Family Secrets: The Case That Crippled the Chicago Mob by Jeff Coen

Painting a vivid picture of the scenes both inside and outside the courtroom and re-creating events from court transcripts, police records, interviews, and notes taken day after day as the story unfolded in court in 2007, this narrative accurately portrays cold-blooded—and sometimes incompetent—killers and their crimes. In 1998 Frank Calabrese Jr. offered to wear a wire to help the FBI build a case against his father, Frank Sr., and his uncle Nick. A top Mob boss, a reputed consigliore, and other high-profile members of the Chicago Outfit were eventually accused in a total of 18 gangland killings, revealing organized crime's ruthless grip on the city throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. After a series of other defendants pled guilty, those left to face off in court alongside Frank Sr. were James “Little Jimmy” Marcello, the acting head of the Chicago mob; Joey “the Clown” Lombardo, one of Chicago’s most colorful mobsters; and Paul “the Indian” Schiro. A former Chicago police officer who worked in evidence, Anthony "Twan" Doyle, rounded out the list. The riveting testimony and wide-angle view provide one of the best accounts on record of the inner workings of the Chicago syndicate and its control over the city's streets.

The author, Jeff Coen, is a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, covering federal trials and investigations from the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in downtown Chicago. He was present in the courtroom throughout the Family Secrets trial, and his pieces on the case were featured in a popular series in the Chicago Tribune. He lives in Oak Park, Illinois.

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La Cosa Nostra Getting Competition from Eurasian and Asian Crime Groups

When you hear the words “organized crime,” the first thing that comes to mind is probably the Mafia and its five major crime families in New York City. But have you ever heard of the notorious Thief-in-Law Vyacheslav Ivankov, the Solnstsevo organization, the Young Joon Yang gang, or the Black Dragons?

They’re involved in organized crime, too. Individuals associated with foreign-based criminal groups are targeting the U.S. as we speak, and they are a major focus of American law enforcement and a top priority of the FBI’s organized crime busting efforts.

These groups have much in common with their Mafia brethren, beginning with their hunger for power and profit. But what sets them apart is their reach. While traditional mobsters mostly operate domestically, Eurasian and Asian crime groups are transnational. Some report to an established leadership hierarchy in their native lands while others have fuzzier connections, but all require that we work closely with our law enforcement partners in these regions of the world.

Who they are. Eurasian criminal groups hail from dozens of countries spanning the Baltics, the Balkans, Central/Eastern Europe, Russia, the Caucacus, and Central Asia. Although ethnically-based, they work with other ethnic groups when perpetrating crimes. Asian organized crime includes traditional enterprises like the Chinese Triads, Chinese Tong, and Japanese Boryokudan (a.k.a., Yakuza), as well as more loosely organized groups like the Big Boys Circle, the Asian Boyz Group, and Vietnamese and Korean criminal enterprises.

What they do. Both groups are involved in a range of illegal activities in this country, including drug trafficking, extortion, murder, kidnapping, home invasions, prostitution, illegal gambling, loan sharking, insurance/credit card fraud, stock fraud, and the theft of high-tech components. Chinese groups are also involved in human trafficking—bringing large numbers of Chinese migrants to North America and essentially enslaving them here. One of U.S. law enforcement’s chief concerns: the same criminal infrastructure that smuggles people into the U.S. could also be used to smuggle terrorists.

Investigative strategies. Over the past few decades, U.S. law enforcement has had a great deal of success against the major Mafia families using a full suite of investigative methods. Now, we’re using the same set of tools to combat Eurasian and Asian crime groups, including:

* Intelligence gathering;
* The enterprise theory of investigation, which focuses on the entire criminal group rather than on isolated members;
* The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, Act (both the criminal and civil provisions of this law can help dismantle criminal organizations);
* Cooperation, lots of it, with both domestic and global law enforcement partners; and
* Time-tested techniques like undercover operations, court-authorized electronic surveillance, informants and cooperating witnesses, and consensual monitoring.

Investigative accomplishments. Thief-in-Law Vyacheslav Ivankov’s conviction in New York in 1996 represented the FBI’s first major victory against the new wave of Eurasian organized crime entering America. Subsequent successes included Operation “Trojan Horses,” which dismantled a violent New York City Albanian criminal enterprise that had taken traditional racketeering activity away from the established La Cosa Nostra crime families. And undercover investigations in Newark and Los Angeles uncovered an Asian criminal organization that was smuggling, or attempting to smuggle, nearly every form of contraband imaginable—counterfeit currency, cigarettes, illegal drugs, pharmaceuticals, and weapons—into the United States.

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"Jackie the Nose" Indictment Announcement

LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and JOSEPH M. DEMAREST, JR., the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), announced the unsealing of an indictment charging JOHN D’AMICO, a/k/a "Jackie the Nose," the Acting Boss of the Gambino Organized Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra (the "Gambino Crime Family"), and powerful, longtime Gambino Crime Family associate JOSEPH WATTS with the 1989 murder of FREDERICK WEISS, who the defendants believed was serving as a federal government witness. The Indictment unsealed today also charges D'AMICO with racketeering conspiracy involving murder, extortion, witness tampering, obstruction of justice and gambling. WATTS was arrested earlier this morning in Manhattan and is expected to be presented later today in Manhattan federal court. D'AMICO is in federal custody in connection with a separate matter and is expected to be transferred to Manhattan to face these charges at a later date. According to the Indictment unsealed earlier today and other documents filed in Manhattan federal Court:

D'AMICO is a Capo in the Gambino Crime Family -- one of the families of "La Cosa Nostra" that operate in the New York City and New Jersey areas -- and is presently serving as its Acting Boss.

One of the purposes of the Gambino Crime Family is to identify and kill individuals suspected of providing information about the Family to law enforcement. On September 11, 1989, FREDERICK WEISS was murdered at the direction of JOHN GOTTI, the boss of the Gambino Family, because he was believed to be cooperating with law enforcement. D'AMICO and WATTS were among those involved in carrying out GOTTI's order to murder WEISS. From at least 1986, D'AMICO was also involved in conspiring with other members and associates of the Gambino Crime Family to commit a wide range of criminal offenses, including murder, operating illegal gambling businesses, extortion and obstruction of justice. D'AMICO's illegal conduct continued until at least May 2008 when, in an attempt to obtain release on bail in connection with separate federal charges against him, he misrepresented the nature of a salaried position with a major beverage distributor, which he obtained through Gambino Crime Family influence.

D'AMICO is charged with one count of racketeering conspiracy involving murder, extortion, witness tampering, obstruction of justice and gambling; and one count of murder of a witness in a federal criminal case. WATTS is charged with one count of murder of a witness in a federal criminal case. If convicted, D'AMICO, 72, and WATTS, 67, face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The Indictment also seeks the forfeiture of $4 million from D'AMICO. The forfeitures represent the alleged proceeds obtained from the charged offenses.

Mr. DASSIN praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys MIRIAM ROCAH and ARLO DEVLIN-BROWN are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Mafia Games Latest Hot Genre on iPhones and iPods

The latest hot games genre on iPhone and iPod touch? Mafia titles.

Social games firm SGN has launched its Mafia: Respect & Retaliation game, which will now go head-to-head with Addmired's iMob Online, Aftershock Innovations's Mafia LIVE! and PlayMesh's iMafia.

All three are massively multiplayer strategy games where players build an empire by carrying out criminal jobs, rubbing out rivals, and signing friends up to join their mobs.

SGN is touting location-based features and "Sin City-alike graphics" as the key selling points of its title. Jobs can be carried out in real-world locations, including The Empire State Building and Central Park Zoo in New York.

Mafia: Respect & Retaliation also has the multi-tiered pricing model seen in its rivals. There's a free version, but then a series of premium versions letting their characters start with more 'respect' - right up to a $99.99 Ultimate version.

There's also an accelerometer-powered shooting gallery mini-game, to further tempt players away from the rival games.

Which of the three will be more popular among iPhone gamers? It's too early to tell - their respective viral spreads will define this. But it's looking likely to be a bloody battle.

Thanks to Stuart Dredge

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Mafia Channeling Funds into Desperate Banks During Global Credit Crisis

Cash-rich Mafia groups have been channelling funds into banks desperate to survive the global credit crisis, the UN anti-crime chief said on Monday.

Antonio Maria Costa of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said he had collected ample evidence to make such accusations.

"Consultations I've had with prosecutors and law-enforcement officials around the world show there is ample evidence that the banking system's illiquidity is providing a unique opportunity for organized crime to launder their money," Costa told Reuters.

"Just about every financial centre can be characterized as part of the problem," Costa said in the interview, but declined to name countries or banks involved, saying that was for prosecutors and other law-enforcement bodies to do.

Costa said a Vienna conference next month marking the 10th anniversary of a UN General Assembly special session on drugs would mull ways to boost steps against money laundering and ease the impact of drug gang profits on the integrity of states.

He said the multilateral Financial Action Task Force (FATF) formed in 1991 did much to help drive mafia money out of banks over the ensuing decade but that achievement was being challenged by the global hemorrhaging of legitimate credit.

"You have the supply — an organized crime industry with enormous amounts of cash, estimated at $322 billion in 2005, not any more stored in banks — and the demand, a banking sector strapped for liquidity," said Costa.

"This is a supply- and demand-driven situation. Our intuition, based on logic, is now supported by ample evidence."

Asked where cases were occurring, he said: "Traditionally, Europe and North America are the places where, as financial centres, most money would be laundered.

"What we are seeing," Costa said, "is the weakening of the strongest instrument embedded in the FATF campaign, and that is, 'Know your client'. That is, accept resources only from those you know, and if you don't do so, inform the authorities.

"It has been quite widely documented that because of the difficult financial situation of banking institutions, that principle has been weakened to the point of being indirect evidence of what we are (talking about)." Costa said many member states in his UNODC agency were saying the time was not yet right for additional measures against money launderers taking advantage of struggling banks.

"I insist that the (globalized) crime industry has become so gigantic, destabilizing so many countries, that it is emerging in areas where we have not seen it before. They're buying more than just industry, real estate, elections, power," he said.

"We will present some concepts and lines of action for member states to consider when ministers meet next month, related to the size and shape of organized crime and the threat it is now posing."

Costa raised the appearance of links between the liquidity crunch and organized crime cash flows at a closed gathering of financial industry professionals in Frankfurt in November.

Britain said in December that financial sector fraud had risen alarmingly, fifteen-fold, since its credit markets began seizing up but was typically committed by internal managers and suppliers rather than organized crime.

Thanks to Mark Heinrich

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