image. Five years ago, while he awaited a court hearing, a cellphone belonging to an investigator on his defense team rang. The ringtone: the theme song for the movie "The Godfather."
For some detectives, investigating Mr. Colacurcio was an obsession. They built dossiers with flow charts and pictures of his known associates. Once, they even rented a room next to his old SeaTac office to eavesdrop through an electrical outlet.
Mr. Colacurcio outlasted some investigators, who moved to other jobs or retired. One federal prosecutor who brought charges against him later became his defense attorney.
"I'll never be 'retired' retired," Mr. Colacurcio said in 1995. "Not until I'm in the grave."
He ran his operations from Talents West, a hiring agency and business office in a small building on Lake City Way. Its walls displayed photographs of scantily dressed women and a giant framed photo of Mr. Colacurcio leaving a courthouse.
Mr. Colacurcio was born in Seattle to immigrant parents on June 18, 1917. He quit school at age 15 to begin farming and started a produce-hauling business.
Beginning in the 1950s, he used thugs and threats to control Seattle's jukebox, pinball and cigarette-vending-machine business, competitors alleged. Those businesses historically had attracted organized crime because of their easily skimmed cash.
He also sought to expand into Portland, drawing the attention of a U.S. Senate committee investigating organized crime.
Under questioning by Robert F. Kennedy, chief counsel for the committee, James "Big Jim" Elkins, a Portland crime figure, told the committee that Mr. Colacurcio asked for Elkins' help in opening prostitution houses there.
"He wanted me to arrange so that he could take over three or four houses," Elkins testified. "I told him if he wanted the houses to go buy them."
Elkins described Mr. Colacurcio as a fellow racketeer and a "boy that had various things operating in Seattle."
In the 1960s, Mr. Colacurcio held an interest in several bars, restaurants and nightclubs in Seattle. He ran a beer garden at the Seattle World's Fair in 1962 and introduced go-go dancing to Seattle at the Firelite Room in 1965.
For years, the well-entrenched tolerance policy in Seattle and King County kept the police from bothering him until the payoff system crumbled, brought down by investigative reporters, Christopher T. Bayley, a reform-minded King County prosecutor, and Stan Pitkin, a hard-charging U.S. attorney in Seattle.
In a 1971 trial, Mr. Colacurcio was convicted of racketeering for bringing illegal bingo cards into the state. Federal prosecutors exposed a bribery scheme in which police were paid to ignore illegal gambling activities at area taverns. A nightclub owner testified that he paid Colacurcio $3,000 a month for police protection.
Around the same time, State Patrol investigators reported that Mr. Colacurcio had met in Yakima with Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno, the son of legendary New York Mafia boss Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno, to discuss a business relationship. Mr. Colacurcio famously responded to a reporter that he and his family had gone to Yakima to pick hot peppers, "but I didn't pick no bananas."
Although he served prison stints for the 1971 conviction and a 1981 tax-fraud conviction, Mr. Colacurcio opened topless taverns and strip clubs — another cash business that allowed profit-skimming — throughout the Seattle area and beyond, eventually operating in at least 10 Western states.
Law-enforcement officials banded together in 1984, driving him out of many states.
For a period, Mr. Colacurcio almost faded into local lore. After a 1991 guilty plea to tax fraud and his 36-year-year marriage to Jackie Colacurcio ended in divorce about the same time, he and his son, Frank Colacurcio Jr., concentrated on running a smaller number of nude-dancing clubs.
The clubs, which years earlier had stopped selling alcohol to avoid state liquor inspectors, made their money from cover charges, high-priced soft drinks and charging a hefty per diem to the dancers. But Mr. Colacurcio and his son landed on the front page of newspapers in 2003 when the "Strippergate" scandal jolted Seattle City Hall.
For years, the Colacurcios had tried to expand parking at Rick's, a Lake City Way strip club, but were repeatedly rejected. When the parking plan came before the council again in 2003, Colacurcio associates contributed thousands of dollars to three City Council members, who helped form a majority that approved the plan.
Strippergate also cast a spotlight on the long friendship between Mr. Colacurcio and former Washington Gov. Albert Rosellini. Rosellini, who served as governor from 1957 to 1965 and is now 100 years old, played a role in pushing for the parking-lot rezone.
Their ties had gone back for years, dogging Rosellini during his political career, although there was never proof of illegal dealings.
In the Strippergate case, prosecutors charged Mr. Colacurcio, his son and two others with skirting donation limits by secretly reimbursing contributors. In 2008, Mr. Colacurcio, his son and an associate pleaded guilty to criminal charges and paid fines. The fourth defendant was dismissed from the case. But even before that case was resolved, the Strippergate case prompted FBI and local law-enforcement officials to launch a broader investigation, looking for evidence of prostitution at Colacurcio clubs.
Investigators also reopened old homicide cases, trying to link Mr. Colacurcio or his associates to the slayings of five people in the 1970s and 1980s: a rival strip-club operator and his fiancée, a bar owner in Central Washington, a mechanic in a murder-for-hire scheme, and a police informant.
Neither Mr. Colacurcio nor his associates were tied to those cases, and involvement in the Central Washington case has been ruled out.
The four-year investigation culminated with racketeering charges brought against Mr. Colacurcio, his son and others last year, alleging they allowed rampant prostitution at Rick's and three other clubs in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties that generated million of dollars in business.
Last week, Frank Colacurcio Jr., 48, pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge that will cost him $1.3 million and likely land him in prison for a year and a day. Four close associates of his father earlier pleaded guilty to prostitution- and racketeering-related charges.
As part of plea deals, the Colacurcios' four strip clubs have been shuttered, and the government seized the buildings and other property valued at $4.5 million. The final piece of property, Talents West, was forfeited by Colacurcio Jr. under his plea.
In a final interview a year ago, while sitting in a leather chair, a blanket draped over his lap, Mr. Colacurcio was asked what he wanted his legacy to be. He paused, mulled the question and replied, "I think my background speaks for itself."
Thanks to Steve Miletich
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Former Chicago Police Commander Convicted of Perjury, Obstruction of Justice Related to Torture of Suspects
The Justice Department announced that a federal jury in Chicago convicted former Chicago Police Department (CPD) Commander Jon Burge, 60, of Apollo Beach, Fla., on perjury and obstruction charges related to his denials that he participated in the torture of suspects in police custody decades ago. The jury found that Burge lied and impeded court proceedings in November 2003 when he provided false statements in a civil lawsuit that alleged that he and others tortured and abused people in their custody.
During the trial, several victims testified that they had been tortured by Burge and other officers who worked for him in area two of the CPD. Various witnesses testified that the officers administered electric shocks to their genitals, suffocated them with typewriter covers, threatened them with loaded guns and burned them on radiators. The jury found that Burge had lied under oath when he claimed that he did not participate in any of these acts of torture, and that he was unaware of any other officers having done so.
“For decades, Jon Burge’s horrific actions ran contrary to all that our justice system stands for. Burge betrayed the public trust, first by abusing suspects in his custody, and then by lying under oath to cover up what he and other officers had done. The jury’s verdict allows those harmed by his actions to finally start the healing process,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division will aggressively prosecute any officer who violates the Constitution.”
“At long last, a measure of justice was delivered today when a jury returned a verdict of guilty against Jon Burge on obstruction of justice and perjury. The verdict necessarily found that torture and abuse occurred in police districts in the city of Chicago in the 1980s. It’s disgraceful that torture happened and sad that it took so long to bring Burge to justice, and the only thing that would have been worse is if this measure of justice never happened,” said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
Burge faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count of obstruction of justice and five years in prison for perjury.
This case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Weisman and April Perry and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Betsy Biffl.
During the trial, several victims testified that they had been tortured by Burge and other officers who worked for him in area two of the CPD. Various witnesses testified that the officers administered electric shocks to their genitals, suffocated them with typewriter covers, threatened them with loaded guns and burned them on radiators. The jury found that Burge had lied under oath when he claimed that he did not participate in any of these acts of torture, and that he was unaware of any other officers having done so.
“For decades, Jon Burge’s horrific actions ran contrary to all that our justice system stands for. Burge betrayed the public trust, first by abusing suspects in his custody, and then by lying under oath to cover up what he and other officers had done. The jury’s verdict allows those harmed by his actions to finally start the healing process,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division will aggressively prosecute any officer who violates the Constitution.”
“At long last, a measure of justice was delivered today when a jury returned a verdict of guilty against Jon Burge on obstruction of justice and perjury. The verdict necessarily found that torture and abuse occurred in police districts in the city of Chicago in the 1980s. It’s disgraceful that torture happened and sad that it took so long to bring Burge to justice, and the only thing that would have been worse is if this measure of justice never happened,” said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
Burge faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count of obstruction of justice and five years in prison for perjury.
This case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Weisman and April Perry and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Betsy Biffl.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement will not appeal Casino License to a construction firm that it believes has ties to Organized Crime
Bringing a contentious case to a close, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement will not appeal the award of a casino license to a construction firm that the agency believes has ties to organized crime.
The New Jersey Casino Control Commission, over vehement objections from the DGE, approved a license in May for Pleasantville-based Bayshore Rebar Inc. and its owners, Joseph N. Merlino and his mother, Phyllis Merlino.
The DGE, which had discussed the possibility of an appeal, had 45 days in which to challenge the commission's ruling in state court. However, the division allowed the appeal deadline to lapse. DGE spokesman Paul Loriquet said Friday that the agency would not comment further about the case.
The licensing dispute pitted two government agencies against each other, with both sides accusing the other of misconduct as the case unfolded. The commission serves as the chief regulatory body for Atlantic City's $3.9 billion casino industry, while the DGE acts as an investigative agency.
John M. Donnelly, an Atlantic City attorney representing the Merlinos, said he is relieved the grueling regulatory battle has finally come to an end. "It's been an expensive ordeal," Donnelly said. "We don't need any more litigation."
During Bayshore's licensing hearing, DGE attorneys alleged that the Merlinos were linked to organized crime through their relatives. Joseph N. Merlino's cousin is jailed Philadelphia mob boss Joseph S. "Skinny Joey" Merlino. The late Lawrence "Yogi" Merlino, a high-ranking mobster, was Joseph N. Merlino's father and the ex-husband of Phyllis Merlino.
In a unanimous vote May 5, the five-member Casino Control Commission concluded the Merlinos were not connected to organized crime. The license allows the Merlinos and Bayshore to do business with Atlantic City's casinos.
The ruling reversed 21 years of state policy. The Merlinos were denied a license by the commission in 1989 and again in 1997 based on the belief that they had "inimical associations" with organized crime.
This time around, the commission ruled the Merlinos were free of any mob influence. Joseph N. Merlino and his mother insisted they had long ago severed all ties to any family members involved in organized crime.
Thanks to Donald Wittkowski
The New Jersey Casino Control Commission, over vehement objections from the DGE, approved a license in May for Pleasantville-based Bayshore Rebar Inc. and its owners, Joseph N. Merlino and his mother, Phyllis Merlino.
The DGE, which had discussed the possibility of an appeal, had 45 days in which to challenge the commission's ruling in state court. However, the division allowed the appeal deadline to lapse. DGE spokesman Paul Loriquet said Friday that the agency would not comment further about the case.
The licensing dispute pitted two government agencies against each other, with both sides accusing the other of misconduct as the case unfolded. The commission serves as the chief regulatory body for Atlantic City's $3.9 billion casino industry, while the DGE acts as an investigative agency.
John M. Donnelly, an Atlantic City attorney representing the Merlinos, said he is relieved the grueling regulatory battle has finally come to an end. "It's been an expensive ordeal," Donnelly said. "We don't need any more litigation."
During Bayshore's licensing hearing, DGE attorneys alleged that the Merlinos were linked to organized crime through their relatives. Joseph N. Merlino's cousin is jailed Philadelphia mob boss Joseph S. "Skinny Joey" Merlino. The late Lawrence "Yogi" Merlino, a high-ranking mobster, was Joseph N. Merlino's father and the ex-husband of Phyllis Merlino.
In a unanimous vote May 5, the five-member Casino Control Commission concluded the Merlinos were not connected to organized crime. The license allows the Merlinos and Bayshore to do business with Atlantic City's casinos.
The ruling reversed 21 years of state policy. The Merlinos were denied a license by the commission in 1989 and again in 1997 based on the belief that they had "inimical associations" with organized crime.
This time around, the commission ruled the Merlinos were free of any mob influence. Joseph N. Merlino and his mother insisted they had long ago severed all ties to any family members involved in organized crime.
Thanks to Donald Wittkowski
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Jonathan Eig's "Get Capone"
The fix was in.
Al Capone, the iconic Chicago gangster who in the 1920s gave a face to the American mob, got sandbagged by the legal system he had artfully abused for years.
The result: a conviction for income-tax evasion and a sentence of 11 years in prison. But that wasn’t the way it was supposed to play out.
According to Jonathan Eig, in his fascinating new book “Get Capone: The Secret Plot That Captured America's Most Wanted Gangster,” Big Al was supposed to get 2 1/2 years after pleading guilty in 1931 to income-tax evasion and Prohibition-violation charges.
The deal was worked about by his lawyers and federal prosecutor George Johnson, head of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago.
Johnson knew he had a weak case built on circumstantial evidence and less-than-credible witnesses. He agreed to the deal, figuring any conviction involving Capone — who epitomized a criminal underworld out of control — was worth taking. But the federal judge in the case, after what Eig implies was pressure from President Herbert Hoover, nixed the deal. Hoover, Eig writes, used to start each day with an exercise routine, but before he began, he would ask his Cabinet members, “Have you got Capone yet?” Not only did Judge James H. Wilkerson sandbag the lawyers and prosecutors, Eig writes, but he also may have rigged the jury pool for the subsequent trial, making sure it was stacked with middle-aged or older white males from the suburbs.
Capone’s lawyers had hoped for at least some ethnic, working-class Chicagoans as potential jurors. But there were none.
Eig’s book is a sweeping account of Capone’s life set against the backdrop of a city where corruption was the norm and a country dealing with the hypocrisy of Prohibition and the devastation of the Great Depression.
Federal court was the only place authorities had a shot at convicting Capone, Eig wrote, noting that city courts were a place where “crooked lawyers bribed crooked cops to testify the right way before crooked judges.”
Capone had quickly established himself in the bootlegging business after moving from New York to Chicago.
He also generated income from gambling, extortion, narcotics and prostitution and was a suspect in more than a few murders. But he was never convicted of any of those crimes.
Eig has built his book around extensive research in court records and in newspaper accounts from the day — Capone was an unbelievably loquacious mob boss who was constantly granting interviews.
Some samples of his bons mots to reporters:
“You can get a lot farther with a smile and a gun than you can with just a smile.”
“Ninety-nine percent of the people in Chicago drink and gamble. I’ve tried to serve them decent liquor and square games.”
“If I were guilty of all the newspapers accuse me of, I would be afraid of myself.”
In addition to positing that the judicial system was manipulated to send Capone to jail, the book also puts the lie to the theory that Capone was behind one of Chicago’s more infamous mob hits — the St. Valentine’s Day massacre.
More probable, Eig writes, is that the shootings, in which seven gangsters were killed, were carried out by police to avenge the murder of the son of a law enforcement figure.
Eig also says it was a bookish accountant with the Internal Revenue Bureau named Frank Wilson who built the tax case used to convict Capone.
In a short chapter titled “The So-Called Untouchables,” Eig notes that Eliot Ness “gave terrific interviews” and that he came up with a “catchy nickname for his squad of gangbusters” that had newspaper reporters “dashing for their typewriters.” But while Ness’ squad busted up some breweries, it did little to bust up the mob.
The book also provides an interesting account of Capone’s arrest in Philadelphia and his one-year stay at Eastern State Prison. Capone was pinched on a gun-possession charge as he exited the old Stanley Theater after watching a movie.
Big Al and three associates had stopped there while traveling home by train from Atlantic City, where a big mob confab had been held.
Capone, who was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1930 in an article that described him as the “John D. Rockefeller of the underworld,” is presented by Eig as a multifaceted and charismatic crime titan.
He could be violent and short-tempered, yet was also caring and sympathetic. A loving father and husband, he also ran and frequented brothels. He counseled peace during a turbulent period of underworld unrest, yet was suspected of orchestrating some of gangland’s most violent murders. And all the while, he and other members of the Chicago Outfit made millions.
The estimates: $50 million a year from bootlegging; $25 million from gambling; and $10 million each from prostitution and narcotics. That came to $95 million annually, or, Eig noted, “about $1.2 billion by today’s dollars.”
Capone never denied he was a bootlegger, but said he was just giving the public what it wanted. In an interview with the New York Times just days before his aborted sentencing, he asked how his crimes stacked up against the pirates in the banking business and on Wall Street who had stolen from the public.
“Why don’t they go after those bankers who took the savings of thousands of poor people and lost them in bank failures?” asked Capone, who was sitting behind his desk in a suite of rooms he kept at the Lexington Hotel, “his hulking frame clad in black, silk pajamas.” But those bankers, Eig seems to argue, were part of the system.
Capone was not. His lavish lifestyle — a home in Florida, another in Chicago, fancy clothes, big cigars, and days of leisure at the racetrack, on the golf course, or in some brothel — did not sit well with Hoover and those in his administration.
While the feds were never able to prove many of the things they believed Capone had done, “Get Capone” argues that they were determined to put him behind bars because of who he was — a quick-talking, larger-than-life outlaw who had become America’s first celebrity gangster.
Thanks to George Anastasia
Al Capone, the iconic Chicago gangster who in the 1920s gave a face to the American mob, got sandbagged by the legal system he had artfully abused for years.
The result: a conviction for income-tax evasion and a sentence of 11 years in prison. But that wasn’t the way it was supposed to play out.
According to Jonathan Eig, in his fascinating new book “Get Capone: The Secret Plot That Captured America's Most Wanted Gangster,” Big Al was supposed to get 2 1/2 years after pleading guilty in 1931 to income-tax evasion and Prohibition-violation charges.
The deal was worked about by his lawyers and federal prosecutor George Johnson, head of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago.
Johnson knew he had a weak case built on circumstantial evidence and less-than-credible witnesses. He agreed to the deal, figuring any conviction involving Capone — who epitomized a criminal underworld out of control — was worth taking. But the federal judge in the case, after what Eig implies was pressure from President Herbert Hoover, nixed the deal. Hoover, Eig writes, used to start each day with an exercise routine, but before he began, he would ask his Cabinet members, “Have you got Capone yet?” Not only did Judge James H. Wilkerson sandbag the lawyers and prosecutors, Eig writes, but he also may have rigged the jury pool for the subsequent trial, making sure it was stacked with middle-aged or older white males from the suburbs.
Capone’s lawyers had hoped for at least some ethnic, working-class Chicagoans as potential jurors. But there were none.
Eig’s book is a sweeping account of Capone’s life set against the backdrop of a city where corruption was the norm and a country dealing with the hypocrisy of Prohibition and the devastation of the Great Depression.
Federal court was the only place authorities had a shot at convicting Capone, Eig wrote, noting that city courts were a place where “crooked lawyers bribed crooked cops to testify the right way before crooked judges.”
Capone had quickly established himself in the bootlegging business after moving from New York to Chicago.
He also generated income from gambling, extortion, narcotics and prostitution and was a suspect in more than a few murders. But he was never convicted of any of those crimes.
Eig has built his book around extensive research in court records and in newspaper accounts from the day — Capone was an unbelievably loquacious mob boss who was constantly granting interviews.
Some samples of his bons mots to reporters:
“You can get a lot farther with a smile and a gun than you can with just a smile.”
“Ninety-nine percent of the people in Chicago drink and gamble. I’ve tried to serve them decent liquor and square games.”
“If I were guilty of all the newspapers accuse me of, I would be afraid of myself.”
In addition to positing that the judicial system was manipulated to send Capone to jail, the book also puts the lie to the theory that Capone was behind one of Chicago’s more infamous mob hits — the St. Valentine’s Day massacre.
More probable, Eig writes, is that the shootings, in which seven gangsters were killed, were carried out by police to avenge the murder of the son of a law enforcement figure.
Eig also says it was a bookish accountant with the Internal Revenue Bureau named Frank Wilson who built the tax case used to convict Capone.
In a short chapter titled “The So-Called Untouchables,” Eig notes that Eliot Ness “gave terrific interviews” and that he came up with a “catchy nickname for his squad of gangbusters” that had newspaper reporters “dashing for their typewriters.” But while Ness’ squad busted up some breweries, it did little to bust up the mob.
The book also provides an interesting account of Capone’s arrest in Philadelphia and his one-year stay at Eastern State Prison. Capone was pinched on a gun-possession charge as he exited the old Stanley Theater after watching a movie.
Big Al and three associates had stopped there while traveling home by train from Atlantic City, where a big mob confab had been held.
Capone, who was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1930 in an article that described him as the “John D. Rockefeller of the underworld,” is presented by Eig as a multifaceted and charismatic crime titan.
He could be violent and short-tempered, yet was also caring and sympathetic. A loving father and husband, he also ran and frequented brothels. He counseled peace during a turbulent period of underworld unrest, yet was suspected of orchestrating some of gangland’s most violent murders. And all the while, he and other members of the Chicago Outfit made millions.
The estimates: $50 million a year from bootlegging; $25 million from gambling; and $10 million each from prostitution and narcotics. That came to $95 million annually, or, Eig noted, “about $1.2 billion by today’s dollars.”
Capone never denied he was a bootlegger, but said he was just giving the public what it wanted. In an interview with the New York Times just days before his aborted sentencing, he asked how his crimes stacked up against the pirates in the banking business and on Wall Street who had stolen from the public.
“Why don’t they go after those bankers who took the savings of thousands of poor people and lost them in bank failures?” asked Capone, who was sitting behind his desk in a suite of rooms he kept at the Lexington Hotel, “his hulking frame clad in black, silk pajamas.” But those bankers, Eig seems to argue, were part of the system.
Capone was not. His lavish lifestyle — a home in Florida, another in Chicago, fancy clothes, big cigars, and days of leisure at the racetrack, on the golf course, or in some brothel — did not sit well with Hoover and those in his administration.
While the feds were never able to prove many of the things they believed Capone had done, “Get Capone” argues that they were determined to put him behind bars because of who he was — a quick-talking, larger-than-life outlaw who had become America’s first celebrity gangster.
Thanks to George Anastasia
Friday, June 04, 2010
Leaders of the Detroit Highwaymen Found Guilty of Racketeering, Drug, and Weapons Charges
Six leaders of the Detroit Highwaymen Motorcycle Club were found guilty on a variety of charges, including conspiracy to violate federal racketeering laws and conspiracy to commit murder, along with controlled substance, stolen property, and firearm violations, United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced. These six defendants are the first of 91 Detroit Highwaymen members and associates to go to trial.
United States Attorney McQuade was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Leonard “Dad” Moore, 61, Joseph “Little Joe” Whiting, 56, Anthony “Mad Anthony” Clark, 52, Michael “Cocoa” Cicchetti, 55, Aref “Scarfare” Nagi, 46, and Gary “Junior” Ball Jr., 44, were found guilty today by a federal jury in United States District Court empaneled before Judge Nancy G. Edmunds. The jury deliberated for approximately 25 hours before returning the verdict, concluding a two-month long trial.
United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade said, “Violent crime is a top priority of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and we will use all of the tools available to us to attack violent criminal organizations like this one.”
“Dismantling violent gangs is a continuing priority for the FBI. This verdict is the direct result of joint efforts with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, and we will continue to work diligently with our colleagues to investigate and eradicate gangs and the violence they perpetrate,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena. “Together we are committed to restoring safety and security to our neighborhoods.”
The Highwaymen Motorcycle Club is headquartered in southwest Detroit and has numerous chapters in the city of Detroit, in several cities in southeast Michigan, and has chapters in other states. Prosecutors were able to prove the violent nature of the club when witnesses testified to a range of criminal activity including armed robbery, attempted murder, conspiracies to kill witnesses, use of firearms during acts of violence, and the distribution of large amounts of marijuana, cocaine, and steroids.
Evidence at trial also established the highly structured organization and chain of the command of the Highwaymen. These six defendants represented many of the officers, or bosses, of the enterprise. Evidence also showed that other members of the club were heavily involved in narcotics trafficking and theft offenses.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and their Violent Crime Task Force, with the assistance of the Brownstown Township Police Department, Detroit Police Department, Wayne County Sheriff’s Department and the Michigan State Police. FBI Special Agent Ted Brzezinski was the lead case agent responsible for handling and coordinating the multi-year investigative effort.
Each defendant faces a potential life sentence due to the nature of the offenses. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Diane Marion and Christopher Graveline.
United States Attorney McQuade was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Leonard “Dad” Moore, 61, Joseph “Little Joe” Whiting, 56, Anthony “Mad Anthony” Clark, 52, Michael “Cocoa” Cicchetti, 55, Aref “Scarfare” Nagi, 46, and Gary “Junior” Ball Jr., 44, were found guilty today by a federal jury in United States District Court empaneled before Judge Nancy G. Edmunds. The jury deliberated for approximately 25 hours before returning the verdict, concluding a two-month long trial.
United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade said, “Violent crime is a top priority of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and we will use all of the tools available to us to attack violent criminal organizations like this one.”
“Dismantling violent gangs is a continuing priority for the FBI. This verdict is the direct result of joint efforts with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, and we will continue to work diligently with our colleagues to investigate and eradicate gangs and the violence they perpetrate,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena. “Together we are committed to restoring safety and security to our neighborhoods.”
The Highwaymen Motorcycle Club is headquartered in southwest Detroit and has numerous chapters in the city of Detroit, in several cities in southeast Michigan, and has chapters in other states. Prosecutors were able to prove the violent nature of the club when witnesses testified to a range of criminal activity including armed robbery, attempted murder, conspiracies to kill witnesses, use of firearms during acts of violence, and the distribution of large amounts of marijuana, cocaine, and steroids.
Evidence at trial also established the highly structured organization and chain of the command of the Highwaymen. These six defendants represented many of the officers, or bosses, of the enterprise. Evidence also showed that other members of the club were heavily involved in narcotics trafficking and theft offenses.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and their Violent Crime Task Force, with the assistance of the Brownstown Township Police Department, Detroit Police Department, Wayne County Sheriff’s Department and the Michigan State Police. FBI Special Agent Ted Brzezinski was the lead case agent responsible for handling and coordinating the multi-year investigative effort.
Each defendant faces a potential life sentence due to the nature of the offenses. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Diane Marion and Christopher Graveline.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Jon Burge Compared to Al Capone by Jury Prospect?
A prospective juror accused of likening former Chicago Police Commander. Jon Burge to infamous mob boss Al Capone told a federal judge she did not recall saying that.
The juror was called in early this morning after another juror told the court Tuesday that the woman said that Burge, who is on trial for lying about the torturing suspects during the 70s and 80s, was like Capone because "he got away with a lot of stuff and now they're trying to hang him."
When asked about the alleged statement, the juror told U.S. District Court Judge Joan Lefkow, "I do not recall that."
Lefkow conferred privately with both sides and sent the woman back to the pool of prospective jurors.
Prior to questioning the juror, Burge attorney Marc Martin asked Lefkow to individually question each of the 43 prospective jurors about whether they had seen any news reports on the trial since Tuesday, saying the the alleged Capone statement was widely reported and was prejudicial to his client.
Lefkow agreed to question the panel as a group, and said she and the attorneys could later decide what to do with any prospective jurors who admitted to seeing or hearing news accounts of Tuesday's proceedings.
Opening statements are expected today in the trial. Jury selection is slated to wrap up earlier in the day.
Burge is charged with obstruction of justice and perjury for lying about torture that allegedly occurred in the 1970s and 1980s. He faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted on all
counts.
The trial is expected to take six weeks.
Thanks to Matthew Walberg
The juror was called in early this morning after another juror told the court Tuesday that the woman said that Burge, who is on trial for lying about the torturing suspects during the 70s and 80s, was like Capone because "he got away with a lot of stuff and now they're trying to hang him."
When asked about the alleged statement, the juror told U.S. District Court Judge Joan Lefkow, "I do not recall that."
Lefkow conferred privately with both sides and sent the woman back to the pool of prospective jurors.
Prior to questioning the juror, Burge attorney Marc Martin asked Lefkow to individually question each of the 43 prospective jurors about whether they had seen any news reports on the trial since Tuesday, saying the the alleged Capone statement was widely reported and was prejudicial to his client.
Lefkow agreed to question the panel as a group, and said she and the attorneys could later decide what to do with any prospective jurors who admitted to seeing or hearing news accounts of Tuesday's proceedings.
Opening statements are expected today in the trial. Jury selection is slated to wrap up earlier in the day.
Burge is charged with obstruction of justice and perjury for lying about torture that allegedly occurred in the 1970s and 1980s. He faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted on all
counts.
The trial is expected to take six weeks.
Thanks to Matthew Walberg
Monday, May 24, 2010
Art Bilek, Mob Fighting Former Cop, to Head the Chicago Crime Commission
A former Chicago cop with decades of experience battling organized crime has been appointed to lead the Chicago Crime Commission.
Art Bilek, 80, helped arrest the “Burglars in Blue” — North Side cops fencing stolen goods — in 1960, and helped break up the Chicago Outfit’s “floating craps game” in the mid-1960s.
He says he plans to reintroduce a program that began in the 1920s: a “Most Wanted” top 10 list for Chicago.
He plans to continue the commission’s work identifying the city’s powerful street gang leaders, who he said pose a “far more serious problem than the Outfit in today’s Chicago,” and to continue campaigning against video gambling machines.
“If you asked 100 Chicagoans to identify who controls the drug trade, you probably wouldn't get a single name,” he said, “We want to change that.”
Bilek, Cook County Sheriff Richard Ogilvie’s police chief in the 1960s, founded the criminal justice department at the University of Illinois at Chicago and led corporate security for Hilton Hotels and First National Bank of Chicago.
Thanks to Kim Janssen
Art Bilek, 80, helped arrest the “Burglars in Blue” — North Side cops fencing stolen goods — in 1960, and helped break up the Chicago Outfit’s “floating craps game” in the mid-1960s.
He says he plans to reintroduce a program that began in the 1920s: a “Most Wanted” top 10 list for Chicago.
He plans to continue the commission’s work identifying the city’s powerful street gang leaders, who he said pose a “far more serious problem than the Outfit in today’s Chicago,” and to continue campaigning against video gambling machines.
“If you asked 100 Chicagoans to identify who controls the drug trade, you probably wouldn't get a single name,” he said, “We want to change that.”
Bilek, Cook County Sheriff Richard Ogilvie’s police chief in the 1960s, founded the criminal justice department at the University of Illinois at Chicago and led corporate security for Hilton Hotels and First National Bank of Chicago.
Thanks to Kim Janssen
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Two Upper Echelon Chicago Outfit Members Informing for the Feds?
Federal authorities in Chicago have been cultivating information from two "upper echelon" members of the Outfit for decades, according to a court filing in a current Mob prosecution.
The existence of a pair of Mob moles, called "Confidential Informant One" and "Confidential Informant Two," were disclosed by the defense team in an Outfit-related bombing conspiracy.
"Confidential Informant One is an alleged upper echelon member of the 'Outfit' and has been providing information to the government for over 25 years" states the court filing.
Confidential Informant Two is "another upper echelon Outfit associate who had been providing information to the government since 1994."
Both snitches are said to have handed federal authorities information about Outfit boss Michael "Big Mike" Sarno of Westchester.
Sarno, 52, is among several men charged with a scheme to blow up a video poker company in Berwyn that was competing with a mob-controlled firm.
FBI spokesman Ross Rice declined to comment on whether the government had two high ranking Mob moles, noting that the court motion in which they were disclosed was "filed by the defense."
Rice said that "the government/prosecution has not yet responded. As such, there is nothing further I can say at this time."
The top-ranking Outfit informant told authorities that Mike Sarno was in charge of certain Mob rackets during the time Jimmy "The Man" Marcello and his brother Michael were in prison, according to the court filing.
That informant also reported that Sarno was "feuding" with west suburban Mob boss Anthony "Little Tony" Zizzo, an imbroglio that "came to a crescendo just before Zizzo was last seen."
The rotund Zizzo, 71, was last seen on Aug. 31, 2006 by his wife as he drove to a meeting from his Westmont home.
There were no names provided for the two informants. A third mole was also disclosed in the court filing, but no details were provided about that person's role in the Outfit.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie and Ann Pistone
The existence of a pair of Mob moles, called "Confidential Informant One" and "Confidential Informant Two," were disclosed by the defense team in an Outfit-related bombing conspiracy.
"Confidential Informant One is an alleged upper echelon member of the 'Outfit' and has been providing information to the government for over 25 years" states the court filing.
Confidential Informant Two is "another upper echelon Outfit associate who had been providing information to the government since 1994."
Both snitches are said to have handed federal authorities information about Outfit boss Michael "Big Mike" Sarno of Westchester.
Sarno, 52, is among several men charged with a scheme to blow up a video poker company in Berwyn that was competing with a mob-controlled firm.
FBI spokesman Ross Rice declined to comment on whether the government had two high ranking Mob moles, noting that the court motion in which they were disclosed was "filed by the defense."
Rice said that "the government/prosecution has not yet responded. As such, there is nothing further I can say at this time."
The top-ranking Outfit informant told authorities that Mike Sarno was in charge of certain Mob rackets during the time Jimmy "The Man" Marcello and his brother Michael were in prison, according to the court filing.
That informant also reported that Sarno was "feuding" with west suburban Mob boss Anthony "Little Tony" Zizzo, an imbroglio that "came to a crescendo just before Zizzo was last seen."
The rotund Zizzo, 71, was last seen on Aug. 31, 2006 by his wife as he drove to a meeting from his Westmont home.
There were no names provided for the two informants. A third mole was also disclosed in the court filing, but no details were provided about that person's role in the Outfit.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie and Ann Pistone
Monday, May 17, 2010
Anthony "Little Tony" Zizzo Murdered According to Fed Theory
It's a Chicago mob mystery that's still unsolved: Reputed Outfit boss Anthony "Little Tony" Zizzo -- an aging, longtime survivor of mob intrigue and betrayal -- drove away from his Westmont home on Aug. 31, 2006, never to be seen again.
His abandoned Jeep turned up at a Melrose Park restaurant, and speculation ran rampant.
Was Zizzo, 71, cooperating with the feds?
Was he trunk music?
Now, new information in a court record obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times sheds new light on the circumstances leading up to Zizzo's disappearance.
Investigators think Zizzo was murdered. New information suggests he was clashing with another top mobster just before his disappearance, according to the court filing.
Zizzo was feuding with reputed Cicero street crew boss Michael "Big Mike" Sarno, 52, and "that came to a crescendo just before Zizzo was last seen," according to a confidential federal informant described in the court document as an upper-echelon member of the Outfit who has been providing information to the government for more than 25 years. The informant is not identified.
Sarno is charged with ordering the bombing of a Berwyn company in 2003 that was competing with an Outfit-sanctioned video poker business. Federal prosecutors T. Markus Funk and Amarjeet Bhachu have alleged that Sarno used his ties to a motorcycle gang leader to carry out the pipe-bombing.
Sarno has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Zizzo, and Sarno's attorney, Michael P. Gillespie, rejected Friday any suggestion that Sarno had anything to do with Zizzo's fate. "That's absolutely ridiculous," Gillespie said. The attorney also said that claims that Sarno is a mob leader are "just not true."
The dispute between Sarno and Zizzo is not specified in the court document, which quotes an FBI affidavit filed in the case.
Both men, though, have allegedly been involved in a highly profitable mob business that has resulted in violence before.
Zizzo, at one point, oversaw video gambling for the mob. He was the boss of Anthony "The Hatch" Chiaramonti, who was gunned down outside a Brown's Chicken and Pasta in suburban Lyons in 2001 in a dispute over video poker territory.
Sarno is also allegedly involved in the video poker business, along with illegal bookmaking and juice money collection, and is known for his fearsome reputation on the street.
Both Sarno and Zizzo were among the reputed mobsters listed as threats to the physical safety of Nicholas Calabrese, a mob killer turned star federal witness in the historic Family Secrets case against mob leaders.
Sarno, now under house arrest, recently made headlines when he was allowed to attend a family Christmas-time dinner last year at the swanky Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in downtown Chicago.
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
His abandoned Jeep turned up at a Melrose Park restaurant, and speculation ran rampant.
Was Zizzo, 71, cooperating with the feds?
Was he trunk music?
Now, new information in a court record obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times sheds new light on the circumstances leading up to Zizzo's disappearance.
Investigators think Zizzo was murdered. New information suggests he was clashing with another top mobster just before his disappearance, according to the court filing.
Zizzo was feuding with reputed Cicero street crew boss Michael "Big Mike" Sarno, 52, and "that came to a crescendo just before Zizzo was last seen," according to a confidential federal informant described in the court document as an upper-echelon member of the Outfit who has been providing information to the government for more than 25 years. The informant is not identified.
Sarno is charged with ordering the bombing of a Berwyn company in 2003 that was competing with an Outfit-sanctioned video poker business. Federal prosecutors T. Markus Funk and Amarjeet Bhachu have alleged that Sarno used his ties to a motorcycle gang leader to carry out the pipe-bombing.
Sarno has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Zizzo, and Sarno's attorney, Michael P. Gillespie, rejected Friday any suggestion that Sarno had anything to do with Zizzo's fate. "That's absolutely ridiculous," Gillespie said. The attorney also said that claims that Sarno is a mob leader are "just not true."
The dispute between Sarno and Zizzo is not specified in the court document, which quotes an FBI affidavit filed in the case.
Both men, though, have allegedly been involved in a highly profitable mob business that has resulted in violence before.
Zizzo, at one point, oversaw video gambling for the mob. He was the boss of Anthony "The Hatch" Chiaramonti, who was gunned down outside a Brown's Chicken and Pasta in suburban Lyons in 2001 in a dispute over video poker territory.
Sarno is also allegedly involved in the video poker business, along with illegal bookmaking and juice money collection, and is known for his fearsome reputation on the street.
Both Sarno and Zizzo were among the reputed mobsters listed as threats to the physical safety of Nicholas Calabrese, a mob killer turned star federal witness in the historic Family Secrets case against mob leaders.
Sarno, now under house arrest, recently made headlines when he was allowed to attend a family Christmas-time dinner last year at the swanky Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in downtown Chicago.
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Harry Aleman Dies in Prison
Much-feared Chicago mob hit man Harry Aleman has died in prison of cancer, prison officials said. (In-depth Harry Aleman Profile)
Aleman was convicted of killing Teamster steward William Logan in 1972, but was a suspect in more than 20 other killings, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Sunday.
He was serving a 100- to 300-year sentence, having been convicted in 1997 in his second trial for the killing -- a trial conducted 20 years after his first trial for the murder, which ended with an acquittal.
The second trial was granted for the same crime as prosecutors argued the "double jeopardy" rule -- barring a second trial for the same crime -- did not apply because the judge in the first trial was found to have been bribed, which implied that trial did not put the defendant in any jeopardy.
"He was the hammer of the Chicago mob," the Chicago Tribune quoted former FBI agent Lee Flosi as saying about Aleman. "You never want him sitting in the back seat of your car."
Aleman died in the Hill Correctional Center in Galesburg, Ill. He was 71.
Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Sharyn Elman said "there was no foul play" in the mobster's death.
Aleman was convicted of killing Teamster steward William Logan in 1972, but was a suspect in more than 20 other killings, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Sunday.
He was serving a 100- to 300-year sentence, having been convicted in 1997 in his second trial for the killing -- a trial conducted 20 years after his first trial for the murder, which ended with an acquittal.
The second trial was granted for the same crime as prosecutors argued the "double jeopardy" rule -- barring a second trial for the same crime -- did not apply because the judge in the first trial was found to have been bribed, which implied that trial did not put the defendant in any jeopardy.
"He was the hammer of the Chicago mob," the Chicago Tribune quoted former FBI agent Lee Flosi as saying about Aleman. "You never want him sitting in the back seat of your car."
Aleman died in the Hill Correctional Center in Galesburg, Ill. He was 71.
Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Sharyn Elman said "there was no foul play" in the mobster's death.
Gangster Take Down - 78 Bloods & Latin Kings Indicted
In the pre-dawn chill of upstate New York, nearly 600 local, state, and federal law enforcement officers assembled at the armory to prepare for one of the area's largest gang takedowns in recent memory.
Indictments were unsealed against 78 members of two violent street gangs—the Bloods and the Latin Kings—and many of the unsuspecting gang members were about to wake up to SWAT teams, handcuffs, and a variety of federal drug charges.
“There are a number of neighborhood gangs in Newburgh, but these two national gangs are responsible for much of the drugs and crime in the city,” said Special Agent Jim Gagliano, who headed a 16-month, FBI-led Safe Streets Task Force investigation that culminated in this morning’s raids.
“Today’s arrests will severely disrupt and dismantle both organizations in Newburgh,” Gagliano said. “We are taking most of the local leaders of the Bloods and the Latin Kings off the streets. Some of them will likely be put away for so long they will never return to the city.”
Newburgh is located about 70 miles north of Manhattan. For a relatively small city of 29,000 people, it has an unusually large crime problem. When Gagliano arrived there two years ago, Newburgh led the state in per capita homicides, and everyone agreed that drug-related gang violence was at the root of the problem.
The Bureau established the Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force in April 2009—which now consists of about 20 local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies—and began dual investigations on the two gangs, dubbed Operation Blood Drive and Operation Black Crown. The plan was for the task force’s cooperating witnesses and undercover officers to make small street-level drug buys—mostly crack cocaine—from gang members over a period of time.
In all, the task force made nearly 100 drug buys, totaling more than five kilos of crack cocaine. “The majority of these buys were done while we recorded video and audio,” Gagliano said. “Not only did we get the subject’s voice on tape, we also see the exchange.”
He added, “In a city as small as Newburgh and as violent—there have already been four homicides this year, all directly related to gang violence—these arrests will have a substantial effect on the crime rate in the city.”
After an early-morning briefing, agents and officers fanned out over the city in teams. Those arrested were brought back to the armory for processing and booking. Of the 60 members of the Bloods and 18 members of the Latin Kings who were indicted—some were already in jail on other charges—approximately 61 were in custody by early this afternoon. The sweep also netted four guns and a large amount of cash. The search for those still at large is ongoing.
George Venizelos, acting assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York Field Office, had nothing but praise for today’s operation and the Safe Streets Task Force. “I have never been involved with a task force that had this many different member agencies who worked so well together,” Venizelos said. “It’s been a terrific partnership, and the proof of our success can be seen in today’s arrests.”
Indictments were unsealed against 78 members of two violent street gangs—the Bloods and the Latin Kings—and many of the unsuspecting gang members were about to wake up to SWAT teams, handcuffs, and a variety of federal drug charges.
“There are a number of neighborhood gangs in Newburgh, but these two national gangs are responsible for much of the drugs and crime in the city,” said Special Agent Jim Gagliano, who headed a 16-month, FBI-led Safe Streets Task Force investigation that culminated in this morning’s raids.
“Today’s arrests will severely disrupt and dismantle both organizations in Newburgh,” Gagliano said. “We are taking most of the local leaders of the Bloods and the Latin Kings off the streets. Some of them will likely be put away for so long they will never return to the city.”
Newburgh is located about 70 miles north of Manhattan. For a relatively small city of 29,000 people, it has an unusually large crime problem. When Gagliano arrived there two years ago, Newburgh led the state in per capita homicides, and everyone agreed that drug-related gang violence was at the root of the problem.
The Bureau established the Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force in April 2009—which now consists of about 20 local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies—and began dual investigations on the two gangs, dubbed Operation Blood Drive and Operation Black Crown. The plan was for the task force’s cooperating witnesses and undercover officers to make small street-level drug buys—mostly crack cocaine—from gang members over a period of time.
In all, the task force made nearly 100 drug buys, totaling more than five kilos of crack cocaine. “The majority of these buys were done while we recorded video and audio,” Gagliano said. “Not only did we get the subject’s voice on tape, we also see the exchange.”
He added, “In a city as small as Newburgh and as violent—there have already been four homicides this year, all directly related to gang violence—these arrests will have a substantial effect on the crime rate in the city.”
After an early-morning briefing, agents and officers fanned out over the city in teams. Those arrested were brought back to the armory for processing and booking. Of the 60 members of the Bloods and 18 members of the Latin Kings who were indicted—some were already in jail on other charges—approximately 61 were in custody by early this afternoon. The sweep also netted four guns and a large amount of cash. The search for those still at large is ongoing.
George Venizelos, acting assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York Field Office, had nothing but praise for today’s operation and the Safe Streets Task Force. “I have never been involved with a task force that had this many different member agencies who worked so well together,” Venizelos said. “It’s been a terrific partnership, and the proof of our success can be seen in today’s arrests.”
Code of Silence for Reputed Mobster at Daughter's Wedding
By the time many a man and woman get married, their families aren’t speaking to each other.
In the case of an upcoming mob wedding in Chicago, though, the silence is court- ordered. A federal judge laid down the law in the wedding of Frank Caruso and Brittany Szaflarski.
Brittany’s dad, Casey Szaflarski, is the reputed video poker king of Chicago. He’s under house arrest and wanted the judge to let him out to attend his daughter’s wedding on Aug. 21 at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel.
The judge decided Szaflarski can go, but there’s a catch.
He can’t talk to his boss, the reputed head of the 26th Street mob crew, Frank “Toots” Caruso, who happens to be the father of the groom, also named Frank.
U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman ordered Casey Szaflarski not to utter one word to the elder Frank Caruso, or face jail. Federal prosecutors are concerned the men could talk mob business amid the nuptials.
Casey Szaflarski was arrested in March for allegedly running an illegal gambling operation. He was put under house arrest and ordered to wear an ankle monitor. He is charged in the case with seven other men, including the alleged head of the Cicero mob crew, Michael Sarno. Federal prosecutors T. Markus Funk and Amarjeet Bhachu allege Sarno ordered the bombing of a Berwyn business that was competing with Casey Szaflarski’s.
The elder Frank Caruso has not been charged in the case.
Casey Szaflarski asked the judge to let him attend a host of wedding activities. He wanted to go to his daughter’s bridal shower luncheon at the Hilton Chicago on Michigan Avenue and then the rehearsal dinner at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel Aug. 18. Casey Szaflarski also hoped to spend the night in the Palmer House, so he could attend the post-wedding brunch there the next day.
The judge nixed those requests.
As part of the judge’s ruling, prosecutors will receive a list of everyone who attends the wedding. The guest list could be interesting since the bride and groom come from families with extensive ties to organized crime.
The groom, the younger Frank Caruso, made national headlines when he was arrested for the 1997 racially charged beating of 13-year-old Lenard Clark as Clark was riding his bicycle through Armour Square. Frank Caruso was sentenced to eight years in prison. He is the great-grandson of the late Bruno Roti Sr., one of the earliest leaders of organized crime in Chicago and the head of what would become the 26th Street mob crew. The groom’s father, Frank “Toots” Caruso, was listed by the FBI as one of the Chicago mobsters who posed a threat to the safety of star mob witness Nicholas Calabrese, the onetime Outfit killer who testified in the Family Secrets case.
The bride, Brittany Szaflarski, is the granddaughter of the late Joseph “Shorty” LaMantia, a well-known mob burglar, who was accused in court papers of once paying $20,000 to one of the most corrupt judges in state history, Thomas Maloney, to acquit his son in a murder case.
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
In the case of an upcoming mob wedding in Chicago, though, the silence is court- ordered. A federal judge laid down the law in the wedding of Frank Caruso and Brittany Szaflarski.
Brittany’s dad, Casey Szaflarski, is the reputed video poker king of Chicago. He’s under house arrest and wanted the judge to let him out to attend his daughter’s wedding on Aug. 21 at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel.
The judge decided Szaflarski can go, but there’s a catch.
He can’t talk to his boss, the reputed head of the 26th Street mob crew, Frank “Toots” Caruso, who happens to be the father of the groom, also named Frank.
U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman ordered Casey Szaflarski not to utter one word to the elder Frank Caruso, or face jail. Federal prosecutors are concerned the men could talk mob business amid the nuptials.
Casey Szaflarski was arrested in March for allegedly running an illegal gambling operation. He was put under house arrest and ordered to wear an ankle monitor. He is charged in the case with seven other men, including the alleged head of the Cicero mob crew, Michael Sarno. Federal prosecutors T. Markus Funk and Amarjeet Bhachu allege Sarno ordered the bombing of a Berwyn business that was competing with Casey Szaflarski’s.
The elder Frank Caruso has not been charged in the case.
Casey Szaflarski asked the judge to let him attend a host of wedding activities. He wanted to go to his daughter’s bridal shower luncheon at the Hilton Chicago on Michigan Avenue and then the rehearsal dinner at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel Aug. 18. Casey Szaflarski also hoped to spend the night in the Palmer House, so he could attend the post-wedding brunch there the next day.
The judge nixed those requests.
As part of the judge’s ruling, prosecutors will receive a list of everyone who attends the wedding. The guest list could be interesting since the bride and groom come from families with extensive ties to organized crime.
The groom, the younger Frank Caruso, made national headlines when he was arrested for the 1997 racially charged beating of 13-year-old Lenard Clark as Clark was riding his bicycle through Armour Square. Frank Caruso was sentenced to eight years in prison. He is the great-grandson of the late Bruno Roti Sr., one of the earliest leaders of organized crime in Chicago and the head of what would become the 26th Street mob crew. The groom’s father, Frank “Toots” Caruso, was listed by the FBI as one of the Chicago mobsters who posed a threat to the safety of star mob witness Nicholas Calabrese, the onetime Outfit killer who testified in the Family Secrets case.
The bride, Brittany Szaflarski, is the granddaughter of the late Joseph “Shorty” LaMantia, a well-known mob burglar, who was accused in court papers of once paying $20,000 to one of the most corrupt judges in state history, Thomas Maloney, to acquit his son in a murder case.
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Angelo "The Hook" LaPietra's Former House Searched by the FBI
Chicago FBI agents are searching the home of the family of Angelo "The Hook" LaPietra, the late and widely feared mob leader, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
Authorities have said the house in Bridgeport was the target last month of burglars who believed a fortune had been stashed there — perhaps including the famed, 45-carat Marlborough diamond.
The search began this morning at the fortress-like home at 30th and Princeton. Agents appear to be looking for any stolen items.
Earlier this month, three men — including Joseph "The Monk" Scalise — were arrested as federal authorities said they cased the home for a burglary.
Scalise and one of his alleged partners, Arthur "The Genius" Rachel, were arrested in 1980 after stealing the Marlborough diamond from a London jewelry store.
They were convicted and sent to prison, but the diamond was never found. Its fate has been the subject of speculation ever since.
It was unclear if federal agents were executing a search warrant or if they were searching the home with the consent of the owner. LaPietra's daughter still lives in the home and has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
The search comes after federal agents recently went through the home of another Chicago mobster, Frank Calabrese Sr. FBI agents found more than $1 million in cash and jewelry in that search last month — much of it hidden behind a secret storage area behind a family portrait.
Thanks to NewsRadio780
Authorities have said the house in Bridgeport was the target last month of burglars who believed a fortune had been stashed there — perhaps including the famed, 45-carat Marlborough diamond.
The search began this morning at the fortress-like home at 30th and Princeton. Agents appear to be looking for any stolen items.
Earlier this month, three men — including Joseph "The Monk" Scalise — were arrested as federal authorities said they cased the home for a burglary.
Scalise and one of his alleged partners, Arthur "The Genius" Rachel, were arrested in 1980 after stealing the Marlborough diamond from a London jewelry store.
They were convicted and sent to prison, but the diamond was never found. Its fate has been the subject of speculation ever since.
It was unclear if federal agents were executing a search warrant or if they were searching the home with the consent of the owner. LaPietra's daughter still lives in the home and has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
The search comes after federal agents recently went through the home of another Chicago mobster, Frank Calabrese Sr. FBI agents found more than $1 million in cash and jewelry in that search last month — much of it hidden behind a secret storage area behind a family portrait.
Thanks to NewsRadio780
Chicago Gangland Tour iPhone App
When we think Chicago-centric iPhone apps, we usually think of the not-so-reliable CTA bus tracker. Yet there are lots of clever smartphone applications for Chicagoans on the market, and now there's one more to add to the list. Chicago Gangland Tour is a database of Chicago-area locations tied to Al Capone and his mob cronies. It includes photos and short essays for each place, unique ways to filter entries (such as "bodies found in car"), and Google map functionality. What results is a pretty comprehensive app as jam-packed with as much information as a thick history book, but is much easier to carry and is more dynamic.
Jonathan Eig, former executive editor of Chicago magazine and author of the soon-to-be-released book Get Capone: The Secret Plot That Captured America's Most Wanted Gangster, wrote and produced Chicago Gangland Tour. For his book, Eig used newly released government documents, interviews with Capone's family, and Capone's own letters to describe the gangster's rise and fall. Chicago Gangland Tour incorporates a lot of this same information. It just uses different format. By highlighting more than 100 locations and 600 photos related to Chicago's gang past, Chicago Gangland Tour is more like a digital guidebook.
We didn't think it'd be fair to recommend the Chicago Ganglang Tour app if we hadn't tried it ourselves, but unfortunately iPhones are not included in the Chicagoist benefits package. So we asked one of our dads, proud iPhone owner, ex-cop and moderate Chicago history buff, to check it out. His literal first words were "Wowwww!!!" We asked him to elaborate. He was especially impressed by the app's ability to tell him if a business linked to the Chicago mob was still open for business, and provide him with its hours of operation and website. And, he liked how easy it was to navigate.
One of the things I like about the app is how easy it is to filter the information down to just the few sites you want to investigate. For example, select “Restaurants” and “By Neighborhood." Now, instead of a zillion different choices, you have narrowed the information down to only six different locations! I think this is very slick. - dad aka Ed Mikel
We asked him if he would tell anyone to buy it.
Priced at $2.99, I judge it a real bargain. The information provided would easily fill several volumes of books, let alone if you add all the pictures. And, unlike a book, you hold all of this information in your hand and can filter it to your needs in a matter of seconds.
He went on to suggest that this could be a useful too for all sorts of people, including history buffs, Chicago area residents, and tourists. So there you have it. Our dad liked Chicago Gangland Tour. We think you might like it, too.
Thanks to Betsy Mickel
Jonathan Eig, former executive editor of Chicago magazine and author of the soon-to-be-released book Get Capone: The Secret Plot That Captured America's Most Wanted Gangster, wrote and produced Chicago Gangland Tour. For his book, Eig used newly released government documents, interviews with Capone's family, and Capone's own letters to describe the gangster's rise and fall. Chicago Gangland Tour incorporates a lot of this same information. It just uses different format. By highlighting more than 100 locations and 600 photos related to Chicago's gang past, Chicago Gangland Tour is more like a digital guidebook.
We didn't think it'd be fair to recommend the Chicago Ganglang Tour app if we hadn't tried it ourselves, but unfortunately iPhones are not included in the Chicagoist benefits package. So we asked one of our dads, proud iPhone owner, ex-cop and moderate Chicago history buff, to check it out. His literal first words were "Wowwww!!!" We asked him to elaborate. He was especially impressed by the app's ability to tell him if a business linked to the Chicago mob was still open for business, and provide him with its hours of operation and website. And, he liked how easy it was to navigate.
One of the things I like about the app is how easy it is to filter the information down to just the few sites you want to investigate. For example, select “Restaurants” and “By Neighborhood." Now, instead of a zillion different choices, you have narrowed the information down to only six different locations! I think this is very slick. - dad aka Ed Mikel
We asked him if he would tell anyone to buy it.
Priced at $2.99, I judge it a real bargain. The information provided would easily fill several volumes of books, let alone if you add all the pictures. And, unlike a book, you hold all of this information in your hand and can filter it to your needs in a matter of seconds.
He went on to suggest that this could be a useful too for all sorts of people, including history buffs, Chicago area residents, and tourists. So there you have it. Our dad liked Chicago Gangland Tour. We think you might like it, too.
Thanks to Betsy Mickel
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Federal Judge Grants Bond Eligibility to Reputed Mob Burglars
They may have pulled off one of the most spectacular stick-ups in all of Chicago mobdom, but that doesn't necessarily mean they will skip out on their current court case, said a federal judge.
On Wednesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan ruled that Art "The Genius" Rachel and Jerry "Witherhand" Scalise pose no flight risk and are therefore eligible to be released on bond. Rachel, 71 and Scalise, 73 are charged with plotting a bank heist in west suburban LaGrange.
"The only reason that bank was not robbed was because of the FBI," stated assistant U.S. Attorney T. Markus Funk who was arguing the government's case for detention. "We have a bulletproof case against Mr. Scalise," Funk told Judge Nolan at Wednesday's bond hearing. "Mr. Scalise is probably one of the most inappropriate men for bond," said Funk.
Scalise and Rachel were convicted in the 1980 theft of the famous Marlborough diamond from a London, England jewelry store. The men used guns and grenades to swipe the 45 carat diamond, forcing employees and early morning shoppers into submission onto the floor.
The armed robbery went downhill from there, however, when witnesses caught glimpse of a license plate on the thieves' getaway car that had been rented at Heathrow Airport.
By the time Rachel and Scalise high-tailed it back to Chicago, Scotland Yard had notified the FBI and agents were waiting at O'Hare to greet the mobsters' jetliner. They were prosecuted and imprisoned in the UK.
Regardless, defense attorneys for the pair and for an alleged accomplice, Robert "Bobby" Pullia, said that all three were good family men who would not run out on their wives and children just because of their current legal problems.
"He's entitled to bond," said attorney Ed Genson who is representing Scalise, a career thief and Chicago mobster. "He's going to come to court, he always comes to court. He believes in the system. We're going to do the best we can to get him out on bond and try the case. And that's what we always do. I don't think there's an issue that these guys are going to run away. I think the judge can fasten conditions which would allow him to get out on bond and properly prepare his case and when we go to trial we'll see what happens."
Scalise, whose nickname "Witherhand" is in tribute to a few missing fingers, was asked by the judge to come up with more than his $690,000 suburban home to post as bond for his freedom. Lawyer Genson said he had no idea how much additional bond money Scalise could raise. "It depends on how rich the people who I ask to post their property are," said Genson.
Defendant Art Rachel will be allowed home incarceration with an electronic GPS monitor and a $10,000 bond, according to the judge. Rachel's lawyer, Terry Gillespie, called the government's case "pretty weak. I haven't heard anything compelling to link Rachel to the case," he said.
Gillespie also disputed that stated contention that Mr. Rachel has a drinking problem. Even though Rachel takes "four shots of whiskey a day," Gillespie explained to the judge that is "moderate drinking."
Defendant Pullia will also be afforded home incarceration with a GPS monitor and a $200,000 bond. "He has nowhere to go," said Pullia's attorney, Marc Martin. "He's not going to do that to his wife. He's been married for 28 years."
Judge Nolan agreed. "I don't think any of these fellas would walk out on their family," she said.
One piece of evidence against the three hoodlums did bother judge Nolan. She was shown an FBI photo of a van that agents said was to be used as a getaway vehicle after a bank robbery. It had been equipped with peepholes and gun slits, so that the trio could shoot their way past any obstacles, said federal authorities. "This van is disturbing," said Judge Nolan.
Regardless, she agreed that they were entitled to bond, although she said that she would order them held at the MCC while the government appealed her bond ruling. The appeal will be heard by Judge Harry Leinenweber, who has been assigned the actual trial.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie
On Wednesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan ruled that Art "The Genius" Rachel and Jerry "Witherhand" Scalise pose no flight risk and are therefore eligible to be released on bond. Rachel, 71 and Scalise, 73 are charged with plotting a bank heist in west suburban LaGrange.
"The only reason that bank was not robbed was because of the FBI," stated assistant U.S. Attorney T. Markus Funk who was arguing the government's case for detention. "We have a bulletproof case against Mr. Scalise," Funk told Judge Nolan at Wednesday's bond hearing. "Mr. Scalise is probably one of the most inappropriate men for bond," said Funk.
Scalise and Rachel were convicted in the 1980 theft of the famous Marlborough diamond from a London, England jewelry store. The men used guns and grenades to swipe the 45 carat diamond, forcing employees and early morning shoppers into submission onto the floor.
The armed robbery went downhill from there, however, when witnesses caught glimpse of a license plate on the thieves' getaway car that had been rented at Heathrow Airport.
By the time Rachel and Scalise high-tailed it back to Chicago, Scotland Yard had notified the FBI and agents were waiting at O'Hare to greet the mobsters' jetliner. They were prosecuted and imprisoned in the UK.
Regardless, defense attorneys for the pair and for an alleged accomplice, Robert "Bobby" Pullia, said that all three were good family men who would not run out on their wives and children just because of their current legal problems.
"He's entitled to bond," said attorney Ed Genson who is representing Scalise, a career thief and Chicago mobster. "He's going to come to court, he always comes to court. He believes in the system. We're going to do the best we can to get him out on bond and try the case. And that's what we always do. I don't think there's an issue that these guys are going to run away. I think the judge can fasten conditions which would allow him to get out on bond and properly prepare his case and when we go to trial we'll see what happens."
Scalise, whose nickname "Witherhand" is in tribute to a few missing fingers, was asked by the judge to come up with more than his $690,000 suburban home to post as bond for his freedom. Lawyer Genson said he had no idea how much additional bond money Scalise could raise. "It depends on how rich the people who I ask to post their property are," said Genson.
Defendant Art Rachel will be allowed home incarceration with an electronic GPS monitor and a $10,000 bond, according to the judge. Rachel's lawyer, Terry Gillespie, called the government's case "pretty weak. I haven't heard anything compelling to link Rachel to the case," he said.
Gillespie also disputed that stated contention that Mr. Rachel has a drinking problem. Even though Rachel takes "four shots of whiskey a day," Gillespie explained to the judge that is "moderate drinking."
Defendant Pullia will also be afforded home incarceration with a GPS monitor and a $200,000 bond. "He has nowhere to go," said Pullia's attorney, Marc Martin. "He's not going to do that to his wife. He's been married for 28 years."
Judge Nolan agreed. "I don't think any of these fellas would walk out on their family," she said.
One piece of evidence against the three hoodlums did bother judge Nolan. She was shown an FBI photo of a van that agents said was to be used as a getaway vehicle after a bank robbery. It had been equipped with peepholes and gun slits, so that the trio could shoot their way past any obstacles, said federal authorities. "This van is disturbing," said Judge Nolan.
Regardless, she agreed that they were entitled to bond, although she said that she would order them held at the MCC while the government appealed her bond ruling. The appeal will be heard by Judge Harry Leinenweber, who has been assigned the actual trial.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie
Not Guilty Pleas in Armored Car Robbery Plot
Three men, two of whom were convicted years ago of stealing the 45-carat Marlborough Diamond from a London jewelry store, pleaded not guilty today in federal court in Chicago to charges they plotted to rob a suburban armored car.
Joseph Scalise, Arthur Rachel and Robert Pullia were arrested as they allegedly prepared to burglarize the South Side home of a deceased mob boss. They were indicted on charges they conspired to pull off a robbery as cash was being delivered to a LaGrange bank.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Markus Funk explained to U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber how the three were preparing to try to steal shrink-wrapped cash that would be delivered to the bank but said they were thwarted "due to the good work of the FBI."
"And because our clients weren't there," answered lawyer Terrence Gillespie, who represents Rachel.
Lawyers on both sides told the judge a trial is likely.
Scalise, 73, Rachel, 71, and Pullia, 69, were under investigation for a 2007 holdup at another LaGrange bank when they allegedly were discovered planning their new bank job. They were taken into custody in burglary clothes as they allegedly planned to break into the home of the late Anthony "the Hook" LaPietra, a leader of the Chicago mob's Chinatown street crew.
Scalise and Rachel are reputed mob associates who served time for the Marlborough Diamond theft. More recently, Scalise acted as a technical adviser on the Johnny Depp film, "Public Enemies," about gangster John Dillinger.
Thanks to Jeff Coen
Joseph Scalise, Arthur Rachel and Robert Pullia were arrested as they allegedly prepared to burglarize the South Side home of a deceased mob boss. They were indicted on charges they conspired to pull off a robbery as cash was being delivered to a LaGrange bank.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Markus Funk explained to U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber how the three were preparing to try to steal shrink-wrapped cash that would be delivered to the bank but said they were thwarted "due to the good work of the FBI."
"And because our clients weren't there," answered lawyer Terrence Gillespie, who represents Rachel.
Lawyers on both sides told the judge a trial is likely.
Scalise, 73, Rachel, 71, and Pullia, 69, were under investigation for a 2007 holdup at another LaGrange bank when they allegedly were discovered planning their new bank job. They were taken into custody in burglary clothes as they allegedly planned to break into the home of the late Anthony "the Hook" LaPietra, a leader of the Chicago mob's Chinatown street crew.
Scalise and Rachel are reputed mob associates who served time for the Marlborough Diamond theft. More recently, Scalise acted as a technical adviser on the Johnny Depp film, "Public Enemies," about gangster John Dillinger.
Thanks to Jeff Coen
Ex-Cop, James Formato, Pleads Guilty in Mob Case
A former suburban police officer admitted that he took part in a mob-related ring of criminals responsible for robberies, burglaries and setting off a giant pipe bomb that blew apart the offices of a video gaming company.
James Formato, 43, a husky, bearded former member of the Berwyn police department, appeared before U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman and pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Formato also gave federal prosecutors a potential witness with inside knowledge of the alleged crime ring, pledging to cooperate with the government's seven-year investigation in exchange for leniency when he is sentenced.
Seven other defendants, including reputed mob boss Michael Sarno, have pleaded not guilty to charges in the indictment.
The investigation began in February 2003 after a giant pipe bomb ripped through the Berwyn offices of a video gaming company. Prosecutors say it was a message from the mob to stop horning in on its highly lucrative video gaming monopoly in the western suburbs.
Formato admitted in his signed plea agreement that as a Berwyn officer he found out that federal agents were interested in a brown van that had been seen in the vicinity of the blast. He said that through a go-between he sent the information to Mark Polchan, a Cicero jewelry store owner and member of the Outlaws motorcycle club who is among those charged. Polchan has pleaded not guilty.
Formato also admitted that in the fall of 2002 he was paid $3,000 for transporting $150,000, some of it the proceeds of a burglary, across state lines to his father in Florida.
Formato also said he served as a lookout outside a west suburban residence while two men were inside burglarizing it. He said he warned one of the burglars later that police had an artist's sketch of him. He also said he took part in at least two other home burglaries.
The maximum sentence for each of the two charges to which Formato pleaded guilty is 20 years in prison and the maximum fine is $250,000. But under his plea agreement, his cooperation with the government could earn him a sentence of 60 percent of the low end of the sentencing range under federal guidelines -- 78 to 97 months by preliminary calculations.
Thanks to CBS2Chicago
James Formato, 43, a husky, bearded former member of the Berwyn police department, appeared before U.S. District Judge Ronald A. Guzman and pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Formato also gave federal prosecutors a potential witness with inside knowledge of the alleged crime ring, pledging to cooperate with the government's seven-year investigation in exchange for leniency when he is sentenced.
Seven other defendants, including reputed mob boss Michael Sarno, have pleaded not guilty to charges in the indictment.
The investigation began in February 2003 after a giant pipe bomb ripped through the Berwyn offices of a video gaming company. Prosecutors say it was a message from the mob to stop horning in on its highly lucrative video gaming monopoly in the western suburbs.
Formato admitted in his signed plea agreement that as a Berwyn officer he found out that federal agents were interested in a brown van that had been seen in the vicinity of the blast. He said that through a go-between he sent the information to Mark Polchan, a Cicero jewelry store owner and member of the Outlaws motorcycle club who is among those charged. Polchan has pleaded not guilty.
Formato also admitted that in the fall of 2002 he was paid $3,000 for transporting $150,000, some of it the proceeds of a burglary, across state lines to his father in Florida.
Formato also said he served as a lookout outside a west suburban residence while two men were inside burglarizing it. He said he warned one of the burglars later that police had an artist's sketch of him. He also said he took part in at least two other home burglaries.
The maximum sentence for each of the two charges to which Formato pleaded guilty is 20 years in prison and the maximum fine is $250,000. But under his plea agreement, his cooperation with the government could earn him a sentence of 60 percent of the low end of the sentencing range under federal guidelines -- 78 to 97 months by preliminary calculations.
Thanks to CBS2Chicago
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Rudy "The Chin" Fratto on FBI Tapes in McCormick Place Case
The FBI recorded more than 50 conversations involving Chicago Outfit boss Rudy "The Chin" Fratto during an investigation of alleged big-rigging at the city's McCormick Place.
The existence of dozens of undercover tapes is disclosed in defense motions filed in federal court in Chicago.
Fratto, 66, the leader of the Mob's Elmwood Park crew according to federal authorities, was indicted with another man last month on charges that he used inside information to score a forklift deal at McCormick Place.
The Darien resident was due to report to prison on April 28 to begin serving a year-long sentence for income tax-evasion. Today's motion filed by his tax-case attorney Arthur Nasser asks for a delay in Fratto's reporting date. An attached affidavit from Donald Angelini, Jr., the attorney handling the sweetheart contract case, states that Fratto's defense would be "greatly hampered" if he was imprisoned and couldn't assist in the preparation.
Fratto is scheduled to serve the tax sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Ashland, Kentucky. Angelini Jr., son of the late Mob bookmaker Don "the Wizard of Odds" Angelini, said that he had received a 1500-page transcript of FBI undercover recordings along with more than 50 tapes. Mr. Angelini, Jr. said that he was only able to listen to three and a half hours of secretly recorded tapes and that without Fratto's help in deciphering the conversations, the defense would suffer.
The filing by Mr. Fratto's legal team in federal court also stated that there is "noise interference" on the tapes, making them "extremely difficult to interpret or understand."
Mr. Nasser will appear in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly Tuesday morning to argue for an unspecified extension in Fratto's surrender date.
The plea for freedom seems far more somber than last month's swaggering courthouse performance by Fratto himself, that included a self-styled perp walk in the lobby, a couple of wise-guy wise-cracks on the sidewalk, and some special sound effects from his driver who was behind the wheel of the family Range Rover.
Fratto, considered by Mobwatchers to be one of Chicago's top five most powerful hoodlums, was indicted with Inverness businessman William "Billy" Degironemo. The men allegedly squeezed a consultant for inside information that helped then land a forklift contract. In exchange, Fratto allegedly offered to settle a $350,000 debt the consultant had with mafia bosses in Cleveland. Neither Fratto nor his partner knew that consultant was working undercover for the FBI.
Fratto's uncle, "Cockeyed Louis," testified at a 1950 Senate organized crime hearing. Another relative, Frankie "One Ear" Fratto, was a skilled loan shark.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie
The existence of dozens of undercover tapes is disclosed in defense motions filed in federal court in Chicago.
Fratto, 66, the leader of the Mob's Elmwood Park crew according to federal authorities, was indicted with another man last month on charges that he used inside information to score a forklift deal at McCormick Place.
The Darien resident was due to report to prison on April 28 to begin serving a year-long sentence for income tax-evasion. Today's motion filed by his tax-case attorney Arthur Nasser asks for a delay in Fratto's reporting date. An attached affidavit from Donald Angelini, Jr., the attorney handling the sweetheart contract case, states that Fratto's defense would be "greatly hampered" if he was imprisoned and couldn't assist in the preparation.
Fratto is scheduled to serve the tax sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Ashland, Kentucky. Angelini Jr., son of the late Mob bookmaker Don "the Wizard of Odds" Angelini, said that he had received a 1500-page transcript of FBI undercover recordings along with more than 50 tapes. Mr. Angelini, Jr. said that he was only able to listen to three and a half hours of secretly recorded tapes and that without Fratto's help in deciphering the conversations, the defense would suffer.
The filing by Mr. Fratto's legal team in federal court also stated that there is "noise interference" on the tapes, making them "extremely difficult to interpret or understand."
Mr. Nasser will appear in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly Tuesday morning to argue for an unspecified extension in Fratto's surrender date.
The plea for freedom seems far more somber than last month's swaggering courthouse performance by Fratto himself, that included a self-styled perp walk in the lobby, a couple of wise-guy wise-cracks on the sidewalk, and some special sound effects from his driver who was behind the wheel of the family Range Rover.
Fratto, considered by Mobwatchers to be one of Chicago's top five most powerful hoodlums, was indicted with Inverness businessman William "Billy" Degironemo. The men allegedly squeezed a consultant for inside information that helped then land a forklift contract. In exchange, Fratto allegedly offered to settle a $350,000 debt the consultant had with mafia bosses in Cleveland. Neither Fratto nor his partner knew that consultant was working undercover for the FBI.
Fratto's uncle, "Cockeyed Louis," testified at a 1950 Senate organized crime hearing. Another relative, Frankie "One Ear" Fratto, was a skilled loan shark.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie
Monday, April 12, 2010
Reputed Chicago Outfit Jewel Thieves Arrested Outside of Former Home of Chinatown Boss
Two career jewel thieves in the Chicago Outfit, who are among the mob's most prolific pilferers, have been arrested again-- this time eyeing the home of their former boss, according to a federal complaint filed Friday afternoon.
During a short appearance in court, U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan ordered Joseph Jerome "Jerry" Scalise, Art Rachel and another hoodlum, Robert "Bobby" Pullia, held at the MCC without bond until a detention hearing next week. They were represented by high profile attorneys Terry Gillespie and Marc Martin. After court, Mr. Gillespie said that all three defendants would enter pleas of not guilty. He said questions about the existence of the Marlborough diamond would best be asked of the federal authorities, who declined to comment.
The men were arrested as they tried to hit the one-time home of Chinatown boss Angelo "the Hook" LaPietra. "The Hook," known for a fondness of hanging wayward gamblers on meat hooks, died in 1999. The arrests reportedly happened late Thursday night in the 3000-block of South Princeton, near LaPietra's former estate. For years Scalise lived in the Bridgeport neighborhood and reported to LaPietra.
The three men, still attired in the dark clothes they were wearing while allegedly staking out LaPietra's home, looked more like they were ready for a shuffleboard game then a burglary. Scalise is 73, Rachel is 71 and Pullia is 69 - and they told the judge about medications they are on, to insure adequate treatment at the MCC.
"I'm not sure exactly what they were expecting to get when they broke into the residence. The residence was occupied last night so it would have been a home invasion. Whether it was a robbery, whether they hoped to get ransom money, a kidnapping, we don't know," said Ross Rice, FBI spokesman.
"I heard a blast, like an M80 going off, like a firecracker. I said, 'who the hell is shooting firecrackers off this time of year?'" said Dan Bujas, neighbor.
The suspects ran a three-man crime wave for the past several years, according to the FBI, whose agents began following the trio last December and listening in on their phone calls after obtaining wiretap approval from a federal judge. An FBI affidavit filed with Friday's criminal complaint reveals cell phone conversations between the men that were intercepted by federal agents.
According to the affidavit, Pullia says, "while we are there we will grab it." Authorities are uncertain if the "it" they were going to grab was the long-missing Marlborough diamond. One theory has been that Scalise and Rachel handed off the stone in London or actually mailed to someone in the U.S., possibly their mob crew boss at the time, LaPietra.
Authorities say they watched the men conduct surveillance on several banks, including the First National Bank of LaGrange where they were allegedly plotting to overtake an armored car delivery of cash by spraying mace in the face of the guards. That hold-up, and others allegedly planned by the Outfit crew, were not actually carried out during the time that federal agents watched the men.
They are, however, suspected of numerous other unsolved bank robberies since 2007, according the federal investigators.
Scalise and Rachel are best known for the Sept. 11, 1980 theft of the famous Marlborough diamond from Graff Jewelers in London. The men were arrested at O'Hare Airport returning on a flight from the UK. They both served long stretched on the Isle of White prison of the UK. The 45 carat stone, once one of the Crown jewels, was never found.
The attempted break-in at LaPietra's former home is certain to spark speculation that the 45 carat sparkler was stashed somewhere in the home. The three men were arrested late Thursday night outside LaPietra's former "fortress" on the south side, carrying an elaborate supply of burglary tools according the feds. Investigators also say they had discussed abducting LaPietra relatives who still reside in the home and taking them hostage.
"All my client has told me so far is it's nonsense. I don't know any of the particulars as of yet," said Terry Gillespiel, defense lawyer.
The Marlborough heist in 1980 was pulled off by Scalise and Rachel, armed with a revolver and a hand grenade. They got away in less than a minute with millions of dollars in gems.
No one was hurt during the morning raid, and customers on the other two floors of the three-story shop were unaware of anything taking place.
A security guard let the first well-dressed thief into the exclusive store shortly after opening, thinking he was a customer.
Once inside the man - dressed in blue check pants, a jacket and a hat- pulled out a gun and ordered the staff and customers to lie down on the floor.
The second robber then walked in brandishing a hand grenade.
The Marlborough diamond, was packed into a briefcase with other jewels by the robbers before they fled to a getaway car parked about 50 yards away.
One of the store clerks followed the men and noted the registration number of the Fiat Mirafiore they used to escape.
The profanity-riddled affidavit also reveals discussions between Scalise and Rachel about potential mob murders, including the killing of a key witness from the Operation Family Secrets prosecution two years ago that resulted in numerous convictions of top mob bosses.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie
During a short appearance in court, U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan ordered Joseph Jerome "Jerry" Scalise, Art Rachel and another hoodlum, Robert "Bobby" Pullia, held at the MCC without bond until a detention hearing next week. They were represented by high profile attorneys Terry Gillespie and Marc Martin. After court, Mr. Gillespie said that all three defendants would enter pleas of not guilty. He said questions about the existence of the Marlborough diamond would best be asked of the federal authorities, who declined to comment.
The men were arrested as they tried to hit the one-time home of Chinatown boss Angelo "the Hook" LaPietra. "The Hook," known for a fondness of hanging wayward gamblers on meat hooks, died in 1999. The arrests reportedly happened late Thursday night in the 3000-block of South Princeton, near LaPietra's former estate. For years Scalise lived in the Bridgeport neighborhood and reported to LaPietra.
The three men, still attired in the dark clothes they were wearing while allegedly staking out LaPietra's home, looked more like they were ready for a shuffleboard game then a burglary. Scalise is 73, Rachel is 71 and Pullia is 69 - and they told the judge about medications they are on, to insure adequate treatment at the MCC.
"I'm not sure exactly what they were expecting to get when they broke into the residence. The residence was occupied last night so it would have been a home invasion. Whether it was a robbery, whether they hoped to get ransom money, a kidnapping, we don't know," said Ross Rice, FBI spokesman.
"I heard a blast, like an M80 going off, like a firecracker. I said, 'who the hell is shooting firecrackers off this time of year?'" said Dan Bujas, neighbor.
The suspects ran a three-man crime wave for the past several years, according to the FBI, whose agents began following the trio last December and listening in on their phone calls after obtaining wiretap approval from a federal judge. An FBI affidavit filed with Friday's criminal complaint reveals cell phone conversations between the men that were intercepted by federal agents.
According to the affidavit, Pullia says, "while we are there we will grab it." Authorities are uncertain if the "it" they were going to grab was the long-missing Marlborough diamond. One theory has been that Scalise and Rachel handed off the stone in London or actually mailed to someone in the U.S., possibly their mob crew boss at the time, LaPietra.
Authorities say they watched the men conduct surveillance on several banks, including the First National Bank of LaGrange where they were allegedly plotting to overtake an armored car delivery of cash by spraying mace in the face of the guards. That hold-up, and others allegedly planned by the Outfit crew, were not actually carried out during the time that federal agents watched the men.
They are, however, suspected of numerous other unsolved bank robberies since 2007, according the federal investigators.
Scalise and Rachel are best known for the Sept. 11, 1980 theft of the famous Marlborough diamond from Graff Jewelers in London. The men were arrested at O'Hare Airport returning on a flight from the UK. They both served long stretched on the Isle of White prison of the UK. The 45 carat stone, once one of the Crown jewels, was never found.
The attempted break-in at LaPietra's former home is certain to spark speculation that the 45 carat sparkler was stashed somewhere in the home. The three men were arrested late Thursday night outside LaPietra's former "fortress" on the south side, carrying an elaborate supply of burglary tools according the feds. Investigators also say they had discussed abducting LaPietra relatives who still reside in the home and taking them hostage.
"All my client has told me so far is it's nonsense. I don't know any of the particulars as of yet," said Terry Gillespiel, defense lawyer.
The Marlborough heist in 1980 was pulled off by Scalise and Rachel, armed with a revolver and a hand grenade. They got away in less than a minute with millions of dollars in gems.
No one was hurt during the morning raid, and customers on the other two floors of the three-story shop were unaware of anything taking place.
A security guard let the first well-dressed thief into the exclusive store shortly after opening, thinking he was a customer.
Once inside the man - dressed in blue check pants, a jacket and a hat- pulled out a gun and ordered the staff and customers to lie down on the floor.
The second robber then walked in brandishing a hand grenade.
The Marlborough diamond, was packed into a briefcase with other jewels by the robbers before they fled to a getaway car parked about 50 yards away.
One of the store clerks followed the men and noted the registration number of the Fiat Mirafiore they used to escape.
The profanity-riddled affidavit also reveals discussions between Scalise and Rachel about potential mob murders, including the killing of a key witness from the Operation Family Secrets prosecution two years ago that resulted in numerous convictions of top mob bosses.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Organized Crime Global Meeting Resolutions
More than 600 parliamentarians from 124 countries, among them 35 Speakers of Parliament, attending the 122nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) closed their meeting in Bangkok by adopting four key resolutions.
In one of them, a resolution prompted by the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, they call upon governments to make disaster-risk assessment an integral part of planning for post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction.
The resolution commended the efforts made by the national authorities of Haiti and Chile to cope with the crippling disasters. It also urged governments to assess all their critical public facilities, such as schools and hospitals, with a view to making them resilient to earthquake, floods and storms, and to make disaster-risk reduction a part of poverty reduction and of all planning and programmes aimed at ensuring long-term welfare of the people.
Governments, they said, should also pay close attention to the protection of women and children in post-disaster situations, which can leave them particularly vulnerable to abuse, including trafficking.
In a resolution on cooperation and shared responsibility in the global fight against organized crime, in particular drug, illegal arms and human trafficking, and cross border terrorism, the Assembly invited the United Nations to convene an international conference to analyze the impact of new forms of terrorism and determine whether national legislation meets international humanitarian and human rights standards.
The resolution calls on States to combat terrorism, in particular by refusing to allow their territories to be used for cross-border terrorism and by bringing to justice those on their territories who participate in acts of terror.
It also invites IPU Member Parliaments to strengthen their respective legal systems in accordance with the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism with a view to combating money laundering and financing of terrorist activities and to ensure that all measures taken are in line with their respective State's international obligations.
It calls for universal ratification of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, and asks parliaments to support the newly established UNCAC review mechanism. It urges national parliaments to legislate more stringent penalties for corruption and organized crime, and to apply standards of good governance, accountability and transparency in public institutions with a view to combating corruption. It also urges the IPU to promote international cooperation to combat financial safe havens.
Efforts should also be intensified to counter the illicit cultivation, production, manufacture, sale, abuse, transit, trafficking and distribution of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, especially heroin, cocaine and its derivatives.
The resolution also urges parliaments to mainstream gender equality concerns into all legislation to ensure that women and children are protected from abuse and that they are provided with legal, medical and other forms of assistances.
A resolution was adopted on the role of parliaments in developing South-South and triangular cooperation with a view to accelerating achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It invites southern and northern parliaments and governments to support and develop South-South and triangular cooperation and to align their South-South cooperation agenda with the MDGs. It also urges southern country parliaments and governments to see to it that the funds allocated to MDG-related programmes and sectors are effectively used for the targeted programmes.
It recommends that donor country parliaments and governments, in addition to the traditional bilateral and multilateral aid flows, contribute to the United Nations Fund for South-South cooperation to provide money for South-South projects and initiatives. It also urges parliaments to ask their governments to ensure that United Nations documents on South-South cooperation make mention of the important role that parliaments have to play in fostering South-South cooperation.
The resolution also invites northern country parliaments and governments to ensure that a substantial part of development assistance serves to promote South-South and triangular cooperation.
A fourth resolution invites parliaments, if they have not yet done so, to set up specialized bodies to streamline youth issues throughout parliament's work and to monitor the fulfilment of their government's obligations under the Convention of the Right of the Child to ensure children's right to be heard and express their views freely and without discrimination.
States, parliaments, legislators, political parties, the IPU and youth organizations are invited to encourage and promote the initiative, enterprise and creativity of young people.
The resolution also calls on the IPU and parliaments, youth organizations and others to strengthen efforts aimed at achieving appropriate representation and participation of youth in decision-making bodies, bearing in mind that girls, boys, young women and young men are all entitled to the same rights.
It also calls on Parliaments to ensure that young people with disabilities and those who are socially and economically disadvantaged are offered equal opportunities to participate fully in society.
Established in 1889 and with Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the IPU – the oldest multilateral political organization in the world - currently brings together 155 national parliaments and nine associated regional assemblies. The world organization of parliaments also has an Office in New York, which acts as its Permanent Observer to the United Nations.
Thanks to News Room America
In one of them, a resolution prompted by the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, they call upon governments to make disaster-risk assessment an integral part of planning for post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction.
The resolution commended the efforts made by the national authorities of Haiti and Chile to cope with the crippling disasters. It also urged governments to assess all their critical public facilities, such as schools and hospitals, with a view to making them resilient to earthquake, floods and storms, and to make disaster-risk reduction a part of poverty reduction and of all planning and programmes aimed at ensuring long-term welfare of the people.
Governments, they said, should also pay close attention to the protection of women and children in post-disaster situations, which can leave them particularly vulnerable to abuse, including trafficking.
In a resolution on cooperation and shared responsibility in the global fight against organized crime, in particular drug, illegal arms and human trafficking, and cross border terrorism, the Assembly invited the United Nations to convene an international conference to analyze the impact of new forms of terrorism and determine whether national legislation meets international humanitarian and human rights standards.
The resolution calls on States to combat terrorism, in particular by refusing to allow their territories to be used for cross-border terrorism and by bringing to justice those on their territories who participate in acts of terror.
It also invites IPU Member Parliaments to strengthen their respective legal systems in accordance with the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism with a view to combating money laundering and financing of terrorist activities and to ensure that all measures taken are in line with their respective State's international obligations.
It calls for universal ratification of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, and asks parliaments to support the newly established UNCAC review mechanism. It urges national parliaments to legislate more stringent penalties for corruption and organized crime, and to apply standards of good governance, accountability and transparency in public institutions with a view to combating corruption. It also urges the IPU to promote international cooperation to combat financial safe havens.
Efforts should also be intensified to counter the illicit cultivation, production, manufacture, sale, abuse, transit, trafficking and distribution of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, especially heroin, cocaine and its derivatives.
The resolution also urges parliaments to mainstream gender equality concerns into all legislation to ensure that women and children are protected from abuse and that they are provided with legal, medical and other forms of assistances.
A resolution was adopted on the role of parliaments in developing South-South and triangular cooperation with a view to accelerating achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It invites southern and northern parliaments and governments to support and develop South-South and triangular cooperation and to align their South-South cooperation agenda with the MDGs. It also urges southern country parliaments and governments to see to it that the funds allocated to MDG-related programmes and sectors are effectively used for the targeted programmes.
It recommends that donor country parliaments and governments, in addition to the traditional bilateral and multilateral aid flows, contribute to the United Nations Fund for South-South cooperation to provide money for South-South projects and initiatives. It also urges parliaments to ask their governments to ensure that United Nations documents on South-South cooperation make mention of the important role that parliaments have to play in fostering South-South cooperation.
The resolution also invites northern country parliaments and governments to ensure that a substantial part of development assistance serves to promote South-South and triangular cooperation.
A fourth resolution invites parliaments, if they have not yet done so, to set up specialized bodies to streamline youth issues throughout parliament's work and to monitor the fulfilment of their government's obligations under the Convention of the Right of the Child to ensure children's right to be heard and express their views freely and without discrimination.
States, parliaments, legislators, political parties, the IPU and youth organizations are invited to encourage and promote the initiative, enterprise and creativity of young people.
The resolution also calls on the IPU and parliaments, youth organizations and others to strengthen efforts aimed at achieving appropriate representation and participation of youth in decision-making bodies, bearing in mind that girls, boys, young women and young men are all entitled to the same rights.
It also calls on Parliaments to ensure that young people with disabilities and those who are socially and economically disadvantaged are offered equal opportunities to participate fully in society.
Established in 1889 and with Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the IPU – the oldest multilateral political organization in the world - currently brings together 155 national parliaments and nine associated regional assemblies. The world organization of parliaments also has an Office in New York, which acts as its Permanent Observer to the United Nations.
Thanks to News Room America
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Junior Gotti the Hollywood Scriptwriter?
He is one of the most feared men in New York, with a family history of bribery, tax evasion, extortion, and murder. But after his trial on charges of conspiracy to commit murder ended in a jury deadlock two years ago, John Gotti Jr—son of the ‘Teflon Don’ John J. Gotti, and former head of the Gambino crime family—says he’s ready to give up a life of organised crime and finally go legit.
His new job after giving up the Mafia? Hollywood scriptwriter.
“He’s willing to go all the way, revealing as much as possible [in his screenplay] without hurting anyone who’s still involved in the street life,” Tony D’Aiuto, head of the New York production company Triplicity Entertainment, told the influential film industry website Deadline Hollywood this week. D’Auito is certainly familiar with the material: he used to act as the Gotti family’s defence lawyer.
It is thought that Gotti, 46—whose sister, Victoria, was until recently a reality television star and a columnist for the New York Post—hopes to turn his life story into a Goodfellas-style feature film, full-length documentary, and a book. He intends to pitch his story to major Hollywood studios as an epic father-and-son melodrama.
It’s unlikely, however, that Gotti will want to revisit the most notorious incident of his life, when the FBI searched the basement of one of his properties in Queens and found a list of ‘made’ members of his organisation, including the names of guests who attended his wedding—examples including Big Louie, Jackie Nose, Sammy Bull, Benny Eggs, Fat Andy, and Lil Funzie— and the dollar values of their gifts.
Agents also found a gun with a silencer, a semi-automatic rifle, and $348,700 in cash.
The bust inspired headlines such as “Like godfather, like son? Not quite” and an article in USA Today describing Gotti as a ‘dumbfella’, and Gotti was later sentenced to 77 months in prison.
Nevertheless
, If Gotti’s new career is successful, it could provide the general public with the most authentic inside account of the New York mob since an associate of the Lucchese family, Henry Hill, turned his life story into the book Wiseguy in the mid-1980s. The book was later adapted for the big screen, and became the Martin Scorsese movie Goodfellas.
Hill’s crimes included participation in the notorious $6 million Lufthansa heist of 1978—the biggest robbery in US history at the time—fixing basketball games in Boston, and smuggling heroin and cocaine.
Hill’s circumstances were very different to Gotti’s, however: when the publishing company Simon & Schuster bought the rights to his story in 1981 for a reported $96,250 (£63,000)—the equivalent of $230,000 today—he had already negotiated so-called ‘transactional immunity’ for his crimes in return for appearing as the FBI’s star witness in 10 trials, ultimately putting 50 of mobsters in jail, including 'Uncle Paulie' Vario and Jimmy ‘the Gent’ Burke (played by Robert De Niro in Goodfellas).
Authorities in New York later attempted to block Hill from being paid for Wiseguy under the Son of Sam law, which was first enacted to stop the serial killer David Berkowitz (who believed he was being controlled by a demon father-figure named Sam) from profiting from his crimes. The effort failed thanks to a Supreme Court ruling in Hill’s favour: it accepted Simon & Schuster’s argument that the ex-mobster's First Amendment rights should prevail, especially given that he had never even been arrested, never mind charged, for most of his crimes.
It’s unlikely that Gutty could make the same case, unless his life were heavily fictionalised.
During his most recent trial, in 2008, prosecutors attempted to link him to the murders of three men during the 1980s and 1990s. Ely Honig, an assistant United States attorney, told the court that Gotti was a dangerous man. “The defendant ordered and oversaw the three murders,” he said.
Regardless, the jurors failed to reach a verdict.
The previous case against Gotti came in 2005 when he was charged of ordered the kidnapping of Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels. As in the 2008 trial, the jurors deadlocked. Two retrials also failed.
Ironically, working on the screenplay of his life could prove to be the most dangerous thing the former mobster has ever done. When Hill was writing Wiseguy with the author Nick Pileggi, for example, a $2 million hit was put out on his life.
Contacted yesteday by The Times, Hill declined to comment on Gotti’s plans.
“He could care less,” said a representative for the ex-mobster, adding that Hill blamed the Gambino family for the execution of his former friend, Tommy ‘Two Gun’ DeSimone.
Thanks to Chris Ayres
His new job after giving up the Mafia? Hollywood scriptwriter.
“He’s willing to go all the way, revealing as much as possible [in his screenplay] without hurting anyone who’s still involved in the street life,” Tony D’Aiuto, head of the New York production company Triplicity Entertainment, told the influential film industry website Deadline Hollywood this week. D’Auito is certainly familiar with the material: he used to act as the Gotti family’s defence lawyer.
It is thought that Gotti, 46—whose sister, Victoria, was until recently a reality television star and a columnist for the New York Post—hopes to turn his life story into a Goodfellas-style feature film, full-length documentary, and a book. He intends to pitch his story to major Hollywood studios as an epic father-and-son melodrama.
It’s unlikely, however, that Gotti will want to revisit the most notorious incident of his life, when the FBI searched the basement of one of his properties in Queens and found a list of ‘made’ members of his organisation, including the names of guests who attended his wedding—examples including Big Louie, Jackie Nose, Sammy Bull, Benny Eggs, Fat Andy, and Lil Funzie— and the dollar values of their gifts.
Agents also found a gun with a silencer, a semi-automatic rifle, and $348,700 in cash.
The bust inspired headlines such as “Like godfather, like son? Not quite” and an article in USA Today describing Gotti as a ‘dumbfella’, and Gotti was later sentenced to 77 months in prison.
Nevertheless
, If Gotti’s new career is successful, it could provide the general public with the most authentic inside account of the New York mob since an associate of the Lucchese family, Henry Hill, turned his life story into the book Wiseguy in the mid-1980s. The book was later adapted for the big screen, and became the Martin Scorsese movie Goodfellas.Hill’s crimes included participation in the notorious $6 million Lufthansa heist of 1978—the biggest robbery in US history at the time—fixing basketball games in Boston, and smuggling heroin and cocaine.
Hill’s circumstances were very different to Gotti’s, however: when the publishing company Simon & Schuster bought the rights to his story in 1981 for a reported $96,250 (£63,000)—the equivalent of $230,000 today—he had already negotiated so-called ‘transactional immunity’ for his crimes in return for appearing as the FBI’s star witness in 10 trials, ultimately putting 50 of mobsters in jail, including 'Uncle Paulie' Vario and Jimmy ‘the Gent’ Burke (played by Robert De Niro in Goodfellas).
Authorities in New York later attempted to block Hill from being paid for Wiseguy under the Son of Sam law, which was first enacted to stop the serial killer David Berkowitz (who believed he was being controlled by a demon father-figure named Sam) from profiting from his crimes. The effort failed thanks to a Supreme Court ruling in Hill’s favour: it accepted Simon & Schuster’s argument that the ex-mobster's First Amendment rights should prevail, especially given that he had never even been arrested, never mind charged, for most of his crimes.
It’s unlikely that Gutty could make the same case, unless his life were heavily fictionalised.
During his most recent trial, in 2008, prosecutors attempted to link him to the murders of three men during the 1980s and 1990s. Ely Honig, an assistant United States attorney, told the court that Gotti was a dangerous man. “The defendant ordered and oversaw the three murders,” he said.
Regardless, the jurors failed to reach a verdict.
The previous case against Gotti came in 2005 when he was charged of ordered the kidnapping of Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels. As in the 2008 trial, the jurors deadlocked. Two retrials also failed.
Ironically, working on the screenplay of his life could prove to be the most dangerous thing the former mobster has ever done. When Hill was writing Wiseguy with the author Nick Pileggi, for example, a $2 million hit was put out on his life.
Contacted yesteday by The Times, Hill declined to comment on Gotti’s plans.
“He could care less,” said a representative for the ex-mobster, adding that Hill blamed the Gambino family for the execution of his former friend, Tommy ‘Two Gun’ DeSimone.
Thanks to Chris Ayres
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Ivy League Gangster Now a Criminal Informant?
More than forty wiseguys who took an oath to take their Mafia secrets to the grave have later changed their minds and cut deals with the feds to tell all they knew. But while mob squealing was a growth industry in recent years, the elite Genovese family has managed to keep its members mostly in line. Known in mob parlance as "the Westside" because that was its traditional geographic base of power, the Genovese's are considered so good at what they do that admiring agents dubbed them "the Ivy League of organized crime."
Until recent weeks, the family had suffered only three known defectors. But Ganglandnews.com is reporting that the feds have quietly won a key new recruit to their side.
Late last month, a Genovese soldier named Anthony "Bingy" Arillotta, who was being held in the federal lockup downtown to face a murder rap, was released from prison custody, destination untold. Arillotta, 42, had been running things for the family in Massachusetts. He was accused of masterminding the whacking of his predecessor, Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno who was gunned down in a Springfield, Mass. parking lot in 2003. His switch in loyalties is bad news for a lot of wiseguys, especially his former acting boss, Arthur "Little Guy" Nigro, who is also accused in Bruno's murder.
Actually, the Bruno hit showed signs of severely declining standards for the Genovese crew. The shooter recruited to carry out Big Al's murder, a tattooed ex-con named Frankie Roche, turned squealer himself a couple of years ago. They way he told the story, he waited for the mobster to finish his usual Sunday night card game. "I walked up to Bruno and said, 'Hey Al, you looking for me?' and I popped him." Nice line. Bad form.
Thanks to Tom Robbins
Until recent weeks, the family had suffered only three known defectors. But Ganglandnews.com is reporting that the feds have quietly won a key new recruit to their side.
Late last month, a Genovese soldier named Anthony "Bingy" Arillotta, who was being held in the federal lockup downtown to face a murder rap, was released from prison custody, destination untold. Arillotta, 42, had been running things for the family in Massachusetts. He was accused of masterminding the whacking of his predecessor, Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno who was gunned down in a Springfield, Mass. parking lot in 2003. His switch in loyalties is bad news for a lot of wiseguys, especially his former acting boss, Arthur "Little Guy" Nigro, who is also accused in Bruno's murder.
Actually, the Bruno hit showed signs of severely declining standards for the Genovese crew. The shooter recruited to carry out Big Al's murder, a tattooed ex-con named Frankie Roche, turned squealer himself a couple of years ago. They way he told the story, he waited for the mobster to finish his usual Sunday night card game. "I walked up to Bruno and said, 'Hey Al, you looking for me?' and I popped him." Nice line. Bad form.
Thanks to Tom Robbins
Skinny Joey Merlino Family Ruling Slammed by New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement fired a verbal blast at a Casino Control Commission hearing examiner Monday, contending that the agency had "distorted" facts and ignored evidence in recommending that relatives of a jailed mob boss be granted a casino service-industry license.
The recommendation was "replete with distortions of testimony and proven facts and/or selective omission of critical facts and testimony," attorneys for the DGE wrote in a blistering 24-page list of exceptions to findings of William T. Sommeling.
Sommeling, who sits on the five-member Casino Control Commission, was appointed hearing examiner in the case.
Last month, he ruled that Joseph N. Merlino, his mother, Phyllis, and the Pleasantville construction company they own, Bayshore Rebar, were entitled to casino service-industry licenses.
Merlino is the cousin of jailed mob boss Joseph S. "Skinny Joey" Merlino. Phyllis Merlino is the jailed mobster's aunt. They and their company had twice before been denied licenses because of suspected mob ties.
Sommeling, who heard 14 days of testimony in a hearing that stretched over two months, found that the Merlinos and their company had severed ties to any organized-crime figures, including family members.
He blasted the DGE for its conduct during the hearing process, charging that it presented evidence that was "unreliable, uncorroborated and, in some instances, demonstrably false."
The pointed comments in Sommeling's findings and the DGE response are a marked departure from the usual tone of filings in licensing cases.
The full five-member commission is expected to hold a hearing next month to vote on Sommeling's recommendation. The commission can accept, modify, or reject it.
In a response that was at times dripping with sarcasm, the DGE urged the commission to again deny the Merlinos and their company the right to do casino-related construction work.
Sommeling's decision "manages to render meaningless" the standards and precedents established over the years by the commission to keep mob influences out of the casino industry, the DGE argued.
The DGE's response was presented in a document prepared by state Deputy Attorney General Alice Way and Assistant Attorney General Anthony J. Zarrillo Jr., prosecutors in the Merlino hearing.
The Merlinos' attorney, John Donnelly, has five days to respond.
In their filing, the DGE lawyers claimed that Sommeling came into the hearing with a preconceived notion of the case and that the DGE "lost . . . before its opening statement."
They chided Sommeling for showing favoritism, contending that "diplomacy has been afforded to the applicants, while derision has been saved for the Division."
The commissioner misunderstood or failed to adequately analyze scores of phone records that showed contact between the Merlinos and organized-crime figures, the DGE argued.
They included calls from Joseph S. Merlino and mobster Martin Angelina while the men were in federal prison in Philadelphia in 2000 and 2001 on racketeering charges.
The DGE cited more than a dozen calls from the inmates to the unlisted telephone of Joseph N. Merlino.
It also argued that Sommeling ignored the significance of calls to and from numbers listed in the names of the wives of mob figures, including the wife of reputed Philadelphia mob boss Joseph Ligambi.
Sommeling's ruling, the DGE argued, "contravenes the long established law enforcement intelligence technique that recognizes organized crime affiliates use their wives, mothers and girlfriends to circumvent detection of their criminal activities."
Finally, the DGE argued that Sommeling erred when he dismissed allegations that Anthony Giraldi, a longtime friend of Joseph N. Merlino's, was a mob associate.
Giraldi, a South Philadelphia plumber, was described by the DGE as a bookmaker and associate of the local crime family. Among other things, it cited social gatherings he had attended, such as weddings and funerals, where mob figures were present.
The Merlinos, who testified in their own defense, said they were never part of organized crime. But in order to satisfy the concerns of gaming regulators, they said, they made a decision about 10 years ago to sever all ties with the Merlino side of their family.
Thanks to George Anastasia
The recommendation was "replete with distortions of testimony and proven facts and/or selective omission of critical facts and testimony," attorneys for the DGE wrote in a blistering 24-page list of exceptions to findings of William T. Sommeling.
Sommeling, who sits on the five-member Casino Control Commission, was appointed hearing examiner in the case.
Last month, he ruled that Joseph N. Merlino, his mother, Phyllis, and the Pleasantville construction company they own, Bayshore Rebar, were entitled to casino service-industry licenses.
Merlino is the cousin of jailed mob boss Joseph S. "Skinny Joey" Merlino. Phyllis Merlino is the jailed mobster's aunt. They and their company had twice before been denied licenses because of suspected mob ties.
Sommeling, who heard 14 days of testimony in a hearing that stretched over two months, found that the Merlinos and their company had severed ties to any organized-crime figures, including family members.
He blasted the DGE for its conduct during the hearing process, charging that it presented evidence that was "unreliable, uncorroborated and, in some instances, demonstrably false."
The pointed comments in Sommeling's findings and the DGE response are a marked departure from the usual tone of filings in licensing cases.
The full five-member commission is expected to hold a hearing next month to vote on Sommeling's recommendation. The commission can accept, modify, or reject it.
In a response that was at times dripping with sarcasm, the DGE urged the commission to again deny the Merlinos and their company the right to do casino-related construction work.
Sommeling's decision "manages to render meaningless" the standards and precedents established over the years by the commission to keep mob influences out of the casino industry, the DGE argued.
The DGE's response was presented in a document prepared by state Deputy Attorney General Alice Way and Assistant Attorney General Anthony J. Zarrillo Jr., prosecutors in the Merlino hearing.
The Merlinos' attorney, John Donnelly, has five days to respond.
In their filing, the DGE lawyers claimed that Sommeling came into the hearing with a preconceived notion of the case and that the DGE "lost . . . before its opening statement."
They chided Sommeling for showing favoritism, contending that "diplomacy has been afforded to the applicants, while derision has been saved for the Division."
The commissioner misunderstood or failed to adequately analyze scores of phone records that showed contact between the Merlinos and organized-crime figures, the DGE argued.
They included calls from Joseph S. Merlino and mobster Martin Angelina while the men were in federal prison in Philadelphia in 2000 and 2001 on racketeering charges.
The DGE cited more than a dozen calls from the inmates to the unlisted telephone of Joseph N. Merlino.
It also argued that Sommeling ignored the significance of calls to and from numbers listed in the names of the wives of mob figures, including the wife of reputed Philadelphia mob boss Joseph Ligambi.
Sommeling's ruling, the DGE argued, "contravenes the long established law enforcement intelligence technique that recognizes organized crime affiliates use their wives, mothers and girlfriends to circumvent detection of their criminal activities."
Finally, the DGE argued that Sommeling erred when he dismissed allegations that Anthony Giraldi, a longtime friend of Joseph N. Merlino's, was a mob associate.
Giraldi, a South Philadelphia plumber, was described by the DGE as a bookmaker and associate of the local crime family. Among other things, it cited social gatherings he had attended, such as weddings and funerals, where mob figures were present.
The Merlinos, who testified in their own defense, said they were never part of organized crime. But in order to satisfy the concerns of gaming regulators, they said, they made a decision about 10 years ago to sever all ties with the Merlino side of their family.
Thanks to George Anastasia
Organized Crime and the Las Vegas Sands
With just a week or two to go for the scheduled opening of the US $5.5 billion Marina Bay Sands integrated Resort, the global gaming company Las Vegas Sands (LVS) has been blighted with a fresh set of allegations linking them with organized crime.
The new allegation are concerned with Cheung Chi Tai, who was the person in charge of one of the VIP rooms at Sands Macau Casino. He has been implicated in a murder for hire case involving a dealer from the Sands Macau who was suspected in assisting a casino customer cheat to a value hitting a multi-million dollar total. Cheung Chi Tai has been accused of masterminding the plan to murder the dealer who was suspected of being part of the multi-million dollar cheat.
It has been said that Cheung Chi Tai has been an investor in the Neptune Group, a PLC company involved in casino junkets. Through examination of court record from Hong Kong, depositions for a former Las Vegas Sands president and interviews from both US and Macau law enforcement and security officials has revealed a connection between LVS and Mr Cheung.
An Las Vegas Sands Spokesperson has been reported in saying, “To our knowledge, Mr Cheung Chi Tai is not listed as a director or share holder with any of the gaming promoters that the company uses in Macau.” The new allegations have come just before Las Vegas Sands plans to open it’s new multi-billion dollar resort on the 27th of April this year.
Las Vegas Sands are not alone with the alleged organized crime links. MGM Mirage have found themselves with similar predicament with alleged ties to organized crime, as MGM Grand Macau is half owned by Pansy Ho. A Hong Kong Businesswoman whose father, Stanley Ho the billionaire entrepreneur has been accused of extensive ties to organized crime in China. No evidence has ever be provided that shows any links to Pansy Ho and such criminal enterprises.
Thanks to Casino Jessie
The new allegation are concerned with Cheung Chi Tai, who was the person in charge of one of the VIP rooms at Sands Macau Casino. He has been implicated in a murder for hire case involving a dealer from the Sands Macau who was suspected in assisting a casino customer cheat to a value hitting a multi-million dollar total. Cheung Chi Tai has been accused of masterminding the plan to murder the dealer who was suspected of being part of the multi-million dollar cheat.
It has been said that Cheung Chi Tai has been an investor in the Neptune Group, a PLC company involved in casino junkets. Through examination of court record from Hong Kong, depositions for a former Las Vegas Sands president and interviews from both US and Macau law enforcement and security officials has revealed a connection between LVS and Mr Cheung.
An Las Vegas Sands Spokesperson has been reported in saying, “To our knowledge, Mr Cheung Chi Tai is not listed as a director or share holder with any of the gaming promoters that the company uses in Macau.” The new allegations have come just before Las Vegas Sands plans to open it’s new multi-billion dollar resort on the 27th of April this year.
Las Vegas Sands are not alone with the alleged organized crime links. MGM Mirage have found themselves with similar predicament with alleged ties to organized crime, as MGM Grand Macau is half owned by Pansy Ho. A Hong Kong Businesswoman whose father, Stanley Ho the billionaire entrepreneur has been accused of extensive ties to organized crime in China. No evidence has ever be provided that shows any links to Pansy Ho and such criminal enterprises.
Thanks to Casino Jessie
Monday, April 05, 2010
Organized Crime Investigator Dominic Catrambone Dies at 86
Dominic V. Catrambone, 86, formerly of Mayfair, who investigated organized crime for the IRS and the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, died of an apparent heart attack Tuesday, March 30, at Brittany Pointe Estates, a retirement community in Lansdale.
For 25 years, Mr. Catrambone was a special agent for the IRS in Philadelphia and New York, where he was part of a task force investigating fraud by organized crime members. "He was very aggressive," said a daughter, Maria Catrambone Rosen.
After retiring from the IRS in the mid-1970s, Mr. Catrambone established and directed the financial investigative division of the Revenue Department. In 1981, he recommended to his superiors that they investigate a "major organized-crime figure" allegedly operating a prostitution racket in Reading.
When his superiors rejected his recommendation, Mr. Catrambone shared information about the prostitution racket with the state police and State Rep. Thomas Caltagirone (D., Berks). When they learned he had been a whistle-blower, his superiors fired Mr. Catrambone for "insubordination . . . and continued defiance."
Caltagirone then hired him. "I wanted to right an injustice. Dom deserved to earn his pension," Caltagirone said.
Mr. Catrambone also worked for a state senator until the mid-1980s and then was a private investigator for several years.
A graduate of West Philadelphia Catholic High School, Mr. Catrambone served in the Navy aboard a PT boat in the South Pacific during World War II.
After his discharge, he earned a bachelor's degree from La Salle University.
In 1946, he married Clementine Celia Catrambone. Their families were from the same town in Italy, and they had known each other since childhood. She died in 1996.
Mr. Catrambone enjoyed bridge games at Brittany Pointe Estates, where he had lived for 10 years, and was also a member of the Brittany Pointe Songsters, a choral group, his daughter said.
In addition to his daughter, Mr. Catrambone is survived by a son, Joseph; daughters Rosemary Fair, Anita LaBarge, and Loretta Lawson; and eight grandchildren.
A Funeral Mass will be said at 10:30 a.m., Monday, April 5, at Corpus Christi Church, 900 Sumneytown Pike, Lansdale. Friends may call from 9 a.m. Burial will be in SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Marple Township.
Thanks to Sally A. Downey
For 25 years, Mr. Catrambone was a special agent for the IRS in Philadelphia and New York, where he was part of a task force investigating fraud by organized crime members. "He was very aggressive," said a daughter, Maria Catrambone Rosen.
After retiring from the IRS in the mid-1970s, Mr. Catrambone established and directed the financial investigative division of the Revenue Department. In 1981, he recommended to his superiors that they investigate a "major organized-crime figure" allegedly operating a prostitution racket in Reading.
When his superiors rejected his recommendation, Mr. Catrambone shared information about the prostitution racket with the state police and State Rep. Thomas Caltagirone (D., Berks). When they learned he had been a whistle-blower, his superiors fired Mr. Catrambone for "insubordination . . . and continued defiance."
Caltagirone then hired him. "I wanted to right an injustice. Dom deserved to earn his pension," Caltagirone said.
Mr. Catrambone also worked for a state senator until the mid-1980s and then was a private investigator for several years.
A graduate of West Philadelphia Catholic High School, Mr. Catrambone served in the Navy aboard a PT boat in the South Pacific during World War II.
After his discharge, he earned a bachelor's degree from La Salle University.
In 1946, he married Clementine Celia Catrambone. Their families were from the same town in Italy, and they had known each other since childhood. She died in 1996.
Mr. Catrambone enjoyed bridge games at Brittany Pointe Estates, where he had lived for 10 years, and was also a member of the Brittany Pointe Songsters, a choral group, his daughter said.
In addition to his daughter, Mr. Catrambone is survived by a son, Joseph; daughters Rosemary Fair, Anita LaBarge, and Loretta Lawson; and eight grandchildren.
A Funeral Mass will be said at 10:30 a.m., Monday, April 5, at Corpus Christi Church, 900 Sumneytown Pike, Lansdale. Friends may call from 9 a.m. Burial will be in SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Marple Township.
Thanks to Sally A. Downey
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