The FBI’s Fugitive Task Force arrested a Lawndale man believed to have fled Chicago after shooting a man in the head at the residence of his estranged wife, announced Timothy Delaney, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office; and Robert Grant, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Chicago’s Field Office.
According to a federal criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, detectives with the Chicago Police Department (CPD) obtained an arrest warrant for Jose Hernandez Saldana, a Lawndale resident, based on CPD’s investigation that identified Saldana as the suspect in the September 15, 1994 shooting of an Illinois man at the residence of Saldana’s estranged wife in Chicago, Illinois. On September 16, 1994, Saldana was charged with one count of attempted murder in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.
Attempts to locate Saldana at the time were unsuccessful and investigators with the CPD and the FBI established evidence indicating that Saldana left the state of Illinois and had likely fled to his native country of Mexico.
In 2012, a Cold Case Unit with CPD’s Area South Division revisited the case and enlisted assistance from the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force in Chicago, which is comprised of FBI agents, CPD detectives, and Cook County Sheriff’s Police investigators. Detectives and agents learned that a relative of Saldana’s had been arrested recently and that the relative’s vehicle had been released to a man identified as Carlos Rosalio Gonzalez. Investigators suspected the relative identified as Gonzalez was, in fact, their suspect, Jose Saldana, using a false name.
The FBI’s Special Processing Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia, was contacted and compared Saldana’s fingerprints with the fingerprints on file for the California driver’s license being used by the man identified as Gonzalez. The analysis resulted in a positive match for Saldana and confirmed that Saldana had been using the name Gonzalez.
On July 19, 2012, a federal warrant for Saldana was obtained after he was charged in U.S. District Court in Chicago with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution (UFAP).
Members of the Los Angeles Fugitive Task Force, which is comprised of agents and officers with the FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department, arrested Saldana in Lawndale without incident on Friday, July 20, 2012.
Saldana is being held in the custody of the Los Angeles Police Department pending extradition by the Cook County State Attorney’s Office. It is anticipated that the United States government will dismiss the federal warrant charging Saldana with UFAP and that he will remain in custody in Illinois while he awaits prosecution.
The fugitive investigation was the result of cooperation by the FBI’s Chicago and Los Angeles Field Offices; the Chicago Police Department, Area South, Cold Case Unit; and the Los Angeles Police Department.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
Former Cook County Commissioner Joseph Mario Moreno and Former Chicago Alderman Ambrosio Medrano Among 8 Indicted for Alleged Corruption Scheme
Two former local public officials and five businessmen who were arrested last month on public corruption charges were formally indicted today for allegedly participating in one or more corruption schemes. A federal grand jury returned indictments against former Cook County Commissioner Joseph Mario Moreno, former Chicago Alderman Ambrosio Medrano, and six others that mirror the charges filed last month in criminal complaints. One of the defendants is a businessman charged for the first time for allegedly engaging in an extortion scheme with Moreno during his tenure as an elected public official.
The new defendant, Ronald Garcia, 53, of Lockport, owned and operated Chicago Medical Equipment & Supply Co., which was certified by Cook County as a minority business enterprise (MBE). Between March 2008 and July 2009, Moreno and Garcia allegedly conspired to extort a company that won a county contract to force it to use Garcia’s company as a minority subcontractor.
The indictments also allege the following bribery schemes that were charged last month:
A 10-count indictment returned today alleges that Moreno, a Cook County commissioner for 16 years until 2010, and Medrano, the former alderman who later worked on Moreno’s county staff, accepted bribes in return for using their influence as county officials to steer public contracts to businesses. This indictment charges the alleged bribery schemes involving the contracts for bandages and the alleged extortion to hire Garcia’s company, as well as Moreno’s alleged Cicero bribe.
Moreno, also known as “Mario Moreno,” 59, of Chicago, was charged with three counts of bribery, two counts of wire fraud, and one count each of extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion. Medrano, 58, of Chicago, was charged with two counts of wire fraud and one count each of bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery. Moreno and Medrano were both released on secured bonds following their arrests last month.
Also charged in the same indictment were:
Wozniak and the Lombardis—who were agents of Chasing Lions LLC, a disabled veterans-owned business in west suburban Lisle—were also released on bond following their arrests in June. All six defendant will be arraigned on dates to be determined in U.S. District Court.
The new allegations regarding Moreno and Garcia state that Garcia provided Moreno and his wife with a $100,000 home mortgage loan in July 2007. In November 2007, Cook County requested bids on a contract to assist county health facilities in reducing costs and increasing revenue. Company A submitted a bid that proposed using Garcia’s Chicago Medical company as a minority subcontractor, which was supported by Moreno. Company B submitted a bid that proposed using minority subcontractors but did not include Chicago Medical.
Moreno and Garcia allegedly conspired to use Moreno’s influence as a commissioner to take actions adverse to Company B’s attempts to obtain and maintain the county contract unless Company B used Chicago Medical as a subcontractor for that contract. During the time that Moreno allegedly was pressuring Company B, Garcia released the $100,000 mortgage even though Moreno had not fully repaid the loan. As a result of Moreno’s and Garcia’s actions, Company B paid Chicago Medical approximately $460,000, according to the indictment.
The indictment seeks forfeiture of approximately $100,000 from Moreno and approximately $460,000 from Garcia.
A second, single-count indictment was returned today against Medrano, James Barta, 70, of Fremont, Nebraska; and Gustavo Buenrostro, 49, of Arlington Heights, charging them each with conspiracy to commit bribery. Barta, the president and owner of Sav-Rx, a Fremont, Nebraska-based national provider of managed care prescription medication services; and Buenrostro, an associate of Barta and former employee of Sav-Rx, were also released on bond following their arrests. This indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to bribe an undercover FBI agent and a fictitious official of the “County A” hospital system—with Barta allegedly making a $6,500 payment to the undercover agent last month—to do business with Sav-Rx. Medrano, Barta, and Buenrostro will be arraigned on dates to be determined in this case.
The indictments were announced by Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northen District of Illinois; Robert D. Grant, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Thomas Jankowski, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. The FBI’s Chicago City Public Corruption Task Force led the investigation with assistance from the Chicago Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division, a task force member.
In both cases, the government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Stetler and Steven Grimes.
The charges in the indictments carry the following maximum penalties on each count: wire fraud, extortion, and extortion conspiracy—20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; bribery—10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; and conspiracy to commit bribery—five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The court may also impose a fine on the wire fraud counts totaling twice the loss to any victim or twice the gain to the defendant, whichever is greater. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The new defendant, Ronald Garcia, 53, of Lockport, owned and operated Chicago Medical Equipment & Supply Co., which was certified by Cook County as a minority business enterprise (MBE). Between March 2008 and July 2009, Moreno and Garcia allegedly conspired to extort a company that won a county contract to force it to use Garcia’s company as a minority subcontractor.
The indictments also allege the following bribery schemes that were charged last month:
- an alleged effort by Moreno, Medrano, and two Chicago area businessmen to use bribery and kickbacks to sell bandages to public hospitals, including Cook County’s John H. Stroger Hospital;
- an alleged effort by Medrano and two other businessmen, including the owner of a Nebraska-based provider of prescription drug services that claims 11 million subscribers, to use bribery and kickbacks to obtain business from an unnamed out-of-state hospital system; and
- Moreno’s alleged acceptance of $5,000 as part of a bribe to ensure development of a waste transfer station in suburban Cicero while he sat on a town economic development panel.
A 10-count indictment returned today alleges that Moreno, a Cook County commissioner for 16 years until 2010, and Medrano, the former alderman who later worked on Moreno’s county staff, accepted bribes in return for using their influence as county officials to steer public contracts to businesses. This indictment charges the alleged bribery schemes involving the contracts for bandages and the alleged extortion to hire Garcia’s company, as well as Moreno’s alleged Cicero bribe.
Moreno, also known as “Mario Moreno,” 59, of Chicago, was charged with three counts of bribery, two counts of wire fraud, and one count each of extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion. Medrano, 58, of Chicago, was charged with two counts of wire fraud and one count each of bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery. Moreno and Medrano were both released on secured bonds following their arrests last month.
Also charged in the same indictment were:
- Stanley Wozniak, 49, of Chicago; two counts of wire fraud and one count of bribery;
- Gerald W. Lombardi, also known as “Jerry Lombardi, Sr.,” 59, of Darien; two counts of wire fraud and one count each of bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery;
- Jerry A. Lombardi, Gerald Lombardi’s son, 33, of Downers Grove; one count of conspiracy to commit bribery; and
- Garcia; one count each of extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion, and bribery.
Wozniak and the Lombardis—who were agents of Chasing Lions LLC, a disabled veterans-owned business in west suburban Lisle—were also released on bond following their arrests in June. All six defendant will be arraigned on dates to be determined in U.S. District Court.
The new allegations regarding Moreno and Garcia state that Garcia provided Moreno and his wife with a $100,000 home mortgage loan in July 2007. In November 2007, Cook County requested bids on a contract to assist county health facilities in reducing costs and increasing revenue. Company A submitted a bid that proposed using Garcia’s Chicago Medical company as a minority subcontractor, which was supported by Moreno. Company B submitted a bid that proposed using minority subcontractors but did not include Chicago Medical.
Moreno and Garcia allegedly conspired to use Moreno’s influence as a commissioner to take actions adverse to Company B’s attempts to obtain and maintain the county contract unless Company B used Chicago Medical as a subcontractor for that contract. During the time that Moreno allegedly was pressuring Company B, Garcia released the $100,000 mortgage even though Moreno had not fully repaid the loan. As a result of Moreno’s and Garcia’s actions, Company B paid Chicago Medical approximately $460,000, according to the indictment.
The indictment seeks forfeiture of approximately $100,000 from Moreno and approximately $460,000 from Garcia.
A second, single-count indictment was returned today against Medrano, James Barta, 70, of Fremont, Nebraska; and Gustavo Buenrostro, 49, of Arlington Heights, charging them each with conspiracy to commit bribery. Barta, the president and owner of Sav-Rx, a Fremont, Nebraska-based national provider of managed care prescription medication services; and Buenrostro, an associate of Barta and former employee of Sav-Rx, were also released on bond following their arrests. This indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to bribe an undercover FBI agent and a fictitious official of the “County A” hospital system—with Barta allegedly making a $6,500 payment to the undercover agent last month—to do business with Sav-Rx. Medrano, Barta, and Buenrostro will be arraigned on dates to be determined in this case.
The indictments were announced by Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northen District of Illinois; Robert D. Grant, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Thomas Jankowski, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago. The FBI’s Chicago City Public Corruption Task Force led the investigation with assistance from the Chicago Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division, a task force member.
In both cases, the government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Stetler and Steven Grimes.
The charges in the indictments carry the following maximum penalties on each count: wire fraud, extortion, and extortion conspiracy—20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; bribery—10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; and conspiracy to commit bribery—five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The court may also impose a fine on the wire fraud counts totaling twice the loss to any victim or twice the gain to the defendant, whichever is greater. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The public is reminded that indictments contain only charges and are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Sale of James Marcelle's Reputed Ranch Could Get Expensive for Former Owners
Being married to the mob can get expensive. For one senior citizen couple, William and Ann Galioto, it could wind up costing them $473,485.62. Plus interest.
The potentially big bill marks the end of a fascinating tale involving a horse ranch in Big Rock, just west of Aurora, a chatty mistress, and the head of the Chicago mob.
It begins as many sad stories do, as a love story — or at least as a story of mutual attraction in the flattering lighting of a Cicero strip club more than 25 years ago. That 's where a young woman, tending bar, met an up-and-coming Chicago mobster named James “Little Jimmy” Marcello. Marcello fell hard for the bartender, so hard he began a relationship with her lasting for decades.
In 1986, Marcello signed a contract to buy a ranch in Big Rock for him and his mistress. They used assumed names, Connie and James Donofrio, and even gave the property a cute name — the C&J Ranch, records show.
Marcello paid his mistress thousands of dollars a month for living expenses. He figured she would never rat on him, even though Marcello learned early on that his mistress had once been a snitch for the federal government. Little Jimmy was wrong.
Just how wrong he would learn in 2007, as he sat in a federal courtroom in Chicago, as a defendant in the historic Family Secrets mob trial, watching his former mistress testify against him.
By then, Marcello ran organized crime in Chicago. His conviction in the Family Secrets case would send him to prison for life. Marcello helped murder several people for the Chicago mob, including setting up Anthony and Michael Spilotro. In 1986, Marcello drove the brothers to the Bensenville area home where they thought they were receiving promotions within the mob. Instead, they were beaten to death.
As part of Marcello’s sentence, a federal judge ordered him to pay more than $4.4 million in restitution. The court order would create complications for the Galiotos.
Ann Galioto is James Marcello’s sister and an entrepreneur in her own right. She is listed as the president of a company that ran a strip joint, Allstars Gentlemen’s Club, for years in west suburban Northlake, before the club burned down in 2010. At the time, the fire attracted the attention of federal investigators, as did the financially creative way some of the club’s strippers were allegedly being paid, according to a law enforcement source.
Ann’s husband, William, is a former Chicago cop, who made headlines in 1995 when Mayor Daley killed a multimillion-dollar low-interest city loan to him and his partners to build a movie studio on the West Side, over concerns about Galioto’s past.
More recently, William Galioto had his name on another real estate deal — Marcello’s horse ranch in Big Rock, the feds say.
While the feds allege Marcello bought the property, it was put in William Galioto’s name. At one point, while Marcello was in prison, he was secretly taped by the feds discussing whether the property should be transferred out of his brother-in-law’s name to one of Marcello’s flunkies. Marcello was worried he couldn’t trust the Galiotos, according to the feds.
That never happened, and in 2008, after Marcello was convicted in the Family Secrets case, Galioto sold the ranch for about $500,000. The feds contend that William Galioto was merely acting as a front for his brother-in-law, Little Jimmy. Prosecutors call William Galioto nothing more than Marcello’s “alter ego” in the ranch sale. The feds want those sale proceeds, however they can get it.
A federal judge will decide if the Galiotos will be on the hook for the money. An attorney for the Galiotos declined to comment Monday.
So for now, the federal tab goes to the couple — $473,485.62. Plus interest.
Thanks to CST.
The potentially big bill marks the end of a fascinating tale involving a horse ranch in Big Rock, just west of Aurora, a chatty mistress, and the head of the Chicago mob.
It begins as many sad stories do, as a love story — or at least as a story of mutual attraction in the flattering lighting of a Cicero strip club more than 25 years ago. That 's where a young woman, tending bar, met an up-and-coming Chicago mobster named James “Little Jimmy” Marcello. Marcello fell hard for the bartender, so hard he began a relationship with her lasting for decades.
In 1986, Marcello signed a contract to buy a ranch in Big Rock for him and his mistress. They used assumed names, Connie and James Donofrio, and even gave the property a cute name — the C&J Ranch, records show.
Marcello paid his mistress thousands of dollars a month for living expenses. He figured she would never rat on him, even though Marcello learned early on that his mistress had once been a snitch for the federal government. Little Jimmy was wrong.
Just how wrong he would learn in 2007, as he sat in a federal courtroom in Chicago, as a defendant in the historic Family Secrets mob trial, watching his former mistress testify against him.
By then, Marcello ran organized crime in Chicago. His conviction in the Family Secrets case would send him to prison for life. Marcello helped murder several people for the Chicago mob, including setting up Anthony and Michael Spilotro. In 1986, Marcello drove the brothers to the Bensenville area home where they thought they were receiving promotions within the mob. Instead, they were beaten to death.
As part of Marcello’s sentence, a federal judge ordered him to pay more than $4.4 million in restitution. The court order would create complications for the Galiotos.
Ann Galioto is James Marcello’s sister and an entrepreneur in her own right. She is listed as the president of a company that ran a strip joint, Allstars Gentlemen’s Club, for years in west suburban Northlake, before the club burned down in 2010. At the time, the fire attracted the attention of federal investigators, as did the financially creative way some of the club’s strippers were allegedly being paid, according to a law enforcement source.
Ann’s husband, William, is a former Chicago cop, who made headlines in 1995 when Mayor Daley killed a multimillion-dollar low-interest city loan to him and his partners to build a movie studio on the West Side, over concerns about Galioto’s past.
More recently, William Galioto had his name on another real estate deal — Marcello’s horse ranch in Big Rock, the feds say.
While the feds allege Marcello bought the property, it was put in William Galioto’s name. At one point, while Marcello was in prison, he was secretly taped by the feds discussing whether the property should be transferred out of his brother-in-law’s name to one of Marcello’s flunkies. Marcello was worried he couldn’t trust the Galiotos, according to the feds.
That never happened, and in 2008, after Marcello was convicted in the Family Secrets case, Galioto sold the ranch for about $500,000. The feds contend that William Galioto was merely acting as a front for his brother-in-law, Little Jimmy. Prosecutors call William Galioto nothing more than Marcello’s “alter ego” in the ranch sale. The feds want those sale proceeds, however they can get it.
A federal judge will decide if the Galiotos will be on the hook for the money. An attorney for the Galiotos declined to comment Monday.
So for now, the federal tab goes to the couple — $473,485.62. Plus interest.
Thanks to CST.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
"Gangster Squad" Movie Release Delayed to Move Final Gunfight Outside of Movie Theater
It's official, "Gangster Squad" will not grace theaters nationwide this September. Warner Bros. Pictures has announced that the much-talked-about mob thriller will be pushed back to January 11, 2013.
As reported previously, the studio aims to reshoot a climatic scene in the movie that features a gunfight in the Grauman's Chinese Theatre. The theater shoot-out scene recently sparked controversy in the wake of the recent Aurora massacre that claimed the lives of 12 people during "The Dark Knight Rises" midnight screening.
The new release schedule will give time to the filmmaker to find an alternate gunfight scene that doesn't take place in a movie theater. With the new date, the Sean Penn-starring movie is set to face off Jeremy Renner's delayed pic "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters".
"Gangster Squad" centers on Penn's Mickey Cohen, a ruthless Brooklyn-born mob. He runs the show in the town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and every wire bet placed west of Chicago.
Cohen runs the dirty businesses with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It's enough to intimidate the bravest, street-hardened cop, except a secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), who come together to try to tear Cohen's world apart.
The Ruben Fleischer-directed film was originally slated for a September 7 U.S. release this year.
As reported previously, the studio aims to reshoot a climatic scene in the movie that features a gunfight in the Grauman's Chinese Theatre. The theater shoot-out scene recently sparked controversy in the wake of the recent Aurora massacre that claimed the lives of 12 people during "The Dark Knight Rises" midnight screening.
The new release schedule will give time to the filmmaker to find an alternate gunfight scene that doesn't take place in a movie theater. With the new date, the Sean Penn-starring movie is set to face off Jeremy Renner's delayed pic "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters".
"Gangster Squad" centers on Penn's Mickey Cohen, a ruthless Brooklyn-born mob. He runs the show in the town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and every wire bet placed west of Chicago.
Cohen runs the dirty businesses with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It's enough to intimidate the bravest, street-hardened cop, except a secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), who come together to try to tear Cohen's world apart.
The Ruben Fleischer-directed film was originally slated for a September 7 U.S. release this year.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Gangster Squad
Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and--if he has his way--every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control.
It's enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop...except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), who come together to try to tear Cohen's world apart. "The Gangster Squad" is a colorful retelling of events surrounding the LAPD's efforts to take back their nascent city from one of the most dangerous mafia bosses of all time.
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