April 25, 2005 Frank "Gumba" Saladino

[cavita]

On April 25, 2005 FBI agents came calling to the Super 8 Motel in Hampshire, Illinois for Frank “Gumba” Saladino with a warrant for his arrest regarding murders he committed for the Chicago Outfit’s 26th Street/Chinatown Crew from years before. When agents entered his room they found Saladino dead from apparent heart issues. Found in the 59-year-old mobster’s hotel room was $25,000 in cash and $70,000 in checks which authorities assumed were part of the collections Saladino made on gambling collections and extortion tied to the Chicago Outfit but Saladino had cut ties with that group long before.

To understand Frank Saladino, one would have to go back to his youth in south Rockford. Frank was born December 9, 1945 to Giorgio Saladino and Giuseppa Patti. Frank’s father was already a made member of the Rockford LCN by the time Frank was born and indications are that he was a capo responsible for the men under him. Frank’s younger years were unremarkable except that he was very large for his age so that made him a formidable person on the football field for St. Anthony’s School. His first brush with the law came on January 29, 1963 when he was arrested for beating and robbing 48-year-old Louis Mays in an alley behind the St. Mary Society. When this case came to trial, the victim failed to identify Saladino in court, most likely because he was made aware of the stature his father had in the Rockford LCN.

Saladino didn’t wait much longer to get into trouble again when on August 31, 1963 he was in a vehicle with Joseph C. Zito, 23, Dominic Gaziano, 21 and Jerry J. Amore, 20. The four young men were stopped behind another vehicle at a train crossing at Corbin Street and Tay Street in Rockford. Saladino and his companions were impatient with having to wait behind the other vehicle and began honking. Not getting the desired results, the four men got out of their cars and dragged the other two men from their vehicle and began beating them. For this incident, Saladino was only charged with a curfew violation.

More serious charges for Frank came down on July 27, 1964 when he and his friend Joseph W. Saladino encountered 18-year-old Carolyn Blades waiting for a bus at South Church and Montague Streets. The two men offered Blades a ride and she accepted because she knew the two from around the neighborhood. The three then stopped off and bought two quarts of beer and drove west of Rockford where ultimately the two men raped the young woman. For this, both men were sentenced to 3-10 years in the Illinois State Penitentiary.

On March 11, 1968 Frank was released from Pontiac state prison and it was thought that Frank started making gambling collections on behalf of the Rockford LCN due to his brother-in-law Phil Cannella being a made member as well. Frank was never known as “Gumba” in Rockford, rather he was referred to as “Fat Frank” and at some point in the 1970s he had hooked up with the Chicago Outfit through the Rockford LCN owing to the close affiliation of both families. Due to his immense size at over six feet and three hundred pounds, Frank was a natural at intimidating gambling debtors into paying up and the 26th Street/Chinatown Crew utilized him for this but also for beatings and murder, to which he committed at least four for the them.

Frank was also used in that crew’s burglary ring as well as an August 20, 1981 arrest showed. Saladino was arrested for being involved in a Chicago burglary ring that moved over $400,000 worth of merchandise along with Ronald Jarrett, Michael Gurgone, Frank Bertucci, Tom Versetto, George Ravnic, Phil Lazzar, Sam Bills and Sam Ciancio, all associates of the Chicago Outfit. By February 27, 1983 Saladino was back in Rockford as he and his old pal Joe Saladino were involved in a car accident on that day. Joe was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest while Frank kept his cool. During this time Frank was becoming more involved with Rockford LCN underboss Frank Buscemi and the Galluzzo brothers- Salvatore and Natale. Frank, in fact, was a passenger in a car that was being driven by Natale Galluzzo on March 6, 1986 when the car veered off the road on the Northwest Tollway and hit a guardrail near Belvidere, Illinois. At this time Frank Buscemi, Salvatore Galluzzo and many others were importing and distributing heroin and cocaine through Sicilian and Canadian sources into the various pizzeria parlors in the Rockford area. Saladino was also noted to have been involved in a business called Worldwide Contracting with Galluzzo and was also allegedly working for Buscemi in his pizza ingredient business called Rondinella, but these “jobs” were most likely to show an income for Saladino.

Much was made about Saladino belonging to the Chicago Outfit but it only appears he was contracted out to them. According to the book Family Secrets by Jeff Coen, Outfit informant Nick Calabrese stated that Frank Saladino, Joe W. Saladino and Frank Geraci of Rockford were 50-50 agents with the Southside/Chinatown crew in a gambling partnership. Whatever proceeds the three men made from their gambling enterprise in Rockford were split in half with the Chicago crew.

Calabrese had said that sometime in the 1980s that the Rockford men broke off from the Chinatown crew, in fear for their lives. Why this was, it was never explained. Coen describes how Nick Calabrese goes on to say that a “sitdown” in Rockford was necessary to try and get the three Rockford men back in with the Chinatown Crew. According to Nick Calabrese the sitdown consisted in part of the three Rockford men and Sam Carlisi, Angelo “The Hook” LaPietra and Jimmy Marcello, all of Chicago. Calabrese ended by saying that “things didn’t end up going the Chinatown crew’s way and that the Rockford men stayed out in Rockford because that’s where they belonged.”

FBI surveillance photos from April 1989 showed Saladino chauffeuring and accompanying Salvatore Galluzzo around Rockford. Places the FBI tailed the men to were the De Ja Oo Club, Gerry’s Pizza, the Offtrack Betting parlor and many other businesses and pizzerias.The mid 1990s saw Saladino making more and more collections for the Rockford LCN in relation to their “street tax” on illegal gambling games. Frank could also be found slipping into the many strip clubs and picking up the street tax- businesses such as Aldino’s Lounge, The Surf, Ken’s Hideaway and others all paid the street tax due to their VIP sections and “private” lap dances. Frank was also alluded to in FBI files as making collections due to narcotics distribution as well and he was often seen in the company of capo Sebastian “Knobby” Gulotta.

Saladino continued being involved with the Rockford group and their street tax collections as the Family Secrets investigation was heating up. An FBI file from March 18, 2003 found FBI agents speaking to Saladino at the Baymont Suites Hotel in DeKalb, Illinois. In addition to the FBI agents was a Rockford Police Detective and a Chicago Police Detective. Saladino was given an Inventory Notice regarding the interception of wire communications for telephone numbers 815-395-1695, 815-871-0242 and 815-222-2789. Saladino was then “asked about his involvement and/or knowledge of gambling in the Rockford area.” He then “advised that gambling is “nothing” and that he was not involved in any gambling operation.” He stated who his attorney was and ended the interview, to which the agents and detectives left.

Just ten months after Saladino’s death, he was named as an unindicted co-conspirator relating to a gambling operation out of Rockford. On February 1, 2006 federal agents and Rockford area authorities arrested Joe W. Saladino, John “Tiger” Frisella, John “Don Finooch” Salamone, Joe “Pep” Fiorenza, Nick Fiorenza, Rick Fiorenza, Frank Giardono, Nick Provenzano and Charles Purin. All were charged with a bookmaking operation going back to at least the early 1980s. Joe Saladino was already in prison on weapons charges and was given an additional three months plus fines. The other men charged were all given fines and probation and this closed the book on Frank Saladino and his life in Rockford.

[B.]

Great write-up. Is there any relation between the different Saladinos? Lennert's list has Frank's father Giorgio coming from Roccamena, while Joseph's family was from Marsala. Interesting they would both have the name Saladino and end up in Rockford as part of the local mafia but stranger things have happened.

[Villain]

Thanks again. Back in days Saladino was a mistery to me but once when i talked to you, everything got cleared

[Patrickgold]

Great info. The is the best write up I have seen of Gumbo. Did they say who from Rockford sat down with Carlisi when it was decided they will stay in Rockford? I own some real estate up there and am up there very often. The current top guy Joe Saladino hangs out at an Italian deli on state street. Met him a couple of times. The Rockford guys have their hooks into the city. They control so much real estate and legit businesses, it’s unbelievable. They did close down there lingerie modeling operations last year. They were full blown whore houses. Chantilly Lace and Exclusive Lingerie. Opened for years. Whoever they were paying off, that dried up last year. Their massage places in Belvedere also got shut down. People use to call the Rockford area the Amsterdam of the Midwest. Prostitution in these places were wide open. The two remaining strip clubs are not like that. In fact I believe they are more like bikini bars with no nudity.

[cavita]

Great write-up. Is there any relation between the different Saladinos? Lennert's list has Frank's father Giorgio coming from Roccamena, while Joseph's family was from Marsala. Interesting they would both have the name Saladino and end up in Rockford as part of the local mafia but stranger things have happened.

Lennert is absolutely correct, there's no relation. Giorgio had been in Rockford since at least 1919 and was from Roccamena. It appears that he was one of the early leaders in Rockford. When Augie Maniaci started giving up info and he told of the early LCN history in Rockford he stated that Saladino bossed a gang of men and that Joe Zito financed that operation. To me this clearly points to Saladino being an early capo. Frank never really had a chance since his father was a member and then his sister Connie married Phil Cannella, another member. Frank was definitely an interesting guy- he could seem like a big lunk and harmless at times or he could turn incredibly angry at the drop of a hat. He wore nothing but black and gray colored clothing and even though he was born in Rockford he could speak Sicilian. The newspapers as far back as the 1964 rape incident had both Frank and Joe mentioned as cousins but this simply wasn't true. many Italians called their close friends "cousins" and whether the two led everyone to believe that it is probably the case. Joe's father was also named Joe and he had a bit of a criminal history in Rockford though I don't believe he was a member.

[cavita]

Great info. The is the best write up I have seen of Gumbo. Did they say who from Rockford sat down with Carlisi when it was decided they will stay in Rockford? I own some real estate up there and am up there very often. The current top guy Joe Saladino hangs out at an Italian deli on state street. Met him a couple of times. The Rockford guys have their hooks into the city. They control so much real estate and legit businesses, it’s unbelievable. They did close down there lingerie modeling operations last year. They were full blown whore houses. Chantilly Lace and Exclusive Lingerie. Opened for years. Whoever they were paying off, that dried up last year. Their massage places in Belvedere also got shut down. People use to call the Rockford area the Amsterdam of the Midwest. Prostitution in these places were wide open. The two remaining strip clubs are not like that. In fact I believe they are more like bikini bars with no nudity.

Nick Calabrese said the sitdown involved Carlisi, LaPietra and Marcello from Chicago and the two Saladino men and Frank Geraci on the Rockford side, but this is what Nick heard from his brother Frank Calabrese. Since this was before LaPietra went away for the skimming trial it had to be pre-1986 and at that time Joe Zammuto as boss, Frank Buscemi as underboss and other guys like Charles Vince and Sebastian Gulotta held top spots I have to believe one or more of them were there. I think Frank Buscemi was there due to his close affiliation with Chicago. One of Buscemi's FBI files from 1985/1986 is heavily redacted but it indicates that Buscemi mediated a dispute of some sort.
The lingerie modeling places were just that on the surface but they had back rooms and basements where much more happened and this went on for years before the city shut them down last year. There were many, many more in years past and they've always been bikini bars but with a little extra for the right price.

[Patrickgold]

I definitely agree with you that someone else was at the meeting with Gumbo and the other guy. Probably Buscemi because Zumunto was very old at that point. Aiuppa was in fact very close with Rockford and went to the funeral of their Consigliere Zito in the early 80’s.

Rockford is a fascinating city for being so small. They have some great Italian restaurants. The old Italian neighborhood was renamed Ethnic Village not too long ago even though all the Italians are long gone. They still have the social club there and the Italian church, which is beautiful. Marias italian café was the best before it closed. It was the last Italian restaurant in the old neighborhood.

Back to those lingerie clubs. I only knew the two ones. Did not know there was a lot more but does not surprise me. Belvedere had some places like that too but they were closed last year with everything else. They called themselves massage but they were far more than massage. They were not like the asian places. They were filled with American and Latin girls. The massage also includes option of using a hot tub with the girls lol

[B.]

Great write-up. Is there any relation between the different Saladinos? Lennert's list has Frank's father Giorgio coming from Roccamena, while Joseph's family was from Marsala. Interesting they would both have the name Saladino and end up in Rockford as part of the local mafia but stranger things have happened.

Lennert is absolutely correct, there's no relation. Giorgio had been in Rockford since at least 1919 and was from Roccamena. It appears that he was one of the early leaders in Rockford. When Augie Maniaci started giving up info and he told of the early LCN history in Rockford he stated that Saladino bossed a gang of men and that Joe Zito financed that operation. To me this clearly points to Saladino being an early capo. Frank never really had a chance since his father was a member and then his sister Connie married Phil Cannella, another member. Frank was definitely an interesting guy- he could seem like a big lunk and harmless at times or he could turn incredibly angry at the drop of a hat. He wore nothing but black and gray colored clothing and even though he was born in Rockford he could speak Sicilian. The newspapers as far back as the 1964 rape incident had both Frank and Joe mentioned as cousins but this simply wasn't true. many Italians called their close friends "cousins" and whether the two led everyone to believe that it is probably the case. Joe's father was also named Joe and he had a bit of a criminal history in Rockford though I don't believe he was a member.

Thanks for the reply. Sometimes we do see relation between mafia figures from different Sicilian towns (especially when they're near each other), but Roccamena and Marsala aren't particularly close which is why I wondered. 1920s Chicago had a large faction from Marsala so would be interesting if there was any connection to the "other" Saladinos in Rockford from Marsala.

[cavita]

Great write-up. Is there any relation between the different Saladinos? Lennert's list has Frank's father Giorgio coming from Roccamena, while Joseph's family was from Marsala. Interesting they would both have the name Saladino and end up in Rockford as part of the local mafia but stranger things have happened.

Lennert is absolutely correct, there's no relation. Giorgio had been in Rockford since at least 1919 and was from Roccamena. It appears that he was one of the early leaders in Rockford. When Augie Maniaci started giving up info and he told of the early LCN history in Rockford he stated that Saladino bossed a gang of men and that Joe Zito financed that operation. To me this clearly points to Saladino being an early capo. Frank never really had a chance since his father was a member and then his sister Connie married Phil Cannella, another member. Frank was definitely an interesting guy- he could seem like a big lunk and harmless at times or he could turn incredibly angry at the drop of a hat. He wore nothing but black and gray colored clothing and even though he was born in Rockford he could speak Sicilian. The newspapers as far back as the 1964 rape incident had both Frank and Joe mentioned as cousins but this simply wasn't true. many Italians called their close friends "cousins" and whether the two led everyone to believe that it is probably the case. Joe's father was also named Joe and he had a bit of a criminal history in Rockford though I don't believe he was a member.

Thanks for the reply. Sometimes we do see relation between mafia figures from different Sicilian towns (especially when they're near each other), but Roccamena and Marsala aren't particularly close which is why I wondered. 1920s Chicago had a large faction from Marsala so would be interesting if there was any connection to the "other" Saladinos in Rockford from Marsala.

The Rockford area Marsala immigrants generally settled in the Beloit, Wisconsin and South Beloit, Illinois cities. I'll try and find a list of some of the connected Marsala people in the next couple days.

[Philly d]

Great write-up. Is there any relation between the different Saladinos? Lennert's list has Frank's father Giorgio coming from Roccamena, while Joseph's family was from Marsala. Interesting they would both have the name Saladino and end up in Rockford as part of the local mafia but stranger things have happened.

Lennert is absolutely correct, there's no relation. Giorgio had been in Rockford since at least 1919 and was from Roccamena. It appears that he was one of the early leaders in Rockford. When Augie Maniaci started giving up info and he told of the early LCN history in Rockford he stated that Saladino bossed a gang of men and that Joe Zito financed that operation. To me this clearly points to Saladino being an early capo. Frank never really had a chance since his father was a member and then his sister Connie married Phil Cannella, another member. Frank was definitely an interesting guy- he could seem like a big lunk and harmless at times or he could turn incredibly angry at the drop of a hat. He wore nothing but black and gray colored clothing and even though he was born in Rockford he could speak Sicilian. The newspapers as far back as the 1964 rape incident had both Frank and Joe mentioned as cousins but this simply wasn't true. many Italians called their close friends "cousins" and whether the two led everyone to believe that it is probably the case. Joe's father was also named Joe and he had a bit of a criminal history in Rockford though I don't believe he was a member.

What do you mean never had a chance? chance at being legit?

[cavita]

Great write-up. Is there any relation between the different Saladinos? Lennert's list has Frank's father Giorgio coming from Roccamena, while Joseph's family was from Marsala. Interesting they would both have the name Saladino and end up in Rockford as part of the local mafia but stranger things have happened.

Lennert is absolutely correct, there's no relation. Giorgio had been in Rockford since at least 1919 and was from Roccamena. It appears that he was one of the early leaders in Rockford. When Augie Maniaci started giving up info and he told of the early LCN history in Rockford he stated that Saladino bossed a gang of men and that Joe Zito financed that operation. To me this clearly points to Saladino being an early capo. Frank never really had a chance since his father was a member and then his sister Connie married Phil Cannella, another member. Frank was definitely an interesting guy- he could seem like a big lunk and harmless at times or he could turn incredibly angry at the drop of a hat. He wore nothing but black and gray colored clothing and even though he was born in Rockford he could speak Sicilian. The newspapers as far back as the 1964 rape incident had both Frank and Joe mentioned as cousins but this simply wasn't true. many Italians called their close friends "cousins" and whether the two led everyone to believe that it is probably the case. Joe's father was also named Joe and he had a bit of a criminal history in Rockford though I don't believe he was a member.

What do you mean never had a chance? chance at being legit?

Yes, exactly that. What he grew up around and saw and the people he hung around with meant he never had a chance at being on the straight and narrow. Frank was always big for his age so it was a natural he thump people and be intimidating.

[Snakes]

Great info. The is the best write up I have seen of Gumbo. Did they say who from Rockford sat down with Carlisi when it was decided they will stay in Rockford? I own some real estate up there and am up there very often. The current top guy Joe Saladino hangs out at an Italian deli on state street. Met him a couple of times. The Rockford guys have their hooks into the city. They control so much real estate and legit businesses, it’s unbelievable. They did close down there lingerie modeling operations last year. They were full blown whore houses. Chantilly Lace and Exclusive Lingerie. Opened for years. Whoever they were paying off, that dried up last year. Their massage places in Belvedere also got shut down. People use to call the Rockford area the Amsterdam of the Midwest. Prostitution in these places were wide open. The two remaining strip clubs are not like that. In fact I believe they are more like bikini bars with no nudity.

Nick Calabrese said the sitdown involved Carlisi, LaPietra and Marcello from Chicago and the two Saladino men and Frank Geraci on the Rockford side, but this is what Nick heard from his brother Frank Calabrese. Since this was before LaPietra went away for the skimming trial it had to be pre-1986 and at that time Joe Zammuto as boss, Frank Buscemi as underboss and other guys like Charles Vince and Sebastian Gulotta held top spots I have to believe one or more of them were there. I think Frank Buscemi was there due to his close affiliation with Chicago. One of Buscemi's FBI files from 1985/1986 is heavily redacted but it indicates that Buscemi mediated a dispute of some sort.
The lingerie modeling places were just that on the surface but they had back rooms and basements where much more happened and this went on for years before the city shut them down last year. There were many, many more in years past and they've always been bikini bars but with a little extra for the right price.

This may have been Jimmy LaPietra instead of Angelo. On April 20, 1989, he FBI photographed Saladino and Salvatore Galluzzo leaving a restaurant after meeting with Carlisi and Marcello. I also seem to remember Nick mentioning Jimmy as attending that meeting in Coen's book but I'd need to look that up.

[cavita]

I definitely agree with you that someone else was at the meeting with Gumbo and the other guy. Probably Buscemi because Zumunto was very old at that point. Aiuppa was in fact very close with Rockford and went to the funeral of their Consigliere Zito in the early 80’s.

Rockford is a fascinating city for being so small. They have some great Italian restaurants. The old Italian neighborhood was renamed Ethnic Village not too long ago even though all the Italians are long gone. They still have the social club there and the Italian church, which is beautiful. Marias italian café was the best before it closed. It was the last Italian restaurant in the old neighborhood.

Back to those lingerie clubs. I only knew the two ones. Did not know there was a lot more but does not surprise me. Belvedere had some places like that too but they were closed last year with everything else. They called themselves massage but they were far more than massage. They were not like the asian places. They were filled with American and Latin girls. The massage also includes option of using a hot tub with the girls lol

These were just a few in the Rockford area and where they were located. It does me no good to list who they owners were since most of them had fronts anyway. It is interesting that one of the oldest ones in Rockford was the Golden Touch Health Spa which was owned by Salvatore P. Giovingo. His father was Paul Giovingo, who the mob killed in February 1933 when Sal was about six years old. There were WAY more than these listed over the years so I stuck with the ones from just the last 20 years I can think of off the top of my head.

The Exclusive 77 7th Street
Chantilly Lace 106 7th Street
Sunny’s Fantasy 526 7th Street
Nicki’s Boutique 1024 Broadway
Kelly’s Lingerie 1102 Broadway
Danny’s 1516 Broadway
Aldino’s 110 N. 1st Street
The Surf 326 E. State Street
Ken’s Hideaway 217 E. State Street
State Street Station 3515 E. State Street
Frank Gay’s Marquee Business 20 between Rockford & Belvidere
Paradise Spa 278 N. Phelps Avenue
Panorama/Sakura Health Spa 4415 Harrison Avenue
Rainbow Health Spa 4734 E. State Street
Royal Health Spa 4103 South Main Street
Osaka Spa 4215 E. State Street
Tokyo Oriental Health Spa 1538 Broadway
Golden Touch Health Spa 1006 Charles Street

[cavita]

Great info. The is the best write up I have seen of Gumbo. Did they say who from Rockford sat down with Carlisi when it was decided they will stay in Rockford? I own some real estate up there and am up there very often. The current top guy Joe Saladino hangs out at an Italian deli on state street. Met him a couple of times. The Rockford guys have their hooks into the city. They control so much real estate and legit businesses, it’s unbelievable. They did close down there lingerie modeling operations last year. They were full blown whore houses. Chantilly Lace and Exclusive Lingerie. Opened for years. Whoever they were paying off, that dried up last year. Their massage places in Belvedere also got shut down. People use to call the Rockford area the Amsterdam of the Midwest. Prostitution in these places were wide open. The two remaining strip clubs are not like that. In fact I believe they are more like bikini bars with no nudity.

Nick Calabrese said the sitdown involved Carlisi, LaPietra and Marcello from Chicago and the two Saladino men and Frank Geraci on the Rockford side, but this is what Nick heard from his brother Frank Calabrese. Since this was before LaPietra went away for the skimming trial it had to be pre-1986 and at that time Joe Zammuto as boss, Frank Buscemi as underboss and other guys like Charles Vince and Sebastian Gulotta held top spots I have to believe one or more of them were there. I think Frank Buscemi was there due to his close affiliation with Chicago. One of Buscemi's FBI files from 1985/1986 is heavily redacted but it indicates that Buscemi mediated a dispute of some sort.
The lingerie modeling places were just that on the surface but they had back rooms and basements where much more happened and this went on for years before the city shut them down last year. There were many, many more in years past and they've always been bikini bars but with a little extra for the right price.

This may have been Jimmy LaPietra instead of Angelo. On April 20, 1989, he FBI photographed Saladino and Salvatore Galluzzo leaving a restaurant after meeting with Carlisi and Marcello. I also seem to remember Nick mentioning Jimmy as attending that meeting in Coen's book but I'd need to look that up.

Page 175 of Coen's book says Angelo. The April 20, 1989 surveillance photos I did not know where they were taken or the circumstances...where did the info come that the two had met at a restaurant with Carlisi and Marcello? Also, do you know which restaurant? Great find by the way.

[cavita]

Also, there were indications that Salvatore Galluzzo had taken over the top spot in Rockford shortly before or after the death of Joe Zammuto in 1990. If Galluzzo was meeting with Carlisi and Marcello in 1989 this is another strong indication he was at least very high up in the Rockford LCN circle.