The "Family Secrets" trial of a group of alleged Chicago mobsters has drawn attention to the Windy City's gangland heritage and raises questions about the strength of today's "Outfit."
Is the shadowy organization - the modern-day legacy of Al Capone - on its last legs, or is it as strong as ever? Observers disagree.
Retired reporter John Drummond, who chronicled organized crime for WBBM-TV for decades, said the Outfit has been weakened through recent federal crackdowns and the aging of kingpins. Reputed mob boss Joseph "the Clown" Lombardo, one of the Family Secrets defendants, is in his late 70s. "I think they are pretty much in disarray," Drummond said. "Nobody wants to take over the mantle of leadership because of the scrutiny that they'd be under."
Jim Wagner, president of the Chicago Crime Commission, was less optimistic. The former FBI agent said the mob's influence remains as pervasive as ever and includes illegal activities such as gambling and prostitution as well as legitimate white-collar businesses that launder dirty money. "My concern is that people have the misunderstanding that this trial, as important as it is, represents an end of the Outfit, and nothing could be further from the truth," Wagner said. "The money's still there, and therefore the influence is still there."
All Illinoisans are affected by organized crime, Wagner said, because the crime syndicate's participation in any enterprise adds a layer of cost that is passed on to taxpayers or consumers.
The Illinois Gaming Board's 2001 decision to block a casino from being built in Rosemont centered on allegations that the project was tainted by mob influence. Late Rosemont mayor Donald Stephens was dogged for years by allegations that he had associated with Chicago mob chief Sam Giancana, but Stephens denied any connection beyond purchasing property from him in the early-1960s.
The sweeping Family Secrets trial that began in June in U.S. District Court is expected to offer an insider's view into the Chicago Outfit's past misdeeds. The alleged racketeering conspiracy at the heart of the case includes 18 long-unsolved murders and a myriad of crimes ranging from extorting "street taxes" from businesses to making "juice loans," or loan-sharking.
Probably the most notorious killing is that of Anthony Spilotro, who was found buried with his brother in an Indiana cornfield in 1986. In the 1995 movie "Casino," Joe Pesci's character - and his grisly end - is based on Spilotro.
Such displays of brutality generally are a thing of the past for organized crime, author and crime historian Richard Lindberg said. He said that's because mob hits tend to attract law enforcement attention. "The lesson that (mobsters) learned is that violence is bad for business," he said. "Once you stop seeing bodies being found in trunks at the airport or in ditches on the side of country highways, then the mob becomes invisible."
Even if the traditional Italian-American mob may be waning, experts say other kinds of gangs have moved into the Chicago region, possibly with the old syndicate's blessing. They include ethnic crime organizations from Eastern Europe and Asia. The new gangs are even more discreet, Lindberg said.
"What's happened, some people will tell you, is that the government has put too much priority on the traditional mobs, and the other ethnic groups are probably doing very well for themselves," Drummond, the retired reporter, said.
Chicago cannot shake its underworld history, particularly the image of Capone (1899-1947), whose bootlegging empire was the precursor to today's mob. Image-conscious city officials have tried to downplay that era, but it refuses to die.
Few Capone-related sites even survive today, but Don Fielding said his "Untouchables" bus tour continues to thrive. He said guides hit the highlights of Scarface's career. "I hope the trial goes on for years," Fielding said. "It gives people this little sense of intrigue."
In its central exhibit about the city's origins, the Chicago History Museum acknowledges the power that Capone wielded but frames him in a negative context. The display includes a graphic photograph of the 1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre, in which several of Capone's rival gang members were sprayed by machine-gun fire. "Part of what the museum is about is to promote a fuller understanding of the history of Chicago," museum historian Sarah Marcus said. "If you are choosing to erase portions of history, first of all, people are going to know you're doing it. And second of all, you have a responsibility to confront some of the less pleasant and disturbing aspects. ... It's not all sunshine and roses."
Thanks to Mike Ramsey
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Replacement for "The Sopranos" Found
The Hollywood Reporter said Wednesday a four-part movie about Saddam Hussein's life will air on HBO. It makes perfect sense that the cable network would buy a mini-series about Iraq. There's nothing HBO likes better than a shoot-'em-up with no ending.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Widow Testifies that Mobster Killed Her Husband
Friends of ours: Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo
Friends of mine: Irwin Weiner
Emma Seifert had just gotten her sick 4-year-old son settled in the office she shared with her husband and was preparing to make her morning coffee when two gunmen burst through the door.
"I believe they said, 'This is a robbery and where is ...' I don't know if they called him my husband or 'that SOB,' " Seifert told jurors Thursday as she described how mobsters gunned down her husband, Daniel, on the morning of Sept. 27, 1974. "I screamed but obviously not loud enough, because Daniel didn't hear me," Seifert said.
She gave perhaps the most powerful testimony yet in the federal trial in Chicago of five alleged organized crime figures, including two prominent mob bosses.
Daniel Seifert was to be a key government witness against Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, who had been charged with ripping off a Teamsters Union pension fund. When Seifert was killed, the case against Lombardo evaporated. Lombardo is one of the five men on trial as federal prosecutors seek to pin 18 murders, including Seifert's, on the mob.
Emma Seifert testified that she couldn't be definite but believed one of the three gunmen she saw that day was Lombardo -- based on his height, build and lightness on his feet. "Joey was a boxer and very light on his feet," she said.
She acknowledged under questioning by one of Lombardo's defense attorneys that she did not initially tell police about her suspicion. She said she feared for her family's safety but did tell her brother-in-law that day of her belief, according to court testimony.
Her son, Joseph, was there the day his father was killed and also was in court Thursday to hear her testimony, as was his half-brother, Nick. "We felt that she was very courageous," Joseph said of his mom's testimony, speaking for himself and Nick.
He praised the prosecution, saying, "for us, it was an incredibly enlightening day of testimony, of hearing different details and different sides."
Testimony on Thursday revealed that Daniel Seifert became a business associate of mobsters after he did some carpentry work with a mobbed-up businessman, Irwin Weiner.
Weiner helped bankroll the fiberglass factory that Seifert operated. Weiner was friends with Lombardo, and soon Lombardo was hired at the factory, but Emma Seifert testified she never saw him do any work.
Lombardo and Seifert were close, so close that Seifert named his son, Joseph, after him. But relations soured, and Seifert left to start his own business, his widow testified. When the mob later learned that Seifert was cooperating with the feds, the threats began, culminating in his slaying, she told jurors.
Emma Seifert testified that her son had gone into the fiberglass factory first that morning, with her husband trailing behind. Two gunmen burst through a back door, pushed her to the floor and jumped Daniel Seifert in the entryway, hitting him in the head with a gun.
With her husband down, Emma tried to get into her office desk where there was a gun, but the drawer was locked and one of the gunmen herded her and her son into a bathroom, she told the jury.
She heard a gunshot and then heard nothing for a few seconds, told her son to stay put and went back to her desk, Emma said. She saw her husband running for his life across the factory parking lot -- the last time she would see him alive, she testified. Emma said she locked the office door and called police. Emma told jurors that her husband ran through another building, and one of the gunmen shot him. As he lay on the grass, a gunman came up to him and delivered a point-blank shot to his head, according to her testimony.
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
Friends of mine: Irwin Weiner
Emma Seifert had just gotten her sick 4-year-old son settled in the office she shared with her husband and was preparing to make her morning coffee when two gunmen burst through the door.
"I believe they said, 'This is a robbery and where is ...' I don't know if they called him my husband or 'that SOB,' " Seifert told jurors Thursday as she described how mobsters gunned down her husband, Daniel, on the morning of Sept. 27, 1974. "I screamed but obviously not loud enough, because Daniel didn't hear me," Seifert said.
She gave perhaps the most powerful testimony yet in the federal trial in Chicago of five alleged organized crime figures, including two prominent mob bosses.
Daniel Seifert was to be a key government witness against Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, who had been charged with ripping off a Teamsters Union pension fund. When Seifert was killed, the case against Lombardo evaporated. Lombardo is one of the five men on trial as federal prosecutors seek to pin 18 murders, including Seifert's, on the mob.
Emma Seifert testified that she couldn't be definite but believed one of the three gunmen she saw that day was Lombardo -- based on his height, build and lightness on his feet. "Joey was a boxer and very light on his feet," she said.
She acknowledged under questioning by one of Lombardo's defense attorneys that she did not initially tell police about her suspicion. She said she feared for her family's safety but did tell her brother-in-law that day of her belief, according to court testimony.
Her son, Joseph, was there the day his father was killed and also was in court Thursday to hear her testimony, as was his half-brother, Nick. "We felt that she was very courageous," Joseph said of his mom's testimony, speaking for himself and Nick.
He praised the prosecution, saying, "for us, it was an incredibly enlightening day of testimony, of hearing different details and different sides."
Testimony on Thursday revealed that Daniel Seifert became a business associate of mobsters after he did some carpentry work with a mobbed-up businessman, Irwin Weiner.
Weiner helped bankroll the fiberglass factory that Seifert operated. Weiner was friends with Lombardo, and soon Lombardo was hired at the factory, but Emma Seifert testified she never saw him do any work.
Lombardo and Seifert were close, so close that Seifert named his son, Joseph, after him. But relations soured, and Seifert left to start his own business, his widow testified. When the mob later learned that Seifert was cooperating with the feds, the threats began, culminating in his slaying, she told jurors.
Emma Seifert testified that her son had gone into the fiberglass factory first that morning, with her husband trailing behind. Two gunmen burst through a back door, pushed her to the floor and jumped Daniel Seifert in the entryway, hitting him in the head with a gun.
With her husband down, Emma tried to get into her office desk where there was a gun, but the drawer was locked and one of the gunmen herded her and her son into a bathroom, she told the jury.
She heard a gunshot and then heard nothing for a few seconds, told her son to stay put and went back to her desk, Emma said. She saw her husband running for his life across the factory parking lot -- the last time she would see him alive, she testified. Emma said she locked the office door and called police. Emma told jurors that her husband ran through another building, and one of the gunmen shot him. As he lay on the grass, a gunman came up to him and delivered a point-blank shot to his head, according to her testimony.
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
The Mob Turns Down the CIA
The CIA released classified documents Wednesday admitting that the spy agency once recruited mafia hit man Johnny Roselli to try to kill Fidel Castro. However, the gangster turned the U.S. government down. The mob won't get in bed with just anybody.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Mob Scion Admits No-Show Job Scam
Mob scion Anthony Colombo copped a plea to defrauding a Manhattan construction company, cutting his losses to avoid a retrial four months after a federal jury deadlocked on the charge.
The son of murdered mob boss Joseph Colombo, who ran an off-shoot crew with his brother, Chris Colombo, likely faces 18 months behind bars after he 'fessed up to landing a pal a no-show job at EDP Construction from 1999 to 2000. "I assisted Philip Dioguardi in obtaining a job with EDP entities knowing that he did not actually perform at all times the work he was paid for," Colombo said as he pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court yesterday.
The reputed wiseguy dodged conviction in February when a jury acquitted him of racketeering and extortion, and failed to reach a verdict on two additional extortion counts and conspiracy.
At the same trial, Chris, who gained notoriety in 2005 by filming the failed reality show "House Arrest" for HBO, was convicted on two counts of gambling. In his opening and closing statements, his defense attorney conceded Chris had committed those crimes, but the jury acquitted Chris of two extortion raps and deadlocked on racketeering and other charges. During trial testimony, EDP owner Dominick Fonti said he was also duped into putting Anthony Colombo on his payroll - knowing nothing about his mob ties - and then watched helplessly as his businesses were drained of cash.
Fonti said he doled out a weekly $600 salary to Colombo and more than $24,000 in bonuses, agreeing to make the checks out to gangster's wife, Carol.
The small-business owner claimed he eventually wised up to the fact he was dealing with a son of a murdered Mafia boss and thought to himself, "Boy, Dominick. You really got yourself in deep s- - - here."
Thanks to Kati Cornell
The son of murdered mob boss Joseph Colombo, who ran an off-shoot crew with his brother, Chris Colombo, likely faces 18 months behind bars after he 'fessed up to landing a pal a no-show job at EDP Construction from 1999 to 2000. "I assisted Philip Dioguardi in obtaining a job with EDP entities knowing that he did not actually perform at all times the work he was paid for," Colombo said as he pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court yesterday.
The reputed wiseguy dodged conviction in February when a jury acquitted him of racketeering and extortion, and failed to reach a verdict on two additional extortion counts and conspiracy.
At the same trial, Chris, who gained notoriety in 2005 by filming the failed reality show "House Arrest" for HBO, was convicted on two counts of gambling. In his opening and closing statements, his defense attorney conceded Chris had committed those crimes, but the jury acquitted Chris of two extortion raps and deadlocked on racketeering and other charges. During trial testimony, EDP owner Dominick Fonti said he was also duped into putting Anthony Colombo on his payroll - knowing nothing about his mob ties - and then watched helplessly as his businesses were drained of cash.
Fonti said he doled out a weekly $600 salary to Colombo and more than $24,000 in bonuses, agreeing to make the checks out to gangster's wife, Carol.
The small-business owner claimed he eventually wised up to the fact he was dealing with a son of a murdered Mafia boss and thought to himself, "Boy, Dominick. You really got yourself in deep s- - - here."
Thanks to Kati Cornell
Chicago Pizza, Mob Style
Friends of ours: Jim Colissimo, Al Capone, Murray "the Camel" Humphreys, Sam "Momo" Giancana, Tony "the Big Tuna" Accardo, "Little" Jimmy Marcello, Angelo "the Hook" Lapietra, Nicholas Ferriola, Frank Calabrese Sr.
This is one of the "family secrets" that federal authorities exposed during their covert investigation of Chicago outfit bosses. The Connie's connection is among the secrets that will be revealed during the government prosecution of five ranking hoodlums-- a secret that we can tell you about tonight.
From Colissimo to Capone, Murray "the Camel" Humphreys to Sam "Momo" Giancana, "the Big Tuna" to "Little" Jimmy, for a century the backbone of Chicago organized crime has been the street tax on criminal activities such as gambling, jewel heists, prostitution and peep shows.
As video from a hidden FBI camera shows, vice operators pay when outfit toughs come calling, if they want to stay in business and keep their legs intact. According to federal investigators, from 1980 until 2001, the late outfit boss Angelo "the Hook" Lapietra ordered shakedowns totaling more than $300,000. Lapietra's nickname is derived from the meat hook from which he would hang debtors. Mob enforcers Nicholas Ferriola and Frank Calabrese Sr. were among those who collected the street tax.
Sometimes, they even muscled legitimate businesses for street taxes: from Rush Street taverns to restaurants, including beloved Chicago pizza maker Connie's.
For two decades, authorities say the owner of Connie's Pizza, Jim Stolfe, paid an outfit street tax of $500 per month to hoodlum Frank Calabrese Sr. The FBI contends Connie's was an extortion victim, pay up or pay the price, but Calabrese Sr.'s lawyer says the FBI has it wrong. "Mr. Stolfe went to my client's son's wedding-that'a all I really have to say. That doesn't sound like a shakedown," said Joe Lopez, Calabrese Sr. lawyer.
Connie's original location is on 26th Street, the heart of the outfit's 26th Street Crew that controlled crime syndicate rackets from the Loop to Chinatown. According to Calabrese Sr.'s, attorney, the pizzeria would actually employ mobsters to follow these familiar looking home delivery vans, reporting back to Connie's owner which drivers were sleeping on the job. "They were friends. My client was employed there for a number of years. They were friends and they remain friends," Lopez said.
Federal authorities say the Connie's connection surfaced during a meeting at the old neighborhood Italian-American Club in Bridgeport during Operation Family Secrets. While Calabrese's son Frank Jr. was working undercover for the FBI, he secretly recorded a conversation at the Italian-American Club with club president Dominic "Captain D" Difazio. Prosecutors say the tape reveals Difazio delivering the monthly street tax payment to the mob, on behalf of Connie's, which was owned by Difazio's brother-in-law.
Difazio did not return phone calls from the I-Team. Last year, Jim Stolfe turned over the management of Connie's Pizza to his son Marc, who declined the I-Team's invitation to speak on camera but left this phone message: "I really can't say much of anything without running the risk of getting myself in trouble with one side or the other. I hope you understand."
The I-Team left several messages at the home of former Connie's boss Jim Stolfe but didn't hear back. His son says Stolfe is out of town. Also, the I-Team did not receive a reply from the lawyer for Nick Ferriola, who pleaded guilty last week to his role in the outfit extortions.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie
This is one of the "family secrets" that federal authorities exposed during their covert investigation of Chicago outfit bosses. The Connie's connection is among the secrets that will be revealed during the government prosecution of five ranking hoodlums-- a secret that we can tell you about tonight.
From Colissimo to Capone, Murray "the Camel" Humphreys to Sam "Momo" Giancana, "the Big Tuna" to "Little" Jimmy, for a century the backbone of Chicago organized crime has been the street tax on criminal activities such as gambling, jewel heists, prostitution and peep shows.
As video from a hidden FBI camera shows, vice operators pay when outfit toughs come calling, if they want to stay in business and keep their legs intact. According to federal investigators, from 1980 until 2001, the late outfit boss Angelo "the Hook" Lapietra ordered shakedowns totaling more than $300,000. Lapietra's nickname is derived from the meat hook from which he would hang debtors. Mob enforcers Nicholas Ferriola and Frank Calabrese Sr. were among those who collected the street tax.
Sometimes, they even muscled legitimate businesses for street taxes: from Rush Street taverns to restaurants, including beloved Chicago pizza maker Connie's.
For two decades, authorities say the owner of Connie's Pizza, Jim Stolfe, paid an outfit street tax of $500 per month to hoodlum Frank Calabrese Sr. The FBI contends Connie's was an extortion victim, pay up or pay the price, but Calabrese Sr.'s lawyer says the FBI has it wrong. "Mr. Stolfe went to my client's son's wedding-that'a all I really have to say. That doesn't sound like a shakedown," said Joe Lopez, Calabrese Sr. lawyer.
Connie's original location is on 26th Street, the heart of the outfit's 26th Street Crew that controlled crime syndicate rackets from the Loop to Chinatown. According to Calabrese Sr.'s, attorney, the pizzeria would actually employ mobsters to follow these familiar looking home delivery vans, reporting back to Connie's owner which drivers were sleeping on the job. "They were friends. My client was employed there for a number of years. They were friends and they remain friends," Lopez said.
Federal authorities say the Connie's connection surfaced during a meeting at the old neighborhood Italian-American Club in Bridgeport during Operation Family Secrets. While Calabrese's son Frank Jr. was working undercover for the FBI, he secretly recorded a conversation at the Italian-American Club with club president Dominic "Captain D" Difazio. Prosecutors say the tape reveals Difazio delivering the monthly street tax payment to the mob, on behalf of Connie's, which was owned by Difazio's brother-in-law.
Difazio did not return phone calls from the I-Team. Last year, Jim Stolfe turned over the management of Connie's Pizza to his son Marc, who declined the I-Team's invitation to speak on camera but left this phone message: "I really can't say much of anything without running the risk of getting myself in trouble with one side or the other. I hope you understand."
The I-Team left several messages at the home of former Connie's boss Jim Stolfe but didn't hear back. His son says Stolfe is out of town. Also, the I-Team did not receive a reply from the lawyer for Nick Ferriola, who pleaded guilty last week to his role in the outfit extortions.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie
Thursday, June 28, 2007
The Shark Attacks: Focus on the Daniel Seifert Murder
Attorney Joseph "The Shark" Lopez, who is representing Frank Calabrese Sr. in the Chicago Family Secrets Mob Trial, has agreed to provide us with updates on his observations and thoughts regarding the various court proceedings.
Today, Shark responds to the testimony powerful testimony of Emma Siefert, the widow of murder victim, Daniel Siefert.
Today, Shark responds to the testimony powerful testimony of Emma Siefert, the widow of murder victim, Daniel Siefert.
"Another long day in court focused on the (Daniel) Seifert murder. Mrs. (Emma) Seifert was on stand and said one time her husband put on a hood and grabbed a shotgun and went into the plastic shop and shot over the heads of his employees! Wow! Then she said one resembled Mr. Lombardo, but she did not tell anyone this for a few decades.
She described the day of her husband's demise. She called the police. Another witness saw it happen: there were two cars a brown Ford and white and blue Charger. They fled the scene. The chief of police of Elmhurst testified that he was a rookie on this day and that he was in a two man squad when they heard over the radio of the shooting. They went to a Pontiac dealer on Grand and the Ford pulled into the lot right past them. A few minutes later the blue Charger arrived. They must have froze because occupants exited the Ford and Charger and took off. Two squads chased and they got away!!
Imagine if they had caught the car, we would know who was in the car. The ford was recovered it was modified with a hot ignition and drilled air filter with switches to turn off lights, 007 Chi-town Ford style. One witness claimed that the passenger looked like the Ant! (Tony Spilotro). Another witness said a tall guy got out of ford and said hi and stated his car was ready. The squad car was in the same lot when this was happening. If it had been Chicago CPD they would have been blasting away!
Its hard to imagine how they did not get caught and we still do not know who was in the car, but the driver was good. It hit a car and kept going in and out of traffic right into North lake... We saw photos as Matt Lydon ex-Assistant United States Attorney described his case against Irv Weiner, Lombardo and others. After Seifert was gone, the case fell apart. All were aquitted. Case against defendant Lombardo was dropped.
Today all three prosecutors took turns. Defense lawyers were awake and not sleeping, Judge Zagel doing an excellent job of moving trial along at a good pace and he is always very pleasant to all." - Shark
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