by cavita » Wed Dec 23, 2020 2:05 pm
The story of John Benedetto is a mysterious one from his birth around 1903 in Donaldsonville, Louisiana through his life in Rockford, Illinois and his ultimate death in Chicago in 1936. His family history is lost to time, but he first appears on the police blotters in Rockford when he was arrested on July 23, 1929 for possession of a large alcohol still and nearly 50,000 gallons of mash at 1225 Cunningham Street. The still occupied two floors of a barn on the rear of the property.
Beginning in May 1930 federal agents were in Rockford attempting to mop up the city’s bootleggers and Benedetto was in their sights as well as over two dozen other Rockford men. On November 10, 1930 the feds caught up with Benedetto in Donaldsonville, Louisiana and brought him back to Rockford to face charges. Benedetto was eventually tried and convicted on liquor charges and was sentenced to a term at Leavenworth where he spent time with the Rockford “Italian colony” there- a group which included Rockford LCN boss Tony Musso, future Rockford underboss Gaspare Calo and future Rockford capo Lorenzo Buttice among others.
On December 24, 1931 Benedetto was released from Leavenworth and went about ingratiating himself further into the criminal element in Rockford. After the end of Prohibition, the Rockford Italian underworld had to find other means to make their illegal profits- gambling and prostitution were just two of them, but auto theft was another way. On February 3, 1934 Benedetto was arrested yet again- this time for his involvement in a far-reaching car theft and bandit ring that included Joe Gennusa, Alex Rotello, Vincent Tarara, Sam Parisi, Joe Vernarsky, Joe Sartino, Joe Sparacino, Tony Sparacino, Joe Leggio, Tony Donze, Julius Altenburn, Glen Althoff, Sergio Achilli, Nick Rotello, Jeaness Atkins, James Tripodi, Frank Tripodi, George Dosier, Arthur Lesse and Joe Calcione.
Benedetto himself was charged with receiving and concealing a stolen motor vehicle but apparently charges were either dismissed against him or he received probation and a fine as no mention of his disposition could be found.
Also, by this time Benedetto was making a name for himself as a sports promoter especially in the boxing and wrestling arenas. Additionally, he sponsored all kinds of events in Rockford including art and music programs as well, but he also plunged more into the gambling life. A June 20, 1936 arrest for Benedetto saw him being charged as the keeper of a gambling house at the Jolly Fifty Club at 1026 ½ South Main Street in Rockford. Twenty-one other men were charged as inmates of the gambling establishment and it was noted that the club had been a popular after hours joint and gambling den.
Among the people arrested in that raid was George Turner of Chicago. It was said that Turner and Byron had bankrolled the crap game at the Jolly Fifty Club. Charges were dismissed in this case when the complaining witness, who lost money at the gambling game, refused to appear in court to testify. For whatever reason, on June 28th Turner, his wife and Harry Byron were shot at by unidentified assailants while they were riding together in their car between Rockford and Belvidere.
In an interesting angle, Chicago police stated that George Turner was shot in that city in 1931 by four gunmen in what police describe was a “renewal of gambling warfare.” At that time Turner was said to be associated with Martin Guilfoyle on the Chicago northside. Guilfoyle was part of the gang that controlled alcohol distribution in the northern suburbs of Chicago that included Skokie, Niles and Morton Grove. Two days after the attempt on the lives of Turner and his companions, a hired hand on the Howard Dempsey farm, three miles east of Poplar Grove found a hidden cache of weapons and alerted authorities. It was found that one bullet was fired from the 30-30 rifle and two revolvers were loaded. The revolvers were a Colt army special 32-30 with high powered bullets and a Smith and Wesson .38 caliber special. Authorities were investigating the possibility the weapons were used in the Turner shooting, the recent killing of the son of the owner of the Butterfly Inn in Beloit or if they belonged to a gang of holdup men that were operating in the area. In addition to the three weapons, investigators found a set of license plates belonging to Mrs. Mary Pratt, tavern operator at 1110 ½ South Main Street in Rockford. Both Pratt and her husband claimed they did not know the plates were missing from the car. Additionally, a man’s coat was found near the guns with the tailor label missing as well as a pair of canvas gloves and another single glove. The Turner shooting took place about four miles from where the cache of weapons was found and “the carefully hidden weapons were found along a fence bordering a lonely gravel road about a quarter mile south of Dempsey’s farm home” as the Rockford Morning Star described.
For whatever reason, Benedetto was in Chicago on November 15, 1936 when he was found slumped behind the wheel of his car at 3450 N. Racine Avenue. He had been shot several times in the right side and back. At the time he had been in charge of raising $400 to pay a fine and tax imposed on Tony Catalano of Rockford for his failure to make payment on a federal fine of bootlegging from 1934.
One theory that was advanced in the murder was that Benedetto was involved in the robbery of $40,000 worth of jewelry from millionaire Chicago socialites Mr. and Mrs. John Cuneo. Authorities had brought in “Tough Tony” Capezio for questioning in this as well and it was thought that Capezio and Benedetto were part of a robbery gang that quarreled about the loot that ultimately led to the murder of Benedetto. This theory was discounted when it was proven that Benedetto was still in Rockford at the time of the Cuneo robbery as his nephew Tony Inzerillo stated he had talked to his uncle at that time on a Rockford street.
Though no one was ever arrested for the murder of John Benedetto, authorities were convinced that it was at the hand of Rockford hoodlums and that they perhaps drove to Chicago with Benedetto, murdered him there and secured a ride back to Rockford. Was this true or was Benedetto murdered in retaliation for the attempt on George Turner’s life?
No family was noted as next of kin for Benedetto other than the nephew, no obituary ever appeared in the Rockford newspapers but mention was made that he was engaged to be married to Carmela “Nellie” Caruana in February 1937.
The story of John Benedetto is a mysterious one from his birth around 1903 in Donaldsonville, Louisiana through his life in Rockford, Illinois and his ultimate death in Chicago in 1936. His family history is lost to time, but he first appears on the police blotters in Rockford when he was arrested on July 23, 1929 for possession of a large alcohol still and nearly 50,000 gallons of mash at 1225 Cunningham Street. The still occupied two floors of a barn on the rear of the property.
Beginning in May 1930 federal agents were in Rockford attempting to mop up the city’s bootleggers and Benedetto was in their sights as well as over two dozen other Rockford men. On November 10, 1930 the feds caught up with Benedetto in Donaldsonville, Louisiana and brought him back to Rockford to face charges. Benedetto was eventually tried and convicted on liquor charges and was sentenced to a term at Leavenworth where he spent time with the Rockford “Italian colony” there- a group which included Rockford LCN boss Tony Musso, future Rockford underboss Gaspare Calo and future Rockford capo Lorenzo Buttice among others.
On December 24, 1931 Benedetto was released from Leavenworth and went about ingratiating himself further into the criminal element in Rockford. After the end of Prohibition, the Rockford Italian underworld had to find other means to make their illegal profits- gambling and prostitution were just two of them, but auto theft was another way. On February 3, 1934 Benedetto was arrested yet again- this time for his involvement in a far-reaching car theft and bandit ring that included Joe Gennusa, Alex Rotello, Vincent Tarara, Sam Parisi, Joe Vernarsky, Joe Sartino, Joe Sparacino, Tony Sparacino, Joe Leggio, Tony Donze, Julius Altenburn, Glen Althoff, Sergio Achilli, Nick Rotello, Jeaness Atkins, James Tripodi, Frank Tripodi, George Dosier, Arthur Lesse and Joe Calcione.
Benedetto himself was charged with receiving and concealing a stolen motor vehicle but apparently charges were either dismissed against him or he received probation and a fine as no mention of his disposition could be found.
Also, by this time Benedetto was making a name for himself as a sports promoter especially in the boxing and wrestling arenas. Additionally, he sponsored all kinds of events in Rockford including art and music programs as well, but he also plunged more into the gambling life. A June 20, 1936 arrest for Benedetto saw him being charged as the keeper of a gambling house at the Jolly Fifty Club at 1026 ½ South Main Street in Rockford. Twenty-one other men were charged as inmates of the gambling establishment and it was noted that the club had been a popular after hours joint and gambling den.
Among the people arrested in that raid was George Turner of Chicago. It was said that Turner and Byron had bankrolled the crap game at the Jolly Fifty Club. Charges were dismissed in this case when the complaining witness, who lost money at the gambling game, refused to appear in court to testify. For whatever reason, on June 28th Turner, his wife and Harry Byron were shot at by unidentified assailants while they were riding together in their car between Rockford and Belvidere.
In an interesting angle, Chicago police stated that George Turner was shot in that city in 1931 by four gunmen in what police describe was a “renewal of gambling warfare.” At that time Turner was said to be associated with Martin Guilfoyle on the Chicago northside. Guilfoyle was part of the gang that controlled alcohol distribution in the northern suburbs of Chicago that included Skokie, Niles and Morton Grove. Two days after the attempt on the lives of Turner and his companions, a hired hand on the Howard Dempsey farm, three miles east of Poplar Grove found a hidden cache of weapons and alerted authorities. It was found that one bullet was fired from the 30-30 rifle and two revolvers were loaded. The revolvers were a Colt army special 32-30 with high powered bullets and a Smith and Wesson .38 caliber special. Authorities were investigating the possibility the weapons were used in the Turner shooting, the recent killing of the son of the owner of the Butterfly Inn in Beloit or if they belonged to a gang of holdup men that were operating in the area. In addition to the three weapons, investigators found a set of license plates belonging to Mrs. Mary Pratt, tavern operator at 1110 ½ South Main Street in Rockford. Both Pratt and her husband claimed they did not know the plates were missing from the car. Additionally, a man’s coat was found near the guns with the tailor label missing as well as a pair of canvas gloves and another single glove. The Turner shooting took place about four miles from where the cache of weapons was found and “the carefully hidden weapons were found along a fence bordering a lonely gravel road about a quarter mile south of Dempsey’s farm home” as the Rockford Morning Star described.
For whatever reason, Benedetto was in Chicago on November 15, 1936 when he was found slumped behind the wheel of his car at 3450 N. Racine Avenue. He had been shot several times in the right side and back. At the time he had been in charge of raising $400 to pay a fine and tax imposed on Tony Catalano of Rockford for his failure to make payment on a federal fine of bootlegging from 1934.
One theory that was advanced in the murder was that Benedetto was involved in the robbery of $40,000 worth of jewelry from millionaire Chicago socialites Mr. and Mrs. John Cuneo. Authorities had brought in “Tough Tony” Capezio for questioning in this as well and it was thought that Capezio and Benedetto were part of a robbery gang that quarreled about the loot that ultimately led to the murder of Benedetto. This theory was discounted when it was proven that Benedetto was still in Rockford at the time of the Cuneo robbery as his nephew Tony Inzerillo stated he had talked to his uncle at that time on a Rockford street.
Though no one was ever arrested for the murder of John Benedetto, authorities were convinced that it was at the hand of Rockford hoodlums and that they perhaps drove to Chicago with Benedetto, murdered him there and secured a ride back to Rockford. Was this true or was Benedetto murdered in retaliation for the attempt on George Turner’s life?
No family was noted as next of kin for Benedetto other than the nephew, no obituary ever appeared in the Rockford newspapers but mention was made that he was engaged to be married to Carmela “Nellie” Caruana in February 1937.