Uncle Al Capone…The Untold Story From Inside His Family – By The Last Of The Capones

Deirdre Marie Capone lived in the house of the infamous Al Capone, her uncle. He taught her to swim, ride a bike, and play the mandolin. In her tell-all memoir, Uncle Al Capone - The Untold Story from Inside His Family, Deirdre, the last member of the family born with the name Capone, shares what it was really like growing up a Capone – definitely not the way most people would have imagined it to be. It is the only book ever written about America’s most notorious mobster by someone who knew him well.

Already a best-seller on Amazon, Deirdre’s fascinating memoir tells what really happened in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, what the ‘outfit’ was really all about, and what the ‘family’ were really like, especially the one person she confided in more than anyone – her Aunt Maffie (short for Mafalda – the Italian princess she was named after); a strong woman with whom she shared a close bond as one of the only two girls in the Capone family.

Uncle Al Capone is packed with absorbing stories about Al and his family, along with never-before-published photos and authentic Capone family recipes for the food that Al and his family enjoyed. Simply stated, there is no one else left who could ever share this piece of history with the world.

Deirdre relates what life was like growing up the grand niece of Public Enemy #1, Al Capone. Her own life had been saddened by the fact that her father, who had tried to live a more legitimate lifestyle than the rest of the family, couldn’t shake the shame of the Capone name and ended up taking his own life when Deirdre was just ten years-old. For most of her life she too had made every effort to hide the fact that she was a Capone and in 1972, in her early thirties, she left Chicago and her family history behind to reinvent herself in Minnesota, making sure that no one other than her husband knew her ancestry. She succeeded.

That is, until her past caught up with her on the day her nine year-old son came home from school and announced they were studying Al Capone in a class project. She and her husband agreed it was time to tell the kids but she was afraid for them – she had not wanted them growing up shunned by others or not having other kids to play with once they knew her name. She need not have worried – her kids thought it was totally ‘cool.’ So, at age 34, she finally accepted herself as Deirdre Marie Capone and today her 14 grandchildren are proud to tell the story of their ancestry.

Uncle Al Capone grabs the reader’s attention right from the start with its true life dialogue of the Capone family - from their ancestral roots in Angri, Italy to Brooklyn, New York, and later to Chicago. Deirdre offers a true portrait of an American family and gives a decidedly different look at her favorite uncle, endlessly depicted as the iconic mastermind behind some of the century’s most brutal killings.

For all the dissension, for all the pain, there comes a moment in our lives where we have to stand up and say: This - the good and the bad – is who I am, says Deirdre Marie Capone.

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“Figuring Out How to Do What’s Right…" Keynote Address by Michael Franzese

Ever wonder what it’s like to be in the mafia? What about being at a corporation when an ethical scandal is discovered? What do you do when you’re at work and a baseball player is shooting up behind you?
Ethical dilemmas are a part of everyone’s life, both personal and professional. You will be faced with a range of ethical questions here at Bryant, at home, and in the workplace. So how do you know what decision to make? When are you crossing the line?

On Tuesday, November 8th, the Interfaith Center is sponsoring “Figuring Out How to Do What’s Right…” featuring a panel discussion and keynote speaker Michael Franzese. The panel will consist of Gina Spencer, an ombudsman at Covidien who worked at Tyco when a scandal was uncovered in 2002, Professor Tom Roach, who teaches the ethics-based classes here at Bryant, and Kevin McNamara, a writer for the sports section of the Providence Journal. The panel will discuss where values come from, how to find the courage to make the right decision, and examples of ethical dilemmas that come up with their work.

Following the panel, keynote speaker Michael Franzese will take the stage. Franzese, a former member of the Colombo family, will discuss life in organized crime and working with the Russian Mafia. He will talk about leaving a life of crime, deciding between right and wrong, and how his life has improved since leaving the Mafia.

The event will be hosted by Professor Mike Roberto, and takes place on November 8th in the MAC. The panel discussion will begin at 2PM, with Franzese to follow at 3PM. For more information, please contact John Nesbitt, Program Coordinator of the Ronald K. & Kati C. Machtley Interfaith Center at jnesbitt@bryant.edu.

Thanks to Katie Colton

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Catherine Greig, Girlfriend of Whitey Bulger, Denied Bail

Catherine Greig, charged with aiding her fugitive boyfriend, notorious mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger, was denied bail on Friday by a federal judge who ruled she was a serious flight risk.Greig's lawyers had requested that she be released on bail to home confinement and electronic monitoring, with her own house and the home of her identical twin sister as additional collateral. But the judge denied that request.

"She walked away from both 16 years ago when she left Massachusetts with Bulger, demonstrating a willingness to leave everything and everyone behind," U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer Boal said in a written ruling.

Greig, 60, is scheduled to go on trial in April 2012 on federal charges that she conspired with Bulger and others to conceal and harbor the aging gangster during the 16 years the pair hid from authorities.

Bulger, 82, fled Boston in late 1994 after receiving a tip from a corrupt FBI agent that federal charges were pending. Bulger has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, including over 19 killings from the 1970s and 1980s.

Greig, who joined Bulger in hiding, faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

Bulger and Greig were arrested in California in June with a stash of about 30 firearms and $822,000 in cash hidden in holes in the wall of their apartment.

The judge said she had considered Greig's skill in eluding authorities for 16 years while aiding Bulger on the run, including her use of assumed names and false identification documents.

In denying bail, the judge also said the brutal nature of the crimes that Bulger was accused of committing added weight to Greig's charges. "While the crime of harboring a fugitive is not normally considered a crime of violence, the court cannot ignore the fact that Greig is charged with harboring a fugitive who is accused of 19 murders," Boal wrote.

Bulger for years led the Winter Hill Gang, a mostly Irish-American organized crime operation that operated in Boston.

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Crime in Chicago Seminar

Join The Chicago History Museum for an exploration of Chicago crime from historical and contemporary perspectives. Programs begin at 7:00 p.m.

Lecture - The Chicago “Outfit:” Traditional Chicago Organized Crime from its Earliest Roots to Operation Family Secrets
Tuesday, November 8, 7:00 p.m.

Arthur Bilek is the Executive Director of the Chicago Crime Commission, a civilian “watchdog” agency that has monitored organized crime activity in Chicago since 1919. Art served under Cook County Sheriff Richard B. Ogilvie in a key investigative role from 1962-1966, and is the author of two books “The First Vice Lord: Big Jim Colosimo and the Ladies of the Levee", and “St. Valentine's Day Massacre: The Untold Story of the Gangland Bloodbath That Brought Down Al Capone.” A recognized authority on the mob and its inner workings, Art will discuss the history of the Outfit from its earliest days through the defining government prosecutions of the 1990s and the recent Operation Family Secrets that has significantly crippled operations locally.
Cost: $10, $8 members


Bus Tour - Murder and Mayhem in Chicago: North by Northwest
Saturday, November 12, 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

We’ll visit famous North Side and Northwest side crime scene locales and discuss what happened, the aftermath, and their historical implications on life in Chicago and the city’s identity.
Cost: $45, $40 members


History Pub Crawl - Booze, Bars, and Bootlegging! Prohibition Era Chicago
Sunday, November 13, 1:00 p.m.-4p.m.

Find out what makes Chicago untouchable. Get a taste of infamous speakeasies frequented by some of Chicago’s infamous gangsters like Capone, Moran, and Dillinger. On this trolley tour, learn how prohibition came to be, some fascinating facts about the era, and how it ultimately shaped the city and its image.
Cost: $30, $25 members

Film - Madness In The White City
Sunday, November 13, 1:30 p.m.

It’s 1893 and the Columbian Exposition is taking center stage in Chicago. Amidst all the new and wonderful buildings and innovations at the fair, was an evil predator that threatened the lives of many. This film takes a closer looks at the life of H.H. Holmes, one of America's first serial killers. In collaboration with Kurtis Productions. 50 Minutes.
Cost: Free with Museum admission



Lecture - Street Gangs in Chicago
Tuesday, November 15, 7:00 p.m.

John M. Hagedorn is a Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Illinois and a subject matter expert on contemporary inner-city street gangs. He is the author of “A World of Gangs: Armed Young Men and Gangsta Culture (Globalization and Community),” and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Illinois Chicago’s Great Cities Institute. Assisted by historian and author Richard Lindberg, Professor Hagedorn’s discussion will be framed around the historical roots of gangs in Gaslight Era Chicago; contemporary gangs and who they are what they represent today.
Cost: $10, $8 members

Bus Tour - Murder and Mayhem in Chicago: South and West
Saturday, November 19, 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

We’ll visit famous South Side and West side crime scene locales and discuss what happened, the aftermath, and their historical implications on life in Chicago and the city’s identity.
Cost: $45, $40 members

Walking Tour - Crime of the Century: Leopold & Loeb and the Murder of Bobby Franks
Saturday, November 19, 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

On May 21, 1924, in the city of Chicago, a young boy went missing. The next morning his father, Jacob Franks, received a phone call informing him that his son, Bobby, had been beaten to death. This gruesome and senseless murder has stained Chicago history and still leaves many baffled. Join us as we return to the scene of the crime and tour the Kenwood neighborhood where we will visit sites relevant to Leopold and Loeb’s murder of Bobby Franks.
Cost: $15, $10 members

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Twenty-Two Alleged Members of Violent “Dead Man Incorporated” Gang Indicted on Federal Racketeering, Murder, and Drug Charges That May Bring Life in Federal Prison

A federal grand jury has charged 22 defendants with conspiracy to participate in a violent racketeering enterprise known as the Dead Man Incorporated (DMI). All but one defendant are also charged with conspiring to distribute drugs. The indictment was returned on October 6, 2011 and unsealed upon the arrests of seven defendants and the execution of seven search warrants. Eleven defendants were previously in custody and four defendants are still at large.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Special Agent in Charge Mark R. Chait of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; Colonel Marcus L. Brown, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III; Anne Arundel County Police Chief James Teare, Sr.; Secretary Gary D. Maynard of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services; Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein; and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Frank R. Weathersbee.

“This case is another in a series of federal racketeering prosecutions in which federal, state, and local agencies have joined to target leaders and key members of violent gangs in Maryland,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Today’s indictment alleges that the Dead Man Incorporated gang is an organized criminal enterprise with leaders and members who deal drugs and commit violent crimes. Federal racketeering cases have been filed recently in Maryland against Black Guerilla Family (BGF), South Side Brims (SSB) Bloods, Pasadena Denver Lanes (PDL) Bloods, Tree Top Piru (TTP) Bloods, Latin Kings, 18th Street, and MS-13, and additional gang investigations are ongoing. Anyone who joins a criminal gang should be on notice that they can be held accountable for all crimes committed by fellow gang members.”

“This investigation was extremely challenging, not just from the level of organization DMI displays, but the level of violence that this indictment alleges,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely. “But the investigators and attorneys that formed this task force were even better organized and over a three year period, left department insignia at the door and leveraged almost every investigative tool available to stem the flow of violence allegedly committed by this group. Today’s indictment is a testament to the success of that strategy and the commitment by Maryland’s law enforcement agencies to come together and stop the violence against our citizens.”

“We are pleased to have worked such a successful operation with our law enforcement partners,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Mark R. Chait. “Together, we worked a strategic and methodical investigation against a group of violent offenders, whose actions have brought fear to our communities. We have dismantled the DMI organization with today’s arrests, and we are confident that we have made a significant impact on violent crime. We want the members of the DMI gang or any criminal gang to know that membership may earn you a lifetime in federal prison.”

According to the 27-count indictment, 18 men and four women are members and associates of the DMI. DMI was created originally in 2000 as a prison gang in Maryland. From the beginning, defendant Perry Roark was the “Supreme Commander.” Also at its inception and for several years thereafter, DMI was closely allied to the Black Guerilla Family (BGF), another prison gang. By 2006, DMI expanded its membership by recruiting members outside prison, including women.

DMI members operated in and out of prisons throughout Maryland, as well as Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Texas. DMI is active in numerous prison facilities in Maryland, including the Maryland Correctional Adjustment Center, Baltimore City Detention Center, Baltimore City Correctional Center, Maryland Reception Diagnostic and Classification Center, Eastern Correctional Institution, Metropolitan Transition Center, Roxbury Correctional Institution, Patuxent Correctional Institution, Maryland Correctional Institution - Hagerstown, Western Correctional Institution, Central Maryland Correctional Facility, Maryland Correctional Institution - Jessup, Jessup Correctional Institution, Brockbridge Correctional Facility; Maryland Correctional Training Center; Anne Arundel County Detention Center; and Baltimore County Detention Center. Units operating outside the prisons are identified by the region they cover, such as Brooklyn, South Baltimore, Southwest Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore, Dundalk, Westminster, Glen Burnie, etc.

The indictment alleges that all 22 defendants conspired to conduct the affairs of DMI through a pattern of criminal activity from 2000 to the present, including: murder and threats to commit murder, armed robbery, drug trafficking and extortion. The defendants are alleged to have smuggled drugs, tobacco, cell phones and other contraband into prisons, by concealing them on the persons of visitors to the prisons. Twenty-one of the defendants are charged with conspiring to distribute cocaine, crack, oxycodone, Suboxone, heroin, and marijuana.

According to the indictment, gang members used contraband cell phones in prisons to coordinate the smuggling of contraband into prisons, disseminate information about arrests and releases of members and associates, to warn of investigations, to publicize the identities of persons believed to be cooperating with law enforcement, and to order assaults and murders of such persons, as well as enemies of DMI.

Specific acts of violence alleged in the indictment include four murders in Maryland, as follows: the February 16, 2009 murder of James Flanary; the June 2, 2009 murder of Tony Geiger; the September 18, 2009 murder of Eugene Chambers; and the September 19, 2009 murder of Walter Milewski.

Additionally, the indictment alleges that several of the defendants planned to murder four other individuals, and ordered assaults on, and/or assaulted, over 10 individuals, six of whom were incarcerated in a Maryland detention facility. Four defendants allegedly fired weapons into a house, wounding an occupant. Another defendant committed a home invasion robbery in Glen Burnie, Maryland and assaulted the occupants.

The following defendants are charged in the indictment:

• Perry Roark, a/k/a Rock, “Pops,” “Slim,” “Saho the Ghost,” age 42;
• James Sweeney, age 34;
• Nicky Cash, a/k/a “Mom,” age 46, of Baltimore;
• George Treas, a/k/a “Georgie,” “Fat Boy;” age 28, of Baltimore;
• Dane Shives, age 22;
• Michael Quinn, a/k/a “Mikey,” age 28;
• Michael Forame, a/k/a “Skinny,” “Skinny Pimp,” age 40, of Sykesville, Maryland;
• Brian Mitchell, a/k/a “Carlito,” age 40;
• Richard Ingram, a/k/a “Ricky,” “Hades,” age 45;
• Timothy Mixter, a/k/a “Fuhrer,” age 35, of Essex, Maryland;
• John Henry Adams, a/k/a “L.J.,” “Little Johnny,” age 25;
• Gregory Cook, age 36;
• Jeremy Ridgeway, a/k/a “J-Rock,” age 22;
• John Zion, a/k/a “John John,” age 27;
• Russell Hartman, a/k/a “Busy,” age 29, of Baltimore;
• Bonnie Rice, age 35, of Baltimore;
• Kelly Witter, age 26;
• Charles Gray, a/k/a “Bud,”“Budrow;” age 31;
• Edward Mueller, a/k/a “Dusty,” age 31, of Baltimore;
• Melanie Holquist, age 28; of Baltimore;
• Scott Jarriel, a/k/a “Scotty J.,” age 28; and
• Gary Horton, age 26.

All of the defendants face a maximum sentence of life in prison on the racketeering conspiracy. All but one defendant, Gary Horton, also face a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison on the drug conspiracy. Roark, Adams, Mitchell, Forame, Mueller, Treas, Mixter, Ingram, Hartman, and Zion face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit murder and/or an assault in aid of racketeering.

Roark, Adams, Mitchell, Gray, Forame, Jarriel, and Mueller face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for assault with a dangerous weapon resulting in serious bodily injury. Cash and Holquist face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for being accessories after the fact of an assault; Witter, Holquist, Zion, Mixter and Treas face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for distributing drugs; and Treas and Mixter face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a gun.

Initial appearances for the defendants began this morning in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

Mr. Rosenstein praised the FBI, ATF, Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services; Baltimore County Police Department; Anne Arundel County Police Department; Baltimore City Police Department; the Maryland State Police; Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office; Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office; and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office for their assistance in this investigation and prosecution.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Robert R. Harding and Christopher J. Romano, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.

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