April 25, 2005 Frank "Gumba" Saladino

[cavita]

I nearly forgot that Saladino was also questioned in the April 1998 murder of 32 year old Daniel Myers. Myers was found shot to death near a liquor store on Cunningham Road just west of Rockford. Indications are that Myers was into narcotics and authorities knew Saladino was making collections on drug debts at the time and interviewed him. Myers' slaying has never been solved.

That’s very interesting. What are you instincts on that? Who was he doing the drug debt collections for? Also, do you have a list of Rockford linked hits?

I personally don't believe Frank was involved with this murder- indications were that Myers was just a small time user and not a major dealer. Saladino made collections on behalf of the Rockford LCN and the 1980s and 1990s FBI files I have point to Saladino as being one of the major collectors. The files also mention a black guy, name redacted of course, who also collected for them.

Interesting that they used blacks to collect for them. I wonder who it was. What was the deal with Joe Saladino being found with all those weapons and silencers by the state police in the late 90s? That shows they were still capable of doing heavy work. Now that the place is closed I will mention it. Saladino use to hang out at Roma bakery every morning until it closed late last year. Did you ever see him there?

It has been typical in the past of the Rockford LCN to use black men to collect from the black population. In the 60s and 70s there was a black guy who made the rounds collecting from the black establishments that were illegal and he would then take that money to the Southside Sportsman's Club on South Main Street on Mondays and give it to capo Charles Vince. Vince would then take the money to the Aragona Club on Tuesday and the members would split the money. It would only make sense to have a black guy make the collections in the black neighborhoods, I did hear on many occasions in the 90s that a black guy would take the proceeds from narcotics and meet behind a shopping center on Kishwaukee Street and hand the money to a law enforcement individual who then would turn that money over to the LCN.
As for Saladino and all those guns and silencers I'm not going to comment right now. I see Joe every once in a while when I go back to visit whether we're at the same functions or if I run into him.

[cavita]

I nearly forgot that Saladino was also questioned in the April 1998 murder of 32 year old Daniel Myers. Myers was found shot to death near a liquor store on Cunningham Road just west of Rockford. Indications are that Myers was into narcotics and authorities knew Saladino was making collections on drug debts at the time and interviewed him. Myers' slaying has never been solved.

That’s very interesting. What are you instincts on that? Who was he doing the drug debt collections for? Also, do you have a list of Rockford linked hits?

I personally don't believe Frank was involved with this murder- indications were that Myers was just a small time user and not a major dealer. Saladino made collections on behalf of the Rockford LCN and the 1980s and 1990s FBI files I have point to Saladino as being one of the major collectors. The files also mention a black guy, name redacted of course, who also collected for them.

Rockford's "hits."

January 2, 1917 Joe Tarantola shot and killed outside his home. Two men were seen shooting Tarantola and running away. Frank Zammuto and Phil Caltagerone were later arrested, convicted and sentenced to prison at Joliet but their sentences were later overturned.

October 7, 1923 Louis Milano found strangled and stuffed under a culvert on what is now Kelley Road off Meridian Road. He had a noose around his neck, his throat was slit and his hands slashed. Authorities surmised Milano was killed because of bootlegging debts.

December 31, 1923 Adam Lingus shot and killed inside a café at 219 Morgan Street. Lingus was suspected of being a stool pigeon and informing on Rockford area bootleggers.

February 4, 1928 Gaetano “Tom” Reda found in some brush in a field near the Camp Grant rifle range one half mile east of New Milford, Illinois. His skull was crushed by a blunt object and five bullets in his head.

May 13, 1928 Gaetano Acci found shot to death near Harvard, Illinois. Acci was from Chicago and may been part of a rival liquor group. He was last seen at a gambling and liquor resort outside Rockford right before he was killed.

September 3, 1928 Gaetano “Tom” DiSalvo shot while sitting in his LaSalle roadster outside the Milano Café on Morgan Street. Nine bullets pierced his skull and authorities stated DiSalvo was a known local bootlegger.

August 14, 1930 Joe Giovingo shot and killed from a passing car while standing on the sidewalk in the 1200 block of S. Main Street. Giovingo, along with his brother Paul, was part of a rival liquor faction attempting to take control from Tony Musso.

January 4, 1931 Tony Evanoff AKA Tony Lakoff, South Beloit, Illinois tavern operator was shot and killed as he slept on his couch. Authorities thought that Evanoff had resisted bootlegger’s attempts to purchase their liquor.

April 19, 1932 Angelo Tarallo, Kenosha, Wisconsin racketeer shot and killed while driving his car on Illinois Route 2 north of Oregon, Illinois. Tarallo had just delivered a load of alcohol in Oregon, Illinois.

December 12, 1932 Luigi Giacometti brutally clubbed to death and found at the bottom of the stairs in his apartment at 609 15th Avenue. Giacometti had been arrested on liquor charges three months before and it was thought he was cooperating with authorities on bootlegging cases.

February 13, 1933 Paul Giovingo shot while driving his car on South Winnebago Street near Loomis Street. Giovingo had been trying to take control of the Rockford rackets from Tony Musso.

August 30, 1933 Nick Misuraca found shot and his body dumped off the side of Meridian Road just south of Montague Road. Five bullets into his back at the base of his neck and three more to the top of his head. Misuraca had been arrested with Joe “Blackie” Calderotta and Phil Cannella for several robberies and authorities thought he was killed because he gave up too much information.

October 10, 1933 Anthony Chiapetta shot to death near Loomis and South Church Streets. Chiapetta was said to be close to Nick Misuraca who was killed two months before.

April 13, 1934 Walton Wheeler, Boone County farmer, was shot and killed by a group of men who confronted him on his property. Wheeler was very wealthy and known to loan out large sums of cash. Authorities were certain that Wheeler was killed after numerous extortion attempts by Angelo Buscemi, who was killed himself a few days leter.

April 17, 1934 Louis DalCollo, tavern owner was shot to death by Angelo Buscemi, who later died of his wounds after DalCollo returned fire. Buscemi, described as a lieutenant of Tony Musso, was trying to get the area tavern owners lined up to buy a certain type of beer.

October 6, 1936 Tom Rumore shot while closing the garage doors at the house he was staying. Rumore had been arrested on numerous liquor charges and just three months earlier had attempted to kill George Licali, owner of the Rockford Celery Company. Licali was said to be close friends with Rockford LCN boss Tony Musso.

November 13, 1937 Charles Supino aka Charles Fenello. Shot and killed outside his home in Streator, Illinois. Supino was a former bootlegger and kidnapper. Milwaukee informant Augie Maniaci in later FBI files indicated that Rockford’s Phil Cannella murdered him.

December 22, 1937 Charles Kalb shot while driving his car on Cottage Grove Avenue. Kalb was Rockford’s biggest bookie and wire race provider and refused to let Italians into this operation.

June 22, 1944 Henry Lacks found shot to death in a ditch on North Alpine Road two miles north of Spring Brook Road. Authorities stated Lacks’ source of income was due to gambling and he had met with Rockford LCN associate Charles Dursch just prior to his murder.

May 2, 1959 Joe Greco and Donald Burton found beaten and strangled in the trunk of Greco’s car on Montague Road just east of Meridian Road. Both men had been using crooked dice and trying to get into the Rockford area gambling circles. In the months leading up to their murders they had been warned numerous times to stop or they’d both “wind up in a ditch.” Milwaukee informant Augie Maniaci later stated that right after these murders the Rockford LCN made two new members- Frank Buscemi and Phil Emordeno.

August 1962 Octavio “Chico” Martinez and Anne Bergman. Martinez was shot and dumped from a speeding car just north of New Milford, Illinois and Bergman’s body was found strangled in some brush near Byron, Illinois a few days later. Martinez was said to be a frontman for the Outfit’s Rocco Pranno and Rockford LCN member Phil Priola was seen arguing with Martinez inside and outside the Town Lounge shortly before the killings.

January 16, 1965 Rockford LCN associate Charles LaFranka found beaten and strangled in the trunk of his car in Elgin, Illinois. Milwaukee informant Augie Maniaci said just after this murder the Rockford LCN made three new members- Sebastian Gulotta, Frank Correnti and Joe Maggio.

March 24, 1970 Wallace Abraham found dead in his car parked in his garage on Auburn Road. Abraham was part owner of the Plantation Restaurant with Rockford LCN member Sebastian Gulotta and Anthony Zacharia and had racked up large gambling debts. Though Abraham was said to have died of carbon monoxide poisoning, the 1971 IIT report alluded that Abraham was killed and the Assistant State’s Attorney further stated that this was the third death involving carbon monoxide in the past few years in which heavy gamblers allegedly committed suicide in Rockford.

April 9, 1980 Joe Maggio found shot and killed in the backseat of his car on Safford Road just east of Meridian Road. FBI files indicate that Maggio was killed because of his opposition to the Rockford LCN trafficking in narcotics.

*August 3, 2005 Todd P. Ghinazzi found hanging on his house after allegedly committing suicide. Indications were that Ghinazzi had large gambling debts.

*December 11, 2011 Michael R. Scully found shot to death in his car parked off the side of the 7800 block of Clikeman Road. Just the month before Scully had survived two separate incidents where he was beaten by two individuals with a tire iron and another where he was shot in the arm outside his home. It was alleged that Scully was a big gambler and had large gambling debts.

*These two are what was going around town in gambling circles and what some law enforcement has indicated.

Never heard of the Scully murder. I wonder who did the work? Considering they used blacks for collecting, they might have put sourced it since most of their members are older.

The Scully murder investigation died on the vine soon after it happened. Even though it is one of the unsolved cases mentioned on the Sheriff Department's website it is not really a priority and I'll tell you my suspicions. If you look back at the list of unsolved murders on the list attributed to the LCN you'll see that you would have to go back to the 1930s to see a murder or dumped body in the actual city limits of Rockford. Reason being, the Rockford LCN has had a rather cozy relationship with the Sheriff's Department since the 1940s. The FBI files I've seen have mentioned that the LCN has had Sheriff Kirk King "in their pocket" since the 1940s. He was sheriff off and on from the 1940s through the 1960s and this was really no surprise. King was very hesitant to close LCN backed establishments for improprieties because of payoffs which were also mentioned. The mayor throughout the 1960s, Ben Schleicher, was also reported to be on the take. A major investigation into the Sheriff's Office in 1974 uncovered many corrupt goings-on and it cause Chief of Detectives Michael Iasparro to retire early when it was found LCN connected bank robber and deputy murderer Ted Bacino had Iasparro's private number in his wallet. Iasparro later admitted he ambled frequently with Bacino.

My point is, what better agency to have "investigating" an LCN murder than one that you are friendly with or are paying off? I have seen numerous FBI files where the FBI was cautious in sharing info or not at all with this law enforcement agency because of the fear it will have gotten back to the LCN. This was reported into the 1990s when an FBI confidential witness stated he told the Bureau he could get a poker game started with LCN backing and without fear of the Sheriff's office because he had often gambled with a former sheriff when he was still in office.

[Patrickgold]

Who did all the raids on the adult entertainment establishments in the last couple of years? The sheriffs department? It sounds like their relationship dried up if they did. I don’t understand why after all these years, they would decide to close them down now. That was a big money maker for them.

I definitely understand you not wanting to talk about Joe. He is still around I know his son is legit and works for slot machine distributor I believe.

Have you ever thought about writing a book on Rockford?

[cavita]

Who did all the raids on the adult entertainment establishments in the last couple of years? The sheriffs department? It sounds like their relationship dried up if they did. I don’t understand why after all these years, they would decide to close them down now. That was a big money maker for them.

I definitely understand you not wanting to talk about Joe. He is still around I know his son is legit and works for slot machine distributor I believe.

Have you ever thought about writing a book on Rockford?

Well, the Rockford Police did the actual raids and it was only on the two businesses in Rockford- The Exclusive and Chantilly Lace. These businesses and others over the years always had arrests for prostitution and such but pressure was recently brought to bear because of the increased exposure and notoriety of sex trafficking. The ones in Belvidere, Illinois as far as I know were all Asian-owned. Over the years, the Rockford LCN never had quite the relationship with the Rockford Police as they did with the Sheriff's Department. Sure they had guys here and there in the police department over the years but for the most part the Sheriff's Department was their go to. A retired Rockford police detective was a chauffer for old man Zammuto for awhile in the 60s and 70s and would take him to the horserace park in Chicago often.
If I get some time I'll add the FBI files mentioning the law enforcement corruption.
As for a book on Rockford? That would be far off it ever did see the light of day- there are many, many more FBI files to request and at the pace their responding it could take some time.

[Patrickgold]

The Belvedere ones were a mixture of American and asian businesses. I just looked up an article and it was Belvedere police that did those raids. Article link below

https://www.wifr.com/content/news/Belvi ... 02981.html

[cavita]

The Belvedere ones were a mixture of American and asian businesses. I just looked up an article and it was Belvedere police that did those raids. Article link below

https://www.wifr.com/content/news/Belvi ... 02981.html

Oh I see....I never got to Belvidere much even when I lived near there way back when. I remember at one time the DiGiacomo family had a pizza place on the main strip there. I think the massage parlors are a thing of the past now all things considered. In the 1960s and on so many Rockford places were getting busted with their Go Go girls showing and giving more. There were tons of places that were suspended or shut down or were reprimanded for serving to minors constantly.

[Patrickgold]

Cavita, what is your opinion about Calabrese and the FBI saying that Frank Saladino was the boss of Rockford LCN at the time of his death?

[cavita]

Cavita, what is your opinion about Calabrese and the FBI saying that Frank Saladino was the boss of Rockford LCN at the time of his death?

Patrick

That is a very touchy subject but I’ll only tell you my opinion. The FBI said in August 2002 that they had obtained information which indicated that Saladino was the boss of the Rockford LCN family. First off, I am inclined to think this is what they learned when they debriefed Nick Calabrese. When Nick and Frank had their dealings with the Rockford guys Frank Saladino was the contact guy there- now Nick admitted that there were guys from the Outfit that he didn’t know about and I feel this is kind of the same case with Saladino. I think that Nick either made the assumption that Saladino was boss or that is what he was led to believe by his brother.

Saladino was always known in Rockford as a collector of gambling, narcotics and street tax money and typically that responsibility always fell on the capo of the Rockford family. Charles Vince in the 60s and 70s, Sebastian Gulotta in the 80s and 90s. If anything, Saladino was a capo but I don’t feel he had the wherewithal to be a boss, but then again this is my opinion only.

It is extremely frustrating in that I requested an FBI subfile from the 80s and 90s that was supposed to list the members/associates of the Rockford family and the request was denied because the FBI stated the release of these files “could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings and risk circumvention of the law.”

People always gave respect to Saladino around town but not to the level a boss would have. He also never kept a steady home- he lived for a time in a house that he inherited from his mother but sold that and he also lived with an associate for a time as well. I remember when he was living in the Versailles Apartments on East State Street too but closer to the time he died he took to moving around a lot and living in hotels. He never really wanted anything that could be attached to his name and he didn’t have a wife that he could put these things in her name so he moved around a lot. I always thought it was funny that when Family Secrets went down, the FBI knew exactly where to find Saladino but they lost track of Joey Lombardo from the start.
Patrick

[Patrickgold]

Great info. Thanks. Believe me, I’m going to take your opinion more than anyone else. You obviously are very well informed. Him always moving around tells me he more than likely was not boss. If he was, he definitely was not your traditional mob boss. If it was not Frank, who do you think was the boss? Sam Galluzo? Also, another question. Who owns Capri restaurant. That is my favorite restaurant in Rockford. I remember reading that big expose the newspaper had in the 1980s and it said it was a mob front.

[cavita]

Great info. Thanks. Believe me, I’m going to take your opinion more than anyone else. You obviously are very well informed. Him always moving around tells me he more than likely was not boss. If he was, he definitely was not your traditional mob boss. If it was not Frank, who do you think was the boss? Sam Galluzo? Also, another question. Who owns Capri restaurant. That is my favorite restaurant in Rockford. I remember reading that big expose the newspaper had in the 1980s and it said it was a mob front.

All the indications I've seen is that just before Joe Zammuto died or right after, Salvatore Galluzzo became boss. Galluzzo was very close to underboss Frank Buscemi as well. There was a large expose on the Rockford mafia in 1984 that listed Buscemi as the boss, Charles Vince as underboss, Zammuto as consigliere and Sebastian Gulotta as capo. This hierarchy was based on Rockford Police files at the time but the FBI files I have from the mid 1980s still showed Zammuto as boss and Buscemi as underboss. There were a couple FBI files that stated Charles Vince was possibly in the capacity as acting boss while Zammuto vacationed in Florida which he did from December to April every year. Speaking with people and a reported in town that talked to many people, it is quite possible that after Buscemi died in December 1987 that Galluzzo eased into the boss spot and Zammuto, being 91 years old stepped back to consigliere.
It is interesting that in the 1940s and 1950s it was noted that many people thought underboss Gaspare Calo was boss and not Tony Musso because Musso was generally known as a playboy and Calo handled most of the day to day things. Similarly in the 1970s there was a rumor that Zammuto gave up the top spot in 1973 and Buscemi became boss and I don't know where that came from. Everyone knew Zammuto was the absolute boss but Buscemi did handle a lot of day to day things as well. I found it humorous that in 1980s FBI files the bureau switched back and forth by calling Buscemi the underboss, a Sicilian mafia member and a member of the Chicago Outfit. As late as April 1987 this is what they had to say about Buscemi- "NOTE: This inquiry is made to verify the criteria utilized to include FRANK BUSCEMI as a member of the Chicago LCN family versus his being an associate, or possibly a Sicilian mafia member." It seemed the bureau didn't even really know at that point.
Capri is owned by the Grisanzio family and when that 1984 expose was printed, Vito Grisanzio tried to sue the newspaper and reporters for calling his business a mob front. Basically what it came down to was that Joe Zammuto owned the building and the property and had since the 1940s. Grisanzio just owned the business but right after the article came out it was magically noted that after years at that location, Grisanzio was in the process of buying the building and property which he did. To me it was just damage control. Oh, and the lawsuit was dismissed anyway.

[Pete]

Cavita, what is your opinion about Calabrese and the FBI saying that Frank Saladino was the boss of Rockford LCN at the time of his death?

Where did you see this? I’ve read all nicks testimony and he talks about gumba and Rockford but never said he was the boss

[cavita]

Cavita, what is your opinion about Calabrese and the FBI saying that Frank Saladino was the boss of Rockford LCN at the time of his death?

Where did you see this? I’ve read all nicks testimony and he talks about gumba and Rockford but never said he was the boss

Perhaps I should have clarified better. In Calabreses's threat assessment it stated the FBI had information that indicated Saladino was the boss of the Rockford family. I just surmised it had to have come from Calabrese himself because he was being debriefed at that time and to my knowledge there was no separate investigation into Rockford going on at the time.

[Pete]

Cavita, what is your opinion about Calabrese and the FBI saying that Frank Saladino was the boss of Rockford LCN at the time of his death?

Where did you see this? I’ve read all nicks testimony and he talks about gumba and Rockford but never said he was the boss

Perhaps I should have clarified better. In Calabreses's threat assessment it stated the FBI had information that indicated Saladino was the boss of the Rockford family. I just surmised it had to have come from Calabrese himself because he was being debriefed at that time and to my knowledge there was no separate investigation into Rockford going on at the time.

I did read there was a beef about him going to Rockford and carlisi and marcello went out there because carlisi knew them. They said he belonged to Chicago but apparently they came to a compromise

[cavita]

Cavita, what is your opinion about Calabrese and the FBI saying that Frank Saladino was the boss of Rockford LCN at the time of his death?

Where did you see this? I’ve read all nicks testimony and he talks about gumba and Rockford but never said he was the boss

Perhaps I should have clarified better. In Calabreses's threat assessment it stated the FBI had information that indicated Saladino was the boss of the Rockford family. I just surmised it had to have come from Calabrese himself because he was being debriefed at that time and to my knowledge there was no separate investigation into Rockford going on at the time.

I did read there was a beef about him going to Rockford and carlisi and marcello went out there because carlisi knew them. They said he belonged to Chicago but apparently they came to a compromise

Pete, any idea what year that was? Early 80s?

[B.]

I found it humorous that in 1980s FBI files the bureau switched back and forth by calling Buscemi the underboss, a Sicilian mafia member and a member of the Chicago Outfit. As late as April 1987 this is what they had to say about Buscemi- "NOTE: This inquiry is made to verify the criteria utilized to include FRANK BUSCEMI as a member of the Chicago LCN family versus his being an associate, or possibly a Sicilian mafia member." It seemed the bureau didn't even really know at that point.

How old was Buscemi when he came to the US and what year was it?

Given his ties to mafia recruits from Aragona and his possible ties to Biagio DiGiacomo, whose relatives were in the Sicilian mafia in Aragona, I wonder if the FBI had some basis for believing Buscemi was inducted in Sicily. They probably weren't aware that Sicilian mafiosi could transfer membership at that point, so if Buscemi was made in Sicily and transferred to Rockford that may explain part of the confusion.