The Mystery of Chicago's "Zips": Potential links to Italian OC?

[B.]

Tom Hunt said Domenico Catalano's sons worked for the police and fire departments. Wonder if they can be connected to the alderman Antonino since that name is in their lineage.

Hunt also says the Catalanos of Pittsburgh were from Termini, so no direct relation to Domenico.

[PolackTony]

Were the drug trafficking LaPortas from Ciminna?

You know, I’ve looked and looked and can’t find anything stating where exactly the LaPortas were from. I suspect they were from somewhere in the “Triangle” area, as they had a warehouse in Bagheria, but they could also have been from Palermo Città for all I know (Panessa stated that they went back to Sicily to personally bury Salvatore Inzerillo). Ronsisvalle was introduced to Paolo LaPorta after the former arrived in NYC, but doesn’t state where he was from in his testimony.

Funny enough, but one of the guys identified as in the LaPortas’ inner circle was named Rosario Dispenza.

[B.]

"A. Catalano" and "D. Catalano" are mentioned here in reference to Chicago boss Rosario Dispenza's estate:

https://books.google.com/books?id=051DA ... no&f=false

D. Catalano could be Domenico.

The Rosario Dispenza involved with the LaPortas lived in Queens and worked with Baldo Amato. He was laundering money for the Pizza Connection operation and def knew Sal Catalano.

[PolackTony]

"A. Catalano" and "D. Catalano" are mentioned here in reference to Chicago boss Rosario Dispenza's estate:

https://books.google.com/books?id=051DA ... no&f=false

D. Catalano could be Domenico.

The Rosario Dispenza involved with the LaPortas lived in Queens and worked with Baldo Amato. He was laundering money for the Pizza Connection operation and def knew Sal Catalano.

Great find. I'd imagine that D. was Domenico; given the Ciminna ancestry, I think it's a pretty safe assumption. A. could then very likely by Antonino Catalano, Domenico's father, who was born ~1853 in Ciminna and died in 1934 in Chicago (Antonino's father was also Domenico).

Worth noting also that in their later decades, Joe Priola and Domenico Catalano lived in the same immediate vicinity, near the corner of Armitage and Racine in Oldtown/Lincoln Park (Joe's son Tony Priola also married the niece of one of Rosario Dispenza's daughters).

[Snakes]

Not sure if any of this is new, but I thought I'd share anyway (early 90s):

[PolackTony]

Not sure if any of this is new, but I thought I'd share anyway (early 90s):

Cavita and I have discussed this intel, and I leave it to him to parse the Rockford-area connections, as he’s much more familiar with this than I am. By the early 90s, the FBI really seems to have been conflicted as to whether Rockford was still an independent family or part of Chicago (I’ve seen reports from this era calling it both Rockford LCN and the Rockford Faction of the Chicago LCN). There was a lot of activity happening across the region during this period, with both Sicilian Cosa Nostra and mainland groups interacting with local LCN, and what I’ve seen so far are (like this) summaries rather than detailed reports of the intel that the FBI had access to (which, presumably, would provide a lot more detail). I’m actually in the process of writing up something here on the Chicago-specific intel.

[Snakes]

Cavita and I have discussed this intel, and I leave it to him to parse the Rockford-area connections, as he’s much more familiar with this than I am. By the early 90s, the FBI really seems to have been conflicted as to whether Rockford was still an independent family or part of Chicago (I’ve seen reports from this era calling it both Rockford LCN and the Rockford Faction of the Chicago LCN). There was a lot of activity happening across the region during this period, with both Sicilian Cosa Nostra and mainland groups interacting with local LCN, and what I’ve seen so far are (like this) summaries rather than detailed reports of the intel that the FBI had access to (which, presumably, would provide a lot more detail). I’m actually in the process of writing up something here on the Chicago-specific intel.

I sound like a broken record, but I'll hopefully have some stuff coming fairly soon (next few months). It's pretty varied, but if anything on this subject is included, I'll be sure to share it here.

[PolackTony]

Following the Pizza Connection case and Ronsisvalle's 1985 testimony, Federal LE presumably became aware that Sicilian Cosa Nostra-affiliated narcotics traffickers were operating in the Chicago region. Presumably, the Feds were working with local LE on this problem; as I noted at the beginning of this thread, the CCC reported:

In 1988, the Chicago Police Department Intelligence Section obtained its first nonconsensual telephonic overhear commonly known as a 'wiretap'. This major investigation, code named 'Operation Colossus', resulted in the arrest of twenty-one organized crime figures and associates for calculated criminal drug conspiracy. This case was very significant in its use of electronic interceptions, including thirty consensual overhears as well as uncovering links between traditional mob elements in Chicago and newly arrived immigrants from Sicily and mainland Italy.

Most likely, the investigation and targeting of these associations ramped up significantly following the intel on Pietro Alfano, and Ronsisvalle's testimony. From testimony that Chicago SAC gave to Congressional hearings on narcotics in 1985:



The statement that local Outfit guys were funding narcotics deals via juice loans echoes earlier claims by LE in the '70s that Chris Cardi's heroin distribution operation was financed by juice loans from "syndicate leaders", as reported in the Tribune (worth keeping in mind, again, that one of the guys busted in that ring with Cardi was Virgil Cimmino, who several years prior had been arrested with a Frank Lombardo who likely was the same guy that Ronsisvalle was introduced to as his Chicago connection in 1977).

In 1993, the FBI released a summary of their intel on Italian OC in the Chicago region in the preceding years (thanks greatly to Cavita for sharing this report and discussing it with me). The intel that it summarizes on zips in the Rockford area, and the Badalamenti-Alfano Pizza Connection group was posted above by Snakes. This is the section dealing specifically with Chicago itself:





Apart from the redactions, the report is a brief summary and lacks the detail that we really need to see. It does, however, go to confirm some things that I've long suspected and have tried to piece together on this thread from other sources: that members of both Sicilian Cosa Nostra and the SCU were operating in Chicago and moving narcotics "on behalf" of the Outfit, and that members/affiliates of the Neapolitan Camorra and the 'Ndrangheta were present in Chicago and had ties to local LCN as well.

Now, readers who are familiar with the 1988 BUSICO (Buffalo-Sicilian Connection) will readily note the reference here to one of these Outfit-linked Italian drug crews using tile warehouses to conduct their business. BUSICO started with the 1983 arrest of Sicilian narcotics trafficker and tile importer Andrea Aiello, who was linked to relatives in Queens and was importing heroin in wooden pallets of ceramic tiles from Italy. Following this, an undercover agent infiltrated Sicilian narcotics networks, leading to a major bust in Buffalo in 1987, as well as uncovering narcotics trafficking links to other cities. From a 1988 article from the Buffalo News:

At the same time, the undercover agent flew to Chicago, San Francisco, New York City and Rockford, Ill. Using ties to the Sicilian family, they met international drug smugglers with global deals.

It's unclear to me who the agent met in Chicago and Rockford, and what consequences resulted from the investigation there. I wonder if it fed into the above-mentioned 1988 "Operation Colossus" by local LE at all.

[B.]

Andrea Aiello was from Bagheria and tied to the NYC Ragusas also from Bagheria. Aiello was involved with the Buffalo Family to some degree as he worked for the Family-controlled union local. If they uncovered Chicago connections it fits with his hometown.

[PolackTony]

Andrea Aiello was from Bagheria and tied to the NYC Ragusas also from Bagheria. Aiello was involved with the Buffalo Family to some degree as he worked for the Family-controlled union local. If they uncovered Chicago connections it fits with his hometown.

Thanks for confirming this, as that's what I suspected, and you know that I was heading that way, lol.

Now, worth stating again that the Carlo Fucarino who was busted in the early 90s gambling busts, at the same time that this report was coming out, of Sicilian and Bares' social clubs was from Bagheria. These guys weren't busted for drugs, but it was a group of Sicilians and Bares' running criminal operations together, which echoes the drug crews in the IOC report intel. As I posted above, Catalano was introduced to a "Carlo" in Chicago, who was the guy that he actually handed the drugs over to when he arrived via Amtrak. Who knows if this was the same guy, plenty of Carlos out there, but it is worth noting in the Aiello context that there was, unsurprisingly, a Bagherese in the mix in Chicago during this time. I doubt that he was the only one.

[PolackTony]

Cavita and I have discussed this intel, and I leave it to him to parse the Rockford-area connections, as he’s much more familiar with this than I am. By the early 90s, the FBI really seems to have been conflicted as to whether Rockford was still an independent family or part of Chicago (I’ve seen reports from this era calling it both Rockford LCN and the Rockford Faction of the Chicago LCN). There was a lot of activity happening across the region during this period, with both Sicilian Cosa Nostra and mainland groups interacting with local LCN, and what I’ve seen so far are (like this) summaries rather than detailed reports of the intel that the FBI had access to (which, presumably, would provide a lot more detail). I’m actually in the process of writing up something here on the Chicago-specific intel.

I sound like a broken record, but I'll hopefully have some stuff coming fairly soon (next few months). It's pretty varied, but if anything on this subject is included, I'll be sure to share it here.

I'm really hoping that you come across some info that helps to shed more light on the stuff here.

Following the Pizza Connection case and Ronsisvalle's 1985 testimony, Federal LE presumably became aware that Sicilian Cosa Nostra-affiliated narcotics traffickers were operating in the Chicago region. Presumably, the Feds were working with local LE on this problem; as I noted at the beginning of this thread, the CCC reported:

In 1988, the Chicago Police Department Intelligence Section obtained its first nonconsensual telephonic overhear commonly known as a 'wiretap'. This major investigation, code named 'Operation Colossus', resulted in the arrest of twenty-one organized crime figures and associates for calculated criminal drug conspiracy. This case was very significant in its use of electronic interceptions, including thirty consensual overhears as well as uncovering links between traditional mob elements in Chicago and newly arrived immigrants from Sicily and mainland Italy.

Most likely, the investigation and targeting of these associations ramped up significantly following the intel on Pietro Alfano, and Ronsisvalle's testimony. From testimony that Chicago SAC gave to Congressional hearings on narcotics in 1985:



The statement that local Outfit guys were funding narcotics deals via juice loans echoes earlier claims by LE in the '70s that Chris Cardi's heroin distribution operation was financed by juice loans from "syndicate leaders", as reported in the Tribune (worth keeping in mind, again, that one of the guys busted in that ring with Cardi was Virgil Cimmino, who several years prior had been arrested with a Frank Lombardo who likely was the same guy that Ronsisvalle was introduced to as his Chicago connection in 1977).

In 1993, the FBI released a summary of their intel on Italian OC in the Chicago region in the preceding years (thanks greatly to Cavita for sharing this report and discussing it with me). The intel that it summarizes on zips in the Rockford area, and the Badalamenti-Alfano Pizza Connection group was posted above by Snakes. This is the section dealing specifically with Chicago itself:





Apart from the redactions, the report is a brief summary and lacks the detail that we really need to see. It does, however, go to confirm some things that I've long suspected and have tried to piece together on this thread from other sources: that members of both Sicilian Cosa Nostra and the SCU were operating in Chicago and moving narcotics "on behalf" of the Outfit, and that members/affiliates of the Neapolitan Camorra and the 'Ndrangheta were present in Chicago and had ties to local LCN as well.

Now, readers who are familiar with the 1988 BUSICO (Buffalo-Sicilian Connection) will readily note the reference here to one of these Outfit-linked Italian drug crews using tile warehouses to conduct their business. BUSICO started with the 1983 arrest of Sicilian narcotics trafficker and tile importer Andrea Aiello, who was linked to relatives in Queens and was importing heroin in wooden pallets of ceramic tiles from Italy. Following this, an undercover agent infiltrated Sicilian narcotics networks, leading to a major bust in Buffalo in 1987, as well as uncovering narcotics trafficking links to other cities. From a 1988 article from the Buffalo News:

At the same time, the undercover agent flew to Chicago, San Francisco, New York City and Rockford, Ill. Using ties to the Sicilian family, they met international drug smugglers with global deals.

It's unclear to me who the agent met in Chicago and Rockford, and what consequences resulted from the investigation there. I wonder if it fed into the above-mentioned 1988 "Operation Colossus" by local LE at all.

[B.]

Carmine Esposito must be the Camorra member arrested in March 1987:

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/03/14 ... 099544630/

He was living in Berwyn but from the report it looks like there was another Camorra member also living in Berwyn as he's listed separately from the March 1987 arrestee.

Wild that Jack Cerone Jr. was linked to a Camorra boss.

[PolackTony]

Carmine Esposito must be the Camorra member arrested in March 1987:

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/03/14 ... 099544630/

He was living in Berwyn but from the report it looks like there was another Camorra member also living in Berwyn as he's listed separately from the March 1987 arrestee.

Wild that Jack Cerone Jr. was linked to a Camorra boss.

Yeah, I neglected to mention it but Carmine Esposito, who was the capo of the Acerra clan in the NCO, was the guy arrested in ‘87. Esposito was running a very popular restaurant in a trendy area of the city, near the Rush St area. No way did he just show up in Chicago with no contacts and get that up and running, IMO.

[cavita]

Following the Pizza Connection case and Ronsisvalle's 1985 testimony, Federal LE presumably became aware that Sicilian Cosa Nostra-affiliated narcotics traffickers were operating in the Chicago region. Presumably, the Feds were working with local LE on this problem; as I noted at the beginning of this thread, the CCC reported:

In 1988, the Chicago Police Department Intelligence Section obtained its first nonconsensual telephonic overhear commonly known as a 'wiretap'. This major investigation, code named 'Operation Colossus', resulted in the arrest of twenty-one organized crime figures and associates for calculated criminal drug conspiracy. This case was very significant in its use of electronic interceptions, including thirty consensual overhears as well as uncovering links between traditional mob elements in Chicago and newly arrived immigrants from Sicily and mainland Italy.

Most likely, the investigation and targeting of these associations ramped up significantly following the intel on Pietro Alfano, and Ronsisvalle's testimony. From testimony that Chicago SAC gave to Congressional hearings on narcotics in 1985:



The statement that local Outfit guys were funding narcotics deals via juice loans echoes earlier claims by LE in the '70s that Chris Cardi's heroin distribution operation was financed by juice loans from "syndicate leaders", as reported in the Tribune (worth keeping in mind, again, that one of the guys busted in that ring with Cardi was Virgil Cimmino, who several years prior had been arrested with a Frank Lombardo who likely was the same guy that Ronsisvalle was introduced to as his Chicago connection in 1977).

In 1993, the FBI released a summary of their intel on Italian OC in the Chicago region in the preceding years (thanks greatly to Cavita for sharing this report and discussing it with me). The intel that it summarizes on zips in the Rockford area, and the Badalamenti-Alfano Pizza Connection group was posted above by Snakes. This is the section dealing specifically with Chicago itself:





Apart from the redactions, the report is a brief summary and lacks the detail that we really need to see. It does, however, go to confirm some things that I've long suspected and have tried to piece together on this thread from other sources: that members of both Sicilian Cosa Nostra and the SCU were operating in Chicago and moving narcotics "on behalf" of the Outfit, and that members/affiliates of the Neapolitan Camorra and the 'Ndrangheta were present in Chicago and had ties to local LCN as well.

Now, readers who are familiar with the 1988 BUSICO (Buffalo-Sicilian Connection) will readily note the reference here to one of these Outfit-linked Italian drug crews using tile warehouses to conduct their business. BUSICO started with the 1983 arrest of Sicilian narcotics trafficker and tile importer Andrea Aiello, who was linked to relatives in Queens and was importing heroin in wooden pallets of ceramic tiles from Italy. Following this, an undercover agent infiltrated Sicilian narcotics networks, leading to a major bust in Buffalo in 1987, as well as uncovering narcotics trafficking links to other cities. From a 1988 article from the Buffalo News:

At the same time, the undercover agent flew to Chicago, San Francisco, New York City and Rockford, Ill. Using ties to the Sicilian family, they met international drug smugglers with global deals.

It's unclear to me who the agent met in Chicago and Rockford, and what consequences resulted from the investigation there. I wonder if it fed into the above-mentioned 1988 "Operation Colossus" by local LE at all.

"Contact will be made by a Bureau source with subject FRANK J BUSCEMI, as well as others as yet unknown..." I have other files stating agents/sources meeting with Buscemi discussing narcotics negotiations.

[PolackTony]

Thanks Cavita. What year was that report from? Wouldn’t be surprised that Buscemi could’ve been the link in Rockford that they followed up on from the BUSICO investigation.