Cook County State's Attorney Candidate Lobbied for Reputed Mob Associate's Company

Larry Suffredin -- a self-styled reformer running for Cook County state's attorney -- lobbied for a landfill controlled by Fred Bruno Barbara, a businessman once charged with extortion and implicated in the mob bombing of a restaurant, the Sun-Times has learned.

Suffredin, a Cook County commissioner (D-Evanston), has come under attack by rivals for his work as a lobbyist on behalf of casino and drug-company interests. State records show he also lobbied for Kankakee Regional Landfill LLC -- a company tied to Barbara -- in 2005, 2006, and 2007.

"I don't think I've ever met Fred [Barbara] in my life," Suffredin said. "I didn't know he had an interest in it."

Barbara, 59, is a multimillionaire involved in trucking, waste hauling, banking, and other businesses. A friend of Mayor Daley's, Barbara at one time got more than 60 percent of his garbage-hauling business from city contracts. He has also been a consultant to the city's much-criticized blue bag recycling program. He has been arrested five times, including a 1982 arrest for extortion in an FBI sting. Barbara was acquitted in that case -- and has never been convicted of any crime.

During the Family Secrets mob trial last year, Outfit hit man Nicholas Calabrese said Barbara participated in the 1980s bombing of Horwath's Restaurant in Elmwood Park. Barbara is the grandson of Bruno Roti Sr., an organized crime boss, and the nephew of late Ald. Fred Roti, who allegedly represented mob interests on the City Council.

Documents on file with the state list Barbara as Kankakee Regional's manager as far back as May 31, 2006. The company's address is given as 2300 S. Archer Ave., the address of other Barbara businesses. At a hearing held last June, an official from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency identified Barbara as one of three partners in the landfill.

Barbara did not return calls seeking comment.

Kankakee Regional has been trying to build a 240-acre dump in Kankakee since at least 2004. But the project has faced opposition from local groups and from Waste Management, the trash-removal giant that has a competing proposal. Kankakee Regional has been granted a development permit to build infrastructure but not to accept waste, according to IEPA spokeswoman Maggie Carson.

The project has been approved by the Kankakee city council and the Illinois Pollution Control Board, but it is bogged down in litigation and has not opened. In June 2007, Attorney General Lisa Madigan sued Kankakee Regional for illegally dumping construction and demolition debris at the site. That suit and another are pending.

Tom Volini, one of the partners in the project, said the landfill is environmentally sound and the dumping was permitted by the city and under state law. "The issuance of the Illinois EPA permit is the best evidence of the soundness," said Volini, the brother-in-law of former 48th Ward alderman Marion Volini.

Suffredin -- who has made fighting political corruption central to his campaign for state's attorney -- said he "interacted with the Illinois EPA" and dealt with "hydrology issues" on the landfill's behalf.

Suffredin said he has not worked on the project in over a year, and pointed to a public filing made by his law firm, Shefsky & Froelich, stating it withdrew on July 27, 2007.

"Tom Volini is the only person I ever dealt with on this project," Suffredin said.

Suffredin said he was told "there was a falling out with the partners, and Tom was removed as the person in charge," prompting the Shefsky firm to stop representing the landfill. But in its own filing dated Aug. 23, 2007, Kankakee Regional lists both Suffredin and the Shefsky firm as its lobbyists. The company has not yet filed a lobbying disclosure form for 2008, according to the secretary of state's office.

Suffredin is competing in a tight race against five other candidates for the Democratic nomination to succeed state's attorney Dick Devine. The winner in the Feb. 5 primary will face Republican Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica. In a recent TV ad, Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool says of Suffredin, ''On the county board he's a reformer. He'll take on political corruption.''

Suffredin said he saw no problem with representing the Barbara-controlled company. "He's not been a client. He's been an owner of a client that I worked for ... If I had directly represented him, it'd bother me," Suffredin said.

Thanks to Eric Herman and Tim Novak

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The Chicago Outfit Stretches into Rockford

Stuart R. Wahlin has shared with us several articles that he has written that examine the reach of the Chicago Outfit into Rockford along with a current case with organized crime ties.

Chicago's Family Secrets Told in Rockford provides a recap of the Family Secrets Trial and includes information on a case in Rockford in which nine men were sentenced this past summer, between May and June, on federal charges of operating an illegal gambling business in Rockford since the 1980s.

Possible Organized Crime Link to Rockford Shooting investigates the police shooting death of 80-year-old Vaughn “Curly” Fitzgerald as he was apparently trying to foil an armed robbery on his property. It is widely believed a high-stakes “executive” card game was the target of robbers armed with handguns­-not the first such game Fitzgerald has allegedly played. Fitzgerald had gambling charges brought up against him in the past and he had been associated with reputed mafia figures at that time..

Winnebago County State’s Attorney the Office of Illinois Attorney General Fold on Card Game Robbery reveals how citing conflicts of interest, Winnebago County State’s Attorney Phil Nicolosi (R) and the office of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D) have opted out of prosecuting a case stemming from the incident that led to the death by police shooting of 80-year-old Vaughn “Curly” Fitzgerald. The recusals mean the case will be handled by a special prosecutor. There are also allegations that law enforcement officials may have been in attendance at the card game.

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Chicago's FBI Joint Task Force on Gangs Featured on AMW

Dionne Garcia: After several years of hard work, the Chicago FBI's Joint Task Force on Gangs was able to indict 52 people in relation to the manufacture and distribution of PCP on the streets of the Windy City . Of all those indictments, only two people remain on the run. Agents say Dionne Garcia fled after being charged, probably with her common-law husband and their four children.

Jimmy Trindade: "Jimmy T" Trindade was a seasoned sportsman and an avid boater, but he hasn't been seen since leaving the Bahamas for Florida in 2006 at the helm of a 38' speed boat. The boat was found 11 hours after his departure, and his family, his friends, the FBI, and now Immigration and Customs Enforcement are trying to figure out what happened.

Roy Hyatt: Cops say Roy Stephen Hyatt is a convicted sex offender on the run who still has an appetite for children. Police are looking for him on charges of downloading, possessing, and possibly distributing child pornography.

Anthony Harris: Father of five daughters Jesse Brown was murdered on August 25, 2006 in a senseless crime has shocked a community and torn a family apart. Now Anthony "Tone" Harris -- the man cops say is responsible -- is on the run, and police need your help to find him.

Jose Lopez: Jose Orlando Lopez has been deported twice for crimes committed in the U.S., and authorities still can't seem to get rid of him. They say Lopez has so little respect for this country that he raped a stranger on a busy street in New York . Police believe he's running from his latest charges from 2004 to prevent being deported, again.

Special Ops: Coast Guard Feature: The U.S. Coast Guard broke drug interdiction records in 2007, seizing 355,755 pounds of cocaine with a street value of more than $4.7 billion. This week, AMW’s Tom Morris takes you to San Diego , Calif. for an inside look at what makes the Coast Guard so successful.

Joseph Garcia: In the border town of Laredo , Texas , walk a few steps and you could be in an entirely different country. But without going anywhere, Laredo teens face the temptation of crossing into another world: a world in which greed, money, and drugs reign supreme. Cops say a kid named Joseph Allen Garcia fell prey to the lifestyle's allure, and now they hope AMW will help them find him.

Brianna Denison: A man sought for questioning in 19-year-old Brianna Denison's disappearance has been located and cleared of any involvement in the case. Reno authorities say that the man came forward after seeing news reports about the investigation. Meanwhile, the search effort continues as search dogs have failed to find any indication of the missing teen: Reno cops say they were hoping to get a few more areas canvassed before a snowstorm began.

James Malave: Cops in New York and Pennsylvania have been working together to track down alleged killer James Malave. Now, all of their hard work has paid off: thanks to an AMW tipster, Malave is behind bars.

Kenneth Freeman: Accused child rapist Kenneth John Freeman, described by the U.S. Marshals as the 'King of the Child Exploitation Suspects', is now back in the United States, and AMW cameras were the only ones to catch a glimpse of the elusive fugitive. On November 29, 2007, Freeman's third wife, Maleka May Freeman, was sentenced to 6 months home confinement and 240 hours of community service as part of a 3 year term of probation for lying to two different law enforcement agencies on multiple occasions about knowledge of her husband's whereabouts.

Warren Villalta: Warren Villalta is no longer a free man. An AMW tipster led U.S. Marshals to Puerto Rico, where they found Warren Villalta hiding in a town near San Juan . Villalta is now behind bars in New Jersey.

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Tatto Parlor Order Hit by Mob for Retaliation

A reputed hit man ordered a Chicago-area tattoo shop closed and its owner hurt because the daughter of a mob boss was tattooed there, court records allege.

The revelation came in the case of alleged mob killer Anthony Calabrese, scheduled to go to trial in February on charges he participated in three suburban robberies, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Friday.

The recent court filings provided another detail about Calabrese's alleged connections to organized crime, the newspaper said.

An informant told investigators Calabrese not only paid street tax to members of the Outfit mob but also did them criminal favors, a court filing said. One was the July 2001 strong-arm robbery of the Metamorphous Tattoo parlor in Lockport, authorities said.

During the robbery, the tattoo parlor owner was beaten, but his hands were not broken, even though that was part of the plan drawn up because of the unnamed boss's underage daughter's tattoo was inked at the parlor, the court papers said.

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James "Whitey" Bulger Audio Recording and Transcript

The Bulger Fugitive Task Force (BFTF), comprised of agents and officers from the FBI, State Police, Department of Corrections, and Prosecutors from the United States Attorney's Office, is making recordings of fugitive James J. Bulger available. Bulger is on the FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted List.

Although these recordings were taken prior to Bulger's fugitive status, it is believed that they depict the unique sound of Bulger's voice and may be recognizable by anyone who may have come in contact with him.

The audio recordings were taken by the FBI during their criminal investigation of Bulger and are being released at this time as the BFTF believes the international exposure of the recordings will be beneficial to the future investigation.

The FBI is offering a $1,000,000 reward for information leading directly to the arrest of James J. Bulger.

Audio Recording of James Bulger: MP3 File

Transcript of Recording:

Participants:

JB - James Bulger

JB: How you doing? Did he order any sandwiches? If he does, order me one (UI) see him in a little while (UI) did he come back from that thing? Wow. Hmm. Boy the cough medicine was strong. (Whistles) Did he have trouble after he takes this? Little bit, not bad. That stuff its devastating wasn't it? I'm gonna see if my brother, Jackie, wants any, still sick, you know. All right. I'll see you in 15. Bye.

JB: Could I speak to Jack? Thank you. Hi, Jack. Is there any rentals up at that place up across from, umm, Kelly's? Okay. Gonna find out now...I think that's the Ma- Marine Park they call it. Ah, what do they call it, "The Marine Park"? Yeah, is it the Marine Park they call it? Okay. You had one for sale recently? Or is it for sale now? What floor is it on (UI) first floor? They're no good. Yeah...Okay. Is there any others for sale up there, do you know? How, how long would it take you? I mean I asked you about the rentals, you never get back to me. Yeah, call me down the store here (UI) 3, 0, 3, 1. Jack, bye.

JB: (UI) cashing. Jack talking. (UI) Jack. Oh, that's good. Ah, it's not for me, it's for Patty. Uh, huh. How much is she looking for? Mmm, hmm. Mmm, hmm. Yeah. Find out what (UI). Yeah, I know where it is (UI), yeah. Yeah, get me the particulars and everything, Jack. Okay. Thank you. Bye.

JB: How you doing, Jack? Nothing much. What's new with you? A book. Oh. Ah, in that area where you are there, is there anything, any rentals? Would that, ah, Bob would know, wouldn't he? Yeah, would, would you? It's for Patty, you know. One bedroom is be fine. You know. Yeah, bye.

JB: How you doing? Nothing. Okay, Jack. Ah, did you need any cough medicine? Okay, cause I bought some stuff last night. It knocked me for a loop, you know. Okay. All right, Jack. Oh, good. All right I'll catch you later. Okay. Bye.

JB: How you doing? Who is there? Oh. What are you doing? You eating already? Okay, yeah, I'll see you in a little while. All right. Bye.

JB: Check Cashing, Charlie. You coming down? Hey, John, come on down here. I want to talk to you. Yeah, all right. Have you got the money for them checks? Bring it back and give it back to Glen. Yeah, no, this is Jim. All right. Well, well, he'll be here waiting for you. Well, he'll explain it to you when you get here. But give him the check or the money back, he'll give you the check. All right. Bye.

JB: Hello. Hello. Tammy is not here. There is no Tammy at this phone number. What number you calling?

JB: Hello. Check cashing. Yes, could you tell me what the, his hours are, please? The off- office in Quincy. Oh, okay, on, on a Tuesday, to- like today what hours? Oh, okay, all right. Wednesday. Okay. Thank you very much. Bye.

JB: Hello, ah, in Cohasset is he, what is his hours down there today? O-okay on Tuesday afternoon from what? Sure, yeah. Okay, okay, thank you very much. Bye.

JB: Check cashing. Just a minute. Hello. Could I have, ah, the, ah, address of the Cohasset, ah, office, please? Parking Way. Okay. Coming from Boston, do you know anything more about it than that? Yeah, to the, how to get there? No? Not at all? All right. Do you have a phone number for that office?

JB: Hi, is Patty there? Did he ever come in today? You don't have his phone number at home, do you? See if it's there some place on the desk. Beeper number. Give him a call on the beeper and find out where he is and then I'll call you back and I'll get the number. Okay, thanks.

JB: How you doing? Couldn't find his number (UI) there. No, I don't want to do that. Patty comes in and I'll call back at five. Thanks.

JB: Kevin, I mean Pat there? Oh, okay. Number. What's the area code? Okay. Thanks, Kev. Bye.

(End of recording.)

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