THE BLACK HAND FORUM

Why do so many mob guys in mugshots look like scumbags? Chicago has to have some of the ugliest motherfuckers who wouldnt know proper hygiene if it hit them in the ass. Quite embarrassing. No pride in appearance whatsoever. New York on the other hand or Philly? So much better and attractive. Is thi...

Sarno made more than 2 dozen guys just in the Cicero crew. Does anyone seriously believe this? I don't, and I follow the Outfit as closely as anyone can. Simply based alone on how selective we know they are about membership, it seems totally at odds with their history. I do think it is highly likel...

Thought some of you might enjoy Michael Franzese's recent video on Accardo. It's simplified for sure, but at the very least it's well produced and has a lot of great photos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNwD8neuROU

This illustrates why discussing the modern outfit is so tough. By all accounts, we can almost be certain that Vena, Spina, and Dominic are made members, but no one can officially confirm that via law enforcement reports, which is wild considering how long those guys have been associated with the out...

I believe that relationships/contact between LCN and U.S intelligence services between the end of WW2 and the 1970's or so were a lot tighter than many know. There is a shadowy network there that intersects crime, business, the military industrial complex, and foreign policy. They could all "s...

The size of the outfit. Chicago is fucking huge. In 1960 it was about 3.5m. 500k italian. 3rd largest after NYC and Philly. I just can't believe there would only have been ONLY 50 made guys. I know Roemer has been debunked blah blah but as Louie Ck said "of course there weren't 200 made guy! O...

The size of the outfit. Chicago is fucking huge. In 1960 it was about 3.5m. 500k italian. 3rd largest after NYC and Philly. I just can't believe there would only have been ONLY 50 made guys. I know Roemer has been debunked blah blah but as Louie Ck said "of course there weren't 200 made guy! O...

I believe that relationships/contact between LCN and U.S intelligence services between the end of WW2 and the 1970's or so were a lot tighter than many know. There is a shadowy network there that intersects crime, business, the military industrial complex, and foreign policy. They could all "sc...

I don't know that the following has been discussed on the board before. Prior to Nick Calabrese turning CW in 2002, we know that Chicago LCN associate CI Teddy DeRose had told the FBI in the early 1960s that induction of new members "always [involved] a ceremony". As we all know, in 1989,...

FWIW...about 5-6 years ago when it certainly seemed like the feds were really going after Vena/Grand Ave, one of the quotes that came out from LE (I'm paraphrasing) was that the crew maintained extensive relationships with the CPD and political figures, which seems to dovetail with this sweepstakes ...

I would tend to agree that given the recent GR focus on the Cicero crew’s socializing and instagram accounts, the article seemed a little underwhelming. By all accounts this seems to be a fairly high dollar outfit bust directly tied to Bobby D. I think it’s a safe assumption he wasn’t the only “inve...

FWIW, the fact that Nick couldn’t locate the house in Bensenville where the Spilotro thing happened never really raised any red flags for me. Think about it objectively, it was likely a non-descript house, in a standard run of the mill suburb of Chicago, that he had only been to one time 20 years pr...

I highly doubt Balistrieri had the juice to order that. My guess is as others have said that it was an unsanctioned move by Spilotro. Just to be clear, I'm neutral on this point myself. I wasn't advocating for the Balistrieri theory. I just thought it was interesting that the feds were at the time ...

Yeah, ceremonies and promotions/demotions are standard when a new leadership regime takes over. While he may have known he was in some degree of trouble, he must not have known the full degree if he believed that a promotion for himself and the induction of his brother were in the realm of possibil...

With any sanctioned murder of a member, there are typically going to be a number of precipitating factors and then some final infraction that is used as the immediate pretense for ordering the hit. As with many things Chicago, the only actual inside source that we have (as opposed to all of the var...