Brothers - Blog 2.0 - Gangsters Inc. - www.gangstersinc.org
2024-03-29T07:35:22Z
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WATCH | Chicago mobster Frank Calabrese Jr.’s dad “would strangle you, cut your throat from ear to ear”
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/watch-chicago-mobster-frank-calabrese-jr-s-dad-would-strangle-you
2020-08-17T10:30:00.000Z
2020-08-17T10:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/watch-chicago-mobster-frank-calabrese-jr-s-dad-would-strangle-you" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237151253,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237151253?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p>The decision to testify against his father was a life-changing one, former <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Outfit</a> mobster Frank Calabrese Jr. (photo above) tells The Mob Museum. “It was not about doing the right thing. It was about survival. I have two young kids and mouths to feed. This man is either gonna kill me or I’m gonna kill him.”</p>
<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Calabrese" target="_blank">Calabrese</a>’s father, Frank Senior, was indeed the kind of man who could kill on a whim. As a capo in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Outfit</a>, he also held a lot of power over a crew of experienced and very capable Mafia hitmen. If he wanted you dead, you were dead. No exceptions. Even if you were his own blood, his own son. But it wasn’t always like that, Calabrese Jr. explains to <a href="https://themobmuseum.org/" target="_blank">The Mob Museum</a>. <em>(Scroll down and watch the video below.)</em></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Keeping your kids out of the Mafia</strong></span></p>
<p>In Chicago you had the attitude that you didn't bring your kids into this life, Calabrese says. “You make a better life for your kids. I grew up in an Italian neighborhood. In my neighborhood a lot of my friend’s fathers were in the life just like my father, like my uncle. Because they didn't need to bring us in, we didn't know a lot about the life. We weren't hanging on corners or in front of social clubs. <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Chicago" target="_blank">Chicago</a> was more underground.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-hook-life-and-bloody-crimes-of-feared-chicago-mafia-enforcer" target="_blank">The Hook</a>: Life and bloody crimes of feared Chicago Mafia enforcer Harry Aleman</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>“As a kid growing up my dad never brought to life into the home. He kept it out of it. I knew my father was different from other fathers, but I didn't care. I played sports, my friends were going to college and I was gonna become a lawyer. So growing up I idolized my father, loved my father.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Multiple personalities: Loving father, thief, stone-cold killer</strong></span></p>
<p>But after a while he saw how his father’s job in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> impacted his personality. “I see this life starting to change my father, it changed him for the worse. He started to develop multiple personalities.”</p>
<p>One side was liked by all who knew it, a side that loved Christmas more than any other day, and was loving and kind. “And then there was the street side,” Calabrese explains. “I call him a master criminal. He was very good at what he did. A master manipulator too. A great thief, tough.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-beginnings-of-tony-spilotro-s-infamous-hole-in-the-wall-gang" target="_blank"><strong>The beginnings of Tony Spilotro's infamous Hole in the Wall gang</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>The third side was the darkest. One that Calabrese got to know much later in life. “His preferred method of killing you was with a rope and a knife. He would strangle you and once you were dead, he would cut your throat from ear to ear. My dad like to be hands on. He said: ‘Anyone can pull a trigger. I like it up close.’ Like he enjoyed what he did.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Father to his son: “I’d rather have you dead”</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237150899,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237150899?profile=original" /></a>In the years to come, these different personalities started to blend together and, Calabrese says, his father would become more violent with family members as well. At this point Calabrese decided he’s had enough of the life. His father started to realize his son wants out, which resulted in his mock execution. Calabrese Senior (right) then told his son: “If I can’t control you, I’d rather have you dead. Don’t worry I’ll come visit your grave to pay may respect.”</p>
<p>“From that day on, I didn’t trust my father ever again,” Calabrese tells <a href="https://themobmuseum.org/" target="_blank">The Mob Museum</a>.</p>
<p>Calabrese Junior went on to steal $600,000 from his father but was found out. His dad seemed almost happy about that, telling his son that now that he caught him red-handed, he owns him. When the entire Calabrese crew was indicted in 1997, Calabrese Senior, his two sons, and his brother Nick were all sentenced to prison.</p>
<p>There, inside the grey walls, Calabrese decided to get out. He contacted the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> and began to wear a wire behind bars. A very dangerous move. How did he get his father to talk on the wire? Watch the entire interview Frank Calabrese Junior had with <a href="https://themobmuseum.org/" target="_blank">The Mob Museum</a> below in which he talks about testifying against his father in court and the relationship with his uncle Nick after they both decided to flip and become a government witness.</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/biEtvzZ2eaQ?wmode=opaque" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
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<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview">Chicago Outfit section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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Camorra boss Antonio La Torre charged with plotting murder of Anti-Mafia prosecutors
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/camorra-boss-antonio-la-torre-charged-with-plotting-murder-of-ant
2018-09-01T10:00:00.000Z
2018-09-01T10:00:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/camorra-boss-antonio-la-torre-charged-with-plotting-murder-of-ant" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237106467,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237106467?profile=original" width="550" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Alleged Camorra boss Antonio La Torre (photo above) was arrested in Italy this week after police say they have evidence that he and his imprisoned brother Augusto plotted to assassinate two Anti-Mafia prosecutors. The two brothers made a name for themselves as they built an empire from Italy to Scotland and left the streets littered with dead bodies in the process.</p>
<p>The La Torre brothers led the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/camorra-overview" target="_blank">Camorra</a> clan based in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mondragone" target="_blank">Mondragone</a>, a seaside town near <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Naples" target="_blank">Naples</a>. Following in the footsteps of their mob boss father Tiberio La Torre, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/camorra-boss-augusto-la-torre" target="_blank">Augusto</a> took center stage of the organization with his willingness to kill. With their reputation for violence, the brothers quickly built a multimillion-dollar empire which stretched from Italy to other parts of Europe, mainly the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Netherlands" target="_blank">Netherlands</a> and the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=UK" target="_blank">United Kingdom</a>.</p>
<p>Antonio settled in Aberdeen, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Scotland" target="_blank">Scotland</a>, in 1984, married a Scottish woman, and opened up several successful businesses using the clan’s ill-gotten gains. It took authorities 20 years to realize the La Torre brothers were laundering their dirty cash through their British business empire.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9236998484,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9236998484?profile=original" /></a>Antonio was busted in 2005 and convicted of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Extortion" target="_blank">extortion</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Racketeering" target="_blank">racketeering</a> in Italy a year later. He was released from prison in 2014. His brother <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/camorra-boss-augusto-la-torre" target="_blank">Augusto</a> (right) was also arrested and admitted his involvement in over <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/camorra-boss-augusto-la-torre" target="_blank">40 murders</a> and is still serving his sentence.</p>
<p>Now, however, the two men are back in the news. Police claim they have evidence that the brothers threatened to murder two prosecutors: Alessandro D’Alessio and his deputy Maria Laura Lalia Morra. The plot allegedly originated from Augusto’s prison cell and was uncovered by authorities when they used wiretaps and intercepted phone calls to listen in on discussions about the sinister plot.</p>
<p>In one recorded call, Augusto tells Antonio he “kills people” and orders him to “call” D’Alessio. According to authorities these words are a veiled threat. As Italian prosecutors are all too familiar with Mafia violence against them, they pounced quickly, arresting 62-year-old Antonio and three other men in a series of police raids and charged them with illegal possession of firearms, attempted extortion, attempted robbery and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> association. Antonio has denied being guilty of any crimes.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/camorra-overview">Camorra section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
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</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
Untouchable "Little Jimmy" - Profile of Chicago Mafia boss James Marcello
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/untouchable-little-jimmy-profile-of-chicago-mafia-boss-james-marc
2018-04-18T19:00:00.000Z
2018-04-18T19:00:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/untouchable-little-jimmy-profile-of-chicago-mafia-boss-james-marc" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237102280,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237102280?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p><em>“It’s good to be in something from the ground floor. I came too late for that and I know. But lately, I’m getting the feeling that I came in at the end. The best is over.”</em> – Anthony Soprano, HBO’s The Sopranos</p>
<p>Mob boss James “Little Jimmy” Marcello must know the feeling. Born on December 23, 1943, he was a leading figure in the Chicago Outfit, an organization that hit the peak of its power when he was still in his early twenties. As such he never enjoyed the perks of his position like those who came before him. Still, he knew what he signed up for and remained loyal to the end.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Untouchable</strong></span></p>
<p>It was on a Sunday in early October of 1983 that Marcello found himself in a closed restaurant in western Cook County surrounded by men who were part of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Mafia family</a> known as “The Outfit.” Though they were all a part of the organization, not all were official members. Matter of fact, that is why they had gathered at this location.</p>
<p>One by one the men were called into the dining area of the restaurant and escorted in by Al “The Pizza Man” Tornabene, a made member of the Chicago Heights crew. There, Marcello joined a group of powerful men already seated at a table. All held the rank of capo and led their own crew. At the head of the table was their leader: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-boss-joseph-joey-doves" target="_blank">Mafia boss Joseph “Joey Doves” Aiuppa</a>. </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-chicago-s-prohibition-era-gangland-laid-bar" target="_blank">Chicago's Prohibition-era gangland laid bare by mob historian John Binder</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>On the table lay a knife, a gun, and a candle. Marcello would become an initiated <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> member and swear the same oath all members of Cosa Nostra do when they undergo this ritual. As he held a burning card containing a picture of a Catholic saint, he recited the line: “If I give up my brothers, may I burn in hell like this holy picture.”</p>
<p>After that, Aiuppa pricked Marcello’s finger to draw blood, signifying that he now belonged to the organization. He had become an official, “made,” member of the Chicago Outfit in particular and the American Mafia in general. He had become untouchable.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Melrose Park Crew</strong></span></p>
<p>Marcello would remain close to Aiuppa, becoming his bodyguard and chauffeur. It’s a choice position for many mobsters as it provides them the opportunity to learn the ropes from the boss himself. It also gives them valuable access to the top players in the mob, both in and outside of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Chicago" target="_blank">Chicago</a>. He would do the same for his capo, Samuel “Wings” Carlisi, who ran the Melrose Park crew.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-message-dont-fuck-with" target="_blank">The Message: Don't Fuck With Mob Boss Antonino Accardo</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Authorities placed Marcello just below Carlisi, as his underboss, when they indicted the pair along with several other crew members on racketeering charges in December of 1992. Prosecutors claimed Marcello oversaw the group’s bookmaking and loansharking operations and that, together with Carlisi, he made plans to assassinate mob associate Anthony Daddino. They were convicted a year later. Marcello was sentenced to 12 and a half years behind bars, while Carlisi received a 13-year sentence.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237102500,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237102500?profile=original" width="499" /></a><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Making millions</strong></span></p>
<p>Marcello had proven to be a loyal, capable, and smart operator. Marcello knew how to earn. Together with his brother Michael, he ran M&M Amusement, a video poker machine business that made him millions. They would place machines in bars and restaurants under the guise of amusement, since <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling" target="_blank">gambling</a> was illegal, but players could exchange credits with actual winnings if they were deemed trustworthy enough to play ‘the game’. Authorities estimated that the company had underreported its income by over $4 million between 1996 and 2003.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-the-chicago-outfit-made" target="_blank">How the Chicago Outfit made its Hollywood dreams come true</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Casino murders</strong></span></p>
<p>He also knew how to kill. At least, that’s what Marcello’s fellow Chicago Outfit member Nicholas Calabrese told federal authorities when he decided to become a government witness. Prosecutors believed him and in April 2005 charged Marcello and several other Chicago Mob leaders and hitmen with murder and racketeering charges.</p>
<p>Marcello was accused of involvement in the 1981 murder of Nicholas D’Andrea and the 1986 double homicide of the Spilotro brothers, Anthony and Michael, a killing made famous by Martin Scorsese’s epic gangster movie <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-truth-behind-movie-classic-casino" target="_blank"><em>Casino</em></a>.</p>
<p>To back up Calabrese’s testimony, authorities had placed a hidden camera and bug at Marcello’s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Prison" target="_blank">prison</a> and recorded visits he received from his brother Michael and other mob associates. Even behind bars, Marcello remained wary of investigators and he spoke using code words, sometimes even covering his mouth – as the characters in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-truth-behind-movie-classic-casino" target="_blank"><em>Casino</em></a> had done.</p>
<p>The discussions, however, offered clues to the underlying topics. “The big thing with them is the Zhivago deal,” Michael said to James during one visit. He was referring to a news story in the <em>Chicago Tribune</em> about “Zhivago and his brother.” The only article that was about two brothers focused on the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Spilotro" target="_blank">Spilotro brothers</a>.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Investing in Omerta</strong></span></p>
<p>Suspicions about Nick Calabrese becoming a government witness had been growing among the Chicago mob thanks in large part to Nick’s brother Frank airing his doubts about his own blood. As a precaution, Marcello had been making monthly payments of $4,000 dollars to Nick’s family. It is supposedly a custom to take care of the relatives of imprisoned mobsters, but this rule is generally broken. Still, it offered Marcello a chance to gain Calabrese’s sympathy and perhaps some protection as well. </p>
<p>“I told you,” James told his brother. “That was the best investment… Believe me.”</p>
<p>It worked indeed, if only for a while. Calabrese indeed omitted Marcello from several key parts. But eventually he caved and spilled the beans.</p>
<p>Investigators began collecting DNA material from several high-ranking mobsters, including Marcello. “I thought it was gonna be a piss test,” he later told his brother. He also wondered who else had gotten such a visit. Several, his brother Michael answered. Flapjack, Hitler, Pagliacci, and this guy, he said as he rubbed his nose to signify Chicago Outfit boss John “No Nose” DiFronzo.</p>
<p>Pagliacci was a nickname for longtime <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-boss-joseph-lombardo" target="_blank">Outfit leader Joseph Lombardo</a>. Of whom Michael said he might – and indeed did - go on the lam: “Skip, hop, he’s gone.”</p>
<p>“Well, could you blame him?” James asked. “I wish the fuck I had the opportunity.”</p>
<p>He didn’t. Despite offering up homes worth over $12 million as bond, the judge denied his request and Marcello stayed locked up.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Family Secrets out in the open</strong></span></p>
<p>The trial dubbed <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicagos-family-secrets" target="_blank">Family Secrets</a> began in the summer of 2007 and promised to lift the lid off of decades of Mafia killings the Chicago Outfit had been responsible for. James Marcello stood trial alongside <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-hitman-frank-calabrese-sr-dies-in-prison" target="_blank">Frank Calabrese Sr.</a> – who faced both his brother Nick and son Frank Jr. as government witnesses against him – <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-boss-joseph-lombardo" target="_blank">Joseph “The Clown” Lombardo</a>, Paul “The Indian” Schiro, Anthony “Twon” Doyle, and Frank “The German” Schweihs - who was called Hitler by Marcello’s brother and was too sick with cancer to stand trial, passing away in 2008.</p>
<p>Though Frank Calabrese Sr., Joseph Lombardo, and Anthony Doyle testified in their defense, Marcello chose to stay silent as the court proceedings went on. He heard testimony against him from Nicholas Calabrese and Michael Spilotro’s daughter Michelle linking him to the murder of the Spilotro brothers.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/tony-spilotro-and-his-hole-in" target="_blank">Tony Spilotro and his Hole in the Wall gang</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Michelle recognized Marcello’s voice and claimed he had called the house twice the day her father disappeared. Calabrese claimed Marcello had driven Anthony and Michael Spilotro to their death with promises of promotion to capo for Tony and membership in the mob for Michael. Once they arrived at a home in Bensenville, Illinois, they were awaited by around ten armed mobsters wearing gloves who, together with Marcello and Calabrese, beat and strangled the two brothers to death.</p>
<p>Calabrese also placed Marcello at the murder scene of mob associate Nicholas D’Andrea who was beaten to death by accident after he was questioned about the shooting of a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit.</p>
<p>After several months of intense testimony by witnesses, victims, and several defendants, the jury reached a verdict on September 10, 2007. They found Marcello guilty of racketeering, illegal gambling, obstruction of justice by bribing Nick Calabrese, and tax evasion. Several weeks later, he was also found guilty of the double killing of the Spilotro brothers. He was acquitted of the murder of D’Andrea.</p>
<p>On February 5, 2009, he was sentenced to life in prison.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview">Chicago Outfit section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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“Nothing gets my juices flowing like putting a gun to someone's head” – Profile: Chicago mobster Charles Russell
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/nothing-gets-my-juices-flowing-like-putting-a-gun-to-someone-s-he
2018-04-05T17:00:00.000Z
2018-04-05T17:00:00.000Z
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/nothing-gets-my-juices-flowing-like-putting-a-gun-to-someone-s-he" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237108086,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237108086?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>You can call Charles Russell an old-time hood that just doesn’t know when to quit. As a member of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago mob</a>’s Grand Avenue Crew, which was once headed by infamous boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-boss-joseph-lombardo" target="_blank">Joseph “The Clown” Lombardo</a>, Russell murdered and stole his way through “the life.”</p>
<p>“Nothing gets my juices flowing like putting a gun to someone's head, taking their stuff and making it mine,” Russell was once recorded as saying, according to court documents. “It will be a great Christmas, I’m telling you.”</p>
<p>“The fun for me is the score,” he said explaining his motivations. “That's how I get my adrenaline. You know how long it takes to come to down for me? I counted money one night for so long my hands were filthy.”</p>
<p>Though countless mobsters like to talk a big game, Russell backed his up. He was convicted of murder in 1973. Almost two decades later he added a conviction for aggravated criminal sexual assault. Sentenced to over three decades behind bars, he was paroled in March of 2011.</p>
<p>On the streets, he went back to his friends in the Grand Avenue Crew. By now, the crew was missing their beloved leader “Joey the Clown,” who had been convicted in the infamous Family Secrets case targeting the hierarchy of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Mafia</a>.</p>
<p>A career-criminal overseeing a group of burglars responsible for hundreds of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Robbery" target="_blank">robberies</a> and home invasions, Russell got right down to business when he approached an associate about getting some guns for a job he was planning.</p>
<p>This being November 2016, the man turned out to be an informant and quickly shared his information with federal agents with the United States Bureau of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=ATF" target="_blank">Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives</a> (ATF).</p>
<p>Up to speed about Russell’s plans, ATF sent in an undercover agent to meet with the Chicago mobster at the Boundary Tavern and Grille in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. As goes without saying, agents had the place bugged and listened on in Dolby Surround Sound.</p>
<p>As the tape was recording, Russell outlined his criminal masterplan. He knew an elderly lawyer living in the suburbs who he believed had around $750,000 dollars tucked away in a safe in his home. Russell wanted that cash and he needed some help.</p>
<p>No worries about the burglary equipment, Russell told the men, he had that squared away. They would get police scanners, masks and a new set of clothes. The lawyer, however, did pose a problem. The man was old and could be scared into a heart attack. “He fuckin’ drops dead, we got a fuckin’ murder,” Russell said.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/when-the-american-government-asked-the-mafia-for-a-favor-the-assa" target="_blank"><strong>When the American government asked the Mafia for a favor</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>He did need one other thing from the undercover agent, though. Guns. A month later the three would-be robbers met again and Russell gave the agent a wish list filled with firearms, including a submachine gun and an AK-47 assault rifle.</p>
<p>And if the guns don’t subdue their victim and make him open the safe, then he had some backup moves. “If he doesn’t open it, we’re gonna make him open it,” Russell said. “They always open for me, believe me. I bring my butane torch, put it on the bottom of their feet, they open it.”</p>
<p>The only thing that was opened for Russell were cell doors when agents brought him in on charges. On April 4, 2018, he pleaded guilty to a single count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. His sentencing is set for August 17 when he is looking at a minimum stretch of 15 years and up to life behind bars.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/tony-spilotro-and-his-hole-in" target="_blank">Chicago mobster Tony Spilotro's Hole in the Wall gang</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>It certainly looks like he’ll be dead before that – getting to August can be considered an achievement. Now 68 years old, Russell was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer soon after his arrest and has been undergoing intensive chemotherapy.</p>
<p>“Mr. Russell will not live to serve […] a sentence, and it is unknown whether he even will live until the day he is sentenced,” his lawyer stated.</p>
<p>The judge tends to agree. Russell was allowed to await his verdict and sentencing at home with his girlfriend Patricia Spilotro. If that name rings a bell then you’re right. Patricia is a relative of infamous Chicago mobsters <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Spilotro" target="_blank">Anthony and Michael Spilotro</a>, whose stories were detailed in the classic gangster flick <em><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-truth-behind-movie-classic-casino" target="_blank">Casino</a></em>, directed by Martin Scorsese.</p>
<p>In Chicago the underworld remains a tight-knit affair.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview">Chicago Outfit section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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Profile: Lucchese crime family capo Joseph DiNapoli
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/profile-lucchese-crime-family-capo-joseph-dinapoli
2016-04-21T11:30:00.000Z
2016-04-21T11:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-lucchese-crime-family-capo-joseph-dinapoli"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237065070,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237065070?profile=original" width="290" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Lucchese crime family captain Joseph DiNapoli (photos above) has seen it all. The longtime mobster grew up in <em>the life</em> alongside his two brothers, both made members of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family">Genovese family</a>, and climbed to the top of the pyramid when he was handpicked by imprisoned boss Vic Amuso to lead the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family">Lucchese family</a> as part of a three-man ruling panel.</p>
<p>Through the years authorities have linked the elderly gangster to various multi-million-dollar schemes. Including one scheme that involved billions of illegal dollars.</p>
<p>In December 2007, DiNapoli and several other high ranking Lucchese wiseguys were busted in Operation Heat, an investigation that uncovered an international criminal enterprise which, according to prosecutors, transacted an estimated $2.2 billion in wagers, primarily on sporting events, during a 15-month period. The gambling operation received and processed the wagers using password-protected websites and a Costa Rican “wire room” where bets were recorded and results tallied.</p>
<p>As one of the family’s leading bosses, DiNapoli received a percentage of the racket’s profits. As the government laid out its case, it was clear to the old wiseguy he had little chance taking his chances at a trial. On February 12, 2016, DiNapoli pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree racketeering as part of the billion-dollar gambling enterprise and got himself ready to spend some time behind bars.</p>
<p>You don’t retire from the Mafia. Yesterday, at 80 years old, DiNapoli was sentenced to three years in New Jersey State Prison. If he makes it out alive, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in">the mob</a> will be waiting. His street smarts are in high demand as law enforcement and turncoats are decimating mob families of their talent.</p>
<p>Whether DiNapoli is up for it, remains to be seen. He’s made enough money to retire. Of course, <em>the life</em> is never that simple.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family">Lucchese crime family section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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Profile of Camorra mob boss Pasquale “Lino” Sibillo
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/fugitive-camorra-boss-pasquale-sibillo-captured
2015-11-05T09:00:00.000Z
2015-11-05T09:00:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/fugitive-camorra-boss-pasquale-sibillo-captured" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237047088,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237047088?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Police in Italy captured fugitive Camorra mob boss Pasquale “Lino” Sibillo, yesterday. He had been wanted since June after evading his arrest on charges of murder, drug trafficking, and Mafia association. Authorities claim he is one of the men behind a violent gang war bloodying the streets of Naples.</p>
<p>24-year-old Sibillo was arrested at an apartment in the center of the Umbrian town of Terni, located nearly 300 kilometers north of Naples. Agents of Squadra mobile di Napoli busted through his door in an operation coordinated by Italy’s Antimafia bureau. The arrest earned all officials involved high praise from Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who tweeted his thanks to police and prosecutors.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237047876,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237047876?profile=original" width="510" /></a>Naples’ underworld has undergone a seismic change in recent years. After many of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/camorra-overview">Camorra</a>’s senior bosses were <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/camorra-s-sistema-rules-supreme-in-politically-corrupt-italy">murdered or arrested</a>, the younger generation took over to fill the power vacuum. Lacking experience and knowledge but brimming with ambition, fearlessness, and itchy trigger fingers, these youngsters quickly went to war with each other.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237048096,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237048096?profile=original" width="220" /></a>Just like their senior predecessors had done before.</p>
<p>Together with his 19-year-old brother Emanuele, Pasquale Sibillo (right) ruled the Forcella neighborhood in Naples, once sole territory of the notorious Giuliano clan. Both brothers were the main targets of Operation “Camorra dei bimbi” - Camorra of the children – which led to the arrest of over 60 people for extortion, drug trafficking, and murder.</p>
<p>During their fight for control of drug distribution territory in the neighborhood, violence flared up. On July 2, Sibillo’s younger brother Emmanuele was assassinated by rivals. His death sent Pasquale into a bloody rage. Prosecutors allege he murdered Salvatore D'Alpino and Luigi Galletta and wounded Sabatino Cardarelli on July 31 in retaliation for the murder of Emmanuele.</p>
<p>Now, Pasquale Sibillo sits in a cell. He avenged his brother, allegedly. But his revenge will never bring Emmanuele back. Meanwhile, the war on the streets continues. There will be more deaths, more blood, and much more sorrow.</p>
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<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/camorra-overview">Camorra section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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