Suspected/possible Chicago Hits

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Re: Suspected/possible Chicago Hits

by PolackTony » Tue Jun 28, 2022 3:27 pm

Looks like the Catalano and DeFilippis families have continued to actively pursue justice for their sons, to no avail. Just looking through some of the rumored connections that surfaced, according to friends and family of these guys. There was a claim that Tony Catalano was associated with "Jason and Nicky from Desplaines" before his disappearance. I wonder if these would've been brothers Jason and Nick Nitti, as I see that they have a bunch of apparent family connections in Desplaines. Other names that have surfaced as rumored connections are Joe Messino, Tony DeMonte (said to have been a drug dealer), Nick Rada, and Mike Bertucci. Allegations that Catalano and DeFilippis were involved in several criminal rings, including drugs, fencing stolen goods, bookmaking, poker games, and robberies. Like I said, rumors, but just thought it was worth reporting for consideration.

Some people definitely seem to believe that the Catalano and DeFilippis hits were connected somehow (something about poker game or bookie robberies) to the 2011 double murder at the Horseshoe Inn in Schiller Park (owner George Markopoulos and employee Wendy Bonder, mentioned in earlier posts here). Given that the Feds seem to have believed that Steve Mandell was involved in the apparent Giacomo Ruggirello murder in 2012, which involved a fire, I've wondered if he may have done the Horsehoe Inn thing as well, as the bar was torched after the victims were beaten to death.

Re: Suspected/possible Chicago Hits

by funkster » Tue Jan 12, 2021 5:12 pm

Always thought he was Italian with anglicized name. According to Herion's book one his nicknames or aliases was "Angelo", obviously doesn't prove much. I knew a guy who was 100 percent italian who anglicized his name to LaSaker...so certainly possible.

Re: Suspected/possible Chicago Hits

by Snakes » Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:40 am

PolackTony wrote: ↑Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:20 am
Snakes wrote: ↑Tue Jan 12, 2021 9:56 am
SolarSolano wrote: ↑Tue Jan 12, 2021 9:05 am What is the source for LaValley being dead? I've heard that multiple times but was told he was shot - never knew if it was BS or not.

I believe Dhamer was living in Park Ridge a few years after Cuatadella had moved out of Park Ridge down to westchester. These guys also wouldn't do a hit in front of a house that wouldn't fit the profile of an Outfit hit since the 1970s - but that said, you never know they are criminals.
I think Fosco mentioned something about LaValley being killed. LaValley did seem like the type of scumbag that would renege on agreements and go back to crime in a different city and wind up getting killed. I haven't seen anything else about it but maybe he was under an assumed name. Fosco knows enough people in the area that it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for word to get back through family or something that LaValley was dead. Maybe Antilliar has seen something?
Fosco claimed in 2010 that LaValley had been murdered in 2009 but didn't go into further detail. Not sure if he mentioned this at another time or elaborated on it.

Also, anyone know if LaValley was Italian at all? Fosco believed that he was French/Irish, but I once met a LaValley in Chicago who claimed to be Sicilian (and I suspect was related to Jimmy), so I wonder if the surname was Anglicized from the original Italian. Having said that, my impression is that it's not unusual for some of these guys who hang around Outfit circles to claim to be Italian or at least "menzas".
I'm not sure if he was or not. "Lavalle" is French so perhaps he stylized the spelling to make it sound Italian?

Re: Suspected/possible Chicago Hits

by PolackTony » Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:20 am

Snakes wrote: ↑Tue Jan 12, 2021 9:56 am
SolarSolano wrote: ↑Tue Jan 12, 2021 9:05 am What is the source for LaValley being dead? I've heard that multiple times but was told he was shot - never knew if it was BS or not.

I believe Dhamer was living in Park Ridge a few years after Cuatadella had moved out of Park Ridge down to westchester. These guys also wouldn't do a hit in front of a house that wouldn't fit the profile of an Outfit hit since the 1970s - but that said, you never know they are criminals.
I think Fosco mentioned something about LaValley being killed. LaValley did seem like the type of scumbag that would renege on agreements and go back to crime in a different city and wind up getting killed. I haven't seen anything else about it but maybe he was under an assumed name. Fosco knows enough people in the area that it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for word to get back through family or something that LaValley was dead. Maybe Antilliar has seen something?
Fosco claimed in 2010 that LaValley had been murdered in 2009 but didn't go into further detail. Not sure if he mentioned this at another time or elaborated on it.

Also, anyone know if LaValley was Italian at all? Fosco believed that he was French/Irish, but I once met a LaValley in Chicago who claimed to be Sicilian (and I suspect was related to Jimmy), so I wonder if the surname was Anglicized from the original Italian. Having said that, my impression is that it's not unusual for some of these guys who hang around Outfit circles to claim to be Italian or at least "menzas".

Re: Suspected/possible Chicago Hits

by Snakes » Tue Jan 12, 2021 9:56 am

SolarSolano wrote: ↑Tue Jan 12, 2021 9:05 am What is the source for LaValley being dead? I've heard that multiple times but was told he was shot - never knew if it was BS or not.

I believe Dhamer was living in Park Ridge a few years after Cuatadella had moved out of Park Ridge down to westchester. These guys also wouldn't do a hit in front of a house that wouldn't fit the profile of an Outfit hit since the 1970s - but that said, you never know they are criminals.
I think Fosco mentioned something about LaValley being killed. LaValley did seem like the type of scumbag that would renege on agreements and go back to crime in a different city and wind up getting killed. I haven't seen anything else about it but maybe he was under an assumed name. Fosco knows enough people in the area that it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for word to get back through family or something that LaValley was dead. Maybe Antilliar has seen something?

Re: Suspected/possible Chicago Hits

by SolarSolano » Tue Jan 12, 2021 9:06 am

Just remembered Senese was also shot in front of his house in the early 90s I believe - so maybe I'm wrong about Dhamer.

Re: Suspected/possible Chicago Hits

by SolarSolano » Tue Jan 12, 2021 9:05 am

What is the source for LaValley being dead? I've heard that multiple times but was told he was shot - never knew if it was BS or not.

I believe Dhamer was living in Park Ridge a few years after Cuatadella had moved out of Park Ridge down to westchester. These guys also wouldn't do a hit in front of a house that wouldn't fit the profile of an Outfit hit since the 1970s - but that said, you never know they are criminals.

Re: Suspected/possible Chicago Hits

by PolackTony » Tue Jan 12, 2021 8:51 am

Patrickgold wrote: ↑Tue Jan 12, 2021 6:09 am Also, the Dhamer killing happened around the same time of the Zizzo disappeared. We all know Sal Cataudello was a Sarno loyalist. I wonder if this was an attempted retaliation for Zizzo being killed that obviously went wrong.
This is my suspicion as well. Dahmer was killed about 3 months after Zizzo disappeared.

Re: Suspected/possible Chicago Hits

by Patrickgold » Tue Jan 12, 2021 6:13 am

Here is an article that Kass wrote about Outfit murders that were never listed as that

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.chicag ... y,amp.html

Re: Suspected/possible Chicago Hits

by Patrickgold » Tue Jan 12, 2021 6:09 am

Also, the Dhamer killing happened around the same time of the Zizzo disappeared. We all know Sal Cataudello was a Sarno loyalist. I wonder if this was an attempted retaliation for Zizzo being killed that obviously went wrong.

Re: Suspected/possible Chicago Hits

by Patrickgold » Tue Jan 12, 2021 6:05 am

TommyPastrami wrote: ↑Mon Jan 11, 2021 2:06 pm First time poster here.
Have a few additional ones that could be added and some at least worth considering. Others on here can maybe shed more light on some of these

Since Cutler in 98 that haven’t been mentioned;
Feb 2001 – Richard Hauff (65) – gunned down in his steakhouse in Greencastle, IN
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct- ... story.html

Jan 2003 Jesse (Stone killer) Stoneking (56) – big outfit guy in the 70s with the downstate/East St Louis crew. Flipped on a bunch of St. Louis and outfit guys in 82. Wore a wire against Art Berne who led the outfit crew down there (Stoneking was his #2). Stoneking been living under a new name in AZ. This guy named Michael Laurella from IL was with Stoneking driving thru the desert when he says Stoneking shot himself in the head with laurella’s 38 revolver. I believe it was looked at as a very possible homicide but never charged. Stoneking was a serious killer in his day and had been charged with murder more than once.

March 2003 James Mancini (40) – found shot multiple times in the head in his garage in suburban Lyons, worked for AAA Chicago Cartage, investigated as OC tied
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct- ... story.html

Nov 2004 Nick LoCoco (64) – Nick the Stick from Bridgeport caught up in the Hired Truck scandal that bilked City of Chicago out of millions. The fed investigation went pretty high up in the Daley administration and was a major scandal. Hell it has its own Wikipedia page. Shortly after he was indicted he died from head injuries “after falling from a horse” in Will County. There was some additional sketchiness about autopsy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hired_Truck_Program
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi ... story.html
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct- ... story.html

Nov 2006 Gerald Dhamer (48) – neighbor 3 doors down of Sal Cataudella in Park Ridge, shotgunned in his driveway by masked gunman as his wife looked on, investigated as a hit intended for Sal, possibly related to beef over prostitution business
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct- ... story.html

April 2008 James “Buffalo Jim” Barrier (55) in Vegas – GHB and Valium overdose in a motel 2 days after outfit man in Vegas Rick Rizzolo got out of jail for tax charges that Barrier had cooperated with the FBI on. The two had an ongoing feud and Barrier had been getting death threats in the days prior. His friends and fam have pointed a lot of fingers at Rizzolo. Many questions here but outfit related murder appears more likely than not. A fair amount has been written on this… The hooker Barrier had been with that night had left the scene after he died.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Barrier

Sept. 2010 Franko Martinelli (32) – was with Frank Obrochta (Mispelled In article) of P-K crew roughing up an old-timer at the guy’s house on West Huron in the patch, when the guy pulled a gun and shot them both, Martinelli died, Obrochta survived, and was somehow charged with murder. Likely trying to collect a debt at the time.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct- ... story.html

And finally this one I'm least sure about;
June 2012 Ronald Susek (61) – retired Melrose Park cop found shot dead in his backyard, there have been insinuations/chatter this was outfit-tied, but nothing concrete that I'm aware of.


Please add to any of these and/or let me know if I got anything wrong.
I’m not much of a conspiracy guy when it comes to suicides . I have heard that before about Stoneking but does anyone know who this Luarello guy is that was with him? Ron Lawrence wrote a great book about Stonewall after he died. Another Outfit informant James Lavalley committed suicide and There are also people that say LaValley was really killed. Tom Venezia who was the Outfit’s rep in East St Louis after Art Berne, also committed suicide in 2005 but there was suspicion that he was also murdered. He too became an informant and testified in court. In my opinion these guys fell from grace and lost everything. Eventually they couldn’t handle it anymore.

John Kass helped to spread the Lococo conspiracy and I don’t buy his claim.

Also, another mystery that I have heard that could have Outfit connections is the murder of maywood cop Tom Wood. Very mysterious circumstances and that he might have be involved in a Outfit drug ring based out of Melrose Park.

Re: Suspected/possible Chicago Hits

by funkster » Mon Jan 11, 2021 8:45 pm

Snakes wrote: ↑Mon Jan 11, 2021 6:59 pm
funkster wrote: ↑Mon Jan 11, 2021 6:42 pm Man, I forgot about some of these. As I recall, maybe Fosco?, was certain that the Susek thing was Outfit murder. I vaguely remember someone setting up a pretty amateurish website about it?
You're thinking about the Catalano kid who had the website for him. Unless there was another.
Nah, I remember that one but there was one put up for Susek too. Or a blog post or something that went in depth about it, i'll have to dig.

Re: Suspected/possible Chicago Hits

by PolackTony » Mon Jan 11, 2021 7:08 pm

funkster wrote: ↑Mon Jan 11, 2021 6:42 pm Man, I forgot about some of these. As I recall, maybe Fosco?, was certain that the Susek thing was Outfit murder. I vaguely remember someone setting up a pretty amateurish website about it?
Yeah the Susek killing is of course another one of high suspicion. I mean, long time retired MP cop killed in his backyard, no witnesses, MPPD "fails" to properly examine the crime scene leaving evidence to degrade (plus, for some classic Chicago fun, dirty cop Greg Salvi claiming disability for being hurt during the investigation: https://www.bettergov.org/news/taking-a ... t-bruised/). I would guess this had something to possibly do with the Vito Scavo thing, but I suppose the MPPD is been so dirty for so long any number of things could be at play there.

What I still would question is whether or not Susek was likely to have been killed on Outfit orders, or if this was just an inside job of crooked cops taking out one of their own?

Re: Suspected/possible Chicago Hits

by Snakes » Mon Jan 11, 2021 6:59 pm

funkster wrote: ↑Mon Jan 11, 2021 6:42 pm Man, I forgot about some of these. As I recall, maybe Fosco?, was certain that the Susek thing was Outfit murder. I vaguely remember someone setting up a pretty amateurish website about it?
You're thinking about the Catalano kid who had the website for him. Unless there was another.

Re: Suspected/possible Chicago Hits

by funkster » Mon Jan 11, 2021 6:42 pm

Man, I forgot about some of these. As I recall, maybe Fosco?, was certain that the Susek thing was Outfit murder. I vaguely remember someone setting up a pretty amateurish website about it?

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