Sidney Korshak and The Mafia's Shadow Men

In their quest to assemble fragments of the past into a coherent explanation for why things happened as they did, historians tend to take one of two paths.

Some stick to the deeds of kings, presidents and famous military commanders, agreeing with Thomas Carlyle that "the history of the world is but the biography of great men." Others contend that the engines of history are really to be found in the anonymous multitudes, whose collective needs and capabilities determine the overarching economic, technological and social realities that shape the world and its future. And then there is a third notion, usually discredited but always seductive, that history is the product of a different breed of great men: the kind who plot their schemes in dark shadows and keep their identities secret. Such a man was Sidney Korshak.

For someone who never got convicted of so much as jaywalking and evaded public notice for nearly his whole life, Korshak had serious clout with powerful men. Having launched his legal career by representing the heirs to the Capone mob in Chicago, he was the kind of man who could come to Las Vegas during a Teamsters conference and have Jimmy Hoffa tossed out of the presidential suite so he could occupy it himself. His occasional mistress, Jill St. John, the 1960s Hollywood "It" girl, would reportedly turn down Henry Kissinger's invitations to the White House by saying, "Sorry, I have an invitation from someone more important." His preternatural abilities as a Hollywood fixer have been credited with enabling the production of "The Godfather," in which the non-Italian consigliere character played by Robert Duvall is thought by some to be based on Korshak. Together with men such as entertainment mogul Lew Wasserman, tax lawyer Abe Pritzker and real estate speculator Paul Ziffren, Korshak represented the clean face of a dirty business, according to "Supermob: How Sidney Korshak and His Criminal Associates Became America's Hidden Power Brokers," Gus Russo's book. He was the bridge between Mafia hoodlums and the white-collar world.

Russo, an investigate reporter who has written about the Chicago Outfit in depth before, sets out here to tell the story of the mostly Jewish lawyers who were recruited by Italian mobsters and eventually came to surpass their original paymasters in money and power. He begins in Chicago's West Side, home to Russian Ashkenazic Jews who had fled the late 19th century pogroms and were determined to protect themselves from becoming victims again. "They were always aware that their wealth and position in society could be noticed and another pogrom would ensue. Thus they worked surreptitiously, choosing to focus on the substrata of a business or event." In an era when Jews were barred from the white-shoe firms, where they might otherwise have made lucrative careers, these often brilliant men became integral parts of the Mafia's attempts to extend their westward reach into legitimate enterprises, ranging from casinos to hotel chains to real estate to the Hollywood studios. In the process, Russo contends, the underworld laid its tentacles on many great men of the more famous variety -- especially in California, where the Chicago Outfit's front men played significant roles in the careers of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, among others.

Drawing heavily from FBI case files and countless interviews, Russo opts for thoroughness rather than a breezy prose style to make his case. The weight of evidence can make the book slow going at times, but it adds up to a compelling picture of the exercise of power in the 20th century. As a labor negotiator who eschewed written notes and mysteriously solved seemingly intractable problems with one or two phone calls from the table of his favorite Los Angeles bistro -- often reaping sweetheart deals for management from unions that had been infiltrated by hoods -- Korshak sat at the center of a wide, corrupt and stupendously profitable web. And while it can be hard to work up much outrage over the details of labor racketeering, stock swindles and real estate fraud, the human costs of such things can be heartbreaking. Russo's chapter on the shameless plundering of the assets of imprisoned Japanese Americans during World War II, presided over by a bevy of Korshak's associates, is particularly stirring.

As an exercise in history, "Supermob: How Sidney Korshak and His Criminal Associates Became America's Hidden Power Brokers" is a worthwhile contribution to our understanding of the "American century." Holding back from wild-eyed conspiracy theories, Russo documents unsettling connections between yesterday's underworld and a corporate oligarchy that has never been more ascendant than it is today, partly because it has adopted some of the same schemes with a still greater degree of sophistication. The conditions that spawned Korshak and his ilk have changed considerably, but only to be replaced by the likes of Enron and WorldCom. How many new Korshaks are thriving among us now, taking care to leave behind no paper trail? People like to say that history is written by the victors. What happens when the real winners have burned all their notes?

Thanks to Trey Popp

Tweet

48 Reputed Members of Gangster Disciples Indicted on Federal Racketeering Charges

Forty-eight alleged members of the violent Gangster Disciples Gang – including the top leaders in Tennessee and Georgia – have been charged in two indictments and accused of conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise that included multiple murders, attempted murder and drug crimes.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney John A. Horn of the Northern District of Georgia, U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton III of the Western District of Tennessee, Special Agent in Charge J. Britt Johnson of the FBI’s Atlanta Division and Special Agent in Charge A. Todd McCall of the FBI’s Memphis Division made the announcement.

A 12-count indictment was returned by a grand jury on April 27, and unsealed in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Georgia.  Thirty individuals were taken into custody and two remain at large.  A 16-count indictment was returned by a grand jury on April 22, and unsealed in the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Tennessee.  Fifteen individuals were taken into custody and one remains at large.  

“It is the very of core of law enforcement’s mission to ensure that everyone feels safe in their homes and neighborhoods, and it is a hard reality that many people across our country simply do not enjoy this basic sense of security because of gangs like the Gangster Disciples,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “That is why it is so significant that today’s indictments charge top leaders within the Gangster Disciples.  There are a lot of people out there willing to join gangs, and eager to get easy money from criminal activity.  But there are far fewer people with the wherewithal to lead organizations like the Gangster Disciples.  These are the people who keep gangs like the Gangster Disciples alive, year in and year out, generation after generation.  Cases like these make a difference, and I want to thank all the law enforcement and U.S. Attorney Office and Organized Crime and Gang Section prosecutors who worked so hard to build this case.”

“Atlanta has historically been resistant to the incursion of these national gangs, but unfortunately today’s indictment shows how this landscape has changed in just the last few years, as the Gangster Disciples are only one of several gangs that now boast a strong foothold,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn.  “These charges show how a national gang like Gangster Disciples can wreak havoc here and in communities across the country, with crimes that run the gamut from murder to drug trafficking to credit card fraud.  Within Georgia, the leadership of the Gangster Disciples resided mostly in metro Atlanta, yet the reach of the crimes committed extended into far south and west Georgia.  We hope this indictment warns the leaders of these gangs that Atlanta is not a good place to do business.”

“As the indictment alleges, the Gangster Disciples flooded communities throughout the southeast and beyond with large amounts of drugs, and ruthlessly used fear, intimidation, and even murder to promote and protect their nationwide criminal enterprise,” said U.S. Attorney Stanton.  “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to eliminate the terror gang members inflict upon our communities, and will exhaust every available resource, including the federal RICO statute, to bring them to justice.  Dismantling violent gangs at the highest levels remains a priority for the U.S. Attorney's Office.”

“Today's Gangster Disciple arrests across nine states merely marks the first wave of the FBI’s strategic campaign to dismantle this violent criminal organization,” said Special Agent in Charge Johnson.  “The Gangster Disciples are a highly organized and ruthless gang that recognizes no geographical boundaries, and its members have far too long indiscriminately preyed upon and infected the good people of our communities like a cancer.  The FBI’s Safe Streets Gang Task Forces recognize no boundaries either, and we are committed to identifying, disrupting and dismantling the most violent gangs that seek to harm our communities.  The FBI, along with our law enforcement partners, are committed to seeing this campaign through, and once and for all putting an end to the Gangster Disciples' reign of violence.”

According to court documents, the Gangster Disciples is a national gang active in more than 24 states with a highly organized structure including board members and governor-of-governors who each controlled geographic regions; governors, assistant governors, chief enforcers and chiefs of security for each state or regions within the state where the Gangster Disciples were active; and coordinators and leaders within each local group.  To enforce discipline among Gangster Disciples and adherence to the strict rules and structure, members and associates were routinely fined, beaten and even murdered for failing to follow the gang’s rules.

The scope of the Gangster Disciples’ crimes is wide-ranging and consistent throughout the national operation.  The RICO conspiracies charged here include attempted murder, narcotics trafficking, extortion, firearms crimes, obstruction of justice and other crimes in furtherance of the Gangster Disciples enterprise and to raise funds for the gang.  In Georgia, for example, the Gangster Disciples brought money into the gang through, among other things, drug trafficking, robbery, carjacking, extortion, wire fraud, credit card fraud, insurance fraud and bank fraud.

The gang protected its power and operation through threats, intimidation and violence, including murder, attempted murder, assault and obstruction of justice.  It also promoted the Gangster Disciples enterprise through member-only activities, including conference calls, birthday celebrations of the gang’s founder, the annual Gangster Ball, award ceremonies and other events.

The gang also provided financial and other support to members charged with or incarcerated for gang-related offenses and members who were fugitives from law enforcement were provided “safe houses” in which to hide from police.  To introduce the criminal nature of the Gangster Disciples to a new member, older members and leaders in the various local groups ordered newer members to commit crimes, including murder, robbery and drug trafficking.  Further, Gangster Disciples members would teach other members how to commit certain crimes, including frauds and would provide drugs on discount to other Gangster Disciples members for resale.

The Atlanta RICO conspiracy indictment names the following defendants and their alleged roles within the Gangster Disciples:

• Shauntay Craig, 37, of Birmingham, held the rank of Gangster Disciples board member;
• Alonzo Walton, 47, of Atlanta, held at different relevant times the positions of governor of Georgia and governor of governors, the latter position controlling Georgia, Florida, Texas, Indiana and South Carolina;
• Kevin Clayton, 43, of Decatur, Georgia, was the chief enforcer for the state of Georgia;
• Donald Glass, 26, of Decatur, served as a first coordinator of the eastside group of the Gangster Disciples;
• Lewis Mobely, 38, of Atlanta, was an enforcer;
• Vertious Wall, 40, of Marietta, was a first coordinator for the Macon Gangster Disciples group;
• Adrian Jackson, 37, of San Jose, California, was the national treasurer for the Gangster Disciples;
• Terrence Summers, 45, of Birmingham, held at different relevant times the positions of governor of Alabama and governor of governors for Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Florida;
• Markell White, 43, of Atlanta, was a regional leader in Macon;
• Ronald McMorris, 34, of Atlanta, was first coordinator of the Atlanta group;
• Perry Green, 29, of Decatur, was a member of the Gangster Disciples and acted as enforcer of a Gangster Disciples group;
• Dereck Taylor, 29, of Macon, was a member of the Gangster Disciples and acted as security for a Macon group;
• Alvis O’Neal, 37,of Denver, was a senior member of and money launderer for the Gangster Disciples;
• Jeremiah Covington, 32, of Valdosta, Georgia, was a first coordinator for the Valdosta region;
• Antonio Ahmad, 33, of Atlanta, was the chief of security for the state of Georgia;
• Eric Manney, 39, of Atlanta, was a member of the Gangster Disciples and stored multiple guns at his house;
• Quiana Franklin, 33, of Birmingham, served as treasurer for the state of Alabama;
• Frederick Johnson, 37, of Marietta, was a chief enforcer for a Gangster Disciples group;
• Charles Wingate,25, of Conyers, Georgia, was chief of security for a Covington, Georgia group;
• Vancito Gumbs, 25, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was a member of the Gangster Disciples while at the same time serving as a police officer with the DeKalb County Police Department;
• Thomas Pasby, 42, of Cochran, Georgia, was a member of the Gangster Disciples;
• Denise Carter, 41, of Detroit, was a member of the Gangster Disciples;
• Carlton King Jr., 25, of Cochran, was a member of the Gangster Disciples;
• Kelvin Sneed, 26, of Cochran, was a member of the Gangster Disciples;
• Arrie Freeney, 32, of Detroit, was a member of the Gangster Disciples;
• Myrick Stevens, 26, of Madison, Wisconsin, was a member of the Gangster Disciples;
• Curtis Thomas, 45, of Cochran, was a member of the Gangster Disciples;
• Yohori Epps, 36,of Marietta, was a member of the Gangster Disciples; and
• Michael Drummound, 49, of Marietta, was a member of the Gangster Disciples.

In addition to the RICO conspiracy, Glass and Mobely are each charged with committing or attempting to commit murder in aid of racketeering and using firearms during those crimes.  Mobely, Glass, Craig, O’Neal, Covington and Travis Riley, 35, of Wichita, Kansas are also charged with various drug distribution crimes and Mobely and Glass are further charged with related firearms crimes.  Walton, Ahmad and Laderris Dickerson, 45, of Chicago, are also charged with carjacking and Walton and Dickerson are charged with a related firearms offense.

The Memphis RICO conspiracy indictment names the following defendants and their alleged roles within the Gangster Disciples:

• Byron Montrail Purdy, aka “Lil B” or “Ghetto,” 37, of Jackson, Tennessee, served as Gangster Disciples leader in Tennessee;
• Derrick Kennedy Crumpton, aka “38,” 32, of Memphis, served as Gangster Disciples leader in Tennessee;
• Demarcus Deon Crawford, aka “Trip,” 32, of Jackson, served as leader of security in Tennessee;
• Henry Curtis Cooper, aka “Big Hen,” 36, of Memphis, served as leader of security in Tennessee;
• Rico Terrell Harris, aka “Big Brim,” 43, of Memphis, served as leader of security in Tennessee;
• Shamar Anthony James, aka “Lionheart,” 37, of Memphis, held the rank of governor of a region in Memphis;
• Demario Demont Sprouse, aka “Taco,” 35, of Memphis, held the rank of chief of security of a region in Memphis;
• Robert Elliott Jones, aka “Lil Rob” or “Mac Rob,” 36, of Memphis, held the rank of governor of a region in Memphis;
• Denton Suggs, aka “Denny Mo” or “Diddy Mo,”40, of Memphis, held the rank of chief of security in a section of Memphis;
• Santiago Megale Shaw, aka “Mac-T,” 23, of Jackson, was a member of the security team or blackout squad in Jackson;
• Tarius Montez Taylor, aka “T,” 26, of Jackson, was a member of the security team or blackout squad in Jackson;
• Tommy Earl Champion Jr., aka “Duct Tape,” 27, of Jackson, held the rank of chief of security of Jackson;
• Cory Dewayne Bowers, aka “Bear Wayne,” 32, of Jackson, was associated with the Gangster Disciples and acted as a member of the security team in Jackson;
• Gerald Eugene Hampton, aka “G30,” 30, of Jackson, held the rank of assistant chief of security and was a member of the security team’s blackout squad in Jackson;
• Daniel Lee Cole, aka “D-Money,” 37, of Jackson, acted as assistant governor and assistant education coordinator for the Gangster Disciples in Jackson; and
• Tommy Lee Wilkins (Holloway), aka “Tommy Gunz,” 28, of Memphis, was a member of the security team in Memphis.                                                                     

In addition to the RICO conspiracy, all 16 defendants are charged with a cocaine-distribution conspiracy, and Crawford, Shaw, Taylor, Champion and Bowers are charged with seven counts of attempted murder in aid of racketeering and using a firearm during the commission of those offenses.

Tweet

High-Ranking Russian Officials Suspected of Mafia Ties, Have Warrants Issued for their Arrest by Spain

Spanish authorities have issued an arrest warrant for several high-ranking Russian officials suspected of mafia ties in the country, the Rosbalt.ru news website reported Tuesday.

State Duma deputy Vladislav Reznik from Putin's ruling "United Russia” party was among the 12 Russian citizens targeted by Spanish authorities. Several other prominent Russian officials also appear on the list, including General Nikolai Aulov, deputy director of the Federal Drug Control Service and former KGB colleague of Vladimir Putin; and former deputy chairman of the Investigative Committee Igor Sobolev.

Prosecutors claim that Reznik and Aulov both had dealings with Tambov mafia chief Gennady Petrov, who moved part of the gang's operation to Spain from St. Petersburg in 1996.

Sobolev is suspected by law enforcement agencies of informing the crime group of police actions in exchange for lavish gifts. Investigators say they have evidence of the group's involvement in arms trafficking, drug smuggling, extortion, bribery, and money-laundering.

All three men deny the charges.

Mafia leader Petrov was arrested and detained in Spain in 2008 and 2010, but released on bail on both occasions. In 2012, he received permission to leave the country for a brief visit to Russia but never returned.

Charges were filed against 26 Russian and Spanish defendants in December 2015, but they failed to attend court when requested in January of the following year.

Spain does not try defendants in absentia.

The police investigation has so far seen officers seize assets worth more 15 million euros ($17.3 million) belonging to alleged Russian organized crime groups. One of the prosecutors involved in the case, Jose Grinda, described Russia as a “virtual mafia state” in a leaked diplomatic cable from the U.S. Embassy in Madrid in 2010.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has described the prosecutors' allegations to journalists as "total nonsense," telling the Bloomberg news agency that the claims were "beyond the realm of reason."

Tweet

3 Predator Set Gang Members Sentenced For Their Roles In Police Impersonation Robberies

Ringo Delcid, a member of the violent Predator Set street gang operating primarily in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, was sentenced to 130 months of imprisonment for conspiring to commit two Hobbs Act robberies and for the use of a firearm in connection with one of those robberies.  Last month, two other members of the gang were also sentenced for their roles in these crimes:  Steele was sentenced to 130 months’ imprisonment for his participation in both robberies, and Hall was sentenced to 96 months’ imprisonment for his participation in one of those robberies.  All three defendants were convicted following their previously-entered guilty pleas.

The sentence was announced by Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Diego G. Rodriguez, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), New York Field Office; and William J. Bratton, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD).

The convictions resulted from a series of police impersonation robberies committed in 2013.  On January 16, 2013, Steele and Delcid committed a home invasion robbery of a narcotics trafficker in Brooklyn.  Posing as undercover police officers, the defendants gained access to the residence and proceeded to tie up the trafficker’s girlfriend and twelve-year-old son and ransack the apartment.  On July 10, 2013, Steele, Hall, Delcid, and others attempted to rob another narcotics trafficker by carrying out a traffic stop while posing as undercover police officers, complete with a rental car modified to look like a police car.  The robbery was thwarted when real NYPD officers arrived at the scene and the defendants fled.

At a hearing on April 14, 2016, U.S. District Judge I. Leo Glasser found that Steele and Hall also conspired to commit a September 27, 2014, armed robbery in which the victim was shot in the leg after he withdrew money from a check-cashing establishment in East Flatbush.  The evidence at the hearing established that Steele and Delcid had accumulated an arsenal of weapons in a storage unit in Brooklyn, including three firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and three homemade silencers, all of which was seized by law enforcement.

“The defendants’ crimes were carefully planned, brazenly executed, and demonstrated a complete disregard for the safety for their victims and the community,” stated United States Attorney Capers.  “By impersonating police officers, the defendants took advantage of their victims’ trust in law enforcement; their actions also undermined the operation of legitimate law enforcement officers.  The sentences imposed appropriately reflect the seriousness of their crimes and demonstrate our commitment to keeping our neighborhoods safe.”  Mr. Capers expressed his grateful appreciation to the FBI’s Violent Crimes squad and the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Division for their cooperation and assistance in the investigation.

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Rodriguez stated, “Delcid not only intruded on a residence but he also intruded on the trust the public has with police when he and his coconspirators posed as police officers to commit violent crimes.  Serious offenses like this warrant serious sentences and today’s sentencing of Delcid is no exception.”

“These gang members committed gunpoint robberies, violating the public’s trust by impersonating police officers and, in one case, preying upon a woman and child,” said Police Commissioner Bratton.  “I would like to thank the members of the NYPD, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s office whose work has led to lengthy prison sentences for the defendants.”

Tweet

The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's Secret FBI

The never-before-told full story of the history-changing break-in at the FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania, by a group of unlikely activists—quiet, ordinary, hardworking Americans—that made clear the shocking truth and confirmed what some had long suspected, that J. Edgar Hoover had created and was operating, in violation of the U.S. Constitution, his own shadow Bureau of Investigation.

It begins in 1971 in an America being split apart by the Vietnam War . . . A small group of activists—eight men and women—the Citizens Commission to Investigate the FBI, inspired by Daniel Berrigan’s rebellious Catholic peace movement, set out to use a more active, but nonviolent, method of civil disobedience to provide hard evidence once and for all that the government was operating outside the laws of the land.
         
The would-be burglars—nonpro’s—were ordinary people leading lives of purpose: a professor of religion and former freedom rider; a day-care director; a physicist; a cab driver; an antiwar activist, a lock picker; a graduate student haunted by members of her family lost to the Holocaust and the passivity of German civilians under Nazi rule.

Betty Medsger's extraordinary book, The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's Secret FBI, re-creates in resonant detail how this group of unknowing thieves, in their meticulous planning of the burglary, scouted out the low-security FBI building in a small town just west of Philadelphia, taking into consideration every possible factor, and how they planned the break-in for the night of the long-anticipated boxing match between Joe Frazier (war supporter and friend to President Nixon) and Muhammad Ali (convicted for refusing to serve in the military), knowing that all would be fixated on their televisions and radios.

Medsger writes that the burglars removed all of the FBI files and, with the utmost deliberation, released them to various journalists and members of Congress, soon upending the public’s perception of the inviolate head of the Bureau and paving the way for the first overhaul of the FBI since Hoover became its director in 1924.  And we see how the release of the FBI files to the press set the stage for the sensational release three months later, by Daniel Ellsberg, of the top-secret, seven-thousand-page Pentagon study on U.S. decision-making regarding the Vietnam War, which became known as the Pentagon Papers.
         
At the heart of the heist—and the book—the contents of the FBI files revealing J. Edgar Hoover’s “secret counterintelligence program” COINTELPRO, set up in 1956 to investigate and disrupt dissident political groups in the United States in order “to enhance the paranoia endemic in these circles,” to make clear to all Americans that an FBI agent was “behind every mailbox,” a plan that would discredit, destabilize, and demoralize groups, many of them legal civil rights organizations and antiwar groups that Hoover found offensive—as well as black power groups, student activists, antidraft protestors, conscientious objectors.

The author, the first reporter to receive the FBI files, began to cover this story during the three years she worked for The Washington Post and continued her investigation long after she'd left the paper, figuring out who the burglars were, and convincing them, after decades of silence, to come forward and tell their extraordinary story.

The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's Secret FBI is an important and riveting book, a portrait of the potential power of non­violent resistance and the destructive power of excessive government secrecy and spying.

Tweet

Chicago Gun Shootings Stats for 2016 through April 30th, #MurderCapitalUSA

For the time period from January 1, 2016 to April 30, 2016, the City of Chicago saw the following # of shootings:

Shot & Killed: 187

Shot & Wounded: 969

Total Shot: 1156

Tweet

Former @FoxNews Commentator Pleads Guilty to Fraud

Wayne Shelby Simmons, 62, of Annapolis, Maryland, a former Fox News commentator who has falsely claimed he spent 27 years working for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), pleaded guilty to major fraud against the government, wire fraud, and a firearms offense.

“Wayne Simmons is a convicted felon with no military or intelligence experience,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Simmons admitted he attempted to con his way into a position where he would have been called on to give real intelligence advice in a war zone.  His fraud cost the government money, could have put American lives at risk, and was an insult to the real men and women of the intelligence community who provide tireless service to this country.  This case is a prime example of this office’s ongoing commitment to vigorously prosecute government fraud and threats to national security.”

“Mr. Simmons lied about his criminal history and CIA employment in order to fraudulently obtain government contracts, and separately, defrauded a victim through a phony real estate investment deal,” said Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  “With these criminal actions, Mr. Simmons abused the trust of others, both in and outside of government, for his own personal financial gain.  I commend the work of the talented FBI personnel and prosecutors who vigorously pursued this case and brought about today’s guilty plea.”

In a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Simmons admitted he defrauded the government in 2008 when he obtained work as a team leader in the U.S. Army’s Human Terrain Systems program, and again in 2010 when he was deployed to Afghanistan as a senior intelligence advisor on the International Security Assistance Force’s Counterinsurgency Advisory and Assistance Team.  Simmons admitted making false statements about his financial and criminal history, and admitted that there are no records or any other evidence that he was ever employed by or worked with the CIA, or ever applied for or was granted a security clearance by that agency.  Simmons also admitted that in order to obtain the senior intelligence advisor position, he lied about work he had done a year earlier as a team leader on the Human Terrain Systems program.  Simmons admitted to making similar false statements in 2009 as well, in an unsuccessful attempt to obtain work with the State Department’s Worldwide Protective Service.

As to the wire fraud charge, Simmons admitted to defrauding an individual victim, identified as E.L., out of $125,000 in connection with a bogus real estate investment.  Simmons admitted to sending E.L. promised monthly disbursements to make it appear as if her funds had been invested as promised, and to repeatedly lying to her about the whereabouts of her money in order to perpetuate the fraud.  As Simmons admitted, he simply spent the funds on personal purposes and there was never any actual real estate investment project.

As to the firearms charge, Simmons admitted that at the time he was arrested in this case, he was unlawfully in possession of two firearms, which he was prohibited from possessing on account of his prior felony convictions, including a prior Maryland felony conviction and two prior federal felony firearms convictions.

Simmons was indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 14, 2015, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the major fraud against the government count, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the wire fraud count, and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the felon-in-possession of a firearm count when sentenced on July 15.  The maximum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Tweet

Matriarch of a Mobbed-up Family Found Mentally Unfit

The matriarch of a mobbed-up family charged with trafficking drugs through their Italian restaurant in Queens has been found mentally unfit to stand trial.

Eleonora Gigliotti, 55, has suffered from mental illness for many years preceding her arrest in April 2015 on drug charges with husband Gregorio, and son Angelo, according to her lawyer.

Brooklyn Federal Judge Raymond Dearie said Thursday that the husband and son can proceed to trial this July and he awaits a re-evaluation of Mrs. Gigliotti’s mental condition in four months.

The judge ordered a mental exam after Gigliotti’s lawyers informed him that she was spitting on guards at the Metropolitan Detention Center, claimed her cellmate had poisoned her, and appeared severely depressed.

Federal prosecutors allege that the Gigliottis were smuggling large amounts of cocaine hidden inside shipments of yucca delivered from Costa Rica.

The Gigliottis allegedly have ties to Genovese crime family figures and the 'Ndrangheta organized crime group in Italy.

During the investigation, Mrs. Gigliotti was picked up on a wiretap urging her husband to assault a relative they suspected of stealing money from them. “Have someone grab him at night. ... Bring him here and bang him up over here,” she said, according to court papers.

Thanks to John Marzulli.

Tweet

Ditch the Al Capone Shirt and take The Chicago Corruption Walking Tour

Paul Dailing was fed up with the folksy and unaffected way people talk about Chicago corruption—think Al Capone T-shirts and the bemused smirk as people shrug and say, “That’s the Chicago way.”

The reality is corruption in Chicago has ruined untold numbers of lives and led to the untimely end of many of them. To remind people of this reality, albeit in an enlightening and entertaining way, Dailing combined his experience as a newspaper reporter, a journalism professor, and a riverboat tour guide to create a unique walking tour about political corruption in Chicago and Illinois.

“People don’t realize the actual cost of all of this,” Dailing says. “I want them to know that even though people love Richard J. Daley, if you were black, he wasn’t a great mayor. If you were gay, or a woman, or poor, or a hippie, or just not his friend, he was terrible. This stuff gets romanticized for some lousy reason.”

The Chicago Corruption Walking Tour begins aptly outside the Metropolitan Correctional Center, moving north with stops at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, the Marquette Building, Thompson Center, one of our excessively expensive parking meters, a ritzy strip of River North that’s somehow in a tax increment finance, or TIF, district, and other downtown places to highlight key moments of unscrupulous power moves. Even people who’ve lived in Chicago their whole lives will learn something, Dailing promises.

“Capone’s men chased Octavius Granady [a black aldermanic candidate] through two wards before shooting him to death,” he says. “That was among the more disturbing stories I found while researching for the tour.”

Dailing’s topics range from seemingly outrageous (former mayor William Hale “Big Bill” Thompson threatening the king of England, the Chicago Outfit gangsters who also were aldermen) to all-too-familiar stories, like which four of our governors went to prison and which others were just criminally charged. He even uses maps to illustrate the most egregious examples of gerrymandering—like in the 4th district, where a stretch of highway where no one lives somehow connects two distinct areas.

Tours start Sunday, May 1, and spots can be reserved online. A mile-long tour is available for $15 and the full 2.25-mile tour costs $25. Half of the tour revenue goes to City Bureau, an organization that trains young journalists covering the south and west sides to create meaningful journalism that is published in local and national outlets (including this one).

One of the running themes throughout the tour is that it’s not always clear who’s bad and who’s good—"It’s a fluid issue,” Dailing says. Former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, for example, may have sent disgraced former governors George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich to prison, but he also threw reporters in jail during the Scooter Libby/Valerie Plame affair.

“I think Otto Kerner was a great governor, except for the fact that he took bribes,” Dailing adds. “The Kerner Commission report delved into the race riots, and it was the first time the U.S. government admitted social inequality is a real thing.”

It gets even murkier at the turn of the century when 1st ward aldermen Michael “Hinky Dink” Kenna and John “Bathhouse John” Coughlin came to power. While they helped poor citizens find better jobs and services, they also gave people free drinks at a bar in exchange for votes and used their influence to line their own pockets.

“They were basically scumbags for the people,” Dailing says. “But guys like Hinky Dink and Bathhouse also made things difficult for people who didn’t fall in line and vote the way they were told. Buying beers for votes is cute, but I try to show this in terms of a larger picture where things get worse, and suddenly these people aren’t so cute.”

Dailing says he hopes people leave the tour a little angry, a little more skeptical, but ultimately more aware of the extent to which corruption shaped Chicago and Illinois. “I don’t want people to leave this thinking it’s a hopeless situation,” Dailing says. “We know these stories because these people failed. The patronage system has been whittled down from the height of where it was, same with the Chicago Outfit. People are wising up that TIFs are bad politics.”

Political satire shows like The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee are popular even though they point out sad-but-true aspects of the way the world works. With that in mind, Dailing hopes people enjoy the tour but also are upset enough to get more involved with local political processes.

“I do want people to be pissed off and to want to do something about it,” he says. “I also want people to have a different Chicago experience. It’s OK to marvel at how tall the Sears Tower is, but we have more to talk about here.

“And screw all the romanticizing of Al Capone. We don’t need an unhinged gangster killer on T-shirts.”

Thanks to Benjamin Feldheim.

Tweet

Book Reveals the Inside Story of the Law's Battle to Remove the Influence and Corruption of Organized Crime from Sin City's Streets and Casinos

In 1971, the Chicago mob, known as the Outfit, sent an enforcer to Las Vegas to keep an eye on its casino interests. When he wasn’t busy taking action against threats to their cash-skimming activities, he ran lucrative street rackets that included loan sharking, robbery, burglary, and fencing stolen goods. For the next 15 years nothing happened in the Las Vegas underworld without his knowledge and approval. His name was Tony Spilotro. In the 1995 movie Casino, Joe Pesci played a character based on Spilotro.

This book tells the real story of Tony’s time in Sin City and the law’s efforts to remove him. It was compiled from many sources, including books, public records, and newspaper archives. But in large part it is told by the former Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department detectives and FBI agents themselves; the men that actually conducted the investigations, and the current and former reporters who covered the organized crime beat.

In the pages of this book, the commander of Metro’s Intelligence Bureau tells what strategies were put in place to combat Spilotro and his ruthless gang. The reader rides along with a pair of Metro detectives as an evening of routine surveillance turns violent and deadly, and joins FBI agents as they track bags full of unreported cash from mob-controlled casinos in Vegas to the crime families in Chicago, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Kansas City. It contains the inside details of the night Spilotro’s burglary crew broke into a business expecting a $1 million score, but instead walked into a joint Metro and FBI ambush. It also explains why one of Tony’s once-trusted lieutenants switched sides, sending shockwaves through organized crime families nationwide.

The adulterous relationship between Spilotro and the wife of his long-time pal and mob associate, Lefty Rosenthal is delved into. Rosenthal was considered to be a sports betting genius, and had been a major power in the Vegas gaming business until Tony arrived in town. After that, what could have been a panacea for both men turned into a nightmare. The affair between Tony and Geri Rosenthal was more than likely a contributing factor in the Outfit’s decision that Tony was expendable, resulting in his being beaten to death and buried in an Indiana cornfield in 1986.

An intriguing mix of people are unveiled as the author takes his readers back in time to the mob days in Vegas : Lawmen that were heroes, and other cops that were rogues. There are gangsters who robbed and murdered; rats and informants who played both sides, crooked hotel and casino employees, dedicated prosecutors, and journalists that had to walk a fine line to maintain credibility with both the lawmen and the mobsters.

The Battle for Las Vegas: The Law vs. The Mob, contains many photos and insights that won’t be found elsewhere.

Tweet

Liberace Garage at Hollywood Cars Museum Adds the Late Entertainer's Classic "Bicentennial" Rolls Royce

Now rolling into The Liberace Garage (www.liberace.org) at the Hollywood Cars Museum, Las Vegas, in all of its red, white and blue splendor, is the late entertainer's Bicentennial Rolls Royce, a 1952 Silver Dawn two light convertible London Motor Show car.



Designed for the "Liberace Show '76," the majestic vehicle was used on stage at the Las Vegas Hilton, with Liberace flying out of it via high wire cables while fireworks exploded and "Stars and Stripes Forever" played. It was later used at Radio City Music Hall in New York City for the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty. For Liberace, cars were often an extension of his wardrobe. So naturally, accompanying the Rolls is an updated version of a red, white and blue "Hot Pants" costume.

Launched with a gala catered cocktail reception at the Museum in early April, the Liberace Garage - now open to the public - is a collaboration between The Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts (www.liberace.org) and Hollywood Cars Museum at Hot Rod City, Las Vegas (www.hollywoodcarsmuseum.com). The event was a fundraiser for the foundation, which has provided over $6 million in scholarships in the creative and performing arts since 1981.

Among the vehicles on display at the Liberace Garage is the 1961 Rolls Royce Phantom V that Liberace used to drive onto the stage when he performed at the Las Vegas Hilton. The Foundation lent it to the production of the Emmy and Golden Globe Award winning HBO film Behind the Candelabra, starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon; Douglas, as Liberace, drove it on the stage.

The Liberace Garage also includes the crystal encrusted roadster that he had onstage during his final run of shows at Radio City Music Hall in 1986, and a large handful of cars he drove regularly, including the London Taxi (with the meter still installed) that he used to pick up famous guests from the Palm Springs Airport and the Bradley GT gold flaked sports car, among others.

The Hollywood Cars Museum at Hot Rod City is presented by Michael Dezer (www.dezercollection.com), owner of one of the world's largest vehicle collections at the Miami Auto Museum. It features vehicles that have appeared in more than 100 films, TV shows and videos and many wild custom creations.

Tweet

Operation Greylord: The True Story of an Untrained Undercover Agent and America’s Biggest Corruption Bust

"Operation Greylord: The True Story of an Untrained Undercover Agent and America's Biggest Corruption Bust" by Terrence Hake with Wayne Klatt.

This is the first book detailing Operation Greylord, one of the most successful undercover investigations in FBI history that occurred in 1980s Chicago. Hake, a naive attorney with no covert experience, was chosen to lead the undercover operation with no covert experience.

The Cook County Court system in Chicago was filled with corrupt judges and lawyers and after an almost four year investigation, more than 80 indictments were handed down to those judges and lawyers, according to the Chicago Tribune. Although the historical significance of this investigation cannot be overlooked, this book reads like a fictional thriller as Hake divulges his insider knowledge. A suspenseful tone is maintained throughout; ensuring readers are riveted from the first page.

Tweet

Lawsuit Alleges @IUBAC Local 21 Falsely Accused Concrete Contractor, Quality Restorations, of Mob Ties

A Chicago concrete contractor has hit a local labor union with a lawsuit, claiming the union lied about the business during demonstrations and in fliers designed to protest the contractor’s work on the Apparel Center building in River North.

On April 14, Quality Restorations Inc. filed its complaint in Cook County Circuit Court, alleging the International Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers, Administrative District Council #1 of Illinois, defamed the construction company in fliers handed out to potentially thousands of people as part of a campaign against the business.

According to the complaint, Quality Restorations secured a contract to make unspecified repairs to the building, located at 350 N. Orleans, just north of the Chicago River and next to Merchandise Mart, in Chicago.

In June 2015, Quality Restorations’ complaint said the IUBAC’s Local 21 demonstrated near the building against Quality Restorations’ work on the project. According to the complaint, the demonstrators handed out “orange flyers … to numerous people passing by … including an agent of the owner.”

The complaint said the fliers delivered a litany of allegations against Quality Restorations, including that the company requires its workers to join a union, identified in the fliers as the “Independent Union of Amalgamated Workers Local 711.” The fliers said that particular union “negotiates sweetheart contracts that usually mean substandard wages and little or no benefits” for workers. Further, the fliers allegedly stated Local 711 was affiliated with “the Chicago Mob” through two men, identified in the court documents as James Bertino and John Matassa.

The fliers allegedly asked the owners of the building to stop working with Quality Restorations and “to stop doing business with a Mob union.”

It provided the contact information for a different contractor for the building’s owners to call, should they “think this work should be done by a contractor who works with real unions and whose employees receive proper wages and benefits.”

Quality Restorations said the building’s owners “questioned Quality Restorations about them immediately upon learning of them.”

The complaint indicated the fliers represented an injury to Quality Restorations’ business because the company asserted the accusations contained in the fliers were false, and “building owners and the engineers that manage their construction projects and assist in hiring contractors are sensitive to the associations and reputations of the contractors they hire, and they seek to avoid public relations issues at their buildings and work sites.”

Quality Restorations said they are “not associated with and does not conduct business” with Bertino, Matassa or “the mob” and pay their employees’ “proper wages and benefits,” contrary to the statements in the fliers designed to “impute that Quality Restorations is complicit in the alleged crimes of IUAW Local 711 and that Quality Restorations is involved in organized crime.”

The contractor asked the court to order the IUBAC to pay unspecified damages, including punitive damages, to be determined at trial.

Quality Restorations’ website lists Bob Joyce as its founder, owner and president. The website says the company has been in business since 1984, and has worked on a number of high profile building projects in Chicago.

The company is represented in this defamation action by attorney Matthew A. Wlodarczyk, of Wlodarczyk Law LLC, of Arlington Heights.

Thanks to Jonathan Bilyk.

Tweet

More Than 20 Mexican Mafia Gang Members Arrested in Historic Raids

"Not in my town." That's the message Seguin police hope they got across to gangs.

Nearly a dozen raids were executed as the result of an 18-month long investigation into the Mexican Mafia.

Seguin police say that, as a result, they've put a dent in the gang and drug activity in their community.

Among the day's take: piles of drugs, $60,000 in cash, and several weapons removed from nearly a dozen locations where Mexican Mafia gang members were known to operate. "We do believe that this is going to cause an incredibly serious interruption in the Mexican Mafia in this region," Seguin Police Department Deputy Chief Bruce Ure said.

The investigation into the drug activity began in Seguin 18 months ago with other local, state and federal agencies helping with the execution of those search warrants. "The operation spanned as far west as San Antonio and went as far east as the Houston area. And as far north as New Braunfels," Deputy Chief Ure said.

All the arrests resulted in federal and state drug charges.

One woman at the scene says her family has no affiliation with the Mexican Mafia. "There's no gang members here. They need to get their investigation straight before they come accusing," said Amy Herrera, whose family's home was raided. But police say that all of the locations raided Friday were known to have drug activity. "They are all known Mexican Mafia gang members and if you know anything about the Mexican Mafia, they're a vicious, vicious gang," Deputy Chief Ure said.

It's a gang they hope they have sent a strong message to. "Our gang members need to know whether you're in the MS13, or the Mexican Mafia, or where ever you are. If you're in our region, you're on our radar," Deputy Chief Ure said.

Those that were arrested remain behind bars, including a high-ranking "lieutenant," until their detention hearings in federal court.

Authorities say they are still searching for three other men wanted for drug charges.

Tweet

Former Olympian, Current Hells Angel, Shot while Riding Motorcycle

Phil Boudreault, the Sudbury boxer who became an unlikely hero at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta and a longtime, high-ranking Hells Angels member, was reportedly shot while riding his motorcycle near Lachute, Que. on Saturday morning.

Sources say he suffered a punctured lung in the attack, which officers from the Surete de Quebec believe was linked to organized crime.

Police have not named the shooting victim, but according to QMI Agency, sources have identified him as Boudreault, a 41-year-old Sudbury native and vice-president for the Hells Angels Ontario Nomads who had been living in Quebec.

According to QMI, SQ spokeswoman Audrey-Anne Bilodeau said "the motorcyclist was seriously injured and was rushed to a hospital, but there is no fear for his life."

Sudbury sources have also identified Boudreault as the man who was shot.

Gord Apolloni, head coach at Top Glove Boxing Academy in Sudbury and Boudreault's former trainer, said he received calls on Sunday confirming the news. "He was going to a bike show near Montreal," Apolloni said. "He was lucky that his girlfriend didn't get shot, because she was on the back of the bike."

Apolloni said he was told Boudreault's injuries were serious and that he might have shrapnel in his spine.

Apolloni said he hasn't seen or spoken with Boudreault in some time, but said "it was a scary thought, knowing he could have been killed." "He has gone off on his own at this point, but I still remember Phil the way that Phil was at the Olympic Games. I still remember him living on his own and trying to clean his life up. That's how I remember Phil."

Police were called at around 10:30 a.m. about an incident on Bethany Road. A man was found lying in a ditch, his motorcycle at his side.

The assailants reportedly fled in an older, gray-blue SUV, which police are trying to locate.

"We heard maybe 10-15 shots," a witness, who did not want to be identified, told QMI Agency in French. "After that, there was a truck that passed us quite quickly and he left."

CTV News in Montreal reported a resident who lives nearby and who did not want to be named said he heard bangs and then a series of rapid-fire shots. He ran to the road and found the biker in pain and lying on the road with a woman at his side, CTV reported.

A second motorcyclist who was riding with them came and dragged the victim away to a ditch, the resident said. The resident spoke to the victim – an anglophone – who told him he is a member of the Hells Angels, CTV reported.

Boudreault had been seen last November at a funeral for one of the founding members of the Hells Angels in Montreal, Lionel Deschamps, in Repentigny, Que., QMI reported, and wore a jacket emblazoned with a Nomads "vice-president" badge.

Dubbed "The Sudbury Sensation," Boudreault represented Canada in the light welterweight division at the 1996 Summer Olympics and became a hero both locally and nationally for a time for his spirited showing in Atlanta.

Since then, however, he has spent much of his time getting in trouble with the law, including a brutal bar attack in 2005.

In 2013, he told a Sudbury court he planned to leave Sudbury after he was sentenced to 90 days in jail for violating his long-term supervision order. "My wife is a schoolteacher," Boudreault said after receiving the jail term. "We're moving. We're out of here … I will pack my bags and be out of this community for good … "I have overstayed my welcome, obviously.”

The former boxer was declared a long-term offender in August 2005, after he was found guilty of a vicious assault on a Valley East father and son in March, 2004. One of the victims suffered a broken jaw in three places, the loss of some teeth and part of his jawbone, and bruised ribs.

In August 2007, Boudreault was placed on a five-year long-term supervision order after completing a two-year prison term for the assault. The Crown had sought to have him declared a dangerous offender.

Boudreault made several attempts to resume his boxing career and compiled a 5-1 record as a professional, but couldn’t stay out of legal trouble.

"I still believe I can perform on the world stage,'' Boudreault told The Star during a training session at the Valley East Boxing Club's facilities in 2009. "I'm not saying I'm going to win a world title, but I believe I can compete at that level.''

Less than a year later, Boudreault was in jail in Sudbury.

Boudreault impressed boxing aficionados with his performance at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, finishing fourth in his weight class and coming within a whisker of winning a bronze medal. Many observers believed he should have won a medal, but was shortchanged by the judges' decision in his final bout.

Thanks to Sudbury Star.

Tweet

Prison Sentenced Announced for 10th Street Gang Member in Shooting

U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced that Luis Hernandez, age 26, of Buffalo, New York, who was convicted of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi, who handled the case, stated that on April 17, 2006, the defendant assisted a group of 10th Street Gang members, who were looking to shoot rival 7th Street Gang members, by firing a shotgun at a group of people outside of a residence on Pennsylvania Street on the West Side of Buffalo. On that date, the defendant was among a group of six (6) 10th Street Gang members and associates who were armed and fired shots at the victims. During the shooting, the defendant possessed a shotgun and discharged this firearm in the general vicinity of the victims. In total, dozens of shots were fired at the victims from the various firearms possessed by the defendant and other 10th Street Gang members and associates. Brandon MacDonald and Darinell Young were both shot and killed as a result of injuries sustained during the shooting.

Tweet

Prison Sentenced Announced for 7th Street Gang Member in RICO Case

U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced that 7th Street Gang member Luis Medina, 24, who pleaded guilty to Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy, was sentenced to 210 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi, who handled the case, stated that Luis Medina, as a member of the 7th Street Gang, sold heroin and possessed firearms. In addition, on April 16, 2006, Medina shot a rival 10th Street Gang member with a .22 caliber firearm. Furthermore, on June 13, 2009, while being held in the Erie County Holding Center, Medina learned that his cousin Christian Portes was killed by the 10th Gang members. Medina made a phone call from the holding center requesting that fellow 7th Street Gang members kill 10th Street Gang members in retaliation for the murder of his cousin. After being released on November 7, 2009, Medina himself fired shots at 10th Gang members.

A total of 18 defendants have been charged in this case. To date, 17 have been convicted.

Tweet

George Stefano's: An Offer We Can't Refuse -- The Mafia in the Mind of America

Reviews by:

Allan Barra
Carlin Romano
James Sweeney

Tweet

Cuban Mafia Movie, The Corporation, to Involve @LeoDiCaprio and Benicio Del Toro

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Paramount Pictures have acquired the production rights for "The Corporation," a film in which Benicio Del Toro will play a Cuban mafia kingpin, Rock Moon Production, the multimedia firm that sold the rights, announced on Wednesday.

The Appian Way production company, owned by DiCaprio, and Paramount Pictures bought the rights to produce the film based on the same-named book by author T.J. English.

Crafting the screenplay will be handled by David Matthews, who has written scripts for well-known HBO series such as "Vinyl" and "Boardwalk Empire."

A bidding war broke out last week among big Hollywood studios and production companies to obtain the rights to English's book, which tells an "epic story" of the Cuban-American underworld.

Del Toro will take on the role of Jose Miguel Battle Sr., the head of the Cuban-American mafia in a film that aims to be a "Cuban version" of "The Godfather" and "American Gangster," according to a statement on the matter.

English is the author of bestsellers such as "Havana Nocturne" and "Born to Kill," and he has been a co-screenwriter for the popular television series "NYPD Blue."

Rock Moon director Tony Gonzalez said that he could not think of a better studio than Paramount to produce the film, given that it is the studio that produced "The Godfather."

Tweet

Attorney for Roman Catholic Priest Who Plead to Conspiracy with Mob, Cries Foul on Feds

The lawyer for a former prison chaplain awaiting sentencing for passing notes from convicted Chicago Outfit boss Frank Calabrese Sr. accused federal prosecutors Wednesday of making "inaccurate and highly inflammatory" claims that the priest had also divulged the secret location of the mobster's turncoat brother.

Prosecutors alleged in a sentencing memorandum earlier this week that Eugene Klein had revealed secret information to Calabrese about the location of his brother, Nicholas, who was in the federal witness protection program after his stunning decision to cooperate brought about the landmark Operation Family Secrets probe.

In a court filing Wednesday, however, attorney Thomas Anthony Durkin wrote that Klein never knew where Nicholas Calabrese was being held and never took any steps to find out, even though as an employee of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, he could have done so.

Durkin called the allegations "consistent with the hostile and over-the-top position the government has taken throughout this case." He asked U.S. District Judge John Darrah to strike the references to Nicholas Calabrese from the court record and possibly delay Klein's Thursday sentencing so the judge can hold an evidentiary hearing into the matter.

Klein, a Roman Catholic priest, admitted in a plea agreement with prosecutors that he violated the most restrictive prison security measures possible that had been placed on Calabrese by conspiring with the convicted hit man to recover a supposedly rare 18th-century Stradivarius violin said to be hidden in the mobster's vacation home.

In asking for the maximum of five years in prison, prosecutors alleged for the first time Monday that Klein had also revealed information about the location of Nicholas Calabrese despite knowing that he "was in grave danger" because of his cooperation with law enforcement. But Durkin included in his filing an FBI report that showed Klein had told agents in April 2011 that another inmate had told him he knew where Nicholas Calabrese was located. Klein relayed the message to Frank Calabrese Sr., who "asked Klein to find out all he could about the matter," the FBI report stated.

"Although Klein did not intend to do anything more, he told Calabrese that he would see what he could do," the report said. Klein, however, was never told which prison the inmate thought Nicholas Calabrese was in and he never took any other steps to find out, according to the report. Nicholas Calabrese was behind bars at the time for unrelated mob charges.

Nicholas Calabrese was the first made member of the Chicago Outfit to testify against his cohorts, and his testimony at the Family Secrets trial in 2007 led to life sentences for several Chicago mobsters, including his brother. Although he admitted to killing 14 people for the Outfit, Nicholas Calabrese was given just 12 years in prison because of his unprecedented cooperation.

Frank Calabrese Sr. was first placed under special administrative measures after he was allegedly seen in court mouthing, "You are a (expletive) dead man," at a federal prosecutor.

Thanks to Jason Meisner.

Tweet

Mafia Book Not So Easy to Forget About: The Last Godfather: The Rise and Fall of Joey Massino

Sometimes "forget about it" means just that - forget about it.

In the case of The Last Godfather: The Rise and Fall of Joey Massino, forget about it - it's a must-read for mafia nuts everywhere.

The book has everything a fan of "The Sopranos" could possibly desire: murder, mayhem and a plethora of shady characters with colorful names like Benjamin "Lefty Guns" Ruggiero, Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano and "Patty Muscles."

The story concerns the rise to power and eventual downfall of Joseph Massino, a capo in the Bonanno crime family, one of the infamous five families of New York. After eliminating his rivals, Massino became capo di tutti capi, boss of bosses. At one point he had over 100 men and was involved in every conceivable racket, everything from "pump and dump" stock market schemes to good old loan sharking. After the FBI cracked down on organized crime in the '80s, he was the last don walking the streets.

And then it all came tumbling down, due in part to the infiltration of the family by FBI agent Joseph "Donnie Brasco" Pistone.

The Bonannos - named after Joseph "Joey Bananas" Bonanno - boasted an impressive track record of never having had a rat in their midst. During its nearly 100-year existence, members would often go to the electric chair before dishonoring the family. This was part of omerta, the conspiracy of silence, that made the Mafia so successful. But by the late '90s, the honor among thieves had largely dissolved. High-ranking members were ready to jump ship and sell out their compatriots rather than face brutally long stints in prison. One by one, Massino's capos turned on him, ratting him out for the murder of Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato, an infamous mob murder dramatized in the film "Donnie Brasco."

If this sounds like a lot of back story, it isn't. The book jumps back and forth between courtroom testimony and an account of the family's activities in the late '70s and early '80s. The story involves hundreds of people and dozens of murders, and a dizzying amount of shadiness.

The book, while fascinating, is written rather poorly. It's sentences are clunky, and the author usually explains his rather elementary metaphors. This is mildly insulting to one's intelligence, but the story is fascinating enough to leave the bad writing as little more than a minor irritation. If you need something to while away the nearly eternal dead space between "Sopranos" episodes, this book has you covered.

Thanks to John Bear

Tweet

Did Father Klein Leak the Location of Mob Informant Nick Calabrese?

Federal prosecutors in Chicago want to send a Roman Catholic priest to prison for five years for a crime that involved the Chicago mob and a plot to steal a priceless violin.

Father Eugene Klein wore a Roman collar, but the story line is less God and more godfather. The elements resemble a mafia movie: secret messages from prison, a violin stashed in a vacation retreat, and a priest recruited by an outfit hitman. But the trailer is about to come to an end on Thursday, when Father Klein is sentenced for helping a late mob boss in solitary confinement.

For Chicago mob boss Frank Calabrese, killing was a breeze, hence his nickname "Frankie Breeze". In 2011, Calabrese was at a Missouri penitentiary doing life for 13 Chicago mob hits in the Family Secrets case. He was considered a security risk and held in solitary confinement when prison chaplain Father Klein became more than a spiritual advisor.

Klein plotted to help the outfit boss recover a rare, centuries-old violin that Calabrese had hidden years earlier here in his Wisconsin summer home. The plot was aimed to prevent U.S. authorities from finding the violin and selling it to pay off the mobster's debt to society. But that's not all he did. Now authorities say Father Klein told Frank Calabrese where Nick Calabrese - his brother and the key witness in the case - was living while he was in the witness protection program.

According to a court filing Monday, prosecutors want to send the priest to prison for the maximum five-year sentence because they say he had clear disregard for others and for the trust placed in him, and that new information Klein revealed to Frank Calabrese about the location of his brother, Nicholas, "knowing that Nicholas had cooperated against his brother and was in grave danger as a result."

Father Klein's attorney Tom Durkin compared the priest's 60-month recommended sentence to that of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, whom prosecutors recommend less than six months.

Durkin told the I-Team: "They recommend no more than six months for Dennis Hastert and ten times that amount for Fr. Klein. That is absurd."

"This latest revelation that the priest, the defendant, tried to help identify the location of a witness that's a bombshell and that can explain why the government is seeking so much time because it undermines the witness security program," said ABC7 Legal Analyst Gil Soffer.

During trial, Frank Calabrese threatened to kill a U.S. prosecutor. The mobster was considered a ruthless killer and a dangerous prisoner.

Soffer says Father Klein used his religious position to help Calabrese communicate with the outside world - conduct he says resulted in the government asking for such a lengthy sentence.

Thanks to Chuck Goudie.

Tweet

Book Review Compilation: Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires By Selwyn Raab

Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

Reviewed by: Joseph Rosenbloom

Reviewed by: John Symntek

Tweet

Gotti's Rules: The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia

From the New York Times bestselling author of Blood and Honor: Inside the Scarfo Mob--The Mafia's Most Violent Family, and The Last Gangster—“one of the most respected crime reporters in the country” (60 Minutes)—comes the sure to be headline-making inside story of the Gotti and Gambino families, told from the unique viewpoint of notorious mob hit-man John Alite, a close associate of Junior Gotti who later testified against him.

In Gotti's Rules: The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia, George Anastasia, a prize-winning reporter who spent over thirty years covering crime, offers a shocking and very rare glimpse into the Gotti family, witnessed up-close from former family insider John Alite, John Gotti Jr.’s longtime friend and protector. Until now, no one has given up the kind of personal details about the Gottis—including the legendary “Gotti Rules” of leadership—that Anastasia exposes here. Drawing on extensive FBI files and other documentation, his own knowledge, and exclusive interviews with insiders and experts, including mob-enforcer-turned-government-witness Alite, Anastasia pokes holes in the Gotti legend, demystifying this notorious family and its lucrative and often deadly machinations.

Anastasia offers never-before-heard information about the murders, drug dealing, and extortion that propelled John J. Gotti to the top of the Gambino crime family and the treachery and deceit that allowed John A. “Junior” Gotti to follow in his father’s footsteps. Told from street level and through the eyes of a wiseguy who saw it all firsthand, the result is a riveting look at a family whose hubris, violence, passion, and greed fueled a bloody rise and devastating fall that is still reverberating through the American underworld today.

Gotti's Rules: The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia, includes 8 pages of black-and-white photographs.

Tweet

Fraternities And Sororities at @LehighU Reputedly Defrauded in Conspiracy Case

An indictment was filed charging Albert Fisher, 76, of Quakertown, PA, with conspiring to defraud fraternities, sororities and fraternity alumni associations at Lehigh University, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.  The defendant is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of wire fraud, and five counts of subscribing to false tax returns.

Fisher and Person #1 operated Fraternity Management Association (“FMA”), located in Bethlehem, PA, and allegedly created a fictitious consulting company, “Fisher and Associates,” which had FMA as its sole client.  During the period charged, Person #1 was the Executive Director of FMA while Fisher was employed by FMA as both a full-time employee and as an independent contractor for Fisher and Associates.  According to the indictment, between 2009 and 2013, Fisher and FMA’s Executive Director conspired to take money, as payment for future services, that was intended to pay for the operations and upkeep of the fraternities and sororities which included food services and the financial management of expenses. Instead of paying for future services, Fisher and the Executive Director allegedly misappropriated at least $1,461,777.96 in funds from FMA and the victim fraternities which he and the Executive Director used for their own personal purposes, including purchases of goods and services, vacation expenses, home furnishings, and designer clothing.  Fisher allegedly lied to the victims about the money that was entrusted to FMA.  When FMA ceased operations during the Spring of 2014, Fisher and the Executive Director caused an additional $990,157.41 in expenses for the fraternities, sororities and other victims, including Lehigh University, when the victims had to pay for operations and upkeep of the fraternities.

It is further alleged that Fisher filed tax returns for tax years 2009 to 2013 which failed to report $614,398 in income, which included the defendant’s personal expenses that were paid by FMA and consulting fees authorized by the Executive Director and paid on behalf of FMA.  

If convicted, Fisher faces a maximum possible sentence of 50 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, restitution, a possible fine, and a $700 special assessment.

Tweet

Vladimir Putin Orders Creation of National Guard to Fight Organized Crime and Terrorism

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered that a National Guard be created in Russia under the auspices of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The guard will fight terrorism and organized crime.
“We have made a decision to create a new federal executive body within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, namely the National Guard," the president said Tuesday.

The National Guard "will be fighting terrorism, organized crime, all in close cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They will also continue to perform the functions which are currently carried out by riot police units, SWAT, etc.,” he added.

The National Guard will be formed out of existing Interior Ministry troops. “We thought about how to improve [the work of law enforcement] in all areas, including those related to fighting terrorism, to organized crime and illicit drug trafficking,” Putin said.

The statement came as Putin met Interior Minister Viktor Kolokoltsev, head of the Federal Drug Control Service Viktor Ivanov, and the commander of the interior troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Viktor Zolotov.

Viktor Zolotov, ex-commander of the Internal Troops and former head of the President's personal security service, has been appointed as the leader of the new structure, with orders to report directly to the president, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Tuesday.

He also drew attention to the fact that Zolotov “has grand experience in [the work of] special forces. This is a very good basis for managing a body such as the National Guard.”

The National Guard will not perform field investigation activities, but they will be involved in fighting terrorism within the country, he added.  It is not yet clear, however, whether these troops will be taking part in counter-terrorism operations abroad, according to the spokesman.

Peskov said that the National Guard will work to protect public safety and order along with the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Peskov added that the changes in the structure of internal troops do not mean a loss of confidence in them, stressing that the move is aimed at improving their combat capabilities and increasing their effectiveness.

The creation of the new department will require improving the existing legal regulatory framework, as well as setting up ties with other agencies dealing with state security, especially the National Anti-Terrorism Committee, for coordination, he added.

No increase in staffing will be needed, according to Peskov. Moreover, “a combination of merging the Federal Drug Control Service and the Federal Migration Service with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the allocation of internal troops into the National Guard will optimize the entire structure,” he explained.

State Duma representatives have welcomed the President’s decision. Michael Starshinov, head of the inter-factional group on the interaction of civil society with law enforcement and intelligence agencies, considers the creation of the National Guard the State’s response to the current challenges. “I can only support the president's decision, because it corresponds with the logic of reforming the judicial system in general and the Ministry of Interior in particular. This step, of course, is also a response to modern challenges and threats, primarily from the international terrorism” Starshinov told reporters.

The deputy chairman of the Duma committee on security and corruption control, Andrey Lugovoy,  expressed his hope for positive changes from the creation of the new structure. “The fact that the internal forces will obtain new duties – fighting against organized crime and terrorism – I would expect that the effect of this will be positive,” Lugovoy said.

Franz Klintsevich, first Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, noted the National Guard will not have to answer to a long hierarchy of superiors, which will make decision-making easier and faster. “[The National Guard will] possess the maximum resources to fight terrorism, including the best forces from the Interior Ministry troops – the people, as they say, proven in combat. It will be endowed with ample powers laid down by federal law [and] will be able to make decisions quickly, without wasting time on all sorts of coordination.”

State Duma deputy from the party 'Spravedlivaya Rossiya' Tatyana Moskalkova also welcomed the news, predicting great improvement to the effectiveness of internal troops.

“The task of combating crime involves the use of specific tools, which are owned by internal troops. [Internal troops] use this special knowledge and special tools to deal with the most dangerous criminal manifestations, such as terrorism, hostage taking, hijacking and riots. The forming of the National Guard is a step toward strengthening the structure [of security forces] and finding new solutions to these security problems,” she said.

Tweet

$100,000 Reward for Mexican Citizen, Brenda Delgado, Just the 9th Woman Placed on FBI's Most Wanted Fugitive List

The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced the addition of Brenda Delgado to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Delgado is being sought for allegedly orchestrating the murder-for-hire of dentist Dr. Kendra Hatcher in Dallas, Texas.



On September 2, 2015, the victim was found deceased from a gunshot wound in the parking garage of her apartment complex. Based on investigative efforts by the Dallas Police Department, Delgado is suspected of hiring two alleged co-conspirators to facilitate the murder. Both co-conspirators have been arrested and are currently in custody. Delgado is believed to have fled the country shortly after being interviewed by investigators.

Delgado has been charged with capital murder for her alleged crime, and a federal arrest warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution was issued by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas on October 7, 2015. Delgado is a Mexican citizen, born Brenda Berenice Delgado Reynaga, on June 18, 1982. She is described as a Hispanic female, 5’5” tall, 145 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. She has a butterfly tattoo on the small of her back. Delgado has ties to Mexico, and investigators strongly believe she may currently be residing there.

The search for Delgado is being coordinated by the Dallas FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force, which is composed of FBI special agents and detectives from the Dallas and Garland Police Departments. Given that Delgado’s alleged crime involved the use of a firearm, she should be considered armed and dangerous.

“The FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives program is one of the most powerful tools we have to apprehend our country’s most dangerous criminals,” said Joseph Campbell, assistant director of the Criminal Investigative Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. “Community visibility and awareness of the program brings the eyes and ears of citizens around the world into the effort, which leads to the capture of these criminals.”

Thomas M. Class, Sr., special agent in charge of the FBI’s Dallas Field Office, said, “Brenda Delgado was able to effectively manipulate everyone she involved in her calculated scheme. Although she didn’t pull the trigger herself, she is still responsible for the murder of Dr. Kendra Hatcher, and through international publicity and a significant reward offering, we intend to find her and to bring her to justice.”

Robert Sherwin, deputy chief of the Dallas Police Department’s Crimes Against Persons Division, said, “The evidence against Brenda Delgado has been gathered, the case has been filed by our detectives, a grand jury has indicted her, and a warrant has been issued for her arrest. What is left to do is to bring her to justice and have her answer for this crime that shocked our community. I am thankful to Kendra’s family for their strength and for all of the individuals involved in adding Brenda Delgado to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.”

Delgado is the 506th person and the ninth woman to be placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, which was established in March 1950. Since then, 474 fugitives have been apprehended or located, 156 of them as a result of citizen cooperation.

A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for any information leading directly to the arrest of Delgado. Individuals with information concerning Delgado should take no action themselves but are asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). Tips can also be submitted online at https://tips.fbi.gov. For possible sightings outside the United States, please contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. The FBI’s Dallas Field Office can be reached at 972-559-5000. Additional information concerning Delgado, including her wanted poster and the FBI’s list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, can be found by visiting the FBI’s website at https://www.fbi.gov.

Tweet

Free Men's Valet Box from Things Remembered!

Free Men's Valet Box, When Engraved with Jewelry Purchase from Things Remembered!

Tweet

An Offer We Can't Refuse - the Love/Hate Affair of the Mafia Mystique

The Mafia Mystique, Italian-Americans have love/hate affair with the dark side of their heritage.

Years ago, writing about the legacy of Mario Puzo, I said, "If there is a God and he is indeed Catholic, then Puzo is burning in hell." Before The Godfather was published in 1969, historians of organized crime in the 20th century told us that some major stars of the modern mob had names like Arnold Rothstein, Owney Madden, and Logan and Fred Billingsley. After The Godfather, the only major crime figures who got any attention were the ones whose names ended in vowels.

Thanks to this myth-mongering hack, Frank Sinatra will forever be remembered as the man who, through his fictional counterpart, Johnny Fontaine, crooned I Have But One Heart at his godfather's daughter's wedding. It is now taken for fact that Sinatra owed his comeback and hence his success not to his talent but to the Mafia; apparently they held guns to the heads of people, forcing them to buy all those Sinatra albums.

The provocative and lively An Offer We Can't Refuse: The Mafia in the Mind of America, by George De Stefano, a journalist and cultural critic whose work can be most often read in The Nation, has convinced me that I've been too tough on Puzo. The Godfather, the book and the movie, did, after all, succeed in reviving interest in Italian-American culture at a time when it appeared to be fading into the suburban landscape. I can only speak for members of my father's family, who rather enjoyed the attention and even reveled in the idea that they might actually be a bit feared because of their name.

For De Stefano, as for many of our generation, Francis Ford Coppola's film was an epiphany. The gay Baby Boomer son of a Neapolitan auto mechanic and a Sicilian housewife, De Stefano, by the time he was in college, had drifted far from his parents' world: "The Stones' Sticky Fingers was on my stereo and a Black Panther poster adorned my dorm room wall. My identity was radical hippie freak. My ethnic background was just that, background."

An Offer We Can't Refuse invites Italian-Americans of all backgrounds to the family table to discuss the issues of how mob-related movies and television shows have affected the very notion of what their heritage still means in the 21st century.

It's a big table. At the head is Richard Gambino, whose 1974 book Blood of My Blood -- The Dilemma of Italian-Americans was the first serious work of nonfiction written on the subject; sitting in the middle are Gay Talese, Nicholas Gage, and nearly every other prominent, second-generation Italian-American journalist; and fighting for attention down at the end of the table are third-generation would-be personas importante such as Maria Laurino, Maria Russo, Bill Tonelli, and, in the interests of full disclosure, me (I am quoted twice by De Stefano). As you can imagine, it's one heck of a noisy table.

The principal topic of discussion is not so much the Mafia, whose power most experts seem to feel is dwindling, as the Mafia's mystique. But as journalist Anthony Mancini puts it, "It's just too good a myth to abandon."

The best movies and shows about mobsters and their families -- Coppola's Godfather movies, Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets, The Sopranos, the late, lamented cult TV series Wise Guy -- were never really about the mob anyway; they were always about the vicissitudes of Italian-American family life and the perils of maintaining tradition in the face of assimilation, a metaphor for the American immigrant experience.

As a Russian neighbor of mine put it, "I never really thought The Godfather was about crime. I thought it was about the part where Don Corleone tells Michael he wanted something better for him than he had had."

These shows provide an answer to why the people who gave the world Dante, da Vinci, Boccaccio, Verdi and Rossini have produced so few literary artists in this country. Their grandparents might have come here without being able to write in their own language, much less English, but Coppola, Scorsese, Brian De Palma, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Quentin Tarantino and several others have used their experiences to give the world the poetry that their ancestors couldn't. Don Corleone gave Michael something better after all.

But, says De Stefano, "Consider another possibility. Italian-Americans owe their high visibility in American popular culture in large measure to the very gangster image so many deplore. If the mafioso as cultural archetype were to become extinct, might Italian Americans themselves drop off the radar screen?"

In other words, if the Mafia myth peters out, does that mean the end of the Italian-American as a protagonist in our popular culture?

It's a dicey question, but after careful consideration De Stefano answers with a resounding "no." The Mafia myth, he steadfastly maintains, cannot be the last word: "Ethnicity remains a riveting, complicated drama of American life, and popular art that illuminates its workings still is needed. Italian America still has many more stories to tell."

Thanks to Allen Barra

Tweet

The Insane Chicago Way: The Daring Plan by Chicago Gangs to Create a Spanish Mafia

The Insane Chicago Way: The Daring Plan by Chicago Gangs to Create a Spanish Mafia, is the untold story of a daring plan by Chicago gangs in the 1990s to create a Spanish Mafia—and why it failed. John M. Hagedorn traces how Chicago Latino gang leaders, following in Al Capone’s footsteps, built a sophisticated organization dedicated to organizing crime and reducing violence. His lively stories of extensive cross-neighborhood gang organization, tales of police/gang corruption, and discovery of covert gang connections to Chicago’s Mafia challenge conventional wisdom and offer lessons for the control of violence today.

The book centers on the secret history of Spanish Growth & Development (SGD)—an organization of Latino gangs founded in 1989 and modeled on the Mafia’s nationwide Commission. It also tells a story within a story of the criminal exploits of the C-Note$, the “minor league” team of the Chicago’s Mafia (called the “Outfit”), which influenced the direction of SGD. Hagedorn’s tale is based on three years of interviews with an Outfit soldier as well as access to SGD’s constitution and other secret documents, which he supplements with interviews of key SGD leaders, court records, and newspaper accounts. The result is a stunning, heretofore unknown history of the grand ambitions of Chicago gang leaders that ultimately led to SGD’s shocking collapse in a pool of blood on the steps of a gang-organized peace conference.

The Insane Chicago Way: The Daring Plan by Chicago Gangs to Create a Spanish Mafia, is a compelling history of the lives and deaths of Chicago gang leaders. At the same time it is a sociological tour de force that warns of the dangers of organized crime while arguing that today’s relative disorganization of gangs presents opportunities for intervention and reductions in violence.

Tweet