On this day in 1962

[cavita]

In the early morning hours of August 8, 1962 thirty-two year old Octavio “Chico” Martinez had just left the Town Lounge at 602 W. State Street in Rockford, Illinois with his girlfriend, eighteen year old Ann Bergman. The two had won a dance contest at the tavern and were taking their winnings, a bottle of champagne, out to the car when they were confronted by at least two men, possibly more. Martinez and Bergman were forced into a car, most likely at gunpoint and driven south of Rockford on Belt Line Road. At some point Martinez was shot inside the car- two bullets entered his chest near his heart and one pierced him in the back. His body was then dumped from the speeding car as it continued south on Belt Line Road.
The family of Ann Bergman held out hope for her safe return but this wasn’t to be. Six days later on August 14, her body was found under some brush on a little travelled road south of Byron, Illinois. It was determined that she had also been shot to death.

Martinez and Bergman were both killed soon after they left the Town Lounge and the purpose wasn’t robbery or even a ransom for their kidnapping, so exactly who was responsible for this heinous double murder and what was the reason?

As investigators dug into the background of Martinez they found that he and Clarence Foss of Belvidere, Illinois were associated with the Chicago Outfit and also that Foss was a distributor of coin machines and numbers tickets in Winnebago, Boone and the western part of McHenry Counties on behalf of the Chicago Outfit. Having been beaten by Chicago hoods six times, Foss feared for his life for informing on Outfit activities, so he fled his Belvidere home and went into hiding. His last beating came two days after Martinez’ body was found and he was also called to a meeting with Rocco Pranno in Stone Park, Illinois on August 17, 1962 warning him not to talk to anyone anymore. Foss had said Pranno, Julius Cohn and another man named “Jelly Belly” were three of those who had beaten him. Sam Cozzo had gone by the nickname “Jelly Belly” and he also happened to be the father of Jimmy Cozzo, a high-ranking member of the Outfit before he passed away.

It is highly unlikely that Pranno, Cohn and Cozzo carried out the murders themselves as they did not know the Rockford area, the surrounding roads or even the fact that Martinez and Bergman happened to be at the Town Lounge on that evening. It is more conceivable that the Chicago Outfit asked for the help of the Rockford LCN in this murder considering it took place in Rockford and started at a mob-owned tavern. In 1962 the Town Lounge was under the control of consigliere Joe Zito and at the time, Joseph Calcione was the manager. Calcione was a longtime Rockford LCN associate and most likely recognized Martinez when he and Bergman entered the tavern. A call was probably placed to Zito who in turn gathered the necessary “button men” to take care of the unsuspecting couple. According to Rockford LCN member Phil Priola’s FBI files, a Rockford Police detective at the time stated that Priola was a prime suspect in the murders.

It seems that Bergman was just an innocent bystander in all this. From Belt Line Road, where Martinez’ body was dumped, the killers most likely drove the ten miles southwest on Kishwaukee Road to Byron where Bergman’s body was left off the side of an old farm road- present day E. Marrill Road. The killers then probably drove through Byron on Route 2 and reentered Rockford from South Main Street. Only someone with knowledge of the area could have driven this route and the presence of Martinez and Bergman at the Town Lounge was probably not known ahead of time so it appears likely that the murders were not planned in advance but were because of the immediate opportunity.

Almost sixty years later these murders have never been solved and the case remains posted up on the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office website asking for information under the cold case file heading.