The FBI Confirms Rod Blagojevich Mafia Story

The FBI in Chicago was given information more than 20 years ago alleging that Rod Blagojevich had connections to an organized crime gambling ring.

That disclosure came on Thursday from a former top official of the FBI.

Outfit lawyer turned federal informant Robert Cooley told the I-Team that Rod Blagojevich booked illegal bets in the 1980's and paid protection money to the mob.

Cooley claimed he told FBI officials that Blagojevich used to be a mobbed-up bookie. On Thursday evening, the FBI agent who supervised Cooley's undercover work in the late 1980's confirms that federal officials were informed back then about Blagojevich's alleged bookmaking and mob payoffs.

In 1986, criminal defense lawyer Bob Cooley walked into the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago and offered to wear a wire in conversations with the hoodlums, corrupt city hall officials and crooked judges that he knew.

As part of Cooley's cooperation and to steer clear of criminal charges himself, he had to disclose all of the misconduct he knew about.

Some of what he reported to prosecutors and FBI involved Rod Blagojevich who was fresh from law school and working as an assistant cook county prosecutor.

"I reported, I observed Rod, the present governor who was running a gambling operation out in the western suburbs. He was paying street tax to the Mob out there," said Robert Cooley, federal Informant.

On Thursday, former FBI official Jim Wagner confirms that telling the I-Team that Cooley indeed informed the bureau about Blagojevich's alleged bookmaking business. But Mr. Wagner says in the 1980's, FBI agents had never heard of Blagojevich.

Wagner was Cooley's 'handler' for the FBI at the time, supervising his undercover that resulted in two dozen successful prosecutions for public corruption.

That wasn't the end of it.

When Blagojevich ran for governor, Cooley says he returned to the FBI hoping agents would pursue the allegations of outfit bookmaking. Wagner confirms that as well but says the statute of limitations had long passed for prosecuting Blagojevich on illegal gambling charges.

However, last week when federal prosecutors announced they had filed corruption charges against the governor, Al Patton, special agent in charge of the Internal Revenue Service, was on the podium.

As the feds examine Mr. Blagojevich's finances, one thing they will look for is unreported gambling income.

The governor's former chief of staff Chris Kelly will plead guilty next month to tax fraud for not declaring more than $1 million in winning sports wagers.

A few years ago when Robert Cooley reminded the FBI of his Blagojevich bookie information, Cooley also provided it to the ABC7 I-Team.

In attempting to verify the bookmaking allegations at the time I asked Governor Blagojevich whether he had ever been involved in taking betting action or paying a street tax to the mob. The governor denied it and said he didn't know Mr. Cooley.

This week, a spokesman for the governor declined to comment.

Thanks to Chuck Goudie

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Reputed Mobster Charged in Cop Assassination

A reputed mobster was charged Thursday with ordering a hit on an off-duty New York Police Department officer who at the time was married to his ex-wife _ a slaying that had gone unsolved for more than a decade.

An indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn also brought new charges in three other gangland killings dating to 1994. They included that of William "Wild Bill" Cutolo, an underboss with the Colombo organized crime family whose body was discovered in October buried in a wooded area of Long Island.

The case demonstrates investigators' determination to catch mob killers "no matter how much time passes," U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell at a news conference.

The indictment charged Joel Cacace, 67, the former acting Colombo boss, and two other men in the shooting death of Officer Ralph Dols on Aug. 25, 1997. Cacace already is behind bars after pleading guilty in 2004 in a mistaken mob hit on a 78-year-old judge whose son, a former prosecutor, was the intended target.

Dols was killed "merely because he was married to Cacace's ex-wife," said David Cardona, head of the criminal division in the FBI's New York office.

Authorities refused to discuss how the cases were solved. But in recent years, mob turncoats have identified killers _ and sometimes pinpointed the remains of their victims _ in other cases that had gone cold.

Dols, 28, was ambushed around midnight as he arrived home from a shift as a uniformed housing police officer. While parking his car, a man jumped out of a dark-colored Chevrolet, fired seven shots, then fled.

The killing touched off an intense, wide-ranging investigation involving federal and local authorities. It also drew attention to the officer's wife and her alleged links to the Mafia through three other men from her past: a brother and reputed Colombo soldier who was convicted of murder in 1981, a husband found shot to death in 1987 in an apparent mob hit and Cacace.

In the Cutolo slaying, prosecutors say the victim was targeted in May 1999 because the Colombo boss believed he was trying to take over the family. He was gunned down in a basement apartment, then buried in Farmingdale, Long Island, court papers said.

Thanks to Tom Hays

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Mafia Boss Whacks Himself

A suspected mafia leader whose indiscretions on the telephone prompted Italian police to launch one of its biggest operations against organised crime in Sicily hanged himself in his prison cell on Tuesday night, hours after being arrested.

Gaetano Lo Presti, 52, is alleged to have been one of two people believed to be the new leaders of the Sicilian Mafia – or Cosa Nostra. He had been running cells in the Porta Nuova area of Palermo since last year and had become one of the most powerful gangsters on the island. He was deeply involved in the organisation's decision to try to forge a new power structure after the arrest of the head mobster, Bernardo Provenzano, in 2006.

But Lo Presti, who had recently finished serving a 27-year prison sentence for mafia-related crimes, was being bugged by investigators and was careless in what he told his contacts over the phone. He blurted out the names of other bosses, their plans for the future and – crucially for the timing of this week's raid – he also revealed his opposition to their plans.

When told of the decision to appoint another Palermo leader, Benedetto Capizzi, 65, as the Mafia's capo dei capi – or boss of bosses – he reportedly demanded, "Who authorised this?" – a blunt challenge to his fellow gangsters. The implication was that Lo Presti – appointed boss of Porta Nuova in 2007 by Salvatore Lo Piccolo, one of two brothers who seemed destined to hold sway over the Mafia until his arrest in November last year – believed he had more claim to the top job than Capizzi. There was also the suggestion that blood would be shed in a new round of "mafia wars", to be played out on the streets of Sicily. It was this fear that led police to bring their assault forward and launch an operation that resulted in 94 arrests on Tuesday morning.

The Sicilian Mafia, unlike those of Calabria or Campania, has long had an authoritarian structure, with a single capo dei capi, appointed with the approval of the grand old men of the organisation, and who wields absolute power over his subordinates.

Until his arrest in 1993, that man was Salvatore Riina. Even from prison, where he was serving a life sentence, he was shaping the hierarchy, designed to impose obedience on members to ensure efficiency and loyalty within the organisation. Italian media reports said that Lo Presti did not share his vision. In prison he may have feared revenge attacks and, therefore, moved to take his own life.

Lo Presti took control of Porta Nuova district after the murder of a rival, Niccolo Ingarao, a year ago, and there may have been threats from fellow mafiosi who blamed him for spilling secrets over the phone, which resulted in this week's arrests.

And he had another potential reason for anxiety: his earlier indiscretions led to an important result for the authorities, when transcripts of his conversations were used to convict Salvatore Riina's son Giuseppe, who is now serving a 14-year sentence for mafia association, extortion and money-laundering.

Lo Presti had only recently served a 27-year sentence for Mafia-related crimes.

Thanks to Peter Popham

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Unknown Tinley Park Lane Bryant Killer Still Pursued by Illinois State Police

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Muammer Aldailam: In a moment of passion, cops say Muammer "Mike" Aldailam shot and killed his girlfriend after she tried to break off their relationship. Authorities believe Aldailam may be desperate to get back to his native country of Yemen, but they need your help in finding him before he gets that far.

Jeffrey Marshall: When the short courtship of Elizabeth "Lynne" Waterson and Jeffrey Marshall ended, the ambitious, beautiful Lynne continued to deflect Marshall's unwanted advances. For months, cops say an obsessed Marshall stalked his former girlfriend and refused to take no for an answer until one day in April 2007, when he took his twisted infatuation to a deadly breaking point.

Cinthya Rodriguez: Cops in California say that Cinthya Rodriguez masterminded a kidnapping and ransom plot that ended in the brutal murder of her 45-year-old boyfriend, Orlando Duarte. Police tell AMW that Orlando's slaying was a family affair, because she's on the run with her accomplice and brother-in-law, Arturo De Oca.

Carlos Thompson: New York cops say Carlos Thompson handed a .38-caliber revolver to a 13-year-old boy and ordered him to murder another teen. Police say they need your help to get him off the street before anyone else gets hurt.

Timoteo Rios: When 39-year-old Tina Davila went to a Cricket store in Houston, Texas to pay her cell phone bill, she never imagined such a routine errand would have a tragic ending. Police in Texas are now looking for Timoteo Rios, the man they say stole a young mother's life.

Sarah Pender: Since her expertly-executed prison escape on August 4, 2008, officials have been hot on the trail of Sarah Pender. Now they say she has changed her appearance. Ex offenders who have seen Pender say she has shoulder length amber hair with red stripes. She also has piercings above her right eye and lower lip. U.S. Marshals Service officials have turned up the heat on Pender and made her the only woman on the notorious 15 Most Wanted Fugitives List.

Edward Salas: On Aug. 23, 2008, eight men escaped from a New Mexico on Aug. 23, 2008. Since then, police have arrested all of the escapees except the most dangerous of them all -- Edward Salas. Before escaping, Salas was set to do life behind bars for the murder of a 10-year-old boy.

Darryl Crenshaw: Rev. William Baskerville tells AMW that he has found the strength to forgive the man accused of killing his stepdaughter, Ashley Peoples, before going on the run. Just days after her murder, William says he received a phone call from Darryl Crenshaw, where he apologized for beating and strangling Ashley. William accepted the apology, because as he told his church, "the God Almighty says that vengeance is mine."

Yaser Said: On January 1, 2008, someone brutally murdered teenage sisters Sarah and Amina Said, shooting the girls to death in the back of a taxi cab. When police revealed the identity of the suspected killer, it shocked the nation.

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Reputed Colombo Mob Figures Indicted in Murder of Police Officer

Eleven years after an off-duty police officer was assassinated by gunmen lying in wait outside his home in Sheepshead Bay, federal prosecutors charged three accused mob figures on Thursday in the shooting, removing a high-profile murder from the ranks of unsolved cases while painting the motive as one of simple romantic jealousy.

The charges were announced with the unsealing of a murder and racketeering indictment brought by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, seeming to begin the process of closing the book on the Aug. 25, 1997, murder of the officer, Ralph C. Dols, 28. The indictment also charges a fourth accused mob figure in the murders of two other mobsters.

Prosecutors said that a Colombo crime family consigliere who has long been suspected in the slaying, Joel Cacace, 67, ordered the murder. Mr. Cacace, also known as Joe Waverly, had once been married to the officer’s wife, Kim T. Kennaugh, an investigator said. He is in prison after pleading guilty in 2004 to racketeering charges. The other three defendants are also in custody on other charges from an earlier version of the indictment. All four men are expected to be arraigned on Friday in federal court in Brooklyn.

In addition to Mr. Cacace, the indictment charges Dino Calabro, 42, identified as a captain and also known as Big Dino, and Dino Saracino, 36, who prosecutors say is a soldier known as Little Dino.

“Big Dino Calabro and Little Dino Saracino ambushed Officer Dols and shot him repeatedly outside his Brooklyn home, leaving him to die in the street,” said David Cardona, the special agent in charge of the criminal division in the New York office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, speaking at a news conference on Thursday. “The murder was ordered by Colombo consigliere Joe Waverly Cacace merely because Dols was married to Cacace’s ex-wife.”

One investigator said the motive for the officer’s slaying came down to Mr. Cacace’s image. “From an organized crime perspective, this was insulting to Joel that she had married a cop,” the investigator said, adding, “and because he had a high-ranking position in the Colombo family, it looked bad for him.”

An earlier husband of Ms. Kennaugh’s, a Colombo hit man, also was murdered, in 1987. A woman answering the door of Ms. Kennaugh’s home in Staten Island, heavily festooned with Christmas decorations, said, “No, no,” and shut the door on a reporter inquiring about the case on Thursday.

The indictment, which is largely based on evidence provided by a new cooperating witness from the Colombo family, law enforcement officials said, also charges Mr. Calabro and Mr. Saracino with the 1999 murder of William Cutolo Sr. Mr. Cutolo was a Colombo family acting underboss and union official whose body was finally found on Long Island this year after an informant tipped off the authorities.

The fourth defendant, Thomas Gioeli, 56, who was an acting boss in the family and is known as Tommy Shots, is also charged in the killing of Mr. Cutolo.

Mr. Cardona said the murders led to promotions in the crime family. “That’s why mobsters commit murder,” he said. “Our intelligence revealed that Calabro became a made member of the Colombo family after the murder of Ralph Dols, and he became a capo after the Cutolo murder. Saracino was inducted into the family because of his participation in both murders.”

Officer Dols had driven home after finishing his shift at a Coney Island housing project and was parking his car at 11:38 p.m. when three men drove up in a dark Chevrolet Caprice and opened fire. He was wounded three times in the abdomen and twice in the arm before he could step from behind the wheel or pull his gun. He died in surgery at Coney Island Hospital the next morning. He had been on the force for four and a half years.

He and Ms. Kennaugh, who was 38 at the time of the slaying, had been married for two years and had had a daughter three months earlier. Ms. Kennaugh’s brother, August, was convicted in the 1981 murder of a Queens restaurant owner and had also been identified as a Colombo soldier.

The shooting rattled the already embattled Police Department, which was facing accusations in the brutality case of Abner Louima, who was sodomized with a broomstick in the restroom of the 70th Precinct station house earlier that month, on Aug. 9, 1997. As Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani eulogized Officer Dols at the crowded funeral Mass, thousands of demonstrators gathered at Grand Army Plaza for a march to City Hall to protest the Louima case.

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly called for capital punishment. “The murder of a police officer is an attack on society at large and merits the death penalty,” he said in a statement.

The indictment also charges Mr. Calabro with the 1994 murder of Carmine Gargano and charges Mr. Gioeli, Mr. Calabro and Mr. Saracino with the 1995 murder of Richard Greaves. The bodies have not been found.

Thanks to Michael Wilson and William K. Rashbaum

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