chicago - Blog 2.0 - Gangsters Inc. - www.gangstersinc.org
2024-03-29T14:36:15Z
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Gangsters Inc.'s Showbiz
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/gangsters-inc-s-showbiz
2023-02-17T12:30:00.000Z
2023-02-17T12:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gangsters-inc-s-showbiz" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237061671,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237061671?profile=original" width="600" /></a>Organized crime is big business. And not just of the illegal kind. Each year, millions are made by film studios, writers, and media giants by turning stories about stone cold gangsters and Mafiosi in cold hard dollars.</p>
<p>We at Gangsters Inc. thoroughly enjoy these products and decided to shine some light on them in this section. This is where we discuss the true story behind some of cinema’s biggest mob classics and keep an eye out for stories about the mob in Hollywood and showbiz, either as a connection or on the silver screen.</p>
<p><strong>Below are some stories, for film trailers visit <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gangsters-inc-at-the-movies">Gangsters Inc. at the movies</a>.</strong></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/the-10-best-gangster-tv-series-made-outside-the-usa">The 10 best gangster TV series made outside the USA</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/blue-murder-profile-of-australian-crime-boss-neddy-smith">Blue Murder: Profile of Australian crime boss “Neddy” Smith</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/music-business-execs-arrested-for-working-with-promoter-with-ties">Music business execs arrested for working with promoter with ties to Mexican drug cartels</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/underworld-fame-genovese-mafia-family-capo-and-albanian-gangster">Underworld Fame: Genovese Mafia family capo and “Albanian Gangster” movie actor busted in extortion scheme</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/watch-series-the-offer-depicts-how-hollywood-took-on-the-new-york">Series The Offer depicts how Hollywood took on the New York Mafia to make The Godfather</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/the-real-peaky-blinders-attacking-coppers-gambling-on-horses-figh">The Real Peaky Blinders: Attacking coppers, gambling on horses, fighting with fists and guns</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/a-new-york-mafia-capo-a-member-of-the-yakuza-a-mob-soldier-ex-con">A New York Mafia capo, a member of the Yakuza, a mob soldier, ex-convicts & an Irish gangster rate crime movies</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/the-time-two-hells-angels-saved-hollywood-actress-salma-hayek-fro">The time two Hells Angels saved Hollywood actress Salma Hayek from a knife-wielding nut</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/the-end-of-narcos-mexico-ushers-in-the-beginning-of-narcos-usa">The end of Narcos: Mexico ushers in the beginning of Narcos: USA </a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/what-happened-to-tony-soprano-series-creator-david-chase-reveals">What happened to Tony Soprano?</a> Series creator David Chase reveals New Jersey mob boss’ fate</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">From Grammys to prison: <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/from-grammys-to-prison-rap-artist-fetty-wap-caught-in-100kg-multi">Rap artist Fetty Wap caught in 100KG multimillion-dollar drug trafficking organization bust</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">WATCH: <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/watch-bmf-shows-rise-of-detroit-s-flenory-brothers-as-they-start">BMF shows rise of Detroit’s Flenory brothers</a> as they start their Black Mafia Family</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-mafia-family-member-john-perna-gets-30-months-in-prison">Lucchese family member John Perna</a> gets 30 months in prison for attack on Real Housewives star’s hubby</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">Famous movie star and respected gangster - <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/famous-movie-star-and-respected-gangster-profile-of-14k-triad-bos">Profile of 14K Triad boss Michael Chan</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/johnny-stompanato-a-gangster-s-life">Johnny Stompanato: A Gangster’s Life</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-family-soldier-beats-up-new-husband-of-one-of-the-real-h">Lucchese family soldier beats up new husband</a> of one of “The Real Housewives of NJ” as favor to her ex</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gangster-movies-around-the-world-a-greatest-hits">Gangster movies around the world: A Greatest Hits</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/realism-is-key-in-bronx-based-albanian-gangster-as-it-depicts-war">Realism is key in Bronx-based “Albanian Gangster”</a> as it depicts “war-torn psyche fused with honor code”</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/pinky-rings-and-murder-brooklyn-gangland-of-the-80s-comes-to-life">Pinky rings and murder:</a> Brooklyn gangland of the ‘80s comes to life in new Mafia series Gravesend</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-irishman-meet-the-real-mafia-muscle-behind-martin-scorsese-s">The Irishman: Meet the real Mafia muscle behind Martin Scorsese’s gangster epic</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/music-label-or-violent-gang-original-block-hustlaz-provided-sound">Music label or violent gang?</a> Original Block Hustlaz provided soundtrack while it flooded Philadelphia with drugs</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/barstool-sports-reviews-alleged-buffalo-mafia-boss-pizza-place">Barstool Sports reviews alleged Buffalo Mafia boss’ pizza place</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/alleged-street-guys-bring-irish-mob-crew-the-westies-back-to-life">“Alleged” street guys bring Irish mob crew The Westies</a> back to life in upcoming tv series The Flannagans</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-real-john-wick-separating-fact-from-fiction-in-hollywood-s-vi">The Real John Wick</a>: Separating fact from fiction in Hollywood’s violent gangster vengeance blockbuster</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/film-detailing-life-of-mafia-snitch-tommaso-buscetta-competes-for">Film detailing life of Mafia snitch Tommaso Buscetta</a> competes at Cannes Film Festival</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/elusive-drug-boss-frank-matthews-to-hit-the-big-screen-from-narco">Elusive drug boss Frank Matthews to hit the big screen:</a> From narco billionaire at 28 to mysterious phantom</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/cocaine-godmother-griselda-blanco-s-son-michael-corleone-returns">“Cocaine Godmother” Griselda Blanco’s son Michael Corleone</a> returns in Cartel Crew, new reality show</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/hardened-gangster-told-child-actor-you-are-the-only-person-who-ha">Hardened gangster told child actor:</a> “You are the only person who said that to me and lived to tell tale”</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/former-hells-angels-boss-tells-his-story-on-stage-in-outlaw">Former Hells Angels boss tells his story on stage in ‘Outlaw’</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-godfather-comes-home-to-dartmouth-author-mario-puzo-s-collect">The Godfather comes home to Dartmouth:</a> Mario Puzo’s collection on display at Ivy League college</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/prosecutor-made-famous-by-american-gangster-avoids-prison-time-af">Prosecutor made famous by ‘American Gangster’ avoids prison time</a> after guilty plea to federal tax charges</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mr-undercover-details-life-of-ron-fino-son-of-mafia-capo-who-beca">Mr. Undercover details life of Ron Fino,</a> son of Mafia capo who became undercover operative</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mob-artist-michael-bell-about-fighting-the-system-being-teacher-o">“Mob Artist” Michael Bell about painting portraits of Sopranos & John Gotti</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-facts-behind-the-gotti-biopic">The facts behind the Gotti biopic starring John Travolta</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/now-go-home-and-get-your-fucking-shine-box-iconic-actor-frank-vin">Iconic actor Frank Vincent passes away at age 78</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-real-dea-agents-of-narcos-javier-pena-and-steve-murphy-talk-a">The Real DEA Agents of Narcos Talk Fact & Fiction</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-truth-behind-movie-classic-goodfellas">The Truth Behind Movie Classic Goodfellas</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-truth-behind-movie-classic-casino">The Truth Behind Movie Classic Casino</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-facts-behind-the-kansas-city-mob-depicted-in-fargo">The Facts Behind the Kansas City Mob depicted in Fargo</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/inside-the-fbi-new-york-from-hunting-bank-robbers-and-mobsters-to" target="_blank">Inside the FBI: New York</a> - From hunting mobster to fighting terrorism</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">The story behind the documentary: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-story-behind-the-documentary-back-home-years-ago-the-real-cas" target="_blank">Back Home, Years Ago: The Real Casino</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-godfather-cast-reunites-at-tribeca-film-festival" target="_blank">The Godfather cast reunites at Tribeca Film Festival</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/snl-does-the-sopranos-finale-parody-with-robert-de-niro-as-robert" target="_blank">SNL does The Sopranos finale parody</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-mafia-and-seal-team-6-joining-forces">The Mafia and SEAL Team 6 joining forces?</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">Owner of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/rumble-at-rao-s-it-s-not-over-till-the-fat-lady-sings-the-night-l">Rao's</a> and Sopranos actor <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/owner-of-rao-s-and-notable-actor-frank-pellegrino-sr-dies-at-age">Frank Pellegrino Sr. dies at 72</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">EXCLUSIVE: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/exclusive-gotti-film-cast-and-crew-get-together-for-big-celebrato">Gotti film crew gets together for dinner</a> - <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/exclusive-gotti-film-cast-and-crew-get-together-for-big-celebrato">New cast members revealed</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">EXCLUSIVE: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/tj-english-s-cuban-mob-book-the-corporation-turned-into-film">TJ English's Cuban mob book to be turned into movie</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;">EXCLUSIVE: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/new-mob-tv-series-bad-blood-the-vito-rizzuto-story-promises-shake">TV series Bad Blood: The Vito Rizzuto Story</a> promises Shakespearian tale of power and revenge</p>
<p style="text-align:center;">FUNNY VIDEO: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/funny-video-walter-heisenberg-white-to-become-head-of-dea-under-p">Breaking Bad's Walter White to head DEA under Trump</a> (SNL sketch)</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/ufc-champion-conor-mcgregor-s-fascination-with-gangsters">UFC champion Conor McGregor’s fascination with gangsters</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/american-gangster-myth">American Gangster Myth:</a> The True Story Behind Frank Lucas</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mafia-traitor-tommaso-buscetta-s-life-story-to-hit-big-screen">Mafia traitor Tommaso Buscetta's life story to hit big screen</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gotti-family-takes-film-director-on-mafia-tour-through-city">Gotti family takes film director on Mafia tour through NY</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/interview-john-gotti-jr-sits-down-with-gangsters-inc">Gangsters Inc. interview with John Gotti Jr.</a> in which he discusses the movie about his father's life</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/nathan-barksdale-inspiration-for-the-wire-dead-at-54">"Bodie" Barksdale, inspiration for The Wire, dead at 54</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/breaking-bad-comes-to-las-vegas-mob-museum">Breaking Bad comes to Las Vegas' Mob Museum</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/better-call-saul-here-s-our-top-5-mob-lawyers">Better Call Saul? Here's our top 5 mob lawyers</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/media-savvy-hells-angels-turned-notoriety-into-business">Media-savvy Hells Angels turned notoriety into business</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/real-life-owner-of-bada-bing-strip-club-turns-rat">Real life owner of Bada Bing strip club turns rat</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/will-johnny-depp-s-whitey-bulger-stick-to-facts">Will Johnny Depp's Whitey Bulger stick to the facts?</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/with-broome-street-boys-director-brings-back-gritty-mob-flick">With Broome Street Boys director brings back gritty mob flick</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/what-was-sean-penn-s-role-in-the-capture-of-el-chapo">What was Sean Penn's role in the capture of El Chapo?</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/joe-pesci-actor-rapper-wiseguy">Joe Pesci: Actor, Rapper, Wiseguy</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/insulting-mobsters-with-don-rickles">Insulting mobsters with comedy legend Don Rickles</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-someone-stole-the-watch-off-a-dying-tony-soprano">How someone stole the watch off a dying Tony Soprano</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-the-chicago-outfit-made">How the Chicago made its Hollywood dreams come true</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/michael-harris-a-convicted">Michael Harris</a>: Convicted drug kingpin who gave actor Denzel Washington his start</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/reality-tv-showing-audiences-fake-ganglands">Reality TV showing audiences fake ganglands</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/jon-stewart-s-the-daily-mafia-show">Jon Stewart's The Daily Show's greatest Mafia hits.. uh bits!</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/supreme-gangster-giant-towers-over-queens-rap">Supreme: Gangster giant towers over Queens rap</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/hong-kong-triads-and-their-lucrative-movie-industry">Hong Kong Triads and 'their' lucrative movie industry</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/rap-mogul-suge-knight-shot-six-times-at-vma-party">Rap mogul Suge Knight shot six times at VMA party</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mob-wives-gangster-gets-20-years-to-life-in-weapons-case">Mob Wives gangster gets 20-years-to-life in weapons case</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gangster-squad-cop-celebrates-100th-birthday">Gangster Squad cop celebrates 100th birthday</a></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/art-imitating-life-imitating">The Mob: Art imitating life imitating art</a></p></div>
The Truth Behind Movie Classic Casino
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-truth-behind-movie-classic-casino
2020-12-30T06:09:05.000Z
2020-12-30T06:09:05.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9237026457,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237026457,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237026457?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Hollywood loves gangsters. Not because film makers condone their crimes, but because their stories make them lots of money. It’s difficult to name any other genre that has so many titles based on a true story. Yet, despite this label, the true story often gets twisted to fit the silver screen. That is why Gangsters Inc. shares its knowledge of the facts and truth behind these blockbuster gangster flicks.</p>
<p>When it comes to epic mob movies director Martin Scorsese outdid himself with <a href="http://amzn.to/1p3HFhM" target="_blank">Casino</a>. It tells the true story of Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-soldier-anthony-the">Anthony “The Ant” Spilotro</a> and how the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview">Chicago Outfit</a> dominated gambling in Las Vegas and is based on the research and eventual book <a href="http://amzn.to/1mq8yrQ" target="_blank">Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas</a> by Nicholas Pileggi.</p>
<p>In the movie the names have been changed. Lefty Rosenthal turned into Sam “Ace” Rothstein while Spilotro was now named Nicky Santoro. Thankfully their actions remained the same and the acting of Robert De Niro as Rothstein and Joe Pesci as Santoro is, as you can expect from these two stars, top notch.</p>
<p>Where Scorsese had shown the gritty streets of New York City mob life in Goodfellas, in Casino he upped the ante and showed us the glamorous lives of the men who controlled a billion dollar industry. And, “how [they] messed it all up.”</p>
<p>The true story of Casino was featured in several Gangsters Inc. stories. Most dealing with the individual players or certain incidents more than with the exact plot of the movie. The men responsible for the Las Vegas skim and the money from the Teamsters were bosses <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-boss-antonino-accardo">Antonino “Joe Batters” Accardo</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-boss-joseph-joey-doves">Joseph Aiuppa</a>, while capo <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-boss-joseph-lombardo">Joseph “The Clown” Lombardo</a> saw to it their orders were carried out as commanded. We have profiled them all.</p>
<p>Spilotro was sent to Vegas to oversee the skim at the casino. He had made a name for himself back in Chicago after learning the ropes from <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-soldier-mad-sam">“Mad Sam” DeStefano</a>, one of the most evil mobsters ever to walk the streets of Chi Town.</p>
<p>All in all the violence portrayed in Casino did a good job at showing the capabilities of the group of stone cold killers the real Chicago Outfit had at its disposal. Like when Chicago boss Antonino Accardo needed to send <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-message-dont-fuck-with">a message</a> to some guys wo burglarized his home.</p>
<p>In the movie Scorsese even cast real mob killer <a href="http://amzn.to/1qt3e9n" target="_blank">Frank Cullotta</a> to play, essentially, himself as he shoots his way through the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FZ2FA-epcE" target="_blank">final scenes</a> of the movie.</p>
<p><strong>More on Casino:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/video/2ycb">The 25th Anniversary of Casino:</a> Looking Back with Nicholas Pileggi and Oscar Goodman</li>
<li><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/former-mafia-hitman-frank-cullotta-dies-at-81-story-was-immortali">Former Mafia hitman Frank Cullotta dies at 81</a></li>
<li><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/video/frank-cullotta-on-casino-tony-spilotro-killing-informants">Mafia hitman Frank Cullotta on movie 'Casino', Tony Spilotro,</a> Killing Informants, Cooperating with FBI</li>
<li><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-beginnings-of-tony-spilotro-s-infamous-hole-in-the-wall-gang">The beginnings of Tony Spilotro's infamous Hole in the Wall gang</a></li>
<li>The lucrative and violent years of Las Vegas mobster <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucrative-and-violent-years-of-las-vegas-mobster-tony-spilotr">Tony Spilotro’s infamous Hole in the Wall gang</a></li>
<li><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-demise-of-chicago-mobster-tony-spilotro-s-hole-in-the-wall-ga">The demise of Chicago mobster Tony Spilotro’s Hole in the Wall gang</a></li>
<li><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/from-violent-to-loving-in-a-heartbeat-the-two-sides-of-infamous-c">The two sides of infamous Chicago Outfit mobster Tony Spilotro</a></li>
<li><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/sometimes-the-most-obvious-is-the-best-way-the-kansas-city-mob-an">The Kansas City Mob and the skimming of Las Vegas casinos</a></li>
<li>The story behind the documentary: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-story-behind-the-documentary-back-home-years-ago-the-real-cas">Back Home, Years Ago: The Real Casino</a></li>
<li><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/insulting-mobsters-with-don-rickles">Insulting mobsters with Don Rickles</a></li>
<li><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/las-vegas-sin-city">Las Vegas: Sin City</a></li>
<li><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-message-dont-fuck-with">The Message: Don't Fuck With Antonino Accardo</a></li>
<li><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/tony-spilotro-and-his-hole-in">Tony Spilotro & His Hole in the Wall Gang</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
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The Chicago Outfit: From
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview
2020-09-03T19:33:58.000Z
2020-09-03T19:33:58.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><div style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:x-large;"><span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9236981095,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9236981095,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9236981095?profile=original" width="600" /></a></span></span></div>
<p><span style="font-weight:bold;">First Boss</span>: James "Big Jim" Colosimo<br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;">Primary rackets</span>: Gambling, extortion and loan sharking.<br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;">Boss</span>: The Chicago Outfit has always been very secretive about its bosses. This has been one of their strong points and ensured their continued survival.</p>
<div style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">BOSSES</span>:<br /> <br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/longtime-chicago-mob-boss-john-no-nose-difronzo-dead-at-89">John "No Nose" DiFronzo</a> (dead)<br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/untouchable-little-jimmy-profile-of-chicago-mafia-boss-james-marc">James "Little Jimmy" Marcello</a> (in prison)<br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-boss-joseph-lombardo">Joseph "The Clown" Lombardo</a> (dead, natural causes)<br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-boss-joseph-joey-doves">Joseph "Joey Doves" Aiuppa</a> (dead, natural causes)<br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-boss-antonino-accardo">Antonino "Joe Batters" Accardo</a> (dead, natural causes)<br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-boss-paul-the-waiter">Paul "The Waiter" Ricca</a> (dead, natural causes)<br /> <br /> <br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;">CONSIGLIERI</span>:<br /> <br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-mover-profile-of-chicago-outfit-consigliere-marco-d-amico">Marco "The Mover" D’Amico</a> (dead)<br /> <br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;">SOLDIERS</span>:<br /> <br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-soldier-anthony-the">Anthony "The Ant" Spilotro</a> (whacked)<br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-soldier-mad-sam">Sam "Mad Sam" DeStefano</a> (whacked)<br /> <br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;">ASSOCIATES</span>:<br /> <br /> <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/another-chicago-mob-story-the-german-and-the-outfit">Frank "The German" Schweihs</a><br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/former-mafia-hitman-frank-cullotta-dies-at-81-story-was-immortali">Frank Cullotta</a> <br /> The Hook: Life and bloody crimes of feared Chicago Mafia enforcer <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-hook-life-and-bloody-crimes-of-feared-chicago-mafia-enforcer">Harry Aleman</a> <br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/nothing-gets-my-juices-flowing-like-putting-a-gun-to-someone-s-he">Charles Russell</a> <br /> <br /> <span style="font-weight:bold;">ARTICLES</span>:<br /> <br /> <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/another-chicago-mob-story-the-german-and-the-outfit">Another Chicago Mob Story: The German and The Outfit</a><br /> <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/mafia-boss-al-capone-s-13-minute-home-movie">Mafia boss Al Capone’s 13-minute home movie</a> <br /> <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/house-once-owned-by-legendary-chicago-mafia-boss-anthony-accardo">House once owned by legendary Chicago Mafia boss Anthony Accardo</a> sold for $1.5 million<br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/caponeville-how-chicago-mob-boss-al-capone-ruled-over-the-suburbs">Caponeville: How Chicago mob boss Al Capone</a> ruled over the suburbs and two small towns in particular<br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/former-mafia-hitman-frank-cullotta-dies-at-81-story-was-immortali">Former Mafia hitman Frank Cullotta dies at 81</a><br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/watch-chicago-mobster-frank-calabrese-jr-s-dad-would-strangle-you">Chicago mobster Frank Calabrese Jr.’s dad</a> “would strangle you, cut your throat from ear to ear”<br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-beginnings-of-tony-spilotro-s-infamous-hole-in-the-wall-gang">The beginnings of Tony Spilotro's infamous Hole in the Wall gang</a><br /> The lucrative and violent years of Las Vegas mobster <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucrative-and-violent-years-of-las-vegas-mobster-tony-spilotr">Tony Spilotro’s infamous Hole in the Wall gang</a><br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-demise-of-chicago-mobster-tony-spilotro-s-hole-in-the-wall-ga">The demise of Chicago mobster Tony Spilotro’s Hole in the Wall gang</a><br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/a-tale-of-espionage-the-cia-the-mafia-double-agents-cuban-exiles">A Tale of Espionage</a>, the CIA, the Mafia, double agents, Cuban exiles, and President Kennedy: Plot to kill Fidel Castro<br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/visiting-chicago-s-prohibition-era-underworld-with-new-gangster-t">Visit Chicago’s Prohibition-era underworld with new gangster tour</a> <br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/from-violent-to-loving-in-a-heartbeat-the-two-sides-of-infamous-c">The two sides of infamous Chicago Outfit mobster Tony Spilotro</a> <br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/legendary-mob-boss-al-capone-s-miami-beach-mansion-up-for-sale-fo">Al Capone’s Miami Beach mansion up for sale for $15 million</a> <br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/when-the-american-government-asked-the-mafia-for-a-favor-the-assa">When the American government asked the Mafia for a favor:</a> The assassination of Fidel Castro<br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-chicago-s-prohibition-era-gangland-laid-bar">Chicago’s Prohibition-era gangland laid bare by mob historian John Binder in new book<br /> </a> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/frank-cullotta-the-las-vegas-hitman-made-famous-by-scorsese-s-cas">Frank Cullotta</a> comes to Mob Museum for book signing <br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/there-goes-the-neighbor-hood-take-a-tour-through-chicago-s-gangla">Take a tour through Chicago’s gangland with Oak Park River Forest Gangster Tour</a><br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/once-a-crook-always-a-crook-the-gangster-who-joined-the-witness-p">The gangster who joined Witness Protection Program</a> but never left his life of crime<br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-secret-police-in-the-united-states-how-local-law-enforcement">The Secret Police in the United States</a>: How local law enforcement took on organized crime and LCN<br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-book-delves-into-prohibition-era-chicago-ga">New book delves into Capone's Beer Wars</a><br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/world-series-2016-winners-chicago-cubs-meet-your-most-notorious-f">Chicago Cubs' biggest fan: Mob boss Al Capone</a><br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-mob-underboss-anthony-zizzo-disappeared-10-years-ago-but">Chicago mob underboss Anthony Zizzo disappeared 10 years ago</a>, FBI continues search, offers $10G<br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/take-a-tour-through-mob-boss-al-capone-s-playground">Take a tour through mob boss Al Capone’s 'playground'</a><br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/cops-make-the-deadliest-mafia-hit-men">Cops make the deadliest Mafia hit men</a><br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/puparo-s-gangland-history-of-the-chicago-boroughs-1">Gangland History of the Chicago Boroughs and its Racketeers</a><br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-a-gangster-history">Chicago: A Gangster History</a><br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-hitman-frank-calabrese-sr-dies-in-prison">Chicago Hitman Frank Calabrese Sr. Dies in Prison</a><br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-the-chicago-outfit-made">How The Chicago Outfit Made Its Hollywood Dreams Come True</a><br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-message-dont-fuck-with">The Message: Don't Fuck With Antonino Accardo</a><br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/tony-spilotro-and-his-hole-in">Tony Spilotro & His Hole in the Wall Gang</a><br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicagos-family-secrets">Chicago's Family Secrets</a><br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/hollywood-to-tell-story-of-chicago-bosses-accardo-giancana">Hollywood tells story of Chicago bosses Accardo & Giancana</a><br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-truth-behind-movie-classic-casino">The Facts Behind Movie Classic Casino</a><br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-bank-robber-machine-gun-kelly-got-his-nickname">How bank robber “Machine Gun” Kelly got his nickname</a><br /> <br /> <strong>VIDEO:</strong></div>
<div style="text-align:center;"> </div>
<div style="text-align:center;"><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/watch-film-the-outfit-uses-english-tailor-to-fashion-story-of-chi">Film "The Outfit" uses English tailor to fashion story of Chicago’s Mafia</a><br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/watch-chicago-mobster-frank-calabrese-jr-s-dad-would-strangle-you">Chicago mobster Frank Calabrese Jr.’s dad</a> “would strangle you, cut your throat from ear to ear”<br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/video-al-capone-s-beer-wars-ravage-chicago">Al Capone's Beer Wars ravage Chicago</a></div></div>
Caponeville: How Chicago mob boss Al Capone ruled over the suburbs and two small towns in particular
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/caponeville-how-chicago-mob-boss-al-capone-ruled-over-the-suburbs
2020-09-03T19:24:50.000Z
2020-09-03T19:24:50.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/caponeville-how-chicago-mob-boss-al-capone-ruled-over-the-suburbs" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237133671,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237133671?profile=original" /></a>Al Capone’s life story and violent exploits have filled entire libraries and spawned many movies. Yet the focus is usually on his activities in Chicago. Though his power definitely originated there, his influence reached far beyond the city limits into small towns like Stickney and Forest View. In her new book When Capone Ruled the Village, author Linda M. Malek delves into this unique episode in the notorious mob boss’ life.</p>
<p><em>Linda was kind enough to contribute the following introduction and the book excerpt below to Gangsters Inc.</em></p>
<p>By <a href="https://www.whencaponeruledthevillage.com/" target="_blank">Linda M. Malek</a> for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p>The history of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Capone" target="_blank">Al Capone</a>’s operations is incomplete if his activities in the villages of Stickney and Forest View are not explored. The well-worn story of his illicit activities in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Chicago" target="_blank">Chicago</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cicero" target="_blank">Cicero</a> have been visited by many authors and historians, yet the Capone hot spots in Stickney and Forest View that made headlines for years have been ignored. The vice dens, raids, arrests, murders of gangsters, arson and courtroom battles connected to the villages kept law enforcement very busy.</p>
<p>Taking a closer look at this era reveals the socio-political environment that allowed criminal activities to take root. During the late 1800s social reformers led a movement to create laws that forbade <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling" target="_blank">gambling</a> and horseracing, which stopped horseracing for awhile but fueled a myriad of back-alley wagering alternatives. Anthony Comstock was the secretary of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. The Comstock laws that were named after him prohibited the distribution of anything considered obscene including birth control devices. These laws contributed to the proliferation of pandering and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Prostitution" target="_blank">brothels</a>. The greatest failure of the reformers was the 18th Amendment, which established the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Prohibition" target="_blank">prohibition</a> of manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors in the United States. Bootleggers became millionaires.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/when-the-american-government-asked-the-mafia-for-a-favor-the-assa" target="_blank">When the American government asked the Mafia for a favor</a>: The assassination of Fidel Castro</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237160261,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237160261?profile=original" /></a>Residents of Stickney and Forest View were angered when Al and Ralph Capone (right) brought their trade to town. Many were determined to get rid of them, while others developed tolerance for them. The Capones ran a dirty business but took care of their neighborhoods and the people who lived in them. Cooperation with the Capones was rewarded. A complicated codependent relationship began when residents were hired to assist with manufacturing and storage of liquor and local politicians were paid to look the other way as a revolving door of men visited the village brothels.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/legendary-mob-boss-al-capone-s-miami-beach-mansion-up-for-sale-fo" target="_blank"><strong>Al Capone’s Miami Beach mansion up for sale for $15 million</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Al Capone had many notorious associates who managed operations in the villages. Ralph Capone was in charge of Stickney and Forest View. His primary function was obtaining adequate supplies of liquor to keep all the speakeasies stocked. He also ran a large brewery in Forest View. Procurer Mike De Pike Heitler ran Stickney’s Shadow Inn, while Jake Guzik managed all the other brothels in the villages. Reporters nicknamed Stickney, “the oasis for the thirsty,” due to the number of speakeasies there. After the founder of Forest View was run out of town the Capones took over. The press then nicknamed Forest View “Caponeville.”</p>
<p>Another topic rarely visited and seldom mentioned are the wealthy industrialists who covertly funded the investigation that ended the reign of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Capone" target="_blank">Al Capone</a>. Buying information, infiltrating operations, wiretapping and countless man-hours spent on surveillance were beyond the budget of law enforcement agencies. The tangled web of the Capone syndicate met defeat with the financial support of the Secret Six.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/take-a-tour-through-mob-boss-al-capone-s-playground" target="_blank"><strong>Take a tour through mob boss Al Capone’s 'playground'</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>The multifaceted world of Al Capone now contains another episode, and this book details events that lay dormant for almost a century. <a href="https://www.whencaponeruledthevillage.com/" target="_blank">When Capone Ruled the Village</a> is a new book that sheds light on the forgotten headlines made by Capone’s operations in the villages of Stickney and Forest View Illinois. It includes 78 unique photographs that support the text.</p>
<p>The book explains the evolution of how illicit activities found their way into these suburbs and gained momentum. The excerpt, although interesting, is taken out of context and only reveals a fraction of the complex relationship that unfolds between Al and Ralph Capone and the community. Additional information can be found on the website: <a href="https://www.whencaponeruledthevillage.com/" target="_blank">whencaponeruledthevillage.com</a></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Book excerpt from When Capone Ruled the Village</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><em><a href="https://www.whencaponeruledthevillage.com/" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237160663,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237160663?profile=original" /></a>Excerpt from page 108 - 110 of the book.</em></span></p>
<p><strong>You can order a copy of When Capone Ruled the Village on Linda M. Malek's website <a href="https://www.whencaponeruledthevillage.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</strong></p>
<p>On July 24, 1925, Sheriff Peter M. Hoffman and a group of civic organizers were delighted when Circuit Court Judge Francis S. Wilson issued an injunction ordering the notorious Harlem Tavern, aka “Sticks”, located at 4225 Harlem Avenue, Stickney, padlocked for one year. The proprietor was known to be Al Capone.</p>
<p>Business was thriving at the Harlem Tavern known to regulars as “Sticks.” Patrons looking for hookers accessed the brothel through the first floor barroom. The girls conducted business on the second floor. Bouncers sent customers upstairs where a woman collected the $2 fee from each man for five minutes time with one of the girls. The men were then assigned a room number, and when the girl became available, the next man was called in. The fee for services was divided three ways: the prostitutes got 80 cents, 20 cents covered protection, and $1 dollar went to the house. The girls were well practiced in making each encounter brief. On average, it took three minutes from hello to goodbye.</p>
<p>On August 24, 1925, the element of surprise helped Sheriff Peter M. Hoffman and fifty deputies conduct a successful raid on the Harlem Tavern. Without a word of warning, the posse descended on Sticks.</p>
<p>The deputies reported the joint was jumping when they burst through the door. An estimated two hundred revelers were drinking and dancing in the barroom while seven women and five men, found in the brothel on the second-floor, were arrested and taken into custody. Frantic patrons scrambling to leave the building hurled tables and chairs at windows and doors attempting to flee. One man jumped from a second floor window taking down an electrical power line that contributed to the mayhem when the lights went out. The turmoil spilled over into the parking lot, which looked like the aftermath of a demolition derby. Chief George H. Weilding of the Illinois highway police stated that chaos erupted outside the building where at least a dozen cars were abandoned after collisions were caused by patrons in a panic to leave the mêlée.</p>
<p>The Harlem Tavern did not remain closed for very long. Assistant State’s Attorney Frank Peska explained how the Capone gang avoided injunctions, an official order given by a court, to cease and desist operations, by relocating or altering the name of the business. After an injunction was filed against the notorious Harlem Inn at 4225 Harlem Avenue in Stickney, they moved the business to a new address a few doors away at 4207 Harlem Avenue.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237160871,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237160871?profile=original" /></a>Al Capone disappeared; he became a fugitive after the April 27, 1926, murders of James Doherty, Thomas Duffy, and Assistant States Attorney William McSwiggin. Investigators believed competition between Capone and Doherty for beer distribution was the motive for the murders.</p>
<p>On May 1, 1926, Chief Schoemaker, Lieutenant Charles Eagan, Sergeants William Burke, Thomas Crot, and Frank Johnson conducted another raid at 4225 Harlem Avenue in Stickney. This facility had been known as the Harlem Tavern and was closed by injunction issued by State’s Attorney Crowe. The name was changed from the Harlem Tavern to the Harlem Inn to circumvent the injunction.</p>
<p>Raiders inspecting the inventory found four sticks of dynamite, a shotgun, a rifle, and a gun in a holster with a police officer’s badge #5 from the Forest View police department. Liquor included: eighty cases of beer, 15 five-gallon jugs of wine, 11 fifty-gallon drums of alcohol, and 1-1/2 cases of Champagne. They also found and destroyed six slot machines.</p>
<p>Continuing their search of the premises, they found a button hidden beneath the bar that operated a sliding panel on the opposite side of the room. Behind the panel was a space the size of a closet, large enough to hide three men. There were three holes in the panel that would allow for long barrel guns to protrude and for gunmen to shoot into the barroom. Pictures were hung on the outside of the panel to cover the holes concealing them from view of anyone in the barroom.</p>
<p>As their investigation continued, they found 26 rooms that had been inhabited by prostitutes. Many of these rooms had secret panels or trap doors that would provide means for occupants to hide or to escape. Locals told stories of women surfacing from underground in the forest preserves across the street from building.</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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</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
“The Mover” - Profile of Chicago Outfit consigliere Marco D’Amico
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-mover-profile-of-chicago-outfit-consigliere-marco-d-amico
2020-04-27T12:30:00.000Z
2020-04-27T12:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-mover-profile-of-chicago-outfit-consigliere-marco-d-amico" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237139274,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237139274?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p>He was one of the last old school Chicago Mafia leaders to pass away, media wrote when Marco D’Amico died on April 22, 2020. It was a cliché that – between the lines - revealed the downfall of a once mighty criminal empire. One that D’Amico played an important part in.</p>
<p>Born on January 1, 1936, Marco D’Amico fit right in with some of the crazier gangsters operating in Chicago. That says a lot, seeing how the city was home to torture-murderers like <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Spilotro" target="_blank">Tony Spilotro</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-soldier-mad-sam" target="_blank">“Mad Sam” DeStefano</a> and a boss like <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-boss-joseph-lombardo" target="_blank">Joey “The Clown” Lombardo</a>, who never missed a chance to live up to his nickname, but would just as easily smile-kill you, if needed.</p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size:14pt;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237139480,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237139480?profile=original" /></a>Biting the finger off a cop: charges dropped</span></strong></p>
<p>D’Amico (right) earned his crazy stripes in 1983 when he got pulled over by a police officer on suspicion of drunk driving. The cop had seen correctly that D’Amico was intoxicated, but the mobster wasn’t about to get busted for something as insignificant as a DUI.</p>
<p>So, he pulled a: “Do you know who I am?!” on the officer. Stunned, the cop replied he didn’t know nor that it mattered. D’Amico then went straight for the cop’s finger and bit it off. Like a madman.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/untouchable-little-jimmy-profile-of-chicago-mafia-boss-james-marc" target="_blank">Untouchable "Little Jimmy"</a> - Profile of Chicago Mafia boss James Marcello</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>After this violent incident, D’Amico was proven correct in using the “Do you know who I am?!” line. He indeed had a lot of pull. After biting off the finger of a cop, the charges were dropped. Some guys were above the law, it seemed.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Shakers and movers</strong></span></p>
<p>It was indicative of the power of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Outfit</a> of the 1980s. Back then, it not only ruled the underworld in Chicago, but multiple <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Casino" target="_blank">casinos</a> in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Vegas" target="_blank">Las Vegas</a> as well. It still had corrupt contacts in law enforcement, the courts, and even in politics.</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>This created the perfect working environment for a mobster like D’Amico. From <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling" target="_blank">gambling</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Loansharking" target="_blank">loansharking</a> to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Extortion" target="_blank">extortion</a> and violence, D’Amico had all the freedom he needed. And back up as well, of course. As a made member of the Outfit’s Elmwood Park crew, he could rely on plenty of muscle. D’Amico himself brought plenty to the table as well, earning the nickname “The Mover” because he always got things <a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237139498,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237139498?profile=original" /></a>done.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>No Nose</strong></span></p>
<p>His biggest ally in the crew was <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/longtime-chicago-mob-boss-john-no-nose-difronzo-dead-at-89" target="_blank">John “No Nose” DiFronzo</a>, who would eventually become the boss of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Outfit</a>. John Binder, a historian and expert on the Chicago underworld, told <a href="https://abc7chicago.com/marco-the-mover-d'amico-dead-outfit-chicago-mob/6126739/" target="_blank">ABC7 Eyewitness News</a> that: “D'Amico was close to John DiFronzo for quite some time. His own money was (as an investor) in the large-scale marijuana farms the Outfit ran in Inverness and Carol Stream some years ago, alongside that of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/longtime-chicago-mob-boss-john-no-nose-difronzo-dead-at-89" target="_blank">John DiFronzo</a> and his brother Joe. He was also part of John DiFronzo's inner circle, meeting with him every day at the old Loon Cafe and after that in another near west suburban location for an extended lunch.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-chicago-s-prohibition-era-gangland-laid-bar" target="_blank"><strong>Chicago’s Prohibition-era gangland laid bare by mob historian John Binder in new book</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>But times were changing fast. <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LCN" target="_blank">La Cosa Nostra</a>’s power and influence were dwindling fast. D’Amico was confronted with the new reality in which mobsters actually had to face justice for their crimes in the mid-1990s when he was hit with racketeering charges. Gone were the corrupt contacts. Gone was the protective shield of omerta, the code of silence. If he would have gone to trial, he faced snitches and overwhelming evidence.</p>
<p>The Outfit just wasn’t what it used to be. D’Amico pleaded guilty in 1995 and was sentenced to 12 years behind bars. He was released in 2005.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Consigliere</strong></span></p>
<p>By that time, the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Outfit</a> was in bad shape. Operation Family Secrets had decimated its top leadership and uncovered many of the underworld’s most guarded conspiracies. DiFronzo and D’Amico were still going. The two mob leaders were seen meeting together in public as late as 2009. But the days of brazen robberies and bombings were far behind them.</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</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-hook-life-and-bloody-crimes-of-feared-chicago-mafia-enforcer" target="_blank"><strong>Harry Aleman</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>As a senior figure in the Outfit, D’Amico’s opinion and insight were valued by younger mobsters. According to various sources, he still held the position of consigliere at the time of his death on April 22, 2020. He was 84.</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>
<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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<p> </p></div>
The demise of Chicago mobster Tony Spilotro’s Hole in the Wall gang
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-demise-of-chicago-mobster-tony-spilotro-s-hole-in-the-wall-ga
2020-03-08T17:33:03.000Z
2020-03-08T17:33:03.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-demise-of-chicago-mobster-tony-spilotro-s-hole-in-the-wall-ga" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237156864,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237156864?profile=original" /></a>By Gary Jenkins for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago mobster</a> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Spilotro" target="_blank">Anthony Spilotro</a> had it made. He was sent to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Vegas" target="_blank">Las Vegas</a> to oversee the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a>’s operations there and was treated as a king. He also had a very lucrative side hustle going as the leader of his Hole in the Wall gang. But things were quickly taking a turn for the worse, in this third and final installment on Tony Spilotro and his crew the reader will learn how Spilotro’s den of thieves met its demise.</p>
<p><em>“Bertha’s? This was the greatest night of my FBI career.”</em> - <strong>FBI Agent Emmett Michaels</strong></p>
<p>By 1981, Spilotro knew he was in for a series of legal challenges. He was facing a RICO indictment for conspiracy to skim money from Las Vegas casinos. He knew the government had dedicated many resources toward him. He knew his <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Outfit</a> bosses, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-boss-joseph-joey-doves" target="_blank">Joey Aiuppa</a>, Jackie Cerone and Angelo LaPietra were all facing these same charges. He needed money and a lot of it. <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Goodman" target="_blank">Oscar Goodman</a>, his Las Vegas lawyer, did not work cheap, plus if he went away to prison for a long stretch, he must provide for his family.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Las Vegas Metro partners with the FBI</strong></span></p>
<p>Las Vegas Metro Intelligence Commander Kent Clifford and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> agent Emmett Michaels focused on the Spilotro burglary crew for several reasons. First because of the bad publicity from the Frankie Bluestein killing, second because of the threats against Metro Intelligence officers, Sgt. Gene Smith and Det. David Groover of Metro and thirdly because of Commander Clifford’s trip to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Chicago" target="_blank">Chicago</a>. They needed a win. The FBI and Las Vegas Metro formed a working relationship with the specific intent to bring down Spilotro and his crew.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: The Hook: Life and bloody crimes of feared</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-hook-life-and-bloody-crimes-of-feared-chicago-mafia-enforcer" target="_blank"><strong>Chicago Mafia enforcer Harry Aleman</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Because of the former Sheriff, Ralph Lamb, and his corrupt Intelligence Unit detectives, the FBI had been hiding what they are doing from local law enforcement. In 1981, David Helfry, the USA Attorney in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Kansas" target="_blank">Kansas City</a>, and his staff were working with FBI Agent Bill Ouseley and agents in Chicago, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cleveland" target="_blank">Cleveland</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Milwaukee" target="_blank">Milwaukee</a>, and Las Vegas to put together the skimming cases. They called many parties into a grand jury trying to get somebody to turn and explain how the skimming worked. Even though Metro Intelligence cleaned up its act, the FBI is still distrustful and vice versa. Since much of the FBI information is coming from a Federal Grand Jury, they cannot share that intelligence with the local cops. The FBI had a Top Echelon Informant (Lefty Rosenthal, pictured below next to Spilotro) in Las Vegas, and they cannot share this information. During this time a couple of Chicago agents turn a guy who will make all the difference. Resultingly, the FBI required a lot of local cooperation to pull off what they believe will be the blow that brings down Spilotro and his Hole in the Wall Gang.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="https://st1.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/993715516?profile=RESIZE_710x" alt="993715516?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a>When the government decides to take down a crew and forms a partnership with the local cops, the target does not have a chance. By this time, the Spilotro task force was very familiar with all the usual Hole in the Wall Gang hangouts. Unless there is a specific operation going, the Intelligence guys merely drove around watching the known spots like clubs, casinos, apartments or homes to see who their targets meet, they may follow the unknown parties to identify them and any other businesses they go into or to see what other connections they make. Many people think this is a waste of time and the officers themselves may not realize or understand exactly what they observe during this kind of surveillance. In his case, they were finding Tony Spilotro meeting with <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cullotta" target="_blank">Frank Cullotta</a>, Ernie Davino, Larry Newman, Wayne Mateki, Leo Guardino and Joe Blasko quite a lot. They knew these were all career criminals and had done high-end burglaries or <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Robbery" target="_blank">robberies</a> in the past. From their observations, they knew these men all socialized together. The cops suspected they might be the famous Hole in the Wall Gang, but they were unable to catch them in the act. </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>The Big Score</strong></span></p>
<p>In the Spring of 1981, Frank and his crew started planning their most ambitious job to date, Bertha’s Gifts and Furnishings located just west of Sarah on Maryland Parkway, 896 E Sahara Ave. The surveillance officers started seeing a new guy they identified as Sal Romano hanging out with the gang. The surveillance officers did not have to research this new player because they knew something about Romano. Chicago cops had popped Sal at Chicago’s O’Hare airfield with some stolen furs. They turned him over to the F.B.I, and they turned him into an operative. They even set him up in an apartment in Las Vegas with a fake girlfriend (undercover FBI agent) who was supposed to be an airline attendant to explain why Cullotta and the others rarely saw her. The Bureau wired up this apartment for sound and video. Sal worked to get crew members over to his new place and talk about their jobs. Sal later testified he was recruited into the gang because he had electronic skills to deal with sophisticated burglar alarms. </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: “Nothing gets my juices flowing like putting a gun to someone's head” –</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/nothing-gets-my-juices-flowing-like-putting-a-gun-to-someone-s-he" target="_blank"><strong>Profile: Chicago mobster Charles Russell</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="https://st5.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3441920467?profile=RESIZE_710x" alt="3441920467?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a>Frank Cullotta (right) claims that two Chicago cops came to see him at the Upper Crust. He believes the corrupt Chicago police commander William Hanhardt sent these officers. Frank said these guys told him that they grabbed Sal Romano with a load of stolen furs at O’Hare airport. They turned the case over to the Feds because it involved interstate transportation. Later, they checked on the progress of this case and found no record of the arrest. Frank said he thanked them, offered to get them casino show or meal “comps” and they refused. Frank said the cops didn’t want anything; they just thought they should tell him about Romano. Frank said he went to Spilotro with this information and Tony brushed it off, telling Frank to put the guy with Larry Newman during the burglary and if Romano “did anything funny” have Newman kill Romano. Frank remembered that in retrospect, he did notice that when he went to Romano’s new apartment, it looked like a set or that the occupants had placed the toiletries, furniture, clothes and kitchen items, so it just appeared that Romano lived there with his new girlfriend. He noticed that whenever he engaged her in conversation, she was nervous and refused to look him in the eye.</p>
<p>Despite Frank’s information, Tony insisted Romano stay with the score. Frank said that Tony probably had a plan to kill Romano after the score was over. He never thought that Sal was actively helping law enforcement and figured the worst-case scenario would be that he would become a cooperating witness after the score was taken down. Tony and Frank did not know that the Feds and Metro Intelligence were all over Romano and he was briefing them about the gang’s plans and activities. Tony and Frank chose the 4th of July weekend to give them more time because Bertha Ragland closed the store an extra day, and the fireworks would cover any noise. As a bonus, the cops would be busy on the strip and in the residential areas that weekend.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/sometimes-the-most-obvious-is-the-best-way-the-kansas-city-mob-an" target="_blank"><strong>The Kansas City Mob and the skimming of Las Vegas casinos</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>The fateful night arrives. It is July 4, 1981. Like the profitable 1957 burglary Frank and Tony did back in Chicago, a long weekend. Frank was crazy with suspicion over Sal Romano. The tension ran high in the burglary crew. The burglars’ eyes flash around checking review mirrors for tails. </p>
<p>The cops and agents drove by Bertha’s on their last moving surveillance close to the target and established assignments to fixed positions surrounding Bertha’s. They alerted the FBI surveillance plane so the pilot would circle overhead. FBI Agents and Metro officers formed into 2-man teams for the moving surveillance in a loose perimeter around Bertha’s. Agent Michaels and Commander Clifford set up a command post in a nearby building. They issued instructions that all moving surveillance crews will maintain a respectable distance and to not alert any of the suspects. They assign each two-person team to a gang member to monitor and report when they see any movement toward the target. Once they report gang members to driving in the direction of Bertha’s, the commanders notified surveillance to back off and wait. The moving surveillance teams know the Hole in the Wall Gang members will meet at Bertha’s. The command post assigns a ground crew to hide behind air conditioners on other buildings, inside a couple of empty storefronts and to watch from a nearby bank roof. Once the FBI rooftop surveillance observes Ernie Davino, Leo Guardino and Wayne Mateki walking in the vicinity, the moving surveillance officers moved in closer and parked. The airplane circled and reported the ground movements. Joe Blasko had provided each of the burglars with 2-way radios. He is sitting outside in a van with police monitors. Soon, one of the rooftop crews reported that they see men on Bertha’s roof. The surveillance officers tensed, their heart rate and breathing became more rapid.</p>
<p>Sal Romano tried to lay back and radioed Frank that his car is in a nearby parking lot and the battery is dead. Frank responded and pushed Sal’s car a short distance away and ordered him to ride with Larry Newman. Sal slipped away during this time. </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: Untouchable "Little Jimmy" -</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/untouchable-little-jimmy-profile-of-chicago-mafia-boss-james-marc" target="_blank"><strong>Profile of Chicago Mafia boss James Marcello</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Once the rooftop lookout saw the men on the roof drop inside, they notified the command post. Agent Dennis Arnoldy remembered he saw some dark figures drop out of sight on the roof. In the command post, Agent Michaels and Commander Clifford waited a short time to let them start moving stuff around and setting up to open the safe. The officers must find evidence that the burglars move property inside the target business to upgrade a trespass charge to burglary. Burglary to most people is the forcible entry into a building; the officer must show an intention to steal to complete the elements of a commercial burglary. Several agents are assigned to follow the burglars inside Bertha’s. The mobile crews know the car descriptions of Larry Newman and Frank Cullotta.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“Cops were all over the place”</strong></span></p>
<p>Upon orders from the Command Post, the Surveillance crews move in. They secured the outside of the store with officers stationed at each store exit and window to prevent escape. Agents entered with some uniformed officers. Davino and Guardino quickly gave up. Ernie Davino said, “Me and Leo got inside the place, and we never saw anybody and the next thing we know cops were all over the place.” Mobile crews stopped and arrested Blasko, Newman, and Mateki with no drama. Frank Cullotta made his arrest into a short car chase, and he later claimed he wanted to get into a well-lit populated area because he was afraid the cops would kill him out of revenge over the Spilotro response to the killing of Frankie Blue. As they transported the crew to jail, the agents and officers casually mentioned that somebody got away. These men were seasoned criminals, and they immediately suspicioned that Sal had set them up for the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a>.</p>
<p>Most mob fans have seen the famous photo (below) taken of the entire crew, except <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Spilotro" target="_blank">Tony Spilotro</a>. They are all standing in front of a jail door and what I noticed was that Frank was standing off to the side with a disgusted look. He tried to tell Spilotro. I can only imagine what he was thinking.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237156696,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237156696?profile=original" /></a><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>The Purge</strong></span></p>
<p>Over the next few days, Tony Spilotro pays bail to get his team out of jail. Then the purge started. Tony ordered Frank to kill Sal Romano. Frank applied a little reasoning to this plan when he asked, “How we gonna do this Tony, the guy is in witness protection, he’ll be surrounded by agents?” Tony replied, “I know a guy that can poison his food.” Frank said, “Yeah but, where is he?”</p>
<p>Spilotro’s irrational behavior scared Frank Cullotta because he talked about killing every member of the crew at one time or another. FBI agents approached Frank with a tape from a <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Chicago" target="_blank">Chicago</a> wiretap. They played this tape, and he heard a voice telling Tony Spilotro that he must clean his dirty laundry. From that tape, Frank believed that he would be on the hit list. Agent Dennis Arnoldy convinced Frank to become a government witness. Frank once said, “I had 37 friends killed by <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">the Outfit</a> and did not want to be number 38.” Over the next few years, Frank Cullotta testified at numerous Chicago Outfit trials. He proved to be invaluable in many ongoing Outfit investigations.</p>
<p>With Cullotta’s testimony and the physical evidence, Larry Newman and Wayne Mateki were convicted un the machete murder of the Chicago jeweler Bob Brown. McHenry County authorities never charged Newman for killing bar owner Ron Scharff. Newman died in prison. I guess that Wayne Mateki is dead. Leo Guardino will be convicted, and I believe he is deceased. Ernie Davino was a standup guy to the end. He was convicted and sentenced to many years. He testified for Tony Spilotro trying to refute the testimony of Sal Romano. He testified that nobody planned these burglaries and Spilotro was not part of the Hole in the Wall Gang. The jury returned a not guilty for Spilotro in that trial. During his time in prison, Davino will find redemption in a rosary. He said, “I noticed this rosary on my bunk when I first arrived, and I asked this kid if it was his and he said no it must be yours. “Ernie said he could not quit thinking about this rosary and one day he started praying the rosary prayer. At that, Ernie Davino, career criminal developed faith in a higher power and worked in a prison ministry after release. He is living back in New Jersey.</p>
<p>Sal Romano testified in many Outfit trials, and the last one was the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicagos-family-secrets" target="_blank">Family Secrets</a> trial in 2007. I believe he is deceased. In the 2007 Family Secrets trial, Nick Calabrese testifies that <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Outfit</a> boss Joey Aiuppa ordered him and a team out to Las Vegas to kill Tony Spilotro. They had a plan that involved using explosives and automatic weapons. The hit team abandoned that plan, and a scheme was hatched to lure Tony Spilotro and his brother Michael to a meeting in a Bensenville Illinois house with the promise of a mob promotion for Tony and that Michael would become a "made" member of the Outfit.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: Longtime <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/longtime-chicago-mob-boss-john-no-nose-difronzo-dead-at-89" target="_blank">Chicago mob boss John “No Nose” DiFronzo</a> dead at 89</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Calabrese testified he and around ten other outfit killers, including James LaPietra, John Fecarotta, John DiFronzo, Sam Carlisi, Louie "The Mooch" Eboli, James Marcello, Louis Marino, Joseph Ferriola, and Ernest "Rocky" Infelice were waiting as the two brothers entered the basement. Calabrese said he tackled Michael Spilotro and held his legs while another mobster strangled him with a rope. He said he heard Tony Spilotro ask his executioners, "Can I say a prayer?" There was no reply.</p>
<p>An Indiana farmer will find the decomposed beaten and bloodied bodies of the Spilotro brothers a few weeks later in a shallow grave in his cornfield.</p>
<p>For a decade, the men of Spilotro’s Vegas-based Hole in the Wall Gang ruled in Las Vegas and cut a swath of high-end burglaries and thefts throughout the Southwest. They had money, women, drugs and all the action they could handle. By 1982, their string of luck ran out, and the only gang members who grew old are Ernie Davino who found God and Frank Cullotta who found Hollywood.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>Also read:</strong></span></p>
<ul>
<li><strong><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-beginnings-of-tony-spilotro-s-infamous-hole-in-the-wall-gang" target="_blank">The beginnings of Tony Spilotro's infamous Hole in the Wall gang</a></strong></li>
<li><strong>The lucrative and violent years of Las Vegas mobster</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucrative-and-violent-years-of-las-vegas-mobster-tony-spilotr" target="_blank"><strong>Tony Spilotro’s infamous Hole in the Wall gang</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p><em>Frank Cullotta provided much of the material for this series on the Hole in the Wall Gang. You can find Frank and take his mob tour of Las Vegas.</em></p>
<p><em>For further reading I suggest the below books:</em></p>
<p><em>Cullotta: The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster, and Government Witness by Dennis Griffin and Frank Cullotta</em></p>
<p><em>The Hole in the Wall Gang by Frank Cullotta and Dennis Griffin</em></p>
<p><em>The Rise And Fall Of A 'Casino' Mobster: The Tony Spilotro Story Through A Hitman's Eyes by Frank Cullotta and Dennis Griffin</em>.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:12pt;"><strong>About the author:</strong></span></p>
<p>Gary Jenkins retired from the Kansas City Police Department in 1996 after a 25-year career. Gary attended the UMKC School of Law and graduated in 2000. He was admitted to the Missouri Bar, and he continues to practice law today. He is a Board member of the Kansas City Police Pension System and The Jackson County Historical Society. During the past ten years, Gary produced three documentary films. The first two were <a href="http://undergroundrailroadkansas.com/">Negroes To Hire: Slave Life in Antebellum Missouri</a> and <a href="http://undergroundrailroadkansas.com/">Freedom Seekers: Stories From the Western Underground Railroad</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://ganglandwire.com/about-2/">Gangland Wire</a> is Gary's third documentary film. During Gary's KCPD career, he was assigned to the KCPD Intelligence Unit, investigating organized crime. In the 1970s, a grassroots development in the City Market area became known as the River Quay. A Mafia dispute over parking rights and strip clubs would destroy the area. The resulting investigation will allow FBI Agents to convict La Cosa Nostra leaders in Kansas City, Chicago, Cleveland and Milwaukee. Filmmaker Gary Jenkins takes the viewer on an insider’s journey into the heart of the Kansas City crime family, using excerpts from wiretaps and interviews with participants. </p>
<p>Additionally, Gary created a Smartphone app titled <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kansas-city-mob-tour/id958652599?mt=8">Kansas City Mob Tour.</a> This app utilizing maps, text, photos, and video conducts the user on a tour of famous Kansas City mob sites.</p>
<p>Gary produces and co-hosts a podcast titled <a href="https://ganglandwire.com/">Gangland Wire Crime Stories.</a> Using the audio podcast format, Gary tells true crime stories from his experience and obtains guests who have either committed crimes, investigated crimes or reported on criminals. </p>
<p>Gary's most recent project is his book documenting the investigation into Las Vegas skimming activities. Gary uses actual wiretap transcripts to tell the story of this investigation. The book is titled <a href="https://ganglandwire.com/store/">Leaving Vegas: The True Story of How the F.B.I. Wiretaps Ended Mob Domination of Las Vegas Casinos.</a></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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Mafia boss Al Capone wishes his rivals a happy Valentine's Day
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/mafia-boss-al-capone-wishes-his-rivals-a-happy-valentine-s-day
2020-02-14T06:40:00.000Z
2020-02-14T06:40:00.000Z
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mafia-boss-al-capone-wishes-his-rivals-a-happy-valentine-s-day" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237133671,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237133671?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p>On Valentine’s Day most people are thinking about their loved ones. Husbands browse the stores in search for that one gift to tell the wife how much they love her, while youngsters arrange to meet up at the park for a romantic walk and a kiss. And then there’s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview">Chicago Mafia</a> boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Capone" target="_blank">Al Capone</a>.</p>
<p>Though Capone undoubtedly arranged for something romantic for his wife or one of his mistresses, his main business of that day was giving the gift of death to his arch rival <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-boss-george-bugs-moran">George “Bugs” Moran</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">Al Capone’s Beer Wars</a>: Chicago’s Prohibition-era gangland laid bare by mob historian John Binder in new book</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>The two mob bosses had been duking it out since 1926 when Moran became the leader of the North Side Gang after Capone had his predecessor “Hymie” Weiss killed. The Chicago Mafia had been hunting for members of the North Side Gang after the gang’s leader had crossed their boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Torrio" target="_blank">Johnny Torrio</a>. And they had a lot of success too! But each time the gang replaced its dead leader with a new one who was just as ferocious in keeping the war going.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237043876,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237043876?profile=original" /></a>Capone had had enough. If he wanted to end the war he had to take out not just Moran but several of his key confidants as well. On February 14, 1929, St. Valentine’s Day, he found the opportunity he was waiting for.</p>
<p>Throughout the war between the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> and the North Side Gang, Moran had acquired a taste for Capone’s booze. He would send out his troops to hijack trucks filled with that illicit product or steal it in other ways. The Capone gang knew what its enemy wanted. They had their bait.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/untouchable-little-jimmy-profile-of-chicago-mafia-boss-james-marc" target="_blank">Untouchable "Little Jimmy"</a> - Profile of Chicago Mafia boss James Marcello</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Capone delegated the task of murdering Moran to “Machine Gun” Jack McGurn, real name Vincenzo Gibaldi, while he himself arranged for his alibi by going to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Florida" target="_blank">Florida</a>. Using a front man, McGurn offered Moran a load of stolen Capone booze. The man was told he would need to deliver a sample at a garage at 2122 North Clark Street so the gang could check the quality.</p>
<p>As Capone’s men were stationed near the garage they kept an eye out on who arrived. After six men had entered the garage there was still no sign of Moran. Perhaps it was impatience, perhaps it was the adrenaline, whatever it was when a seventh man went into the garage the lookouts were certain “Bugs” Moran had joined the group. They were wrong. But by that point they had already passed on the message and the hit was on.</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>With seven members of one of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Chicago" target="_blank">Chicago</a>’s most violent <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gangs" target="_blank">gangs</a> in one place Capone’s men took no chances. They had disguised a black rental car as a police car by placing a siren on top and four hit men were dressed as officers of the law. They were counting on their trustworthy uniforms to give them the edge against a bunch of trigger-happy stone cold killers.</p>
<p><a href="http://amzn.to/1nGSc2k" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237059681,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237059681?profile=original" width="273" /></a>When they made their entrance Moran’s men must’ve been perplexed. Cops were usually paid off and if they weren’t then who snitched on this transaction? Before they could point any fingers however, Capone’s men lined them up and completely obliterated them with bullets. “Some seventy rounds were fired with machine guns, and once the victims were motionless, some of them received pointblank shotgun blasts to their faces. Each victim received dozens of wounds, methodically spread throughout each body. The carnage was so brutal that some copses were said to have been nearly severed at the waist,” author Gus Russo wrote in <a href="http://amzn.to/1nGSc2k" target="_blank">The Outfit</a>.</p>
<p>After the bloody hit, Moran went into hiding and his gang slowly disappeared from the scene. He later told police, “Only the Capone gang kills like that.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>This story was featured in: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/cops-make-the-deadliest-mafia-hit-men">Cops make the best killers</a></strong></li>
</ul>
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Alleged Chicago gang boss charged with sending funds to ISIS in Syria – other gangsters busted for drugs
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/alleged-chicago-gang-boss-charged-with-sending-funds-to-isis-in-s
2019-11-20T08:00:00.000Z
2019-11-20T08:00:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/alleged-chicago-gang-boss-charged-with-sending-funds-to-isis-in-s" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237131682,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237131682?profile=original" /></a>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>An alleged <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Chicago" target="_blank">Chicago</a>-area gang boss was arrested last week for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (<a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=ISIS" target="_blank">ISIS</a>). 37-year-old Jason “Abdul Ja’Me” Brown (photo above) is accused of providing $500 in cash to an individual on three separate occasions this year, with the understanding that the money would be wired to an ISIS soldier engaged in active combat in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Syria" target="_blank">Syria</a>.</p>
<p>However, instead of the funds going to Syria, they went straight to authorities, as the individual was confidentially working with law enforcement, and the purported ISIS fighter was actually an undercover law enforcement officer.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/outlaw-bikers-joining-fight-against-isis-in-iraq" target="_blank"><strong>Outlaw bikers join fight against ISIS in Iraq</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>AHK street gang</strong></span></p>
<p>Brown is charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization. A detention hearing is set for Tuesday, November 21, in Chicago. Prosecutors claim Brown is the leader of the AHK street gang, which is based in the Chicago suburb of Bellwood and comprised of former members of other gangs, including the Black P Stones, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=GD" target="_blank">Gangster Disciples</a>, and Four Corner Hustlers.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/more-outlaw-bikers-gunning-for-isis" target="_blank"><strong>More outlaw bikers gunning for ISIS</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Drug markets</strong></span></p>
<p>Six other alleged AHK members or associates were charged in a separate complaint with federal drug offenses. According to the charges, AHK members trafficked various narcotics in the Chicago area, including a <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Fentanyl" target="_blank">fentanyl</a> analogue, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Heroin" target="_blank">heroin</a>, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cocaine" target="_blank">cocaine</a>, and often boasted about the gang’s activities on social media. As part of the investigation, law enforcement shut down the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gangs" target="_blank">gang</a>’s operation of two illicit drug markets on the West Side of Chicago and executed search warrants at numerous locations.</p>
<p>According to the charges, 34-year-old Tristan Clanton is an influential AHK member who leads a drug trafficking operation in Chicago and Bellwood. The organization is responsible for trafficking more than a half kilogram of heroin, at least 474 grams of fentanyl analogue, and distribution quantities of cocaine and other <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Drugs" target="_blank">drugs</a>, the charges allege. Clanton and his crew sold drugs near two intersections in the North Lawndale and Humboldt Park neighborhoods of Chicago. Law enforcement shut down the crew’s operation of these markets as part of the federal probe. </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/street-gangs" target="_blank">Street Gangs section</a> or <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/black-organized-crime" target="_blank">Black organized crime</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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The Clown: Profile of Chicago Mafia boss Joseph Lombardo
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/chicago-boss-joseph-lombardo
2019-10-21T14:42:18.000Z
2019-10-21T14:42:18.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p style="text-align:center;"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}9236980256,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" /></p>
<p><br /> By David Amoruso<br /> <br /> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Lombardo" target="_blank">Joseph Lombardo</a> was considered one of the longest leading members of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Outfit</a>. He was nicknamed The Clown, and proved that he could play that role. When he was arrested in 1964 for beating a man who owned him money, he made it impossible for the police to take a good mug shot of him by opening his mouth in a wide yawn. It was typical Joey the Clown: acting goofy to outsmart the law. His fellow mobsters and his opponents in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> considered him a smart criminal and stone killer first, his clown act was just that, an act.<br /> <br /> Lombardo grew up as one of eleven children in a poor depression-era <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Chicago" target="_blank">Chicago</a> family. Growing up he had lots of jobs ranging from shining shoes, being a paperboy, and handling room service at the Blackstone Hotel. He graduated from Wells High School. But eventually decided the criminal life was to be his kind of life.<br /> <br /> He committed burglaries and worked as muscle for neighborhood loan sharks. Becoming a trusted associate and later a member of the Chicago Outfit by the 1960s. He allegedly "made his bones" by killing mob associate and hotel owner Manny Skar in 1965. Lombardo shadowed Skar for two days until he killed him as he exited his car to enter his apartment on Lake Shore Drive. Lombardo proved a capable killer for <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">The Outfit</a>. And the feds noticed it too, according to retired FBI agent Jack O'Rourke: "He was vicious and a killer. He was their prime enforcer."<br /> <br /> By the 1970s Lombardo was a capo of the Grand Avenue street crew. He controlled numerous business, both legal and illegal. He also controlled <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Spilotro" target="_blank">Anthony Spilotro</a>. Spilotro was the man Chicago had sent to Las Vegas to protect its operations there. He answered to Lombardo and executed his orders. Lombardo also was the man who handled Allen Dorfman, who controlled the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund for The Outfit as a front. Dorfman approved countless "loans" to mobsters who invested the money in casinos and other ventures via front men. Some of the loans were repaid but others were not. You couldn't muscle the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a>.<br /> <br /> Seeing how Lombardo was given these important tasks by his Outfit superiors one can only come to the conclusion that he was considered an intelligent and capable mobster. But no matter how capable, witnesses still caused the Outfit major head aches. In 1974 Lombardo and five others (including Dorfman and Spilotro) were indicted and charged with defrauding the Central States Teamsters Pension Fund of $1.4 million dollars. It would be a complicated case to prove involving several companies and thousands of bookkeeping records. But a cooperating witness would make things a lot easier for prosecutors.<br /> <br /> One of the involved companies' owners had decided to become a witness. Daniel Seifert was a 29 year old Chicago businessman with a wife and child. At one point he had got involved with Lombardo and other mobsters. But not as a victim. He and Lombardo were close friends. Seifert's son was named Joseph after Lombardo, who was also godfather of the boy. But upon hearing about Seifert's betrayal Lombardo had no second thoughts about taking action.<br /> <br /> On an early Friday morning in September 1974 Seifert and his wife and 4 year old son stopped by his plastics factory when four men wearing ski-masks and armed with guns showed up. Emma Seifert and son Joseph were pushed into the bathroom by one of the gunman. She later testified: "He told me to be quiet and not to worry. Then I heard a gunshot, and the man left my side. Then I didn't hear anything for a few seconds." Daniel Seifert was running for his life, but several shots forced him to the ground. There one of the gunman delivered the final shot at point-blank range to his head. With Daniel Seifert removed from the case, the case collapsed. Lombardo and his five codefendants were acquitted.<br /> <br /> With Lombardo and Spilotro free to run their business the skimming of the Las Vegas <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Casino" target="_blank">casinos</a> continued. But law enforcement was on their trail. In 1978 two big investigations into organized crime in Las Vegas were launched. Phones were tapped, locations and mobsters were put under surveillance and thanks to the information uncovered through these observations the feds raided several spots uncovering even more damaging info.<br /> <br /> The first investigation was called Operation Pendorf and went after Allen Dorfman and his mob pals defrauding the Teamsters fund. In May 1981 Dorfman, Lombardo and Spilotro were indicted and charged with conspiracy to bribe Senator Howard Cannon and defraud the Central States Pension Fund of the Teamsters. Spilotro would stand trial at a later date to health problems. Lombardo and Dorfman were found guilty. Worried that Dorfman would flip and give up all he knew about the mob's business interests they had him killed before he talked or went to prison to serve his sentence. Lombardo was on his way to prison though, he received a sentence of fifteen years.<br /> <br /> <img style="float:right;" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9236980482,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="" />In the other operation, titled Strawman II on September 30, 1983 fifteen men were charged with conspiring to skim $2 million dollars from the Stardust, Fremont, Marina and Hacienda casinos. Here too Lombardo was found guilty. He was sentenced to sixteen years to run concurrently with his sentence in operation Pendorf.<br /> <br /> In November 1992 Lombardo was released from prison. He was still on parole and could not meet any of his fellow mobsters. Several Chicago newspapers ran big stories about his release and possible rise to the position of boss of the Outfit. As a result Lombardo placed a public notice in the ad section of several newspapers in which he stated the following: "I am Joe Lombardo. I have been released on parole from Federal prison. I never took a secret oath with guns and daggers, pricked my finger, drew blood or burned paper to join a criminal organization. If anyone hears my name in connection with any criminal activity please notify the FBI, local police and my parole officer, Ron Kumke."<br /> <br /> Things remained quiet. No one even knew who the boss in Chicago was. But by 2005 The Outfit was again the focus of the newspapers. In the spring of 2005 the FBI brought indictments against the leading members of The Outfit charging them with racketeering conspiracy that involved illegal gambling, loan sharking, extortion and murders that date back decades. Among those indicted was Joseph Lombardo. But he had vanished from the scene. Now in his late 70s he again seemed to outsmart the law. But in January 2006 he was arrested in a Chicago suburb. He had grown a long beard that resembled the one Saddam Hussein had when he was captured.<br /> <br /> After a trial booming with stories that could (and did) fill several Hollywood movies Lombardo and his mob buddies were found guilty. Lombardo was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy, obstruction and impeding an official proceeding and the Daniel Seifert murder. After several decades in which the Chicago Outfit ruled large parts of the US, made millions defrauding the Teamsters Pension Fund and Las Vegas casinos, committed scores of murders, the few men still alive to be held accountable were found guilty. Lombardo received a life sentence.</p>
<p><strong>UPDATE:</strong> On October 19, 2019, Lombardo died at age 90 while incarcerated.</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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Three Gangster Disciples bosses guilty of racketeering, triple murder in nightclub, murder of witness, and shooting
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/three-gangster-disciples-bosses-guilty-of-racketeering-triple-mur
2019-10-11T08:04:27.000Z
2019-10-11T08:04:27.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/three-gangster-disciples-bosses-guilty-of-racketeering-triple-mur" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237136275,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237136275?profile=original" /></a>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>Three bosses of the Gangster Disciples national criminal organization were convicted in federal court Tuesday of racketeering conspiracy involving murder, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, drug trafficking conspiracy, and other crimes. This case is the latest of a series of trials and pleas for members and leaders of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=GD" target="_blank">Gangster Disciples</a>.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“Extremely organized”</strong></span></p>
<p>“The Gangster Disciples are extremely organized and their reach is wide-spread across the United States,” U.S. Attorney Byung Pak told the press. “Their strict chain of command that carried their message of violence and crime throughout the organization posed a serious threat nationwide. They lured young people into the gang with the promise of a better life, and then inducted them into an appalling world of violence and crime.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: The Governor of Tennessee:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-governor-of-tennessee-gangster-disciples-boss-byron-montrail" target="_blank"><strong>Gangster Disciples boss Byron Montrail Purdy ruled state’s underworld</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>“Drug trafficking, thefts, violent assaults and murders are all crimes that the Gangster Disciples commit every day to protect their turf, increase their territory, control and recruit members and terrorize rival <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gangs" target="_blank">gangs</a>. They are merciless and have wreaked havoc in our neighborhoods for far too long,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Hacker of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a>’s Atlanta Field Office.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/president-obama-gives-gangster-disciples-leader-a-sentence-reduct" target="_blank"><strong>President Obama gives Gangster Disciples leader a sentence reduction</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: The Gangster Disciples are a national gang with roots in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Chicago" target="_blank">Chicago</a> dating back to the 1970’s. The gang is highly structured, with a hierarchy of leadership posts known as “Positions of Authority” or “POAs.” The gang strictly enforces rules for its members, the most important of which is “silence and secrecy” – a prohibition on cooperating with law enforcement. Violations of the rule are punishable by death.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Boss level</strong></span></p>
<p>42-year-old Lewis Mobley, 43-year-old Vertuies Wall, and 30-year-old Lawrence Grice were in a position of power in the Gangster Disciples, prosecutors claimed. The evidence showed that the three men and their fellow gang members used the gang’s structure to carry out violent and serious crimes, including <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Murder" target="_blank">murder</a>, attempted murder, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Robbery" target="_blank">robbery</a>, bank and wire fraud, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Drugs" target="_blank">drug trafficking</a>, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Extortion" target="_blank">extortion</a>.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: The Big Hen:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-big-hen-regional-enforcer-of-gangster-disciples-gets-30-years" target="_blank"><strong>Regional enforcer of Gangster Disciples gets 30 years in prison</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>The evidence also showed that each of the trial defendants held a position of authority within the gang’s structure. Mobley held a position in the gang’s security/enforcement arm, and exercised leadership over the enforcement team known as “HATE Committee,” that was responsible for committing murders, shootings, and other violence. Wall was the “First C,” or local leader, for the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Macon" target="_blank">Macon</a> area Gangster Disciples. Gang member Lawrence Grice also held a leadership position over Gangster Disciples in parts of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Texas" target="_blank">Texas</a> including the city of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Houston" target="_blank">Houston</a>.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Murder, murder, murder</strong></span></p>
<p>One such murder was a deadly shooting at a nightclub in Macon, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Georgia" target="_blank">Georgia</a>. Three people were killed and another three were wounded after gang member Wall and his subordinates started a gunfight with rivals.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/senator-declares-war-on-gangster-disciples" target="_blank"><strong>Senator Declares War On Gangster Disciples</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>On another occasion, gang member Lewis Mobley shot a teenage victim twice at point-blank range. Mobley believed that the victim had disrespected the gang by walking through a crowd while shouting a slogan and wearing the color associated with a rival gang.</p>
<p>In a third incident, a top Gangster Disciples leader summoned the gang’s National Chief Enforcer to travel across the country to kill a witness. The witness, who was scheduled to testify against a Gangster Disciple on drug charges, was shot dead in her home on the gang’s orders.</p>
<p>To date, 27 defendants have pleaded guilty, five were convicted at a separate trial, and three defendants are presently awaiting trial.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/street-gangs" target="_blank">Street Gangs section</a> or <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/black-organized-crime" target="_blank">Black organized crime</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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A Tale of Espionage, the CIA, the Mafia, double agents, Cuban exiles, and President Kennedy: Plot to kill Fidel Castro
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/a-tale-of-espionage-the-cia-the-mafia-double-agents-cuban-exiles
2019-10-03T10:44:04.000Z
2019-10-03T10:44:04.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/a-tale-of-espionage-the-cia-the-mafia-double-agents-cuban-exiles" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237126679,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237126679?profile=original" /></a>By Clarence Walker Jr. for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p>As night began to fall on the Florida's Keys, Mafia gangster Johnny Roselli (photo above) and his crew mates prepared for a midnight run to Cuba. Looking out from Port Mary, the encroaching darkness was a reminder of the ninety-mile expanse to Castro's world and all the dangers in between. This late evening voyage by Roselli, would become, if successful, the biggest hit for Roselli during a long career of taking lives. Roselli's mission was to invade <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cuba" target="_blank">Cuba</a> under cover of darkness and murder notorious dictator <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Castro" target="_blank">Fidel Castro</a> in cold blood.</p>
<p>They had no idea what awaited them except it would be full of risk, writes author Thomas Maier in his new published blockbuster book; <em>Mafia Spies: The Inside Story of the CIA, Gangsters, JFK and Castro</em>; Skyhorse Publishing, $25.95, on Amazon. Maier, a bestselling author and Television producer of the HBO hit series Masters of Sex, based his book on the never before released JFK Files. Mafia Spies is so juicy hot until it has been optioned for a movie by Warner Brothers.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/when-the-american-government-asked-the-mafia-for-a-favor-the-assa" target="_blank">When the American government asked the Mafia for a favor</a>: The assassination of Cuban leader Fidel Castro</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Best-selling author Michael Connelly gave thumbs-up praise for Maier's book. "Just when you think you've read and heard everything there is to know about the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=CIA" target="_blank">CIA</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=JFK" target="_blank">JFK</a>, and the mob, along comes Thomas Maier with this meticulously researched and nuanced report that sets the record straight in some area and break new ground in others. I found it gripping from page one." And, Connelly added, "The events reported changed history and gives us better understanding of current times."</p>
<p>"This story exposes a dark chapter in America's history, when the CIA teamed up with murderous <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> hitmen in an ill-fated assassination plot,” says Shelly Murphy, co-author of the New York Times bestseller; Whitey Bulger: America's Most Wanted Gangster and the Manhunt That brought Him to Justice.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237126860,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237126860?profile=original" /></a>Mafia Spies heavily cover the era in time when our U.S. Government desperately wanted to kill Cuban's leader <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Castro" target="_blank">Fidel Castro</a> (right) and overthrow his dictatorial regime. A Communist dictator, Castro's close ally was the Soviet government. U.S. government and the Soviets were also enemies.</p>
<p>Attempts to kill Castro, writes Maier, the government used "poison bills, exploding cigars, lethal James Bond's gadgets, midnight boat raids from <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Florida" target="_blank">Florida</a> with Cuban exiles carrying bombs and long-range rifles; a veritable army of undercover spies, double agents, and "cutout" handlers--were all parts of the ill-fated campaign emanating from the White House," Maier revealed in the book.</p>
<p>Among key points in Maier's nonfiction spy book the author highlights the close relationship between two of America's most powerful <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> gangsters.</p>
<p>During 1960s' era <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Giancana" target="_blank">Sam Giancana</a> became <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago</a>'s Mafia boss, a position he acquired through a combination of clever strategy and ruthless violence.</p>
<p>Giancana's longtime hood friend and fellow Mafioso <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Roselli" target="_blank">Johnny Roselli</a>, a handsome, charming, womanizer, operated the mob's money rackets, gambling and prostitution in Las Vegas, Chicago and Los Angeles. Author Maier describes the handsome Roselli in a morbidly and humorous fashion; "murder never looked so good."</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-irishman-teamsters-boss-jimmy-hoffa-s-friend-and-the-man-who" target="_blank">The Irishman</a>: Jimmy Hoffa’s friend and the man who put two bullets in the back of his skull</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Both Giancana and Roselli, Maier wrote, "At the height of their careers, controlled a multi-million dollars <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> empire unprecedented in the annals of American crime., arguably bigger than the five families of New York’s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LCN" target="_blank">La Cosa Nostra</a> combined.</p>
<p>So how two Mafia gangsters immersed themselves deeply into an asinine scheme to assassinate the legendary Cuban dictator Fidel Castro?</p>
<p>Good question. Isn't it?</p>
<p>In Maier's book, the author recalls how the gangsters rejected $150,000 offer from the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=CIA" target="_blank">CIA</a> to knock off Castro. Yet, instead, Giancana and Roselli, promised to kill Castro for free because they were also American patriots. Many insiders familiar with the plot believed the reason the Mafioso's agreed to kill Castro for the CIA for free because in a subtle way they expected to curry favors with the shady side of the U.S. government.</p>
<p>Aside from wanting to curry government favors the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> harbored their own personal beef with Castro because when Castro took control of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cuba" target="_blank">Cuba</a> in 1959, he shut down the Mafia's big-time money-making casinos in Havana including other crime syndicate operations.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-meyer-lansky-laundered-the-american-mafia-s-dirty-cash-and-ma" target="_blank">How Meyer Lansky laundered the American Mafia’s dirty cash</a> - and made them bigger than US Steel</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Giancana and Roselli were surreptitiously handpicked by then-CIA Director Allen Dulles and Dulles's <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=CIA" target="_blank">CIA</a> underlings. CIA pegged Castro's Communist politics as a dire threat to the United States. Despite their offensive stance against Castro's politics the CIA wouldn't outright kill Castro themselves. Instead, Maier writes, "These Ivy League-educated spies and West Point trained colonels wanted <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> figures to be recruited to kill Castro in a 'gangster-type action'; a bloody bullet-riddled mess that would be untraceable to the CIA and especially the White House.</p>
<p>The White House?</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Fidel Castro Targeted for Death</strong></span></p>
<p>CIA directive to kill Castro was originally given by then-president Dwight Eisenhower. Added into the murder plot, CIA joined forces with anti-Castro Cubans. Anti-Castro refugees were organized into a full-gear army whose mission was to invade <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cuba" target="_blank">Cuba</a> at Bay of Pigs.</p>
<p>"The original 1960s Castro murder plot actually remained shrouded in unclassified documents for fifteen years, until Congressional hearings in the mid-1070s ripped the lid off the CIA's scheme to kill the Cuban leader," said Maier.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237127294,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237127294?profile=original" /></a>"But the recently declassified files about the 1963 assassination of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Kennedy" target="_blank">President John F. Kennedy</a> (left), released in batches by the National Archives in 2017-2018, were the biggest help for this book," Maier explained during interview with news media outlets.</p>
<p>Finally, when John F. Kennedy became president in 1960, CIA briefed Kennedy about the sinister plot. A die-hard fan of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, Kennedy was fascinated with the intriguing plot to kill off Castro. CIA Director Allen Dulles also shared Kennedy's admiration.</p>
<p>Author Maier states that the plot to kill Castro marked America's first foray into the assassination business, but the assassination of Isodoku Yamamoto, the imperial Japanese admiral who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor, bore similarities to the attempt on Castro's life.</p>
<p>With a deadly alliance set in motion the CIA ingeniously developed James Bond-style spy gadgets. Similar to a scene straight out of a spy novel the CIA manage to create an explosive designed cigar to kill the stogie-loving Castro.</p>
<p>To reel Giancana and Roselli into the loop, CIA agents brought in a "cutout" private investigator and fixer identified as Robert Maheu. Maheu already had a well-known oddish type client: the reclusive Billionaire Howard Hughes.</p>
<p>Sprinkled throughout the book, Maier documented the titillating story of a three-way relationship between Giancana, Kennedy and, a sexy, beautiful woman named Judith Campbell. A party girl known to hang out in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Vegas" target="_blank">Las Vegas</a> with iconic singer <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Sinatra" target="_blank">Frank Sinatra</a> and the Rat Pack Crew, Campbell, according to Maier, had been romantically involved simultaneously with Mafia boss Giancana and President Kennedy. Sinatra introduced Campbell to Kennedy in 1960 when he was still senator.</p>
<p>Maier skillfully structures the 424-page book in short, focused chapters to able the reader to better understand each thread as it unfolds.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Tampa Crime Boss Santo Trafficante: Did Santo Double Cross the Mob and CIA?</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237034256,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237034256?profile=original" /></a>Hoping to pull off the biggest kill of their life time by eliminating <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Castro" target="_blank">Castro</a>, Giancana and Roselli worked closely with <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/santo-trafficante-building-the-family-business" target="_blank">Santo "Sam" Trafficante Jr.</a> (right) Law enforcement authorities described Trafficante among the most powerful Mafia bosses in organized crime. Santo controlled the Trafficante crime family operations in Florida and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cuba" target="_blank">Cuba</a>.</p>
<p>Trafficante, reportedly a billionaire gangster, wielded enormous power and influence across America by paying off politicians, judges, police officers and anyone in authority who had a price.</p>
<p>Johnny Roselli and Trafficante previously ran the casinos together in Cuba. To capitalize on their foreign business friendship, Roselli asked for Trafficante's help to introduce him to Anti-Castro individuals willing to assist to kill <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Castro" target="_blank">Castro</a>.</p>
<p>As Maier recall this part of the story, he points out there was significant evidence that Trafficante was a double agent whose allegiance was beholden to Castro, not Mafia associates.</p>
<p>While sipping martini drinks with Roselli at a club in Florida, CIA Bill Haney voiced suspicion about Trafficante to Roselli. Previous failed attempts to kill Castro with Trafficante in the mix only fueled Haney's suspicion that something wasn't quite right.</p>
<p>Maier points out using credible evidence that Haney's instinct was correct.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/santo-trafficante-building-the-family-business" target="_blank"><strong>Santo Trafficante: Building the family business</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>On the flip side, Trafficante expressed skepticism about the CIA deadly plan. "I looked at Johnny and I thought he must be some kind of idiot to believe somebody could just go down there and kill Castro,” Trafficante later told his Mob Attorney Frank Ragano," writes Maier.</p>
<p>"The CIA had all this foolish talk about poisoning <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Castro" target="_blank">Castro</a>; 'those crazy people,"' the Florida Mob boss said to Ragano. Trafficante further told Ragano, as written in Mafia Spies, "They gave me some pills to kill Castro. I just flushed them down the toilet. They paid us a lot of money and nobody intended to do a damn thing." Referring to the CIA's hefty payoffs, Trafficante deadpanned, "It was a real killing." Historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. revealed the dynamics behind Trafficante and Castro's relationship. "Trafficante was Castro's outlet for illegal contraband in the country. Castro wanted the millions from the Mafia's narcotic revenues to prop up his own revolutionary government," Schlessinger revealed.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/trafficante-family-mobster-passes-away-at-age-85" target="_blank"><strong>Trafficante family mobster passes away at age 85</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Although there's much smoke and mirrors in Mafia Spies but Author Maier couldn't bypass the notion to raise the irresistible questions of whether the whole Castro murder plot was somehow the trigger force behind President Kennedy's assassination: did Castro, enraged by the many attempts on his life seek revenge? Had the Mafia, expecting favors from the government, felt betrayed by the administration when JFK brother Attorney General Robert Kennedy relentlessly pursued the Mafia for criminal prosecution? And therefore, the burning question remain: did the Mafia decide to have Kennedy killed through Lee Harvey Oswald’s uncle identified as Charles Dutz Murrett who worked in the Mafia game under New Orleans Mafia crime boss Carlos Marcello. A PBS series showed how investigators uncovered the fact that shortly before Oswald allegedly shot Kennedy that Oswald visited his uncle Charles in New Orleans.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Giancana and Roselli's Fate. Castro Survives</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237127661,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237127661?profile=original" /></a>In June 1975, Mafia Spies recall how Sam Giancana (right), shortly before he was scheduled to testify before the Church Committee, a commission tasked to investigate the collusion between CIA and the Mafia's attempt to kill <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Castro" target="_blank">Fidel Castro</a>--was shot to death by a gunman at his Illinois home, killing the infamous Mafioso instantly.</p>
<p>Handsome charmer and Mafia gangster Johnny Roselli testified before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence led by Idaho Senator Frank Church regarding the CIA plan to kill Castro.</p>
<p>On April 23, 1976, in a separate hearing, the Committee hearing got underway to have Roselli testify about the conspiracy to kill President Kennedy. Three months passed after Roselli's first round of testimony was heard in relations to Kennedy assassination. Hoping to conclude the hearings the Committee recalled Roselli to re-testify. He was nowhere to be found.</p>
<p>On August 9, 1976, Roselli's body parts were found stuffed in a 55-gallon steel drum by a fisherman, floating in water at Dumbfounding Bay near Miami.</p>
<p>Roselli and Giancana's murders were never solved.</p>
<p>Frank Sinatra was never called to testify about his questionable relationship with the Mafia.</p>
<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Trafficante" target="_blank">Trafficante</a> testified before the Committee but the tone of his testimony was noticeably vague and evasive.</p>
<p>Maier writes, "After the death of Giancana and Roselli, Trafficante was often in the audience, as Giancana had been in the old days."</p>
<p>Trafficante, age 72, died of heart failure in Houston Texas on March 17, 1987</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>WATCH: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mr-undercover-details-life-of-ron-fino-son-of-mafia-capo-who-beca" target="_blank">Mr. Undercover details life of Ron Fino</a>, son of Mafia capo who became undercover operative</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Castro" target="_blank">Fidel Castro</a>'s legacy ran its course. He outlived Eisenhower, JFK, CIA enemies, Mafia gangsters and other government officials involved with the plot to murder him with spy weapons. Castro remained in power in Cuba for decades. At age 90, on November 25, 2016, Fidel Castro, died peacefully at home. There was no exploding cigars or poison on Castro's nightstand.</p>
<p>Mafia Spies reads like a fictional thriller. Yet in all its splendid, sinister glory, and incredible details it's all true. Maier wrote a thoroughly researched book which turns back the time to examine the insidious connections between gangsters, world famous entertainers, politicians, sexy women with deadly secrets buried in their hearts, and CIA agents who conspired with underworld killers to assassinate Fidel Castro numerous times but failed.</p>
<p><em>Reach News Media Journalist & Organized Crime Reporter Clarence Walker Jr. at: newswriter74@yahoo.com</em></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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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
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The Real John Wick: Separating fact from fiction in Hollywood’s violent gangster vengeance blockbuster
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-real-john-wick-separating-fact-from-fiction-in-hollywood-s-vi
2019-05-18T08:15:32.000Z
2019-05-18T08:15:32.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><strong><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-real-john-wick-separating-fact-from-fiction-in-hollywood-s-vi" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237129492,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237129492?profile=original" /></a></strong>By David Amoruso for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p>Is John Wick indestructible? It sure seems so after watching every chapter of the blockbuster movie franchise starring Keanu Reeves as the skilled assassin placed on a universal hit list by the Italian and Russian Mafias, the Chinese Triads, and the Japanese Yakuza. But how realistic is this highly coordinated underworld?</p>
<p>The world of John Wick is one dominated by a shadow government consisting of powerful crime syndicates, merciless hitmen, and a gangland economy based on the business of murder, with parties offering safe haven, weaponry, armory, communications and intel, and a financial system that runs on gold coins. It’s clear to the viewer that this is a world steeped in tradition. Its inhabitants follow ancient rules and those who don’t get killed.</p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size:14pt;">The Real World</span></strong></p>
<p>The real world of organized crime is diverse and ever changing. Each decade new groups and crime bosses rise and fall to disappear forever. Several organizations, however, have managed to survive and hold on to century-old traditions and rituals. These groups can provide us with an answer regarding the realism of John Wick’s underworld.</p>
<p>In the United States, the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in" target="_blank">Italian-American Mafia</a>, known as <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LCN" target="_blank">La Cosa Nostra</a>, is the organization that comes closest to the all-powerful octopus we see in the John Wick franchise. After its members got rich during <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Prohibition" target="_blank">Prohibition</a>, they were able to infiltrate legitimate businesses and politics at the highest levels.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-real-narcos-profile-of-miguel-angel-felix-gallardo-mexico-s-e" target="_blank">The Real Narcos</a>: Profile of Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, Mexico’s “El Padrino” of drug lords</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>They managed to do so while also bringing structure and a strict hierarchy to their criminal organization. In the 1930s, the various crime clans in New York City officially organized themselves into five separate families, each with its own boss, laying the foundation for the decades to come.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;">T<strong>he Commission versus the High Table</strong></span></p>
<p>Making sure all these clans from across the nation would remain safe, the mob formed the Commission, a governing body which settled disputes between various families to ensure no wars would break out between them. As Selwyn Raab wrote in his book <em>Five Families</em>: “The survival of each family and the combined national Mafia overshadowed the needs and safety of the individual Mafioso.”</p>
<p>The Commission in John Wick’s world is known as the High Table, which is comprised of 12 seats, each belonging to a crime clan. Unlike the Commission, the High Table also offers a seat to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> syndicates from other countries. This makes it a global powerhouse, whereas the Commission primarily held sway in the United States.</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mU-4_UPDbrw?wmode=opaque" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p>As a governing body, the Commission was used by the Mafia to approve high-level murders and crimes affecting all crime families. Anyone deemed a threat to its safety or sovereignty would meet his or her maker.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Whacking a boss</strong></span></p>
<p>In the film, John Wick is an outlaw, hunted for breaking the rules set by the High Table. He murdered one of its 12 members and thus must pay with his life. Not to mention that he committed murder at The Continental, which functions as a safe haven for traveling assassins. As we settle into our theater seats to watch John Wick 3, our dog-loving hitman must fight a full army of killers out to murder him.</p>
<p>In reality, however, the murder of a member of the Commission never resulted in such harsh penalties. More frequently, the Commission was used by its members as a tool to acquire more power and influence. It’s how bosses like Albert Anastasia and Joseph Bonanno met their demise. One by cold-blooded murder, the other when an intricate power play blew up in his face and saw him stripped of his influence and position and living in exile in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Arizona" target="_blank">Arizona</a>.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-irishman-teamsters-boss-jimmy-hoffa-s-friend-and-the-man-who" target="_blank">The Irishman</a>: Jimmy Hoffa’s friend and the man who put two bullets in the back of his skull</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Also, when families decide to oust their own boss from the inside, the Commission rarely punishes the masterminds. <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gotti" target="_blank">John Gotti</a> orchestrated the execution of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino crime family</a> boss Paul Castellano and his underboss Tommy Bilotti, but felt secure knowing he had the backing of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-colombo-crime-family" target="_blank">Colombo</a>, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family" target="_blank">Lucchese</a> crime families.</p>
<p>Though he openly broke the founding principles that one was not to murder a boss, the Commission let it slide. Only <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family" target="_blank">Genovese crime family</a> boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/genovese-boss-vincent-chin" target="_blank">Vincent Gigante</a> felt Gotti had gone too far and began plotting his murder without he himself seeking the Commission’s approval. All of this illustrates how power and influence outrank rules and codes.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Snitches get stitches or worse</strong></span></p>
<p>So killing a boss who holds a seat on the Commission is an offence that can be overlooked. No army of mob hitmen will come looking for you. But what about the biggest rule breaker? Which, in the real world of organized crime, is the rule of silence, omerta. It is strictly forbidden to violate this rule. There is to be no snitching. Snitches get stitches. So much so that the rule is universal, from the United States to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Sicily" target="_blank">Sicily</a> and from Europe to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Asia" target="_blank">Asia</a>. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237131054,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237131054?profile=original" /></a>In <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=China" target="_blank">China</a>, the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/triads-overview" target="_blank">Triads</a> have been around for several centuries. Their code and structure are steeped in tradition. New members take oaths on a variety of topics, several of which relate to the code of silence. “I shall not disclose the secrets of the Hung society to my parents, brother or wife,” one such oath begins. “I shall not disclose the secrets for money. I must never reveal Hung society secrets or signs when speaking to outsiders.”</p>
<p>The penalty for breaking one’s oath is clear: “I will be killed by a myriad of swords if I do so.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Slit his throat</strong></span></p>
<p>The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/russian-mafia-overview" target="_blank">Russian Mafia</a>, known as the Vory v zakone, also adhere to a strict code when it comes to cooperating – or even dealing – with authorities. One thief who had sold out his comrades was simply given the choice of “by cutting or by hanging” by senior mobsters inside a Russian prison, author Mark Galeotti wrote in his book <em>The Vory: Russia’s Super Mafia</em>. One of the bosses then slit the informant’s throat and calmly alerted the guards to accept his own fate.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: “For him, I am a god” – Profile of</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/for-him-i-am-a-god-profile-of-russian-mafia-boss-and-vor-v-zakone" target="_blank"><strong>Russian Mafia boss, and vor v zakone, Razhden Shulaya</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Omerta or burn</strong></span></p>
<p>The Italian Mafia’s loyalty to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Omerta" target="_blank">omerta</a>, the code of silence, is widely known. It is driven home when youngsters show an eagerness to join that lifestyle and reiterated once they join the organization as a made member. During their induction ceremony they hold a burning card of a saint in their hands and are told to obey all the rules set by the organization and its leaders and that if they disobey or break these rules that their “flesh would burn like this saint”.</p>
<p>Those that do break omerta are sentenced to death and spend their lives looking over their shoulders. In Italy, even women and children were harmed when a father, brother or son had decided to become an informant. Though less common, in the United States there have also been instances where female relatives of a snitch were targeted in order to get him to recant his testimony.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Postcards from the Yakuza</strong></span></p>
<p>In <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Japan" target="_blank">Japan</a>, the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/yakuza-overview" target="_blank">Yakuza</a> also has a way of dealing with those who break the rules of their organization. “Short of death, the heaviest punishment was expulsion” Alex Dubro and David Kaplan wrote in <em>Yakuza: The Explosive Account of Japan’s Criminal Underworld</em>. “After banishing the transgressor, the [Yakuza boss] notified other [gangs] that the [person] was no longer welcome in his group. By general agreement, the outcast could not then join a rival [clan].”</p>
<p>To make certain other <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/yakuza-overview" target="_blank">Yakuza</a> groups don’t let this person into their inner circle, “the gang sends a volley of open-faced postcards via regular mail to the various underworld families. The cards comprise a formal notice of expulsion and ask that the gangs reject any association with the formal member.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/norman-s-cay-from-notorious-cocaine-pipeline-of-the-medellin-cart" target="_blank">Norman’s Cay</a>: From cocaine pipeline of the Medellin Cartel to a fraudulent festival for rich millennials</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Such strict adherence to the code combined with the fact it is spread among other clans is eerily similar to the world of John Wick. Though all the rules are in place to paint a very organized and violent picture, the reality is a lot more chaotic.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Killing rats or making them boss</strong></span></p>
<p>It is undeniable that snitching on organized crime is bad for your health. Especially back in the old days when a hit squad like <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-did-the-infamous-mafia-hit-squad-murder-inc-get-its-name" target="_blank">Murder Inc.</a> roamed the streets and made it its full-time occupation to hunt and kill those who were placed on its list. But for those expecting that the underworld would pull out all the John Wick splendor in its hatred for snitches: You are about to be disappointed.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Willie the Pimp</strong></span></p>
<p>More often than not, the murder of a snitch happens by a combination of pure luck and stupidity. Take the case of “Willie the Pimp” Bioff, a union racketeer who testified against a long line of powerful Chicago mobsters, including bosses Frank Nitti and Paul Ricca. His words earned them a guilty verdict and several years in prison after they had <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-the-chicago-outfit-made" target="_blank">extorted millions of dollars from Hollywood</a>’s biggest movie studios in the 1930s and 40s.</p>
<p>Despite getting a new identity, Bioff decided not to seek new surroundings. Instead of avoiding areas and regions with a heavy Mafia presence, he settled in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/las-vegas-sin-city" target="_blank">Las Vegas</a>. Of all places he decided that Sin City, with its mob casinos and glitter and glamor, was the place to law low and start a new life.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/sometimes-the-most-obvious-is-the-best-way-the-kansas-city-mob-an" target="_blank"><strong>The Kansas City Mob and the skimming of Las Vegas casinos</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Known as William Nelson he got himself a job at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino run by his friend Gus Greenbaum, managing workers and trying to help keep their salaries down. Greenbaum had taken over operations at the casino after the murder of the Flamingo’s former manager, crime boss Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel.</p>
<p>How they expected to keep this a secret remains a mystery, but despite the lack of Instagram and Facebook it didn’t take long for people to start recognizing the man who ratted out the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Mafia</a>’s leadership.</p>
<p>On November 4, 1955 “Willie the Pimp” got in his car. When he turned the ignition, a bomb ripped his body apart and blew it all over the driveway of his Phoenix home. Three years later, Greenbaum and his wife were found with their throats slashed, bleeding all over the floor of their Phoenix residence.</p>
<p>It’s what you call a typical John Wick ending to a gangster flick.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Sammy the Bull</strong></span></p>
<p>Informants don’t always end up as Hollywood as that though. Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano is probably the most famous rat alive. After turning on his boss, Gambino family leader John Gotti, he made all the front pages and primetime news shows. His testimony got him an extremely lenient sentence and a shot at a new life under the name of Jimmy Moran in sunny Arizona with his family.</p>
<p>But what’s a shot at a new life when you can’t flaunt it in people’s face? Hell, what’s the use of your old life if you can’t use it to impress people? So, the former New York Mafia underboss didn’t try to hide who he was and pretty soon was outed by the press.</p>
<p>When word got back to his old stomping grounds, his former associates were incensed. John Gotti had already made it crystal clear how he felt about his former colleague. “That’s a bill that’s gotta be paid some day, just like every other bill, you know what I mean,” he told his brother Peter in a taped conversation in prison.</p>
<p>Peter Gotti knew what his brother meant and remembered those words when the news of Gravano’s life in Arizona surfaced in the media. With the imprisonment of John and recent legal troubles of John Junior, Peter had become head of the crime family. As such he now had the authority to set in motion the murder machine.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/sammy-the-bull-gravano-is-a-free-man-but-more-importantly-a-poste" target="_blank">Sammy the Bull Gravano is a free man</a>, but also a poster boy for the dangers of dealing with gangsters</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>In 1999, he ordered Gambino family soldiers Thomas “Huck” Carbonaro and Edward “Cousin Eddie” Garafola to go to Arizona and whack Gravano. He gave them unlimited funds to handle this problem. For over six months, the mobsters surveilled Gravano and scouted for locations to take him out. Carbonaro even began dressing up as an outlaw biker as to not draw attention to himself as a Mafioso, growing a beard and getting tattoos.</p>
<p>All the efforts turned out to be in vain when Gravano was taken down by law enforcement in February of 2000 for his involvement in running a multi-million-dollar <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Ecstasy" target="_blank">ecstasy</a> ring with a local youth gang called The Devil Dogs. He was eventually sentenced to 20 years in prison and was recently released.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Shrimp Boy</strong></span></p>
<p>Still, though the Mafia didn’t get their guy, they spared no expenses and went hunting, right? Just like in John Wick. Though that is technically true, recent events show that things have changed.</p>
<p>Take the case of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-rat-who-became-king-triad-boss-raymond-chow" target="_blank">Raymond Chow</a>. In the 1970s and 1980s he made a big name for himself in the underworld of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Under the wing of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/triad-boss-peter-chong" target="_blank">Triad boss Peter Chong</a>, he had big plans for creating a nationwide criminal organization that was comprised of all Asian Triad gangs. But when it was time to face the music in the 1990s, Chow opted to testify against his former partner-in-crime instead.</p>
<p>Thanks to his testimony, Chow was released from prison in 2003. He claimed he was a reformed man and turned his focus on helping young kids stay away from gangs and crime. To do so he went back to the same streets in San Francisco’s Chinatown. A pretty ballsy move for someone who had snitched. One would expect him to be welcomed by a volley of bullets.</p>
<p>In a John Wick movie, perhaps. But in reality it was Chow doing the firing. Rather than being shunned, his old gang welcomed him back. Apparently, there is no “stop snitchin’” movement in Chinatown. Using their muscle, he even took back his spot atop of the throne by arranging the murder of his successor.</p>
<p>Once again, it came down to authorities to take the snitch down. In 2016, he was sentenced to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/san-francisco-crime-boss-shrimp-boy-chow-gets-two-life-terms-in-p" target="_blank">two life sentences</a> for various racketeering charges.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>My old hometown</strong></span></p>
<p>Though it totally contradicts the mantra of organized crime – as well as many of the gangster movies made in Hollywood – snitches tend to get away quite often nowadays. In 2017, former Genovese family mobster Anthony Arillotta chose to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/genovese-mob-family-turncoat-returns-to-old-stomping-grounds-in-s" target="_blank">return to his old stomping grounds</a> in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Springfield" target="_blank">Springfield</a>, Massachusetts. After climbing to the top of the city’s mob crew by arranging the 2003 murder of his predecessor, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-hit-how-the-genovese" target="_blank">capo Adolfo Bruno</a>, he left town with his tail between his legs after he became a witness for the government and testified against the Springfield and New York mobsters below and above him. But apparently, that does not mean he needs to keep a low profile or pick a new hometown.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Welcome, Mr. Wick</strong></span></p>
<p>In the world of John Wick there is a highly structured underworld with connections around the world and all particles moving as one. In the real world things don’t work like that. As the Bioff hit illustrates, despite there being a formidable organization, these groups rely on the right people making the right connections. Someone needs to recognize the snitch and communicate it up the chain. And even then, it remains within that chain.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237131296,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237131296?profile=original" /></a>If a member of the Yakuza is branded as a rat and is blacklisted in Japan, what stops him from setting up shop in the United States? Or other parts of Asia even? There is no global communications hotline that these groups check in on. They rather not communicate about sensitive subjects for fear of authorities listening in.</p>
<p>And if shit does hit the fan, and someone needs to be taken out, most of these groups tend to weigh the pros and cons first. Going hunting or fighting a war costs a lot of money and hinders business. Money is why these groups do what they do. If you make them money, then they tend to overlook stuff like you breaking certain rules. If you cost them money, however, you end up dead quicker than you can ask for the check after a nice dinner.</p>
<p>In the real world of organized crime money comes first. Honor comes second. If honor was placed first, then there is no doubt that a person placed on a hit list would be in a very dire situation and would need all the skills of a John Wick to survive for the end of the film – let alone two sequels.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/gangsters-inc-s-showbiz">Showbiz 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>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
Visiting Chicago’s Prohibition-era underworld with new gangster tour
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/visiting-chicago-s-prohibition-era-underworld-with-new-gangster-t
2019-04-22T12:50:02.000Z
2019-04-22T12:50:02.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/visiting-chicago-s-prohibition-era-underworld-with-new-gangster-t" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237121472,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237121472?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Chicago has seen its fair share of violence. It was infamous during the Prohibition years for its gangland killings and notorious Mafia boss Al Capone. Starting June 14, you will be able to visit many of these historic underworld sites with the brand-new Chicago Prohibition Gangster Tour.</p>
<p>Based on 25 years of research and lasting two and a half hours, the bus tour visits various interesting places, such as the location of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-wishes-rivals-a-happy-valentine-s-day" target="_blank">St. Valentine’s Day Massacre</a>, the sites of the murders of Dean O’Banion, Hymie Weiss, “Big Jim” Colosimo, and John Dillinger, and the attempted hit on Jack McGurn.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/from-violent-to-loving-in-a-heartbeat-the-two-sides-of-infamous-c" target="_blank"><strong>The two sides of infamous Chicago Outfit mobster Tony Spilotro</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>The tour is guided by John Binder, author of <em>Al Capone’s Beer Wars</em> and <em>The Chicago Outfit</em> and a consultant on numerous organized crime documentaries. He operates ChiTown Gangster Tours and shares his vast knowledge on the subject. During the luxury bus tour he answers all your questions. The tour involves no walking, but does make a few stops where you are welcome to exit the bus to get a closer look at the sites where gangland activities once took place.</p>
<p>Gangsters Inc. <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-chicago-s-prohibition-era-gangland-laid-bar" target="_blank">interviewed</a> Binder about his most recent book, <em>Al Capone's Beer Wars: A Complete History of Organized Crime in Chicago during Prohibition</em>. In it he debunks many myths about this period, especially regarding the amount of murders. “Let’s get to the facts here,” Binder <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-chicago-s-prohibition-era-gangland-laid-bar" target="_blank">told us</a>. “Virtually every conclusion I’ve seen previously drawn about gangland violence in Chicago during <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Prohibition" target="_blank">Prohibition</a> is pretty much wrong.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-chicago-s-prohibition-era-gangland-laid-bar" target="_blank"><strong>Chicago’s Prohibition-era gangland laid bare by mob historian John Binder in new book</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>What is the right story? For that you will have to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-chicago-s-prohibition-era-gangland-laid-bar" target="_blank">read our interview</a>, buy and read his book or book a spot on his tour. You will not be disappointed.</p>
<p><em>For more information, including how to buy tickets, go to</em> <a href="http://www.chitowngangstertours.com" target="_blank"><em>www.chitowngangstertours.com</em></a></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>
<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>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
Trafficking drugs and dismembering bodies with the Graewe brothers, associates of the Cleveland Mafia
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/trafficking-drugs-and-dismembering-bodies-with-the-graewe-brother
2019-03-21T18:55:56.000Z
2019-03-21T18:55:56.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/trafficking-drugs-and-dismembering-bodies-with-the-graewe-brother" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237122300,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237122300?profile=original" /></a>By Robert Sberna</p>
<p>The recent death of Frederick “Fritz” Graewe (photo above), a feared mob associate in Cleveland, Ohio, shows that it’s possible to live by the sword but not die by the sword. Graewe, 66, seemingly enjoyed a peaceful suburban lifestyle until passing away of natural causes in February. He had been at home since 1992, when he was released from prison after serving 10 years of a 42-year sentence for mob-related activities. </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Making a killing</strong></span></p>
<p>Frederick, along with his brother, Hartmut, were key figures in a $15 million-a-year drug ring during the 1970s and early 1980s. As enforcers for the ring, the Graewes doggedly protected and expanded their high-stakes business. According to law enforcement documents, they were responsible for the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Murder" target="_blank">murders</a> of a half-dozen mobster rivals and police informers.</p>
<p>In his post-prison years, Frederick had eschewed crime, turning his attention instead to more mundane pursuits. According to his Cleveland Plain Dealer obituary, he was an artist and he enjoyed hunting, fishing, gardening and spending time with his family. </p>
<p>Despite the tranquility of Frederick’s golden years, it would be difficult to overlook his colorful past.</p>
<p>Frederick and Hartmut (known as “Hans the Surgeon” for his affinity for dismembering his victims) were known as merciless killers, whether in protection of their drug turf or as hired guns. As testament to their skills, efficiency and discretion, the German-born <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Graewes" target="_blank">Graewes</a> were closely associated with both the Italian and Irish mob factions in Cleveland--two groups that were locked in a bitter fight over <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cleveland" target="_blank">Cleveland</a>’s rackets.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>War profiteers</strong></span></p>
<p>From 1976 to 1982, Cleveland’s underworld was in turmoil, trigged by the unexpected death of long-time <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Scalish" target="_blank">John Scalish</a>. Because he hadn’t formally named a successor, Scalish left a leadership void that triggered a bloody war between the established Mafia, led by <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Licavoli" target="_blank">James “Jack White” Licavoli</a>; and the Irish gang, headed by <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Greene" target="_blank">Danny Greene</a>, a cocky former longshoreman.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: </strong><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-uneasy-accord-of-a-mobster-and-a-cop-in-cleveland-ohio-in-the" target="_blank"><strong>The Uneasy Accord of Mobster Danny Greene and a Cop</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Greene began his career on the docks as a worker and a tenacious labor organizer. Eventually, he muscled his way into the presidency of the local longshoremen’s union. Intensely proud of his Celtic heritage, he wore green jackets, drove a green Cadillac and often handed out green pens to strangers. Shortly after Green was elected longshoremen president, he had the union office painted green and he installed plush green carpeting.</p>
<p>Dozens of underworld figures were killed during the Italian-Irish mob war, oftentimes by car bombing. In fact, the deadly explosions were so prevalent that federal authorities nicknamed Cleveland <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-uneasy-accord-of-a-mobster-and-a-cop-in-cleveland-ohio-in-the" target="_blank">“Bomb City, U.S.A.”</a> in 1976.</p>
<p>The gangland conflict ended on Oct. 6, 1977 when Greene was killed by a car bomb after leaving his dentist’s office. The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a>-orchestrated explosion tore Greene’s clothing from his body, except for his brown zip-up boots. According to a police report, his left arm was ripped off and thrown 90 feet from the blast. A gold ring with five green stones remained on his finger.</p>
<p>The brothers Graewe not only survived the Italian-Irish conflict, they thrived—primarily by maintaining neutrality and also by earning millions in profits for their various gangland colleagues. The Graewes’ main criminal enterprises were drug trafficking and freelance killings. At some point, they combined those interests and focused their activities on bumping off drug dealers and stealing their stashes. </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Falling down</strong></span></p>
<p>The Graewes crime spree came to an end in 1982 when they were indicted for murder, narcotics distribution and gambling. Indicted with them were Kevin McTaggart, who was a nephew and lieutenant of Danny Greene; Cleveland Mafia capo Joseph Gallo; and Mafia acting boss Angelo “Big Ange” Lonardo, who financed the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Drugs" target="_blank">drug ring</a>.</p>
<p>At their 1983 federal trial, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Zagaria" target="_blank">Carmen Zagaria</a>, a close associate of the Graewes who had turned government witness, provided chilling testimony about the brothers to the spellbound jury. Zagaria, who coordinated the drug ring and served as an intermediary between the Mafia and the Graewes, noted that the drug operation at one time supplied 40 percent of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cocaine" target="_blank">cocaine</a> distributed in Cleveland.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-italian-mafia-irish-gangs-chinese-tongs-bootleggers-gamblers" target="_blank">The Italian Mafia, Irish gangs, Chinese Tongs</a>: Welcome to Gangland Boston</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Murders became commonplace for Zagaria and his cohorts. At first, they killed to avenge wrongdoings and to silence suspected rats. Other murders were motivated by greed: If they believed a fellow drug dealer was vulnerable, it’s likely he would be bumped off.</p>
<p>In one situation, Zagaria heard that a competitor named David Hardwicke was trying to sell a kilogram of cocaine in the Cleveland area. At a meeting between Zagaria, the Graewes and McTaggart, the crew decided to steal the kilogram (worth about $40,000 in today’s dollars) and kill Hardwicke. He was lured into a car where Frederick Graewe used a coathanger to strangle him. Hardwicke’s cocaine was sold and the proceeds split among the murder participants. Later, one of Hardwicke’s former drug partners gave Zagaria a $5000 discount on a kilo of cocaine for his service in disposing of Hardwicke.</p>
<p>By 1980, the Graewes and Zagaria had become so emboldened that they were unafraid to rip off and murder their principal drug suppliers—even men who had strong Mafia connections. One of those victims, Florida-based Joseph Giaimo, supplied large amounts of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Marijuana" target="_blank">marijuana</a>, cocaine and Quaaludes to Zagaria’s crew and other distributors. </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/don-king-from-street-thug-to-street-name" target="_blank"><strong>Don King: From street thug to street name?</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p> In early January 1981, they arranged to purchase a ton of marijuana from Giaimo. Runners were sent to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Florida" target="_blank">Florida</a> to pick up the drugs. Two weeks later, Giaimo traveled to Cleveland to get his money. He was instructed to meet Zagaria and the Graewes at Zagaria’s pet fish store on Cleveland’s west side.</p>
<p>At the store, he was shot twice in the back of the head by Frederick Graewe. His body was bricked into a basement wall of the pet store, then later dumped in a quarry pond.</p>
<p>After Giaimo was missing for a week, representatives of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Miami" target="_blank">Miami</a>, New York and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Mafia</a> came to Cleveland to talk to local mob leaders. Because Giaimo was one of the mob’s largest narcotics conduits in the Southern U.S., his disappearance was a serious concern. The out-of-towners also talked to Zagaria, who was able to convince them that Giaimo had not been seen in Cleveland.</p>
<p>The Giaimo rip-off netted $500,000 ($1.5 million in current dollars) for Zagaria, the Graewes, and their associates.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“Bring me my surgical tools”</strong></span></p>
<p>At one point in the Graewes’ trial, Zagaria’s testimony brought horrified gasps from the courtroom when he revealed gruesome details of the murder of William Bostic, a mob affiliate.</p>
<p>Bostic, who was suspected of stealing from a gambling operation run by Zagaria and the Graewes, was lured to Zagaria’s pet store in June 1980. He was then shot twice in the head by McTaggart and taken to the store’s basement. Later, Zagaria said he saw Hartmut bending over Bostic’s body.</p>
<p>In testimony recounted by the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, Zagaria said that Hartmut told Frederick to bring him his “surgical tools,” a meat cleaver 18 to 20 inches long and a knife with a 20-inch blade. Hartmut used the cleaver to chop off Bostic’s left hand. He then went upstairs where the other men were gathered and asked, “You guys want to see a turkey? I took off his helmet and gloves” (meaning his head and hands). Hartmut then said, “I learned you can’t chop off a man’s head from the back, you have to flip him over and slit his throat.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mobster-and-brother-of-youngstown-mafia-boss-dies" target="_blank"><strong>Ohio mobster and brother of Youngstown Mafia boss dies</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>While Hartmut joked about being sued for malpractice, the men loaded Bostic’s headless body into the Graewes’ Volkswagen, dubbed the “Ambulance.” Zagaria then testified: “Hans grabbed my hand, stuck it in a bucket (which contained Bostic’s hands) and said, ‘Carmen, why don’t you shake hands with your friend before he leaves.’”</p>
<p>Zagaria recalled that his hand touched one of Bostic’s hands and he quickly drew his own hand out of the bucket. Bostic’s body was dumped in a rural area, and his head and hands were thrown in a swamp.</p>
<p>Several days after Bostic’s murder, his family notified police that he was missing. Police searched Hartmut Graewe’s residence and found a ring and watch worn by Bostic on the last day he was seen.</p>
<p>Two years later, the Graewes and their confederates would be arrested, bringing an end to an immensely profitable criminal enterprise. Frederick is now gone, as is Angelo Lonardo, who died in 2006. In 1985, Lonardo flipped, becoming the first sitting Mafia boss to cooperate with the government. Gallo died in prison in 2013. Harmut Graewe and Kevin McTaggart are serving life sentences, with Graewe in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, and McTaggart in a federal facility in Milan, Michigan. </p>
<p><em><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Sberna" target="_blank">Robert Sberna</a> is a Cleveland-based journalist who contributes to several national publications. His first book, House of Horrors: The Shocking True Story of Anthony Sowell, was named 2012 True Crime “Book of the Year” by Foreword Reviews. His most recent book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Badge-387-Simone-Americas-Decorated/dp/1726605639/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=J8M6HWK4QZSYTMGVM50K" target="_blank">Badge 387</a>: The Jim Simone Story, was released in August 2016. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.robertsberna.com" target="_blank">www.robertsberna.com</a><br /> </em></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in">Organized Crime in North America section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
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Legendary mob boss Al Capone’s Miami Beach mansion up for sale for $15 million
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/legendary-mob-boss-al-capone-s-miami-beach-mansion-up-for-sale-fo
2018-10-08T18:05:27.000Z
2018-10-08T18:05:27.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/legendary-mob-boss-al-capone-s-miami-beach-mansion-up-for-sale-fo" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237109101,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237109101?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By David Amoruso / originally published on May 7, 2018 - updated October 8, 2018</p>
<p>Don’t you just wish you could get away from all the madness and enjoy some peace and quiet? <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Capone" target="_blank">Al Capone</a> also had that wish, so he got himself a luxurious waterfront villa in Miami Beach. At 93 Palm Drive, he was far removed from the violent gang wars in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Chicago" target="_blank">Chicago</a> underworld. Now, his place of refuge could be all yours!</p>
<p>Located on a 30-thousand square foot lot, the mansion is hidden away from the public behind century-old palm trees and perfectly manicured greens. It was a perfect fit for the infamous <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago mob</a> boss.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-chicago-s-prohibition-era-gangland-laid-bar" target="_blank"><strong>Chicago's Prohibition-era gangland laid bare</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>He bought the property for $40,000 in 1928 from <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Miami" target="_blank">Miami</a> mayor John Lummus, who was also a realtor. To keep up appearances, Lummus condemned Capone and the mob in public and had Parker Henderson Jr. (himself the son of a former Miami mayor) sign his name on the official documents.</p>
<p>“Capone kept a low profile when in Miami,” Gus Russo writes in <em>The Outfit: The Role of Chicago’s Underworld in the Shaping of Modern America</em>. “Save for his temperamental, but futile, appearances on the tennis courts and golfing greens, where he was seen hurling rackets and clubs in hacker’s frustration.”</p>
<p>After his release from prison on November 16, 1939, Capone was a shadow of his former self. Suffering from syphilis, his health quickly deteriorated. He spent his last years at his Miami Beach villa, where he died on January 25, 1949, surrounded by his family.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-the-chicago-outfit-made" target="_blank"><strong>How the Chicago Outfit made its Hollywood dreams come true</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>If you’re interested in owning this historic and, frankly, epic home, then you will have to pay up a lot more than what Capone paid back in 1928. Realtor Nelson Gonzalez currently has the listing and is putting it up for a whopping $14.9 million dollars.</p>
<p>What that gets you? Well, besides the spacious residences on the property, it gets you one of the largest pools in Miami, Gonzalez told <a href="http://miami.cbslocal.com/2018/05/04/al-capones-south-florida-mansion/" target="_blank">CBS Miami</a>. “It is 60-feet long and 30-feet wide,” the realtor says. “He tried to compete with The Venetian pool when they built it in 1920’s.”</p>
<p>Interested in owning this pricey piece of Mafia history? Then check out <a href="http://www.nelsongonzalez.com" target="_blank">www.nelsongonzalez.com</a></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>UPDATE OCTOBER 8, 2018:</strong></span></p>
<p>Apparently, interest in the mob mansion wasn't as anticipated. The realtor has <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6224645/Al-Capones-Miami-mansion-price-slashed-1M-hits-market-13-5M.html" target="_blank">slashed</a> the asking price of $15 million with $1.5 million, bringing the total to $13.5 million. Not exactly a bargain, but then again, we are talking about a lavish villa once owned by the most infamous Mafia boss in the world.</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>
<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>
Longtime Chicago mob boss John “No Nose” DiFronzo dead at 89
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/longtime-chicago-mob-boss-john-no-nose-difronzo-dead-at-89
2018-05-29T18:11:36.000Z
2018-05-29T18:11:36.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/longtime-chicago-mob-boss-john-no-nose-difronzo-dead-at-89" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237108893,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237108893?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>You know a mobster is respected when his colleagues refuse to utter his name out loud, preferring to point to their nose to signify they mean the man known on the streets of Chicago as “No Nose.” Chicago Outfit boss John DiFronzo was that kind of gangster. He passed away on Sunday, at age 89.</p>
<p>DiFronzo had paid his dues in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> and worked his way up, starting out as a burglar and enforcer before becoming a captain of the Elmwood Park crew involved in juice loans, waste hauling, extortion, and gambling. By the 1990s, he was one of the leading figures in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Outfit</a>. In 1993, he was convicted of racketeering in the same case that snared Outfit boss Sam Carlisi.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: Untouchable Little Jimmy -</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/untouchable-little-jimmy-profile-of-chicago-mafia-boss-james-marc" target="_blank"><strong>Profile of Chicago boss James Marcello</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Once back on the streets, he continued climbing the ranks and by the late 1990s, he had become the official boss. He would head the organization for over a decade before his health issues – he suffered from Alzheimer’s – made his job impossible.</p>
<p>Despite his stature in the mob, DiFronzo managed to dodge the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicagos-family-secrets" target="_blank">Family Secrets case</a> that crippled the Chicago mob and sent many of its <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-boss-joseph-lombardo" target="_blank">bosses</a> to prison for life. It’s a remarkable feat since Chicago mob turncoat Nicholas Calabrese testified that DiFronzo was present during the infamous killing of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Spilotro" target="_blank">Spilotro brothers</a> in 1986. Calabrese claimed DiFronzo had taken a .22-caliber pistol from Michael Spilotro during the hit leaving the up-and-coming mobster unable to fend off his killers.</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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When the American government asked the Mafia for a favor: The assassination of Cuban leader Fidel Castro
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/when-the-american-government-asked-the-mafia-for-a-favor-the-assa
2017-10-30T16:28:29.000Z
2017-10-30T16:28:29.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/when-the-american-government-asked-the-mafia-for-a-favor-the-assa" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237099062,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237099062?profile=original" width="620" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Politics is a dirty game. Always has been, always will be. But most of the dirt is kept hidden from view. Skeletons stay in the closet. Sometimes, however, the dirt comes out because it is so mind-blowing, it cannot be kept secret. Like the time the United States government recruited the American Mafia to kill Cuban leader Fidel Castro. It was a favor too good to refuse, but also a secret too useful to keep silent.</p>
<p>The year was 1959 and the world was gripped by the Cold War. The United States were battling the Soviet Union for the title of most powerful nation on earth. Both countries had arisen victorious from World War II and were looking to expand their influence on the globe.</p>
<p>Governments were bribed and bought by both sides. Billions in money, weapons, and food flowed from the United States and Soviet Union to countries across the planet. Leaders of nations no one had ever heard about suddenly found themselves flush with riches and surrounded by praise and requests for loyalty.</p>
<p>Soon, these leaders found they could get away with true horrors as long as they stayed loyal to one of these two entities. Citizens in countries in Africa and South America paid for this loyalty in blood and with their lives.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>Gamblers of the Caribbean</strong></span></p>
<p>But things weren’t bad for everyone. In <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cuba" target="_blank">Cuba</a>, out there in the Caribbean, drinking rum, surrounded by beautiful ladies, placing high stakes bets at the most luxurious casinos the world had ever seen, life was good. Each year, planes ferried tons of Americans from <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=NY" target="_blank">New York</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Miami" target="_blank">Miami</a> into Havana, Cuba, to enjoy the pleasant climate and exotic nightlife.</p>
<p>The whole place was built and run by organized crime. Mobsters from around the United States had invested heavily in Cuba’s casino business and were making money hand over fist. It was considered their playground. They were friendly with Fulgencio Batista, the nation’s president, and, effectively, had a license to get away with anything, including murder.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-american-mafia-bets-on-the-world-and-wins-big" target="_blank">The Mafia bets on the world and wins big</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>As tourists gambled their earnings away and enjoyed the countless parties, Batista was doing his own fair share of killing while he was hard at work keeping his citizens under his thumb. Uprisings were frequent and were beginning to erode his grip on power. Who needed the backing of his people, he must’ve thought, when he was backed by the military might of the United States?</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>Presidente Fidel</strong></span></p>
<p>A rebellion led by <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Castro" target="_blank">Fidel Castro</a> was getting ever closer to overthrowing Batista’s government and establishing his own. Castro had been fighting for almost a decade now. His violent actions against the Batista government earned him a 15-year prison sentence of which he only served 2 years. After his release from jail in 1955, Castro was seen as the face of the rebellion and continued to use bombs and other violent acts to undermine Batista’s regime. By 1958, Castro and his ragtag crew of revolutionaries were marching on Havana.</p>
<p>The United States knew they could no longer support Batista and maintain their grip on Cuba, so they ousted him in favor of another man who would continue to do their bidding. They were happy with any man but Castro. They feared he was a socialist and would side with the Soviet Union.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for them, Castro had become a powerful and beloved figure among a large percentage of the population which had suffered under Batista’s rule. Castro officially assumed power on February 16, 1959, when he was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>Kicking out the Mafia</strong></span></p>
<p>The American Mafia had played it less strict than the U.S. government, opting to support both Batista and Castro in a bid to hedge its bets. This proved futile when Castro made it known he intended to put an end to the mob’s booming casino business in Cuba. Brothels and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Casino" target="_blank">casinos</a> were shut down and the new regime quickly made it known it had no intention of working with the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a>.</p>
<p>Tampa Mafia boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/santo-trafficante-building-the-family-business" target="_blank">Santo Trafficante Jr.</a> was in Havana, Cuba, during the early days of Castro’s reign. He testified the following about that time: “Well, even before Castro reached Havana […] and he had a walkathon […] from the mountains to Havana […] he kept saying the casinos would close, statements to that effect, the casinos close without even being notified officially to close. Everything was in turmoil. There was people all over the streets, breaking into homes, there was complete enmity and the only thing at that time was to try and stay alive.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/santo-trafficante-building-the-family-business" target="_blank">Santo Trafficante: Building the family business</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Trafficante was doing a bit more than just staying alive. He decided to stay in Havana to oversee his casinos and vast interests there and keep business going. Most of his underworld colleagues had already left for their U.S. hometowns. It turned out they made the right choice as those that stayed behind found out soon enough. Castro’s forces imprisoned Trafficante, gambling boss Dino Cellini, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-meyer-lansky-laundered-the-american-mafia-s-dirty-cash-and-ma" target="_blank">Meyer Lansky</a>’s brother Jake on various trumped up charges. The message was clear: They were not welcome anymore.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>The enemy of my enemy is my friend</strong></span></p>
<p>By kicking the mob out of Cuba, Castro could add one more ruthless enemy to his long list of groups and people that wanted him dead. Nothing unusual there. He would not lose any sleep over a bunch of gangsters wanting his head. He now operated on another level, with a Navy and an Army, an entire country at his command. Why worry about the mob when he had much more dangerous enemies?</p>
<p>Indeed. But the biggest threat did not come from the American Mafia, but from the American government. With his actions, he effectively brought the United States government and Mafia closer together. They now shared a common enemy. Though the United States was known to bribe its way to power and influence, it wasn’t averse to more severe tactics if the financial incentive proved insufficient. Assassination was deemed a proper and necessary tool by many in the government if it meant it kept Americans safe from harm.</p>
<p>Of course, executing an assassination is one thing, but being known for it around the world would end up doing the country more harm than good. And thus, the U.S. government and its CIA began planning ways to take out Castro without the murder leading back to them.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>An offer they couldn’t refuse</strong></span></p>
<p>Fidel Castro needed to die. Both the United States government and the American Mafia agreed on that part without even having discussed the matter. From a political standpoint, the U.S. faced a new front in the war against communism right on its own doorstep. For the mob bosses involved in the matter it was much simpler: Castro fucked them over and they wanted revenge.</p>
<p>One should realize, that these mobsters were not like those that operate the streets of New York and Chicago today, rather they had power and wealth at levels comparable to that of Mexican <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/drug-cartels" target="_blank">drug cartel</a> kingpins operating nowadays in Sinaloa and Juarez. They had politicians and judges in their back pocket, police commissioners and officers on their payroll. An army of hundreds of violent men at their beck and call. The American Mafia back then was at the height of its power and a force to be reckoned with.</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>Robert Maheu was all well aware of this. Once a member of the FBI and also a former CIA collaborator, Maheu had a large network of contacts on both sides of the law. He now worked as a man who could get things done for a wide variety of people. He was known as the ultimate fixer.</p>
<p>Still, it must’ve been weird when Jim O’Connell, an official at the Security Office, contacted him on behalf of deputy CIA director Richard M. Bissell, and asked him a simple, yet mindboggling question: Which mobster would he recommend for the killing of Fidel Castro?</p>
<p>“Johnny Rosselli,” Maheu answered without skipping a beat.</p>
<p>“Then we’ll give him the job,” O’Connell replied.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>Johnny Rosselli the enterprising hitman</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237099269,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237099269?profile=original" width="250" /></a>Johnny Rosselli (left) was a well-known hoodlum at the time. He was a close friend of Chicago mob boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Capone" target="_blank">Al Capone</a>, who sent him to the West Coast to represent the crime family’s interests there. He settled in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LA" target="_blank">Los Angeles</a> where he became close to local mob boss Jack Dragna.</p>
<p>The move was typical of Rosselli’s career as he had been moving around his entire life. Born in 1905 as Filippo Sacco in Italy, his parents took him to the United States in 1911 where they found a home in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Boston" target="_blank">Boston</a>. Sacco was a troubled teenager and when his criminal activities brought too much unwanted attention from the cops he fled to New York City. The change of scenery helped alleviate the pressure from law enforcement, but did little to stop his criminal behavior and - under the assumed name of John Stewart - he made a reputation as a capable gangster amongst his peers.</p>
<p>By the time he reached 18, he was working for Al Capone as a driver and bodyguard. His new boss did not like his name though, preferring something more Italian. Thus, Johnny Rosselli was born. Handpicked by Sacco himself as the latest change to his adventurous life.</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">Al Capone's Beer Wars</a>: Author details Prohibition-era violence</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>When Maheu dropped Rosselli’s name as the preferred man to whack Castro he based his decision on Rosselli’s reputation for murder, his nationwide connections, and his prominent position in the American Mafia. He was a longstanding powerful figure in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Outfit</a> with influence in several other families around the country and someone who himself had had some illegal interests in Cuba. Rosselli was the man you needed to put this whole thing in play.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>The meeting between the Mafia and the CIA</strong></span></p>
<p>At first, Rosselli was reluctant to get involved. With such a request he must’ve had a feeling it might be some weird set-up. Maheu told him that his “clients” were willing to pay the mob $150,000 for Castro’s death. When the mobster asked who was behind the plot, Maheu answered that it was an American corporation that had suffered losses in Cuba.</p>
<p>Unsatisfied with the response, Rosselli replied: “Well, if it isn’t an official matter, I’m not going to offer my services.”</p>
<p>With negotiations at a standstill, Maheu got O’Connell to join him on a trip to New York City. On September 14, 1960, Maheu introduced the government official to Rosselli and things finally got moving again. He refused to take any money, though. Known for his patriotic feelings, the mob killer felt it was his duty to his country.</p>
<p>With Rosselli on board, the ball began rolling. As a member of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Outfit</a>, Rosselli was obligated to notify his boss Sam Giancana about the offer. Even if he wasn’t, this was something he knew Giancana would want in on. As well as another powerful mob leader, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/santo-trafficante-building-the-family-business" target="_blank">Santo Trafficante</a> from <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Tampa" target="_blank">Tampa</a>, Florida.</p>
<p>Giancana, Rosselli, and Trafficante all had had considerable business interests in Cuba before Castro’s rise to power. A mix of legal and illegal activities made them a boatload of cash. And though they had lost their businesses on the island, they still maintained in contact with scores of associates that stayed behind. Men and women who might be willing to help them with their deadly plan. </p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>Three American mobsters plotting the murder of a foreign president</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237099662,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237099662?profile=original" width="300" /></a>Confronted with the request to have Castro murdered, the three criminal masterminds went to work. First, they began plotting and thinking out various ways to kill him. The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=CIA" target="_blank">CIA</a> suggested a street corner ambush in Havana in which a machine-gunner would execute the Cuban leader in an onslaught of bullets. This sounded like a pretty good idea until they realized Castro’s security system would make such an ambush impossible. Giancana (right) had told them beforehand it would be impossible to recruit anyone for the job as the chance of survival would be close to zero.</p>
<p>Rosselli then thought of a way to execute the murder while still giving the assassin time to make his getaway: poison pills. Giancana also preferred this method. The head of the CIA’s laboratories then created such a poisonous capsule, which would leave no traces. Once the deadly pills were finished, Rosselli took them to Trafficante in Florida in March of 1961, who would pass them on to a Cuban associate who would see to it that someone close to Castro would put them in his drink.</p>
<p>Then, they waited. And waited. They waited for a perfect moment that never came.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/hollywood-to-tell-story-of-chicago-bosses-accardo-giancana" target="_blank">Hollywood tells story of mob bosses Giancana and Accardo</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>On April 17, 1961, Brigade 2506, a counter-revolutionary paramilitary group made up of Cuban exiles trained and funded by the CIA launched an invasion into Cuba. With the backing of the United States government the group felt empowered as they stormed the beaches. But Castro’s forces proved too well-prepared for such an attack. After three days of intense fighting, Brigade 2506 was defeated. Over a hundred of their men had been killed by Castro’s military.</p>
<p>After the Bay of Pigs fiasco the mood sobered down. The United States had fired its best shot so far using all its bells and whistles and had failed miserably. But despite the failure, the CIA and Rosselli never quite quit their plotting.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>“I flushed them down the toilet”</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237099494,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237099494?profile=original" width="211" /></a>Suspicions arose about the willingness of Giancana and Trafficante (left) to execute the murder plot. Giancana was angry at the Kennedys for increased pressure from the Justice Department on the Outfit. Figuring that if they were screwing him, he’d screw them right back, he simply played along with the CIA plotters without ever getting anything done.</p>
<p>Trafficante also decided to play along and simply smile and nod at the CIA officers. “Those crazy people,” he allegedly told his lawyer. “They gave me some pills to kill Castro. I just flushed them down the toilet. Nothing ever came of it.”</p>
<p>Other reports have surfaced indicating that Trafficante not only blocked the plot to assassinate Castro, but actively worked with him in order to continue gambling operations in Havana – CIA documents support this theory.</p>
<p>What Giancana and Trafficante lacked in loyalty to the cause, Rosselli had in abundance. And when the CIA came knocking on his door to go a second round, he was eagerly awaiting.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>Colonel Rosselli</strong></span></p>
<p>William Harvey had taken up where his colleagues had left off. On April 8, 1962, he met with Rosselli and told him that this time he was to leave Giancana and Trafficante out of the plot. Once more Rosselli was given several poison pills to pass on to a Cuban exile.</p>
<p>Both men immediately grew a strong bond. They shared a patriotic love for their country and both would do anything to protect it against enemies from abroad. Rosselli would have dinner with Harvey’s family, bringing gifts for his children.</p>
<p>Harvey trusted the mob hitman. He took him onto the CIA base in Miami and introduced him to other CIA agents there. One of them noted that Harvey bragged about his friendship with Rosselli. He would say things like: “These were guys that got things done,” the CIA operative is quoted as saying in Gus Russo’s The Outfit. Rosselli’s presence was so common that he was given the nickname “Colonel Rosselli.” He truly became a part of the team, CIA operatives said.</p>
<p>Despite their efforts, Harvey and Rosselli never came close to killing Castro. None of their pills ever reached Castro’s glass of wine or bowl of soup. Before the year was up, Harvey and Rosselli moved on to other projects, bringing an end to the cooperation between the Mafia and the CIA.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>End Games</strong></span></p>
<p>This unholy alliance between the CIA and a bunch of notorious mob bosses proved too juicy to be kept secret. As the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> cracked down hard on <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LCN" target="_blank">La Cosa Nostra</a> and its various top hoodlums, those involved in the Cuban Project, also known as Operation Mongoose, became agitated. First the government asked for their help and now they want to take us down? First they need our violent skillset and now we are being sent to prison for it?</p>
<p>It was a hypocrisy that could not remain hidden.</p>
<p>Out of spite, Rosselli leaked the story to columnist Jack Anderson under the provision that he not use any of the names. It was the first time this story was published for the public and it made members of the government very nervous. He didn’t care. It was the story of a lifetime and one he was willing to sell to Hollywood as well.</p>
<p>By the 1970s, much of the tale became known after journalists began to dig deeper and deeper into the American government’s dirty operations and the Church Committee began holding hearings on various related matters.</p>
<p>Johnny Rosselli testified before the Committee on June 24 and September 22 in 1975 about his involvement in the CIA plan to kill Castro. Giancana was called to testify as well, but days before he was to answer questions an unknown assassin shot and killed the fallen mob boss in the basement of his home. It is believed Giancana trusted his killer as no signs of a break-in were found.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: The Message: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-message-dont-fuck-with" target="_blank">Don't fuck with Chicago mob boss Tony Accardo</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>The writing was on the wall and Rosselli and his pals knew it. After a dinner with Los Angeles mobster Jimmy Fratianno in May of 1976, his friend warned him. “Be careful, will you? This thing of ours is treacherous. You never know when you’re going to make the hit list. Don’t let Trafficante or [Chicago mob boss Jackie] Cerone set you up,” he told Rosselli.</p>
<p>Two months later, the 71-year-old mobster borrowed his sister’s car and drove off for a round of golf. He was never seen alive again. Sometime later, an oil drum washed ashore on the Florida coast. Inside, they found Rosselli’s dismembered body. Investigators concluded he had been strangled to death.</p>
<p><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Where are they now?</strong></span></em></p>
<ul>
<li>Robert Maheu: Before and during his work for the CIA, Maheu worked for eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes. This story was the focus of his 1992 autobiography entitled <em>Next to Hughes: Behind the Power and Tragic Downfall of Howard Hughes by His Closest Advisor</em>. Maheu died of natural causes in 2008 at the age of 90 in Las Vegas.</li>
<li>William Harvey: After quitting Operation Mongoose, Harvey took to booze. As he drank more and more, his health deteriorated. He retired from the CIA in 1969. He returned to the days of the Cuban Project when he testified before the Church Committee in 1975. On June 9, 1976, he passed away of natural causes at the age of 60.</li>
<li>Santo Trafficante Jr.: Despite a life of crime atop the Florida underworld and connections to Mafia families throughout the United States, Trafficante was never convicted. He died on March 17, 1987 at the age of 72.</li>
<li>Fidel Castro: In a weird twist, Castro outlived all of the participants in this Mafia-CIA plot to murder him. Though the cause of death was never disclosed, Cuban state television announced that he had died on the night of November 25, 2016, at the age of 90.</li>
</ul>
<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>
<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>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
Frank Cullotta, the Las Vegas hitman made famous by Scorsese’s Casino, comes to Mob Museum for book signing
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/frank-cullotta-the-las-vegas-hitman-made-famous-by-scorsese-s-cas
2017-10-20T13:01:00.000Z
2017-10-20T13:01:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/frank-cullotta-the-las-vegas-hitman-made-famous-by-scorsese-s-cas" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237100093,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237100093?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By Gangsters Inc. Editors</p>
<p>Former Mafia hitman Frank Cullotta has written a new book and will be out and about doing some heavy promoting. Known as a member of infamous <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-soldier-anthony-the" target="_blank">Chicago mobster Anthony Spilotro</a>’s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Vegas" target="_blank">Las Vegas</a> crew, Cullotta eventually became a turncoat and said farewell to his life of crime. His latest book is titled <em>The Rise and Fall of a “Casino” Mobster: The Tony Spilotro Story Through a Hitman’s Eyes</em> and promises plenty of gore.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Listen: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/video/talented-bitches-radio-interview-with-frank-cullotta" target="_blank">Frank Cullotta lengthy podcast interview</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>The book details the life story of Spilotro from the eyes of Cullotta, who was his childhood friend. Spilotro was sent to Las Vegas in 1971 by the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Outfit</a> to assemble a crew of thieves. He turned to Cullotta to lead the ring, which came to be known as the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/tony-spilotro-and-his-hole-in" target="_blank">Hole in the Wall Gang</a>.</p>
<p>Spilotro’s life has been told before, most notably in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-truth-behind-movie-classic-casino" target="_blank">1995 movie Casino</a>, but no one can tell it like his long-time ally Cullotta, who writes about Spilotro’s rise up the ladder to become an Outfit boss, the many murders linked to the mobster and his subsequent fall from power and murder at the hands of the Outfit.</p>
<p>Cullotta will sign copies of his latest book at <a href="https://themobmuseum.org/" target="_blank">The Mob Museum</a> in Las Vegas on Saturday, November 18, from 13:00 till 16:00 p.m.</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>
<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>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
Al Capone’s Beer Wars: Chicago’s Prohibition-era gangland laid bare by mob historian John Binder
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-chicago-s-prohibition-era-gangland-laid-bar
2017-09-12T08:05:49.000Z
2017-09-12T08:05:49.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-chicago-s-prohibition-era-gangland-laid-bar" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237092696,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237092696?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>The Prohibition era in Chicago has gone down in history as a time of extreme mob violence. A time when hoodlums were mowing down enemies with Thompson machine guns in a battle over the lucrative bootlegging business. When mob boss Al Capone ruled supreme while being on the cover of every newspaper. Author John J. Binder gives readers a complete account of those turbulent times in his new book <em>Al Capone's Beer Wars: A Complete History of Organized Crime in Chicago during Prohibition</em>.</p>
<p>“It’s a book to set the record straight,” John J. Binder tells Gangsters Inc. right off the bat. <em><a href="http://amzn.to/2jljphE" target="_blank">Al Capone’s Beer Wars</a></em> is based on over two decades of exhaustive research by the renowned mob historian and several of his colleagues that covers the entire period from 1920 to 1933.</p>
<p>In it, he paints a detailed picture of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Outfit</a> from its beginnings under leader “Big Jim” Colosimo to its prolific rise under bosses John Torrio and Al Capone. Using many previously unexplored sources Binder lays out how the organization’s diversified operations in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Prostitution" target="_blank">vice</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling" target="_blank">gambling</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Drugs" target="_blank">narcotics</a>, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Union" target="_blank">labor racketeering</a> enabled its expansion and ensured its survival after <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Prohibition" target="_blank">Prohibition</a> ended.</p>
<p>Another reason the Capone gang was so successful was that it welcomed gangsters from other ethnicities into its ranks. “Therefore,” Binder writes in his <a href="http://amzn.to/2jljphE" target="_blank">book</a>, “from the earliest days [they] greatly benefitted from the likes of Jake Guzik and Murray Humphreys and readily embraced other non-Italians such as Sam Hunt and Willie Heeney. Capone was also willing to cooperate with and eventually merge with other gangs as things evolved, as opposed to fighting them and then expelling them from the areas they controlled, even though these other gangs were not heavily Italian in membership.”</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!</strong></span></p>
<p>One should add that all of this reasoning is based on decades of research. Part of the reason for writing this <a href="http://amzn.to/2jljphE" target="_blank">book</a> stems from the large amount of crime fiction that is being presented as fact by many writers. “A lot has been written about this subject, which I’ve been studying for 25 years now,” Binder tells us. “I’ve had the opportunity to dig into a lot of things. And as other books came out I’d sometimes be perplexed.”</p>
<p>Flipping through the pages, Binder found himself asking: “Really? How could you say that? How do you think that happened?” Or, he adds, “When one guy says X and 99 other sources say Y yet the author, without anything else to contribute to this issue, goes with X. Come on! You’re kidding me?!” he exclaims.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-mob-story-the-man-who-loved-being-a-gangster" target="_blank">A Chicago Mob Story: The man who loved being a gangster</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>There are many reasons for this, he explains. “One problem is that in this day and age sensationalism sells books. I think a lot of authors might be a bit too quick to go with something that they hear or can put together quickly, especially if it is very sensational.” This sensationalism, Binder says, led to the creation of myths and fiction like the claims that Capone was a cocaine addict (he wasn’t) or that Capone had nothing to do with the St. Valentine’s Day massacre (he did).</p>
<p>A bit frustrated by this and realizing he had compiled a ton of factual evidence about the Prohibition era in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Chicago" target="_blank">Chicago</a>, Binder went to work on <a href="http://amzn.to/2jljphE" target="_blank">his latest book</a>. A major focus of his work is how the group led by Al Capone gained a virtual monopoly over organized crime in northern Illinois and beyond even though it was just one of a staggering twelve major bootlegging gangs vying for territory at the start of Prohibition.</p>
<p>When it comes to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-book-delves-into-prohibition-era-chicago-ga" target="_blank">researching organized crime</a>, Binder has simple advice: Dig deep and dig wide. “Working this subject is so difficult,” he admits. “You’re talking about a field of history where you have minimal source material. You think the Middle Ages are bad? Organized crime history is much worse.”</p>
<p>What helps is cross checking every lead you find, Binder advices. “If you’re not careful of the source material you draw conclusions that might be very different than if you’d dig a little deeper.”</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>TOMMY GUN MASSACRE</strong></span></p>
<p>“The history of Chicago prohibition and most of organized crime has been written about in a very particular way,” he tells us. “Most writers are not looking at the bigger picture, asking: What do these guys do? How do they make their money? Because that’s the sole goal of organized crime.” Instead, Binder says, the media focused on the violence.</p>
<p>“For years everybody was drawing conclusions without looking at what really happened. ‘Oh my God! 729 gangland killings! Oh, they must’ve all been bootleggers! They must’ve all been part of the wars between the bootleggers! It was so incredibly violent they were all using Thompson machine guns,” Binder says with a critical tone.</p>
<p>During his meticulous research Binder partnered with Mars Eghigian and decided to take a look at all of these 729 killings one by one, devoting an entire chapter to the topic in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-book-delves-into-prohibition-era-chicago-ga" target="_blank">his book</a>. After painstakingly going through reports and historic documents the results were in. Of the 729 killings between 1919 and 1933 only 138 people were members of the major bootlegging gangs.</p>
<p>Binder: “The flashiest incidents [during Prohibition] were, yes, with the Thompson submachine gun, but that doesn’t mean it was used regularly. Let’s go look at all these incidents and see in what percentage a Tommy gun was used.”</p>
<p>In 444 murders between 1926 and 1933 the Thompson machine gun was used a total of only 27 times. “There is a simple reason why they used them infrequently; when fired on full automatic such weapons are difficult to control and the gangsters were extremely wary of accidentally hitting bystanders. To minimize the risk, gunmen tended to shoot their victims at close range, in which case a handgun or shotgun was sufficient.”</p>
<p>Binder: “That chapter more than any other shows what the work was really all about: Let’s get to the facts here. Virtually every conclusion I’ve seen previously drawn about gangland violence in Chicago during Prohibition is pretty much wrong.”</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>“AL CAPONE WAS A GREAT BOSS”</strong></span></p>
<p>One man who has gotten a particularly bad rep is <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Capone" target="_blank">crime boss Al Capone</a>. Described frequently as a hothead with little in terms of brain capacity, readers had to ask themselves: how could this guy be boss?!</p>
<p>“In my opinion,” Binder begins, “Al Capone was a great gang leader. He had strong business sense and excellent martial skills. They’re running a multimillion-dollar business empire. Illegal as it is, that is the sole goal. If you can’t earn profits and make money for everyone, you won’t last very long. Guys underneath you are probably going to revolt, because you’re not just damaging how much guys at the top make but also how much everyone makes. I don’t think anyone would last very long as a gang leader if he didn’t have some basic and decent business skills to run the operations.”</p>
<p>Apart from that, Capone could never have lasted, Binder says, if he wasn’t able to keep his aggression under control. Not just because it would cloud his judgement and result in hasty and bad decisions, but also because he would alienate others. “You have to be diplomatic in how you interact with people inside and outside your organization,” he adds.</p>
<p>Of course, he did have his shortcomings. Binder acknowledges that Capone’s public behavior put him in the spotlight and that he should have filed his income tax returns every year and declared income equal to what he thought the authorities could attribute to him.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>LESSONS LEARNED FROM PROHIBITION</strong></span></p>
<p>After extensively researching this fascinating period, what have we learned from <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Prohibition" target="_blank">Prohibition</a> with regards to fighting organized crime? Well, you might not like the answer.</p>
<p>“The basic law enforcement approach is someone breaks the law and you punish him,” Binder says. “The next approach is, as you saw in Chicago, authorities would try to hit them in the pocketbook. Shut everything down in a certain area so they lose income and start behaving themselves. Or if it’s really bad, something really major, authorities will shut down organized crime citywide for two weeks. Maybe keep hitting the speakeasies and gambling places and keep them totally closed to really punish the gangster element.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/there-goes-the-neighbor-hood-take-a-tour-through-chicago-s-gangla" target="_blank">Take a tour through Chicago's gangland</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>But you hit organized crime the hardest if you take away their livelihood altogether. Binder: “Make their activities legal. If you do that, you put them totally out of business. Legal casinos and legal slot machines have taken illegal gambling largely away from the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Outfit</a>.”</p>
<p>If we apply that theory to our present-day predicament, it would mean legalizing drugs. “Complete legalization of drugs would take it away from the street gangs who are involved in a lot of the violence on the street corners and from those at the upper ends distributing and trafficking it. I’m not trying to use that as a blanket statement, saying there’s your conclusion, let’s do it. Society would have to weigh the benefits against the costs. People always argue about the cost and that it will create more addicts, more crime, but it would certainly have a positive effect as all that violence would probably disappear. The corruption of public officials with drug money would go away. The government could tax the narcotics trade and make it a revenue baring activity for society,” Binder argues.</p>
<p>“We learned from Prohibition that the racket quickly ended when authorities legalized alcoholic beverages again. The bootlegging gangs tried to go legit, but found they were bad at it. When they’re forced to deal with a legal competitive environment they get their pants kicked off. When alcohol became legal they tried to hold on but it was very clear that they had become ancient history as far as the booze business was concerned.”</p>
<ul>
<li><em><strong><a href="http://amzn.to/2jljphE" target="_blank">Al Capone's Beer Wars</a> is available at <a href="http://amzn.to/2jljphE" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a> and bookstores near you.</strong></em></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>ABOUT THE AUTHOR:</strong></p>
<p>John J. Binder, Ph.D., is the author of two previous books on organized crime and has appeared in interviews on and served as an expert consultant for documentaries on the mob shown on the A & E and AMC cable networks and on the Discovery Channel and the History Channel. He has also given numerous interviews on the subject for newspapers, magazines, and radio and television news programs. He lectures frequently on organized crime in Chicago. He is associate professor emeritus of finance in the College of Business Administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago.</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>
<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>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
There Goes the Neighbor Hood: Take a tour through Chicago’s gangland with Oak Park River Forest Gangster Tour
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/there-goes-the-neighbor-hood-take-a-tour-through-chicago-s-gangla
2017-06-15T09:00:00.000Z
2017-06-15T09:00:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/there-goes-the-neighbor-hood-take-a-tour-through-chicago-s-gangla" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237080269,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237080269?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By Gangsters Inc. Editors</p>
<p>Have you always wanted to see where notorious Chicago mob bosses like Al Capone and Sam Giancana lived, where they enjoyed some quality time with their wife and kids after a day spent planning murder and mayhem? Now’s your chance! Starting May 21, mob author John J. Binder takes people on his Oak Park River Forest Gangster Tour titled “There Goes the Neighbor Hood.”</p>
<p>Binder’s exterior tour will visit fourteen houses which were previously owned by major hoodlums, including <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-message-dont-fuck-with" target="_blank">Tony Accardo</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Ricca" target="_blank">Paul Ricca</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Giancana" target="_blank">Sam Giancana</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Battaglia" target="_blank">Sam Battaglia</a>, “Tough Tony” Capezio, and "Machine Gun Jack" McGurn. He will discuss the criminal careers of the former owners, the interesting features of each home, the family's time there, and answer questions from the audience.</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>The tour lasts a little more than two hours and is a deep immersion into the history of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">organized crime in Chicago</a> from <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Prohibition" target="_blank">Prohibition</a> to almost the present day. It is by luxury bus with no walking required. The bus departs from and returns to the Oak Park Visitor’s Center, 1010 Lake St., Oak Park, IL 60301.</p>
<p>Please call the Visitor’s Center at 708-848-1500 to get tickets ($30 per person, $27 for seniors and active military). We can accommodate larger groups on the regularly scheduled tours and I also do custom tours (including a separate tour of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago gangland</a> sites).</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>2017 dates for the Oak Park River Forest Gangster Tour “There Goes the Neighbor Hood” are:</strong></span></p>
<ul>
<li>July 23</li>
<li>September 17</li>
<li>October 15</li>
</ul>
<p><em><strong>Times are 11 am and 1:30 pm</strong></em>.</p>
<p>Also be sure to check out John J. Binder’s new book:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/al-capone-s-beer-wars-book-delves-into-prohibition-era-chicago-ga" target="_blank">Al Capone’s Beer Wars</a>: A Complete History of Organized Crime in Chicago During Prohibition</li>
</ul>
<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>
<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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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
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FBI sting operation snares Turkish Canadian drug boss – Tried smuggling 100 kilos of cocaine to Canada
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/fbi-sting-operation-snares-turkish-canadian-drug-boss-tried-smugg
2017-04-28T13:00:00.000Z
2017-04-28T13:00:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/fbi-sting-operation-snares-turkish-canadian-drug-boss-tried-smugg" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237095271,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237095271?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>The United States may be one of the biggest consumer markets for drugs of any kind, but at the same time there is no country on earth that enforces its anti-drug laws as rigorously. Smugglers, traffickers and kingpins the world over have taken note and fear ending up in a U.S. prison. Still, sometimes the lure of untold riches proves too strong. As was the case for Turkish Canadian drug trafficker Sezayir Bulamun, who was caught in an FBI sting operation.</p>
<p>Everything was looking pretty good for Sezayir Bulamun (photo above) back in 2012. The forty-something businessman ran a motorcycle business in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Laval" target="_blank">Laval</a>, near <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Montreal" target="_blank">Montreal</a>, and enjoyed the fruits of his labor. But instead of kicking back and perhaps riding his bikes, he began hatching a plan that would add some extra zeroes to his bank account. Together with some friends, Bulamun decided to smuggle 100 kilograms of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cocaine" target="_blank">cocaine</a> from Mexico through the United States and into Canada.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-canadian-connection-flooding-the-u-s-with-dope" target="_blank">The Canadian Connection: Flooding the U.S. with dope</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>It was a decision that would bring him everything but the riches and fat bank account he hoped for.</p>
<p>He could’ve known that beforehand, of course. There is a reason the price of a brick of cocaine rises with every mile it travels up into North America. That reason being: It’s an extremely difficult undertaking. With U.S. Customs, Border Patrol, the DEA, and local police departments all keeping an eye out for possible drug shipments all along the Mexican border and up into the neighboring states.</p>
<p>But hell, Bulamun knew what he was doing. He’d buy the coke from a Mexican supplier – no doubt part of one of the infamous <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/drug-cartels" target="_blank">drug cartels</a> – and sell it to the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-mafia-of-montreal-a-short" target="_blank">Italian Mafia in Montreal</a> where it would be distributed to smaller street dealers. It was the circle of dope life, the classic drug pipeline.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/arsonists-set-montreal-ablaze-as-deadly-mafia-war-continues" target="_blank">Arsonists set Montreal ablaze as deadly Mafia war rages on</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Bulamun sent a friend of a friend to Chicago to pick up the 100-kilo shipment and drive it to New Jersey from where it would travel to Canada. On November 27, 2012, that friend was at the exact spot where he needed to be, receiving the keys to a vehicle filled with one hundred packages wrapped in cellophane.</p>
<p>So far so good. That is except for the fact that the friend turned out to be an undercover agent working with the FBI. From that point on, with all the “dope on the table” and firmly under its thumb, the FBI began collecting more evidence against the crew of Canadian drug traffickers.</p>
<p>A day after collecting the coke shipment, the undercover agent met one of Bulamun’s associates who built a secret compartment in a trailer truck to hide the drugs as it traveled to Canada. Unbeknownst to him or Bulamun the cocaine was going nowhere near Canada, it would sit safely in a vault somewhere, evidence in a criminal case. In 2012, U.S. prosecutors charged Bulamun and his crew with drug trafficking and sought his extradition to the United States.</p>
<p>Two days ago, on Wednesday, April 26, 2017, 48-year-old Sezayir Bulamun pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute more than five kilograms or more of cocaine. He admitted that between October 2012 and November 29, 2012, together with others, he conspired to pick up 100 kilograms of cocaine in Chicago, transport it to a warehouse in New Jersey, and then transport it to Canada.</p>
<p>The conspiracy count to which Bulamun pleaded guilty carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 4, 2017.</p>
<p>Bulamun’s downfall is a perfect example of a smooth anti-drug operation executed by the well-oiled law enforcement agencies in the United States. As we wrote before, there is a reason the price of drugs goes up as it moves through the United States, and it’s not because they sprinkle some extra dope on top.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in-canada-from-the-mafia-to-outlaw-bikers-and-dru">Organized Crime in Canada 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>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
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Once a crook, always a crook? The gangster who joined the Witness Protection Program but never left his life of crime
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/once-a-crook-always-a-crook-the-gangster-who-joined-the-witness-p
2017-04-24T08:42:35.000Z
2017-04-24T08:42:35.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/once-a-crook-always-a-crook-the-gangster-who-joined-the-witness-p" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237091877,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237091877?profile=original" width="514" /></a>By Gary Jenkins</p>
<p>Did you ever wonder what happens to folks when they enter the Witness Protection Program? In this article, I will tell you what happened to a Milwaukee man who testified against some mob associates. He found it hard to leave his old life behind.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237091899,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237091899?profile=original" width="131" /></a>Retired FBI agent Gary Magnesen, in his book, <em>Straw Men: A Former Agent Recounts how the FBI Crushed the Mob in Las Vegas</em>, tells a story about one of his first cases in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Sally Papia, a girlfriend of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago Outfit</a> guy Frank Buccieri (photo right), moved up from Chicago and opened a nice restaurant called Sally's Steak House. She was described as a raven-haired firecracker who thought she was the queen bee of Milwaukee organized crime because of her Chicago relationship. She hired three local mob associates and professional criminals to help run the place.</p>
<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview" target="_blank">Chicago outfit</a> guys would come into town and eat here and never pay any respect to the Milwaukee mob boss, Frank Balistreri. He hated her for that and openly called her an “Outfit wannabe in a fucking skirt.” Sally hired a chef after she paid for his tuition at a good culinary school. He left shortly after to open his own restaurant, the Northridge Inn. She became enraged and hired a local arsonist to burn it down.</p>
<p>On December 29, 1974, a Papia associate named Joseph Basile called a minor criminal named Jacob Schlechter and instructed him to set the Northbrook Inn on fire that night. Schlechter did so in the company of his wife, who later contacted the police and began supplying information concerning the ongoing conspiracy. Following the fire, Schlechter went to Basile's home to collect money for his work. Basile gave Schlechter $100.00 and told him that another $900 would be forthcoming from out of town. Schlechter asked what the fire was all about, and Basile told him that it was ordered because the chef had “screwed over” Sally Papia and because of a “personal grievance” Basile had against this chef.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-milwaukee-mafia-family-don-t-sell-them-short" target="_blank">The Milwaukee Mafia Family: Small, but deadly</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>On New Year's Eve, two days after the fire, Papia ran into the chef at a local restaurant. Dropping a lighted match into an ash tray, Papia said, “I told you this was going to happen.”</p>
<p>In early January, Schlechter asked Basile for the balance of the money due him for setting the fire. Basile deflected the request by advising Schlechter that they were getting pressure from <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-milwaukee-mafia-family-don-t-sell-them-short" target="_blank">Milwaukee mob boss Frank Balistrieri</a>, who had lost some juke boxes in the Northbrook Inn fire, and that Schlechter should not tell anyone of his involvement in the fire.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237092485,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237092485?profile=original" width="217" /></a>On January 7, a criminal associate of Sally Papia's named Russell Enea approached Schlechter in Papia's restaurant and asked him if he knew anything about the Northbrook Inn fire. Schlechter, complying with Basile's order to keep mum, said that he did not. Three days later, apparently satisfied that Schlechter could be trusted, Enea again approached Schlechter and directed him to break the chef's wrists “so he never cooks again.” Enea said that “Max” would get in touch with Schlechter to talk about the job.</p>
<p>Shortly thereafter, another criminal associate and maître d' at Sally's Steak House named Max Adonnis contacted Schlechter and told him to kidnap the chef and take him to a garage so that Adonnis and Enea could break his wrists personally. Schlechter and Adonnis then discussed the plan with Herbert Holland, who was to assist in the endeavor. Adonnis explained to Schlechter and Holland that this chef owed Sally Papia $5,000, and he had “screwed over Sally.” Adonnis said he wasn't going to let this guy get away with this affront. Adonnis gave Schlechter a slip of paper listing the chef's address, the make and model of his car and its license plate number. A week later, Adonnis passed along a photo of the chef taken in Papia's restaurant, on which Papia's handwriting appeared.</p>
<p>During the next couple of weeks, Holland, Schlechter and Adonnis attempted to locate the chef without success. On January 18, Enea, disturbed by the lack of progress, approached Schlechter and, gesturing with his wrists, inquired what Schlechter was going to do about the chef. Schlechter and Holland renewed their efforts to locate the chef, but failed to do so, much to the expressed disappointment of Enea and Adonnis. Finally, Adonnis saw the chef working at another Milwaukee restaurant and obtained a new address, place of employment and license plate number. He gave this information to Schlechter with instructions to do the job right away.</p>
<p>After purchasing a baseball bat and two ski masks for use in the assault and kidnapping, Schlechter and Holland went to the chef's place of employment in the early morning hours of February 9, 1975. While waiting for him to leave work, the two were confronted by police because the auto in which they were riding matched a description of a stolen car. The Milwaukee cops noted the bat and ski masks. Shortly after this, two other Milwaukee detectives were going to the chef's apartment. As the officers arrived at the apartment, they saw two suspicious men parked the area. They got a uniformed patrol officer to pull them over and a search found two baseball bats, two ski masks, the chef's photo and his address inside the car. They arrested them for CCW and Schlechter and Holland spent the night in jail. Gary Magnesen and his partner went to the jail the next morning after being notified that one of the suspects wanted to talk to the FBI and only to the FBI. This was Jacob Schlecter, the guy described as 6'6 250 lbs. with a leg breaker's mentality. He was not as tough as he looked. Schlecter agreed to work with the Bureau and set up Sally and her underlings. Soon, he was out of jail and wearing a wire. He was able to record Sally and her co-conspirators talking about this plot to kill or injure the former chef.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237092887,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237092887?profile=original" width="159" /></a>During this time, Frank Balistrieri (photo right) directed underlings to bring Joseph Basile, the guy who originally ordered the arson, to him. He was livid and told Basile that Sally Papia did not have the clout to approve this arson or the assault on her ex-employee and he should not have done it without checking with someone in his crime family.</p>
<p>Jacob Schlecter testified against Sally Papia and her co-conspirators and they would go to jail for their participation in the arson and attempted murder. By 1977, Schlecter was relocated in the Witness Protection Program to Kansas City Missouri. He will soon draw some law enforcement attention.</p>
<p>In 2011, I met retired FBI. Agent Gary Magnesen in a Las Vegas hotel room. The Gangland Wire production team was interviewing persons connected with the 1970s Strawman investigation into the influence of the Milwaukee, Chicago, Cleveland and Kansas City crime families over Las Vegas casinos and skimming. When agent Magnesen was first out of the FBI. academy, he was assigned to the Milwaukee organized crime squad. Retired agent Magnesun would start his career in Milwaukee and end it at the Las Vegas office. By the 1980s, the Organized Crime Strike Force in Kansas City proved that Milwaukee mob boss Frank Balistrieri, along with mob bosses in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cleveland" target="_blank">Cleveland</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Chicago" target="_blank">Chicago</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Kansas" target="_blank">Kansas City</a>, was involved in a criminal conspiracy to secretly control <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Vegas" target="_blank">Las Vegas</a> casinos and skim money from casino receipts. The popular book, Casino, by Nicholas Pillegi and the film by Martin Scorsese recounts this story.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/my-loving-dad-was-a-gangster-and-bugsy-siegel-s-close-friend" target="_blank">My loving dad was a gangster and Bugsy Siegel's close friend</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>After interviewing retired agent Gary Magnesun for my soon to be released documentary, <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Prime-Instant-Video/b?node=2676882011&ref=sr_aiv_strp_lg_np" target="_blank">Gangland Wire</a></em>, I obtained his book, <em>Straw Men: A Former Agent Recounts how the FBI Crushed the Mob in Las Vegas</em>. In it, he tells about his career in Milwaukee as well as in Las Vegas. I noted a name, Jacob Schlecter, and his description of 6'6' 250s lbs. with a leg-breaker mentality. I remembered a 1970s Kansas City narcotics investigation and surveillance and believed this was the same guy we investigated. This investigation did not turn out as we planned. </p>
<p>In 1978, a Kansas City DEA informant claimed he could buy weed from a mob guy named Joe Sharpino, who had a tow truck and worked out of a body shop located in a predominately Italian section of Kansas City. The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=DEA" target="_blank">DEA</a> could find no criminal record on this guy. We checked with the FBI and the Kansas City Police Intelligence Unit records and found this guy to be a mystery. The DEA informant was making a few small “controlled buys” from Sharpino (this means he was wearing a microphone and was being monitored). The DEA case agent related his agency had the resources to keep offering more money and buying larger quantities in order to “make him a dope dealer.” The informant keeps reporting that this Joe Sharpino claims the body shop owner had connections with the Kansas City La Cosa Nostra crime family. The body shop is owned by a Kansas City man of Italian heritage who had some distant relatives that were possibly connected to the mob. We check every law enforcement source possible and we cannot locate any prior mention of Mr. Sharpino. We cannot find any street courses who ever heard of this Joe Sharpino.</p>
<p>Our investigation revealed that Sharpino was actually an independent tow truck driver who mainly hung around this body shop. The informant was buying more and more weed and laying the groundwork to introduce an attractive female DEA agent as a big buyer with lots of suburban customers.</p>
<p>We rented a nearby apartment, watched the body shop and recorded every license number that came and went. No mob guys were showing up. If this was a mob location, the owner was not associated directly with any local mob folks. The informant was seen going into the body shop and he was wearing a wire for the marijuana buys. We got suspicious when we heard no mob type conversations while he had the recorder on his body. However, the informant kept telling his DEA control agent stories about how this Joe Sharpino was going to break somebody's legs that owed the body shop money. We even sent another independent informant to the body show with the cover that he needed a car repossessed. In reality, our informant was a “buy here, pay here” car dealer, so he legitimately had several cars he needed repossessed. Sharpino was suspicious and turned down the offer of work. </p>
<p>After a couple of weeks into this, the informant reported that Sharpino had a heart attack and was admitted into St. Luke's hospital for heart surgery. While Sharpino was recuperating, the informant relates that he wanted the informant to perform a wedding ceremony. The informant had a Universal Life Church minister's certificate and the supposed mob guy wants the informant to marry him and his girlfriend while he is still in the hospital. After several jokes about how to “wire up” the informant and record the ceremony. In the end, the informant conducted the ceremony without a tape rolling.</p>
<p>Shortly after the wedding, this supposed mob associate, Sharpino, got back to working with his tow truck. The informant makes the introduction to the female agent and she makes her pitch. Sharpino agrees and claims he can supply 50 pounds of weed. By this time, the DEA has to get the guy identified in order to continue the investigation and to put in larger resources. I asked our Fingerprint Unit supervisor to make personal calls to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) at the FBI headquarters. We had the guy's driver's license record and it showed no arrests. The fingerprint guy noted something we had failed to note, when the license was issued to Sharpino, he used a home address of 811 Grand, Kansas City Missouri. Shortly after, he changed it to his current address. The fingerprint unit supervisor checked his <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a>. contact with the name Joe Sharpino and his date of birth at NCIC. The NCIC contact could not say exactly, but indirectly, we learned our friend was in the Witness Protection Program. We understood why his first address with the Missouri Department of Revenue was 811 Grand. This was the address of the Federal Courthouse where the FBI, ATF and the US Marshall's office kept offices. The DEA took this to the US Attorney's office who contacted the Witnesses Protection folks. After a consultation and looking at our skimpy case, the US Attorney ordered the DEA to stand down and drop this investigation. The guy soon disappeared from Kansas City. We never heard from him again. </p>
<p><strong>ABOUT THE AUTHOR:</strong></p>
<p>Gary Jenkins is a Gangsters Inc. contributor who has worked in the Kansas City Police Department Organized Crime Unit for 8 years from 1976 to 1984. He retired from the KCPD in 1996, entered the UMKC School of law and was admitted to the Missouri Bar in 2000. During the past 10 years, He produced 3 documentary films and launched an iPhone app titled Kansas City Mob Tour. His most recent documentary film, <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Prime-Instant-Video/b?node=2676882011&ref=sr_aiv_strp_lg_np" target="_blank">Gangland Wire</a></em>, was released in 2013. In this documentary, Gary used retired F.B.I. agents, Nevada Gaming Agents, Stardust employees and experts to tell the story of how the Midwest mob families gained and lost control of several Las Vegas casinos during the 1970s. He may be reached his blog page <a href="https://ganglandwire.com/" target="_blank">www.ganglandwire.com</a>, his <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ganglandwire/" target="_blank">Facebook page Gangland Wire</a>, his twitter feed is <a href="https://twitter.com/jenkslaw" target="_blank">@jenkslaw</a>. The below story may have heard on Gary's true crime podcast, <a href="https://ganglandwire.com/" target="_blank">Gangland Wire Crime Stories</a>. </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>
<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>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
The Secret Police in the United States: How local law enforcement took on organized crime and La Cosa Nostra
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-secret-police-in-the-united-states-how-local-law-enforcement
2017-02-07T14:04:31.000Z
2017-02-07T14:04:31.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-secret-police-in-the-united-states-how-local-law-enforcement"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237083490,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237083490?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By Gary Jenkins</p>
<p>The Law Enforcement Intelligence Unit is a private entity whose dues-paying members are hundreds of North American law enforcement agencies. Its founding purpose was, “to promote the gathering, recording, and exchange of confidential information not available through normal police channels, concerning organized crime."</p>
<p>During the post war 1950s, criminals became more mobile operating across state lines, and local police departments found it difficult to learn about travelling criminals. In particular, La Cosa Nostra families were communicating and committing criminal conspiracies across many jurisdictions. The F.B.I. and most notably, J. Edgar Hoover, did not trust local police departments, sometimes for good reason. Not all local police departments were riddled with corruption, in 1956, representatives from 26 local and state law enforcement agencies met in California and formed the LEIU to share information. One of the first rules was that they allowed no new members unchecked. If any existing member accused the new applicant of allowing any kind of corruption inside the department, they were not welcomed to the organization. The founders of LEIU knew that to be effective, they must foster an atmosphere where confidential information could be freely shared, in other words, the organization must be squeaky clean and appear more virtuous than Caesar’s wife. A paranoid J. Edgar Hoover ordered agents to investigate this new organization. Hoover soon learned the new organization was above corruption and could be an asset. LEIU could be called the Interpol of the United States. At one time, they were so secret that most officers of the member agencies were unaware of the national LEIU organization. Today they have a <a href="http://leiu.org/about" target="_blank">public website</a> and a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LEIU2020" target="_blank">LEIU Facebook Page</a> you can like.</p>
<p>In 1962, ex-FBI agent and then Kansas City Chief of Police Clarence Kelley created a squad of 8 specially chosen detectives to form a Top Hoodlum Squad. He based this on the F.B.I. Top Hoodlum Program established by J. Edgar Hoover as a response to the publicity from the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mob-meeting-at-apalachin-the">famous 1957 Apalachin convention</a> raid. In post war America, the remnants of Prohibition era corruption still infected many big city police departments. In the late 1950s to the 1960s, local law enforcement started to distance themselves from politicians owned by the National Crime Syndicate. During this time, the F.B.I. and local police did not trust each other or work well together. As a result, like Kansas City, many large cites and state agencies formed their own version of a top hoodlum program with a directive to focus on local organized crime families. In Kansas City, politicians could not deny that two local men, Joe Filardo and Nick Civella, known to be part of Prohibition era bootlegging gangs, were caught at the Apalachin meeting. Serious law enforcement leaders in Kansas City and across the United States realized a National Crime Syndicate created the need to share intelligence from city to city and state to state. Chief Kelley's squad soon joined L.E.I.U. and even renamed themselves the Law Enforcement Intelligence Unit or LEIU. The Law Enforcement Intelligence Unit (LEIU) was the most elite unit on the KCPD.</p>
<p>After "extreme vetting," I was selected to join the KCPD Law Enforcement Intelligence Unit in 1976. At that time, like most other Intelligence units, the KCPD LEIU was located in a secret off-site office building. We were commanded by a Captain and he reported directly to the Chief of Police. I was just in time to take part in a major investigation of the mob in Kansas City which uncovered the Midwest mob families skimming money from <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/las-vegas-sin-city">Las Vegas</a> casinos. During my 13 years as a detective I investigated members of the Civella crime family, groups advocating civil disorder, the KKK and many other professional criminals operating across jurisdictional boundaries.</p>
<p>The most important asset of any intelligence unit is credibility and freedom from corruption. As an example of how LEIU works to keep itself clean, I must tell the story of Las Vegas Intelligence Unit Detective Joe Blasko and his Sergeant Phil Leone. In the 1970s, these officers reported directly to Clark County Sheriff Ralph Lamb. By 1978, the Las Vegas F.B.I. Office was working very hard to investigate and charge the transplanted <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview">Chicago Outfit</a> mobster, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-soldier-anthony-the">Anthony "Ant" Spilotro</a>. For a while, Spilotro seemed to be leading a blessed life. He and his crew seemed to magically avoid every law enforcement informant, surveillance or wiretap. A tough former marine named Emment Michaels was a new F.B.I. agent who took a personal interest in Tony Spilotro and his band of thieves. The F.B.I. office had grown suspicious of the Las Vegas cops. Soon, Agent Michaels learned from a secret wiretap why Spilotro seemed be leading a charmed life. He and other agents overheard the voices of Sergeant Phil Leone and Detective Joe Blasko informing Spilotro of police surveillances, identity of informants, descriptions of undercover automobiles and backgrounds on loan shark customers. Michaels even caught Blasko watching Spilotro's business, Gold Rush Jewelry, and telephoning in short messages about surveillances. As these facts came to light it was not long before the Las Vegas Metro PD was removed from L.E.I.U.</p>
<p>In 1973 the Clark County Sheriff's office and the Las Vegas Metro Police Department had merged. The sitting sheriff, Ralph Lamb, was named the head of this new department. Sheriff Lamb was an old-school law enforcement officer and was a more concerned with politics than law enforcement. He would be indicted by the I.R.S. over unreported income he claimed were loans from casino owner, Benny Binion. He mailed a letter to the Florida Horse Racing Commission supporting Chicago mobster, Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal who was trying to get licensed. Remember, the two Intelligence detectives, Leone and Blasko, reported directly to Sheriff Ralph Lamb. In 1978, a police Commander named John D. McCarthy challenged Ralph Lamb and won the election.</p>
<p>One of the first units to receive the new Sheriff's attention was his Intelligence Unit. Joe Blasko and Phil Leone quickly took their leave of police work. Sheriff McCarthy appointed a new Intelligence Unit commander named Kent Clifford. This was December, 1978 and on one Commander Clifford's fist days in his new assignment, he arrived a work to find many cases of expensive bourbon, scotch and other hard liquor. The new Commander asked, "What's this?' One of his detectives replied, "Commander, that's our Christmas from the Strip." Clifford replied, "Take that stuff back and you are to never take anything from any casino again!" After a few quick transfers, Commander Clifford pronounced his overhauled squad to be clean. It was not long after that L.EI.U. readmitted the Las Vegas Metro Police Department back into the organization.</p>
<p>Commander Clifford's unit started working closely with Agent Michaels and his surveillance squad. On July 4th, 1981, they caught <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-soldier-anthony-the">Tony Spilotro</a>'s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/tony-spilotro-and-his-hole-in">Hole in the Wall Gang</a> (photo above) in the process of committing a burglary. To add sweetness to the moment, former unit member Joe Blasko was arrested with the gang. Agent Michaels would say, "This was the greatest day of my law enforcement career!" Out of that arrest, the F.B.I. turned gang member Frank Culotta as a witness and the only reason Spilotro escaped prosecution was his assassination. </p>
<p>In more recent times, the traditional La Cosa Nostra organizations have diminished in scope and threat. After September 11, 2001, local law enforcement has increased attention to domestic terror, because of L.E.I.U., the individual state and city intelligence units have been better equipped to respond to the new traveling criminal. </p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>ABOUT THE AUTHOR:</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="https://ganglandwire.com/" target="_blank">Gary Jenkins</a> retired from the Kansas City Police Department in 1996 after a 25-year career. Gary attended the UMKC School of Law and graduated in 2000. He was admitted to the Missouri Bar and he continues to practice law today. He is a Board member of the Kansas City Police Pension System and The Jackson County Historical Society. During the past 10 years, Gary produced three documentary films. The first two were <em>Negroes To Hire: Slave Life in Antebellum Missouri</em> and <em>Freedom Seekers: Stories From the Western Underground Railroad</em>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Prime-Instant-Video/b?node=2676882011&ref=sr_aiv_strp_lg_np" target="_blank">Gangland Wire</a> is Gary's third documentary film. During Gary's KCPD career, he was assigned to the KCPD Intelligence Unit, investigating organized crime. In the 1970s, a grass roots development in the City Market area, became known as the River Quay. A Mafia dispute over parking rights and strip clubs would destroy the area. The resulting investigation will allow F.B.I. agents to convict La Cosa Nostra leaders in Kansas City, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview">Chicago</a>, Cleveland and Milwaukee. Former KCPD Detective and filmmaker Gary Jenkins tells this story as only an insider could, using excerpts from wiretaps and interviews with participants. </p>
<p>Additionally, Gary created a Smartphone app titled Kansas City Mob Tour. This app utilizing maps, text, photos and video conducts the user on a tour of famous Kansas City mob sites.</p>
<p>Gary produces and co-hosts a podcast titled <a href="https://ganglandwire.com/" target="_blank">Gangland Wire Crime Stories</a>. Using the audio podcast format, Gary tells true crime stories from his experience and obtains guests who have either committed crimes or investigated crimes. </p>
<p>Gary's most recent project is his book documenting the investigation into Las Vegas skimming activities. Gary uses actual wiretap transcripts to tell the story of this investigation. The book is titled <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Leaving-Vegas-Wiretaps-Domination-Casinos/dp/1540779254" target="_blank">Leaving Vegas</a>: The True Story of How the F.B.I. Wiretaps Ended Mob Domination of Las Vegas Casinos</em>. </p>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
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President Obama reduces Gangster Disciples boss' sentence
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/president-obama-gives-gangster-disciples-leader-a-sentence-reduct
2017-01-19T16:00:00.000Z
2017-01-19T16:00:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/president-obama-gives-gangster-disciples-leader-a-sentence-reduct"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237081881,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237081881?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By Gangsters Inc. Editors</p>
<p>Eric “Fat Eric” Wilson, a former leader in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=GD">Gangster Disciples</a>, was given a sentence reduction by President Barack Obama on Tuesday. Wilson (photo above, left) was serving a life sentence for drug trafficking, but that has been reduced to 35 years, which means he’ll be eligible for release in 7 years.</p>
<p>The former gang boss can thank U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush for sending a letter to Obama in which he wrote that Wilson deserved a break in his sentence because of his “extraordinary rehabilitative efforts,” the <a href="http://chicago.suntimes.com" target="_blank">Chicago Sun Times</a> reported. “Wilson earned a 4.0 grade average in college in prison while working in the prison steel factory as a skilled welder,” Rush wrote, adding that he did not believe Wilson would’ve gotten the same life sentence had he been subjected to current laws.</p>
<p>As a “governor” in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/black-organized-crime">Gangster Disciples organization</a>, Wilson reported directly to supreme leader Larry Hoover and himself ruled over large areas of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Chicago">Chicago</a>, commanding hundreds of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/street-gangs">gang members</a>. In the late 1990s, Hoover, Wilson, and several others were busted and convicted of participating in a drug conspiracy. In 1998, Wilson was sentenced to life behind bars.</p>
<p>Not far from Chicago, in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Rockford">Rockford</a>, a leader of the Black Gangster Disciples also received a sentence reduction. <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-rockford-s-black-gangster-disciples-boss-karl-fort">Karl Fort’s life sentence was reduced</a> to 35 years as well. He’ll be out in 2019. Though no one can predict how both these men will behave once outside, they might play a role in the community, telling kids to stay away from the gang life and perhaps mediating between various groups currently at war with each other.</p>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
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Profile: Original New York Mafia family boss Giuseppe Profaci
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/profile-original-new-york-mafia-family-boss-giuseppe-profaci
2016-09-21T10:30:00.000Z
2016-09-21T10:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-original-new-york-mafia-family-boss-giuseppe-profaci"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237069078,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237069078?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Giuseppe Profaci was one of the five original New York mob bosses, leading what would become known later as the Colombo crime family of La Cosa Nostra. His tenure spanned several decades and countless violent incidents, including a Mafia uprising within his own family.</p>
<p>Born in the Sicilian village of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Villabate">Villabate</a> on October 2, 1897, Profaci quickly took to a life of crime. According to mob historian Thomas Hunt, Profaci was sent to prison late in 1920 after he was found guilty of "forgery with intent to defraud." His family was involved with the Villabete Cosa Nostra clan.</p>
<p>Once he got out from prison, Profaci decided to try his luck in the country of endless opportunities: The United States of America. He arrived in New York City in 1921 and eventually settled in Chicago. After several years in which he ran a grocery store and bakery, he decided to return to New York. Back in the Big Apple, he began an olive oil import business.</p>
<p>He also got involved with the city’s criminal element, specifically the Sicilian gangsters in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Brooklyn">Brooklyn</a>, a borrow where relatives of the Magliocco clan were already well-established. Within a very short period of just three years since returning to New York, Profaci emerged as a leader while other powerful Mafia figures in Brooklyn were murdered.</p>
<p>His promotion as boss notwithstanding, these were violent and uncertain times for New York’s Italian mobsters as two bosses fought to control it all. In 1930, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/american-mafia-s-boss-of-bosses-whacked-at-his-office">Salvatore Maranzano</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/kill-the-chinaman-1">Giuseppe Masseria</a> turned the city into a warzone in what became known as the Castellammarese War.</p>
<p>While all the smaller families had to choose sides and pick up guns, Profaci took on a different role. According to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family">Joseph Bonanno</a>, who was a close friend of Profaci and himself a Mafia boss, “Profaci’s sympathies were with the Castellammarese [led by Maranzano], but his Family would never take part in the war directly,” Bonanno wrote in his autobiography. “Maranzano urged Profaci to remain officially neutral and to act as an intermediary with other groups.”</p>
<p>When the big war ended, Maranzano came out on top. But only for a short time. He was considered out of touch with his troops and a faction led by <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/luckys-luck-how-charlie">Charles “Lucky” Luciano</a> organized his demise and subsequent murder. Where Maranzano had placed himself at the head of the table as boss of bosses, Luciano opted a different approach, dividing the New York underworld into five different families led by five bosses who held total control over their family and affairs.</p>
<p><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/american-mafia-s-boss-of-bosses-whacked-at-his-office">American Mafia's boss of bosses whacked at his office</a></strong></p>
<p>Giuseppe “Joe” Profaci was one of these five original bosses, alongside <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Luciano">Luciano</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Bonanno">Bonanno</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mangano">Vincent Mangano</a>, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gagliano">Tommaso Gagliano</a>. These men all had a seat on the Commission, a governing body that oversaw <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in">mob operations in the United States</a>, and included several crime families from other American cities.</p>
<p>The year was 1931, and life was good. These were the golden years for the mob. Profaci raked in money from illegal gambling, extortion, loansharking, and drug trafficking. He also had his legitimate businesses, including a very successful olive oil company, which earned him the nickname “The Olive Oil King” and would later serve as inspiration for Mario Puzo’s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Godfather">The Godfather</a> in which character <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Corleone">Vito Corleone</a> runs an olive oil import business, called Genco Olive Oil, as well.</p>
<p>By the 1950s, however, times had changed. Authorities turned on the heat and Profaci was fighting the IRS over unpaid taxes and US Immigration Services who tried to revoke his citizenship. The bomb burst into the open when Profaci was among dozens of other Mafia leaders arrested in Apalachin, where he attended a meeting of mobsters from all over the country.</p>
<p><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mob-meeting-at-apalachin-the">Mob Meeting at Apalachin</a></strong></p>
<p>If that wasn’t enough, the sixties arrived. Depending on who you ask, those were either the best or worst years of their life. For Profaci they were the worst and his last.</p>
<p>His underlings were beginning to grumble. They were unhappy with how much money they earned, chief among them <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mafia-rebel-crazy-joey-gallo">Joseph Gallo</a>, a soldier who operated out of Red Hook, Brooklyn. In February of 1961, Gallo and his crew did something that was so ballsy, no one saw it coming.</p>
<p><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mafia-rebel-crazy-joey-gallo">Profile of Mafia rebel “Crazy Joe” Gallo</a></strong></p>
<p>They kidnapped several men who were very close to Profaci. Though it remains sketchy as to who exactly were kidnapped, several names pop up frequently. They were: Profaci’s right-hand man Joseph Magliocco, his brother Salvatore "Frank" Profaci, John Scimone, Sally "The Sheik" Mussachio, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Colombo">Joseph Colombo</a>. They also tried to kidnap Profaci himself, but he managed to escape and flee to Florida, while his family was undergoing a civil war.</p>
<p>Profaci was seething. But like any Sicilian Mafioso worth his salt, he didn’t act like it. He began negotiations with the Gallo crew, promising them more money and operations. At the same time, he got one of Gallo’s crew members, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/colombo-boss-carmine-persico">Carmine Persico</a>, to switch sides. Persico then helped Profaci set up Joe Gallo’s brother Larry by luring him to a bar where he was to be strangled to death. As the rope cut tight around Larry Gallo’s throat, a cop walked by the bar and interrupted the hit attempt, saving Gallo’s life.</p>
<p>From that point on both sides were fighting each other out in the open. They “went to the mattresses,” as they say. Armed soldiers drove around the city looking for their rivals.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the war caused loss of income and stress for the other families as well. At a Commission meeting, the other bosses told Profaci about their concerns. <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-boss-carlo-gambino">Carlo Gambino</a> urged Profaci to step down as boss and retire to put an end to the unrest within his family. Gambino was supported by <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-boss-gaetano-lucchese">Gaetano Lucchese</a>.</p>
<p>Profaci, however, was angered by their proposal. As was his close ally Joseph Bonanno. Faced with an all-out mob war between four families, Gambino and Lucchese backed down and Profaci continued as boss.</p>
<p>Around this time, Profaci was already very ill. He had liver cancer and knew time was running out. While the war raged on, he died on June 6, 1962, in South Side Hospital in Bay Shore, New York. The Gallos were no longer his problem, but would continue to cause plenty of headaches for several of his successors in the years to come.</p>
<p><em>Thanks to Thomas Hunt for his help with this profile.</em></p>
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Chicago mob underboss Anthony Zizzo disappeared 10 years ago, but FBI continues search - offers $10G reward
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/chicago-mob-underboss-anthony-zizzo-disappeared-10-years-ago-but
2016-09-01T12:30:00.000Z
2016-09-01T12:30:00.000Z
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-mob-underboss-anthony-zizzo-disappeared-10-years-ago-but"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237066296,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237066296?profile=original" width="497" /></a>By Gangsters Inc. Editors</p>
<p>It’s not every day that a mob underboss just vanishes and disappears into thin air without a trace. Yet that’s exactly what happened to Chicago Outfit leader Anthony Zizzo ten years ago. On August 31, 2006, he kissed his wife goodbye and left his home for a lunch with colleagues. He has never been seen since.</p>
<p>Though authorities found his empty Jeep Cherokee parked nearby a restaurant in Melrose Park two days later, his disappearance remains a mystery. Even the FBI is unsure whether Zizzo went into hiding or was murdered by his mob brothers. Of course, the general presumption is that Zizzo was killed over one of many issues related to his life as a <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia">Mafia chieftain</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview">Chicago Outfit</a> did a good job avoiding prosecutions and keeping a low profile the past two decades. But in 2005 it felt some serious heat from law enforcement during <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicagos-family-secrets">Operation Family Secrets</a>, which exposed the inner-workings of the group and saw two of its own members testify not just against the Outfit, but against <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-hitman-frank-calabrese-sr-dies-in-prison">one of their relatives</a> as well.</p>
<p>The Family Secrets prosecution caused quite a stir within the group and saw two of its top leaders – <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chicago-boss-joseph-lombardo">Joseph Lombardo</a> and James Marcello – sentenced to life in prison. While all of this was going down, Zizzo, then aged 71, disappeared. </p>
<p>The timing of his disappearance generates several theories: Either his fellow mobsters feared he might become a turncoat and decided to kill him; or maybe Zizzo himself saw the writing on the wall with law enforcement creeping closer and decided to flee from prosecution and go on the lam.</p>
<p>And then there is the theory that his disappearance was simply about the usual mob disputes revolving around money and power. Sources claim Zizzo had a serious feud with capo Michael Sarno about video poker machines, which might’ve turned deadly.</p>
<p>Whatever happened remains pure speculation. That is why the FBI is using this 10-year-anniversary to ask the public to come forward with any information they may have. In return, the FBI is offering a $10,000 reward. If you have any clue as to the who, what, why, and where regarding Zizzo’s disappearance, then <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/chicago" target="_blank">contact the FBI Chicago Field Office</a>.</p>
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“I shook up the world!” - How Muhammad Ali took the heavyweight boxing championship belt from the Mafia
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/i-shook-up-the-world-how-muhammad-ali-took-the-heavyweight-boxing
2016-06-06T09:00:00.000Z
2016-06-06T09:00:00.000Z
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/i-shook-up-the-world-how-muhammad-ali-took-the-heavyweight-boxing"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237064497,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237064497?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Heavyweight boxing champion Sonny Liston was a bad man. Both in and out of the ring he struck fear in men, even in the greatest fighter in history, Muhammad Ali. When the two men faced off for their title fight on February 25, 1964, Ali admitted, “I was scared… It frightened me, just knowing how hard he hit.”</p>
<p>Just like many of his opponents, however, fear was no match for Ali. He went into his corner and waited for the bad man to come at him. In the next six rounds the 22-year-old outclassed Liston in every aspect of the game. When the bell was to ring for the start of the seventh round, Liston did not get up from his stool and Ali was crowned the new heavyweight champion of the world.</p>
<p>It was the start of a new era. The beginning of a legend. “I'm the greatest!” Ali yelled out. “I shook up the world.”</p>
<p>He shook up the world, indeed. In more ways than many people realized at the time. This wasn’t just the end of Liston’s reign as champion. It also marked the end of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mob">Italian Mafia</a>’s control over the heavyweight belt. For years, they owned “a piece” of Liston and thus a big slice of his multi-million dollar earnings as champion of the world.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237065254,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237065254?profile=original" width="336" /></a>The main mobster behind Liston was Frankie Carbo, a feared hitman for <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/murder-inc-earning-a-place-in-history">Murder Inc.</a> and member of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family">Lucchese crime family</a> headed by Gaetano “Three-Finger Brown” Lucchese. After spending two decades as a murder machine for the mob, Carbo had enough and began focusing on a gentler racket: Boxing.</p>
<p>While the boxing world was inhabited by nothing but tough guys trained in the use of violence, they were no match for a menace like Carbo. Once he began managing fighters and fixing fights the world of boxing was never the same. Fighters, managers, and promoters all were threatened and beaten if they refused to play ball with the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mob">mob</a>.</p>
<p>By the mid-1940s, Carbo (left) decided who won, who lost, who went down in which round, and - most importantly – who fought for the world championship belt. A Boxing legend like Jake LaMotta even took a dive in his 1947 bout against Billy Fox on orders of his mob “handler.” A few years later, Carbo got LaMotta a title fight.</p>
<p>The Mafia was always an expert in when to take away and when to give a little back. It went a long way in the eyes of the victims.</p>
<p>By the 1950s, politicians had enough of the rich hoodlums controlling virtually every aspect of American life. Investigative committees and taskforces were set up, the FBI ramped up its battle against organized crime, and slowly but surely some big names went down, including Frankie Carbo.</p>
<p>First they got him on managing fighters without a license – a charge that seemed surprisingly tame, much like murderous mob boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/photo/albums/al-capone">Al Capone</a> going to prison for tax evasion. Carbo received two years behind bars. When he was released, he was subpoenaed to testify before a Senate committee investigating the influence of organized crime in boxing. Like any mobster worth his salt, Carbo pleaded the fifth amendment – a total of 25 times.</p>
<p>By 1961, the government had a strong enough case to bring him down for good. U.S. Attorney <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-kennedy-s-whiskey-barons-in-the-white-house">Robert “Bobby” Kennedy</a> nailed Carbo on charges of conspiracy and extortion against boxing champion Don Jordan. After a lengthy trial, Carbo was found guilty and sentenced to 25 years in Alcatraz.</p>
<p>Due to ill health, the Mafia hitman-turned-boxing fixer was granted an early parole. He died in Florida in 1976.</p>
<p>When Muhammad Ali became the new heavyweight champion of the world it was the first time in a long time that the Italian Mafia held no control over the new “King.” Yet, though <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in">La Cosa Nostra</a> may not have had a piece of this champion, another emerging powerful group had already rallied behind the budding superstar. Still known as Cassius Clay when he won the belt, this group renamed him Muhammad Ali a short time later.</p>
<p>This group, the Nation of Islam, fought for civil rights for African-Americans and saw Ali as the perfect posterchild. They, in turn, were of significant importance to Ali as well.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237065079,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237065079?profile=original" width="600" /></a>“Ali had seen how fighters before him had been sponsored, managed, and exploited by Mafia thugs,” David Remnick writes in <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-outsized-life-of-muhammad-ali?mbid=social_twitter" target="_blank">The New Yorker</a>. “He remembered from childhood how Joe Louis’s handlers gave him a set of rules to avoid alienating white America.”</p>
<p>Ali refused to go down like that. If he was going to become a boxing superstar he needed to do it his way. To achieve that, he needed a little help. The Nation of Islam provided Ali with the type of muscle he himself lacked.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237066078,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237066078?profile=original" width="207" /></a>“Ali understood strength,” Dr. Ferdie Pacheco, Ali’s corner man and personal physician, explained. “Just like Sonny Liston understood the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in">Mafia</a>, Ali understood that you did not fuck with the [Black] Muslims. He liked their strength.”</p>
<p>Their strength saw to it that Ali was paid good money for all his fights. Many of the promoters who were used to skimming a bit off a fighter’s purse and divvying it up with the mob, now faced the wrath of the Nation of Islam if they tried pulling such a stunt with Ali.</p>
<p>But while joining the Nation of Islam, Dr. Pacheco added, “[Ali] turned his head away from the fact that, especially in those early days, the nation was filled with a lot of ex-cons, violent people who would go after you if you crossed them.”</p>
<p>Indeed. Despite their noble cause, the Nation of Islam also enjoyed close links to many African-American gangsters and crime groups. One of Ali’s closest confidants, Jeremiah Shabazz, was minister of Mosque No. 12 of the Philadelphia Nation of Islam. This branch was “strongly connected with the crime syndicate known as the Black Mafia.” According to the <a href="http://articles.philly.com/1998-01-09/news/25748818_1_cassius-clay-ali-aide-nation-of-islam-minister" target="_blank">Philadelphia Inquirer</a>, “The mosque was […] reputed to be a center of criminal activity, with many of its leaders connected to murder, extortion, drug dealing, bank fraud and other crimes.”</p>
<p>Philadelphia’s Black Mafia quickly lived up to its nickname, becoming the equivalent of its Italian-American counterpart on the streets of Philly. Starting out as a crew of violent robbers and drug dealers, they expanded into other areas like gambling and prostitution. They also began taxing other criminals operating on their turf.</p>
<p>They achieved all this by partnering with the Nation of Islam, which by 1969 had around 10,000 Black Muslims operating in Philadelphia. “Faced with a turf war they would undoubtedly lose, the Black Mafia opted to become, in essence, the extortion arm of [Mosque No. 12],” author Sean Patrick Griffin writes in <em>Black Brothers Inc.: The Violent Rise and Fall of Philadelphia’s Black Mafia</em>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237066477,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237066477?profile=original" width="185" /></a>Black Mafia boss Samuel Christian (right) and several others had already joined the Nation of Islam, making the ‘merger’ between the two groups a mere formality, Griffin writes. This is evident especially considering the meteoric rise of some of the Black Mafia members after the partnership.</p>
<p>“Sam Christian was immediately made a captain in the Fruit of Islam [the Nation’s enforcement wing],” Griffin adds. “He would be responsible for sanctioning murders and other criminal acts, and reported directly to Jeremiah Shabazz.”</p>
<p>The Nation of Islam connected <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/black-organized-crime">Philadelphia’s Black Mafia with gangsters in Chicago</a> and vice versa. Drug lord <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/drug-boss-frank-matthews">Frank Matthews</a> made sure every group was supplied with drugs – replacing the Italian Mafia as the main distributor. A portion of the profits of this drug empire went straight into the Nation of Islam’s coffers.</p>
<p>Law enforcement was left stunned. With the civil rights movement spreading across the country, unrest in many major cities growing, they had no clue how to deal with the Nation of Islam. The militant Black Muslims were different. Though it was obvious the they had many prominent gangsters within their ranks, it was difficult to go after them because of their membership in the Nation.</p>
<p>Finding witnesses was also next to impossible. Griffin: “Victims and witnesses generally would not testify against either group prior to the merger; now, the prospect of facing in court one of a 200-strong criminal super group of ‘hardened street soldiers’ was even more frightening.”</p>
<p>In 1975 Ali left the Nation of Islam and converted to mainstream Sunni Islam. He did so, he wrote in his autobiography, because of the death of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad.</p>
<p>Ali, the greatest boxer to ever put on a pair of gloves, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1984 as a direct result of his boxing career. He died on June 3, 2016, at age 74.</p>
<p>Black Mafia founder and leader <a href="http://www.phillymag.com/articles/requiem-for-a-gangster/" target="_blank">Samuel Christian</a> died of natural causes on March 6, 2016, at age 76.</p>
<p>Mosque No. 12 leader <a href="http://articles.philly.com/1998-01-09/news/25748818_1_cassius-clay-ali-aide-nation-of-islam-minister" target="_blank">Jeremiah Shabazz</a> passed away in 1998 at age 70.</p>
<p>Former heavyweight boxing champion Sonny Liston died at his Las Vegas home from an apparent heroin overdose on December 30, 1970. Though foul play was suspected, none was ever proven.</p>
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Top 4 stone cold gangsters who look like total wimps
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/top-4-stone-cold-gangsters-who-look-like-wimps
2016-05-30T14:00:00.000Z
2016-05-30T14:00:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/top-4-stone-cold-gangsters-who-look-like-wimps"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237073077,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237073077?profile=original" width="522" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Looks can be deceiving. Never was that more true than for the following four gangsters. When looking at them, one doesn’t see a bunch of tough guys. One doesn’t get the idea he’s looking at murderers. Yet, these men were all just that: Stone cold gangsters who instilled fear and respect among even the scariest of men. This, despite the fact that they kinda looked like sissies.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>Number 4: Bank robber Baby Face Nelson</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237073460,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237073460?profile=original" width="220" /></a>Don’t let his baby face fool you. Infamous bank robber Lester Joseph Gillis, better known as Baby Face Nelson, was the personification of terror. At the age of 12, he was sentenced to a year in state reformatory for a crime Vice President Dick Cheney received zero jail time for - he shot a friend in the jaw with a pistol he had found.</p>
<p>When he got out he quickly established himself as a man of violent action, leading his own gang of armed <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-bank-robber-machine-gun-kelly-got-his-nickname">bank robbers</a>. It was after one particular daring caper where he stole the jewelry of the wife of Chicago mayor Bill Thompson, that he received his nickname. “He had a baby face,” she told police about Nelson’s uncharacteristic appearance. “He was good looking, hardly more than a boy, had dark hair and was wearing a gray topcoat and a brown felt hat, turned down brim.”</p>
<p>From that point on the press had a field day with the nickname. Meanwhile, Nelson hated it! And his associates knew better than to call him that to his face.</p>
<p>Behind the baby face lay a true beast. Nelson faced every man, every threat head on, whether they were gangsters or the law didn’t matter to him. During his days he was involved in a couple of brutal shootouts with police and FBI agents, resulting in the death of several agents.</p>
<p>It was also how he himself would come to meet his maker.</p>
<p>As he was branded Public Enemy Number One, he was a hunted man. On November 27, 1934, Nelson, his wife Helen, and his associate John Paul Chase picked up a tail from the FBI in the town of Barrington, near <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview">Chicago</a>. After a short chase, the two camps were picketed across from each other hurling bullets.</p>
<p>During the shootout Nelson was hit a total of nine times, including in his abdomen and legs, but kept coming forward, firing shots at the agents and eventually killing them both. The three then escaped to a safe house where Nelson succumbed to his gunshot wounds with his wife by his side. He was 25. Still sporting the baby face that hid his true colors.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>Number 3: Scottish crime boss Paul Ferris</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237073476,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237073476?profile=original" width="290" /></a>Paul Ferris looks like a clean-cut British accountant. No steel jawline, no muscle showing through his suit, just a diminutive man from <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/europe-overview">Glasgow, Scotland</a>, trying to get to his work. If he’d sit in the train next to you, he’d be just one of many commuters en route to a shitty job where he gets yelled at by his boss for spending too much time at the watercooler discussing Game of Thrones.</p>
<p>But Ferris is not that type of guy. One doesn’t yell at Paul Ferris. Well, some did. A long time ago. But they paid for it. As a kid Ferris was brutalized by the Welshes, a local family of thugs. The Welsh brothers were a notorious presence in the Glasgow neighborhood where Ferris grew up, accused of being involved in various crimes.</p>
<p>The brothers bullied Ferris mercilessly. It got so bad that the young boy developed the skin disorder psoriasis, which causes patches of abnormal skin that itches and becomes scaly.</p>
<p>At one point, though, Ferris had enough. Something in him had awoken and the time had come to unleash it on the Welsh brothers. Armed with a knife – the weapon of choice in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/europe-overview">Glasgow</a> – Ferris went on a rampage. He slashed the throat of one brother and literally scalped another.</p>
<p>His vengeance never stopped, but as his war against the Welsh family continued he got the attention of Glasgow crime boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/british-boss-arthur-thompson">Arthur Thompson Sr.</a> who recruited the teenager as an enforcer. It would be the start of a rocky career in organized crime. Thompson Sr. and Ferris eventually had a falling out after Ferris was caught with heroin at Thompson Sr.’s vacation home. Ferris felt he had been set up by the old-school crime boss.</p>
<p>Though he was found not guilty of the drug charge, he still spent 18 months behind bars. When he was released, both men were at each other’s throats.</p>
<p>Things escalated after Thompson’s son, Arthur Jr., known on the streets as “Fat Boy,” was shot to death outside his home in August of 1991. Ferris was arrested immediately after the killing, while two of his close friends were found shot to death on the day of Thompson Jr.’s funeral. The hearse actually passed by the car containing the two dead men.</p>
<p>Ferris was in deep shit. He faced drug and murder charges and had the city’s biggest crime lord on his ass for the murder of his son. Things weren’t looking good. Especially when crime boss Arthur Thompson took the witness stand and accused Ferris of gunning down his son. But after the longest and most expensive trial in Scottish legal history – at that time - Ferris was acquitted of all charges.</p>
<p>Back on the streets, Ferris got involved in the security firm business. Though it was a shady business, it did make sense. Given all the attention and Ferris’ reputation who would be dumb enough to fuck with him? Even if he looks like a harmless extra from a British sitcom like Fawlty Towers or Mr. Bean.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>Number 2: Beer baron Dutch Schultz</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237074063,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237074063?profile=original" width="160" /></a>What Schultz lacked in rugged appearance, he made up for with gigantic balls and a ferocious temper. Born Arthur Flegenheimer, Schultz got his start robbing crap games and smuggling beer during <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-kennedy-s-whiskey-barons-in-the-white-house">Prohibition</a>, first as a driver and later as the man in charge of it all.</p>
<p>As a boss it was pretty clear what Schultz wanted: Everything. After becoming a multi-millionaire countless times over during the years where booze flowed through illegal channels, he was not yet content and kept his eyes open for new business opportunities.</p>
<p>When the Volstead Act was <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-boardwalk-empire">repealed</a> and alcohol was legal once again, Schultz set his sights on the Harlem numbers racket. The numbers game was simple and highly lucrative. Players chose three numbers, which were then picked from the last number before the decimal in the handle at the racetrack. Everyone could play, and everyone could win big!</p>
<p>But the biggest winner was Schultz after he had an associate of his fix the game. Schultz was explained that he himself could <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gangsters-inc-s-mafia-speak">fix</a> the numbers in his favor by making a certain bet at the racetrack in the final minute. This way, Schultz could control which numbers would hit in advance guaranteeing enormous profits.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237073495,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237073495?profile=original" width="165" /></a>By then Dutch Schultz was the odd man out in a New York dominated by <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in">La Cosa Nostra</a>, the five Italian-American <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in">Mafia families</a>. Though his was a large and powerful organization he was no match for the Italians. Unbeknownst to the young crime boss he had become somewhat of a relic. Gone were the days of the volatile Al Capone and the Midwestern bank robbers. The Mafia had put the words “organized” and “crime” together and ran a tight ship. All of a sudden a Commission made up of all the Mafia families controlled organized crime in the city and decided who was gonna get <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gangsters-inc-s-mafia-speak">clipped</a>.</p>
<p>Schultz was having none of it. Like all men on this list, Schultz was not one to push around.</p>
<p>U.S. Attorney Thomas Dewey had not gotten that memo, however, and aggressively tried to convict Schultz on tax evasion charges. With heat from law enforcement intensifying, Schultz was painted into a corner. He cut the salary of his men to cover his legal costs and had to move parts of his operations due to increased scrutiny from police.</p>
<p>Enough was enough. Schultz went before the Commission and asked the bosses permission to murder Dewey. They voted against whacking the U.S. Attorney for fear of a law enforcement crackdown, leaving Schultz outraged and isolated. As he left the meeting angry and upset, the bosses decided he had become a major threat to not only their livelihood but their lives as well.</p>
<p>He had to be killed.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/murder-inc-earning-a-place-in-history">Murder Inc. hit team</a> was dispatched and handled the job. On the evening of October 23, 1935, Dutch Schultz was shot at the Palace Chophouse at 12 East Park Street in Newark, New Jersey. Three of his associates were also shot. All four men later died at the hospital.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>Number 1: Mafia boss Carmine Persico</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237074284,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237074284?profile=original" width="117" /></a>Looking at photos of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/colombo-boss-carmine-persico">Carmine Persico</a> in his younger days one can be forgiven if he thinks he’s looking at a cast photo of Revenge of the Nerds. Persico looks a little bit like comedian Jerry Seinfeld even. He certainly does not look like a man who allegedly committed his first murder at the age of 17. Nor does he look like a man who took on the infamous crew led by <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mafia-rebel-crazy-joey-gallo">“Crazy Joe” Gallo</a>.</p>
<p>Yet that’s the kind of guy Persico is. Stories about his criminal deeds and acts of sheer guts are legendary on the streets of New York. When mobster <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mafia-rebel-crazy-joey-gallo">Joseph Gallo</a> decided to take on his boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-original-new-york-mafia-family-boss-giuseppe-profaci">Joseph Profaci</a> and the entire <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-colombo-crime-family">crime family</a>, Persico was right there beside him. He gave zero fucks, as kids nowadays would say.</p>
<p>So little fucks even, that he changed sides halfway through the war. After fighting by the side of brothers Joseph, Albert, and Lawrence Gallo, Persico made it very clear which side he belonged to when on August 12, 1961, Persico tried to strangle Lawrence with a garrote. He would’ve succeeded too if it hadn’t been for a cop entering the bar at that exact moment.</p>
<p>The incident earned Persico the notorious nickname The Snake, for his betrayal of the Gallo crew, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gangsters-inc-s-showbiz">Hollywood fame</a> as the hit attempt was used as inspiration for scenes in The Godfather films.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237042476,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237042476?profile=original" width="173" /></a>Besides the nickname, the Gallos had more in store for their former crew member. Two years later, the Gallos ambushed Persico while he sat in his car. The Snake was hit in the face, hand, and shoulder, but in true bad-ass fashion, he spat out the bullet that hit his face and drove himself to the hospital.</p>
<p>In the decades that followed, the scrawny nerd took control of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-colombo-crime-family">Colombo crime family</a>, holding on to power despite spending most of those years in prison. In 1986, Persico and other <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mob">mob</a> leaders were found guilty in the landmark Commission trial, targeting the Mafia’s leadership. Persico received a 100-year prison sentence.</p>
<p>To this day, he remains the undisputed boss of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-colombo-crime-family">Colombo family</a>. Diminutive and elderly as he may be, the days that people underestimated him because he looked like a wimp are long gone.</p>
<p>As we have come to an end of this list, we have only one quote to conclude this piece with:</p>
<p>“Never judge a book by its cover.”</p>
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1 gang boss dead, 2 agents shot, as FBI busts Black P-Stone Nation
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/1-gang-boss-dead-2-agents-shot-as-fbi-busts-black-p-stone-nation
2016-05-26T09:18:32.000Z
2016-05-26T09:18:32.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/1-gang-boss-dead-2-agents-shot-as-fbi-busts-black-p-stone-nation"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237072089,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237072089?profile=original" width="514" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>It was another deadly day in Chicago this Tuesday when the FBI and Chicago Police Department busted several high-ranking members of the Black P-Stone Nation gang on drug and gun charges. What should’ve been a routine raid and arrest left one gang leader dead and two FBI agents wounded.</p>
<p>The raid began around 6:30 a.m., as an FBI SWAT team approached the residence on Rich Court to execute an arrest warrant for 50-year-old Melvin Toran, an alleged high-ranking member of the Black P-Stone Nation gang. He was set to be charged in federal court with distributing heroin.</p>
<p>But before agents could slap the handcuffs on him, Toran (photo above) responded with gunfire when he saw the agents coming. A shootout followed in which two FBI agents suffered injuries that were “not believed to be life threatening.”</p>
<p>When the FBI SWAT team finally did enter the home, they found Toran lying dead on the ground. According to the medical examiner's office, he had committed suicide by shooting himself in the mouth.</p>
<p>It seems Toran did not want to spend any more time in a cell than he already had. And, according to court records, the alleged gang leader had spent quite a few days locked up. When he was just 18 years old, he was arrested on murder charges. He pleaded guilty and served a little bit of over half his 20-year prison sentence before getting out on parole in the late 1990s.</p>
<p>Whether because he could not find gainful employment as an ex-convict or simply because he liked the easy money, Toran was arrested again in July of 1999. This time he was charged with manufacturing and delivering heroin with intent to distribute and using a dangerous weapon in furtherance of a crime. Again he pleaded guilty and received 14 years in prison.</p>
<p>By then there was no turning back. In 2008, he was convicted of the aggravated assault of a police officer and weapons charges and received 7 years behind bars.</p>
<p>In February of 2013 he was released from prison and went to work on Chicago’s South Side for the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/black-organized-crime">Black P-Stone Nation</a>, one of the city’s oldest and most powerful gangs with over 30,000 members.</p>
<p>Toran and several other ranking gang members then became targets of “Operation Cornerstone,” an investigation spanning more than two years conducted by a joint gang task force of the FBI and Chicago Police Department. The operation included seizures of distribution quantities of cocaine and heroin, as well as confiscations of firearms and cash proceeds from drug sales. Authorities uncovered the criminal activity through the use of wiretapped cellular phones, cooperating witnesses, controlled purchases of narcotics and guns, and extensive surveillance.</p>
<p>One Black P-Stone gangster arranged for the sale of 225 grams of heroin for $15,700. Unbeknownst to him, the buyer was cooperating with law enforcement and had surreptitiously recorded both the negotiation – in a restaurant in the Back of the Yards neighborhood – and the transaction itself in a residence in Englewood.</p>
<p>The investigation also uncovered a heroin and cocaine operation being run out of a South Side clothing store. A source cooperating with law enforcement informed authorities that when picking up narcotics from the store, the normal practice was to purchase an item of clothing as a pretext. When paying for the clothing at the checkout counter, the owner of the store or one of the employees would bag the item of clothing and also pass over an additional bag containing the narcotics. In the summer of 2015, a cooperating source – working at the direction of investigators – purchased more than 1,000 grams of heroin from the store owner for $72,720.</p>
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American Mafia's boss of bosses whacked at his office
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/american-mafia-s-boss-of-bosses-whacked-at-his-office
2016-02-23T10:51:55.000Z
2016-02-23T10:51:55.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>AMERICA’S BOSS OF BOSSES MURDERED AT HIS OFFICE</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9237062467,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237062467,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237062467?profile=original" width="576" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Salvatore Maranzano had made it. After eliminating his arch rival, Joe Masseria, in April of 1931, he had become capo di tutti capi, boss of bosses, of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in">Italian organized crime</a> in New York. He now oversaw an enormous criminal empire that had grown rich from bootlegging and was expanding into every aspect of American businesses.</p>
<p><a href="http://amzn.to/1pnW3Dm" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237062700,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237062700?profile=original" width="148" /></a>At several large gatherings all mobsters came to pay their respects to Maranzano. Mafia soldier-turned-government witness <a href="http://amzn.to/1pnW3Dm" target="_blank">Joseph Valachi recalled</a> attending one such meeting in the Bronx, “The place was packed. There was at least four or five hundred of us jammed in. There were members there I never saw before. (…) There were so many people, so many faces, that I didn’t know where they came from.”</p>
<p>Besides receiving respect, Maranzano also used these events to emphasize his new status. According to Valachi Maranzano spoke Italian and explained that things would be different, that in the new setup he was going to be boss of bosses. He left no doubt about his position and it was clear to the men attending that taking his title would be ill-advised.</p>
<p>Still, gangsters are exactly the type to embark on an ill-advised journey and it wasn’t long before Maranzano picked up on the lack of loyalty among a group of young mobsters led by <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-humble-origins-of-joe-masseria-and-lucky-luciano">Charles “Lucky” Luciano</a>.</p>
<p>Soon, the Sicilian boss of bosses was planning Luciano’s demise, explaining to Valachi that he couldn’t get along with Luciano and his pal <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/get-the-right-man-how-the-fbn">Vito Genovese</a> and that they had to get rid of them before they could control anything. He also added Al Capone and Frank Costello and many other prominent mobsters to his kill list. He told Valachi he had one more meeting with Luciano and Genovese the next afternoon at his office in Midtown, Manhattan. After that they would go to the mattresses, mob speak for going to war.</p>
<p>That day, September 10th, 1931, Maranzano was at his office arranging false identification documents, a specialty of his, for some fellow Italians. Later that afternoon, he expected Luciano and Genovese to show up. He would put on a charade and perhaps lay the groundwork for a deathtrap.</p>
<p>Things took a different and unexpected turn though.</p>
<p>Five men claiming to be federal agents entered Maranzano’s office and quickly took control. One man held a couple of people waiting in the anteroom at gunpoint, while the others took Maranzano into his office.</p>
<p>There, he realized these were not the usual federal agents that would raid his business. For one thing, they had knives and were trying to stab him to death. The assassins had picked knives because gunshots would attract a lot of unwanted attention in Midtown, Manhattan, in broad daylight on an afternoon when people were shopping, working, and wandering the streets.</p>
<p>But the killers had underestimated the old mob boss’ tenacity. While they were stabbing him Maranzano fought back ferociously. As Maranzano did everything in his power to stay alive, the hit men had had enough and fired several bullets into his body. With the sound of gunshots cracking through Manhattan, they fled the scene of the crime as fast as they could.</p>
<p>Despite being in a state of high alert Maranzano did not see the hit coming in this fashion. Federal agents raiding the business of New York’s boss of bosses? Nothing out of the ordinary there. And how could he not trust those agents? Hell, he might be able to gain their full trust by corrupting them with a nice envelope of cash.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for him it was all an act. Except for the knives and bullets. Those were real.</p>
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