The Chicagoland Antique Advertising, Slot Machine & Jukebox Show is being held April 3rd - April 5th at the Pheasant Run Resort.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Credit Crisis Creating Booming Business for Mob Loansharks
When the bills started piling up and the banks wouldn't lend, the white-haired art dealer in the elegant tweed jacket said he drove to the outskirts of Rome and knocked on the rusty steel door of a shipping container.
A beefy man named Mauro answered. He wore blue overalls with two big pockets, one stuffed with checks and the other with cash.
The wad of bills he handed over, the art dealer recalled, reeked of the man's cologne and came at 120 percent annual interest.
As banks stop lending amid the global financial crisis, the likes of Mauro are increasingly becoming the face of Italian finance.
The Mafia and its loansharks, nearly everyone agrees, smell blood in the troubled waters.
"It's a fantastic time for the Mafia. They have the cash," said Antonio Roccuzzo, the author of several books on organized crime. "The Mafia has enormous liquidity. It may be the only Italian 'company' without any cash problem."
At a time when businesses most need loans as they struggle with falling sales, rising debt, and impending bankruptcy, banks have tightened their lending to them.
Italian banks, which for years had been widely criticized for lending sparingly to small and medium-size businesses, now have "absolutely closed the purse strings," said Gian Maria Fara, the president of Eurispes, a private research institute.
That is great news for loan sharks. Confesercenti, the national shopkeepers association, estimates that 180,000 businesses recently have turned to them in desperation.
Although some shady lenders are freelancers turning profits on others' hard luck, very often the neighborhood tough offering fat rolls of cash is connected to the Mafia, the group said.
"Office workers, middle-class people, owners of fruit stands, flower stalls are all becoming their victims. . . . We have never seen this happen," said Lino Busa, a top Confesercenti official. "It is as common as it is hidden."
Many analysts say organized crime is already the biggest business in Italy. Now, Fara said, the untaxed underground economy is growing even larger.
"Certainly I am worried," he said. "The banking system doesn't work, and the private one that is operating is often managed by organized crime."
The consequences for Italy and its 58 million people are huge, Fara said. "Stronger organized crime means a weaker state."
Nino Miceli, an adviser to Confesercenti, said the Mafia's goal is to take over the struggling businesses.
When the loans, typically at interest rates in triple digits, are not repaid, the threats of violence begin, and restaurants, grocery stores, and bars become the property of criminal gangs.
"As we sit here in this cafe," he said over an espresso near the Colosseum, "do we really know who owns it?"
With a burgeoning portfolio of properties and businesses, the Mafia becomes more entrenched in the economy and has more outlets to "clean their money," Miceli said.
Confesercenti estimates in a new report that organized crime syndicates - including Camorra in Naples, Cosa Nostra in Sicily, and 'Ndrangheta in Calabria - collect about 250 million euros, or $315 million, from retailers every day.
Some of that money is the classic "pizzo," or protection money demanded of business owners. Miceli said his auto dealership was burned down when he refused to pay. But the mob's booming business, he and others agreed, is loan-sharking.
In Vigevano, a northern city of 60,000 near Milan, a group called Free Vigevano has helped nearly 100 people who had become entangled with the mob.
One of them, a 40-year-old salesman, said he got his desperately needed $15,000 - but at 30 percent monthly interest.
The salesman said he blames banks for pushing people like him into the arms of the Mafia.
"If they would be a bit more open with their credit, many people wouldn't fall into this trap," he said. "They only give money to those who already have it."
Thanks to Mary Jordan
A beefy man named Mauro answered. He wore blue overalls with two big pockets, one stuffed with checks and the other with cash.
The wad of bills he handed over, the art dealer recalled, reeked of the man's cologne and came at 120 percent annual interest.
As banks stop lending amid the global financial crisis, the likes of Mauro are increasingly becoming the face of Italian finance.
The Mafia and its loansharks, nearly everyone agrees, smell blood in the troubled waters.
"It's a fantastic time for the Mafia. They have the cash," said Antonio Roccuzzo, the author of several books on organized crime. "The Mafia has enormous liquidity. It may be the only Italian 'company' without any cash problem."
At a time when businesses most need loans as they struggle with falling sales, rising debt, and impending bankruptcy, banks have tightened their lending to them.
Italian banks, which for years had been widely criticized for lending sparingly to small and medium-size businesses, now have "absolutely closed the purse strings," said Gian Maria Fara, the president of Eurispes, a private research institute.
That is great news for loan sharks. Confesercenti, the national shopkeepers association, estimates that 180,000 businesses recently have turned to them in desperation.
Although some shady lenders are freelancers turning profits on others' hard luck, very often the neighborhood tough offering fat rolls of cash is connected to the Mafia, the group said.
"Office workers, middle-class people, owners of fruit stands, flower stalls are all becoming their victims. . . . We have never seen this happen," said Lino Busa, a top Confesercenti official. "It is as common as it is hidden."
Many analysts say organized crime is already the biggest business in Italy. Now, Fara said, the untaxed underground economy is growing even larger.
"Certainly I am worried," he said. "The banking system doesn't work, and the private one that is operating is often managed by organized crime."
The consequences for Italy and its 58 million people are huge, Fara said. "Stronger organized crime means a weaker state."
Nino Miceli, an adviser to Confesercenti, said the Mafia's goal is to take over the struggling businesses.
When the loans, typically at interest rates in triple digits, are not repaid, the threats of violence begin, and restaurants, grocery stores, and bars become the property of criminal gangs.
"As we sit here in this cafe," he said over an espresso near the Colosseum, "do we really know who owns it?"
With a burgeoning portfolio of properties and businesses, the Mafia becomes more entrenched in the economy and has more outlets to "clean their money," Miceli said.
Confesercenti estimates in a new report that organized crime syndicates - including Camorra in Naples, Cosa Nostra in Sicily, and 'Ndrangheta in Calabria - collect about 250 million euros, or $315 million, from retailers every day.
Some of that money is the classic "pizzo," or protection money demanded of business owners. Miceli said his auto dealership was burned down when he refused to pay. But the mob's booming business, he and others agreed, is loan-sharking.
In Vigevano, a northern city of 60,000 near Milan, a group called Free Vigevano has helped nearly 100 people who had become entangled with the mob.
One of them, a 40-year-old salesman, said he got his desperately needed $15,000 - but at 30 percent monthly interest.
The salesman said he blames banks for pushing people like him into the arms of the Mafia.
"If they would be a bit more open with their credit, many people wouldn't fall into this trap," he said. "They only give money to those who already have it."
Thanks to Mary Jordan
Reputed Bonanno Caretaker Hitman Sentenced to Life in Prison
The former caretaker of a historic Staten Island mansion has been sentenced to life in prison for killing a man before dismembering his body and burning the pieces in a furnace.
Thirty-year-old Joseph Young was sentenced Friday in the grisly mafia slaying at the Kreischer Mansion He was convicted of murder in aid of racketeering following a trial in October in Brooklyn federal court.
Prosecutors say a reputed member of the Bonanno crime family paid Young $8,000 to kill Robert McKelvey in 2005. The mobster has already pleaded guilty to ordering McKelvey's death, allegedly over a debt.
Young has also been convicted of setting a home on fire and robbing an illegal massage parlor at gunpoint in New Jersey.
Thirty-year-old Joseph Young was sentenced Friday in the grisly mafia slaying at the Kreischer Mansion He was convicted of murder in aid of racketeering following a trial in October in Brooklyn federal court.
Prosecutors say a reputed member of the Bonanno crime family paid Young $8,000 to kill Robert McKelvey in 2005. The mobster has already pleaded guilty to ordering McKelvey's death, allegedly over a debt.
Young has also been convicted of setting a home on fire and robbing an illegal massage parlor at gunpoint in New Jersey.
Mob Mug Shot Collection Exceeds 10,000 Photos
When mobster Lucky Luciano was being photographed by New York City police in 1936, he probably had no idea his mug shot would one day be sought after like a Babe Ruth baseball card. But to collectors like John Binder of River Forest, that's a valuable piece of... art?
These unglamorous shots and lineup photos are being accepted as art with more than just collectors seeking them
. Binder said when the photos were taken, there was some consideration of composition and lighting, and the pictures were developed on photographic paper before police departments started using Polaroids and later digital cameras. Thus, he said, the art world has become more accepting of these photos as art, and there have been exhibitions in Los Angeles and New York.
"The art world has expanded dramatically in the last few years," Binder said. "The early ones used much better photography."
Binder, author of The Chicago Outfit, has amassed more than 10,000 mug shots and lineup photos of a range of crooks, from everyday petty criminals to mob bosses. Some get displayed in galleries, some get sold or traded, some never leave his collection, which includes some of the most infamous organized crime figures in history: Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegal, Sam Giancana, Joey "The Clown" Lombardo, John "No Nose" DiFronzo, Tony "Big Tuna" Accardo, and Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti.
His interest in mug shots and lineup photos began in the 1990s, when he started researching who the other people were in a photograph of Al Capone. It led to more research into the world of organized crime in Chicago and New York, which led to him purchasing crime photos.
"It's just a general interest in history," he said. "The photographs are interesting in their own right."
He started his collection with the purchase of 10,000 photos from a collectibles dealer, who bought them from a retired police officer's family. Binder has added to the collection with one or two photos at a time from various sources. He has one of the biggest collections of its kind in the United States.
He admits it's an esoteric collection. It's not like someone can just walk into a shop and say, "I'm looking for a mug shot of a ruthless criminal."
Binder said collectors of crime photos rely on word of mouth and, if they're lucky, someone will let them dig through their old photos. Sometimes police departments will have stored old mug shots and lineup photos, and put them up for sale on Ebay.
Binder sold an original 1927 Bugsy Siegal mug shot for well over $1,000, and has sold several photos of lesser-known criminals to cops and attorneys who want to use them to decorate their bars or offices.
"There is a price for most of what I have," he said. "But, some of the good stuff I keep for my own private collection."
But, he doesn't have everybody.
Wanted: An original Al Capone mug shot.
Thanks to J.T. Morand
These unglamorous shots and lineup photos are being accepted as art with more than just collectors seeking them
. Binder said when the photos were taken, there was some consideration of composition and lighting, and the pictures were developed on photographic paper before police departments started using Polaroids and later digital cameras. Thus, he said, the art world has become more accepting of these photos as art, and there have been exhibitions in Los Angeles and New York."The art world has expanded dramatically in the last few years," Binder said. "The early ones used much better photography."
Binder, author of The Chicago Outfit, has amassed more than 10,000 mug shots and lineup photos of a range of crooks, from everyday petty criminals to mob bosses. Some get displayed in galleries, some get sold or traded, some never leave his collection, which includes some of the most infamous organized crime figures in history: Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegal, Sam Giancana, Joey "The Clown" Lombardo, John "No Nose" DiFronzo, Tony "Big Tuna" Accardo, and Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti.
His interest in mug shots and lineup photos began in the 1990s, when he started researching who the other people were in a photograph of Al Capone. It led to more research into the world of organized crime in Chicago and New York, which led to him purchasing crime photos.
"It's just a general interest in history," he said. "The photographs are interesting in their own right."
He started his collection with the purchase of 10,000 photos from a collectibles dealer, who bought them from a retired police officer's family. Binder has added to the collection with one or two photos at a time from various sources. He has one of the biggest collections of its kind in the United States.
He admits it's an esoteric collection. It's not like someone can just walk into a shop and say, "I'm looking for a mug shot of a ruthless criminal."
Binder said collectors of crime photos rely on word of mouth and, if they're lucky, someone will let them dig through their old photos. Sometimes police departments will have stored old mug shots and lineup photos, and put them up for sale on Ebay.
Binder sold an original 1927 Bugsy Siegal mug shot for well over $1,000, and has sold several photos of lesser-known criminals to cops and attorneys who want to use them to decorate their bars or offices.
"There is a price for most of what I have," he said. "But, some of the good stuff I keep for my own private collection."
But, he doesn't have everybody.
Wanted: An original Al Capone mug shot.
Thanks to J.T. Morand
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Will Bernie Madoff Admit to Mob Ties at His Sentencing?
Faced with a possible 150 year jail term, Bernard Madoff is thought to be considering whether he should plead guilty to other uncharged offences. This could be a way of improving his privileges during his sentence.
Criminals pleading guilty to crimes often ask for other crimes to be taken into consideration because they know that law enforcement agencies and the District Attorney's office are keen to clear up unsolved crime without extensive detection and court costs. It means the criminal cannot be charged with those offences later, and in some cases it makes the difference in the category of prison facility, or the prisoner's cell furnishings.
Bernard Madoff has not yet said which crimes he is likely to admit to, but speculation by the press includes running the Mafia, responsibility for the Enron fraud, hiding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the Iran Contra scandal and the assassination of Kennedy.
If he were to plead guilty to these crimes his 150 year sentence would be carried out in his own home, except for times when he wanted to go out.
Thanks to Roy Turse
Criminals pleading guilty to crimes often ask for other crimes to be taken into consideration because they know that law enforcement agencies and the District Attorney's office are keen to clear up unsolved crime without extensive detection and court costs. It means the criminal cannot be charged with those offences later, and in some cases it makes the difference in the category of prison facility, or the prisoner's cell furnishings.
Bernard Madoff has not yet said which crimes he is likely to admit to, but speculation by the press includes running the Mafia, responsibility for the Enron fraud, hiding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the Iran Contra scandal and the assassination of Kennedy.
If he were to plead guilty to these crimes his 150 year sentence would be carried out in his own home, except for times when he wanted to go out.
Thanks to Roy Turse
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