Two new Chicago Outfit informants

[Ed]

hey guys,

I have a new article about two Chicago Outfit member-informants. I identified one of these guys about ten years ago in an Informer magazine article but now that informant symbol codes are unredacted, I have a more to add.

What’s interesting is one of the informants, besides allegedly being an Outfit member, was a law enforcement officer. Is it possible to be an inducted LCN member and a cop at the same time? The FBI said yes. And no, I’m not talking about Richard Cain.

(As an aside, I'm sceptical Cain was ever an inducted LCN member, despite what Roemer claimed. Informants like Fratto and Maniaci never identified him as a member (in the available FBI files). But who knows.

Thanks to the researchers on this forum for their help. In my own mind, I bounced some of the information in my article off your research. I won’t name the Chicago experts, but you know who you are.


https://mafiahistory.us/rattrap/infstonepark.html

[Villain]

Thanks a lot and great job.

I always knew that the goverment reached out to Pranno while in prison, and that he allegedly refused to testify and also said that if he gets implicated in the matter, he’s going to take the 5th amendment, and also allegedly refused to give any info to the feds...but it seems i was wrong lol

Sooo one of the "fathers" of the Grand Av crew was an informant...now thats something

Edit: Btw Ed do you have anything on Nicoletti?

[Antiliar]

Great detective work again, Ed. I think you'll be the one to eventually identify the Jewish-Italian informant who gave a description of "The Life."

I agree with you that Cain probably wasn't made, but he was a con man who led people to believe he was and falsely claimed that he was Italian on his father's side.

[cavita]

Excellent legwork and great write up! These are the items I love seeing on the boards.

[Snakes]

Nice, Ed. Good work, as usual.

[sdeitche]

Good piece!

[Ed]

Thanks a lot. I write for this audience.

Antiliar, it's strange we haven't stumbled onto his real identity yet. It's probably staring us in the face.

Villain, I never seen anything that points to Nicoletti although apparently he did as you know. Problem with MF, is there are so few FBI reports from the 1970, it's hard to make anyone.

[Snakes]

Thanks a lot. I write for this audience.

Antiliar, it's strange we haven't stumbled onto his real identity yet. It's probably staring us in the face.

Villain, I never seen anything that points to Nicoletti although apparently he did as you know. Problem with MF, is there are so few FBI reports from the 1970, it's hard to make anyone.

I think the "Nicoletti as an informant" comes from an affidavit written by an FBI agent for the casino skimming case. According to FBI reports that this agent either made or was privvy to, Aiuppa had ordered Nicoletti's murder on the belief that he was an informant. Antilliar pointed me to an article stating this. I have the affidavit attached to another file but it is completely redacted. Not sure if the accusation is credible as that was often used as an excuse to eliminate someone but Antilliar may have more information.

The FBI still won't release any FBI files on Nicoletti, despite him being dead 40+ years.

[Confederate]

hey guys,

I have a new article about two Chicago Outfit member-informants. I identified one of these guys about ten years ago in an Informer magazine article but now that informant symbol codes are unredacted, I have a more to add.

What’s interesting is one of the informants, besides allegedly being an Outfit member, was a law enforcement officer. Is it possible to be an inducted LCN member and a cop at the same time? The FBI said yes. And no, I’m not talking about Richard Cain.

(As an aside, I'm sceptical Cain was ever an inducted LCN member, despite what Roemer claimed. Informants like Fratto and Maniaci never identified him as a member (in the available FBI files). But who knows.

Thanks to the researchers on this forum for their help. In my own mind, I bounced some of the information in my article off your research. I won’t name the Chicago experts, but you know who you are.


https://mafiahistory.us/rattrap/infstonepark.html

Great Article Ed! I like the informant describing how someone gets "made" into the Outfit with "no formal initiation ceremony".

[Clark]

Wonderful work! Thanks as always for your research.

[B.]

Great article, man.

Peter Policastro was an NJ Detective Sergeant who was identified in FBI reports as a Bonanno soldier in the Galante-Notaro crew. He had a close relationship to Galante and other members of that decina in the 1950s, then was unsurprisingly accused of corruption. I dismissed the reports of his membership because of his LE background and lack of corroboration. He also appears in the FBN book.

Not sure who the source was who ID'd Policastro as a member and I remain skeptical, but your Chicago info makes me question my skepticism a little bit. Like Chicago, the Bonannos were loose with induction formalities and we know Galante took initiative as he saw fit, so who knows? Maybe Galante did tell Policastro he was "in". I lean toward doubt, but you never know. Sal Vitale was former LE (prison guard) and made it in, again in the Bonannos.

It is interesting the mafia never allowed LE into the membership given they used to induct politicians and professionals of every kind, anyone who could give them an advantage. I suppose the main reason against it is because an LE officer must make arrests and solve crime as part of their job even if they're otherwise corrupt and mafia-friendly.

There is also the alleged rule against calling the police though I don't know how true/strict it was. One of the Piccolo brothers in Philadelphia had his club broken into and he called the police; the administration was aware of it and it didn't cause controversy. On the Magaddino tapes, they discuss how a place of business connected to a member/associate was burglarized and Magaddino advised the owner to report it to the police. So there wasn't a hard rule about calling the police if it didn't jeopardize mafia activity. Maybe exceptions were made for former cops in some cases?

[Villain]

hey guys,

I have a new article about two Chicago Outfit member-informants. I identified one of these guys about ten years ago in an Informer magazine article but now that informant symbol codes are unredacted, I have a more to add.

What’s interesting is one of the informants, besides allegedly being an Outfit member, was a law enforcement officer. Is it possible to be an inducted LCN member and a cop at the same time? The FBI said yes. And no, I’m not talking about Richard Cain.

(As an aside, I'm sceptical Cain was ever an inducted LCN member, despite what Roemer claimed. Informants like Fratto and Maniaci never identified him as a member (in the available FBI files). But who knows.

Thanks to the researchers on this forum for their help. In my own mind, I bounced some of the information in my article off your research. I won’t name the Chicago experts, but you know who you are.


https://mafiahistory.us/rattrap/infstonepark.html

Great Article Ed! I like the informant describing how someone gets "made" into the Outfit with "no formal initiation ceremony".

Well that should close a lot of questions regarding the pre-70s - 80s era

[Ed]

Great article, man.

Peter Policastro was an NJ Detective Sergeant who was identified in FBI reports as a Bonanno soldier in the Galante-Notaro crew. He had a close relationship to Galante and other members of that decina in the 1950s, then was unsurprisingly accused of corruption. I dismissed the reports of his membership because of his LE background and lack of corroboration. He also appears in the FBN book.

Not sure who the source was who ID'd Policastro as a member and I remain skeptical, but your Chicago info makes me question my skepticism a little bit. Like Chicago, the Bonannos were loose with induction formalities and we know Galante took initiative as he saw fit, so who knows? Maybe Galante did tell Policastro he was "in". I lean toward doubt, but you never know. Sal Vitale was former LE (prison guard) and made it in, again in the Bonannos.

It is interesting the mafia never allowed LE into the membership given they used to induct politicians and professionals of every kind, anyone who could give them an advantage. I suppose the main reason against it is because an LE officer must make arrests and solve crime as part of their job even if they're otherwise corrupt and mafia-friendly.

There is also the alleged rule against calling the police though I don't know how true/strict it was. One of the Piccolo brothers in Philadelphia had his club broken into and he called the police; the administration was aware of it and it didn't cause controversy. On the Magaddino tapes, they discuss how a place of business connected to a member/associate was burglarized and Magaddino advised the owner to report it to the police. So there wasn't a hard rule about calling the police if it didn't jeopardize mafia activity. Maybe exceptions were made for former cops in some cases?

thanks B.

From the perspective of a crime boss, I think it could make a lot of strategic sense to have inducted members who are cops working for the family. I think crime groups that have easy access to state power and have gang members wielding the power directly will do the best. Kind of what we see in narco states around the world.

[Villain]

Problem with MF, is there are so few FBI reports from the 1970, it's hard to make anyone.

I agree and as Snakes already pointed out it seems that we might never see Nicolettis files

[Ed]

Just to add, reviewing the available FBI files on MF, it's clear that the bureau had a couple more Outfit member-informants providing confidential information. Hard to know how much useful Intel they shared.

For example, you would never guess Greg Scarpa was such a productive CI judging by what's on MF alone. His informant symbol number doesn't show up in that many FBI documents on MF. You might not think he was significant. But of course, we now know he was the FBI's best CI in the NY mob ever.