by PolackTony » Fri May 23, 2025 10:20 pm
SonnyC wrote: ↑Fri May 23, 2025 5:04 am
PolackTony wrote: ↑Thu May 22, 2025 10:50 am
SonnyC wrote: ↑Thu May 22, 2025 9:38 am
The guy in the back with the white hat on is my uncle, Frank Barrata. He was close with Accardo and Ricca, but probably closer with Ricca. I was told by Dominic Volpe something to the effect of "he was definitely in". Strangely enough Volpe told me he was a member of the "council", which the existence of I thought was nonsense at the time (late '90s), but has obviously been proven true. Was he really sitting on it? I doubt it.
This was Frank “Blackie” Baratta, who died in 1984? If so, makes sense that he would have been closer to Ricca, as he was from Taylor St (grew up by Bishop and Polk).
Interesting you know the name. It's not one you hear discussed. I know there is another picture out there with him, Chuck Nicoletti, and another guy but the photo is not mine.
I don’t know much about him apart from his family background (Taylor St Calabrian from the province of Cosenza) and that he was a longtime member of IBEW Local 9 (electrical workers). He worked for the Metropolitan Sanitary District, which back in the day was a heavily mobbed-up institution and an important sector for patronage jobs. A lot of Italians worked for the Sanitary District, of course, and it was the kind of job where you had to know someone.
Blackie Baratta’s sister Angeline was the wife of Cook County Circuit Court judge Pasquale “Buck” Sorrentino, who I’ve mentioned before, as he was a well-known buddy of Freddie Roti. Buck Sorrentino’s sister Rose was, in turn, married to Taylor St mob associate and gambling figure Mickey DiGiovanni (these DiGiovannis were Calabrian and unrelated to the Sicilian DiGiovanni/DeJohn family), whose sister Clara was the wife of suspected Chicago LCN member Giovanni “Big John” Cimitile. Cimitile was, of course, a longtime close personal friend of Paul Ricca. Once you start looking into any of these mob-connected families, you start seeing glimpses into these webs of connections from the “old neighborhood”.
[quote=SonnyC post_id=294349 time=1748001844 user_id=6489]
[quote=PolackTony post_id=294306 time=1747936237 user_id=6658]
[quote=SonnyC post_id=294303 time=1747931912 user_id=6489]
The guy in the back with the white hat on is my uncle, Frank Barrata. He was close with Accardo and Ricca, but probably closer with Ricca. I was told by Dominic Volpe something to the effect of "he was definitely in". Strangely enough Volpe told me he was a member of the "council", which the existence of I thought was nonsense at the time (late '90s), but has obviously been proven true. Was he really sitting on it? I doubt it.
[/quote]
This was Frank “Blackie” Baratta, who died in 1984? If so, makes sense that he would have been closer to Ricca, as he was from Taylor St (grew up by Bishop and Polk).
[/quote]
Interesting you know the name. It's not one you hear discussed. I know there is another picture out there with him, Chuck Nicoletti, and another guy but the photo is not mine.
[/quote]
I don’t know much about him apart from his family background (Taylor St Calabrian from the province of Cosenza) and that he was a longtime member of IBEW Local 9 (electrical workers). He worked for the Metropolitan Sanitary District, which back in the day was a heavily mobbed-up institution and an important sector for patronage jobs. A lot of Italians worked for the Sanitary District, of course, and it was the kind of job where you had to know someone.
Blackie Baratta’s sister Angeline was the wife of Cook County Circuit Court judge Pasquale “Buck” Sorrentino, who I’ve mentioned before, as he was a well-known buddy of Freddie Roti. Buck Sorrentino’s sister Rose was, in turn, married to Taylor St mob associate and gambling figure Mickey DiGiovanni (these DiGiovannis were Calabrian and unrelated to the Sicilian DiGiovanni/DeJohn family), whose sister Clara was the wife of suspected Chicago LCN member Giovanni “Big John” Cimitile. Cimitile was, of course, a longtime close personal friend of Paul Ricca. Once you start looking into any of these mob-connected families, you start seeing glimpses into these webs of connections from the “old neighborhood”.