The mob-linked head of a powerful contractors group goes on trial Tuesday in a case expected to dramatically demonstrate organized crime's grip on the city's construction unions.
Joseph (Rudy) Olivieri is the last of nine contracting bigwigs to face judgment in a case that's seen District Council of Carpenters chief Michael Forde and seven cohorts plead guilty this year.
Authorities say Olivieri, 55, is a Genovese crime family soldier who headed the Association of Wall-Ceiling & Carpentry Industries. The group represents 160 contractors who employ thousands of workers.
The trial centers on Olivieri's group, which is a force in several unions, and his role in a plot to steal millions from the carpenters' benefit funds.
Prosecutors say he took orders from mob capo Louis Moscatiello, who ran the crime family's construction rackets in the city. Moscatiello was set to testify against Olivieri but died last year in prison while serving time for a 2004 racketeering case.
Prosecutors have massed a parade of mobsters, ex-union officials, crooked contractors and FBI agents to show how the mob infests unions, rips off their benefit funds and pockets kickbacks to let contractors use cheap, nonunion labor.
Reputed Genovese associate Joseph Rizzuto, ex-business agent of Operating Engineers Local 14, has fingered Olivieri as the mob's "contact person" in the union in the late 1990s. Rizzuto is set to tell the jury how Olivieri "threatened" him and summoned him to a meeting at a LaGuardia Airport hotel after he balked at putting Moscatiello's pick in a top union post.
Jurors also are expected to hear a 2004 recording of capo John (Buster) Ardito and several wiseguys identifying Olivieri as "a friend of Louis" with ties to longtime labor racketeer Vincent DiNapoli.
At a hearing yesterday, defense lawyer Brian Gardner tried to bar prosecutors from using sworn testimony Olivieri gave in a related civil case without warning him he was a criminal target.
Manhattan Federal Judge Victor Marrero decided Olivieri will be tried first only for perjury, one of five counts against him.
Thanks to Brian Kates
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Sam Giancana's Life Could become TV Series
Legendary Chicago mobster Sam Giancana could soon get the TV series treatment. Ted Field and his Radar Pictures shingle have pacted with Dimitri Logothetis and Nicholas Celozzi to turn Giancana's life story into a drama. Radar, Logothetis and Celozzi are looking first for international financing and distribution before turning their attention to finding a U.S. partner. A deal is imminent, the trio said.
Giancana ran the Chicago mob -- known as "the Outfit" -- from the 1950s to the 1970s, when he was forced out of power and exiled to Mexico. Upon his return, Giancana became an informant for the FBI but was assassinated in his home. Giancana's murder has never been solved.
Giancana was also a widower raising three daughters. Celozzi secured Giancana's life rights from daughters Bonnie and Francine, who also happen to be Celozzi's cousins.
Logothetis and Celozzi will write and exec produce. The duo's credits include recent Lifetime telepic "The Lost Angel."
Logothetis' other credits include "Code Name Eternity," "Dark Realm" and "Stephen King's Sleepwalkers." He also directed HBO's "Body Shot." Celozzi has written indie features such as "Quiet Kill" and "A Fine Step."
Giancana story also hits home for Field, who formerly owned the Chicago Sun-Times, as well as Kaiser Broadcasting and Interscope Communications. As a producer, Field was behind "The Invention of Lying," "Jumanji," "The Last Samurai" and "Runaway Bride."
Thanks to Michael Schneider
Giancana ran the Chicago mob -- known as "the Outfit" -- from the 1950s to the 1970s, when he was forced out of power and exiled to Mexico. Upon his return, Giancana became an informant for the FBI but was assassinated in his home. Giancana's murder has never been solved.
Giancana was also a widower raising three daughters. Celozzi secured Giancana's life rights from daughters Bonnie and Francine, who also happen to be Celozzi's cousins.
Logothetis and Celozzi will write and exec produce. The duo's credits include recent Lifetime telepic "The Lost Angel."
Logothetis' other credits include "Code Name Eternity," "Dark Realm" and "Stephen King's Sleepwalkers." He also directed HBO's "Body Shot." Celozzi has written indie features such as "Quiet Kill" and "A Fine Step."
Giancana story also hits home for Field, who formerly owned the Chicago Sun-Times, as well as Kaiser Broadcasting and Interscope Communications. As a producer, Field was behind "The Invention of Lying," "Jumanji," "The Last Samurai" and "Runaway Bride."
Thanks to Michael Schneider
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Armenian Organized Crime Mobsters Target Medicare Scams Along with Credit Card Fraud, Identity Theft and Mortgage Fraud
Endeavor Diagnostics billed itself as a thriving medical laboratory that performed more than $1 million of work for Medicare patients.
When two FBI agents went to inspect it, they found an empty San Fernando Valley office with only a desk and a fax machine. There were no workers, no patients and no biological samples.
Behind the door of the facade were signs tying the operation to a sprawling network of phantom enterprises allegedly set up by Armenian mobsters to try to defraud Medicare of $163 million for services never provided.
Dozens of arrests around the country Wednesday highlighted a criminal demographic rarely seen, but one that officials say is rooted in California and growing in reach and sophistication.
"They are victimizing our systems, they are victimizing business, they are victimizing private citizens," said Glendale police Lt. Steve Davey, who heads up a task force tackling Eurasian crime. "Their ultimate goal is oligarchy - to see if they can infiltrate government."
Few criminal groups can match the sophistication of Armenian scammers, who developed an uncanny savvy for probing weaknesses in government systems and were hailed as heroes when they exploited their Soviet republic homeland, authorities said. They have been known for devising complex white collar schemes such as credit card fraud, identity theft and mortgage fraud.
Indictments released Wednesday in Los Angeles, New York and elsewhere show how various cells, largely working on their own but often sharing techniques, set up fraudulent medical businesses using stolen physician identities. After becoming licensed Medicare providers and submitting claims, the fake office billed the government, which would pay money to fraudulent bank accounts. Many claims were bogus but sometimes criminals would provide a small service then submit an inflated bill.
In Los Angeles, for example, they would provide a scooter worth about $1,000, but profit after billing Medicare for a top-end electric wheelchair worth six times as much, FBI Supervisory Special Agent Matt McLaughlin said.
The groups have been known to recruit people with a nominal sum to become a fake patient, then bill Medicare for services supposedly rendered.
"It's great camouflage," McLaughlin said. "We have to deconstruct each element to prove a fraud."
Prosecutors also allege that conspirators paid corrupt doctors to carry out unnecessary testing on purported accident victims, then charged the government for the treatment.
In all, $163 million in fraudulent bills were submitted, with Medicare actually paying out $35 million, according to the documents.
The complex operation was allegedly overseen by Armen Kazarian, who melded into Glendale's large Armenian population after arriving as an asylum seeker in 1996 and mostly stayed out of view of the police. Kazarian, 46, who is in custody in Los Angeles, is known by the Soviet term "thief in law," which is the rough equivalent of a "godfather." Authorities say it is only the second time such a figure, known in Russian as a "vor v zakone," has been arrested in the U.S.
Nearly half of Glendale's 200,000 residents have an Armenian background. Following the 1915 massacre of Armenians in Turkey, a diaspora spread around the globe, with many arriving in Fresno and the East Coast.
Successive waves of immigrants followed major geopolitical upheavals, including the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, and a small Armenian community in Hollywood quickly expanded to Glendale and the surrounding areas
In the mid-1980s, sons of Armenian immigrants from the Hollywood area banded together to form a gang called Armenian Power to protect themselves against Hispanic gangs. The community initially saw members as vigilante protectors but the group soon morphed into a street gang like any other, carrying out drive-by shootings and other crimes such as kidnappings, drug deals and burglaries, Glendale Officer Rafael Quintero said. But most crime in the Armenian community is carried out quietly and centers on sophisticated identity theft schemes. Police started picking up on these activities at the end of the 1990s and Glendale's task force was established in 2000, Davey said.
Several police agencies have task forces focused on Eurasian crime but Los Angeles police Lt. Stephen Margolis said this operation illustrates how the law enforcement community overall should pay closer attention.
"The sophistication and the pervasiveness of this type of criminal activity is years in the making," Margolis said. "Hopefully this will serve as a wake up to the extent of the seriousness this problem presents at a national level."
Zaven Kazazian, president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Armenian-American Chamber of Commerce, said much of the crime in the community is carried out by people raised under communist rule in the former Soviet republic of Armenia, where exploiting a corrupt government was seen as fair game. "It is a different cultural background," Kazazian said. "Everybody was out for themselves."
Kazazian stressed that only a handful of Armenians are engaged in criminal enterprises and cautioned against making generalizations. "We are embarrassed by it and we do not have any affiliation with them. They do not represent the true Armenian people," he said. "It's like saying all Italians are part of the Mafia. That's just stupid."
Prosecutors say the crime ring was known as the Mirzoyan-Terdjanian Organization, named after its principal leaders Davit Mirzoyan, 34, of Glendale and Robert Terdjanian, 35, of Brooklyn.
Most of the 44 people charged are from the Los Angeles area and New York but arrests were also made in Georgia, New Mexico and Ohio.
The seven defendants named in the Los Angeles indictment have all pleaded not guilty. Defendants named in the New York portion of the case had either pleaded not guilty or were due to be arraigned Monday.
A call to Kazarian's defense attorney, Vicken Hagopian, was not immediately returned Friday.
As the "thief-in-law" of the operation, Kazarian was touted by authorities as the big catch. But the role of such "vor v zakones" is more subtle than that of a Mafia boss, Lt. Davey said.
Armenian crime bosses typically are nominated by other criminals and their main task is to mediate disputes between groups. Though they describe no actual violence, authorities allege Kazarian helped the Mirzoyan-Terdjanian Organization and would use threats to resolve disputes in the U.S., Armenia and other places.
Armenia has said it will cooperate with the U.S. in its investigation and Foreign Ministry spokesman Tigran Balayan has said his nation was sorry.
Thanks to Thomas Watkins
When two FBI agents went to inspect it, they found an empty San Fernando Valley office with only a desk and a fax machine. There were no workers, no patients and no biological samples.
Behind the door of the facade were signs tying the operation to a sprawling network of phantom enterprises allegedly set up by Armenian mobsters to try to defraud Medicare of $163 million for services never provided.
Dozens of arrests around the country Wednesday highlighted a criminal demographic rarely seen, but one that officials say is rooted in California and growing in reach and sophistication.
"They are victimizing our systems, they are victimizing business, they are victimizing private citizens," said Glendale police Lt. Steve Davey, who heads up a task force tackling Eurasian crime. "Their ultimate goal is oligarchy - to see if they can infiltrate government."
Few criminal groups can match the sophistication of Armenian scammers, who developed an uncanny savvy for probing weaknesses in government systems and were hailed as heroes when they exploited their Soviet republic homeland, authorities said. They have been known for devising complex white collar schemes such as credit card fraud, identity theft and mortgage fraud.
Indictments released Wednesday in Los Angeles, New York and elsewhere show how various cells, largely working on their own but often sharing techniques, set up fraudulent medical businesses using stolen physician identities. After becoming licensed Medicare providers and submitting claims, the fake office billed the government, which would pay money to fraudulent bank accounts. Many claims were bogus but sometimes criminals would provide a small service then submit an inflated bill.
In Los Angeles, for example, they would provide a scooter worth about $1,000, but profit after billing Medicare for a top-end electric wheelchair worth six times as much, FBI Supervisory Special Agent Matt McLaughlin said.
The groups have been known to recruit people with a nominal sum to become a fake patient, then bill Medicare for services supposedly rendered.
"It's great camouflage," McLaughlin said. "We have to deconstruct each element to prove a fraud."
Prosecutors also allege that conspirators paid corrupt doctors to carry out unnecessary testing on purported accident victims, then charged the government for the treatment.
In all, $163 million in fraudulent bills were submitted, with Medicare actually paying out $35 million, according to the documents.
The complex operation was allegedly overseen by Armen Kazarian, who melded into Glendale's large Armenian population after arriving as an asylum seeker in 1996 and mostly stayed out of view of the police. Kazarian, 46, who is in custody in Los Angeles, is known by the Soviet term "thief in law," which is the rough equivalent of a "godfather." Authorities say it is only the second time such a figure, known in Russian as a "vor v zakone," has been arrested in the U.S.
Nearly half of Glendale's 200,000 residents have an Armenian background. Following the 1915 massacre of Armenians in Turkey, a diaspora spread around the globe, with many arriving in Fresno and the East Coast.
Successive waves of immigrants followed major geopolitical upheavals, including the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, and a small Armenian community in Hollywood quickly expanded to Glendale and the surrounding areas
In the mid-1980s, sons of Armenian immigrants from the Hollywood area banded together to form a gang called Armenian Power to protect themselves against Hispanic gangs. The community initially saw members as vigilante protectors but the group soon morphed into a street gang like any other, carrying out drive-by shootings and other crimes such as kidnappings, drug deals and burglaries, Glendale Officer Rafael Quintero said. But most crime in the Armenian community is carried out quietly and centers on sophisticated identity theft schemes. Police started picking up on these activities at the end of the 1990s and Glendale's task force was established in 2000, Davey said.
Several police agencies have task forces focused on Eurasian crime but Los Angeles police Lt. Stephen Margolis said this operation illustrates how the law enforcement community overall should pay closer attention.
"The sophistication and the pervasiveness of this type of criminal activity is years in the making," Margolis said. "Hopefully this will serve as a wake up to the extent of the seriousness this problem presents at a national level."
Zaven Kazazian, president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Armenian-American Chamber of Commerce, said much of the crime in the community is carried out by people raised under communist rule in the former Soviet republic of Armenia, where exploiting a corrupt government was seen as fair game. "It is a different cultural background," Kazazian said. "Everybody was out for themselves."
Kazazian stressed that only a handful of Armenians are engaged in criminal enterprises and cautioned against making generalizations. "We are embarrassed by it and we do not have any affiliation with them. They do not represent the true Armenian people," he said. "It's like saying all Italians are part of the Mafia. That's just stupid."
Prosecutors say the crime ring was known as the Mirzoyan-Terdjanian Organization, named after its principal leaders Davit Mirzoyan, 34, of Glendale and Robert Terdjanian, 35, of Brooklyn.
Most of the 44 people charged are from the Los Angeles area and New York but arrests were also made in Georgia, New Mexico and Ohio.
The seven defendants named in the Los Angeles indictment have all pleaded not guilty. Defendants named in the New York portion of the case had either pleaded not guilty or were due to be arraigned Monday.
A call to Kazarian's defense attorney, Vicken Hagopian, was not immediately returned Friday.
As the "thief-in-law" of the operation, Kazarian was touted by authorities as the big catch. But the role of such "vor v zakones" is more subtle than that of a Mafia boss, Lt. Davey said.
Armenian crime bosses typically are nominated by other criminals and their main task is to mediate disputes between groups. Though they describe no actual violence, authorities allege Kazarian helped the Mirzoyan-Terdjanian Organization and would use threats to resolve disputes in the U.S., Armenia and other places.
Armenia has said it will cooperate with the U.S. in its investigation and Foreign Ministry spokesman Tigran Balayan has said his nation was sorry.
Thanks to Thomas Watkins
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Reputed Mafia Godfather, Armen Kazarian, Alleged to Have Led Massive Medicare Cheating Scam
A vast network of Armenian gangsters and their associates used phantom health care clinics and other means to try to cheat Medicare out of $163 million, the largest fraud by one criminal enterprise in the program's history, U.S. authorities said Wednesday.
Federal prosecutors in New York and elsewhere charged 73 people. Most of the defendants were captured during raids Wednesday morning in New York City and Los Angeles, but there also were arrests in New Mexico, Georgia and Ohio.
The scheme's scope and sophistication "puts the traditional Mafia to shame," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said at a Manhattan news conference. "They ran a veritable fraud franchise."
Unlike other cases involving crooked medical clinics bribing people to sign up for unneeded treatments, the operation was "completely notional," Janice Fedarcyk, head of the FBI's New York office, said in a statement. "The whole doctor-patient interaction was a mirage."
The operation was under the protection of an Armenian crime boss, known in the former Soviet Union as a "vor," prosecutors said. The reputed boss, Armen Kazarian, was in custody in Los Angeles.
Bharara said it was the first time a vor — "the rough equivalent of a traditional godfather" — had been charged in a U.S. racketeering case.
Kazarian, 46, of Glendale, Calif., and two alleged ringleaders — Davit Mirzoyan, 34, also of Glendale, and Robert Terdjanian, 35, of Brooklyn — were named in an indictment charging racketeering conspiracy, bank fraud, money laundering and identity theft.
The indictment accused Terdjanian and others of hatching other schemes involving stolen credit cards, untaxed cigarettes and counterfeit Viagra. It also alleges that during a meeting last year at a Brighton Beach restaurant, Terdjanian pulled a knife on someone who owed him money "and threatened to disembowel the individual if the debt was not paid."
A judge jailed Terdjanian without bail on Wednesday at a brief hearing. Afterward, his attorney said his client denies the charges.
Kazarian and Mirzoyan were scheduled to appear in court Wednesday in Los Angeles.
Authorities began the New York-based investigation after information on 2,900 Medicare patients in upstate New York — including Social Security numbers and dates of birth — were reported stolen.
The defendants in the New York case also had stolen the identities of doctors and set up 118 phantom clinics in 25 states, authorities said. The names were used to submit fake bills for care that was never given, they said.
Some of the phony paperwork was a giveaway: It showed eye doctors doing bladder tests; ear, nose and throat specialists performing pregnancy ultrasounds; obstetricians testing for skin allergies; and dermatologists billing for heart exams.
In the New York portion of the case, more $100 million in fraudulent bills were submitted and Medicare paid out at least $35 million, sometimes by wiring it to the clinics' banks accounts, investigators said.
Most of the defendants "were Armenian nationals or immigrants and many maintained substantial ties to Armenia" and criminals there, the indictment said. Couriers would often carry cash proceeds from the fraud back to Armenia, it added.
Prosecutors were seeking forfeiture of real estate in Las Vegas; Palm Springs, Calif.; and elsewhere, and of a 2007 Maserati and a 2006 Jaguar.
Thanks to Tom Hays
Federal prosecutors in New York and elsewhere charged 73 people. Most of the defendants were captured during raids Wednesday morning in New York City and Los Angeles, but there also were arrests in New Mexico, Georgia and Ohio.
The scheme's scope and sophistication "puts the traditional Mafia to shame," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said at a Manhattan news conference. "They ran a veritable fraud franchise."
Unlike other cases involving crooked medical clinics bribing people to sign up for unneeded treatments, the operation was "completely notional," Janice Fedarcyk, head of the FBI's New York office, said in a statement. "The whole doctor-patient interaction was a mirage."
The operation was under the protection of an Armenian crime boss, known in the former Soviet Union as a "vor," prosecutors said. The reputed boss, Armen Kazarian, was in custody in Los Angeles.
Bharara said it was the first time a vor — "the rough equivalent of a traditional godfather" — had been charged in a U.S. racketeering case.
Kazarian, 46, of Glendale, Calif., and two alleged ringleaders — Davit Mirzoyan, 34, also of Glendale, and Robert Terdjanian, 35, of Brooklyn — were named in an indictment charging racketeering conspiracy, bank fraud, money laundering and identity theft.
The indictment accused Terdjanian and others of hatching other schemes involving stolen credit cards, untaxed cigarettes and counterfeit Viagra. It also alleges that during a meeting last year at a Brighton Beach restaurant, Terdjanian pulled a knife on someone who owed him money "and threatened to disembowel the individual if the debt was not paid."
A judge jailed Terdjanian without bail on Wednesday at a brief hearing. Afterward, his attorney said his client denies the charges.
Kazarian and Mirzoyan were scheduled to appear in court Wednesday in Los Angeles.
Authorities began the New York-based investigation after information on 2,900 Medicare patients in upstate New York — including Social Security numbers and dates of birth — were reported stolen.
The defendants in the New York case also had stolen the identities of doctors and set up 118 phantom clinics in 25 states, authorities said. The names were used to submit fake bills for care that was never given, they said.
Some of the phony paperwork was a giveaway: It showed eye doctors doing bladder tests; ear, nose and throat specialists performing pregnancy ultrasounds; obstetricians testing for skin allergies; and dermatologists billing for heart exams.
In the New York portion of the case, more $100 million in fraudulent bills were submitted and Medicare paid out at least $35 million, sometimes by wiring it to the clinics' banks accounts, investigators said.
Most of the defendants "were Armenian nationals or immigrants and many maintained substantial ties to Armenia" and criminals there, the indictment said. Couriers would often carry cash proceeds from the fraud back to Armenia, it added.
Prosecutors were seeking forfeiture of real estate in Las Vegas; Palm Springs, Calif.; and elsewhere, and of a 2007 Maserati and a 2006 Jaguar.
Thanks to Tom Hays
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Mafia Princess Challenges Coco Giancana to Take a DNA Test to Prove She's Granddaughter of Sam Giancana
The daughter of assassinated Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana is challenging a Las Vegas woman to take a DNA test to prove she's Giancana's granddaughter.
Antoinette "Mafia Princess" Giancana, one of the mobster's three daughters, said she does not believe the claim by Coco Giancana, who identified herself as a granddaughter during a Tony Curtis-related interview last week with Vegas Confidential.
"This has really been upsetting to me and my sisters," said Antoinette Giancana, who moved from Chicago to Las Vegas about 14 months ago to be involved in the Las Vegas Mob Experience at the Tropicana . She added, "We don't know her or of her. I'd like to have a DNA test done. I just don't believe it."
Coco Giancana, who operates a local concierge service, said, "I don't have to prove anything to anybody. If she doesn't like it, that's tough."
According to Coco Giancana, Sam Giancana had an affair with a woman from Oak Park, Ill., who was a film star. "They had a baby. That was my mother."
The mobster visited the family home more than 100 times, said Coco Giancana. "I know where my mother came from and I know who came to our house and I know where the checks came from."
Coco Giancana moved here about 20 years ago, she said, after a career as a top model in New York City for Wilhelmina modeling agency. She grew up across from Jilly Rizzo's joint in New York and was befriended by Rizzo and Sam Giancana's friend Frank Sinatra, "who would take us backstage when I was 16."
Sam Giancana was killed at his Chicago home in 1975 in what appeared to be a mob hit. He was 67.
"There are so many people who claim they are related to us," said Antoinette Giancana.
Coco Giancana said she kept her grandfather's name "because I'm proud of it." She added that she's never taken a DNA test to confirm her link to the organized crime chief.
Her father, whom she did not identify, was a partner with Arnie Morton, who founded Morton's steak restaurants empire. She wasn't shy about filling in the blanks in her biography. During her modeling days, she said she dated the Cincinnati Reds' Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench over a 10-year period starting in the 1970s.
Thanks to Norm!
Antoinette "Mafia Princess" Giancana, one of the mobster's three daughters, said she does not believe the claim by Coco Giancana, who identified herself as a granddaughter during a Tony Curtis-related interview last week with Vegas Confidential.
"This has really been upsetting to me and my sisters," said Antoinette Giancana, who moved from Chicago to Las Vegas about 14 months ago to be involved in the Las Vegas Mob Experience at the Tropicana . She added, "We don't know her or of her. I'd like to have a DNA test done. I just don't believe it."
Coco Giancana, who operates a local concierge service, said, "I don't have to prove anything to anybody. If she doesn't like it, that's tough."
According to Coco Giancana, Sam Giancana had an affair with a woman from Oak Park, Ill., who was a film star. "They had a baby. That was my mother."
The mobster visited the family home more than 100 times, said Coco Giancana. "I know where my mother came from and I know who came to our house and I know where the checks came from."
Coco Giancana moved here about 20 years ago, she said, after a career as a top model in New York City for Wilhelmina modeling agency. She grew up across from Jilly Rizzo's joint in New York and was befriended by Rizzo and Sam Giancana's friend Frank Sinatra, "who would take us backstage when I was 16."
Sam Giancana was killed at his Chicago home in 1975 in what appeared to be a mob hit. He was 67.
"There are so many people who claim they are related to us," said Antoinette Giancana.
Coco Giancana said she kept her grandfather's name "because I'm proud of it." She added that she's never taken a DNA test to confirm her link to the organized crime chief.
Her father, whom she did not identify, was a partner with Arnie Morton, who founded Morton's steak restaurants empire. She wasn't shy about filling in the blanks in her biography. During her modeling days, she said she dated the Cincinnati Reds' Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench over a 10-year period starting in the 1970s.
Thanks to Norm!
Monday, October 11, 2010
"To Kill the Irishman: The War that Crippled the Mafia" Motivation for 2 Movies on Irish Gangster Danny Greene
Embezzlement, racketeering, mob enforcer, suspected killer … it’s no wonder Irish-American mobster Danny Greene was blown to bits by a car bomb on Oct. 6, 1977. But with gangsters from Chicago to New York making headlines for decades, the vast criminal enterprises in Ohio, in which Greene was instrumental until his death, have garnered few national headlines over the years.
As a student at Ohio State University, Manhattan Beach resident Tommy Reid, who grew up in north New Jersey, had heard stories about the nearly mythic figure of Greene from his friend who grew up in Cleveland. Back in 1995, when the Internet wasn’t a dominant source for research, Reid found little information about Greene. After he graduated and moved to L.A., he heard Greene was going to be a subject of a book. He hunted down its author, Rick Porrello, and eventually optioned the book, “To Kill the Irishman: The War that Crippled the Mafia,” in 1997.
After a long and winding road, two films that Reid produced about Greene will be released early next year. One is a documentary, “Danny Greene: The Rise and Fall of the Irishman,” and the other a feature film, “Kill the Irishman,” starring Ray Stevenson (HBO’s “Rome”), Christopher Walken, Vincent D’Onofrio, Val Kilmer, Paul Sorvino and Linda Cardellini. Anchor Bay, a division of Starz Media, is planning to release the film in North America, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand in early 2011.
While struggling to come up with funds for the feature film for 10 years, Reid said he became so specialized in his life history during his research that he tackled the documentary. He already had a screenplay that he had hired a writer (Jeremy Walters) to adapt the book into a feature, but the documentary seemed the best option in the hopes of bringing to light his aspirations in making a feature film.
“I had over 18 hours of interviews from all of these prominent figures that have had relationships with Danny Greene, his wife, a cop who went against him, the attorney who represented the mafia, a hitman who went after him, I had access to all of these guys and they were aging. Even since I made the documentary, a couple of the people have already passed away from natural causes. So Danny Greene was becoming an urban legend will in Cleveland.”
But the script began circulating and “got to the top shelf of Hollywood.” A “bankable” director, lead and supporting cast were attracted and Reid partnered with Code Entertainment. “Kill the Irishman” was filmed last year in Detroit, doubling for Cleveland, in an effort to get 40 percent in tax incentives.
Reid was still shooting his documentary when “Kill the Irishman” started filming in Detroit last year. The main challenge was raising money for post-production in order to get the highest quality facility to reach his vision. By putting production costs on a credit card and with the help of family money and a couple of private investors, one being Hermosa Beach resident William Fletcher, that project was finished. He said there are three different perspectives in the documentary - the Irish, Italian and the government side of the story. The other challenge was creating a compelling narrative so audiences would sit through an hour documentary on the life of a little-known figure. But Reid feels that Greene’s life story is compelling enough for two films.
According to Reid, “Kill the Irishman” chronicles the rise and fall of Greene, who muscled in on the Italian mob in 1970s Cleveland and set off a turf war that ravaged the streets of Cleveland and led to the collapse of the Mafia in a number of U.S. cities, including Kansas City, St. Louis, Detroit and Los Angeles.
Greene, a former Marine, rose to prominence in the early 1960s in the International Longshoreman’s Association. Kicked out for embezzling union funds, he soon became a henchman for mobsters like Alex “Shondor” Birns, who had his own rap sheet of extortion, murder and more. After a money dispute, Birns reportedly put a hit on Greene and had a bomb planted in his car, but he discovered it before it took his life. Soon after, Greene, who survived numerous assassination attempts, was suspected of planting a bomb in Birns’ car, killing him. A few years later, Teamster official John Nardi, an associate of Greene’s, was blown up, followed a few months later by Greene, after a dentist appointment in Lyndhurst, Ohio. The Cleveland Mafia, who had conflicts for many years with Greene, was reportedly responsible for the deaths.
“When you hear something about Ohio and Cleveland … why would they have the mafia there?” Reid said. “You find out that Cleveland is such a big hub for the boats coming out of the Great Lakes, down through the distribution centers of the Mississippi and all the way through all the other distribution and out to the west from Ohio … there’s lot of cargo coming off these big ships.”
Reid added, “It’s not just Cleveland. It’s Youngstown, Toledo, which leads you into Detroit. Those four cities, that’s a wide area of mafia. That’s equivalent of what you would think of the New York crime families, all the families that had their hands into organized crime. Cleveland was an area that never really got as much exposure as the eastern cities did, Boston and New York.”
With his vast criminal past, Reid said one thing he was surprised about when it came to the contradictory life of Greene was this almost Robin Hood-type figure and how much he “would extract just to give back.”
“He would take the money he would make ... and he would give it out to his neighborhood,” Reid said. “He would pay for kid’s braces that needed dental work. He would buy groceries for struggling families that couldn’t put food on the table.”
Thanks to Michael Hixon
As a student at Ohio State University, Manhattan Beach resident Tommy Reid, who grew up in north New Jersey, had heard stories about the nearly mythic figure of Greene from his friend who grew up in Cleveland. Back in 1995, when the Internet wasn’t a dominant source for research, Reid found little information about Greene. After he graduated and moved to L.A., he heard Greene was going to be a subject of a book. He hunted down its author, Rick Porrello, and eventually optioned the book, “To Kill the Irishman: The War that Crippled the Mafia,” in 1997.
After a long and winding road, two films that Reid produced about Greene will be released early next year. One is a documentary, “Danny Greene: The Rise and Fall of the Irishman,” and the other a feature film, “Kill the Irishman,” starring Ray Stevenson (HBO’s “Rome”), Christopher Walken, Vincent D’Onofrio, Val Kilmer, Paul Sorvino and Linda Cardellini. Anchor Bay, a division of Starz Media, is planning to release the film in North America, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand in early 2011.
While struggling to come up with funds for the feature film for 10 years, Reid said he became so specialized in his life history during his research that he tackled the documentary. He already had a screenplay that he had hired a writer (Jeremy Walters) to adapt the book into a feature, but the documentary seemed the best option in the hopes of bringing to light his aspirations in making a feature film.
“I had over 18 hours of interviews from all of these prominent figures that have had relationships with Danny Greene, his wife, a cop who went against him, the attorney who represented the mafia, a hitman who went after him, I had access to all of these guys and they were aging. Even since I made the documentary, a couple of the people have already passed away from natural causes. So Danny Greene was becoming an urban legend will in Cleveland.”
But the script began circulating and “got to the top shelf of Hollywood.” A “bankable” director, lead and supporting cast were attracted and Reid partnered with Code Entertainment. “Kill the Irishman” was filmed last year in Detroit, doubling for Cleveland, in an effort to get 40 percent in tax incentives.
Reid was still shooting his documentary when “Kill the Irishman” started filming in Detroit last year. The main challenge was raising money for post-production in order to get the highest quality facility to reach his vision. By putting production costs on a credit card and with the help of family money and a couple of private investors, one being Hermosa Beach resident William Fletcher, that project was finished. He said there are three different perspectives in the documentary - the Irish, Italian and the government side of the story. The other challenge was creating a compelling narrative so audiences would sit through an hour documentary on the life of a little-known figure. But Reid feels that Greene’s life story is compelling enough for two films.
According to Reid, “Kill the Irishman” chronicles the rise and fall of Greene, who muscled in on the Italian mob in 1970s Cleveland and set off a turf war that ravaged the streets of Cleveland and led to the collapse of the Mafia in a number of U.S. cities, including Kansas City, St. Louis, Detroit and Los Angeles.
Greene, a former Marine, rose to prominence in the early 1960s in the International Longshoreman’s Association. Kicked out for embezzling union funds, he soon became a henchman for mobsters like Alex “Shondor” Birns, who had his own rap sheet of extortion, murder and more. After a money dispute, Birns reportedly put a hit on Greene and had a bomb planted in his car, but he discovered it before it took his life. Soon after, Greene, who survived numerous assassination attempts, was suspected of planting a bomb in Birns’ car, killing him. A few years later, Teamster official John Nardi, an associate of Greene’s, was blown up, followed a few months later by Greene, after a dentist appointment in Lyndhurst, Ohio. The Cleveland Mafia, who had conflicts for many years with Greene, was reportedly responsible for the deaths.
“When you hear something about Ohio and Cleveland … why would they have the mafia there?” Reid said. “You find out that Cleveland is such a big hub for the boats coming out of the Great Lakes, down through the distribution centers of the Mississippi and all the way through all the other distribution and out to the west from Ohio … there’s lot of cargo coming off these big ships.”
Reid added, “It’s not just Cleveland. It’s Youngstown, Toledo, which leads you into Detroit. Those four cities, that’s a wide area of mafia. That’s equivalent of what you would think of the New York crime families, all the families that had their hands into organized crime. Cleveland was an area that never really got as much exposure as the eastern cities did, Boston and New York.”
With his vast criminal past, Reid said one thing he was surprised about when it came to the contradictory life of Greene was this almost Robin Hood-type figure and how much he “would extract just to give back.”
“He would take the money he would make ... and he would give it out to his neighborhood,” Reid said. “He would pay for kid’s braces that needed dental work. He would buy groceries for struggling families that couldn’t put food on the table.”
Thanks to Michael Hixon
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Chicago Drug Fugitives Arrested in Mexico
Two former Chicago residents with ties to a sophisticated drug operation who had been on the run from law enforcement for nearly a decade, were located and arrested earlier this week in Mexico, announced Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Jody P. Weis, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department (CPD).
JUAN CARLOS DURAN, age 34, who is also known as “Psycho” and his common law wife, DIONNE GARCIA, age 33, both of whom were last known to reside at 2955 West 40th Street in Chicago, were arrested without incident on Tuesday, October 5th, near Tijuana, Mexico, by members of the Policia Estatal Preventiva (PEP), an international liaison and enforcement unit.
DURAN and GARCIA have been the subjects of an international manhunt, coordinated by the Chicago FBI’s Joint Task Force on Gangs (JTFG), since late 2001 when both were charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago with violation of Federal drug laws. DURAN was charged with possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute (PCP) and conspiracy while GARCIA was charged with conspiracy.
DURAN and GARCIA were among 52 people charged in connection with an investigation code named “Operation Blue Water”, which targeted a Chicago based street gang that manufactured and distributed PCP in Chicago and northwest Indiana. DURAN eluded arrest at the time the charges were filed while GARCIA fled after being released on bond following her arrest.
The arrest of DURAN and GARCIA was the result of a tip provided by a viewer of the television show “America’s Most Wanted” who saw DURAN and GARCIA featured during a recent episode. Further investigation by the Chicago JTFG, with the assistance of FBI Agents assigned to the Resolution Six initiative in Tijuana and Mexican authorities, ultimately resulted in the location of DURAN and GARCIA and their subsequent arrest.
DURAN and GARCIA were turned over to FBI Agents in San Diego, late yesterday. They are scheduled to have their initial court appearance later this afternoon, prior to their eventual return to Chicago to face the outstanding charges.
The Chicago FBI’s Joint Task Force on Gangs is comprised of FBI Special Agents and Gang Crimes Officers from the Chicago Police Department.
JUAN CARLOS DURAN, age 34, who is also known as “Psycho” and his common law wife, DIONNE GARCIA, age 33, both of whom were last known to reside at 2955 West 40th Street in Chicago, were arrested without incident on Tuesday, October 5th, near Tijuana, Mexico, by members of the Policia Estatal Preventiva (PEP), an international liaison and enforcement unit.
DURAN and GARCIA have been the subjects of an international manhunt, coordinated by the Chicago FBI’s Joint Task Force on Gangs (JTFG), since late 2001 when both were charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago with violation of Federal drug laws. DURAN was charged with possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute (PCP) and conspiracy while GARCIA was charged with conspiracy.
DURAN and GARCIA were among 52 people charged in connection with an investigation code named “Operation Blue Water”, which targeted a Chicago based street gang that manufactured and distributed PCP in Chicago and northwest Indiana. DURAN eluded arrest at the time the charges were filed while GARCIA fled after being released on bond following her arrest.
The arrest of DURAN and GARCIA was the result of a tip provided by a viewer of the television show “America’s Most Wanted” who saw DURAN and GARCIA featured during a recent episode. Further investigation by the Chicago JTFG, with the assistance of FBI Agents assigned to the Resolution Six initiative in Tijuana and Mexican authorities, ultimately resulted in the location of DURAN and GARCIA and their subsequent arrest.
DURAN and GARCIA were turned over to FBI Agents in San Diego, late yesterday. They are scheduled to have their initial court appearance later this afternoon, prior to their eventual return to Chicago to face the outstanding charges.
The Chicago FBI’s Joint Task Force on Gangs is comprised of FBI Special Agents and Gang Crimes Officers from the Chicago Police Department.
Saturday, October 02, 2010
Angelo "The Hook" LaPietra's Family Receives Discounted Chicago Water Bill
City meter readers always seemed to have a hard time getting inside the Bridgeport home of the late Chicago mob boss Angelo "The Hook" LaPietra to read his water meter.
So City Hall repeatedly sent estimated water bills to the 6,000-square-foot home, where LaPietra's daughter, JoAnne Lascola, lives.
City workers finally got inside on Aug. 26, 2009, to install a new meter -- one that can be read electronically by a meter reader driving past the house.
In removing the old meter, though, they found they had been drastically underestimating how much water LaPietra's family was using.
So, on Oct. 10, 2009, the city sent the family a bill for $1,156.66 -- $625.22 of that for about 355,000 gallons of water and $531.44 for sewer service.
The family balked. Three weeks later, the city slashed the bill to $256.55.
"In implementing the [automatic meter-reading] program, we found some readings from old meters came under question by customers, especially when they had not been read over a period of time," City Hall said in response to questions from the Chicago Sun-Times. "In these cases, customers were given the benefit of the doubt and charged on the basis of an average of previous bills."
In the LaPietra family's case, "A one-time adjustment of $900.11 was made to the account . . . because the customer had been estimated for a period of time, as a result of our inability to access the meter to obtain a meter reading."
Authorities say LaPietra, a brutal Chicago Outfit boss who died in 1999, ran the mob's 26th Street Crew, overseeing gambling in the Loop and Chinatown. He was once convicted of skimming millions of dollars from Las Vegas casinos.
So City Hall repeatedly sent estimated water bills to the 6,000-square-foot home, where LaPietra's daughter, JoAnne Lascola, lives.
City workers finally got inside on Aug. 26, 2009, to install a new meter -- one that can be read electronically by a meter reader driving past the house.
In removing the old meter, though, they found they had been drastically underestimating how much water LaPietra's family was using.
So, on Oct. 10, 2009, the city sent the family a bill for $1,156.66 -- $625.22 of that for about 355,000 gallons of water and $531.44 for sewer service.
The family balked. Three weeks later, the city slashed the bill to $256.55.
"In implementing the [automatic meter-reading] program, we found some readings from old meters came under question by customers, especially when they had not been read over a period of time," City Hall said in response to questions from the Chicago Sun-Times. "In these cases, customers were given the benefit of the doubt and charged on the basis of an average of previous bills."
In the LaPietra family's case, "A one-time adjustment of $900.11 was made to the account . . . because the customer had been estimated for a period of time, as a result of our inability to access the meter to obtain a meter reading."
Authorities say LaPietra, a brutal Chicago Outfit boss who died in 1999, ran the mob's 26th Street Crew, overseeing gambling in the Loop and Chinatown. He was once convicted of skimming millions of dollars from Las Vegas casinos.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Heroin and Cocaine Supply Networks, Street Gang Drug and Gun Sales Targeted in Three Separate Investigations Resulting in State and Federal Charges Against 55 Defendants
Fifty-five defendants are facing state or federal charges following separate law enforcement operations that penetrated alleged wholesale cocaine and heroin supply networks and street gang-related retail sales of drugs and guns on the city’s south and west sides. Nearly 20 firearms, tens of kilograms of heroin and cocaine, more than $800,000 in cash, and three luxury automobiles were seized during the course of the joint local, state and federal investigations that were taken down consecutively today, yesterday and Tuesday.
The defendants charged in the operations included drug wholesalers alleged to have narcotics supply connections in Mexico; the customers of those wholesalers, whose alleged re-sales extended from Chicago into Indiana and Wisconsin; and members of six different street gangs who allegedly dealt drugs and guns to an undercover operatives. In one instance, the violence that often accompanies guns, drugs and gangs was captured on a telephone wiretap when a gunman fired a shot into a car as one federal defendant, who allegedly brokered a cocaine deal, then orchestrated a robbery of both the buyer and seller.
The following events occurred in a series of early morning operations this week:
“The wholesale supply side and the retail street sales of narcotics trafficking are equally important components of the same problem,” said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. “These coordinated efforts demonstrate the commitment of all law enforcement agencies in Chicago, at both the federal and state level, to combat the dangerous combination of gangs, guns and drugs in our community,” he added.
“Using all of our combined police and prosecutorial resources, we are continuing to successfully hammer away at the drug markets and the accompanying violence that is plaguing so many of our communities,” said Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez.
“The core missions of ATF are combating gun crimes and interdicting the illegal trafficking and possession of firearms. As demonstrated by our investigation and arrests, we are fulfilling those missions by targeting mid-level narcotics traffickers and their support networks. It is ATF’s committed contribution to the comprehensive fight against violent crime throughout the city of Chicago” said Andrew L. Traver, Special Agent-in-Charge of ATF in Chicago.
“The DEA will continue to investigate alleged drug trafficking organizations with every legally available tool we possess. During this investigation, our agents worked with the FBI and the Chicago Police Department to deploy a myriad of investigative tactics, from surveillance to court-authorized wire intercepts,” said Jack Riley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the DEA. “Our mission is to keep law enforcement pressure on these alleged drug distribution networks, while gathering evidence for use in court.”
Jody P. Weis, Superintendent, Chicago Police Department, said: “This operation is critical because it targeted individuals who are alleged to have received illegal drugs that were subsequently sold on the city's south and west sides. Removing these individuals will impact the ability of street gangs to profit from their illegal activities.”
Also announcing the charges was Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the FBI. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Marshals Service assisted with the investigations and arrests. All three investigations were conducted under the umbrella of U.S. Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), and with assistance from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA). The investigations, which employed wiretaps, surveillance, cooperating witnesses, undercover drug and firearms transactions, and a steady progression of searches and seizures of evidence, are continuing the officials said.
The ATF/CPD undercover investigation
ATF agents and Chicago police officers have been investigating illegal drug and weapons sales by individuals in the west side neighborhood bounded by Keeler, Kilbourn, Iowa and Walton streets. Beginning before 2009, the investigation focused on the alleged narcotics sales operation of Ivan Thomas, also known as “Pimp,” as well as Anthony Grant, Ervin Hewing, Reynaldo Davis, and Antwain Lashley, who allegedly worked with Thomas to distribute crack cocaine and heroin. ATF agents were assisted in the investigation by a cooperating source (CS1) and, from January through July this year, provided CS1 with an apartment in the Walton Street neighborhood to facilitate CS1's assistance. During the investigation, an undercover agent, posing as CS1's friend, was introduced to make undercover purchases of guns and drugs.
As a result of the undercover investigation, 20 defendants are facing state narcotics charges alleging delivery of a controlled substance, and 13 defendants are facing federal charges. Of the 33 defendants, 14 were arrested Tuesday or yesterday, eight were already in custody or on bond, and 11 remain at large with arrest warrants outstanding. The complaints identify individual defendants variously as members of the Four Corner Hustlers, the Conservative Vice Lords, the Traveling Vice Lords, the Gangster Disciples and the New Breeds street gangs.
Thomas, 26, who was arrested and whose apartment in the 100 block of South Hamlin Avenue was searched on Tuesday, was charged with conspiring with Grant, Hewing, Davis and Lashley in December 2009 to distribute more than 50 grams of crack cocaine, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison and a $4 million fine.
Also charged separately with distributing more than 50 grams of crack cocaine were: Davis, 21; Grant, 30, who was arrested last month and has pleaded not guilty after being indicted; and Lashley, 30. Charged with distributing more than five grams of crack were: Dianiso Dorsey, 30; Hewing, 22, and brothers, Jermaine, 37, and Michael Lewis, 34. That charge carries a mandatory minimum of 5 years to a maximum of 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine.
Five defendants—Jerome Carson, 30; George Smith, 26; Gregory Hayes, 26; Donneil Reed, 32, and Timothy Williams, 22—were each charged with being a felon in illegal possession of a firearm. Carson allegedly sold three .22 caliber rifles and a 9 mm pistol to the undercover agent or cooperating informant over the last year; Smith and Hayes both allegedly possessed a 9 mm pistol that was seized; and Reed and Williams, allegedly each sold a pistol to the undercover agent. Six other firearms were seized during the investigation. The felon-in-possession charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The government is being represented in these cases by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Block, Tiffany Tracy and Kartik K. Raman.
The DEA/FBI/CPD wholesale supply investigation
In one of five separate complaints, Moises Villalobos, 23, also known as “Antonio Salgado,” Faustino Arrellano, 37, Adan Moreno, 20, and Rosa Fernandez, 53, were charged with conspiring between May and Aug. 25, 2010, to possess and distribute a kilogram or more of heroin and five kilograms or more of cocaine. On July 14, agents and officers seized nearly a kilogram of heroin after Villalobos allegedly had a courier deliver it to a customer; on Aug. 15, approximately 10 kilograms of heroin was seized before it was delivered to Villalobos; and approximately 12 kilograms of heroin was seized on Aug. 24 from a car in a garage in Harvey after Villalobos’ co-defendants allegedly moved it from a “stash house” in Chicago.
According to the specific transactions described in the complaint, between April and August this year alone, Villalobos and his co-defendants were responsible for the movement of at least 17 kilograms of cocaine and 50 kilograms of heroin.
Villalobos allegedly used his connections to Mexican brokers to receive wholesale quantities of cocaine and heroin from suppliers in the Chicago area, and then distributed those narcotics to various customers, including Roberto Romero, 45, who was charged in a separate complaint, along with 10 co-defendants, for allegedly operating a re-sale distribution network that had customers across the region, including in Milwaukee and northern Indiana. Villalobos and his organization also allegedly supplied multiple kilograms of cocaine to Francisco Masias, the alleged leader of a 2-6 street gang faction who was among 19 defendants who were charged with federal narcotics crimes two weeks ago.
According to the charges, Villalobos maintained two stash houses where he received and stored his supplies of heroin and cocaine. One was located at 2455 N. McVicker in Chicago, where agents and officers found approximately 1.7 kilograms of heroin, 1.2 kilograms of cocaine and $750,000 in cash hidden under the floor of a bedroom closet during a search on Aug. 19 after Villalobos was arrested on state drug charges. The other stash house was located at 2826 N. Long in Chicago, where Villalobos allegedly received a shipment of approximately 13 kilograms of heroin on June 25. Between Aug. 12 and 18, approximately 12 kilograms of heroin was stored at the Long house before Villalobos’ co-conspirators allegedly moved the heroin to Harvey, and Villalobos, Arrellano and Fernandez simultaneously removed other belongings from the house as well.
Both the Villalobos and Romero complaints allege the seizure of nearly a kilogram of “Mexican brown heroin” on July14 when a courier for Villalobos allegedly attempted to make a delivery to one of Romero’s customers, identified as Leo Mercado, by placing the heroin on the front floorboard of an unlocked silver Mercedes SUV parked in the 4900 block of North Harding. Unbeknownst to the defendants, agents, who were conducting surveillance, immediately seized the heroin from the vehicle before it could be retrieved, and subsequent intercepted phone calls indicated that Villalobos and Romero believed that Romero’s customer was lying when he later claimed that he could not find the heroin in the vehicle.
The Romero complaint alleges that he received wholesale quantities of cocaine and heroin from Villalobos, as well as his main cocaine supplier, Richard Medina, 27, of Berwyn, with whom he bought and sold heroin, and that he then “fronted” both cocaine and heroin to other customers for re-sale. The nine-count, 157-page complaint charges the following: Counts One, Two and Four charge Romero; Medina; Alejandro Reyes, 26; Abraham Mercado, 29, of Cicero; and Ana Montoya, 30, with one count each of conspiracy to possess and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine; Count Three charges an unnamed defendant later identified as Leo Mercado, 24, with conspiracy to posses and distribute one kilogram or more of heroin; Counts Five through Seven charge Nicolas Gomez, 31; Thomas Merced, 31,of Hobart, Ind.; and Luis Lopez-Martinez, 26, of Melrose Park; with one count each of conspiracy with Romero to possess and distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine; Count Eight charges and Israel Hernandez, 37, of Forest Park, with possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine; and Count Nine charges Johnny Fort, 45, with conspiracy with Romero to possess and distribute more than 100 grams of heroin.
Three other defendants were charged individually in separate complaints. They are: Francisco Llamas, 41, distribution of heroin; Antonio Negron, 39, of Winter Haven, Florida, conspiracy to distribute cocaine—Negron allegedly transported various amounts of cocaine to Chicago on five trips between November 2009 and March 2010 aboard commercial airlines arriving at O’Hare International Airport; and Helga Weis, 25, interstate robbery—Weis, together with three unnamed, uncharged individuals, allegedly brokered a cocaine deal on March 10, 2010, between a supplier and a customer, in which both were robbed but only money was taken.
After meeting with the customer and obtaining $1,500 for the purchase of cocaine, Weis met with the supplier in the supplier’s car in the vicinity of West Armitage and North Kostner avenues. Using a monitored phone, Weis had placed an outgoing call that went to voicemail but the phone remained on during the following events, according to her complaint: a gunman approached the car, threatened to shoot and demanded money and the car keys, and then fired a shot into the car. Weis gave the gunman $1,400 and the supplier gave the keys before the gunman fled with the money but no drugs. The victim supplier then fled and Weis allegedly called the gunman and another individual to return to the car to obtain cocaine left inside the vehicle but they were unable to retrieve it from a hidden compartment. Weis then told the victim customer about the purported robbery without disclosing her alleged involvement.
If convicted, Villalobos, Arrellano, Moreno, Fernandez, Romero, Medina, Reyes, both Mercados, and Montoya face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison and a $4 million fine. Defendants Gomez, Merced, Lopez-Martinez, Hernandez, and Fort face a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine. Defendants Llamas, Negron and Weis each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The Court, however, must determine a reasonable sentence under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The government is being represented by Assistant United States Attorneys Steven Kubiatowski, Stephen Lee and Angel Krull.
In the operation that commenced today and was still unfolding, the government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Halley Guren, Steven Grimes and Christopher McFadden.
The public is reminded that charges are merely allegations and are 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 defendants charged in the operations included drug wholesalers alleged to have narcotics supply connections in Mexico; the customers of those wholesalers, whose alleged re-sales extended from Chicago into Indiana and Wisconsin; and members of six different street gangs who allegedly dealt drugs and guns to an undercover operatives. In one instance, the violence that often accompanies guns, drugs and gangs was captured on a telephone wiretap when a gunman fired a shot into a car as one federal defendant, who allegedly brokered a cocaine deal, then orchestrated a robbery of both the buyer and seller.
The following events occurred in a series of early morning operations this week:
- On Tuesday, Chicago police and federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents executed arrest and search warrants against 20 state and 13 federal defendants who allegedly sold various amounts of crack cocaine and/or firearms in a single west side neighborhood to an undercover agent, mostly since 2009. Thirteen guns and rifles were seized during the investigation;
- On Wednesday, FBI and DEA agents, together with Chicago police, began executing arrest and search warrants against 18 federal defendants, including Moises Villalobos, an alleged wholesale dealer with Mexican connections after authorities seized approximately 25 kilos of heroin from him since July in Chicago and south suburban Harvey. Villalobos allegedly supplied heroin to a faction of the Gangster 2-6 Nation street gang that was dismantled two weeks ago in a similar takedown on state and federal narcotics charges. Another defendant, Roberto Romero, allegedly directed a separate drug-trafficking cell that was supplied by Villalobos, and which re-sold wholesale quantities of cocaine and heroin to various customers in the Chicago area, as well in Milwaukee and northern Indiana. Defendant Antonio Negron allegedly transported wholesale supplies of cocaine into Chicago on multiple commercial airline trips from Puerto Rico, and yet another defendant, Helga Weis, allegedly staged the simultaneous robbery of a drug supplier and a customer; and
- Today, FBI agents began executing arrest warrants against four additional defendants, including two alleged members of the Mickey Cobras street gang and two alleged Gangster Disciples members, who allegedly sold various amounts of either heroin or crack cocaine, and in one instance a 9 mm rifle, on the city’s south side to individuals cooperating with law enforcement agents.
“The wholesale supply side and the retail street sales of narcotics trafficking are equally important components of the same problem,” said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. “These coordinated efforts demonstrate the commitment of all law enforcement agencies in Chicago, at both the federal and state level, to combat the dangerous combination of gangs, guns and drugs in our community,” he added.
“Using all of our combined police and prosecutorial resources, we are continuing to successfully hammer away at the drug markets and the accompanying violence that is plaguing so many of our communities,” said Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez.
“The core missions of ATF are combating gun crimes and interdicting the illegal trafficking and possession of firearms. As demonstrated by our investigation and arrests, we are fulfilling those missions by targeting mid-level narcotics traffickers and their support networks. It is ATF’s committed contribution to the comprehensive fight against violent crime throughout the city of Chicago” said Andrew L. Traver, Special Agent-in-Charge of ATF in Chicago.
“The DEA will continue to investigate alleged drug trafficking organizations with every legally available tool we possess. During this investigation, our agents worked with the FBI and the Chicago Police Department to deploy a myriad of investigative tactics, from surveillance to court-authorized wire intercepts,” said Jack Riley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the DEA. “Our mission is to keep law enforcement pressure on these alleged drug distribution networks, while gathering evidence for use in court.”
Jody P. Weis, Superintendent, Chicago Police Department, said: “This operation is critical because it targeted individuals who are alleged to have received illegal drugs that were subsequently sold on the city's south and west sides. Removing these individuals will impact the ability of street gangs to profit from their illegal activities.”
Also announcing the charges was Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the FBI. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Marshals Service assisted with the investigations and arrests. All three investigations were conducted under the umbrella of U.S. Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), and with assistance from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA). The investigations, which employed wiretaps, surveillance, cooperating witnesses, undercover drug and firearms transactions, and a steady progression of searches and seizures of evidence, are continuing the officials said.
The ATF/CPD undercover investigation
ATF agents and Chicago police officers have been investigating illegal drug and weapons sales by individuals in the west side neighborhood bounded by Keeler, Kilbourn, Iowa and Walton streets. Beginning before 2009, the investigation focused on the alleged narcotics sales operation of Ivan Thomas, also known as “Pimp,” as well as Anthony Grant, Ervin Hewing, Reynaldo Davis, and Antwain Lashley, who allegedly worked with Thomas to distribute crack cocaine and heroin. ATF agents were assisted in the investigation by a cooperating source (CS1) and, from January through July this year, provided CS1 with an apartment in the Walton Street neighborhood to facilitate CS1's assistance. During the investigation, an undercover agent, posing as CS1's friend, was introduced to make undercover purchases of guns and drugs.
As a result of the undercover investigation, 20 defendants are facing state narcotics charges alleging delivery of a controlled substance, and 13 defendants are facing federal charges. Of the 33 defendants, 14 were arrested Tuesday or yesterday, eight were already in custody or on bond, and 11 remain at large with arrest warrants outstanding. The complaints identify individual defendants variously as members of the Four Corner Hustlers, the Conservative Vice Lords, the Traveling Vice Lords, the Gangster Disciples and the New Breeds street gangs.
Thomas, 26, who was arrested and whose apartment in the 100 block of South Hamlin Avenue was searched on Tuesday, was charged with conspiring with Grant, Hewing, Davis and Lashley in December 2009 to distribute more than 50 grams of crack cocaine, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison and a $4 million fine.
Also charged separately with distributing more than 50 grams of crack cocaine were: Davis, 21; Grant, 30, who was arrested last month and has pleaded not guilty after being indicted; and Lashley, 30. Charged with distributing more than five grams of crack were: Dianiso Dorsey, 30; Hewing, 22, and brothers, Jermaine, 37, and Michael Lewis, 34. That charge carries a mandatory minimum of 5 years to a maximum of 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine.
Five defendants—Jerome Carson, 30; George Smith, 26; Gregory Hayes, 26; Donneil Reed, 32, and Timothy Williams, 22—were each charged with being a felon in illegal possession of a firearm. Carson allegedly sold three .22 caliber rifles and a 9 mm pistol to the undercover agent or cooperating informant over the last year; Smith and Hayes both allegedly possessed a 9 mm pistol that was seized; and Reed and Williams, allegedly each sold a pistol to the undercover agent. Six other firearms were seized during the investigation. The felon-in-possession charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The government is being represented in these cases by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Block, Tiffany Tracy and Kartik K. Raman.
The DEA/FBI/CPD wholesale supply investigation
In one of five separate complaints, Moises Villalobos, 23, also known as “Antonio Salgado,” Faustino Arrellano, 37, Adan Moreno, 20, and Rosa Fernandez, 53, were charged with conspiring between May and Aug. 25, 2010, to possess and distribute a kilogram or more of heroin and five kilograms or more of cocaine. On July 14, agents and officers seized nearly a kilogram of heroin after Villalobos allegedly had a courier deliver it to a customer; on Aug. 15, approximately 10 kilograms of heroin was seized before it was delivered to Villalobos; and approximately 12 kilograms of heroin was seized on Aug. 24 from a car in a garage in Harvey after Villalobos’ co-defendants allegedly moved it from a “stash house” in Chicago.
According to the specific transactions described in the complaint, between April and August this year alone, Villalobos and his co-defendants were responsible for the movement of at least 17 kilograms of cocaine and 50 kilograms of heroin.
Villalobos allegedly used his connections to Mexican brokers to receive wholesale quantities of cocaine and heroin from suppliers in the Chicago area, and then distributed those narcotics to various customers, including Roberto Romero, 45, who was charged in a separate complaint, along with 10 co-defendants, for allegedly operating a re-sale distribution network that had customers across the region, including in Milwaukee and northern Indiana. Villalobos and his organization also allegedly supplied multiple kilograms of cocaine to Francisco Masias, the alleged leader of a 2-6 street gang faction who was among 19 defendants who were charged with federal narcotics crimes two weeks ago.
According to the charges, Villalobos maintained two stash houses where he received and stored his supplies of heroin and cocaine. One was located at 2455 N. McVicker in Chicago, where agents and officers found approximately 1.7 kilograms of heroin, 1.2 kilograms of cocaine and $750,000 in cash hidden under the floor of a bedroom closet during a search on Aug. 19 after Villalobos was arrested on state drug charges. The other stash house was located at 2826 N. Long in Chicago, where Villalobos allegedly received a shipment of approximately 13 kilograms of heroin on June 25. Between Aug. 12 and 18, approximately 12 kilograms of heroin was stored at the Long house before Villalobos’ co-conspirators allegedly moved the heroin to Harvey, and Villalobos, Arrellano and Fernandez simultaneously removed other belongings from the house as well.
Both the Villalobos and Romero complaints allege the seizure of nearly a kilogram of “Mexican brown heroin” on July14 when a courier for Villalobos allegedly attempted to make a delivery to one of Romero’s customers, identified as Leo Mercado, by placing the heroin on the front floorboard of an unlocked silver Mercedes SUV parked in the 4900 block of North Harding. Unbeknownst to the defendants, agents, who were conducting surveillance, immediately seized the heroin from the vehicle before it could be retrieved, and subsequent intercepted phone calls indicated that Villalobos and Romero believed that Romero’s customer was lying when he later claimed that he could not find the heroin in the vehicle.
The Romero complaint alleges that he received wholesale quantities of cocaine and heroin from Villalobos, as well as his main cocaine supplier, Richard Medina, 27, of Berwyn, with whom he bought and sold heroin, and that he then “fronted” both cocaine and heroin to other customers for re-sale. The nine-count, 157-page complaint charges the following: Counts One, Two and Four charge Romero; Medina; Alejandro Reyes, 26; Abraham Mercado, 29, of Cicero; and Ana Montoya, 30, with one count each of conspiracy to possess and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine; Count Three charges an unnamed defendant later identified as Leo Mercado, 24, with conspiracy to posses and distribute one kilogram or more of heroin; Counts Five through Seven charge Nicolas Gomez, 31; Thomas Merced, 31,of Hobart, Ind.; and Luis Lopez-Martinez, 26, of Melrose Park; with one count each of conspiracy with Romero to possess and distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine; Count Eight charges and Israel Hernandez, 37, of Forest Park, with possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine; and Count Nine charges Johnny Fort, 45, with conspiracy with Romero to possess and distribute more than 100 grams of heroin.
Three other defendants were charged individually in separate complaints. They are: Francisco Llamas, 41, distribution of heroin; Antonio Negron, 39, of Winter Haven, Florida, conspiracy to distribute cocaine—Negron allegedly transported various amounts of cocaine to Chicago on five trips between November 2009 and March 2010 aboard commercial airlines arriving at O’Hare International Airport; and Helga Weis, 25, interstate robbery—Weis, together with three unnamed, uncharged individuals, allegedly brokered a cocaine deal on March 10, 2010, between a supplier and a customer, in which both were robbed but only money was taken.
After meeting with the customer and obtaining $1,500 for the purchase of cocaine, Weis met with the supplier in the supplier’s car in the vicinity of West Armitage and North Kostner avenues. Using a monitored phone, Weis had placed an outgoing call that went to voicemail but the phone remained on during the following events, according to her complaint: a gunman approached the car, threatened to shoot and demanded money and the car keys, and then fired a shot into the car. Weis gave the gunman $1,400 and the supplier gave the keys before the gunman fled with the money but no drugs. The victim supplier then fled and Weis allegedly called the gunman and another individual to return to the car to obtain cocaine left inside the vehicle but they were unable to retrieve it from a hidden compartment. Weis then told the victim customer about the purported robbery without disclosing her alleged involvement.
If convicted, Villalobos, Arrellano, Moreno, Fernandez, Romero, Medina, Reyes, both Mercados, and Montoya face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison and a $4 million fine. Defendants Gomez, Merced, Lopez-Martinez, Hernandez, and Fort face a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine. Defendants Llamas, Negron and Weis each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The Court, however, must determine a reasonable sentence under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The government is being represented by Assistant United States Attorneys Steven Kubiatowski, Stephen Lee and Angel Krull.
In the operation that commenced today and was still unfolding, the government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Halley Guren, Steven Grimes and Christopher McFadden.
The public is reminded that charges are merely allegations and are 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.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Jerry "The Monk" Scalise, Reputed Mob Jewel Thief, Freed from Custody
Convicted jewel thief Joseph "Jerry" Scalise was ordered released from custody following Tuesday's decision by Judge Harry Leinenweber denying the government's motion to revoke a pre-trial release order.
The 72-year-old Scalise has been in the Metropolitan Correctional Center since his arrest last April along with Arthur "The Genius" Rachel, 71, and Robert "Bobby" Pullia, 69, as they allegedly scouted banks to rob in the western suburbs. Federal authorities picked up the three as they were preparing to rob the Bridgeport mansion of deceased Chinatown Outfit boss Angelo "The Hook" LaPietra. They were arrested outside LaPietra's one time home with burglary tools, guns, ammo and communications equipment, according to federal agents. At the time of their arrest, there was speculation by mobologists that Scalise and crew were going into LaPietra's former castle-like residence to retrieve the famous Marlborough diamond-missing since a daring daylight burglary in 1980. The 45-carat diamond was stolen from Graff Jewelers in London, UK. Scalise and Rachel were arrested as they arrived at O'Hare International Airport that evening, minus the diamond. Both men were convicted in the theft of the diamond, among $4 million in stolen gems, and served time in a British penitentiary.
Last month, in an effort to prevent Scalise's bond, prosecutors connected him to a Chicago mob hit squad known as The Wild Bunch based on testimony by an admitted mob assassin during the renowned Family Secrets trial. "In its attempt to connect Mr. Scalise to the 'Wild Bunch,' the government relies on the testimony of Nick Calabrese, a confessed murderer, and Frank Calabrese, a convicted murder, given during the 'Family Secrets' trial," wrote Scalise's attorney Edward Genson. "The testimony regarding Mr. Scalise's involvement in the "Wild Bunch" was based solely upon hearsay and was not substantiated by any independent evidence at trial, nor was it substantiated by any evidence on the record&. Furthermore, Mr. Scalise was never arrested or questioned regarding his participation in any of these alleged homicides either before or after the Family Secrets trial."
Scalise will be under house arrest while he's out on $500,000 bond, secured by property posted by his girlfriend, family and friends. His co-defendant's Arthur Rachel and Robert Pullia are currently out on bond.
Thanks to Ann Pistone, Barb Markoff and Chuck Goudie
The 72-year-old Scalise has been in the Metropolitan Correctional Center since his arrest last April along with Arthur "The Genius" Rachel, 71, and Robert "Bobby" Pullia, 69, as they allegedly scouted banks to rob in the western suburbs. Federal authorities picked up the three as they were preparing to rob the Bridgeport mansion of deceased Chinatown Outfit boss Angelo "The Hook" LaPietra. They were arrested outside LaPietra's one time home with burglary tools, guns, ammo and communications equipment, according to federal agents. At the time of their arrest, there was speculation by mobologists that Scalise and crew were going into LaPietra's former castle-like residence to retrieve the famous Marlborough diamond-missing since a daring daylight burglary in 1980. The 45-carat diamond was stolen from Graff Jewelers in London, UK. Scalise and Rachel were arrested as they arrived at O'Hare International Airport that evening, minus the diamond. Both men were convicted in the theft of the diamond, among $4 million in stolen gems, and served time in a British penitentiary.
Last month, in an effort to prevent Scalise's bond, prosecutors connected him to a Chicago mob hit squad known as The Wild Bunch based on testimony by an admitted mob assassin during the renowned Family Secrets trial. "In its attempt to connect Mr. Scalise to the 'Wild Bunch,' the government relies on the testimony of Nick Calabrese, a confessed murderer, and Frank Calabrese, a convicted murder, given during the 'Family Secrets' trial," wrote Scalise's attorney Edward Genson. "The testimony regarding Mr. Scalise's involvement in the "Wild Bunch" was based solely upon hearsay and was not substantiated by any independent evidence at trial, nor was it substantiated by any evidence on the record&. Furthermore, Mr. Scalise was never arrested or questioned regarding his participation in any of these alleged homicides either before or after the Family Secrets trial."
Scalise will be under house arrest while he's out on $500,000 bond, secured by property posted by his girlfriend, family and friends. His co-defendant's Arthur Rachel and Robert Pullia are currently out on bond.
Thanks to Ann Pistone, Barb Markoff and Chuck Goudie
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Florida Mafia Crew Dismantled by Operation Money Fish
Members of the New York-based Bonanno crime family were making millions of dollars in South Florida cashing counterfeit checks, running telemarketing scams, defrauding Medicare, and stealing and selling people’s identities. But when they hooked up with a shady businessman to help them launder all that money, they got more than they bargained for.
The businessman with supposed connections in the banking industry was really one of the FBI's undercover agents, and he infiltrated the mafia crew for nearly a year. The evidence he gathered, along with intercepted phone calls and other electronic surveillance, was enough to put the entire 11-member operation out of business and behind bars.
“The mafia has always been in South Florida,” the agent explained. “Each of New York’s five families has crews that operate here. They make a lot of money and send part of it back to the main guys up north.”
The Bonanno family’s criminal enterprise in South Florida—led by Tommy Fiore, the nephew of reputed Bonanno capo Gerry Chili—was wide ranging. In addition to the scams mentioned above, the crew also participated in arson, extortion, drug trafficking, and buying and selling stolen cigarettes, TVs, and other ill-gotten goods.
Operation Money Fish began in the summer of 2008, when our agent—who was known as Dave Stone—met Fiore. The Bonanno crew was manufacturing counterfeit payroll checks from large companies and needed help cashing them. They would copy a legitimate check, change the account numbers and the amount, and get Dave Stone to use his banking connections to turn the bad paper into cash. Dave and the crew then split the profits. (In reality, since we controlled the operation, no businesses were actually defrauded.)
The crew’s most lucrative scam, though, came from “boiler rooms”—bogus telemarketing operations that are rampant in South Florida. A dozen people working the phones out of someone’s condo can generate big profits. A popular pitch now involves the resale of time share properties. The criminal telemarketers claim they will help people resell their time share, or the fee charged will be refunded in full. Unsuspecting victims on the other end of the line—mostly older people unable to sell the properties on their own—send in the $5,000 or $6,000 fee, and that’s the last they ever see of their money. No services are rendered, and none were ever intended to be.
With the overwhelming evidence against them, the Bonanno crew all pled guilty to racketeering and other charges. “It was a good feeling to bring these guys down,” the undercover agent said. “They were getting away with a lot of crimes. There’s no telling how many people they had hurt or swindled before we got involved.”
But “Dave Stone” and his colleagues on the FBI’s organized crime squads understand that while you can disrupt the mafia’s activities in South Florida and elsewhere, it’s only a matter of time before the bosses in New York establish other crews.
“Absolutely they will try to start up again,” the agent said. “The Bonanno family in New York—like the other families—has to have somebody down here making money because the guys at the top don’t do anything. They rely on the crews to support them. But if they do show up again,” he said, “we will be ready.”
The businessman with supposed connections in the banking industry was really one of the FBI's undercover agents, and he infiltrated the mafia crew for nearly a year. The evidence he gathered, along with intercepted phone calls and other electronic surveillance, was enough to put the entire 11-member operation out of business and behind bars.
“The mafia has always been in South Florida,” the agent explained. “Each of New York’s five families has crews that operate here. They make a lot of money and send part of it back to the main guys up north.”
The Bonanno family’s criminal enterprise in South Florida—led by Tommy Fiore, the nephew of reputed Bonanno capo Gerry Chili—was wide ranging. In addition to the scams mentioned above, the crew also participated in arson, extortion, drug trafficking, and buying and selling stolen cigarettes, TVs, and other ill-gotten goods.
Operation Money Fish began in the summer of 2008, when our agent—who was known as Dave Stone—met Fiore. The Bonanno crew was manufacturing counterfeit payroll checks from large companies and needed help cashing them. They would copy a legitimate check, change the account numbers and the amount, and get Dave Stone to use his banking connections to turn the bad paper into cash. Dave and the crew then split the profits. (In reality, since we controlled the operation, no businesses were actually defrauded.)
The crew’s most lucrative scam, though, came from “boiler rooms”—bogus telemarketing operations that are rampant in South Florida. A dozen people working the phones out of someone’s condo can generate big profits. A popular pitch now involves the resale of time share properties. The criminal telemarketers claim they will help people resell their time share, or the fee charged will be refunded in full. Unsuspecting victims on the other end of the line—mostly older people unable to sell the properties on their own—send in the $5,000 or $6,000 fee, and that’s the last they ever see of their money. No services are rendered, and none were ever intended to be.
With the overwhelming evidence against them, the Bonanno crew all pled guilty to racketeering and other charges. “It was a good feeling to bring these guys down,” the undercover agent said. “They were getting away with a lot of crimes. There’s no telling how many people they had hurt or swindled before we got involved.”
But “Dave Stone” and his colleagues on the FBI’s organized crime squads understand that while you can disrupt the mafia’s activities in South Florida and elsewhere, it’s only a matter of time before the bosses in New York establish other crews.
“Absolutely they will try to start up again,” the agent said. “The Bonanno family in New York—like the other families—has to have somebody down here making money because the guys at the top don’t do anything. They rely on the crews to support them. But if they do show up again,” he said, “we will be ready.”
Friday, September 03, 2010
Al Capone and The Chicago Outfit Cocktails Among Highlights of The Walnut Speakeasy in Elgin
There's more to a cocktail than the ingredients and preparation. Sipping a highball in an empty bar reeking of last night's party with a distracted barkeep can surely ruin any cocktail experience. At the Walnut Speakeasy, you can choose from a number of enticing cocktails (or beers from their Connoisseur's Beer List) and enjoy an engaging staff, and local blues in a cozy 1930's speakeasy atmosphere.
Premium liquors and classic suggestions. The Walnut Speakeasy is dominated by a large wrap-around bar (made from solid walnut) carrying everything from Belvedere to Louis XIII. As if the selection weren't enough, they know how to put a cocktail together. Templeton Rye is a mainstay here as it was created during the prohibition era and was one of Capone's favorites. "The Capone" is a stiff drink made with Templeton rye and a perfect combination of Grand Marnier, bitters and champagne. Other selections from the cocktail menu include "The Chicago Outfit" (a spin on a chocolate raspberry martini) and "The Cat's Meow".
Unique music and local artists. This place can swing! Owner Alex Matsas has put together a jazzy line up ranging from local blues sensations, Nick Moss & The Flop Tops, to jazz crooners John & Cassy . This is one of the only bars around you can bank on for you blues fix every weekend.
"Form, meet function." Bricks pulled from prohibition-era buildings and burled walnut wood-working invite guests to relax in the feel of an upscale 1930's Chicago bar. This is no neighborhood bar kitchen either! State of the art infrared grills and proper pizza ovens give weight to the quality of the cuisine. There are no bar smells and from the front door to the kitchen floor, this place is spotless!
General Information
Location: 214 Walnut Ave Elgin, IL 60123
Hours: Mon -Thurs 11 am -1 am, Fri & Sat 11am -2 am, Sun 11am - 11 pm
Food: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Price: Excellent value, beer & wine prices available online
Parking: free lot on west side of building, at peak times you may have to park street nearby
Music: Blues & Jazz
Thanks to the Examiner
Premium liquors and classic suggestions. The Walnut Speakeasy is dominated by a large wrap-around bar (made from solid walnut) carrying everything from Belvedere to Louis XIII. As if the selection weren't enough, they know how to put a cocktail together. Templeton Rye is a mainstay here as it was created during the prohibition era and was one of Capone's favorites. "The Capone" is a stiff drink made with Templeton rye and a perfect combination of Grand Marnier, bitters and champagne. Other selections from the cocktail menu include "The Chicago Outfit" (a spin on a chocolate raspberry martini) and "The Cat's Meow".
Unique music and local artists. This place can swing! Owner Alex Matsas has put together a jazzy line up ranging from local blues sensations, Nick Moss & The Flop Tops, to jazz crooners John & Cassy . This is one of the only bars around you can bank on for you blues fix every weekend.
"Form, meet function." Bricks pulled from prohibition-era buildings and burled walnut wood-working invite guests to relax in the feel of an upscale 1930's Chicago bar. This is no neighborhood bar kitchen either! State of the art infrared grills and proper pizza ovens give weight to the quality of the cuisine. There are no bar smells and from the front door to the kitchen floor, this place is spotless!
General Information
Location: 214 Walnut Ave Elgin, IL 60123
Hours: Mon -Thurs 11 am -1 am, Fri & Sat 11am -2 am, Sun 11am - 11 pm
Food: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Price: Excellent value, beer & wine prices available online
Parking: free lot on west side of building, at peak times you may have to park street nearby
Music: Blues & Jazz
Thanks to the Examiner
Thursday, September 02, 2010
Lawyers Look to Ditch Reputed Mobsters Over Money
Defense attorneys for two of the three Chicago hoodlums who were arrested last April for allegedly plotting bank heists, are asking to withdraw because their clients are broke.
Marc Martin and Terrence Gillespie will appeal to U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber on September 7th saying they do not want to work for free, or pro bono, on behalf of Robert "Bobby" Pullia, 69 or Arthur "The Genius" Rachel, 71. According to motions filed this week, Martin and Gillespie will tell the judge that the Outfit-related case has "over 50 hours of recordings and many hours of surveillance video," according to motions filed Tuesday.
This comes two weeks after a hearing at which Judge Leinenweber asked Pullia, Rachel and a third defendant Joseph "Jerry" Scalise, 73 if they had issues with being represented by attorneys from a related law firm. The judge noted that such an arrangement could result in conflict of interests during legal proceedings. The men agreed to have the attorneys continue their representation and waived any future conflict claims.
Pullia and Rachel are out on bond. Scalise was granted bond but prosecutors are appealing and he remains in custody pending the a district court ruling. Scalise was part of a gangland hit squad and involved in numerous mob murders, according to government filings in the case.
Federal authorities say they arrested the three aging mob figures as they were preparing to rob the Bridgeport mansion of deceased Chinatown Outfit boss Angelo "The Hook" LaPietra. The men were arrested outside the LaPietra home with burglary tools, guns, ammo and communications equipment, according to federal agents.
At the time, mobologists speculated that Scalise and crew were going into LaPietra's former castle-like residence to retrieve the famous Marlborough diamond-missing since a daring daylight burglary in 1980. The 45-carat diamond was stolen from Graff Jewelers in London, UK. Scalise and Rachel were arrested as they arrived at O'Hare Airport that evening, sans diamond.
Although both men were convicted in the theft of the diamond-among $4 million in stolen gems-and served time in a British penitentiary, the royal Marlborough diamond was never recovered.
Some investigators have long held that the huge diamond was mailed to mob bosses in Chicago.
Thanks to Ann Pistone and Chuck Goudie
Marc Martin and Terrence Gillespie will appeal to U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber on September 7th saying they do not want to work for free, or pro bono, on behalf of Robert "Bobby" Pullia, 69 or Arthur "The Genius" Rachel, 71. According to motions filed this week, Martin and Gillespie will tell the judge that the Outfit-related case has "over 50 hours of recordings and many hours of surveillance video," according to motions filed Tuesday.
This comes two weeks after a hearing at which Judge Leinenweber asked Pullia, Rachel and a third defendant Joseph "Jerry" Scalise, 73 if they had issues with being represented by attorneys from a related law firm. The judge noted that such an arrangement could result in conflict of interests during legal proceedings. The men agreed to have the attorneys continue their representation and waived any future conflict claims.
Pullia and Rachel are out on bond. Scalise was granted bond but prosecutors are appealing and he remains in custody pending the a district court ruling. Scalise was part of a gangland hit squad and involved in numerous mob murders, according to government filings in the case.
Federal authorities say they arrested the three aging mob figures as they were preparing to rob the Bridgeport mansion of deceased Chinatown Outfit boss Angelo "The Hook" LaPietra. The men were arrested outside the LaPietra home with burglary tools, guns, ammo and communications equipment, according to federal agents.
At the time, mobologists speculated that Scalise and crew were going into LaPietra's former castle-like residence to retrieve the famous Marlborough diamond-missing since a daring daylight burglary in 1980. The 45-carat diamond was stolen from Graff Jewelers in London, UK. Scalise and Rachel were arrested as they arrived at O'Hare Airport that evening, sans diamond.
Although both men were convicted in the theft of the diamond-among $4 million in stolen gems-and served time in a British penitentiary, the royal Marlborough diamond was never recovered.
Some investigators have long held that the huge diamond was mailed to mob bosses in Chicago.
Thanks to Ann Pistone and Chuck Goudie
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Capo Tony D Palumbo Pleads Out in Mob Hit Case
An acting capo for the Genovese crime family pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to whack a Russian organized crime hit man in 1992.
Anthony (Tony D) Palumbo took the plea in Manhattan Federal Court and faces 10 years in prison when sentenced Dec. 3.
Prosecutor Avi Weitzman said Palumbo and other Genovese gangsters engaged in a plot to kill a hit man for the Russian mob, but higherups in the mob family refused to authorize the hit. As a result, it was never carried out, said Weitzman.
The rubout plot was tied to an elaborate bootleg-gasoline-tax scheme involving the Genovese and Russian gangsters.
In June, Palumbo, 61, of Bronxville, was charged with getting a fellow mobster who was stealing from him, Angelo Sangiuolo, whacked in a Bronx parking lot.
As part of the plea deal, prosecutors will not pursue Palumbo for that slaying.
Thanks to Robert Gearty
Anthony (Tony D) Palumbo took the plea in Manhattan Federal Court and faces 10 years in prison when sentenced Dec. 3.
Prosecutor Avi Weitzman said Palumbo and other Genovese gangsters engaged in a plot to kill a hit man for the Russian mob, but higherups in the mob family refused to authorize the hit. As a result, it was never carried out, said Weitzman.
The rubout plot was tied to an elaborate bootleg-gasoline-tax scheme involving the Genovese and Russian gangsters.
In June, Palumbo, 61, of Bronxville, was charged with getting a fellow mobster who was stealing from him, Angelo Sangiuolo, whacked in a Bronx parking lot.
As part of the plea deal, prosecutors will not pursue Palumbo for that slaying.
Thanks to Robert Gearty
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Organized Crime and Facebook
A vast amount of modern organized crime in the U.S. and Canada revolves around high-tech scams, identity theft, and other cyber crimes.
Gone are the days, to a large degree, of the mob and its penchant for more "traditional" avenues of revenue like gambling rings, loan sharking, and basic theft.
Now, as the CBC reports, new data is revealing the face of organized crime in the 21st century, and its a face that hides behind some unlikely fronts.
Specifically, social networking sites and free classifieds forums are being used for a wide array of schemes, whether it is human trafficking via Craigslist, identity scams on Facebook, or Ponzi schemes advertised as legitimate business ventures on business forums.
The CBC cites Edmonton Police Service Chief Mike Boyd as noting the grim realities of these crimes, non-violent though they tend to be..
In Boyd's words:
A new annual report on organized crime compiled and published by Criminal Intelligence Service Canada was the source of much of this new data, collected in hopes of aiding in the fight against modern organized crime and its many branches.
Thanks to Chris Stewart
Gone are the days, to a large degree, of the mob and its penchant for more "traditional" avenues of revenue like gambling rings, loan sharking, and basic theft.
Now, as the CBC reports, new data is revealing the face of organized crime in the 21st century, and its a face that hides behind some unlikely fronts.
Specifically, social networking sites and free classifieds forums are being used for a wide array of schemes, whether it is human trafficking via Craigslist, identity scams on Facebook, or Ponzi schemes advertised as legitimate business ventures on business forums.
The CBC cites Edmonton Police Service Chief Mike Boyd as noting the grim realities of these crimes, non-violent though they tend to be..
In Boyd's words:
Thousands of people in Canada are victims of [financial fraud] … and will recover little if any of their money...
A new annual report on organized crime compiled and published by Criminal Intelligence Service Canada was the source of much of this new data, collected in hopes of aiding in the fight against modern organized crime and its many branches.
Thanks to Chris Stewart
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Under the Williamsburg Bridge: The Story of An American Family by Frank Bari
Frank Bari comes from a family of Mafia members, but opted to forsake the family business for a career in criminal law. While this sounds like the plot to a fictional crime novel, it is indeed the true story of a man whose grandfather was one of the founding members of the American Mafia. In the new biography Under the Williamsburg Bridge (published by Trafford), with help from writer Mark C. Gribben, Bari shares insight into a unique American family while revealing his own first-hand accounts of Coast Guard service in Vietnam.
Over a decade ago, Mark C. Gribben, a newspaper reporter who covered criminal trials and the police beat, published an article about the Purple Gang, a ruthless crew of killers and bootleggers who controlled Detroit during Prohibition. While this was his only foray into the writing of organized crime, Gribben was contacted by fast-talking New York lawyer, Frank Bari, who asked if Gribben had any information about Bari's great-uncle, a Big Apple transplant from Detroit named Jake Trager. While Gribben's research had never turned up anything about Trager, a friendship was struck up between Gribben and Bari. Bari eventually opened up to his friend about his family background and personal connections with organized crime.
"My grandfather was a founding member of the Syndicate, which set the pattern for organized crime in America," explains Bari, who has specialized in criminal defense law for over 20 years and is one of the foremost experts on Asian organized crime in America. "My father was a member of an organized crime family and worked with the likes of Lucky Luciano, Dutch Schultz and Bugsy Siegel. But more importantly, my father was a decorated war hero in World War II, serving with the famed unit Merrill's Marauders. In a strange way, it was in the Marine Corps that my father found his real niche in life, and his experience in the military would heavily influence my life. I am a Vietnam veteran, but chose a different path regarding organized crime.”
A cross between Platoon and The Godfather, Under the Williamsburg Bridge refutes, through eyewitness accounts, commonly held beliefs of organized crime. Bari recounts stories of life in the shadow of the Williamsburg Bridge where "boys grew up fast and they grew up mean". Stories such as how the hit on Dutch "the Dutchman" Schultz really went down as recounted by hit-man Charlie "The Bug" Workman. Bari also tells of his first-hand experiences in Vietnam that left him with a disability (determined by the VA) as a result of exposure to Agent Orange.
"Although Under the Williamsburg Bridge is the saga of a unique American family that was witness to a strange chapter in American history," explains Gribben in the introduction, "it really is the story of what made Frank Bari the man he is today."
Over a decade ago, Mark C. Gribben, a newspaper reporter who covered criminal trials and the police beat, published an article about the Purple Gang, a ruthless crew of killers and bootleggers who controlled Detroit during Prohibition. While this was his only foray into the writing of organized crime, Gribben was contacted by fast-talking New York lawyer, Frank Bari, who asked if Gribben had any information about Bari's great-uncle, a Big Apple transplant from Detroit named Jake Trager. While Gribben's research had never turned up anything about Trager, a friendship was struck up between Gribben and Bari. Bari eventually opened up to his friend about his family background and personal connections with organized crime.
"My grandfather was a founding member of the Syndicate, which set the pattern for organized crime in America," explains Bari, who has specialized in criminal defense law for over 20 years and is one of the foremost experts on Asian organized crime in America. "My father was a member of an organized crime family and worked with the likes of Lucky Luciano, Dutch Schultz and Bugsy Siegel. But more importantly, my father was a decorated war hero in World War II, serving with the famed unit Merrill's Marauders. In a strange way, it was in the Marine Corps that my father found his real niche in life, and his experience in the military would heavily influence my life. I am a Vietnam veteran, but chose a different path regarding organized crime.”
A cross between Platoon and The Godfather, Under the Williamsburg Bridge refutes, through eyewitness accounts, commonly held beliefs of organized crime. Bari recounts stories of life in the shadow of the Williamsburg Bridge where "boys grew up fast and they grew up mean". Stories such as how the hit on Dutch "the Dutchman" Schultz really went down as recounted by hit-man Charlie "The Bug" Workman. Bari also tells of his first-hand experiences in Vietnam that left him with a disability (determined by the VA) as a result of exposure to Agent Orange.
"Although Under the Williamsburg Bridge is the saga of a unique American family that was witness to a strange chapter in American history," explains Gribben in the introduction, "it really is the story of what made Frank Bari the man he is today."
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Lost Vegas by Paul McGuire
Lost Vegas: 
The Redneck Riviera, Existentialist Conversations with Strippers, and the World Series of Poker... Las Vegas lures you to shed moral responsibility and piss away your money on indulgences like decadent food, entertainment, gambling, and sex. If you don't enjoy these pastimes, then what's the point of visiting the land of compromised values? Where else can you get a cheap steak, crash a Mexican wedding, get cold-decked in blackjack by a dealer named Dong, play video poker for thirteen straight hours, drink piña coladas out of a plastic coconut, bum a cigarette from an 85-year-old woman with an oxygen tank, speed away to the Spearmint Rhino in a free limo, get rubbed by a former Miss Teen USA, puke in the back of a cab driven by a retired Navy SEAL, snort cheap cocaine in the bathroom at O'Sheas, and then catch a lucky card on the river to crack pocket aces and win a poker tournament? Only in Las Vegas.
The Redneck Riviera, Existentialist Conversations with Strippers, and the World Series of Poker... Las Vegas lures you to shed moral responsibility and piss away your money on indulgences like decadent food, entertainment, gambling, and sex. If you don't enjoy these pastimes, then what's the point of visiting the land of compromised values? Where else can you get a cheap steak, crash a Mexican wedding, get cold-decked in blackjack by a dealer named Dong, play video poker for thirteen straight hours, drink piña coladas out of a plastic coconut, bum a cigarette from an 85-year-old woman with an oxygen tank, speed away to the Spearmint Rhino in a free limo, get rubbed by a former Miss Teen USA, puke in the back of a cab driven by a retired Navy SEAL, snort cheap cocaine in the bathroom at O'Sheas, and then catch a lucky card on the river to crack pocket aces and win a poker tournament? Only in Las Vegas.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Reputed Mob Boss Michael "The Large Guy" Sarno" Granted Funeral Attendance
In a cooperative that sounds like it's straight from the Sopranos, Chicago mob boss Michael "The Large Guy" Sarno has promised a federal judge to observe the Outfit's sacred code of silence known as "Omerta." Or something like that.
Sarno, who has been under house arrest on $1 million bond, will be allowed to leaving electronic monitoring Saturday morning to attend a family funeral. But under one condition. "Mr. Sarno agrees to travel directly to and from the funeral and burial and will refrain from speaking with anyone associated with the Chicago Outfit" states the agreement struck with U.S. Magistrate Judge Sidney I. Schenkier on Wednesday.
Mr. Sarno has been under home confinement while awaiting trial on charges that he supervised the bombing of a Berwyn business that was competing against the mob's wildly popular-and illegal-video poker business.
There doesn't seem to be any precedent for such a general pledge-to extend the mob's sacred code of silence to an accused mob boss who wants to bend his federal bond so that he can attend a funeral. "Omerta" is a key covenant of the blood oath taken by Outfit members. Sarno is considered a "made member" of the mob according to federal law enforcement officials, because he participated in an official "making" ceremony.
Under the terms of his bond according to federal records, Sarno is "restricted to his residence at all times except for medical needs or treatment, religious services and court appearances." He needed special permission to attend the funeral. But it isn't the first time that Sarno has been allowed to leave the electronic confinement of his suburban Westchester home on family outings. Federal judges okayed his requests to attend a family holiday dinner last December and to attend an Easter gathering at his sister's house last spring if he promised to mingle only with actual blood relatives.
The Christmas festivities were held at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in downtown Chicago on Dec. 24. The Easter dinner was at his sister's home in suburban Broadview.
Saturday's funeral rites are for Sarno's first cousin, Harry Casaiani according to federal court records. Casaiani owned a popular suburban pizzeria. "Mr. Casaiani passed away on August 9, 2010. On August 14, 2010, Mr. Sarno requests the ability to arrive at St. Cletus Parish, 600 W. 55th Street, La Grange, IL for a viewing beginning at 8:00 a.m. and stay through the funeral mass" states Sarno's motion. "Mr. Sarno also requests attendance at the burial which will take place directly after the funeral mass and will be located at Mary Queen of Heaven Cemetery, 1400 S. Wolf Road, Hillside, IL 60162. All services are expected to conclude at 3:00 p.m."
Sarno was sentenced in 1995 to 6 1/2 years in prison for his role in a mob gambling rackets case. He was also named by the FBI in 2002 as one of the top five threats to government informant Nick Calabrese. He is an accused racketeer in the current federal bombing case.
Another defendant in the Sarno case also recently obtained court permission to leave house arrest for a family event. Reputed Chicago video poker king Casey Szaflarski will be allowed to attend his daughter's wedding on Aug. 21 at the Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago.
In the court OK however, Szaflarski was ordered not to speak with one of the wedding guests&his alleged Outfit boss, Frank "Toots" Caruso. Mr. Szaflarski may have to bite his tongue however. Caruso is the father of the groom.
Obituary listing for the cousin whose funeral Sarno will attend:
Harry A. Casciani, 58, of Burr Ridge, beloved Fiancé of Lilian; devoted Father of Gino, Rocco (Nina), and Carmen (Jacquie); loving Grandfather of Luca, Danilo, and Mia; fond Brother of Linda (Stanley), Laura (Jim), and Christine (Steve); son of the late Sergio and the late Jeanette; dear Uncle and friend of many. Harry was the proud owner of, and passionate about, his business Casciani's Pizzeria; and cared for his staff and customers like family. He was a very proud member of the Chicago Bears Family and above all else, loved his family, friends, and food. Visitation Friday 3 to 9p.m., at Hallowell & James Funeral Home, 1025 W.55th St. Countryside. Funeral Prayers Saturday 9:15 a.m., from the funeral home to St. Cletus Church, LaGrange. Mass 10 a.m. Entombment Queen of Heaven Cemetery. Funeral Info 708-352-6500.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie
Sarno, who has been under house arrest on $1 million bond, will be allowed to leaving electronic monitoring Saturday morning to attend a family funeral. But under one condition. "Mr. Sarno agrees to travel directly to and from the funeral and burial and will refrain from speaking with anyone associated with the Chicago Outfit" states the agreement struck with U.S. Magistrate Judge Sidney I. Schenkier on Wednesday.
Mr. Sarno has been under home confinement while awaiting trial on charges that he supervised the bombing of a Berwyn business that was competing against the mob's wildly popular-and illegal-video poker business.
There doesn't seem to be any precedent for such a general pledge-to extend the mob's sacred code of silence to an accused mob boss who wants to bend his federal bond so that he can attend a funeral. "Omerta" is a key covenant of the blood oath taken by Outfit members. Sarno is considered a "made member" of the mob according to federal law enforcement officials, because he participated in an official "making" ceremony.
Under the terms of his bond according to federal records, Sarno is "restricted to his residence at all times except for medical needs or treatment, religious services and court appearances." He needed special permission to attend the funeral. But it isn't the first time that Sarno has been allowed to leave the electronic confinement of his suburban Westchester home on family outings. Federal judges okayed his requests to attend a family holiday dinner last December and to attend an Easter gathering at his sister's house last spring if he promised to mingle only with actual blood relatives.
The Christmas festivities were held at Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in downtown Chicago on Dec. 24. The Easter dinner was at his sister's home in suburban Broadview.
Saturday's funeral rites are for Sarno's first cousin, Harry Casaiani according to federal court records. Casaiani owned a popular suburban pizzeria. "Mr. Casaiani passed away on August 9, 2010. On August 14, 2010, Mr. Sarno requests the ability to arrive at St. Cletus Parish, 600 W. 55th Street, La Grange, IL for a viewing beginning at 8:00 a.m. and stay through the funeral mass" states Sarno's motion. "Mr. Sarno also requests attendance at the burial which will take place directly after the funeral mass and will be located at Mary Queen of Heaven Cemetery, 1400 S. Wolf Road, Hillside, IL 60162. All services are expected to conclude at 3:00 p.m."
Sarno was sentenced in 1995 to 6 1/2 years in prison for his role in a mob gambling rackets case. He was also named by the FBI in 2002 as one of the top five threats to government informant Nick Calabrese. He is an accused racketeer in the current federal bombing case.
Another defendant in the Sarno case also recently obtained court permission to leave house arrest for a family event. Reputed Chicago video poker king Casey Szaflarski will be allowed to attend his daughter's wedding on Aug. 21 at the Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago.
In the court OK however, Szaflarski was ordered not to speak with one of the wedding guests&his alleged Outfit boss, Frank "Toots" Caruso. Mr. Szaflarski may have to bite his tongue however. Caruso is the father of the groom.
Obituary listing for the cousin whose funeral Sarno will attend:
Harry A. Casciani, 58, of Burr Ridge, beloved Fiancé of Lilian; devoted Father of Gino, Rocco (Nina), and Carmen (Jacquie); loving Grandfather of Luca, Danilo, and Mia; fond Brother of Linda (Stanley), Laura (Jim), and Christine (Steve); son of the late Sergio and the late Jeanette; dear Uncle and friend of many. Harry was the proud owner of, and passionate about, his business Casciani's Pizzeria; and cared for his staff and customers like family. He was a very proud member of the Chicago Bears Family and above all else, loved his family, friends, and food. Visitation Friday 3 to 9p.m., at Hallowell & James Funeral Home, 1025 W.55th St. Countryside. Funeral Prayers Saturday 9:15 a.m., from the funeral home to St. Cletus Church, LaGrange. Mass 10 a.m. Entombment Queen of Heaven Cemetery. Funeral Info 708-352-6500.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie
Friday, August 13, 2010
Public's Help Sought in Capture of Missing Chicago Gangster
Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is asking for the public’s help in trying to locate SAMUEL NUNEZ, age 23, whose last known address was 2719 West 39th Place in Chicago.
NUNEZ is the subject of a nationwide manhunt coordinated by the Chicago FBI’s Joint Task Force on Gangs (JTFG) since July of this year, when he was charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago with violation of federal drug and firearms laws.
NUNEZ and 24 others were charged with drug or weapons violations in a combined federal and state investigation which culminated in the arrest of 22 area defendants on July 21, 2010. NUNEZ was one of three defendants in this case who escaped capture and is still at-large.
NUNEZ, also known as “Sammy”, is described as a Hispanic male, 23 years of age, 5’8” tall, weighing approximately 180 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. NUNEZ has the name “Sabina” tattooed on his chest. Due to his extensive criminal record, he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Anyone recognizing NUNEZ or having any information as to his current whereabouts is asked to call the Chicago FBI at 312-421-6700.
NUNEZ is the subject of a nationwide manhunt coordinated by the Chicago FBI’s Joint Task Force on Gangs (JTFG) since July of this year, when he was charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago with violation of federal drug and firearms laws.
NUNEZ and 24 others were charged with drug or weapons violations in a combined federal and state investigation which culminated in the arrest of 22 area defendants on July 21, 2010. NUNEZ was one of three defendants in this case who escaped capture and is still at-large.
NUNEZ, also known as “Sammy”, is described as a Hispanic male, 23 years of age, 5’8” tall, weighing approximately 180 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. NUNEZ has the name “Sabina” tattooed on his chest. Due to his extensive criminal record, he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Anyone recognizing NUNEZ or having any information as to his current whereabouts is asked to call the Chicago FBI at 312-421-6700.
Monday, August 09, 2010
Reputed Mob Burglar, Jerry "Witherhand" Scalise, Makes Bid for Pre-Trial Release
Chicago Outfit burglar Jerry "Witherhand" Scalise, who once grabbed a royal British diamond the size of an egg using his non-deformed hand, is making a new bid for bail in his latest legal escapade.
Attorney Edward Genson on Monday filed a motion in U.S. District Court asking that Scalise be granted pre-trial release because he has "secured additional property from his family and friends to post for bond." Genson noted in the motion that Scalise had been told by a federal judge during previous court hearings that bond would be possible if more property were posted.
Scalise, 73, is the suspected leader of a so-called "Geriatric Trio" of aging mobsters. His not-so-subtle mob nickname "Witherhand" is in recognition of having been born minus four fingers on his left hand. Arrested last April with Scalise were Robert "Bobby" Pullia, 69, and Arthur "The Genius" Rachel, 71 as they allegedly scouted banks to rob in the western suburbs.
Federal authorities picked up the three as they were preparing to rob the Bridgeport mansion of deceased Chinatown Outfit boss Angelo "The Hook" LaPietra. They were arrested outside the LaPietra home with burglary tools, guns, ammo and communications equipment, according to federal agents.
At the time, there was speculation by mobologists that Scalise and crew were going into LaPietra's former castle-like residence to retrieve the famous Marlborough diamond. The 45 carat sparkler was swiped in 1980 during a daring morning hold-up at Graff Jewelers in London, UK. Scalise and Rachel were arrested as they arrived at O'Hare Airport that evening− the diamond.
Although both men were convicted in the theft of the diamond-among $4 million in stolen gems-and served time in a British penitentiary, the royal Marlborough diamond was never recovered.
Some investigators have long held that the huge diamond was mailed to mob bosses in Chicago.
When Scalise finally got out of the UK prison, he returned to Chicago and found work as a movie consultant. Most recently he was hired by director Michael Mann as a crime consultant in the Johnny Depp film, "Public Enemies." Mann told the LA Times he wanted to know what it was like inside a robber's psyche.
According to federal prosecutors Scalise knows all about how to rob-because he is still un-gainfully self-employed as one. According to the federal court motion which will be argued Tuesday, Scalise's family and friends agree to post as security for his release:
Ms. Pizza is Scalise "longtime companion" according to the motion filed by attorney Genson. The couple lived together in a Hinsdale apartment before she purchased the home in Clarendon Hills, according to law enforcement sources. Scalise promised in the motion that Ms. Pizza "was also willing to act as the designated person for Mr. Scalise should he be released." That may be determined during tomorrow's hearing.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie
Attorney Edward Genson on Monday filed a motion in U.S. District Court asking that Scalise be granted pre-trial release because he has "secured additional property from his family and friends to post for bond." Genson noted in the motion that Scalise had been told by a federal judge during previous court hearings that bond would be possible if more property were posted.
Scalise, 73, is the suspected leader of a so-called "Geriatric Trio" of aging mobsters. His not-so-subtle mob nickname "Witherhand" is in recognition of having been born minus four fingers on his left hand. Arrested last April with Scalise were Robert "Bobby" Pullia, 69, and Arthur "The Genius" Rachel, 71 as they allegedly scouted banks to rob in the western suburbs.
Federal authorities picked up the three as they were preparing to rob the Bridgeport mansion of deceased Chinatown Outfit boss Angelo "The Hook" LaPietra. They were arrested outside the LaPietra home with burglary tools, guns, ammo and communications equipment, according to federal agents.
At the time, there was speculation by mobologists that Scalise and crew were going into LaPietra's former castle-like residence to retrieve the famous Marlborough diamond. The 45 carat sparkler was swiped in 1980 during a daring morning hold-up at Graff Jewelers in London, UK. Scalise and Rachel were arrested as they arrived at O'Hare Airport that evening− the diamond.
Although both men were convicted in the theft of the diamond-among $4 million in stolen gems-and served time in a British penitentiary, the royal Marlborough diamond was never recovered.
Some investigators have long held that the huge diamond was mailed to mob bosses in Chicago.
When Scalise finally got out of the UK prison, he returned to Chicago and found work as a movie consultant. Most recently he was hired by director Michael Mann as a crime consultant in the Johnny Depp film, "Public Enemies." Mann told the LA Times he wanted to know what it was like inside a robber's psyche.
According to federal prosecutors Scalise knows all about how to rob-because he is still un-gainfully self-employed as one. According to the federal court motion which will be argued Tuesday, Scalise's family and friends agree to post as security for his release:
- A Clarendon Hills Home, owned by Linda Pizza, Value $690,000, Equity $181,000
- Land in Hawaii, owned by Thomas Seaman (brother-in-law), Market Value per Property Assessment $365,200, no mortgage
- Monee Home, owned by Algiras A. Macevicius (friend), Appraised at $225,000, Equity $136,000
Ms. Pizza is Scalise "longtime companion" according to the motion filed by attorney Genson. The couple lived together in a Hinsdale apartment before she purchased the home in Clarendon Hills, according to law enforcement sources. Scalise promised in the motion that Ms. Pizza "was also willing to act as the designated person for Mr. Scalise should he be released." That may be determined during tomorrow's hearing.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie
Saturday, August 07, 2010
Martin Angelina, Mob Underboss, Sentenced to Probation for Aggravated Assault
Nearly a year after spitting in the face of a Margate police officer, mob underboss Martin Angelina was sentenced Friday to a year's probation and fined $1,000 for aggravated assault.
Angelina, 48, said little during the sentencing hearing before Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury. Neither he nor his lawyer, M.W. "Mike" Pinsky, would comment as they left the third-floor courtroom.
Dressed in a blue striped polo shirt and jeans, the once roly-poly wiseguy appeared tan and fit as he stood before DeLury at his brief court appearance.
Asked by the judge if he had anything to say, Angelina replied, "Nothing."
DeLury described Angelina's confrontation with Police Officer Christopher Taroncher as "boisterous and profane," but said he would accept a plea deal between Pinsky and the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.
The South Philadelphia resident formally entered his guilty plea in June.
The fact that Taroncher was not injured apparently played a role in the prosecution's decision to downgrade the charge to a fourth-degree offense that did not require a jail sentence.
Angelina, DeLury pointed out, has 12 prior arrests and six convictions. He also has a driving-while-intoxicated charge pending in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court. His most serious offense was a conviction for racketeering in 2001. Angelina served nearly six years and was twice jailed for probation violations after his release because he associated with organized-crime figures.
The current probation sentence includes a similar prohibition for the mobster. He also will be required to attend weekly counseling sessions at Alcoholics Anonymous or a similar organization.
Pinsky told DeLury that the current charge was not connected with organized criminal activity. He said it grew out of a domestic dispute.
Angelina was arrested early on Sept. 1, 2009, at an apartment in Margate where he was staying with a girlfriend, according to police. Neighbors had complained about shouting. He and the girlfriend had been arguing while drinking at some local bars and the dispute continued at home, police said.
Angelina spent several hours in the Margate lockup and was being released around 8 a.m. when, officials said, he got into an argument with Taroncher, who was in the process of freeing him. He then spit in Taroncher's face. Angelina was rearrested on an assault charge and remained in the lockup for two more hours before $2,500 bail was posted.
Once described by a federal prosecutor as a "bully running with a gang of misfits," Angelina was a close associate and enforcer for jailed mob boss Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino, who ruled the Philadelphia mob family in the late 1990s. Merlino, Angelina, and five codefendants were convicted in the 2001 racketeering case in Philadelphia.
Angelina, according to federal and local police, was named underboss, the number-two man, in the local mob by reputed boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi after Angelina completed his prison sentence. The move was seen in law enforcement and underworld circles as a favor to Merlino. Angelina is not considered a close associate of Ligambi's.
Ligambi, 70, has taken a low-key approach to running the crime family and frowns on actions - like spitting on a police officer - that attract media attention.
Angelina, Ligambi, and nearly a dozen other mob figures are the focus of a racketeering investigation being conducted by the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia, according to witnesses and investigators involved in that probe.
Thanks to George Anastasia
Angelina, 48, said little during the sentencing hearing before Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury. Neither he nor his lawyer, M.W. "Mike" Pinsky, would comment as they left the third-floor courtroom.
Dressed in a blue striped polo shirt and jeans, the once roly-poly wiseguy appeared tan and fit as he stood before DeLury at his brief court appearance.
Asked by the judge if he had anything to say, Angelina replied, "Nothing."
DeLury described Angelina's confrontation with Police Officer Christopher Taroncher as "boisterous and profane," but said he would accept a plea deal between Pinsky and the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.
The South Philadelphia resident formally entered his guilty plea in June.
The fact that Taroncher was not injured apparently played a role in the prosecution's decision to downgrade the charge to a fourth-degree offense that did not require a jail sentence.
Angelina, DeLury pointed out, has 12 prior arrests and six convictions. He also has a driving-while-intoxicated charge pending in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court. His most serious offense was a conviction for racketeering in 2001. Angelina served nearly six years and was twice jailed for probation violations after his release because he associated with organized-crime figures.
The current probation sentence includes a similar prohibition for the mobster. He also will be required to attend weekly counseling sessions at Alcoholics Anonymous or a similar organization.
Pinsky told DeLury that the current charge was not connected with organized criminal activity. He said it grew out of a domestic dispute.
Angelina was arrested early on Sept. 1, 2009, at an apartment in Margate where he was staying with a girlfriend, according to police. Neighbors had complained about shouting. He and the girlfriend had been arguing while drinking at some local bars and the dispute continued at home, police said.
Angelina spent several hours in the Margate lockup and was being released around 8 a.m. when, officials said, he got into an argument with Taroncher, who was in the process of freeing him. He then spit in Taroncher's face. Angelina was rearrested on an assault charge and remained in the lockup for two more hours before $2,500 bail was posted.
Once described by a federal prosecutor as a "bully running with a gang of misfits," Angelina was a close associate and enforcer for jailed mob boss Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino, who ruled the Philadelphia mob family in the late 1990s. Merlino, Angelina, and five codefendants were convicted in the 2001 racketeering case in Philadelphia.
Angelina, according to federal and local police, was named underboss, the number-two man, in the local mob by reputed boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi after Angelina completed his prison sentence. The move was seen in law enforcement and underworld circles as a favor to Merlino. Angelina is not considered a close associate of Ligambi's.
Ligambi, 70, has taken a low-key approach to running the crime family and frowns on actions - like spitting on a police officer - that attract media attention.
Angelina, Ligambi, and nearly a dozen other mob figures are the focus of a racketeering investigation being conducted by the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia, according to witnesses and investigators involved in that probe.
Thanks to George Anastasia
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Harry Caray Link to the Chicago Mob?
The former Chicago Varnish company building is 115 years old -- a Dutch renaissance revival masterpiece – and is famous for more than just being the home to Harry Caray’s, one of Chicago's most famous eateries.
There's a connection to Chicago's Gangland Era, and in particular to AL Capone's top henchman Frank Nitti, the enforcer, who held an apartment there from 1939 to 1943.
There's a separate bedroom with a cedar-lined closet, and a still-functioning bathroom replete with vintage pink and black tile. And there's more: Harry Caray's president and managing partner Grant Deporter took FOX Chicago to the basement, where 15 years ago an electrician discovered a passageway behind a wall he was working on.
The tunnel -- once a distribution path for coal – is now used for storage.
Back in the basement, in what is now Harry Caray's wine room, there’s a bit of history we have no chance of destroying: an old safe believed to belong to Nitti.
Thanks to Corey McPherrin
There's a connection to Chicago's Gangland Era, and in particular to AL Capone's top henchman Frank Nitti, the enforcer, who held an apartment there from 1939 to 1943.
There's a separate bedroom with a cedar-lined closet, and a still-functioning bathroom replete with vintage pink and black tile. And there's more: Harry Caray's president and managing partner Grant Deporter took FOX Chicago to the basement, where 15 years ago an electrician discovered a passageway behind a wall he was working on.
The tunnel -- once a distribution path for coal – is now used for storage.
Back in the basement, in what is now Harry Caray's wine room, there’s a bit of history we have no chance of destroying: an old safe believed to belong to Nitti.
Thanks to Corey McPherrin
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Top Organized Crime Publishers to Form Dynamic Duo
The publishers of two quarterly true-crime journals plan to pool their resources in a new, combined publication. Informer: The History of American Crime and Law Enforcement, set to launch in October, will provide informative and well-documented historical articles on crime, organized crime, policing and penology.
Rick Mattix has been publisher and editor of the On the Spot Journal of Crime and Law Enforcement since fall of 2006. Thomas Hunt has held a similar role with Informer: The Journal of American Mafia History since fall of 2008. Mattix’s publication specialized in the history of the gangster era - the 1920s and 30s, while Hunt’s dealt exclusively with the history of the American Mafia.
“Though I never thought of us as being in competition with each other,” Hunt said, “It’s clear there was considerable overlap in our publications. In fact, before launching Informer, I wrote several Mafia history articles for On the Spot. So, this seems a natural combination.”
Mattix said, “I am pleased to participate in the new Informer, which I believe will be a worthy successor to both its parent journals as well as expanding our previous horizons in the history of American crime and crime control.”
Hunt will serve as publisher of the new Informer: The History of American Crime and Law Enforcement. He also will perform copy editing and page design tasks. Mattix will serve as editorial director and will be responsible for article acquisition and issue contents.
The new publication will be distributed in electronic and print editions. The low-cost electronic edition will be distributed through the Scribd.com document sharing service. Individual electronic issues will be priced at $5 (US), with annual subscriptions available for $18. The high quality print edition will be produced and shipped by HP’s international print-on-demand service MagCloud.com. The cost of individual print edition issues, including shipping, is estimated to be just under $20. Annual subscriptions to the print edition will be offered at a price of $75.
For more information on the publication, visit its website: http://informer-journal.blogspot.com. Informer can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.
Rick Mattix has been publisher and editor of the On the Spot Journal of Crime and Law Enforcement since fall of 2006. Thomas Hunt has held a similar role with Informer: The Journal of American Mafia History since fall of 2008. Mattix’s publication specialized in the history of the gangster era - the 1920s and 30s, while Hunt’s dealt exclusively with the history of the American Mafia.
“Though I never thought of us as being in competition with each other,” Hunt said, “It’s clear there was considerable overlap in our publications. In fact, before launching Informer, I wrote several Mafia history articles for On the Spot. So, this seems a natural combination.”
Mattix said, “I am pleased to participate in the new Informer, which I believe will be a worthy successor to both its parent journals as well as expanding our previous horizons in the history of American crime and crime control.”
Hunt will serve as publisher of the new Informer: The History of American Crime and Law Enforcement. He also will perform copy editing and page design tasks. Mattix will serve as editorial director and will be responsible for article acquisition and issue contents.
The new publication will be distributed in electronic and print editions. The low-cost electronic edition will be distributed through the Scribd.com document sharing service. Individual electronic issues will be priced at $5 (US), with annual subscriptions available for $18. The high quality print edition will be produced and shipped by HP’s international print-on-demand service MagCloud.com. The cost of individual print edition issues, including shipping, is estimated to be just under $20. Annual subscriptions to the print edition will be offered at a price of $75.
For more information on the publication, visit its website: http://informer-journal.blogspot.com. Informer can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.
Monday, July 26, 2010
"The Dig" Has Band Gear Stolen from Van in Chicago
First, the good news: New York City's The Dig has announced two new tour dates in support of Dashboard Confessional. Before traveling home following a five-week national tour with Thrice, Kevin Devine, and Bad Veins, the band will play Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, IL, on July 27th and Six Flags St. Louis in Eureka, MO, on July 28th with Dashboard.
In far less happy news, the band's van was robbed overnight in Chicago and most of their gear stolen. The Dig will be able to play the Gurnee and Eureka shows thanks to the good men of Dashboard Confessional, who have kindly offered to share their gear for the next two nights. Anyone with information on the stolen gear can please contact the Chicago Police and/or the band at thedigmusic@gmail.com. The van was parked on N. Leavitt St. and W. Evergreen Ave., and a full list of stolen items is below
The Dig's debut album Electric Toys was released June 8th and has been catching praise from the press, with Relix recently writing, "The Dig's formula combines the resonance and character of the Strokes with the sentimental uncertainty of a Charles Bukowski novel...the end result is 12 tracks of assorted musical flavors that truly encapsulate New York City rock and roll." The band has spent the majority of the past year on the road, in support of The Walkmen, White Rabbits, Editors, The Antlers, Portugal. The Man, Here We Go Magic, and Port O'Brien. The Dig has also had multiple tracks from Electric Toys featured on primetime dramas, most recently "I Just Wanna Talk To You" on ABC's Scoundrels, and previously "Carry Me Home" on NBC's Trauma and "Look Inside" on The CW's The Vampire Diaries.
The Dig tour dates:
JULY 27 GURNEE, IL SIX FLAGS GREAT AMERICA*
JULY 28 EUREKA, MO SIX FLAGS ST. LOUIS*
The Dig's stolen gear list:
* Bass Guitar - Fender Electric Precision - Ivory Body w/ Black Pick
Guard SN: 619368
* Guitar - PRS - McCarty - Dark Red
* Guitar - Fender Telecaster - blonde body w/ black pick guard -
double humbucker pickups - rosewood neck
* Guitar - Epiphone - 1967 Sorrento Sun burst hollow body
* Bass Amplifier - Ampeg V-4 SN: 137500
* Guitar Amplifier - Fender Deville "212" Type PR247 SN: 178888
* Custom Speaker Cabinet - 2 x 10"
* Snare Drum Ludwig 14"x 5 1/4" Steel SN: 3079825
* Rack Tom - Slingerland 13" x 8" Pearl White 1962
* Laptop Computer - Sony Vaio - 2007
In far less happy news, the band's van was robbed overnight in Chicago and most of their gear stolen. The Dig will be able to play the Gurnee and Eureka shows thanks to the good men of Dashboard Confessional, who have kindly offered to share their gear for the next two nights. Anyone with information on the stolen gear can please contact the Chicago Police and/or the band at thedigmusic@gmail.com. The van was parked on N. Leavitt St. and W. Evergreen Ave., and a full list of stolen items is below
The Dig's debut album Electric Toys was released June 8th and has been catching praise from the press, with Relix recently writing, "The Dig's formula combines the resonance and character of the Strokes with the sentimental uncertainty of a Charles Bukowski novel...the end result is 12 tracks of assorted musical flavors that truly encapsulate New York City rock and roll." The band has spent the majority of the past year on the road, in support of The Walkmen, White Rabbits, Editors, The Antlers, Portugal. The Man, Here We Go Magic, and Port O'Brien. The Dig has also had multiple tracks from Electric Toys featured on primetime dramas, most recently "I Just Wanna Talk To You" on ABC's Scoundrels, and previously "Carry Me Home" on NBC's Trauma and "Look Inside" on The CW's The Vampire Diaries.
The Dig tour dates:
JULY 27 GURNEE, IL SIX FLAGS GREAT AMERICA*
JULY 28 EUREKA, MO SIX FLAGS ST. LOUIS*
The Dig's stolen gear list:
* Bass Guitar - Fender Electric Precision - Ivory Body w/ Black Pick
Guard SN: 619368
* Guitar - PRS - McCarty - Dark Red
* Guitar - Fender Telecaster - blonde body w/ black pick guard -
double humbucker pickups - rosewood neck
* Guitar - Epiphone - 1967 Sorrento Sun burst hollow body
* Bass Amplifier - Ampeg V-4 SN: 137500
* Guitar Amplifier - Fender Deville "212" Type PR247 SN: 178888
* Custom Speaker Cabinet - 2 x 10"
* Snare Drum Ludwig 14"x 5 1/4" Steel SN: 3079825
* Rack Tom - Slingerland 13" x 8" Pearl White 1962
* Laptop Computer - Sony Vaio - 2007
Friday, July 23, 2010
Colombo Crime Family Mobster Mickey Souza Learns the Mob is More About Money Than Honor
The Colombo crime family must really be going to the dogs if this is the type of muscle they're recruiting.
Meet Michael (Mickey) Souza.
Before legendary Colombo underboss John (Sonny) Franzese pricked Souza's finger with a sterile diabetic needle in 2005 to make him a made man, Souza had built quite the fiasco-filled résumé.
There was the time he shot himself, Plaxico Burress-style, while tucking a handgun in his sweatpants. There's his arrest for boating while drunk. And then there was the time he injured one of his fellow goons while the two busted up a funeral parlor.
If an organization is no better than its worst guy, then the Colombos are indeed in trouble. And what thanks do they get for taking in this mopey mobster? He's now turned stool pigeon.
Souza, 42, made his debut on the witness stand last week at the racketeering trial of Genovese gangster Anthony Antico in Brooklyn Federal Court.
He was facing 30 years to life for drug trafficking when he sought a cooperation agreement from the feds.
"'Hello, John,'" he wrote to John Buretta, the chief of the Brooklyn U.S. attorney's organized-crime section, in 2008, offering to help "seal up" some federal cases.
"P.S. I am so ready to go to [the witness protection program] ... can't do this anymore," Souza concluded.
His testimony - and dramatic turn against the bosses - speaks to the Colombos' disarray and lowering of standards for supposed "men of honor."
"Their [the Colombos'] roster is getting pretty thin," conceded a law enforcement official.
Souza's troubles go way back.
He was "honorably discharged" from high school because "I baseball-batted somebody on school property," he testified. He instead graduated to loansharking, drug dealing and running a Staten Island gym called Evolution, where wiseguys and wanna-bes pumped iron. And after assaulting his own wife, he was marked for death by his mobbed-up father-in-law. But maybe worst of all was violating a previously unknown rule by exposing himself in a Staten Island bar owned by a gangster.
"You know, the rules, you don't take out your private part in a wiseguy's place," Souza said on the stand, in describing his past with the mob.
In Souza's bizarro world, "sitdowns" to settle beefs are now called "standups" - "you talk on the corner." And he paid the medical bills for a guy whose eye he popped out during a grisly fight. But Souza said he sees the Mafia more clearly now. "There's no honor in this life. It's all about the dollar," he said.
Thanks to John Marzulli
Meet Michael (Mickey) Souza.
Before legendary Colombo underboss John (Sonny) Franzese pricked Souza's finger with a sterile diabetic needle in 2005 to make him a made man, Souza had built quite the fiasco-filled résumé.
There was the time he shot himself, Plaxico Burress-style, while tucking a handgun in his sweatpants. There's his arrest for boating while drunk. And then there was the time he injured one of his fellow goons while the two busted up a funeral parlor.
If an organization is no better than its worst guy, then the Colombos are indeed in trouble. And what thanks do they get for taking in this mopey mobster? He's now turned stool pigeon.
Souza, 42, made his debut on the witness stand last week at the racketeering trial of Genovese gangster Anthony Antico in Brooklyn Federal Court.
He was facing 30 years to life for drug trafficking when he sought a cooperation agreement from the feds.
"'Hello, John,'" he wrote to John Buretta, the chief of the Brooklyn U.S. attorney's organized-crime section, in 2008, offering to help "seal up" some federal cases.
"P.S. I am so ready to go to [the witness protection program] ... can't do this anymore," Souza concluded.
His testimony - and dramatic turn against the bosses - speaks to the Colombos' disarray and lowering of standards for supposed "men of honor."
"Their [the Colombos'] roster is getting pretty thin," conceded a law enforcement official.
Souza's troubles go way back.
He was "honorably discharged" from high school because "I baseball-batted somebody on school property," he testified. He instead graduated to loansharking, drug dealing and running a Staten Island gym called Evolution, where wiseguys and wanna-bes pumped iron. And after assaulting his own wife, he was marked for death by his mobbed-up father-in-law. But maybe worst of all was violating a previously unknown rule by exposing himself in a Staten Island bar owned by a gangster.
"You know, the rules, you don't take out your private part in a wiseguy's place," Souza said on the stand, in describing his past with the mob.
In Souza's bizarro world, "sitdowns" to settle beefs are now called "standups" - "you talk on the corner." And he paid the medical bills for a guy whose eye he popped out during a grisly fight. But Souza said he sees the Mafia more clearly now. "There's no honor in this life. It's all about the dollar," he said.
Thanks to John Marzulli
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Chicago Crime Commission's Most Wanted List
The Chicago Crime Commission, in cooperation with federal, state, county and local law enforcement authorities, has released its Most Wanted list for the Chicagoland area. The Chicago Crime Commission’s Most Wanted list is the successor of the organization’s Public Enemies list first created in the 1930s.
“The fugitives on the Chicago Crime Commission’s Most Wanted list are in hiding and are wanted by law enforcement agencies for a variety of crimes. They all have one thing in common…they should be considered armed and dangerous,” said Arthur Bilek, Executive Vice President of the Chicago Crime Commission. “A citizen should not attempt to apprehend these individuals themselves,” he added. “Many of the criminals on our list are gang members and drug dealers and are part of the culture of violence responsible for the shootings and murders that plague many of Chicago’s neighborhoods and victimize our children,” Bilek continued. “These criminals hide behind a wall of silence, where good people are fearful or choose to do nothing rather than to expose and rid their communities of this criminals,” he added.
To empower residents, the Chicago Crime Commission has developed an anonymous Most Wanted hotline and website which citizens can use to provide information on these fugitives without speaking directly to law enforcement or revealing their identities. Citizens can report information on the Most Wanted hotline at 3123720155 or www.chicagocrimecommission.org
The Chicago Crime Commission intends to partner with community organizations to distribute information on these fugitives. Additionally, the Chicago Crime Commission is utilizing social networking sites like Facebook and the Internet to digitally spread the word about the Most Wanted list.
“By working together with the community and law enforcement, I am confident that we can take a positive step to getting these criminals off the streets,” Bilek said.
The fugitives on the Chicago Crime Commission Most Wanted list are as follows:
Danny Dominguez – Wanted for Conspiracy to Possess and Distribute Cocaine – On September 24, 2008, Dominguez was one of forty members of the Latin Kings gang the FBI sought to arrest following a federal drug investigation called “Operation Pesadilla.” He is the highestranking member of Operation Pesadilla that eluded arrest that day. Dominguez is allegedly an "Inca," or a supervisor for the gang, responsible for overseeing the selling of cocaine in the district of 30th and Sawyer in Chicago, Illinois.
Eddie C. Hicks – Conspiracy, Possession and Distribution of a Controlled Substance Hicks is wanted for conspiracy, possession and distribution of a controlled substance and failure to appear. Hicks and four accomplices allegedly posed as Drug Enforcement Administration officers, prepared false search warrants, confiscated drugs, money and other valuables, and then sold the drugs to other drug dealers. Hicks was scheduled for trial on June 9, 2003 to face drug and RICO charges but failed to appear. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest. Hicks is the only member of the group that remains a fugitive. He is a former police sergeant, serving 30 years with the Chicago Police Department.
Erick Secundino – First Degree Murder On January 1, 2008, Secundino, an accomplice to Fernando Palomino, allegedly killed three people, leaving another victim critically injured. Investigators say what went down was not a typical drug deal but rather a drug “rip off” with the intent to rob the drug dealer. Secundino entered an apartment in the 2400 block of North Monticello, and the shooting occurred about 4:50 pm. All four victims were reportedly duct taped before the shooting. At least one weapon was recovered. Both Palomino and Secundino are alleged members of the Spanish Cobras gang and are believed to be hiding in Chicago with help from the gang.
Fernando Palomino – First Degree Murder On January 1, 2008, Palomino, an accomplice to Erick Secundino, allegedly killed three people, leaving another victim critically injured. Investigators say what went down was not a typical drug deal but rather a drug “rip off” with the intent to rob the drug dealer. Palomino entered an apartment in the 2400 block of North
Monticello, and the shooting occurred about 4:50 pm. All four victims were reportedly duct taped before the shooting. At least one weapon was recovered. Palomino was on parole from the Illinois Department of Corrections at the time of the murders. Both Palomino and Secundino are alleged members of the Spanish Cobras gang and are believed to be hiding in Chicago with help from the gang.
Lorenzo SanchezJimenez – Conspiracy, Possession and Distribution of a Controlled Substance SanchezJimenez is wanted by the FBI for his involvement in a drug distribution operation, which smuggled kilogram quantities of cocaine into the Chicago area. He has been the subject of a nationwide manhunt coordinated by Chicago FBI since April 2009 when he was charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago in violation of federal drug laws.
Sherry Halligan – Murder, Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution – Sherry Halligan is wanted for the murder of a man in her home in LaGrange, Illinois on January 30, 2003. While arguing with the victim, Halligan allegedly shot the victim five times. The victim died of his wounds at the scene.
Sergio Mendoza – First Degree Murder On July 17, 2005, Mendoza and a codefendant were driving in a van in the 7100 block of South Lawndale in Chicago. They approached the victim, who was sitting in a car with friends. After allegedly firing over a dozen shots they fled. The victim died at the scene. The crime is believed to be gang related, although the specific motive of the shooting is unknown.
The Chicago Crime Commission was founded in 1919 by 35 members of the Chicago business community and is the oldest and most respected citizens’ crime commission in the nation. The Chicago Crime Commission is a volunteer organization comprised of more than 200 businesses and professional leaders from the Chicago metropolitan area.
“The fugitives on the Chicago Crime Commission’s Most Wanted list are in hiding and are wanted by law enforcement agencies for a variety of crimes. They all have one thing in common…they should be considered armed and dangerous,” said Arthur Bilek, Executive Vice President of the Chicago Crime Commission. “A citizen should not attempt to apprehend these individuals themselves,” he added. “Many of the criminals on our list are gang members and drug dealers and are part of the culture of violence responsible for the shootings and murders that plague many of Chicago’s neighborhoods and victimize our children,” Bilek continued. “These criminals hide behind a wall of silence, where good people are fearful or choose to do nothing rather than to expose and rid their communities of this criminals,” he added.
To empower residents, the Chicago Crime Commission has developed an anonymous Most Wanted hotline and website which citizens can use to provide information on these fugitives without speaking directly to law enforcement or revealing their identities. Citizens can report information on the Most Wanted hotline at 3123720155 or www.chicagocrimecommission.org
The Chicago Crime Commission intends to partner with community organizations to distribute information on these fugitives. Additionally, the Chicago Crime Commission is utilizing social networking sites like Facebook and the Internet to digitally spread the word about the Most Wanted list.
“By working together with the community and law enforcement, I am confident that we can take a positive step to getting these criminals off the streets,” Bilek said.
The fugitives on the Chicago Crime Commission Most Wanted list are as follows:
Danny Dominguez – Wanted for Conspiracy to Possess and Distribute Cocaine – On September 24, 2008, Dominguez was one of forty members of the Latin Kings gang the FBI sought to arrest following a federal drug investigation called “Operation Pesadilla.” He is the highestranking member of Operation Pesadilla that eluded arrest that day. Dominguez is allegedly an "Inca," or a supervisor for the gang, responsible for overseeing the selling of cocaine in the district of 30th and Sawyer in Chicago, Illinois.
Eddie C. Hicks – Conspiracy, Possession and Distribution of a Controlled Substance Hicks is wanted for conspiracy, possession and distribution of a controlled substance and failure to appear. Hicks and four accomplices allegedly posed as Drug Enforcement Administration officers, prepared false search warrants, confiscated drugs, money and other valuables, and then sold the drugs to other drug dealers. Hicks was scheduled for trial on June 9, 2003 to face drug and RICO charges but failed to appear. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest. Hicks is the only member of the group that remains a fugitive. He is a former police sergeant, serving 30 years with the Chicago Police Department.
Erick Secundino – First Degree Murder On January 1, 2008, Secundino, an accomplice to Fernando Palomino, allegedly killed three people, leaving another victim critically injured. Investigators say what went down was not a typical drug deal but rather a drug “rip off” with the intent to rob the drug dealer. Secundino entered an apartment in the 2400 block of North Monticello, and the shooting occurred about 4:50 pm. All four victims were reportedly duct taped before the shooting. At least one weapon was recovered. Both Palomino and Secundino are alleged members of the Spanish Cobras gang and are believed to be hiding in Chicago with help from the gang.
Fernando Palomino – First Degree Murder On January 1, 2008, Palomino, an accomplice to Erick Secundino, allegedly killed three people, leaving another victim critically injured. Investigators say what went down was not a typical drug deal but rather a drug “rip off” with the intent to rob the drug dealer. Palomino entered an apartment in the 2400 block of North
Monticello, and the shooting occurred about 4:50 pm. All four victims were reportedly duct taped before the shooting. At least one weapon was recovered. Palomino was on parole from the Illinois Department of Corrections at the time of the murders. Both Palomino and Secundino are alleged members of the Spanish Cobras gang and are believed to be hiding in Chicago with help from the gang.
Jesus Sanchez – Murder, Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution Sanchez is wanted in connection with a July 14, 2003 homicide on the 6200 block of South Whipple in Chicago where he was involved in the beating death of a rival gang member. Sanchez and the others allegedly brutally beat the victim with discarded wood boards. The victim died after suffering fiftynine separate injuries. Sanchez is believed to be a member of the Latin Saints gang. He was convicted in absentia of the murder and sentenced to 27 years in prison.
Lorenzo SanchezJimenez – Conspiracy, Possession and Distribution of a Controlled Substance SanchezJimenez is wanted by the FBI for his involvement in a drug distribution operation, which smuggled kilogram quantities of cocaine into the Chicago area. He has been the subject of a nationwide manhunt coordinated by Chicago FBI since April 2009 when he was charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago in violation of federal drug laws.
Miguel Martinez – Murder, Drug Conspiracy Martinez is charged with conspiracy to commit multiple shootings, homicides and other firearmsrelated violent crimes during a gang war with rival gangs in the summer of 2002. He is also wanted on Federal charges stemming from his involvement in a conspiracy to commit violent crimes and distribute illegal drugs. Martinez is a two time convicted felon and is considered the second ranking member of the Insane Deuces street gang with the title of "Lieutenant Governor" or "Second Seat" and is responsible for the Aurora, IL area. Through his position he had the power to authorize hits on rival gang members as well as have others commit any one of a number of crimes on the gang's behalf.
Muaz Haffar – Wanted for Murder, Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution On July 9, 2005 Haffar and another defendant instigated an altercation that led to the death of a University of Illinois at Chicago student. Haffar beat the victim with a metal bike lock, continuing to attack him beyond the point of consciousness. The victim’s face was disfigured beyond recognition and died after suffering more than thirty separate injuries, including six skull fractures. Haffar was charged with firstdegree murder and aggravated battery, and a judge issued an arrest warrant for him after he failed to show up in court for a preliminary hearing. Haffar may have fled to the Middle East.
Sherry Halligan – Murder, Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution – Sherry Halligan is wanted for the murder of a man in her home in LaGrange, Illinois on January 30, 2003. While arguing with the victim, Halligan allegedly shot the victim five times. The victim died of his wounds at the scene.
Sergio Mendoza – First Degree Murder On July 17, 2005, Mendoza and a codefendant were driving in a van in the 7100 block of South Lawndale in Chicago. They approached the victim, who was sitting in a car with friends. After allegedly firing over a dozen shots they fled. The victim died at the scene. The crime is believed to be gang related, although the specific motive of the shooting is unknown.
The Chicago Crime Commission was founded in 1919 by 35 members of the Chicago business community and is the oldest and most respected citizens’ crime commission in the nation. The Chicago Crime Commission is a volunteer organization comprised of more than 200 businesses and professional leaders from the Chicago metropolitan area.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Corrupt Chicago Politicians Get Cops Killed and Put Public's Safety in Jeporady
Chicago's political class can't admit to losing control. They dare not even hint at it, particularly the mayor, what with his election coming up and his poll numbers tanking. But just about every cop in the city must feel it, with the murder Sunday of veteran Chicago police Officer Michael Bailey outside his home. As do some people in the neighborhoods.
"The man was in uniform," said Marcus Burks, 35, a bricklayer and a father who was one of the first to run to Bailey after he'd been killed in the 7400 block of South Evans Avenue.
"A Chicago police officer gets shot to death outside his house, he's in full uniform, and he gets killed because some thugs want to rob his car on Sunday morning?" Burks asked me.
Detectives canvassed the neighborhood in the heat. And people sat out on their porches, watching, some fanning themselves in the shade.
"I saw him on the ground," Burks said. "You couldn't mistake him being the police. And still they try to rob him? They shoot him down? Tell me what happened to this city? Just think about that."
Bailey, 62, had just spent the night guarding Mayor Richard Daley's home.
Bailey hadn't been running through some night alley after felons or doing the kinds of things that get cops killed. It was a hot sunny morning, and he had a spray bottle of Windex in his hand.
He'd been polishing the windows of his new car, a black Buick, a gift to himself for his retirement that was supposed to take place in a couple of weeks. Neighbors said he polished the windows of that new car every morning, after he'd spend the night guarding the mayor's house.
So his attackers most likely confronted him knowing he was a cop. And now he's the third Chicago police officer killed in the last couple of months. On May 19, Officer Thomas Wortham was shot to death outside his home in the Chatham neighborhood, as thugs tried to steal his motorcycle. And on July 7, in the parking lot of a police facility near 61st Street and Racine Avenue, Officer Thor Soderberg, also in uniform, was killed with his own gun after a struggle with an attacker.
"This has just been a terrible year, and I don't remember anything this bad, maybe if you go back to the early '70s when we came on and we were losing, what, maybe 10 guys a year? And that was before bulletproof vests," former Chicago police Superintendent Phil Cline said.
We were in the parking lot of police headquarters at 35th Street and Michigan Avenue. Cline had just finished speaking to a group of a couple of hundred police and their families from across Illinois, part of a bike-athon that would take them to the Gold Star Memorial, with the names of fallen police on the wall.
I asked Cline and other former and current officers gathered there what had changed, if anything, with Bailey's slaying. They all said the same thing: Bailey was in uniform. And still they tried to rob him.
There was a time when the sight of the uniform alone would stop them. Not now. And that is transformation.
"I think what you're seeing is that the gangbangers have lost their fear of the police — and that's not a good thing," Cline said. "The balance we always wanted was that the good citizens in the neighborhood to like the police, the gangbangers to fear us. Evidently, we've lost that.
"And that's something the department is going to have to work on, to take back the street from these gangs. The city is going to have to bite the bullet and hire more police." But the mayor and his rubber-stamp council have spent all the money. There is no money. They spent it on deals for the guys who know guys who got their beaks wet.
Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of deals went to the cronies. And now there's no money left to hire cops.
Police numbers are down. Cops are retiring at unprecedented rates. And there aren't enough young officers going through the academy to take their place. That puts even greater stress on sergeants and commanders.
Meanwhile, the mayor has a problem, and it's all about control. A new Tribune poll released Sunday shows that 53 percent of Chicago voters don't want Daley re-elected.
Sixty-eight percent disapprove of his handling of government corruption, with 13 percent offering no opinion. Figure that there are enough worried government workers in the 13 percent to make that 68 percent even greater. And 54 percent of voters disapprove of how he's handling crime, with 13 percent offering no opinion, so figure that 54 percent is higher than stated.
For almost 20 years, voters have shrugged off the corruption, figuring it was a price to pay for order. But voters finally understand that the cost of corruption has taken from funds available for public safety.
Politics and policing are a lot about public perception. And here's the one folks will have as they begin the work week on Monday: A veteran police officer in uniform, who spent the night guarding the mayor's house, shot to death outside his own home on Sunday morning, confronted by robbers while polishing his car, just weeks away from retirement.
Thanks to John Kass
"The man was in uniform," said Marcus Burks, 35, a bricklayer and a father who was one of the first to run to Bailey after he'd been killed in the 7400 block of South Evans Avenue.
"A Chicago police officer gets shot to death outside his house, he's in full uniform, and he gets killed because some thugs want to rob his car on Sunday morning?" Burks asked me.
Detectives canvassed the neighborhood in the heat. And people sat out on their porches, watching, some fanning themselves in the shade.
"I saw him on the ground," Burks said. "You couldn't mistake him being the police. And still they try to rob him? They shoot him down? Tell me what happened to this city? Just think about that."
Bailey, 62, had just spent the night guarding Mayor Richard Daley's home.
Bailey hadn't been running through some night alley after felons or doing the kinds of things that get cops killed. It was a hot sunny morning, and he had a spray bottle of Windex in his hand.
He'd been polishing the windows of his new car, a black Buick, a gift to himself for his retirement that was supposed to take place in a couple of weeks. Neighbors said he polished the windows of that new car every morning, after he'd spend the night guarding the mayor's house.
So his attackers most likely confronted him knowing he was a cop. And now he's the third Chicago police officer killed in the last couple of months. On May 19, Officer Thomas Wortham was shot to death outside his home in the Chatham neighborhood, as thugs tried to steal his motorcycle. And on July 7, in the parking lot of a police facility near 61st Street and Racine Avenue, Officer Thor Soderberg, also in uniform, was killed with his own gun after a struggle with an attacker.
"This has just been a terrible year, and I don't remember anything this bad, maybe if you go back to the early '70s when we came on and we were losing, what, maybe 10 guys a year? And that was before bulletproof vests," former Chicago police Superintendent Phil Cline said.
We were in the parking lot of police headquarters at 35th Street and Michigan Avenue. Cline had just finished speaking to a group of a couple of hundred police and their families from across Illinois, part of a bike-athon that would take them to the Gold Star Memorial, with the names of fallen police on the wall.
I asked Cline and other former and current officers gathered there what had changed, if anything, with Bailey's slaying. They all said the same thing: Bailey was in uniform. And still they tried to rob him.
There was a time when the sight of the uniform alone would stop them. Not now. And that is transformation.
"I think what you're seeing is that the gangbangers have lost their fear of the police — and that's not a good thing," Cline said. "The balance we always wanted was that the good citizens in the neighborhood to like the police, the gangbangers to fear us. Evidently, we've lost that.
"And that's something the department is going to have to work on, to take back the street from these gangs. The city is going to have to bite the bullet and hire more police." But the mayor and his rubber-stamp council have spent all the money. There is no money. They spent it on deals for the guys who know guys who got their beaks wet.
Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of deals went to the cronies. And now there's no money left to hire cops.
Police numbers are down. Cops are retiring at unprecedented rates. And there aren't enough young officers going through the academy to take their place. That puts even greater stress on sergeants and commanders.
Meanwhile, the mayor has a problem, and it's all about control. A new Tribune poll released Sunday shows that 53 percent of Chicago voters don't want Daley re-elected.
Sixty-eight percent disapprove of his handling of government corruption, with 13 percent offering no opinion. Figure that there are enough worried government workers in the 13 percent to make that 68 percent even greater. And 54 percent of voters disapprove of how he's handling crime, with 13 percent offering no opinion, so figure that 54 percent is higher than stated.
For almost 20 years, voters have shrugged off the corruption, figuring it was a price to pay for order. But voters finally understand that the cost of corruption has taken from funds available for public safety.
Politics and policing are a lot about public perception. And here's the one folks will have as they begin the work week on Monday: A veteran police officer in uniform, who spent the night guarding the mayor's house, shot to death outside his own home on Sunday morning, confronted by robbers while polishing his car, just weeks away from retirement.
Thanks to John Kass
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