Mr. Capone: The Real - and Complete - Story of Al Capone

While doing some research for a reader, I spoke with a friend of mine, Robert Schoenberg, who is the author of Mr. Capone: The Real - and Complete - Story of Al Capone. I know I have reviewed his book before, but with the Family Secrets Trial going on, this is another excellent book that gives you some historical background on the Chicago Outfit. In 1930 Al Capone was the most famous American alive. Mr. Capone reveals the real Capone and how he ran his operation. Schoenberg's scrupulous research shows that Capone was a man as calculating and brutal as his legend.

The NYTimes called it “fascinating,” the LATimes cited its “massive research” and “rich descriptions,” the Chicago Tribune said that readers will “revel in the old stories…and savor new tidbits,” The Washington Times said its “written with style and verve,” Chicago magazine called it “certainly the most thorough book on Capone yet published” and said that “Attention to detail, along with a sense of the period and a delightful writing style, makes Mr. Capone a treat for history, crime and Capone buffs.” The Detroit News simply called it “the definitive biography.”

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Chicago Mobsters, Fraternity Pledges?

Forget about those nicknames.

So "the Clown," "the Indian," "the Breeze," "Twan" (also called "Captain Crunch") and "Little Jimmy" are now on trial at the Dirksen Federal Building. Sounds like a bunch of rascally fraternity pledges hauled into the dock for committing an overaggressive initiation prank, doesn't it?

Actually, of course, prosecutors allege that Joseph Lombardo, Paul Schiro, Frank Calabrese Sr., Anthony Doyle and James Marcello -- the real names of the above -- are ruthless killers who long presided over brutal, exploitative organized-crime activities. To me, the constant use in the media of these odd and usually unilluminating nicknames does little other than to add a little glamor, gloss and an appealingly clubby feel to the ugly business in which these men were allegedly engaged.

Media outlets that wouldn't even mention the names of Chicago street gangs for fear of giving those gangs an alluring renown think nothing of using organized-crime nicknames in a way that turns alleged mobsters into characters out of noir fiction. But they, like their alleged victims, are real people with real names. Let's use 'em.

Thanks to Eric Zorn

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The Last Mob Case in Chicago?

The FBI called the investigation "Operation Family Secrets,'' secrets that allegedly include at least 18 murders, pornography, bookmaking, loan-sharking, burglaries to order and more.

Members of the "Outfit,'' as the crime syndicate is known in Chicago, have been brought to trial before, but this is the first time the entire structure and enterprise have been dragged into court.

The trial, which began Tuesday before U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel, is expected to last four months. If a criminal trial is real-life drama, this one certainly has a cast of reluctant stars.

The leading players include James "Little Jimmy" Marcello, 65, considered the boss of the Outfit at the time of his arrest; Frank Calabrese Sr., 70, a member of the Mafia and once considered Chicago's top loan shark; Paul "the Indian'' Schiro, 69; and an Irish-American, former Chicago police officer Anthony Doyle 62. And don't forget Joseph "Joey the Clown'' Lombardo, 78, a wisecracker who kept the boys laughing even while he was busy killing someone.

Take Tony the Ant, for instance. That would be Anthony Spilotro. Tony liked to be known as "the Chicago mob's man in Las Vegas." Whether he was or not is open to question. But one thing is certain: Not everybody in the Outfit liked him.

Some years ago, he got the idea that it might be fun and profitable to skim the Las Vegas take that normally went to Anthony "Big Tuna'' Accardo, the fabled boss of bosses of the Outfit. Big Tuna didn't get the joke and put out a contract on the Ant. Accardo died of natural causes in 1992, one of the last of Al Capone's associates to pass on to the great sitdown in the sky. But before he died, Accardo saw the end of Tony the Ant.

In 1986, according to the feds, Joe Lombardo and Frank "the German'' Schweihs took Tony the Ant and his brother, Michael, for a ride. They stopped at a cornfield in northern Indiana, where the Clown and the German beat the two Spilotro brothers senseless with baseball bats. Then they buried them, still alive. The remains were found recently. The case was an inspiration for the plot to the 1995 Martin Scorsese film Casino, with Joe Pesci playing the Spilotro character.

The main witness for the prosecution is expected to be Nicholas Calabrese, the brother of the defendant, Frank Calabrese. He admitted taking part in 14 mob murders, and said he helped bury the Spilotro brothers alive. Frank Jr. also is expected to testify against his father.

Meanwhile, according to the Chicago Tribune, the federal courthouse in Chicago looks like a geriatric ward as the elderly bosses of the Outfit show up for trial. They come in on walkers or leaning on canes. Joey the Clown is in a wheelchair. But these were the young guns of the Roaring '20s and '30s, the capos of the 1940s and '50s.

The government even has a reputed expert witness they call a "mobologist.'' That would be James Wagner, current president of the Chicago Crime Commission and former chief of the Chicago FBI's organized crime section, according to the Tribune.

Joey the Clown appears to be enjoying all the fuss. And a former FBI agent who headed up the organized crime task force in Chicago said that this may very possibly be the last great mob case. "This will hurt the mob," Gus Russo, author of The Outfit and other books about organized crime, told The Associated Press. "But it won't end it."

"They always find a way to redefine themselves and bounce back."

Thanks to George McEvoy

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Chicago Mob Photo Show

Little photo montage of Chicago mob figures.

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Mob Rat "Petey Cap", Wife Seized for Gaming

Friends of ours: Peter Caporino, Genovese Crime Family

Mob rat Peter Caporino is behind bars again on gambling charges stemming from a Hudson County ring and is being held without bail pending a hearing where prosecutors will ask a judge to undo the leniency he received for cooperating with the FBI, officials said yesterday.

Caporino, 70, of Hasbrouck Heights , was arrested Thursday night at his home and charged with leading an organized crime network, promoting gambling and possession of gambling records, Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Carroll said yesterday.

His wife, Ann Caporino, 68, was also arrested and charged with possession of gambling records, Carroll said. Andy Rush, 70, of Liberty Avenue in North Bergen , was arrested at his home and charged with conspiracy to promote gambling, Carroll said.

The charges are in connection with an illegal lottery in Jersey City and Hoboken , said Carroll, who would not give details on the operation but said lottery records were found at the Caporino house.

In 2002, Caporino, known as "Petey Cap," pleaded guilty to money laundering involving illegal gambling proceeds and was sentenced to five years in prison, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said. That sentence was suspended because he agreed to wear a wire for the feds in an investigation into gambling, extortion and loansharking rackets in Hudson County . It led to the prosecution of 15 people reputedly associated with the Genovese crime family.

Caporino, who had been feeding information to the feds for years but had not previously worn a wire, was arrested again on Aug. 16 by Jersey City police in Hoboken and charged with promoting gambling and possession of gambling records.

Police said he had $6,500 in cash and records of at least $50,000 in gambling receipts when he was busted. After that arrest, DeFazio said his office would revisit that 2002 sentence, saying, "We have had a conversation with the federal authorities and they say Caporino is on his own."

At DeFazio's request, a judge has ordered Caporino held without bail at the Hudson County jail in Kearny pending a hearing next week, at which prosecutors will ask the judge to reverse the suspension of that five-year-sentence. If granted, that could put Caporino in jail for a long while, and the 70-year-old will then face up to 10 years if convicted on the most recent charges.

When arrested, Caporino was out on a $500,000 bail that was posted by his wife with $50,000 cash. An additional bail of $500,000 has been set since his arrest Thursday, but that is moot at this point. If he is allowed to bail himself out after next week's hearing, officials will not accept the money until after determining it has not come from nefarious activities.

Rush and Peter Caporino have long records of gambling related convictions and this isn't the first time Ann Caporino is been behind bars, either. She was arrested with her husband in 2002 but was not prosecuted as part of his deal with the feds.

Thanks to Michaelangelo Conte

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