Hollywood P.I to the Stars tied to Chicago Mob

Friends of ours: Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo
Friends of mine: Anthony Pellicano, Alva Johnson Rodgers

Allegations of mob ties have long dogged Anthony Pellicano, once the private investigator of choice for Hollywood stars.

On Thursday, for the first time, the feds marked his place in Chicago mob history, saying he once belonged to the mob crew of Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo.

The allegation came to light in a court document released Thursday that lays out much of the case against Lombardo and other top mobsters who are going on trial June 5. Pellicano's name is blacked out in the heavily redacted document, but based on other public court documents, the Sun-Times could determine that Pellicano was the individual being referenced.

A former associate of Lombardo, Alva Johnson Rodgers, is cooperating with the feds and is expected to testify at trial that Pellicano asked him to torch two buildings in the mid-1970s.

Pellicano grew up in Cicero and worked in Chicago for years before heading to California. The Sun-Times first reported last month that Pellicano did the investigative work to provide Lombardo with an alibi for the 1974 murder of a key federal witness against Lombardo.

Pellicano's attorney, Steven Gruel, has denied that Pellicano has any mob ties.

In one case, Pellicano allegedly paid Rodgers to shut down a restaurant. Rodgers got some neighborhood kids to break the restaurant's windows, which hurt business, but Pellicano allegedly was looking for something a little more permanent, like burning the place down. Rodgers allegedly declined and refused to give Pellicano his money back.

In another instance, previously reported by the Sun-Times, Pellicano allegedly asked Rodgers to burn down a building in the northwest suburbs, and Rodgers complied.

Lombardo allegedly chewed out Rodgers both times for not getting his permission for the crimes.

Pellicano is in jail in California awaiting trial on charges he illegally eavesdropped on the conversations of the enemies of his rich and powerful clients. The feds have alleged he contacted unnamed Chicago mobsters to put a hit on a witness against him.

Thanks to Steve Warmbir

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Who Robbed Joe Batters?

It's the stuff of Chicago mob lore, cloaked in mystery.

Thieves rob the home of ruthless Chicago mob boss Tony Accardo while he's away.

Then one by one, in brutal retribution, they are rubbed out.

One well-known career burglar, not involved in the Accardo job, got so nervous he'd be killed anyway that he took a lie detector test to prove his innocence and sent it to mob bosses.

Now, the mystery around the burglary in the late 1970s is clearing as the fullest account yet of the crime and the bloody consequences is being offered in a court document made public Thursday.

It's just one of the tales on tap as part of the Family Secrets federal trial, involving the top names in the Chicago Outfit, including reputed mob leaders James "Little Jimmy" Marcello and Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo.

Those alleged mobsters and others have been charged in a case involving 18 unsolved Outfit murders.

The trial won't only be about those murders. It will reveal a secret 40-year history of the Outfit itself.

On the Accardo burglary, ace thief John Mendell was simply out to get back what he had already stolen, according to the document.

Mendell had led a burglary crew that stole hundreds of thousands of dollars of jewelry from Levinson's Jewelry. The only problem was that Accardo was a friend of the owner.

Mendell went into hiding as he learned top mobsters were angry with him and looking for revenge. He hid the loot in the rafters of his business. But it wasn't safe there for long -- another group of burglars broke in and stole the items.

Mendell wanted his loot back and led his crew to break in to Accardo's home, where the jewelry was stashed in a walk-in vault.

The feds believe this because one of their witnesses -- whose name is blacked out in the court document -- allegedly went on the jewelry store burglary with Mendell but balked at pulling the heist at Accardo's home.

Mendell was lured to his death by a fellow burglar he knew and trusted, Ronald Jarrett, according to the new document. Jarrett worked for reputed hit man Frank Calabrese Sr. Jarrett died in 2000, shot in a mob hit outside his Bridgeport home.

Participating in Mendell's murder were Calabrese Sr., his brother Nick Calabrese, Jarrett and mob hit man Frank Saladino, the court filing alleges. Nick Calabrese is cooperating with the feds and expected to tell jurors in detail how Mendell was killed. He was beaten without mercy, his body punctured by an ice pick. Five other burglars met a similar fate.

The government filing also sheds more light on the slayings of Anthony Spilotro, the mob's man in Las Vegas, and his brother Michael in 1986. The brothers were lured to a Bensenville area home, on the promise of promotions within the mob, but they were beaten to death by several mobsters, authorities say.

In 1986, federal investigators had secretly wired phones at Flash Trucking in Cicero, allegedly the headquarters for years of the Cicero mob, as well as the home phone of Cicero mob boss Rocco Infelise. Investigators heard Infelise, James Marcello and top mob boss Joseph Ferriola exchange calls to set up a meeting with Outfit leader Sam Carlisi at a McDonald's in Oak Brook on June 13. The next day, the Spilotros were slain.

All of the witness names are blacked out in the heavily redacted court document, but the Sun-Times has reported the names of several witnesses, including reputed Outfit hit man and career burglar Robert "Bobby the Beak" Siegel, failed mob assassin Daniel Bounds, mob leg breaker James LaValley and burglar and mob killer Frank Cullotta, a close associate of Anthony Spilotro.

Cullotta is expected to be a key witness against Lombardo but will likely undergo a vigorous cross by Lombardo's attorney, Rick Halprin. "From what I've been told, Cullotta, in Sicilian, means mendacious," Halprin said.

Thanks to Steve Warmbir

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Dominic Chianese's Ungrateful Heart

Dominic Chianese's (The Sopranos' Uncle Junior) Ungrateful Heart CD is the ultimate Italian song collection. Consisting of all Italian favorites from since the turn of the century, the CD features 16 tracks including the classic "O Solo Mio"; "Core 'n Grato," as performed on The Sopranos; and "Parla Piu Piano," the theme from The Godfather.

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Chicago Outfit Hits from Four Decades Detailed in Court Papers

Friends of mine: Tony "The Big Tuna" Accardo, Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, Nick Calabrese
Friends of ours: John Ambrose

A newly released court document details four decades of alleged Chicago mob killings, including the slayings of six men accused of robbing the vault of the Mafia's biggest boss.

The 63-page document was submitted by federal prosecutors to U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel. He is to preside over the trial of 14 men accused in an indictment that blames the mafia for 18 long-unsolved murders. Jury selection is scheduled to begin June 1.

The trial is the result of the FBI's long-running Operation Family Secrets investigation.

In the robbery case, mob bosses wanted to send a message that they would not tolerate the theft of jewelry and other items from the basement vault of fellow boss Tony Accardo's house, according to the document unveiled Thursday.

"The Outfit wanted to find out which burglars were actually involved in the Accardo burglary so they could be killed to enforce the message," the document says.

Eventually, six men were blamed. The alleged organizer of the vault burglary, John Mendell, was last heard from January 16, 1978, the prosecutors said.

Among the list of 18 unsolved murders is the killing of Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, the Chicago mob's longtime man in Las Vegas, who inspired the Joe Pesci character in the 1995 movie "Casino." His body was buried in an Indiana cornfield.

The document seeks to convince Zagel that a conspiracy existed and that third-party testimony that would ordinarily be hearsay should be allowed.

Among those expected to testify is Nicholas Calabrese, a self-described "made guy" in the Chicago mob who now is helping the government. The document says Calabrese's account of mob bookmaking, loan sharking, extortion, arson and murder has resulted in an FBI report more than 100 pages long that points the finger at organized crime leaders.

The version of the document made public Thursday is heavily redacted with prosecutors saying their witnesses are afraid of mob reprisals and would be even more terrified if their names got out before trial.

Federal deputy marshal John Ambrose is charged with leaking information about Calabrese's whereabouts to the mob. He has pleaded not guilty and claims he was not read his Miranda warning when arrested.

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Will the Mafia Cops Replace Law and Order?

Friends of mine: Louis Eppolito, Stephen Caracappa

Producer Dick Wolf has made a television empire out of his Law and Order police procedural shows, and now another series may be in the works. Daily Variety reports Wolf and NBC Universal have acquired the rights to the book The Brotherhoods: The True Story of Two Cops who Murdered for the Mafia, by Guy Lawson and William Oldham.

The book tells the story of Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito who were convicted of moonlighting as killers for the mafia. Author Oldham was once a cop working side by side with Eppolito, and when the story came to light—and the NYPD failed to actively investigate—Oldham became a special investigator for the U.S. Attorney’s Brooklyn office and broke the case.

It’s a good story, so good that three movies based on it are already in the works. And now Wolf is looking at it as a launching point for a series about the U.S. Attorney’s investigative team. Whether or not it takes on the Law and Order brand has yet to be decided. "We are very excited about this project," Wolf told Daily Variety. "It contains a unique franchise that could be taken in a multitude of directions."

Thanks to Dennis Michael

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