Four members of Teamsters Local 25 were arrested in connection with attempting to extort a television production company that was filming a reality show in the Boston area in spring 2014.
“The indictment alleges that a group of rogue Teamsters employed old school thug tactics to get no-work jobs from an out of town production company,” said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz. “In the course of this alleged conspiracy, they managed to chase a legitimate business out of the City of Boston and then harassed the cast and crew when they set up shop in Milton. This kind of conduct reflects poorly on our city and must be addressed for what it is—not union organizing, but criminal extortion.”
“While unions have the right to advocate on behalf of their members, they do not have the right to use violence and intimidation,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division. “The strong-arm tactics the FBI has seen in this case are egregious and our investigation is far from over. Today’s arrests should send a message to those who think they can get away with manipulating the system that they better think twice.”
Mark Harrington, 61, of Andover; John Fidler, 51, of Holbrook; Daniel Redmond, 47, of Medford; and Robert Cafarelli, 45, of Middleton, were indicted on conspiracy to extort and attempted extortion of a television production company in order to obtain no-work jobs for fellow Teamsters.
According to the indictment, beginning in spring 2014, a non-union production company began filming a reality television show in and around Boston. The company hired its own employees, including drivers, for the filming of the show and did not need work performed by union members. Beginning on June 5, 2014, the defendants conspired to force the production company to pay Local 25 members for unnecessary work by threatening physical and economic harm to the company.
Among other things, the indictment alleges that on June 10, 2014, the defendants showed up at a restaurant in Milton where the production company was filming. The defendants entered the production area and began walking in lockstep toward the doors of the restaurant where they accosted film crew members and attempted to forcibly enter the restaurant. Throughout the morning, the defendants yelled racial and homophobic slurs at the film crew and others, threatened crew and cast members, and shouted profanities. The defendants also blocked vehicles from the entryway to the set, and used physical violence and threats of physical violence to try and prevent people from entering the set.
The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Thursday, October 01, 2015
48 Mafia Suspects from the Most Active, Richest, Most Powerful Organized Crime Syndicate Arrested
Italian police have arrested 48 suspected members of the southern 'Ndrangheta mafia in a sweep that uncovered dealings in flowers and chocolates as well as drugs and arms, anti-mafia prosecutor Franco Roberti said.
The suspected members of two 'Ndrangheta clans also associated with illicit trafficking in the Dutch flower market and stolen Lindt chocolate.
The mafia centred in southern Calabria have "great flexibility, adapting to markets that offer the most opportunity to get rich," Rome deputy prosecutor Michele Prestipino told a news conference on Monday.
Working with Dutch prosecutors, Italian police uncovered several cells of one of the clans in The Netherlands, focusing on the flower trade. "This operation has shown that the 'Ndrangheta families today have the financial and human means to colonise outside their home territory," Prestipino said.
The probe also uncovered trafficking in 250 tonnes of Lindt chocolate worth more than seven million euros ($7.9 million), stolen in Italy late last year and sold on in Italy, Poland, Austria and Switzerland, the prosecutors said.
The 'Ndrangheta are the most active, richest and most powerful organised crime syndicate in Europe, according to Italian authorities.
The suspected members of two 'Ndrangheta clans also associated with illicit trafficking in the Dutch flower market and stolen Lindt chocolate.
The mafia centred in southern Calabria have "great flexibility, adapting to markets that offer the most opportunity to get rich," Rome deputy prosecutor Michele Prestipino told a news conference on Monday.
Working with Dutch prosecutors, Italian police uncovered several cells of one of the clans in The Netherlands, focusing on the flower trade. "This operation has shown that the 'Ndrangheta families today have the financial and human means to colonise outside their home territory," Prestipino said.
The probe also uncovered trafficking in 250 tonnes of Lindt chocolate worth more than seven million euros ($7.9 million), stolen in Italy late last year and sold on in Italy, Poland, Austria and Switzerland, the prosecutors said.
The 'Ndrangheta are the most active, richest and most powerful organised crime syndicate in Europe, according to Italian authorities.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
6 Reputed Members of Gangster Disciples Indicted for Roles in 5 Attempted Murders
Six alleged members of the violent Gangster Disciples Gang have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in the attempted murders of five teenagers in South Memphis, Tennessee. Three alleged gang members previously had been charged in this case.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton III of the Western District of Tennessee made the announcement.
Ranito Allen, aka Nito, 35; Florence Anthony, aka Nikki, 36; Edwin Carvin, aka Ren, 38; Brandon Milton, aka Lil Folk, 30; and Erik Reese, aka E, 35, all of Memphis, Tennessee, were charged in a superseding indictment unsealed today with five counts of attempted murder in aid of racketeering and related firearms offenses. In addition, Candice Wesley, 29, of Memphis, was charged with being an accessory after the fact.
According to the superseding indictment, the defendants are members of the Gangster Disciples, which is a nationally-known organized street gang that originated in the Chicago area and spread to other regions of the United States, including the greater Memphis area. The superseding indictment alleges that members and associates of the Gangster Disciples engaged in acts of violence, including murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault, as well as narcotics distribution and other criminal activities.
Specifically, the superseding indictment charges the defendants with participating in the attempted murders of five teenagers in South Memphis on or about June 21, 2014. According to the superseding indictment, the defendants did so for the purpose of gaining entrance to, or maintaining or increasing their positions in, the Gangster Disciples.
Tony Coburn, aka Blue, 26; Robert Mallory, aka Rambo, 33; and Almeda Burgess, aka Big Heavy, 28, previously were charged in this case. Mallory remains charged in the superseding indictment. Coburn pleaded guilty on July 28, 2015, to his role in the shootings, and Burgess pleaded guilty on Sept. 9, 2015, to being an accessory after the fact.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton III of the Western District of Tennessee made the announcement.
Ranito Allen, aka Nito, 35; Florence Anthony, aka Nikki, 36; Edwin Carvin, aka Ren, 38; Brandon Milton, aka Lil Folk, 30; and Erik Reese, aka E, 35, all of Memphis, Tennessee, were charged in a superseding indictment unsealed today with five counts of attempted murder in aid of racketeering and related firearms offenses. In addition, Candice Wesley, 29, of Memphis, was charged with being an accessory after the fact.
According to the superseding indictment, the defendants are members of the Gangster Disciples, which is a nationally-known organized street gang that originated in the Chicago area and spread to other regions of the United States, including the greater Memphis area. The superseding indictment alleges that members and associates of the Gangster Disciples engaged in acts of violence, including murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault, as well as narcotics distribution and other criminal activities.
Specifically, the superseding indictment charges the defendants with participating in the attempted murders of five teenagers in South Memphis on or about June 21, 2014. According to the superseding indictment, the defendants did so for the purpose of gaining entrance to, or maintaining or increasing their positions in, the Gangster Disciples.
Tony Coburn, aka Blue, 26; Robert Mallory, aka Rambo, 33; and Almeda Burgess, aka Big Heavy, 28, previously were charged in this case. Mallory remains charged in the superseding indictment. Coburn pleaded guilty on July 28, 2015, to his role in the shootings, and Burgess pleaded guilty on Sept. 9, 2015, to being an accessory after the fact.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Friends of the Family: The Inside Story of the Mafia Cops Case
Detectives Louie Eppolito and Steve Caracappa were the most corrupt and dangerous cops in American history
. When they retired in the early 1990s, they left behind a pile of bodies—and for more than a decade, it looked like they were going to get away with it.
As highly decorated NYPD detectives with access to the department's most sensitive information, they sold their badges to the Mafia—and became murderers for the mob. Eventually they retired to Las Vegas, believing they had put their lives of murder and mayhem safely behind them. And they would have lived happily ever after, if not for one dedicated cop at the end of his career and an assistant district attorney. Detective Tommy Dades and Brooklyn Assistant DA Mike Vecchione turned this seemingly unsolvable cold-blooded case into one of the great law-and-order stories in the annals of New York City. And for the first time, in this book, Dades and Vecchione tell the whole inside story of the investigation.
For Detective Tommy Dades, the case began with a phone call from a distraught mother who just happened to mention an almost forgotten meeting that had taken place years earlier. Dades and Mike Vecchione had performed cold-case miracles before, but this one seemed impossible. Together, quietly and tenaciously, they began to uncover the hideous truth. A highly secret joint state and federal task force began building a body-by-body case against an incredible array of characters, from one of the most viciously insane Mafia bosses in history—who wanted to kill people he dreamed were plotting against him—to the one-eyed Jew who knew all the secrets. As the cold case got front-page-headline hot, Dades and Vecchione encountered an unexpected obstacle: the federal prosecutor plotted to take the case—and those headlines—away from Brooklyn.
For the first time, the two men who brought this incredible story to life reveal the epic confrontations that occurred behind the scenes and led to a stunning courtroom announcement—and came perilously close to destroying the case against the Mafia cops.
Friends of the Family: The Inside Story of the Mafia Cops Case, is the complete, inside story of the historic case that rocked the world of law enforcement.
. When they retired in the early 1990s, they left behind a pile of bodies—and for more than a decade, it looked like they were going to get away with it.As highly decorated NYPD detectives with access to the department's most sensitive information, they sold their badges to the Mafia—and became murderers for the mob. Eventually they retired to Las Vegas, believing they had put their lives of murder and mayhem safely behind them. And they would have lived happily ever after, if not for one dedicated cop at the end of his career and an assistant district attorney. Detective Tommy Dades and Brooklyn Assistant DA Mike Vecchione turned this seemingly unsolvable cold-blooded case into one of the great law-and-order stories in the annals of New York City. And for the first time, in this book, Dades and Vecchione tell the whole inside story of the investigation.
For Detective Tommy Dades, the case began with a phone call from a distraught mother who just happened to mention an almost forgotten meeting that had taken place years earlier. Dades and Mike Vecchione had performed cold-case miracles before, but this one seemed impossible. Together, quietly and tenaciously, they began to uncover the hideous truth. A highly secret joint state and federal task force began building a body-by-body case against an incredible array of characters, from one of the most viciously insane Mafia bosses in history—who wanted to kill people he dreamed were plotting against him—to the one-eyed Jew who knew all the secrets. As the cold case got front-page-headline hot, Dades and Vecchione encountered an unexpected obstacle: the federal prosecutor plotted to take the case—and those headlines—away from Brooklyn.
For the first time, the two men who brought this incredible story to life reveal the epic confrontations that occurred behind the scenes and led to a stunning courtroom announcement—and came perilously close to destroying the case against the Mafia cops.
Friends of the Family: The Inside Story of the Mafia Cops Case, is the complete, inside story of the historic case that rocked the world of law enforcement.
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Can the Chicago Turned into a Cesspool of Debt and Corruption be Saved?
There is a dark cloud over Chicago that is getting increasingly difficult to ignore.
As summer comes to a close, murders are up 21% in the city from last year. The depravity seemed to hit a new low earlier this month when the dismembered body parts of a toddler were discovered in a lagoon in a city park. Police still don’t have any clue about who the child is.
Meanwhile, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is expected to soon seek a massive property tax hike — the biggest in city history — to help make a $500 million pension payment due to city firefighters and police.
Chicago teachers started the school year last week without a labor contract, and the school system is mired in a monumental budget crisis. There could be 1,500 staff layoffs, and the city estimates a $1.1 billion budget deficit for next school year.
To add insult to injury, demographers concluded this week that the swampy oil town of Houston will displace Chicago as America’s third-largest city within a decade. Houston!
Maybe, I’m being too gloomy about the city I love. But it’s hard to ignore that Chicago is at an inflection point. The heart of the problem may be that it’s long been too easy to ignore the issues that have been facing this city for years.
Chicagoans have long talked about “two Chicagos.”
There’s the bustling downtown known as the Loop, with its world-class architecture, a culinary scene in the city’s patchwork of neighborhoods that proud Chicagoans like to boast is better than New York's and Los Angeles', and the enclaves on the north side and surrounding downtown where $1 million condos are plentiful.
Then there’s the other Chicago on the city’s south and west sides, where a vastly disproportionate number of the city’s 325 homicides this year have occurred. These are also the same neighborhoods, predominantly black and Latino, that have endured the brunt of dozens of school closures and seen the shuttering of mental health clinics in recent years as the city has become weighed down by debt.
For those of us who live in that leafier, more idyllic side of town, the violence and inequity in those neighborhoods that we rarely, if ever, visit can almost seem like it is in a foreign country — one that happens to be just miles away from our homes.
We read about the violence in the Monday papers that give us a macabre body count of those killed and wounded over the weekend. More often than not, the crime scenes are far from where we digest the grim mayhem over our cups of coffee. But occasionally reminders of the violence come to even the postcard version of Chicago, where I live and play.
Last week, I was out to lunch with my wife and daughter in the city’s West Loop, a popular neighborhood where airy lofts and some of the city’s most popular restaurants have replaced what in another era was a rancid-smelling meatpacking district.
As we walked through the neighborhood after lunch, we passed a club, Red Kiva, whose name seemed far too familiar to me — a guy who is rarely out after 8 p.m.
It took a couple of minutes before I remembered that I had read a couple of days earlier in one of those Monday morning violence roundups that a young man, LaVell Caron Southern, was gunned down soon after leaving the Red Kiva.
The story registered, in part, because Southern, 23, was a former standout football player at Mount Carmel High School, a sports powerhouse that produced former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb and former three-time NBA all-star Antoine Walker.
According to news reports, Southern had no enemies and was a good guy. His slaying was sadly just another tragedy in a seemingly endless trail of senseless violence that’s become part of this city’s backdrop.
After the remains of the dismembered toddler were discovered, Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy called it a “heinous, senseless crime.” It is one, he said, that “goes beyond human reason.”
The police chief’s outrage is appropriate.
Now, it’s time for my neighbors and me to be just as angry about the dark cloud that hovers over our city.
Thanks to Aamer Mashani.
As summer comes to a close, murders are up 21% in the city from last year. The depravity seemed to hit a new low earlier this month when the dismembered body parts of a toddler were discovered in a lagoon in a city park. Police still don’t have any clue about who the child is.
Meanwhile, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is expected to soon seek a massive property tax hike — the biggest in city history — to help make a $500 million pension payment due to city firefighters and police.
Chicago teachers started the school year last week without a labor contract, and the school system is mired in a monumental budget crisis. There could be 1,500 staff layoffs, and the city estimates a $1.1 billion budget deficit for next school year.
To add insult to injury, demographers concluded this week that the swampy oil town of Houston will displace Chicago as America’s third-largest city within a decade. Houston!
Maybe, I’m being too gloomy about the city I love. But it’s hard to ignore that Chicago is at an inflection point. The heart of the problem may be that it’s long been too easy to ignore the issues that have been facing this city for years.
Chicagoans have long talked about “two Chicagos.”
There’s the bustling downtown known as the Loop, with its world-class architecture, a culinary scene in the city’s patchwork of neighborhoods that proud Chicagoans like to boast is better than New York's and Los Angeles', and the enclaves on the north side and surrounding downtown where $1 million condos are plentiful.
Then there’s the other Chicago on the city’s south and west sides, where a vastly disproportionate number of the city’s 325 homicides this year have occurred. These are also the same neighborhoods, predominantly black and Latino, that have endured the brunt of dozens of school closures and seen the shuttering of mental health clinics in recent years as the city has become weighed down by debt.
For those of us who live in that leafier, more idyllic side of town, the violence and inequity in those neighborhoods that we rarely, if ever, visit can almost seem like it is in a foreign country — one that happens to be just miles away from our homes.
We read about the violence in the Monday papers that give us a macabre body count of those killed and wounded over the weekend. More often than not, the crime scenes are far from where we digest the grim mayhem over our cups of coffee. But occasionally reminders of the violence come to even the postcard version of Chicago, where I live and play.
Last week, I was out to lunch with my wife and daughter in the city’s West Loop, a popular neighborhood where airy lofts and some of the city’s most popular restaurants have replaced what in another era was a rancid-smelling meatpacking district.
As we walked through the neighborhood after lunch, we passed a club, Red Kiva, whose name seemed far too familiar to me — a guy who is rarely out after 8 p.m.
It took a couple of minutes before I remembered that I had read a couple of days earlier in one of those Monday morning violence roundups that a young man, LaVell Caron Southern, was gunned down soon after leaving the Red Kiva.
The story registered, in part, because Southern, 23, was a former standout football player at Mount Carmel High School, a sports powerhouse that produced former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb and former three-time NBA all-star Antoine Walker.
According to news reports, Southern had no enemies and was a good guy. His slaying was sadly just another tragedy in a seemingly endless trail of senseless violence that’s become part of this city’s backdrop.
After the remains of the dismembered toddler were discovered, Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy called it a “heinous, senseless crime.” It is one, he said, that “goes beyond human reason.”
The police chief’s outrage is appropriate.
Now, it’s time for my neighbors and me to be just as angry about the dark cloud that hovers over our city.
Thanks to Aamer Mashani.
Whitey Bulger's Girlfriend, Catherine Greig, Indicted for Criminal Contempt
Catherine Greig, longtime companion of convicted killer James “Whitey” Bulger, was indicted in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with her refusal to testify before a grand jury.
“Ms. Greig was ordered by the Court to testify before a grand jury about whether others assisted Mr. Bulger while he lived on the lam for 16 years,” said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz. “By refusing to comply with that order, Ms. Greig has committed a new crime and this indictment seeks to hold her accountable. The grand jury is entitled to her testimony and flouting a federal court’s order has substantial consequences.”
“Catherine Greig has yet again failed to do the right thing,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division. “Her refusal to testify has hindered the FBI’s efforts to seek justice for the victims of his crimes. Our efforts to find those who assisted them during their lives as fugitives will not stop despite the fact that Ms. Greig has refused to testify.”
Catherine E. Greig, 64, was indicted on one count of criminal contempt. The indictment alleges that on Dec. 9, 2014, and continuing through Sept. 22, 2015, Greig refused to testify before a federal grand jury regarding an investigation into whether other individuals assisted Bulger while he was a fugitive from 1995 through 2011. In 2012, Greig was convicted of identity fraud and harboring James J. Bulger, and was sentenced to eight years in federal prison.
The charge of criminal contempt provides for a prison sentence to be served subsequent to her current eight-year prison sentence and a fine. There is no fixed maximum penalty for criminal contempt, so courts may impose any sentence. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
“Ms. Greig was ordered by the Court to testify before a grand jury about whether others assisted Mr. Bulger while he lived on the lam for 16 years,” said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz. “By refusing to comply with that order, Ms. Greig has committed a new crime and this indictment seeks to hold her accountable. The grand jury is entitled to her testimony and flouting a federal court’s order has substantial consequences.”
“Catherine Greig has yet again failed to do the right thing,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division. “Her refusal to testify has hindered the FBI’s efforts to seek justice for the victims of his crimes. Our efforts to find those who assisted them during their lives as fugitives will not stop despite the fact that Ms. Greig has refused to testify.”
Catherine E. Greig, 64, was indicted on one count of criminal contempt. The indictment alleges that on Dec. 9, 2014, and continuing through Sept. 22, 2015, Greig refused to testify before a federal grand jury regarding an investigation into whether other individuals assisted Bulger while he was a fugitive from 1995 through 2011. In 2012, Greig was convicted of identity fraud and harboring James J. Bulger, and was sentenced to eight years in federal prison.
The charge of criminal contempt provides for a prison sentence to be served subsequent to her current eight-year prison sentence and a fine. There is no fixed maximum penalty for criminal contempt, so courts may impose any sentence. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Brutal: The Untold Story of My Life Inside Whitey Bulger's Irish Mob
Brutal: The Untold Story of My Life Inside Whitey Bulger's Irish Mob
I grew up in the Old Colony housing project in South Boston and became partners with James "Whitey" Bulger, who I always called Jimmy.
Jimmy and I, we were unstoppable. We took what we wanted. And we made people disappear—permanently. We made millions. And if someone ratted us out, we killed him. We were not nice guys.
I found out that Jimmy had been an FBI informant in 1999, and my life was never the same. When the feds finally got me, I was faced with something Jimmy would have killed me for—cooperating with the authorities. I pled guilty to twenty-nine counts, including five murders. I went away for five and a half years.
I was brutally honest on the witness stand, and this book is brutally honest, too; the brutal truth that was never before told. How could it? Only three people could tell the true story. With one on the run and one in jail for life, it falls on me. -- Kevin Weeks
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Hunted Down: The FBI's Pursuit and Capture of Whitey Bulger
Writer Kevin Weeks was top Lieutenant to James "Whitey" Bulger
, head of the South Boston Irish Mob, who was on the run for more than 16 years before his capture on June 22, 2011. While on the FBI Most Wanted list with a two million dollar reward, Whitey had been second only to Osama bin Laden. Hunted Down: The FBI's Pursuit and Capture of Whitey Bulger, is a story of murder, friendship and loyalty within the mob, using many situations that Weeks could have omitted from his NYT bestselling memoir, Brutal: The Untold Story of My Life Inside Whitey Bulger's Irish Mob. While Hunted Down: The FBI's Pursuit and Capture of Whitey Bulger, is fiction, its insider knowledge makes it all the more intriguing, with hints toward where Whitey and his companion Catherine Greig may actually have spent those 16 years on the run.
In this story, Joey Donahue is released from prison after serving six years for racketeering and crimes committed as deputy to the infamous South Boston Irish Mob boss and psychopathic murderer Whitey Bulger. This time, he is determined to stay clear of the life of crime that has supported him for the past twenty-five years. After a year of trying unsuccessfully to find a job due to his notorious association with Bulger, Joey finally surrenders to the temptation of a friend's offer to join him in a fast score, a simple robbery of a drug dealer that should pay the bills until he finds a viable job. The robbery turns out to be a sting operation set up by the FBI for the express purpose of forcing Joey to cooperate in the frustratingly unsuccessful search for his onetime mentor. With Joey reluctantly partnered with an FBI agent, the hunt for Whitey takes place against an international backdrop until the old friends finally meet up in a high-stakes climax, ending the game of cat and mouse once and for all.
It is speculated that Bulger is also the inspiration for the ruthless crime kingpin Francis "Frank" Costello, played by Jack Nicholson in Martin Scorsese's Academy Award-winning film The Departed.
, head of the South Boston Irish Mob, who was on the run for more than 16 years before his capture on June 22, 2011. While on the FBI Most Wanted list with a two million dollar reward, Whitey had been second only to Osama bin Laden. Hunted Down: The FBI's Pursuit and Capture of Whitey Bulger, is a story of murder, friendship and loyalty within the mob, using many situations that Weeks could have omitted from his NYT bestselling memoir, Brutal: The Untold Story of My Life Inside Whitey Bulger's Irish Mob. While Hunted Down: The FBI's Pursuit and Capture of Whitey Bulger, is fiction, its insider knowledge makes it all the more intriguing, with hints toward where Whitey and his companion Catherine Greig may actually have spent those 16 years on the run.
In this story, Joey Donahue is released from prison after serving six years for racketeering and crimes committed as deputy to the infamous South Boston Irish Mob boss and psychopathic murderer Whitey Bulger. This time, he is determined to stay clear of the life of crime that has supported him for the past twenty-five years. After a year of trying unsuccessfully to find a job due to his notorious association with Bulger, Joey finally surrenders to the temptation of a friend's offer to join him in a fast score, a simple robbery of a drug dealer that should pay the bills until he finds a viable job. The robbery turns out to be a sting operation set up by the FBI for the express purpose of forcing Joey to cooperate in the frustratingly unsuccessful search for his onetime mentor. With Joey reluctantly partnered with an FBI agent, the hunt for Whitey takes place against an international backdrop until the old friends finally meet up in a high-stakes climax, ending the game of cat and mouse once and for all.
It is speculated that Bulger is also the inspiration for the ruthless crime kingpin Francis "Frank" Costello, played by Jack Nicholson in Martin Scorsese's Academy Award-winning film The Departed.
Monday, September 21, 2015
The Butcher: Anatomy of a Mafia Psychopath
Philip Carlo was a tough guy -- really
.
The prolific Brooklyn-born writer, spent most of his career writing about really bad people, such as L.A. serial killer Richard Ramirez (The Night Stalker (Pinnacle True Crime)), Luchese family mobster Anthony ``Gaspipe'' Casso (Gaspipe: Confessions of a Mafia Boss) and merciless Gambino contract killer Richard Kuklinski (The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer).
For his book, The Butcher: Anatomy of a Mafia Psychopath, the intrepid author tracked down Tommy Pitera, a capo in New York's Bonanno crime family. Carlo got up close and personal with this infamous assassin, who presided over a huge drug-selling operation in the '80s and is currently serving seven life sentences.
Though the pictures are in black and white -- they get the, um, point across.
Thanks to MADELEINE MARR
.The prolific Brooklyn-born writer, spent most of his career writing about really bad people, such as L.A. serial killer Richard Ramirez (The Night Stalker (Pinnacle True Crime)), Luchese family mobster Anthony ``Gaspipe'' Casso (Gaspipe: Confessions of a Mafia Boss) and merciless Gambino contract killer Richard Kuklinski (The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer).
For his book, The Butcher: Anatomy of a Mafia Psychopath, the intrepid author tracked down Tommy Pitera, a capo in New York's Bonanno crime family. Carlo got up close and personal with this infamous assassin, who presided over a huge drug-selling operation in the '80s and is currently serving seven life sentences.
Though the pictures are in black and white -- they get the, um, point across.
Thanks to MADELEINE MARR
GOMORRAH: A Personal Journey Into the Violent International Empire of Naples’ Organized Crime System
In the United States organized crime has entered a Tony Soprano twilight, as small-time bosses carve up ever-smaller wedges of a shrinking pie. In Italy, by contrast, all systems are go. In shipping, fashion and construction, to name just three booming businesses, the mob holds sway, often acting through, rather than despite, local government. All told, according to a recent report by an Italian small-business association, mob-related activity accounts for the single largest sector of the Italian economy.
Roberto Saviano, a young Italian journalist, counts the cost in “Gomorrah: A Personal Journey into the Violent International Empire of Naples' Organized Crime System,” his savage indictment of the Neapolitan crime organization known as the Camorra. Although less well known than the Mafia, its Sicilian counterpart, the Camorra has held the economy of southern Italy in a tight grip for more than a century. With time it has adapted and modernized, spreading from Naples to outlying towns, while adding financial services and real estate to its expanding portfolio.
“Never in the economy of a region has there been such a widespread, crushing presence of criminality as in Campania in the last 10 years
,” Mr. Saviano writes.
The garment sweatshops of Secondigliano, a small town on the outskirts of Naples, provide Mr. Saviano with a case study. Day and night, highly skilled workers turn out low-cost counterfeits that compare favorably in quality with the originals from the big fashion houses. The factories are bankrolled by the Camorra, which lends money at low rates. Factory workers get their mortgages through the Camorra. Once completed, the clothes often find their way to boutiques owned by the Camorra all over Europe, many in Camorra-owned shopping malls.
The Camorra has come a long way since the days of cigarette smuggling. But despite the corporate face, it relies on age-old techniques of intimidation and violence, which Mr. Saviano describes in gruesome detail. When Cammoristi want to send a message, they do a thorough job. Enforcers make their point with one victim by sawing his head off with a metal grinder and blowing it up. The notorious Pasquale Barra, better known as the Animal, set new standards some years back when he ripped a target’s heart out with his bare hands and then bit into it.
Mr. Saviano, whose hometown, Casal di Principe, lies in the heart of Camorra territory, comes up with a total of 3,600 bodies since 1979, the year he was born.
Objective, analytic journalism is foreign to Mr. Saviano. The subject at hand is too personal, and in any case he takes a fiery, romantic view of the reporter’s mission. “I believe that the way to truly understand, to get to the bottom of things, is to smell the hot breath of reality, to touch the nitty-gritty,” he writes.
This passion for close-up, eyewitness reporting leads him to take small-time jobs in Camorra businesses, to show up whenever the police turn up a dead body and to mingle in the open-air drug market in Secondigliano, where fresh batches of heroin are tested on addict volunteers. If they drop dead, the batch is too potent.
The up-close style and the floridly noir prose make for vivid scenes. When he’s concentrating properly, Mr. Saviano also exposes the nuts and bolts of Camorra operations, complete with names and precise figures. His account of the drug trade, which the Camorra has shrewdly expanded to serve the casual, middle-class customer, is a model of muckraking journalism.
So are the chapters on the construction industry and the Camorra’s sinister trade in illegal waste dumping, much of it toxic. All over Italy highly trained experts in law and the environment make the rounds of Italian businesses, offering to ship everything from dead bodies to printer toner to illegal dumping sites in the south. This is worth billions of dollars a year.
From time to time Mr. Saviano takes flight on his own prose and, drunk with indignation, loses touch with the nitty-gritty. His chapter on the port of Naples, where Chinese entrepreneurs now control the illegal offloading of containers, makes for colorful reading, but Mr. Saviano neglects to explain how the Camorra fits in. Often names and killings speed by in a blur, devoid of context. Mr. Saviano never does explain the Camorra’s structure adequately.
Granted, it is a bewildering mess. The sheer scope of the Camorra’s businesses numbs even Mr. Saviano, who confesses to despair. Everything, he writes, seems to belong to the mob: “land, buffalos, farms, quarries, garages, dairies, hotels and restaurants.”
A small flicker of hope burns in a chapter devoted to Don Peppino Diana, a crusading priest who denounces the Camorra from his pulpit in Casal di Principe, organizes protest marches and sets up community programs to siphon support for the Camorra.
“He decided to take an interest in the dynamics of power and not merely its corollary suffering,” Mr. Saviano writes. “He didn’t want merely to clean the wound but to understand the mechanisms of the metastasis, to prevent the cancer from spreading, to block the source of whatever was turning his home into a gold mine of capital with an abundance of cadavers.”
On March 19, 1994, the name day of his patron saint, Don Peppino was approached in his church by armed men who shot him in the head at close range. He died instantly. Mr. Saviano, for his part, has been forced to live in hiding under police protection since his book was published last year in Italy.
Thanks to William Grimes
Roberto Saviano, a young Italian journalist, counts the cost in “Gomorrah: A Personal Journey into the Violent International Empire of Naples' Organized Crime System,” his savage indictment of the Neapolitan crime organization known as the Camorra. Although less well known than the Mafia, its Sicilian counterpart, the Camorra has held the economy of southern Italy in a tight grip for more than a century. With time it has adapted and modernized, spreading from Naples to outlying towns, while adding financial services and real estate to its expanding portfolio.
“Never in the economy of a region has there been such a widespread, crushing presence of criminality as in Campania in the last 10 years
,” Mr. Saviano writes.The garment sweatshops of Secondigliano, a small town on the outskirts of Naples, provide Mr. Saviano with a case study. Day and night, highly skilled workers turn out low-cost counterfeits that compare favorably in quality with the originals from the big fashion houses. The factories are bankrolled by the Camorra, which lends money at low rates. Factory workers get their mortgages through the Camorra. Once completed, the clothes often find their way to boutiques owned by the Camorra all over Europe, many in Camorra-owned shopping malls.
The Camorra has come a long way since the days of cigarette smuggling. But despite the corporate face, it relies on age-old techniques of intimidation and violence, which Mr. Saviano describes in gruesome detail. When Cammoristi want to send a message, they do a thorough job. Enforcers make their point with one victim by sawing his head off with a metal grinder and blowing it up. The notorious Pasquale Barra, better known as the Animal, set new standards some years back when he ripped a target’s heart out with his bare hands and then bit into it.
Mr. Saviano, whose hometown, Casal di Principe, lies in the heart of Camorra territory, comes up with a total of 3,600 bodies since 1979, the year he was born.
Objective, analytic journalism is foreign to Mr. Saviano. The subject at hand is too personal, and in any case he takes a fiery, romantic view of the reporter’s mission. “I believe that the way to truly understand, to get to the bottom of things, is to smell the hot breath of reality, to touch the nitty-gritty,” he writes.
This passion for close-up, eyewitness reporting leads him to take small-time jobs in Camorra businesses, to show up whenever the police turn up a dead body and to mingle in the open-air drug market in Secondigliano, where fresh batches of heroin are tested on addict volunteers. If they drop dead, the batch is too potent.
The up-close style and the floridly noir prose make for vivid scenes. When he’s concentrating properly, Mr. Saviano also exposes the nuts and bolts of Camorra operations, complete with names and precise figures. His account of the drug trade, which the Camorra has shrewdly expanded to serve the casual, middle-class customer, is a model of muckraking journalism.
So are the chapters on the construction industry and the Camorra’s sinister trade in illegal waste dumping, much of it toxic. All over Italy highly trained experts in law and the environment make the rounds of Italian businesses, offering to ship everything from dead bodies to printer toner to illegal dumping sites in the south. This is worth billions of dollars a year.
From time to time Mr. Saviano takes flight on his own prose and, drunk with indignation, loses touch with the nitty-gritty. His chapter on the port of Naples, where Chinese entrepreneurs now control the illegal offloading of containers, makes for colorful reading, but Mr. Saviano neglects to explain how the Camorra fits in. Often names and killings speed by in a blur, devoid of context. Mr. Saviano never does explain the Camorra’s structure adequately.
Granted, it is a bewildering mess. The sheer scope of the Camorra’s businesses numbs even Mr. Saviano, who confesses to despair. Everything, he writes, seems to belong to the mob: “land, buffalos, farms, quarries, garages, dairies, hotels and restaurants.”
A small flicker of hope burns in a chapter devoted to Don Peppino Diana, a crusading priest who denounces the Camorra from his pulpit in Casal di Principe, organizes protest marches and sets up community programs to siphon support for the Camorra.
“He decided to take an interest in the dynamics of power and not merely its corollary suffering,” Mr. Saviano writes. “He didn’t want merely to clean the wound but to understand the mechanisms of the metastasis, to prevent the cancer from spreading, to block the source of whatever was turning his home into a gold mine of capital with an abundance of cadavers.”
On March 19, 1994, the name day of his patron saint, Don Peppino was approached in his church by armed men who shot him in the head at close range. He died instantly. Mr. Saviano, for his part, has been forced to live in hiding under police protection since his book was published last year in Italy.
Thanks to William Grimes
Kevin Weeks Calls Whitey Bulger #BlackMass Movie Bogus
From 1978-1994, Kevin Weeks served as a member of the Winter Hill Gang, and a close friend, confidant, and henchman to Whitey Bulger. And he says Johnny Depp’s film is bogus.
“We really did kill those people,” says Kevin Weeks, the former mobster and right-hand man to notorious crime boss Whitey Bulger. “But the movie is a fantasy.”
The film that has Weeks riled up is Black Mass. Directed by Scott Cooper, it stars Johnny Depp as Winter Hill Gang leader James “Whitey” Bulger, and depicts the menacing Irishman’s rise up the criminal ranks from low-level gangster to the most feared criminal in not just his native South Boston, but the state of Massachusetts. Whitey was able to rise so far so fast thanks to his special relationship with the FBI, especially agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton)—an old neighborhood friend on Whitey’s payroll who’d funnel him information in exchange for intel on the local Italian mafia, led by Gennaro Angiulo. Bulger was eventually arrested in 2011 at an apartment complex in Santa Monica, California, after being on the run for 17 years, and was indicted for 19 murders. He was convicted of 11 of those murders, and is serving two consecutive life sentences behind bars. Interestingly enough, while Whitey’s reign of terror was going on, his brother Billy (Benedict Cumberbatch) was the most powerful politician in the state, serving as president of the Massachusetts State Senate.
Weeks, who’s portrayed in the film by Friday Night Lights’ Jesse Plemons, started out in 1976 as a bouncer at Whitey’s local haunt Triple O’s, and by 1978 he was serving as Whitey’s driver and personal muscle. He officially joined the Winter Hill Gang full-time in 1982, and, along with Johnny Martorano and Stephen Flemmi, served as one of Whitey’s devoted henchmen. In 1999, Weeks was arrested on a 29-count indictment in a RICO case. In exchange for his damning grand testimony against Whitey, Weeks received a 5-year prison sentence. He was released in 2004, and has since penned three books, including the recent Hunted Down: The FBI's Pursuit and Capture of Whitey Bulger, which hit shelves on July 22.
And to say that Weeks is unhappy with the film would be a major understatement. “My character looks like a knuckle-dragging moron,” says Weeks. “I look like I have Down syndrome.”
According to Weeks, the filmmakers behind Black Mass “didn’t consult with anyone within the inner circle about the movie,” and as a result, there are major discrepancies between what really happened and what happens onscreen.
The Daily Beast spoke with Weeks—who saw the film opening night—who opened up about what Black Mass got right and wrong, the murders they committed, and a foiled attempt to assassinate Boston Herald journalist Howie Carr.
You saw Black Mass on Friday night. What did you think of it?
Very disappointing. The only resemblance to Whitey’s character was the hairline. The funny thing is, Whitey’s look didn’t really change at all, just his clothes. It’s like we were stuck in a time warp. And the mannerisms—the way that Whitey talked to us—he never swore at us. In all the years I was with that man, he never swore at me once. We never yelled at each other. The opening scene of me getting beaten up? That never happened. They also have me talking to a black FBI agent in the beginning of the film, but I wouldn’t talk to the FBI. I spoke to a DEA agent, Dan Doherty. And my cooperation came after Johnny Martorano started cooperating. Nothing in the film is chronological, really.
The biggest chronological discrepancy in the film was the death of Bulger’s son, which took place in 1973. The film makes it seem like his boy died later than that in order to position it as his motivation for upping his killing and crime activity.
They made it seem like that was the reason why. I wasn’t there for the death of his son—that happened before my time—but I was there for the death of his mother, which he took pretty bad. But really, Whitey was violent long before his son’s death. And the way the film portrays people like Stephen Flemmi and myself? We come across looking like a step away from Down syndrome, really. We’re portrayed as these low-life thugs that are borderline morons who haven’t washed for weeks. For all the money we were makin’, we came off like paupers. We dressed a certain way during the day, but at night we were wearing $2,700 Louis suits. There’s a scene early on in the film where Johnny Martorano’s character is at the bar Triple O’s, and is reaching into a peanut bowl, licking his fingers, and sticking them back into the bowl, and Whitey starts mocking him for it. First of all, Johnny Martorano was never in Triple O’s. Second, if Whitey ever started talking to Johnny like that—berating him—the movie would be over because Johnny would’ve shot him right then. As bad as Whitey was, Johnny was just as capable—if not more.
Right. Johnny was known as “The Basin Street Butcher.”
He was a violent killer. There’s another scene later on where Whitey is yelling at Stevie [Flemmi] in the car outside the police station where they’re waiting to pick up Deborah Hussey. The language is all wrong. We never really cursed like that unless we were grabbing somebody, and Whitey never would’ve berated Stevie, either. Stevie was a psychopath. Stevie would’ve killed him. And Stevie is portrayed as a very sympathetic character.
In the scene you mention, they pick up Hussey, take her to a house, and Whitey strangles her to death.
Right. And I’m already in the house—they show me in the background. The true story is that me and Jimmy went to that house and we were waiting for Stevie. That house was for sale, and we already had two bodies buried downstairs. When I get to the house with Jimmy, he says, “Oh, we’re waiting for Stevie and Deborah. Stevie might buy the place.” I go and use the bathroom upstairs, and as soon as I come down the stairs, I see Stevie and Deborah come in, and I hear boom-boom. I walk in and see that Jimmy had strangled her. I thought she was dead, but then Stevie put his head on her chest, said she was still alive, and he put a clothesline rope around her neck, put a stick in it and twisted. And then after, Stevie dragged her body downstairs and pulled her teeth out. So Stevie wasn’t all sympathetic, mourning, and sorrowful like he is in the movie. Stevie enjoyed murder.
Back to Johnny Depp’s performance as Whitey. The film made Whitey seem—relatively speaking—like a sympathetic character. He’s portrayed as a very loving family man.
He had a son, Douglas, and he did die of Reye’s syndrome, but Jimmy wasn’t this doting father. Lindsey [Cyr] lived in Quincy, and he used to preach to me all the time, “If you’re gonna be a criminal, you shouldn’t have kids. They’re a liability.” And that scene at the dinner table between Jimmy and Douglas where he tells his son, “Punch them when the other kid isn’t looking,” he didn’t talk to kids like that. He was my older son’s godfather and I remember the way he’d talk to my son. He just talked to him like he was a young kid. Oh, you playing baseball? Normal conversation. He didn’t bring business back to the house. So his portrayal of him, outside of the makeup, I couldn’t believe it. The hairline was fine but the teeth were terrible, too. Jimmy had one front tooth and a nerve in it had died so it was one shade less than white—a little yellow, ya know. And his girlfriend, Cathy [Greig], was a hygienist, so his teeth were in great shape except for that one tooth.
Whitey looks vampiric in the film—like a ghoul.
He really does. There’s one scene I have a really big problem with, and that’s a scene down in Miami. Now, I was never down in Miami and they never met Johnny [Martorano] down in Miami. They met Johnny out in a hotel by La Guardia Airport, and it was just Jimmy, Stevie, and Johnny who discussed the John Callahan murder, which came after Roger Wheeler. In the scene in the film, they have me down in Miami and we’re all sitting there. Callahan goes to give Jimmy a big of money and Jimmy says, “Give that to Kevin.” And I take it. And then Stevie supposedly propositions Brian Halloran to kill Roger Wheeler, and Jimmy notices Halloran’s demeanor and says, “Kevin, give him the bag with the $20,000 in it, and forget what you heard here.” That never happened. In fact, I didn’t know about Roger Wheeler’s death until the Callahan murder. So just by having me be there giving Halloran the money, they have involved me in a conspiracy to kill Roger Wheeler. I’ve been libeled. I wasn’t involved in that at all, so I have a big problem with that. I just don’t know where they get the right to put events in there that did not happen.
What about the turf war between the Winter Hill Gang and the Angiulo crime family?
Well, another scene in the beginning where Jimmy pulls up, I get in the car, then we drive somewhere and beat up a guy, and his name is “Joey Angiulo,” and he’s identified as Jerry Angiulo’s nephew. Just by saying that name, “Angiulo,” that never would’ve happened because if it did, there would have been a war. If it did, to make peace, Jerry Angiulo would’ve said, “Kill Kevin, and it’s over.” That scene did happen to another fellow, Paul Giaimo, and the story was that he’d slapped Whitey’s niece. We got him in the car, drove up to M Street Park, proceeded to give him a beating, then drove him up to Cassidy’s and left the body out front so all his friends could see. Then we found out later on that we beat up the wrong person. But by making up this name and saying “Angiulo” and the mafia, it was so unrealistic. There would have been bodies in the streets if that happened.
As far as the FBI is concerned, the film seemed to really let the Bureau off the hook. John Connolly and John Morris are the only FBI agents in the film who seem to know about Whitey’s double-dealing, and they’re portrayed as sympathetic pawns, to a degree.
The FBI were the ones that enabled Jimmy and Stevie to survive. There’s a scene early on in the film where Connolly and Jimmy make this “alliance,” and then Jimmy goes back and tells Stevie about how they’re going to use the FBI against the mafia. That didn’t happen because Stevie had already been an important since 1965. In 1967, Flemmi and Frank Salemme blew up Joe Barboza’s attorney, John Fitzgerald, and then Stevie and Frankie went on the run, with Frankie going down to New York and Stevie going up to Montreal. Stevie comes back to Boston in 1974, and then the following year, Jimmy becomes an informant. And Connolly was on the payroll. We considered Connolly a criminal, too. He was our informant, and that’s how it was portrayed to all of us—that we were paying for his information. That’s why no one suspected that Jim Bulger was informing on us, because every time we made a score we’d put money aside to pay our contacts in law enforcement, and we were getting good information. Jimmy used to tell me, “I can call any one of six FBI agents and they’ll come to me and jump in this car with a machine gun and go on a hit.” One FBI agent actually gave us 17 kilos of C-4 which we were going to use to blow up a reporter, Howie Carr. Howie thought it was a made-up story, until he found out it was the truth.
Why did Bulger want to assassinate Howie Carr?
He was just a vicious bastard. He was attacking everybody—innocent people and everything. There was a time when we weren’t doing much and everything was running smoothly, and he wrote an article about this kid in South Boston who got killed, and Jimmy decided to make him a hobby and shut him up once and for all. When I look back on it, I wish we did kill him. He’s still the most hated reporter in Boston. Everybody hates him.
And it wasn’t just the FBI that knew about Whitey and what he was doing. Jeremiah O’Sullivan, the head of the organized crime task force, was giving information to Connolly. Every time Whitey or Stevie’s name was mentioned they’d give the information to Connolly knowing that Connolly would be giving the information to us. They were all on the payroll. All of them were receiving presents all the time—money, wine, trips. Some agents you couldn’t give money to because they’d feel insulted, so you’d give them a crystal or a Chelsea Clock. Everybody had their weakness.
One mystery surrounding Whitey Bulger is the Lady of the Dunes—the nickname for the body of the mysterious woman found at the Race Point Dunes. Many believe Bulger murdered her.
That wasn’t him. What happened was, because of Deborah Hussey and Debra Davis being killed, he used to visit Provincetown. And he’d usually have his girlfriend or a young girl he was with. But Whitey didn’t kill her. That’s just people jumping on it and saying, “It could have been him.” He didn’t do it.
But Whitey did kill Debra Davis, you’re saying? That murder was never actually proven to be Whitey’s doing.
I wasn’t there for Debra Davis—it was just Jim Bulger and Steve Flemmi—but here’s the story I was told: [Whitey] told me how when he was in the house with Stevie, they grabbed Debra, dragged her downstairs to the basement, and put her in a chair. She was being killed because she was going to leave Stevie, and he’d told her too much—including about his relationship with John Connolly. So she’s in the chair and Stevie begins putting duct tape around her. She had beautiful hair, so Jim Bulger said to me, “When the duct tape went around her face and her hair, that’s when I knew it was over.” And Stevie kissed her on the forehead and said, “You’re going to another place now.” And then Jim Bulger’s exact words to me were, “And then she was strangled.” So he didn’t say who strangled her.
The relationship between Whitey and his brother Billy has always fascinated me—that the most notorious crime boss in Boston could have a brother who, as president of the Massachusetts State Senate, was the most powerful politician in Massachusetts.
OK, I was up at Billy Bulger’s house over 100 times with Jimmy. He never discussed any street business or crime with Billy. It was always conversations about regular family stuff. There’s no doubt in my mind that Billy knew Jimmy was involved in the rackets, but as far as the murders, if Billy did hear something about that I bet he’d choose not to believe it, because he’s a very religious man. There was the case of Senator John E. Powers, who was a judge. He fired Whitey from being a janitor at the courthouse. Billy never forgave him for that because after Whitey was fired from that job, he started committing all these crimes and stuff. So when it came to John E. Powers getting a raise or anything like that, it never made it past Billy Bulger in the Senate. So if someone was attacking his family, sure, he would stick it to that person whatever way he could legally. But as far as shielding Whitey from investigations? Billy never did that. Never.
Whitey’s attorney, Hank Brennan, recently shot down Black Mass, saying that “the real menace to Boston during that time and in other mob cases around the country—the federal government’s complicity in each and every one of those murders with the top echelon informant program.”
Well, [Jay Carney, Bulger's other attorney] is a buffoon. I mean, really. He was supposed to defend Jim Bulger, and when he stood up and gave his opening remarks, he basically admitted to every charge. What, he’s spoken to Jim Bulger for a hundred hours, and that’s supposed to make him something? Now, he speaks about Jim like he’s his best friend. He doesn’t know a thing about the real Jim Bulger, what’s happened, or anything. He’s literally a buffoon.
But it was the federal government that enabled us to get as far as we did. Without their interference, we would’ve been a short-lived gang. In some cases, we knew about investigations before they’d even been approved, or received financing. And it wasn’t just Connolly and the FBI. There was a bug in the Lancaster Street Garage that was given to us by a state trooper. The state police keep trying to pin it all on the FBI, but they were tipping us off, too. Whitey had his hands in everything. He had FBI. He had the Boston Police. He had Quincy Police. He had one guy in the DEA who was saying stuff to Connolly. He had people all over law enforcement that were giving information to him. With the movie, there’s no accuracy at all. The premise of corruption with the FBI is right, but as far as the events, the people, and the personalities? You could’ve told the truth and the movie would’ve been more violent than it is but they fabricated events. The movie is pure fiction.
Thanks to Marlow Stern.
“We really did kill those people,” says Kevin Weeks, the former mobster and right-hand man to notorious crime boss Whitey Bulger. “But the movie is a fantasy.”
The film that has Weeks riled up is Black Mass. Directed by Scott Cooper, it stars Johnny Depp as Winter Hill Gang leader James “Whitey” Bulger, and depicts the menacing Irishman’s rise up the criminal ranks from low-level gangster to the most feared criminal in not just his native South Boston, but the state of Massachusetts. Whitey was able to rise so far so fast thanks to his special relationship with the FBI, especially agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton)—an old neighborhood friend on Whitey’s payroll who’d funnel him information in exchange for intel on the local Italian mafia, led by Gennaro Angiulo. Bulger was eventually arrested in 2011 at an apartment complex in Santa Monica, California, after being on the run for 17 years, and was indicted for 19 murders. He was convicted of 11 of those murders, and is serving two consecutive life sentences behind bars. Interestingly enough, while Whitey’s reign of terror was going on, his brother Billy (Benedict Cumberbatch) was the most powerful politician in the state, serving as president of the Massachusetts State Senate.
Weeks
, who’s portrayed in the film by Friday Night Lights’ Jesse Plemons, started out in 1976 as a bouncer at Whitey’s local haunt Triple O’s, and by 1978 he was serving as Whitey’s driver and personal muscle. He officially joined the Winter Hill Gang full-time in 1982, and, along with Johnny Martorano and Stephen Flemmi, served as one of Whitey’s devoted henchmen. In 1999, Weeks was arrested on a 29-count indictment in a RICO case. In exchange for his damning grand testimony against Whitey, Weeks received a 5-year prison sentence. He was released in 2004, and has since penned three books, including the recent Hunted Down: The FBI's Pursuit and Capture of Whitey Bulger, which hit shelves on July 22.And to say that Weeks is unhappy with the film would be a major understatement. “My character looks like a knuckle-dragging moron,” says Weeks. “I look like I have Down syndrome.”
According to Weeks, the filmmakers behind Black Mass “didn’t consult with anyone within the inner circle about the movie,” and as a result, there are major discrepancies between what really happened and what happens onscreen.
The Daily Beast spoke with Weeks—who saw the film opening night—who opened up about what Black Mass got right and wrong, the murders they committed, and a foiled attempt to assassinate Boston Herald journalist Howie Carr.
You saw Black Mass on Friday night. What did you think of it?
Very disappointing. The only resemblance to Whitey’s character was the hairline. The funny thing is, Whitey’s look didn’t really change at all, just his clothes. It’s like we were stuck in a time warp. And the mannerisms—the way that Whitey talked to us—he never swore at us. In all the years I was with that man, he never swore at me once. We never yelled at each other. The opening scene of me getting beaten up? That never happened. They also have me talking to a black FBI agent in the beginning of the film, but I wouldn’t talk to the FBI. I spoke to a DEA agent, Dan Doherty. And my cooperation came after Johnny Martorano started cooperating. Nothing in the film is chronological, really.
The biggest chronological discrepancy in the film was the death of Bulger’s son, which took place in 1973. The film makes it seem like his boy died later than that in order to position it as his motivation for upping his killing and crime activity.
They made it seem like that was the reason why. I wasn’t there for the death of his son—that happened before my time—but I was there for the death of his mother, which he took pretty bad. But really, Whitey was violent long before his son’s death. And the way the film portrays people like Stephen Flemmi and myself? We come across looking like a step away from Down syndrome, really. We’re portrayed as these low-life thugs that are borderline morons who haven’t washed for weeks. For all the money we were makin’, we came off like paupers. We dressed a certain way during the day, but at night we were wearing $2,700 Louis suits. There’s a scene early on in the film where Johnny Martorano’s character is at the bar Triple O’s, and is reaching into a peanut bowl, licking his fingers, and sticking them back into the bowl, and Whitey starts mocking him for it. First of all, Johnny Martorano was never in Triple O’s. Second, if Whitey ever started talking to Johnny like that—berating him—the movie would be over because Johnny would’ve shot him right then. As bad as Whitey was, Johnny was just as capable—if not more.
Right. Johnny was known as “The Basin Street Butcher.”
He was a violent killer. There’s another scene later on where Whitey is yelling at Stevie [Flemmi] in the car outside the police station where they’re waiting to pick up Deborah Hussey. The language is all wrong. We never really cursed like that unless we were grabbing somebody, and Whitey never would’ve berated Stevie, either. Stevie was a psychopath. Stevie would’ve killed him. And Stevie is portrayed as a very sympathetic character.
In the scene you mention, they pick up Hussey, take her to a house, and Whitey strangles her to death.
Right. And I’m already in the house—they show me in the background. The true story is that me and Jimmy went to that house and we were waiting for Stevie. That house was for sale, and we already had two bodies buried downstairs. When I get to the house with Jimmy, he says, “Oh, we’re waiting for Stevie and Deborah. Stevie might buy the place.” I go and use the bathroom upstairs, and as soon as I come down the stairs, I see Stevie and Deborah come in, and I hear boom-boom. I walk in and see that Jimmy had strangled her. I thought she was dead, but then Stevie put his head on her chest, said she was still alive, and he put a clothesline rope around her neck, put a stick in it and twisted. And then after, Stevie dragged her body downstairs and pulled her teeth out. So Stevie wasn’t all sympathetic, mourning, and sorrowful like he is in the movie. Stevie enjoyed murder.
Back to Johnny Depp’s performance as Whitey. The film made Whitey seem—relatively speaking—like a sympathetic character. He’s portrayed as a very loving family man.
He had a son, Douglas, and he did die of Reye’s syndrome, but Jimmy wasn’t this doting father. Lindsey [Cyr] lived in Quincy, and he used to preach to me all the time, “If you’re gonna be a criminal, you shouldn’t have kids. They’re a liability.” And that scene at the dinner table between Jimmy and Douglas where he tells his son, “Punch them when the other kid isn’t looking,” he didn’t talk to kids like that. He was my older son’s godfather and I remember the way he’d talk to my son. He just talked to him like he was a young kid. Oh, you playing baseball? Normal conversation. He didn’t bring business back to the house. So his portrayal of him, outside of the makeup, I couldn’t believe it. The hairline was fine but the teeth were terrible, too. Jimmy had one front tooth and a nerve in it had died so it was one shade less than white—a little yellow, ya know. And his girlfriend, Cathy [Greig], was a hygienist, so his teeth were in great shape except for that one tooth.
Whitey looks vampiric in the film—like a ghoul.
He really does. There’s one scene I have a really big problem with, and that’s a scene down in Miami. Now, I was never down in Miami and they never met Johnny [Martorano] down in Miami. They met Johnny out in a hotel by La Guardia Airport, and it was just Jimmy, Stevie, and Johnny who discussed the John Callahan murder, which came after Roger Wheeler. In the scene in the film, they have me down in Miami and we’re all sitting there. Callahan goes to give Jimmy a big of money and Jimmy says, “Give that to Kevin.” And I take it. And then Stevie supposedly propositions Brian Halloran to kill Roger Wheeler, and Jimmy notices Halloran’s demeanor and says, “Kevin, give him the bag with the $20,000 in it, and forget what you heard here.” That never happened. In fact, I didn’t know about Roger Wheeler’s death until the Callahan murder. So just by having me be there giving Halloran the money, they have involved me in a conspiracy to kill Roger Wheeler. I’ve been libeled. I wasn’t involved in that at all, so I have a big problem with that. I just don’t know where they get the right to put events in there that did not happen.
What about the turf war between the Winter Hill Gang and the Angiulo crime family?
Well, another scene in the beginning where Jimmy pulls up, I get in the car, then we drive somewhere and beat up a guy, and his name is “Joey Angiulo,” and he’s identified as Jerry Angiulo’s nephew. Just by saying that name, “Angiulo,” that never would’ve happened because if it did, there would have been a war. If it did, to make peace, Jerry Angiulo would’ve said, “Kill Kevin, and it’s over.” That scene did happen to another fellow, Paul Giaimo, and the story was that he’d slapped Whitey’s niece. We got him in the car, drove up to M Street Park, proceeded to give him a beating, then drove him up to Cassidy’s and left the body out front so all his friends could see. Then we found out later on that we beat up the wrong person. But by making up this name and saying “Angiulo” and the mafia, it was so unrealistic. There would have been bodies in the streets if that happened.
As far as the FBI is concerned, the film seemed to really let the Bureau off the hook. John Connolly and John Morris are the only FBI agents in the film who seem to know about Whitey’s double-dealing, and they’re portrayed as sympathetic pawns, to a degree.
The FBI were the ones that enabled Jimmy and Stevie to survive. There’s a scene early on in the film where Connolly and Jimmy make this “alliance,” and then Jimmy goes back and tells Stevie about how they’re going to use the FBI against the mafia. That didn’t happen because Stevie had already been an important since 1965. In 1967, Flemmi and Frank Salemme blew up Joe Barboza’s attorney, John Fitzgerald, and then Stevie and Frankie went on the run, with Frankie going down to New York and Stevie going up to Montreal. Stevie comes back to Boston in 1974, and then the following year, Jimmy becomes an informant. And Connolly was on the payroll. We considered Connolly a criminal, too. He was our informant, and that’s how it was portrayed to all of us—that we were paying for his information. That’s why no one suspected that Jim Bulger was informing on us, because every time we made a score we’d put money aside to pay our contacts in law enforcement, and we were getting good information. Jimmy used to tell me, “I can call any one of six FBI agents and they’ll come to me and jump in this car with a machine gun and go on a hit.” One FBI agent actually gave us 17 kilos of C-4 which we were going to use to blow up a reporter, Howie Carr. Howie thought it was a made-up story, until he found out it was the truth.
Why did Bulger want to assassinate Howie Carr?
He was just a vicious bastard. He was attacking everybody—innocent people and everything. There was a time when we weren’t doing much and everything was running smoothly, and he wrote an article about this kid in South Boston who got killed, and Jimmy decided to make him a hobby and shut him up once and for all. When I look back on it, I wish we did kill him. He’s still the most hated reporter in Boston. Everybody hates him.
And it wasn’t just the FBI that knew about Whitey and what he was doing. Jeremiah O’Sullivan, the head of the organized crime task force, was giving information to Connolly. Every time Whitey or Stevie’s name was mentioned they’d give the information to Connolly knowing that Connolly would be giving the information to us. They were all on the payroll. All of them were receiving presents all the time—money, wine, trips. Some agents you couldn’t give money to because they’d feel insulted, so you’d give them a crystal or a Chelsea Clock. Everybody had their weakness.
One mystery surrounding Whitey Bulger is the Lady of the Dunes—the nickname for the body of the mysterious woman found at the Race Point Dunes. Many believe Bulger murdered her.
That wasn’t him. What happened was, because of Deborah Hussey and Debra Davis being killed, he used to visit Provincetown. And he’d usually have his girlfriend or a young girl he was with. But Whitey didn’t kill her. That’s just people jumping on it and saying, “It could have been him.” He didn’t do it.
But Whitey did kill Debra Davis, you’re saying? That murder was never actually proven to be Whitey’s doing.
I wasn’t there for Debra Davis—it was just Jim Bulger and Steve Flemmi—but here’s the story I was told: [Whitey] told me how when he was in the house with Stevie, they grabbed Debra, dragged her downstairs to the basement, and put her in a chair. She was being killed because she was going to leave Stevie, and he’d told her too much—including about his relationship with John Connolly. So she’s in the chair and Stevie begins putting duct tape around her. She had beautiful hair, so Jim Bulger said to me, “When the duct tape went around her face and her hair, that’s when I knew it was over.” And Stevie kissed her on the forehead and said, “You’re going to another place now.” And then Jim Bulger’s exact words to me were, “And then she was strangled.” So he didn’t say who strangled her.
The relationship between Whitey and his brother Billy has always fascinated me—that the most notorious crime boss in Boston could have a brother who, as president of the Massachusetts State Senate, was the most powerful politician in Massachusetts.
OK, I was up at Billy Bulger’s house over 100 times with Jimmy. He never discussed any street business or crime with Billy. It was always conversations about regular family stuff. There’s no doubt in my mind that Billy knew Jimmy was involved in the rackets, but as far as the murders, if Billy did hear something about that I bet he’d choose not to believe it, because he’s a very religious man. There was the case of Senator John E. Powers, who was a judge. He fired Whitey from being a janitor at the courthouse. Billy never forgave him for that because after Whitey was fired from that job, he started committing all these crimes and stuff. So when it came to John E. Powers getting a raise or anything like that, it never made it past Billy Bulger in the Senate. So if someone was attacking his family, sure, he would stick it to that person whatever way he could legally. But as far as shielding Whitey from investigations? Billy never did that. Never.
Whitey’s attorney, Hank Brennan, recently shot down Black Mass, saying that “the real menace to Boston during that time and in other mob cases around the country—the federal government’s complicity in each and every one of those murders with the top echelon informant program.”
Well, [Jay Carney, Bulger's other attorney] is a buffoon. I mean, really. He was supposed to defend Jim Bulger, and when he stood up and gave his opening remarks, he basically admitted to every charge. What, he’s spoken to Jim Bulger for a hundred hours, and that’s supposed to make him something? Now, he speaks about Jim like he’s his best friend. He doesn’t know a thing about the real Jim Bulger, what’s happened, or anything. He’s literally a buffoon.
But it was the federal government that enabled us to get as far as we did. Without their interference, we would’ve been a short-lived gang. In some cases, we knew about investigations before they’d even been approved, or received financing. And it wasn’t just Connolly and the FBI. There was a bug in the Lancaster Street Garage that was given to us by a state trooper. The state police keep trying to pin it all on the FBI, but they were tipping us off, too. Whitey had his hands in everything. He had FBI. He had the Boston Police. He had Quincy Police. He had one guy in the DEA who was saying stuff to Connolly. He had people all over law enforcement that were giving information to him. With the movie, there’s no accuracy at all. The premise of corruption with the FBI is right, but as far as the events, the people, and the personalities? You could’ve told the truth and the movie would’ve been more violent than it is but they fabricated events. The movie is pure fiction.
Thanks to Marlow Stern.
Friday, September 18, 2015
The True Story of #BlackMass: Whitey Bulger, the FBI, and a Devil's Deal, @BlackMassMovie
John Connoly and James "Whitey" Bulger grew up together on the streets of South Boston
. Decades later, in the mid 1970's, they would meet again. By then, Connolly was a major figure in the FBI's Boston office and Whitey had become godfather of the Irish Mob. What happened next — a dirty deal to bring down the Italian mob in exchange for protection for Bulger — would spiral out of control, leading to murders, drug dealing, racketeering indictments, and, ultimately, the biggest informant scandal in the history of the FBI.
Compellingly told by two Boston Globe reporters who were on the case from the beginning, Black Mass: Whitey Bulger, the FBI, and a Devil's Deal is at once a riveting crime story, a cautionary tale about the abuse of power, and a penetrating look at Boston and its Irish population.
. Decades later, in the mid 1970's, they would meet again. By then, Connolly was a major figure in the FBI's Boston office and Whitey had become godfather of the Irish Mob. What happened next — a dirty deal to bring down the Italian mob in exchange for protection for Bulger — would spiral out of control, leading to murders, drug dealing, racketeering indictments, and, ultimately, the biggest informant scandal in the history of the FBI.Compellingly told by two Boston Globe reporters who were on the case from the beginning, Black Mass: Whitey Bulger, the FBI, and a Devil's Deal is at once a riveting crime story, a cautionary tale about the abuse of power, and a penetrating look at Boston and its Irish population.
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Historic Photos of Chicago Crime: The Capone Era
Historic Photos of Chicago Crime: The Capone Era (Historic Photos), opens with a compelling look at Chicago's cityscape to include a broad range of cultural phenomena
, from suffrage to jazz, essential to the contextualization of crime in the 1920s and 1930s.
The history then proceeds as its title suggests, to a riveting overview of crime in Chicago, chock-full of images documenting notorious gangsters and gruesome gangland wars.
Al Capone, John Torrio, Earl "Hymie" Weiss, George "Bugs" Moran, and a host of others are all here. Replete with insightful captions and penetrating chapter introductions by historian John Russick, these photos offer a unique view into Chicago and its nefarious past.
, from suffrage to jazz, essential to the contextualization of crime in the 1920s and 1930s.The history then proceeds as its title suggests, to a riveting overview of crime in Chicago, chock-full of images documenting notorious gangsters and gruesome gangland wars.
Al Capone, John Torrio, Earl "Hymie" Weiss, George "Bugs" Moran, and a host of others are all here. Replete with insightful captions and penetrating chapter introductions by historian John Russick, these photos offer a unique view into Chicago and its nefarious past.
The Government’s Secret File on Organized Crime
The F.B.I. director J. Edgar Hoover long denied the existence of the Mafia in America. He did not deny the existence of criminals
, of course, or the fact that many of them came from Sicily; but he did not believe, or said he did not, that these men, dispersed in cities across the nation, worked in conspiracy, either because he underestimated them, had been paid off or simply did not care. Hoover was obsessed with revolutionaries, Communists and anarchists; gangsters, no matter what else they do, tend to support the status quo — they like the world the way it is. So in the end, the Mafia was first understood not by G-men but by the bureaucrats at the federal government’s Bureau of Narcotics, a precursor to the Drug Enforcement Administration. By following drug traffic across the nation, the orderly flow from port to truck to distributor to consumer, these men inadvertently mapped the underworld, and in the process created thousands of files, with each page dedicated to another hoodlum, another cog in the machine — runner, killer, distributor, shylock, boss. In the late 1950s, Senator John McClellan used these records to guide the hearings that finally brought the underworld to light.
With the publication of “Mafia: The Government's Secret File on Organized Crime,” the Bureau of Narcotics files have been made public for the first time: hundreds of documents, mug shots and criminal histories, like a twisted version of The Baseball Encyclopedia. The book, which is fascinating and huge, and must be taken in tiny, head-clearing sips, like moonshine, offers a panoramic view of the American underworld — the national face seen in a fun house mirror.
As you read, patterns emerge. There is the typical gangster body: “Jack Cerone ... 5’6 1/2", 195 lbs. ... stout.” There is the typical gangster pedigree: Anthony De Lardo, a k a Frank Fish, a k a Peachy, was “tried and acquitted for the gangland murder of Martin (Sunny Boy) Quick. Also tried and acquitted for assault and intent to murder Police Officer James Kelly. ... Convicted in 1933 of conspiracy to intimidate state’s witnesses” (possibly why Peachy kept getting acquitted). There are the mob jobs, the real-life models for Don Corleone’s olive oil business or Tony Soprano’s work in “waste management.” Take Theodore De Martino, a k a Teddy the Bum, said to have an interest in the Admiral Trucking Company; or Rocco Pellegrino, a k a the Old Man, “head of Mafia in Westchester,” who “owns Pellegrino Bakery, 16 Barker Ave., White Plains”; or Joseph Luco Pagano, a k a Joey, “manager of Lizzie’s Clam House, E. 116th St. & 2nd Ave., N.Y.C.” There are the joints where mobsters unwind, names that suggest the pleasures of the life have not changed: Joseph Fischetti, a k a Joseph Fisher, residing at 6701 Miami View Drive in Miami Beach, “frequents the Bonfire Restaurant, Dream Bar & Ted’s Grotto.” Then there is the typical gangster trajectory, which mirrors the national trajectory, from poor to rich, east to west, busy to free. There is Giovanni Roselli, born in Chicago, that cold, somber city, but who, at the time he was being investigated, resided at “1251 No. Crescent Hts., Hollywood, Cal. Frequents gambling casinos at Las Vegas where he has room at Tropicana Hotel. Travels frequently all parts U.S.”
There is a term for this: the American Dream.
“Mafia” is organized in the most basic way, with gangsters arranged first by region, then alphabetically. It’s as if the Bureau of Narcotics files were simply pulled from the cabinet — and you just know it was one of those steel gray monstrosities that go gong when you smack them — and put between hard covers. By counting pages, you can determine where power resided in the underworld; no surprises here, with most of the hoods living in or near New York, followed by Los Angeles, then Chicago. My favorites are the gangsters who turn up all alone in some random nowhere, like an exotic longnose butterflyfish found in a swamp in, say, Hannibal, Mo. Joseph Bonanno, a k a Joe Bananas, lived at 1847 East Elm Street in Tucson and was said to have a business interest in the Grande Cheese Company of Fond du Lac, Wis. Luigi Fratto (5-foot-3 1/2, 173 pounds; “heavy build and wears glasses”) lived at 115 Caulder Avenue in Des Moines and was wonderfully described as “the most influential member of the Mafia in the state of Iowa.” These bare, unworked facts evoke a scene right out of Hemingway, the overcoated wiseguy with the heater, the boy and the cook cowering in the kitchen (“Another bright boy. Ain’t he a bright boy?”), the corn whispering in the fields, as poor Ole Anderson waits in his room, knowing that as soon as he goes out he’ll get it in the face.
“Mafia” resembles a piece of found art. It’s the product of dozens of men who worked over dozens of years, engaged in something entirely utilitarian, with no goal other than keeping a record, which is memory, and no thought of these files ever being read for sport. Yet the result is a group portrait that captures the story of its time. It’s like one of those paintings by Chuck Close: when you stand back, you see the big picture of crime in America, but when you move in you see that this big picture is actually made of hundreds of little pictures, each of which tells its own tiny epic.
Thanks to Rich Cohen
, of course, or the fact that many of them came from Sicily; but he did not believe, or said he did not, that these men, dispersed in cities across the nation, worked in conspiracy, either because he underestimated them, had been paid off or simply did not care. Hoover was obsessed with revolutionaries, Communists and anarchists; gangsters, no matter what else they do, tend to support the status quo — they like the world the way it is. So in the end, the Mafia was first understood not by G-men but by the bureaucrats at the federal government’s Bureau of Narcotics, a precursor to the Drug Enforcement Administration. By following drug traffic across the nation, the orderly flow from port to truck to distributor to consumer, these men inadvertently mapped the underworld, and in the process created thousands of files, with each page dedicated to another hoodlum, another cog in the machine — runner, killer, distributor, shylock, boss. In the late 1950s, Senator John McClellan used these records to guide the hearings that finally brought the underworld to light.With the publication of “Mafia: The Government's Secret File on Organized Crime,” the Bureau of Narcotics files have been made public for the first time: hundreds of documents, mug shots and criminal histories, like a twisted version of The Baseball Encyclopedia. The book, which is fascinating and huge, and must be taken in tiny, head-clearing sips, like moonshine, offers a panoramic view of the American underworld — the national face seen in a fun house mirror.
As you read, patterns emerge. There is the typical gangster body: “Jack Cerone ... 5’6 1/2", 195 lbs. ... stout.” There is the typical gangster pedigree: Anthony De Lardo, a k a Frank Fish, a k a Peachy, was “tried and acquitted for the gangland murder of Martin (Sunny Boy) Quick. Also tried and acquitted for assault and intent to murder Police Officer James Kelly. ... Convicted in 1933 of conspiracy to intimidate state’s witnesses” (possibly why Peachy kept getting acquitted). There are the mob jobs, the real-life models for Don Corleone’s olive oil business or Tony Soprano’s work in “waste management.” Take Theodore De Martino, a k a Teddy the Bum, said to have an interest in the Admiral Trucking Company; or Rocco Pellegrino, a k a the Old Man, “head of Mafia in Westchester,” who “owns Pellegrino Bakery, 16 Barker Ave., White Plains”; or Joseph Luco Pagano, a k a Joey, “manager of Lizzie’s Clam House, E. 116th St. & 2nd Ave., N.Y.C.” There are the joints where mobsters unwind, names that suggest the pleasures of the life have not changed: Joseph Fischetti, a k a Joseph Fisher, residing at 6701 Miami View Drive in Miami Beach, “frequents the Bonfire Restaurant, Dream Bar & Ted’s Grotto.” Then there is the typical gangster trajectory, which mirrors the national trajectory, from poor to rich, east to west, busy to free. There is Giovanni Roselli, born in Chicago, that cold, somber city, but who, at the time he was being investigated, resided at “1251 No. Crescent Hts., Hollywood, Cal. Frequents gambling casinos at Las Vegas where he has room at Tropicana Hotel. Travels frequently all parts U.S.”
There is a term for this: the American Dream.
“Mafia” is organized in the most basic way, with gangsters arranged first by region, then alphabetically. It’s as if the Bureau of Narcotics files were simply pulled from the cabinet — and you just know it was one of those steel gray monstrosities that go gong when you smack them — and put between hard covers. By counting pages, you can determine where power resided in the underworld; no surprises here, with most of the hoods living in or near New York, followed by Los Angeles, then Chicago. My favorites are the gangsters who turn up all alone in some random nowhere, like an exotic longnose butterflyfish found in a swamp in, say, Hannibal, Mo. Joseph Bonanno, a k a Joe Bananas, lived at 1847 East Elm Street in Tucson and was said to have a business interest in the Grande Cheese Company of Fond du Lac, Wis. Luigi Fratto (5-foot-3 1/2, 173 pounds; “heavy build and wears glasses”) lived at 115 Caulder Avenue in Des Moines and was wonderfully described as “the most influential member of the Mafia in the state of Iowa.” These bare, unworked facts evoke a scene right out of Hemingway, the overcoated wiseguy with the heater, the boy and the cook cowering in the kitchen (“Another bright boy. Ain’t he a bright boy?”), the corn whispering in the fields, as poor Ole Anderson waits in his room, knowing that as soon as he goes out he’ll get it in the face.
“Mafia” resembles a piece of found art. It’s the product of dozens of men who worked over dozens of years, engaged in something entirely utilitarian, with no goal other than keeping a record, which is memory, and no thought of these files ever being read for sport. Yet the result is a group portrait that captures the story of its time. It’s like one of those paintings by Chuck Close: when you stand back, you see the big picture of crime in America, but when you move in you see that this big picture is actually made of hundreds of little pictures, each of which tells its own tiny epic.
Thanks to Rich Cohen
Dying to Belong: Gangster Movies in Hollywood and Hong Kong
Featuring an exclusive 20 page interview with The Sopranos' creator David Chase
, Dying to Belong: Gangster Movies in Hollywood and Hong Kong, sheds light on the often misunderstood gangster film by looking by looking at movies from Hollywood and Hong Kong over several decades.
From Little Caesar and The Godfather to The Sopranos, Martha Nochimson deftly illustrates the dark themes of dislocation and disorientation that define true gangster films.
, Dying to Belong: Gangster Movies in Hollywood and Hong Kong, sheds light on the often misunderstood gangster film by looking by looking at movies from Hollywood and Hong Kong over several decades.From Little Caesar and The Godfather to The Sopranos, Martha Nochimson deftly illustrates the dark themes of dislocation and disorientation that define true gangster films.
Former Business Manager Charged with Theft from @LIUNA
A former business manager of the Local 657 of the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) was charged with stealing from the organization.
Anthony Wendel Frederick Sr., 49, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, the former Business Manager of Local 657 of LIUNA based in Washington, D.C., was charged by criminal complaint with one count of theft from a labor organization.
LIUNA is a labor organization that represents laborers in the construction industry. LIUNA’s Local 657 represents construction laborers in Washington, D.C. and five adjacent counties. For approximately 10 years, until June 2014, Frederick served as the business manager for Local 657.
The criminal complaint alleges that, from May 2013 to June 2014, Frederick directed more than $1.7 million in Local 657 funds to STS Contracting of Greenbelt, Maryland, without the knowledge or authorization of the Local 657 Executive Board or officials in LIUNA International. Specifically, according to the criminal complaint, a routine audit of the local union by LIUNA in June 2014 revealed that Frederick had paid nearly $1.1 million to STS Contracting for minimal renovations at the Local 657 administrative building. In addition, the complaint alleges that, without authorization, Frederick directed over $580,000 in Local 657 funds to STS Contracting for expediting permits for the construction of a new training center for Local 657, which project was being handled by another construction firm. According to the criminal complaint, the LIUNA auditor also discovered that Frederick grossly overpaid STS Contracting for expediting various permits, including $20,000 to expedite a $143 excavation permit, and over $20,000 to renew existing permits, which could have been accomplished online for approximately $250 apiece.
The criminal complaint further alleges that STS Contracting paid a down payment of $225,000 on a home purchased by Frederick, and directed more than $600,000 to a corporation owned in part by Frederick’s wife. In addition, STS Contracting principals allegedly depleted a company bank account, which contained only stolen Local 657 funds, by withdrawing more than $500,000 in cash and using the remainder for personal items, entertainment, shopping trips, hotel stays and overseas travel.
Anthony Wendel Frederick Sr., 49, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, the former Business Manager of Local 657 of LIUNA based in Washington, D.C., was charged by criminal complaint with one count of theft from a labor organization.
LIUNA is a labor organization that represents laborers in the construction industry. LIUNA’s Local 657 represents construction laborers in Washington, D.C. and five adjacent counties. For approximately 10 years, until June 2014, Frederick served as the business manager for Local 657.
The criminal complaint alleges that, from May 2013 to June 2014, Frederick directed more than $1.7 million in Local 657 funds to STS Contracting of Greenbelt, Maryland, without the knowledge or authorization of the Local 657 Executive Board or officials in LIUNA International. Specifically, according to the criminal complaint, a routine audit of the local union by LIUNA in June 2014 revealed that Frederick had paid nearly $1.1 million to STS Contracting for minimal renovations at the Local 657 administrative building. In addition, the complaint alleges that, without authorization, Frederick directed over $580,000 in Local 657 funds to STS Contracting for expediting permits for the construction of a new training center for Local 657, which project was being handled by another construction firm. According to the criminal complaint, the LIUNA auditor also discovered that Frederick grossly overpaid STS Contracting for expediting various permits, including $20,000 to expedite a $143 excavation permit, and over $20,000 to renew existing permits, which could have been accomplished online for approximately $250 apiece.
The criminal complaint further alleges that STS Contracting paid a down payment of $225,000 on a home purchased by Frederick, and directed more than $600,000 to a corporation owned in part by Frederick’s wife. In addition, STS Contracting principals allegedly depleted a company bank account, which contained only stolen Local 657 funds, by withdrawing more than $500,000 in cash and using the remainder for personal items, entertainment, shopping trips, hotel stays and overseas travel.
Friday, September 11, 2015
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Pablo Escobar was a rapper (More Narcos)
Pablo Escobar was a rapper. A member of the underclass with no upward mobility who decided to take matters into his own hands and not only triumphed, but had the whole world watching and his minions paying fealty.
If you remember, rap replaced hair bands. Not overnight, the initial hits were nearly a decade before. But when MTV saw the rap ratings, they switched videos, guys from the ghetto became millionaires. And the white people who thought they ran this country, controlled people's hearts and minds, found out they didn't.
Like Escobar, the newly-minted rap impresarios lived large. They weren't saving for retirement, they weren't even planning to get to retirement. Money can't buy you love, but it can buy you a boat, some sex and a big 'ol house and a Maybach. Which everybody can view. A college degree sits on the wall, but clothes and babes and parties and jets are for all to see.
Now eventually the rappers got co-opted by the money. That's what happens with anti-establishment figures, once they have something to protect, they want to. And the public...it's left out, withering on the vine, kind of like today.
We've got a great unwashed underclass with no opportunity. We've got a failing middle class that just can't believe the jobs are gone. And a horrified upper middle class, that believed its Ivy League degrees were a Get Out of Jail Free card, that they could survive on their education, when the truth is we live in the land of money, and unless you've got it, you're screwed.
Oh, you can be a techie. And what's most interesting about the techies is like Escobar and rappers they see no rules, and those that are in their way are broken. It's what happened with Napster, and if you think the music industry won there, you're probably still buying CDs. Because once the flower of justice blooms, life is never the same.
Fifteen dollar CDs with one overpriced track were too much. People poured through the hole Napster provided. To bitch about Spotify and Apple Music is to misunderstand history, they're just trying to put a wall around the chaos. The people want all the music for a very low price, and that ain't gonna change. And then there are the bankers. Who skim in ways not only the government can't understand, but neither can most of Wall Street's workers. As for the hedge funders, they've rigged the tax system to their advantage, the government can't get them, because they're paying elected officials off. If you think this is any different from how Pablo Escobar reigned, you think bankers don't snort cocaine. But they do. And the leader of the rap cartel was Jay Z. Who escaped the streets with the most money and the best babe and got cash from major corporations to boot. But then he made a mistake, he forgot his roots, he bought Tidal, not realizing that once you've left your audience's side, once you're no longer doing it for them, you're screwed.
So Jay Z has been replaced by Donald Trump. Who was born on third base, maybe second, and is far from home, he lies about his success, but he's a beacon to the underclass...that someone at the top is on their team, someone at the top is telling the truth.
Did you see Trump came down on Karl Rove?
Who says this stuff? Who speaks the truth?
Once upon a time Pablo Escobar did. And then the rappers. And now Trump.
Illustrating that he who ties in with the underprivileged ultimately wins. Not only do politicians no longer get it, that the public is fed-up with D.C., but it's musicians too. Musicians haven't been in bed with their audience for such a long time. They scalp their own tickets and rake in money from endorsements and keep bitching that's someone's screwing THEM without realizing that the system is screwing their audience every damn day, and unless you're humble and know which side your toast is buttered on, your piece of bread is going to be burned.
Out of fear our whole nation has been running for safety, in a game of musical chairs where most are left out. Not realizing there will be a price to pay.
We're looking for leaders.
Don't like today's music? Just wait a while, the slate's gonna be wiped clean. Just like the gays killed corporate rock with disco and the rappers killed hair bands, something is gonna come along and knock vapid pop off its perch. Could take years, but it's coming.
As for politicians and the rich... Let this be the great awakening, you can't leave the rest of us this far behind for this long. Rules, schmules. Laws, schlaws. Did laws stop the internet? Where the revolutionaries spread their gospel? Hell, even Muslim terrorists employ the internet for propaganda today. There's less control than ever before. And what side you're on counts. In Colombia, they shot the rich, those who got in their way. Because the truth is nobody is protected. How it goes down in America..? We'll see. But one thing we know is what's happening today ain't gonna last.
Never does.
The oligarchs and their sycophants, everybody worshipping cash and believing they're immune, they've got another thing coming. Because human nature trumps money. And those who help their brother ultimately succeed.
Fight abortion and unions and taxes and then find out...
The public isn't with you. Isn't that the essence of Trump? Read Paul Krugman's piece for insight ("Trump Is Right On Economics": http://nyti.ms/1NkPeik). Everything you thought you knew was wrong. And the control the media thinks it has is nonexistent.
This is when people fight for their rights. When their backs are up against the wall and they see no options.
That's how we got Pablo Escobar. And that's how we got rap.
What's next?
Thanks to Bob Lefsetz.
If you remember, rap replaced hair bands. Not overnight, the initial hits were nearly a decade before. But when MTV saw the rap ratings, they switched videos, guys from the ghetto became millionaires. And the white people who thought they ran this country, controlled people's hearts and minds, found out they didn't.
Like Escobar, the newly-minted rap impresarios lived large. They weren't saving for retirement, they weren't even planning to get to retirement. Money can't buy you love, but it can buy you a boat, some sex and a big 'ol house and a Maybach. Which everybody can view. A college degree sits on the wall, but clothes and babes and parties and jets are for all to see.
Now eventually the rappers got co-opted by the money. That's what happens with anti-establishment figures, once they have something to protect, they want to. And the public...it's left out, withering on the vine, kind of like today.
We've got a great unwashed underclass with no opportunity. We've got a failing middle class that just can't believe the jobs are gone. And a horrified upper middle class, that believed its Ivy League degrees were a Get Out of Jail Free card, that they could survive on their education, when the truth is we live in the land of money, and unless you've got it, you're screwed.
Oh, you can be a techie. And what's most interesting about the techies is like Escobar and rappers they see no rules, and those that are in their way are broken. It's what happened with Napster, and if you think the music industry won there, you're probably still buying CDs. Because once the flower of justice blooms, life is never the same.
Fifteen dollar CDs with one overpriced track were too much. People poured through the hole Napster provided. To bitch about Spotify and Apple Music is to misunderstand history, they're just trying to put a wall around the chaos. The people want all the music for a very low price, and that ain't gonna change. And then there are the bankers. Who skim in ways not only the government can't understand, but neither can most of Wall Street's workers. As for the hedge funders, they've rigged the tax system to their advantage, the government can't get them, because they're paying elected officials off. If you think this is any different from how Pablo Escobar reigned, you think bankers don't snort cocaine. But they do. And the leader of the rap cartel was Jay Z. Who escaped the streets with the most money and the best babe and got cash from major corporations to boot. But then he made a mistake, he forgot his roots, he bought Tidal, not realizing that once you've left your audience's side, once you're no longer doing it for them, you're screwed.
So Jay Z has been replaced by Donald Trump. Who was born on third base, maybe second, and is far from home, he lies about his success, but he's a beacon to the underclass...that someone at the top is on their team, someone at the top is telling the truth.
Did you see Trump came down on Karl Rove?
"Why does @oreillyfactor and @FoxNews always have Karl Rove on. He spent $430 million and lost ALL races. A dope who said Romney won election"
Who says this stuff? Who speaks the truth?
Once upon a time Pablo Escobar did. And then the rappers. And now Trump.
Illustrating that he who ties in with the underprivileged ultimately wins. Not only do politicians no longer get it, that the public is fed-up with D.C., but it's musicians too. Musicians haven't been in bed with their audience for such a long time. They scalp their own tickets and rake in money from endorsements and keep bitching that's someone's screwing THEM without realizing that the system is screwing their audience every damn day, and unless you're humble and know which side your toast is buttered on, your piece of bread is going to be burned.
Out of fear our whole nation has been running for safety, in a game of musical chairs where most are left out. Not realizing there will be a price to pay.
We're looking for leaders.
Don't like today's music? Just wait a while, the slate's gonna be wiped clean. Just like the gays killed corporate rock with disco and the rappers killed hair bands, something is gonna come along and knock vapid pop off its perch. Could take years, but it's coming.
As for politicians and the rich... Let this be the great awakening, you can't leave the rest of us this far behind for this long. Rules, schmules. Laws, schlaws. Did laws stop the internet? Where the revolutionaries spread their gospel? Hell, even Muslim terrorists employ the internet for propaganda today. There's less control than ever before. And what side you're on counts. In Colombia, they shot the rich, those who got in their way. Because the truth is nobody is protected. How it goes down in America..? We'll see. But one thing we know is what's happening today ain't gonna last.
Never does.
The oligarchs and their sycophants, everybody worshipping cash and believing they're immune, they've got another thing coming. Because human nature trumps money. And those who help their brother ultimately succeed.
Fight abortion and unions and taxes and then find out...
The public isn't with you. Isn't that the essence of Trump? Read Paul Krugman's piece for insight ("Trump Is Right On Economics": http://nyti.ms/1NkPeik). Everything you thought you knew was wrong. And the control the media thinks it has is nonexistent.
This is when people fight for their rights. When their backs are up against the wall and they see no options.
That's how we got Pablo Escobar. And that's how we got rap.
What's next?
Thanks to Bob Lefsetz.
Wednesday, September 09, 2015
100 Things Bears Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die
Revealing the most critical moments and important facts about past and present players
, coaches, and teams that are part of the storied history that is Bears football, 100 Things Bears Fans Should Know & Do Before They Diehas pep talks, records, and Bears lore scattered throughout the pages. The Bears’ longtime rivalry with the Green Bay Packers, little-known facts about many of the Bears’ record 27 Hall of Famers, and profiles of unforgettable Bears personalities such as Ditka, Payton, Jim McMahon, Brian Urlacher, Jay Cutler, and others are all included.
Die-hard fans who know all the words to the “Super Bowl Shuffle” and new supporters alike will find everything Bears boosters should know, see, and do in their lifetime.
, coaches, and teams that are part of the storied history that is Bears football, 100 Things Bears Fans Should Know & Do Before They Diehas pep talks, records, and Bears lore scattered throughout the pages. The Bears’ longtime rivalry with the Green Bay Packers, little-known facts about many of the Bears’ record 27 Hall of Famers, and profiles of unforgettable Bears personalities such as Ditka, Payton, Jim McMahon, Brian Urlacher, Jay Cutler, and others are all included.Die-hard fans who know all the words to the “Super Bowl Shuffle” and new supporters alike will find everything Bears boosters should know, see, and do in their lifetime.
Thursday, September 03, 2015
Gang Members Transformed into Domestic Terrorists
Paul Paudert, a retired chief of police from West Memphis, Ark., told a group of assembled North Carolina law enforcement officers that he considers gang members to be domestic terrorists.
“They represent organized crime, basically," Paudert said. "They are in all of our communities, and they threaten people. People are intimidated by them, and that's basically what the definition of a domestic terrorist is."
Paudert, a featured speaker at the North Carolina Gang Investigators Association conference in Pinehurst, lost his son, a Memphis police officer, to gang violence. “When my son arrived on the scene, within two minutes, this 16-year-old kid gets out with an AK-47 and guns down both officers, shoots my son 14 times and his partner 11 times and kills them,” Paudert said.
Since his retirement, Paudert spends his time at events like the one in Pinehurst, trying to keep other officers safe.
The 500 lawmen in attendance at the three-day conference also heard from experts on how gangs are using social media to recruit new members and how they are turning to human trafficking or prostitution as a means of getting cash.
“They’ll take a young lady, and they’ll sell her via prostitution, human trafficking, and they make on average about $160,000 off of one female in a year,” said Mark Bridgeman, president of the gang investigators association.
Bridgeman said gangs are overwhelming small North Carolina cities with small police forces that are not well-equipped to deal with violent gang members.
The information shared in Pinehurst helps not only those North Carolina communities but also cities and gang investigators elsewhere. "Gang members are in our prison system, they're in our school system, they're in our community, and people need to know about gangs to be safe," Bridgeman said.
Bridgeman, a Fayetteville police officer, said there are even gang members in the military learning military tactics they use on the streets when they get out of the service.
“They represent organized crime, basically," Paudert said. "They are in all of our communities, and they threaten people. People are intimidated by them, and that's basically what the definition of a domestic terrorist is."
Paudert, a featured speaker at the North Carolina Gang Investigators Association conference in Pinehurst, lost his son, a Memphis police officer, to gang violence. “When my son arrived on the scene, within two minutes, this 16-year-old kid gets out with an AK-47 and guns down both officers, shoots my son 14 times and his partner 11 times and kills them,” Paudert said.
Since his retirement, Paudert spends his time at events like the one in Pinehurst, trying to keep other officers safe.
The 500 lawmen in attendance at the three-day conference also heard from experts on how gangs are using social media to recruit new members and how they are turning to human trafficking or prostitution as a means of getting cash.
“They’ll take a young lady, and they’ll sell her via prostitution, human trafficking, and they make on average about $160,000 off of one female in a year,” said Mark Bridgeman, president of the gang investigators association.
Bridgeman said gangs are overwhelming small North Carolina cities with small police forces that are not well-equipped to deal with violent gang members.
The information shared in Pinehurst helps not only those North Carolina communities but also cities and gang investigators elsewhere. "Gang members are in our prison system, they're in our school system, they're in our community, and people need to know about gangs to be safe," Bridgeman said.
Bridgeman, a Fayetteville police officer, said there are even gang members in the military learning military tactics they use on the streets when they get out of the service.
3 Convicted Felons from Chicago Area Indicted on Federal Firearm Offenses
Three Chicago-area men with prior felony convictions have been indicted on federal gun charges for illegally possessing semiautomatic weapons. THADDEUS JIMENEZ, 36, of Des Plaines, was arrested in Chicago while in possession of a loaded Kimber, Sapphire-model, .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol. He was charged with one count of being a felon-in-possession of a firearm, according to the indictment. Jimenez was previously convicted of a felony.
JOSE ROMAN, 22, of Chicago, was also arrested in Chicago while in possession of a firearm. The indictment charges Roman with being a felon-in-possession of a firearm for possessing a loaded Mossberg International, 715T-model, .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle. Roman was previously convicted of a felony. The indictment against Jimenez and Roman was returned in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
A third defendant, DANTRELL WILLIAMS, 19, was charged in a separate indictment with being a felon-in-possession of a firearm. Williams, of Chicago, was arrested while in possession of a loaded Romarm, GP WASR-series, semiautomatic rifle, according to the indictment. He was previously convicted of a felony.
The charge of being a felon-in-possession of a firearm carries a maximum sentence of ten years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to aggressively using federal gun laws to fight violent crime,” said Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. “We will prosecute violent offenders with vigor, using whatever federal tools are appropriate, as part of our ongoing partnership with the city and state to protect Chicago’s neighborhoods against violence.”
Mr. Fardon announced the indictments along with Jeffrey A. Magee, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; John A. Brown, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Garry F. McCarthy, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.
JOSE ROMAN, 22, of Chicago, was also arrested in Chicago while in possession of a firearm. The indictment charges Roman with being a felon-in-possession of a firearm for possessing a loaded Mossberg International, 715T-model, .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle. Roman was previously convicted of a felony. The indictment against Jimenez and Roman was returned in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
A third defendant, DANTRELL WILLIAMS, 19, was charged in a separate indictment with being a felon-in-possession of a firearm. Williams, of Chicago, was arrested while in possession of a loaded Romarm, GP WASR-series, semiautomatic rifle, according to the indictment. He was previously convicted of a felony.
The charge of being a felon-in-possession of a firearm carries a maximum sentence of ten years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to aggressively using federal gun laws to fight violent crime,” said Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. “We will prosecute violent offenders with vigor, using whatever federal tools are appropriate, as part of our ongoing partnership with the city and state to protect Chicago’s neighborhoods against violence.”
Mr. Fardon announced the indictments along with Jeffrey A. Magee, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; John A. Brown, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Garry F. McCarthy, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.
Wednesday, September 02, 2015
31-Count Superseding Indictment, Including RICO Charges, Returned by Grand Jury Against Violent YMM Gang
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that a Superseding Indictment was returned charging members of a violent New Orleans street gang known as “the Young Melph Mafia” or “YMM” with violating federal racketeering statutes and committing five homicides as well as multiple violations of federal drug and firearm laws. The defendants include: JEFFERY WILSON, age 30; LIONEL ALLEN, a/k/a “Lot,” age 21; JAWAN FORTIA, a/k/a “Tittie” and “Wine,” age 22; DEDRICK KEELEN, a/k/a “Roy,” age 22;DELWIN McLAREN, a/k/a “Poo” and “Poo Stupid,” age 22; and BRYAN SCOTT, a/k/a “Killer,” age 21.
Based upon the ongoing investigation, these defendants, most of whom grew up in and around the former Melpomene Housing Development, engaged in high volume street level drug dealing over the course of several years. During the course of this investigation, it was also determined that the defendants connected to the Young Melph Mafia routinely carried firearms to protect themselves while engaged in distributing illegal narcotics.
ALLEN, KEELEN and FORTIA are facing a mandatory life sentence if convicted of committing a murder in furtherance of racketeering activity, in violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 1959. Attached is a summary of charges and penalties for all defendants.
Based upon the ongoing investigation, these defendants, most of whom grew up in and around the former Melpomene Housing Development, engaged in high volume street level drug dealing over the course of several years. During the course of this investigation, it was also determined that the defendants connected to the Young Melph Mafia routinely carried firearms to protect themselves while engaged in distributing illegal narcotics.
ALLEN, KEELEN and FORTIA are facing a mandatory life sentence if convicted of committing a murder in furtherance of racketeering activity, in violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 1959. Attached is a summary of charges and penalties for all defendants.
US led global steroid takedown includes home labs, gyms, local distributors #OperationCyberJuice
DEA officials announced a nationwide series of enforcement actions targeting every level of the global underground trade of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, the vast majority of which are manufactured and trafficked from underground labs in China.
DEA-led Operation Cyber Juice comprised of over 30 different U.S. investigations in 20 states and resulted in the arrest of over 90 individuals, the seizure of 16 underground steroid labs, approximately 134,000 steroid dosage units, 636 kilograms of raw steroid powder, 8,200 liters of raw steroid injectable liquid, and over $2 million in U.S. currency and assets. In addition, DEA and its partners assisted in foreign steroid investigations in four countries coordinated by Europol. Domestic law enforcement partners include the Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
In Arizona alone, Operation Cyber Juice investigations yielded the seizure of 4 underground steroid conversion labs, the seizure of nearly 150,000 dosage units of finished product, 121 pounds of raw steroid powder, 22 liters of raw steroid injectable liquid, and over $300,000 in U.S. currency and assets.
Often found in these underground steroid labs are finished steroid product, raw steroid powder, oils needed for steroid conversion to a finished product, conversion kits, and other lab equipment. These products are commonly obtained via the internet from Chinese chemical manufacturing companies and underground labs.
“Too many young people are ruining their lives and damaging their bodies from steroid abuse,” said DEA Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg. “Through Operation Cyber Juice, DEA is attacking the global underground steroid market, exposing its danger and lies.”
“This multi-agency collaboration sends a strong message to those who traffic in illegal and dangerous performance-enhancing drugs,” said Peter T. Edge, executive associate director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “There’s no question that our joint efforts among HSI, DEA and Interpol targeting a very significant drug distribution network will have a huge impact on the distribution of illegal steroids and other dangerous performance-enhancing drugs in the United States.”
Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol, stated: “This international law enforcement action was accomplished through the cooperation of multiple agencies committed to the single goal of identifying and dismantling a lucrative criminal enterprise. Europol will continue its successful cooperation with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the World Doping Agency to eliminate this crime that spans across the globe and cyberspace”.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Travis Tygart stated: "In the global fight against dangerous performance-enhancing drugs, collaboration between anti-doping organizations and law enforcement is vital. This joint investigation again demonstrates that we can work together to identify and hold accountable underground steroid suppliers and users who are committing crimes and who may also be cheating clean athletes and sport. The actions taken today will help to ensure that all athletes are safer and any young athletes who are pressured to use these drugs to win in sport are not preyed upon by illegal drug dealers."
Furthermore, World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Director General David Howman stated, “For a long time now, the World Anti-Doping Agency has been concerned about the illegal activity in some countries of underground production and trade of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. These substances, either as full steroid products or in raw material form, are being produced in unsanitary “underground laboratories” with no concern whatsoever given to the labeling of the products, nor to the health of the end user – quite often the athlete, and worryingly, very often young people. This problem is proliferating globally. It has become a public health issue and therefore requires an international solution through partnerships and collaboration. By partnering with USADA and the DEA in this major steroid operation, WADA has been able to prevent potentially harmful steroid substances from getting into the hands of athletes looking for an edge. This is a good example of anti-doping and law enforcement working well together to further their own efforts of reducing doping and protecting public health.”
There is great danger in buying steroids, chemicals, and other illicit products on the Internet. Many companies operating illegally both in the United States, China, and elsewhere have no regard for product safety and mislabeling is common – both intentional and unintentional. Products are often misrepresented, and their safety is not at all guaranteed. In addition, federal agents report that many of the underground steroid labs seized are extremely unsanitary, further illustrating the danger in buying these products illegally. For example, recent lab seizures uncovered huge amounts of raw materials being mixed in bathtubs and bathroom sinks.
Throughout Operation Cyber Juice, DEA and its law enforcement partners worked closely with both USADA and WADA, receiving actionable intelligence that resulted in many of these investigations. This vision was to utilize law enforcement, anti-doping resources, and intelligence, to assist in furtherance of their respective efforts. In addition, Europol analysts were collecting information and providing leads to participating countries for further investigation.
Previous DEA steroid investigations such as Operation Raw Deal in 2007 focused on raw material manufacturers and suppliers in China and other countries; underground anabolic laboratories in North America; numerous U.S.-based websites distributing materials, or conversion kits, necessary to convert raw steroid powders into finished product; and Internet bodybuilding discussion boards that are the catalysts for individuals to learn how to illicitly discreetly purchase and use performance enhance drugs, including anabolic steroids. Many of the underground steroids labs targeted in this case advertise and are endorsed on these message boards.
DEA-led Operation Cyber Juice comprised of over 30 different U.S. investigations in 20 states and resulted in the arrest of over 90 individuals, the seizure of 16 underground steroid labs, approximately 134,000 steroid dosage units, 636 kilograms of raw steroid powder, 8,200 liters of raw steroid injectable liquid, and over $2 million in U.S. currency and assets. In addition, DEA and its partners assisted in foreign steroid investigations in four countries coordinated by Europol. Domestic law enforcement partners include the Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
In Arizona alone, Operation Cyber Juice investigations yielded the seizure of 4 underground steroid conversion labs, the seizure of nearly 150,000 dosage units of finished product, 121 pounds of raw steroid powder, 22 liters of raw steroid injectable liquid, and over $300,000 in U.S. currency and assets.
Often found in these underground steroid labs are finished steroid product, raw steroid powder, oils needed for steroid conversion to a finished product, conversion kits, and other lab equipment. These products are commonly obtained via the internet from Chinese chemical manufacturing companies and underground labs.
“Too many young people are ruining their lives and damaging their bodies from steroid abuse,” said DEA Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg. “Through Operation Cyber Juice, DEA is attacking the global underground steroid market, exposing its danger and lies.”
“This multi-agency collaboration sends a strong message to those who traffic in illegal and dangerous performance-enhancing drugs,” said Peter T. Edge, executive associate director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “There’s no question that our joint efforts among HSI, DEA and Interpol targeting a very significant drug distribution network will have a huge impact on the distribution of illegal steroids and other dangerous performance-enhancing drugs in the United States.”
Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol, stated: “This international law enforcement action was accomplished through the cooperation of multiple agencies committed to the single goal of identifying and dismantling a lucrative criminal enterprise. Europol will continue its successful cooperation with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the World Doping Agency to eliminate this crime that spans across the globe and cyberspace”.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Travis Tygart stated: "In the global fight against dangerous performance-enhancing drugs, collaboration between anti-doping organizations and law enforcement is vital. This joint investigation again demonstrates that we can work together to identify and hold accountable underground steroid suppliers and users who are committing crimes and who may also be cheating clean athletes and sport. The actions taken today will help to ensure that all athletes are safer and any young athletes who are pressured to use these drugs to win in sport are not preyed upon by illegal drug dealers."
Furthermore, World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Director General David Howman stated, “For a long time now, the World Anti-Doping Agency has been concerned about the illegal activity in some countries of underground production and trade of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. These substances, either as full steroid products or in raw material form, are being produced in unsanitary “underground laboratories” with no concern whatsoever given to the labeling of the products, nor to the health of the end user – quite often the athlete, and worryingly, very often young people. This problem is proliferating globally. It has become a public health issue and therefore requires an international solution through partnerships and collaboration. By partnering with USADA and the DEA in this major steroid operation, WADA has been able to prevent potentially harmful steroid substances from getting into the hands of athletes looking for an edge. This is a good example of anti-doping and law enforcement working well together to further their own efforts of reducing doping and protecting public health.”
There is great danger in buying steroids, chemicals, and other illicit products on the Internet. Many companies operating illegally both in the United States, China, and elsewhere have no regard for product safety and mislabeling is common – both intentional and unintentional. Products are often misrepresented, and their safety is not at all guaranteed. In addition, federal agents report that many of the underground steroid labs seized are extremely unsanitary, further illustrating the danger in buying these products illegally. For example, recent lab seizures uncovered huge amounts of raw materials being mixed in bathtubs and bathroom sinks.
Throughout Operation Cyber Juice, DEA and its law enforcement partners worked closely with both USADA and WADA, receiving actionable intelligence that resulted in many of these investigations. This vision was to utilize law enforcement, anti-doping resources, and intelligence, to assist in furtherance of their respective efforts. In addition, Europol analysts were collecting information and providing leads to participating countries for further investigation.
Previous DEA steroid investigations such as Operation Raw Deal in 2007 focused on raw material manufacturers and suppliers in China and other countries; underground anabolic laboratories in North America; numerous U.S.-based websites distributing materials, or conversion kits, necessary to convert raw steroid powders into finished product; and Internet bodybuilding discussion boards that are the catalysts for individuals to learn how to illicitly discreetly purchase and use performance enhance drugs, including anabolic steroids. Many of the underground steroids labs targeted in this case advertise and are endorsed on these message boards.
Tuesday, September 01, 2015
Father and Son Among 4 People Indicted in $2.9 Million Ponzi Scheme Involving Bogus Mortgage Sales
A father and son schemed with a Chicago attorney and a Lincolnwood businessman to sell $2.9 million in phony mortgages to more than a dozen duped investors, according to a federal indictment.
ALBERT ROSSINI, 67, the owner of Devon Street Investments Ltd., in Lincolnwood, plotted with BABAJAN KHOSHABE, 74, and Khoshabe’s son, ANTHONY KHOSHABE, 33, to fraudulently induce at least 15 victims into purchasing purported mortgage notes on apartment buildings in foreclosure, according to the indictment. The trio promised that investors would receive rental income from occupants of the buildings, followed by title to the properties at the conclusion of the foreclosure process, the indictment states. In reality, the trio did not own the mortgage notes, and instead used the victims’ funds to make Ponzi-type payments to other investors and pocket the rest, according to the indictment.
A fourth defendant, THOMAS MURPHY, 61, was a licensed Illinois attorney who claimed to validate the sale of the mortgage notes through a phony “Guaranty Agreement” that he prepared and gave to Rossini to present to the victims, according to the indictment.
Rossini, of Skokie, was charged with eleven counts of wire fraud and three counts of mail fraud. Babajan Khoshabe, of Chicago, was charged with eight counts of wire fraud and three counts of mail fraud. Anthony Khoshabe, of Skokie, was charged with five counts of wire fraud and three counts of mail fraud. Murphy, of Chicago, was charged with eleven counts of wire fraud and three counts of mail fraud.
According to the charges, the scheme has been ongoing since approximately September 2011. Rossini and Babajan Khoshabe allegedly told prospective investors that Anthony Khoshabe managed the mortgaged properties through his position at Reliant Management, which shared office space with Devon Street Investments. Anthony Khoshabe would purportedly collect monthly rents from the buildings’ occupants and turn them over to investors. What the defendants failed to reveal is that Reliant Management did not manage the properties, and Anthony Khoshabe had no legal ability to collect the rents, the indictment states. The periodic payments made to investors were actually derived from funds that other investors had pledged into the scheme.
The indictment seeks forfeiture of $2,922,564 in cash, three certificates of deposit totaling $700,000, two properties in Skokie and one property on the North Side of Chicago.
The indictment was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; John A. Brown, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Antonio Gómez, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago; Brad Geary, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General in Chicago; and Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart.
The wire and mail fraud counts carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, plus mandatory restitution. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik A. Hogstrom and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney William Novak.
Individuals or corporate entities who believe they could be a victim of the scheme charged in the indictment are encouraged to contact the FBI’s Chicago office at (312) 421-6700.
ALBERT ROSSINI, 67, the owner of Devon Street Investments Ltd., in Lincolnwood, plotted with BABAJAN KHOSHABE, 74, and Khoshabe’s son, ANTHONY KHOSHABE, 33, to fraudulently induce at least 15 victims into purchasing purported mortgage notes on apartment buildings in foreclosure, according to the indictment. The trio promised that investors would receive rental income from occupants of the buildings, followed by title to the properties at the conclusion of the foreclosure process, the indictment states. In reality, the trio did not own the mortgage notes, and instead used the victims’ funds to make Ponzi-type payments to other investors and pocket the rest, according to the indictment.
A fourth defendant, THOMAS MURPHY, 61, was a licensed Illinois attorney who claimed to validate the sale of the mortgage notes through a phony “Guaranty Agreement” that he prepared and gave to Rossini to present to the victims, according to the indictment.
Rossini, of Skokie, was charged with eleven counts of wire fraud and three counts of mail fraud. Babajan Khoshabe, of Chicago, was charged with eight counts of wire fraud and three counts of mail fraud. Anthony Khoshabe, of Skokie, was charged with five counts of wire fraud and three counts of mail fraud. Murphy, of Chicago, was charged with eleven counts of wire fraud and three counts of mail fraud.
According to the charges, the scheme has been ongoing since approximately September 2011. Rossini and Babajan Khoshabe allegedly told prospective investors that Anthony Khoshabe managed the mortgaged properties through his position at Reliant Management, which shared office space with Devon Street Investments. Anthony Khoshabe would purportedly collect monthly rents from the buildings’ occupants and turn them over to investors. What the defendants failed to reveal is that Reliant Management did not manage the properties, and Anthony Khoshabe had no legal ability to collect the rents, the indictment states. The periodic payments made to investors were actually derived from funds that other investors had pledged into the scheme.
The indictment seeks forfeiture of $2,922,564 in cash, three certificates of deposit totaling $700,000, two properties in Skokie and one property on the North Side of Chicago.
The indictment was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; John A. Brown, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Antonio Gómez, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Chicago; Brad Geary, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General in Chicago; and Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart.
The wire and mail fraud counts carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, plus mandatory restitution. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik A. Hogstrom and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney William Novak.
Individuals or corporate entities who believe they could be a victim of the scheme charged in the indictment are encouraged to contact the FBI’s Chicago office at (312) 421-6700.
Friday, August 28, 2015
The Grandfather Clause
Some people think Phil Genovese, Jr. resembles his grandfather.
"Around the eyes, maybe," the world's newest novelist was saying the other day. Genovese has just had his first novel, "The Grandfather Clause," published by Author House.
It's the story of a legitimate New Jersey businessman who gets himself entwined in the underground world of his Mafia crime boss grandfather
.
Which is no stretch for the 50-something Jersey Shore resident, the grandson of Vito Genovese one of the most powerful mobsters in American history -- who controlled chunks of the gambling, loan-sharking and drug businesses of Staten Island.
Phil is far more a product of suburban America than of his grandfather's La Cosa Nostra, however. He was raised at the Shore by his mother and CPA father, usually seeing Don Vito only on Sundays when his grandfather would summon the family for dinner at his simple Atlantic Highlands home.
After graduating from Villanova University in the mid-1970s, the younger Genovese's first real job was at that stalwart of U.S. capitalism Johnson & Johnson. From there, he made a number of stops as an expert in moving cargo around the world.
Now he's with another Fortune 500 outfit, a corporation so huge it has offices in countries some of us have never heard of. He doesn't even like mentioning the company name while publicizing his book for fear of offending the higher ups.
"Separation of church and state," he explains. But there are flashbacks in his life that are undeniable.
He has a scene early in the very readable new book where the mob boss's young grandson stands on a chair to hand his grandfather ingredients for the tomato sauce that is being painstakingly prepared on the kitchen stove.
"That's a lot like it really was," he says of his childhood days before Vito Genovese was shipped off to federal prison, where he died in the late 1960s.
QUIET CONVERSATIONS
And he recalls vividly his grandfather's aging friends coming by on those Sundays for whispered conversations around cups of espresso. And of Vito's wake at the old Anderson's Funeral Home on Broad Street in Red Bank.
"The black FBI cars were parked across the street with the long camera lenses sticking out the windows," he said.
There were tales from his own father of living in Park Avenue luxury in the 1930s. "He used to see Eleanor Roosevelt on the elevator in his apartment house," said Genovese. And, maybe through some form of childhood osmosis, Phil learned something from his grandfather's business.
One lesson was that, just as in the legitimate world, in the mob, competency isn't always rewarded and messing up not always punished.
That was very much so in the case of Vincent "The Chin" Gigante.
Long before Gigante began famously roaming Greenwich Village's Carmine Street in bathrobe and slippers, he was a hit man for Don Vito. Needless to say, business was booming.
One day in May 1957, Genovese gave his underling a very important job. He was to travel uptown to the landmark Majestic Apartments on Central Park West. There, he was told he'd find one Frank Costello (real name Francesco Castiglia).
"I want him to disappear," Genovese said of his rival.
The young Gigante waited on the corner of 72nd Street until he saw Costello approaching the building's lobby door. Chin made his move, firing from close to point-blank range. He was high and wide. The bullet glanced off Costello's head, grazing him. Instead of imbedding deep into the skull of the fingered mobster, it would smack harmlessly into the marble lobby wall.
The bullet mark is still plain to see above the building entrance 50 years later.
"Botched job," Phil Genovese pointed out the other day. And one that began Don Vito's decline in organized crime.
"Chin screwed up, and what happened? He wound up eventually becoming the boss."
THE FAMILY ENDURES
The Genovese crime family didn't dry up and disappear when Don Vito died.
One of the bosses to follow Genovese was Funzi Tieri, a guy with deep Island connections who was known to be among the biggest bookmakers and loan-sharks in the country.
Once Tieri became the acting boss, you could find him almost daily at a restaurant on Third Avenue in Brooklyn.
One evening, he was met there by two Staten Island lawyers.
The older attorney, I'll call him Morty, had long handled Genovese bookmaking cases in the borough.
On this night, he'd brought a young friend along in hopes Tieri would toss some business to the new guy (who was clearly interested in climbing aboard what he saw as the Mafia gravy train).
Morty and the gangster drank wine and ate pasta and steaks and talked about old times for hours, while the younger attorney sat respectfully silent.
Late into the night, the older lawyer weaved as he was led to the car.
On the ride home to Todt Hill he told his young associate that he thought a good impression had been made.
"Kid," the conversation was remembered years later, "I think if you follow me, you're going to be OK."
The younger lawyer didn't answer.
He rolled to a stop in front of his mentor's house and hustled his rumpled associate out of the car as quickly as he could. Then he turned the car around and sped back over the Verrazano to the restaurant.
Tieri was still there when he arrived, and waved the now lone lawyer back to the table.
"What happened kid?" he wanted to know. "Where's your friend?"
"With all due respect, Mr. Tieri" the younger lawyer said, "I don't think Mort is up to doing the job for you anymore. Why don't you hire me, instead?"
And so, Tieri, who always admired a man who could focus on his own best interests, did just that.
Thanks to Cormac Gordon
"Around the eyes, maybe," the world's newest novelist was saying the other day. Genovese has just had his first novel, "The Grandfather Clause," published by Author House.
It's the story of a legitimate New Jersey businessman who gets himself entwined in the underground world of his Mafia crime boss grandfather
.Which is no stretch for the 50-something Jersey Shore resident, the grandson of Vito Genovese one of the most powerful mobsters in American history -- who controlled chunks of the gambling, loan-sharking and drug businesses of Staten Island.
Phil is far more a product of suburban America than of his grandfather's La Cosa Nostra, however. He was raised at the Shore by his mother and CPA father, usually seeing Don Vito only on Sundays when his grandfather would summon the family for dinner at his simple Atlantic Highlands home.
After graduating from Villanova University in the mid-1970s, the younger Genovese's first real job was at that stalwart of U.S. capitalism Johnson & Johnson. From there, he made a number of stops as an expert in moving cargo around the world.
Now he's with another Fortune 500 outfit, a corporation so huge it has offices in countries some of us have never heard of. He doesn't even like mentioning the company name while publicizing his book for fear of offending the higher ups.
"Separation of church and state," he explains. But there are flashbacks in his life that are undeniable.
He has a scene early in the very readable new book where the mob boss's young grandson stands on a chair to hand his grandfather ingredients for the tomato sauce that is being painstakingly prepared on the kitchen stove.
"That's a lot like it really was," he says of his childhood days before Vito Genovese was shipped off to federal prison, where he died in the late 1960s.
QUIET CONVERSATIONS
And he recalls vividly his grandfather's aging friends coming by on those Sundays for whispered conversations around cups of espresso. And of Vito's wake at the old Anderson's Funeral Home on Broad Street in Red Bank.
"The black FBI cars were parked across the street with the long camera lenses sticking out the windows," he said.
There were tales from his own father of living in Park Avenue luxury in the 1930s. "He used to see Eleanor Roosevelt on the elevator in his apartment house," said Genovese. And, maybe through some form of childhood osmosis, Phil learned something from his grandfather's business.
One lesson was that, just as in the legitimate world, in the mob, competency isn't always rewarded and messing up not always punished.
That was very much so in the case of Vincent "The Chin" Gigante.
Long before Gigante began famously roaming Greenwich Village's Carmine Street in bathrobe and slippers, he was a hit man for Don Vito. Needless to say, business was booming.
One day in May 1957, Genovese gave his underling a very important job. He was to travel uptown to the landmark Majestic Apartments on Central Park West. There, he was told he'd find one Frank Costello (real name Francesco Castiglia).
"I want him to disappear," Genovese said of his rival.
The young Gigante waited on the corner of 72nd Street until he saw Costello approaching the building's lobby door. Chin made his move, firing from close to point-blank range. He was high and wide. The bullet glanced off Costello's head, grazing him. Instead of imbedding deep into the skull of the fingered mobster, it would smack harmlessly into the marble lobby wall.
The bullet mark is still plain to see above the building entrance 50 years later.
"Botched job," Phil Genovese pointed out the other day. And one that began Don Vito's decline in organized crime.
"Chin screwed up, and what happened? He wound up eventually becoming the boss."
THE FAMILY ENDURES
The Genovese crime family didn't dry up and disappear when Don Vito died.
One of the bosses to follow Genovese was Funzi Tieri, a guy with deep Island connections who was known to be among the biggest bookmakers and loan-sharks in the country.
Once Tieri became the acting boss, you could find him almost daily at a restaurant on Third Avenue in Brooklyn.
One evening, he was met there by two Staten Island lawyers.
The older attorney, I'll call him Morty, had long handled Genovese bookmaking cases in the borough.
On this night, he'd brought a young friend along in hopes Tieri would toss some business to the new guy (who was clearly interested in climbing aboard what he saw as the Mafia gravy train).
Morty and the gangster drank wine and ate pasta and steaks and talked about old times for hours, while the younger attorney sat respectfully silent.
Late into the night, the older lawyer weaved as he was led to the car.
On the ride home to Todt Hill he told his young associate that he thought a good impression had been made.
"Kid," the conversation was remembered years later, "I think if you follow me, you're going to be OK."
The younger lawyer didn't answer.
He rolled to a stop in front of his mentor's house and hustled his rumpled associate out of the car as quickly as he could. Then he turned the car around and sped back over the Verrazano to the restaurant.
Tieri was still there when he arrived, and waved the now lone lawyer back to the table.
"What happened kid?" he wanted to know. "Where's your friend?"
"With all due respect, Mr. Tieri" the younger lawyer said, "I don't think Mort is up to doing the job for you anymore. Why don't you hire me, instead?"
And so, Tieri, who always admired a man who could focus on his own best interests, did just that.
Thanks to Cormac Gordon
The Story of the Kansas City Mob, The Mafia and the Machine
Forget Las Vegas and Chicago — for most of the 20th century Kansas City was a gangster’s paradise.
The details of politics’ cozy relationship with organized crime in Kansas City stunned Frank Hayde while he was researching his book
, The Mafia and the Machine: The Story of the Kansas City Mob.
“I think people in Kansas City are hungry for a story that is exciting and colorful,” said Hayde, a Prairie Village native. “My story is not sensationalistic at all — all my facts come from documented sources. Organized crime in Kansas City was a phenomenon of the 20th century and we should view it in a historical standpoint — it wasn’t all violence and tabloid talk.”
Hayde’s book looks at the link between organized crime and politics in Kansas City during a 100-year span.
He became interested in the topic when he started reading about organized crime in other cities. There was always some mention of Kansas City, which sparked his interest and his research.
He spent the next few years traveling back and forth to Kansas City from his Colorado home, looking up old newspapers, local history books, police reports, government reports and court files.
It wasn’t easy — a lot of police files from the early 20th century had simply vanished because the police department had been corrupted by the Mafia.
Making the research understandable also took time. “I didn’t want a 500-page book with footnotes,” Hayde said, with a laugh. “I really wanted something readable yet hard-hitting.”
Hayde, a U.S. park ranger, doesn’t regret the long evening hours and weekends spent working on his book. Writing had been his favorite hobby since he graduated from the University of Kansas with an English degree in 1993.
Plus, his job has allowed him to maintain his writing skills. “In the park service, you have to write a lot of incident reports, which forces you to write in a concise, descriptive way,” he said. “Most officers hate writing reports, but I don’t it because it’s helped me write a book.”
Although his co-workers were surprised at his latest literary accomplishment, his parents in Prairie Village didn’t blink an eye.
History is a big part of their lives — Hayde’s family has been residing in the Kansas City area since the 1860s.
His father, John, believes he may have helped whet his son’s appetite for organized crime in Kansas City.
Seeing the mob in the news was a big part of John Hayde’s childhood — he remembers when the Union Station Massacre was splashed across the local newspapers. “Those years — the jazz years in Kansas City — were so exciting and my parents talked about it all the time, it was all over the newspapers,” he said. “I was absolutely intrigued to read Frank’s book and think, ‘My golly, it’s all coming alive in my memory, like a movie.’”
Frank Hayde hopes his writing experience won’t end at the Kansas City Mafia — there are several local stories he would love to tell.
For now, however, he just wants to take his literary career one step at a time.
Thanks to Jennifer Bhargava
The details of politics’ cozy relationship with organized crime in Kansas City stunned Frank Hayde while he was researching his book
, The Mafia and the Machine: The Story of the Kansas City Mob.“I think people in Kansas City are hungry for a story that is exciting and colorful,” said Hayde, a Prairie Village native. “My story is not sensationalistic at all — all my facts come from documented sources. Organized crime in Kansas City was a phenomenon of the 20th century and we should view it in a historical standpoint — it wasn’t all violence and tabloid talk.”
Hayde’s book looks at the link between organized crime and politics in Kansas City during a 100-year span.
He became interested in the topic when he started reading about organized crime in other cities. There was always some mention of Kansas City, which sparked his interest and his research.
He spent the next few years traveling back and forth to Kansas City from his Colorado home, looking up old newspapers, local history books, police reports, government reports and court files.
It wasn’t easy — a lot of police files from the early 20th century had simply vanished because the police department had been corrupted by the Mafia.
Making the research understandable also took time. “I didn’t want a 500-page book with footnotes,” Hayde said, with a laugh. “I really wanted something readable yet hard-hitting.”
Hayde, a U.S. park ranger, doesn’t regret the long evening hours and weekends spent working on his book. Writing had been his favorite hobby since he graduated from the University of Kansas with an English degree in 1993.
Plus, his job has allowed him to maintain his writing skills. “In the park service, you have to write a lot of incident reports, which forces you to write in a concise, descriptive way,” he said. “Most officers hate writing reports, but I don’t it because it’s helped me write a book.”
Although his co-workers were surprised at his latest literary accomplishment, his parents in Prairie Village didn’t blink an eye.
History is a big part of their lives — Hayde’s family has been residing in the Kansas City area since the 1860s.
His father, John, believes he may have helped whet his son’s appetite for organized crime in Kansas City.
Seeing the mob in the news was a big part of John Hayde’s childhood — he remembers when the Union Station Massacre was splashed across the local newspapers. “Those years — the jazz years in Kansas City — were so exciting and my parents talked about it all the time, it was all over the newspapers,” he said. “I was absolutely intrigued to read Frank’s book and think, ‘My golly, it’s all coming alive in my memory, like a movie.’”
Frank Hayde hopes his writing experience won’t end at the Kansas City Mafia — there are several local stories he would love to tell.
For now, however, he just wants to take his literary career one step at a time.
Thanks to Jennifer Bhargava
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Chop Shop is Now Available on DvD & Digital HD
"Chop Shop" follows a group of car thieves in Los Angeles as they rise from the criminal underground to become big-time international players.Stars: Ana Ayora, John Bregar, Luis Moncada
Monday, August 24, 2015
Karen Finley Pleads Guilty to Bribery in Chicago Red-Light Camera Scam
The former chief executive officer of Chicago’s first red-light camera vendor pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge.
As the CEO of Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., KAREN FINLEY funneled cash and other personal financial benefits to a City of Chicago official and his friend, knowing that the payments would help persuade the city to award red-light camera contracts to Redflex, according to a plea agreement. The benefits included golf trips, hotels and meals, as well as hiring the city official’s friend as a highly compensated contractor for Redflex, according to the plea agreement.
The benefits flowed over a nine-year period, from 2003 to 2011, during which time the city expanded the Digital Automated Red Light Enforcement Program by awarding millions of dollars in contracts to Phoenix-based Redflex, the plea agreement states.
Finley, 55, of Cave Creek, Ariz., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery in a federal program. U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall scheduled a sentencing hearing for Feb. 18, 2016. Finley faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss from the offense, and mandatory restitution.
The guilty plea was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; John A. Brown, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Joseph M. Ferguson, Inspector General for the City of Chicago; and Stephen Boyd, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago.
According to the plea agreement, Redflex first began competing for the Chicago contract in early 2003, while Finley was then Redflex’s vice president of operations. In the course of the competition, Finley learned that John Bills, who was then an assistant Chicago transportation commissioner in charge of the city’s red-light camera program, was championing Redflex by providing pointers and inside information to Redflex, the plea agreement states.
After Redflex was awarded its first Chicago contract in approximately late May 2003, Finley hired Bills’ friend Martin O’Malley as a contractor for Redflex, in an effort to ensure that Bills would continue to provide assistance to Redflex in future contract negotiations with the city. Finley admitted in the plea agreement that she knew O’Malley was a friend of Bills and that it was important to Bills that Redflex hire him. Finley personally signed O’Malley’s contract, which included provisions for lucrative increases in O’Malley’s compensation as new red-light cameras were added, according to the plea agreement.
After Finley became CEO of Redflex in 2007, O’Malley’s commissions escalated and Bills continued to assist the company, including having at least one red-light contract “sole-sourced” to Redflex, the plea agreement states. Finley states in the plea agreement that she knew Redflex was also paying personal expenses for Bills in order to buy his influence and expand Redflex’s business with the city. These expenses included meals, golf outings, rental cars, airline tickets to Phoenix, rooms at the Biltmore Hotel and other entertainment, according to the plea agreement.
Redflex’s technology uses cameras to automatically record and ticket drivers who run red lights. Between 2004 and 2008, the city paid Redflex approximately $25 million, according to the indictment against Finley, Bills and O’Malley. Bills was a voting member of the city’s Request For Proposal evaluation committee that recommended awarding the contracts to Redflex, the indictment states. In February 2008, the city awarded the “sole-sourced” contract to Redflex, paying the company approximately $33 million, according to the indictment. The city followed up that contract with another one the same month – agreeing to pay Redflex approximately $66 million for the installation of nearly 250 additional red-light cameras.
Bills, 54, of Chicago, was indicted on nine counts of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud, three counts of federal program bribery, three counts of filing a false federal income tax return, and one count each of extortion and conspiracy to commit federal program bribery. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to proceed to trial on Jan. 11, 2016, before Judge Kendall. Bills retired from the city in 2011.
O’Malley, 74, of Worth, pleaded guilty in December to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery in a federal program. No sentencing date has been set.
The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorney Laurie J. Barsella.
As the CEO of Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., KAREN FINLEY funneled cash and other personal financial benefits to a City of Chicago official and his friend, knowing that the payments would help persuade the city to award red-light camera contracts to Redflex, according to a plea agreement. The benefits included golf trips, hotels and meals, as well as hiring the city official’s friend as a highly compensated contractor for Redflex, according to the plea agreement.
The benefits flowed over a nine-year period, from 2003 to 2011, during which time the city expanded the Digital Automated Red Light Enforcement Program by awarding millions of dollars in contracts to Phoenix-based Redflex, the plea agreement states.
Finley, 55, of Cave Creek, Ariz., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery in a federal program. U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall scheduled a sentencing hearing for Feb. 18, 2016. Finley faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or gross loss from the offense, and mandatory restitution.
The guilty plea was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; John A. Brown, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Joseph M. Ferguson, Inspector General for the City of Chicago; and Stephen Boyd, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago.
According to the plea agreement, Redflex first began competing for the Chicago contract in early 2003, while Finley was then Redflex’s vice president of operations. In the course of the competition, Finley learned that John Bills, who was then an assistant Chicago transportation commissioner in charge of the city’s red-light camera program, was championing Redflex by providing pointers and inside information to Redflex, the plea agreement states.
After Redflex was awarded its first Chicago contract in approximately late May 2003, Finley hired Bills’ friend Martin O’Malley as a contractor for Redflex, in an effort to ensure that Bills would continue to provide assistance to Redflex in future contract negotiations with the city. Finley admitted in the plea agreement that she knew O’Malley was a friend of Bills and that it was important to Bills that Redflex hire him. Finley personally signed O’Malley’s contract, which included provisions for lucrative increases in O’Malley’s compensation as new red-light cameras were added, according to the plea agreement.
After Finley became CEO of Redflex in 2007, O’Malley’s commissions escalated and Bills continued to assist the company, including having at least one red-light contract “sole-sourced” to Redflex, the plea agreement states. Finley states in the plea agreement that she knew Redflex was also paying personal expenses for Bills in order to buy his influence and expand Redflex’s business with the city. These expenses included meals, golf outings, rental cars, airline tickets to Phoenix, rooms at the Biltmore Hotel and other entertainment, according to the plea agreement.
Redflex’s technology uses cameras to automatically record and ticket drivers who run red lights. Between 2004 and 2008, the city paid Redflex approximately $25 million, according to the indictment against Finley, Bills and O’Malley. Bills was a voting member of the city’s Request For Proposal evaluation committee that recommended awarding the contracts to Redflex, the indictment states. In February 2008, the city awarded the “sole-sourced” contract to Redflex, paying the company approximately $33 million, according to the indictment. The city followed up that contract with another one the same month – agreeing to pay Redflex approximately $66 million for the installation of nearly 250 additional red-light cameras.
Bills, 54, of Chicago, was indicted on nine counts of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud, three counts of federal program bribery, three counts of filing a false federal income tax return, and one count each of extortion and conspiracy to commit federal program bribery. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to proceed to trial on Jan. 11, 2016, before Judge Kendall. Bills retired from the city in 2011.
O’Malley, 74, of Worth, pleaded guilty in December to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery in a federal program. No sentencing date has been set.
The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorney Laurie J. Barsella.
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