Fosco's Mafia Report: DiFronzo and Outfit schism

[SolarSolano]

Best Italian on the West Side these days from my view is Mart Anthony - I was a regular when they were Randolph and always make a habit of going when I come in for a Blackhawks game. Marty Campo who owned the place ran book for Joe Lombardo.

[PolackTony]

Best Italian on the West Side these days from my view is Mart Anthony - I was a regular when they were Randolph and always make a habit of going when I come in for a Blackhawks game. Marty Campo who owned the place ran book for Joe Lombardo.

Still never eaten there. My go-to spots were always Bella Notte and Oggi (the original location on Noble, food went downhill IMO when they moved).

Given the longer term economic impacts of Covid, and what may be a protracted demographic death spiral for Chicago in the coming years, I fear that what still remains of inner city italian Chicago on Grand, Taylor, and in Bridgeport (not to mention whatever vestige is left of the old Tuscan strip on South Oakley) isn't long for the world. Even here in Brooklyn, there's been tremendous attrition of the old school Italian areas.

[Coloboy]

Mike Jr and his mother both claim that Destefano was extorting her for Lombardo. He has the entire story on how it happened. They knew Lombardo very well. Mike Spilotro Sr And his family were very close to Lombardo. I’m going to take there word over an assumption saying there is no way because he would do that bc he didn’t want to go to jail. Frank Schweihs was also extorting adult businesses until the day he was indicted. Schweihs and Lombardo worked together is the past. Not saying Schweihs definitely gave him portions of that but it’s possible. I don’t know how wealthy Lombardo was but after spending 12 years in prison most mobster rightfully believe they are entitled to benefits. Lombardo was very close to Difronzo? That’s the first I hearing that. Never seen them together in a picture. Even if they were close, Difronzo may have been the figure head boss but he was not giving orders to Lombardo. Lombardo was way above Difronzo when he went to jail. When he came out Difronzo was on trial.

All great points. Not sure I would 100% agree though that "Lombardo was way above Difronzo when he went to jail". He was definitely more well known, especially as it related to law enforcement. But according to most sources Difronzo was the capo of Elmwood Park by the mid to late 1970's. By the 1980's they were supposedly the highest earning crew in the outfit. I would guess being the capo of the highest earning crew would come with some substantial power, especially if you were good at flying under the radar. I agree Lombardo was probably slighty above in stature, but Difronzo had done enough to be named underboss in 86 so something was going his way.

[Confederate]

Not sure I would 100% agree though that "Lombardo was way above Difronzo when he went to jail". He was definitely more well known, especially as it related to law enforcement. But according to most sources Difronzo was the capo of Elmwood Park by the mid to late 1970's. By the 1980's they were supposedly the highest earning crew in the outfit. I would guess being the capo of the highest earning crew would come with some substantial power, especially if you were good at flying under the radar. I agree Lombardo was probably slighty above in stature, but Difronzo had done enough to be named underboss in 86 so something was going his way.

You are correct. Lombardo was not "way above DiFronzo when he went to Jail". That was just another gross exaggeration where everything has to be a competition. DiFronzo became the day to day Boss of Elmwood Park in the early 70's. Lombardo became the Boss of Grand Avenue around that same time. In addition, they were both basically the same age & came up in the Outfit at the same time. Lombardo was a powerful guy who was in charge of getting the loans from the teamsters. DiFronzo immediately become the #2 from the powerful Elmwood Park Group. Both powerful guys on a very similar horizontal plane in the mid 80's.

[funkster]

Bella Notte is owned by Ramon and Francisco Aguierre. Ramon's wife Bertha is the hostess. They both worked at Rosebud - Alex Dana was a previous owner. I believe Cozzo was the one who owned the building the restaurant was housed in, which was later sold to Francisco. Now its in bankruptcy.

Where people get Bellavia coming in is because Ramon had a previous restaurant on Dempster called "Bella Via" in Morton Grove on Dempster. That was owned in part by Suzy Bellavia, Chucky's daughter. I am not sure if its there anymore.

Aguierre runs a building maintenance company that had a lot of contracts with the city at one point. He was also connected to Local 743 and has a number of relatives working there.

Ah, thanks for clearing it up. Was the Bella Notte out in the burbs connected to it at all with Cassano and Amanti's issue?

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-7th-circuit/1378364.html

[funkster]

Best Italian on the West Side these days from my view is Mart Anthony - I was a regular when they were Randolph and always make a habit of going when I come in for a Blackhawks game. Marty Campo who owned the place ran book for Joe Lombardo.

He died a few years ago, they still do a small street fest for his birthday which always a good time. They've got either the original or a copy of Paul Ricca's daughter's wedding on the wall with Joey O, Joe B, I believe Cerone, and Bobby Ansani in it.

[Patrickgold]

Mike Jr and his mother both claim that Destefano was extorting her for Lombardo. He has the entire story on how it happened. They knew Lombardo very well. Mike Spilotro Sr And his family were very close to Lombardo. I’m going to take there word over an assumption saying there is no way because he would do that bc he didn’t want to go to jail. Frank Schweihs was also extorting adult businesses until the day he was indicted. Schweihs and Lombardo worked together is the past. Not saying Schweihs definitely gave him portions of that but it’s possible. I don’t know how wealthy Lombardo was but after spending 12 years in prison most mobster rightfully believe they are entitled to benefits. Lombardo was very close to Difronzo? That’s the first I hearing that. Never seen them together in a picture. Even if they were close, Difronzo may have been the figure head boss but he was not giving orders to Lombardo. Lombardo was way above Difronzo when he went to jail. When he came out Difronzo was on trial.

All great points. Not sure I would 100% agree though that "Lombardo was way above Difronzo when he went to jail". He was definitely more well known, especially as it related to law enforcement. But according to most sources Difronzo was the capo of Elmwood Park by the mid to late 1970's. By the 1980's they were supposedly the highest earning crew in the outfit. I would guess being the capo of the highest earning crew would come with some substantial power, especially if you were good at flying under the radar. I agree Lombardo was probably slighty above in stature, but Difronzo had done enough to be named underboss in 86 so something was going his way.

I’m not sure when Difronzo took over EP park but it was not before the last supper photo which had Lombardo. Remember Lombardo was oversee of Vegas and the teamsters so that is why I said he was way above Difronzo or at least had more responsibilities. Difronzo moved up fast because, in my opinion, of attrition. Lots of guys died and went to jail in the late 70s and early 80’s. Including Lombardo who went to prison in 82.

[Confederate]

Mike Jr and his mother both claim that Destefano was extorting her for Lombardo. He has the entire story on how it happened. They knew Lombardo very well. Mike Spilotro Sr And his family were very close to Lombardo. I’m going to take there word over an assumption saying there is no way because he would do that bc he didn’t want to go to jail. Frank Schweihs was also extorting adult businesses until the day he was indicted. Schweihs and Lombardo worked together is the past. Not saying Schweihs definitely gave him portions of that but it’s possible. I don’t know how wealthy Lombardo was but after spending 12 years in prison most mobster rightfully believe they are entitled to benefits. Lombardo was very close to Difronzo? That’s the first I hearing that. Never seen them together in a picture. Even if they were close, Difronzo may have been the figure head boss but he was not giving orders to Lombardo. Lombardo was way above Difronzo when he went to jail. When he came out Difronzo was on trial.

All great points. Not sure I would 100% agree though that "Lombardo was way above Difronzo when he went to jail". He was definitely more well known, especially as it related to law enforcement. But according to most sources Difronzo was the capo of Elmwood Park by the mid to late 1970's. By the 1980's they were supposedly the highest earning crew in the outfit. I would guess being the capo of the highest earning crew would come with some substantial power, especially if you were good at flying under the radar. I agree Lombardo was probably slighty above in stature, but Difronzo had done enough to be named underboss in 86 so something was going his way.

I’m not sure when Difronzo took over EP park but it was not before the last supper photo which had Lombardo. Remember Lombardo was oversee of Vegas and the teamsters so that is why I said he was way above Difronzo or at least had more responsibilities. Difronzo moved up fast because, in my opinion, of attrition. Lots of guys died and went to jail in the late 70s and early 80’s. Including Lombardo who went to prison in 82.

DiFronzo took over Elmwood Park in 1970 after Joe Gagliano died which was 6 years BEFORE the last Supper Picture. Lombardo took over Grand Avenue LATER in the early 1970's.

[Frank]

Mike Jr and his mother both claim that Destefano was extorting her for Lombardo. He has the entire story on how it happened. They knew Lombardo very well. Mike Spilotro Sr And his family were very close to Lombardo. I’m going to take there word over an assumption saying there is no way because he would do that bc he didn’t want to go to jail. Frank Schweihs was also extorting adult businesses until the day he was indicted. Schweihs and Lombardo worked together is the past. Not saying Schweihs definitely gave him portions of that but it’s possible. I don’t know how wealthy Lombardo was but after spending 12 years in prison most mobster rightfully believe they are entitled to benefits. Lombardo was very close to Difronzo? That’s the first I hearing that. Never seen them together in a picture. Even if they were close, Difronzo may have been the figure head boss but he was not giving orders to Lombardo. Lombardo was way above Difronzo when he went to jail. When he came out Difronzo was on trial.

All great points. Not sure I would 100% agree though that "Lombardo was way above Difronzo when he went to jail". He was definitely more well known, especially as it related to law enforcement. But according to most sources Difronzo was the capo of Elmwood Park by the mid to late 1970's. By the 1980's they were supposedly the highest earning crew in the outfit. I would guess being the capo of the highest earning crew would come with some substantial power, especially if you were good at flying under the radar. I agree Lombardo was probably slighty above in stature, but Difronzo had done enough to be named underboss in 86 so something was going his way.

I’m not sure when Difronzo took over EP park but it was not before the last supper photo which had Lombardo. Remember Lombardo was oversee of Vegas and the teamsters so that is why I said he was way above Difronzo or at least had more responsibilities. Difronzo moved up fast because, in my opinion, of attrition. Lots of guys died and went to jail in the late 70s and early 80’s. Including Lombardo who went to prison in 82.

Well you have to remember what was going on back then. First Lombardos name was in the news for at least 10 years before he got busted. I dont remember Carlisi or DiFronzo being in the news at all. Maybe when the bosses went to prison or probably when Ferriola died. It appears that the bosses picked their guys to succeed them. They were both guys that ran their old crews day to day. Also look what happened to Spilotro and he was under Lombardo.

[Villain]

I recently remember reading that many members in the organization during one period thought DiFronzo was the smartest of all top guys at the time, so to me that same info is very similar to the previous ones regarding Accardo or Ricca

[Patrickgold]

Mike Jr and his mother both claim that Destefano was extorting her for Lombardo. He has the entire story on how it happened. They knew Lombardo very well. Mike Spilotro Sr And his family were very close to Lombardo. I’m going to take there word over an assumption saying there is no way because he would do that bc he didn’t want to go to jail. Frank Schweihs was also extorting adult businesses until the day he was indicted. Schweihs and Lombardo worked together is the past. Not saying Schweihs definitely gave him portions of that but it’s possible. I don’t know how wealthy Lombardo was but after spending 12 years in prison most mobster rightfully believe they are entitled to benefits. Lombardo was very close to Difronzo? That’s the first I hearing that. Never seen them together in a picture. Even if they were close, Difronzo may have been the figure head boss but he was not giving orders to Lombardo. Lombardo was way above Difronzo when he went to jail. When he came out Difronzo was on trial.

All great points. Not sure I would 100% agree though that "Lombardo was way above Difronzo when he went to jail". He was definitely more well known, especially as it related to law enforcement. But according to most sources Difronzo was the capo of Elmwood Park by the mid to late 1970's. By the 1980's they were supposedly the highest earning crew in the outfit. I would guess being the capo of the highest earning crew would come with some substantial power, especially if you were good at flying under the radar. I agree Lombardo was probably slighty above in stature, but Difronzo had done enough to be named underboss in 86 so something was going his way.

I’m not sure when Difronzo took over EP park but it was not before the last supper photo which had Lombardo. Remember Lombardo was oversee of Vegas and the teamsters so that is why I said he was way above Difronzo or at least had more responsibilities. Difronzo moved up fast because, in my opinion, of attrition. Lots of guys died and went to jail in the late 70s and early 80’s. Including Lombardo who went to prison in 82.

DiFronzo took over Elmwood Park in 1970 after Joe Gagliano died which was 6 years BEFORE the last Supper Picture. Lombardo took over Grand Avenue LATER in the early 1970's.

Please share you info that Difronzo became a capo in 1970 and that he was close to Lombardo

[Villain]

I dont remember really so maybe Antiliar, Snakes, Confederate or Pete can chime in, but i think that the Magnafichis were the source regarding DiFronzo succeeding Gagliano in 71 or maybe im wrong, i dunno maybe Calabrese was the one who said something...by the early 70s besides Gagliano being dead, both Messino and Cerone were in prison, Cardi was also out of the picture abd so there werent many top EP guys left on the st at the time...anyways later Magnafichi allegedly succeeded DiFronzo as capo of EP when the latter one became the underboss....btw what time period Joe Kong was the alleged capo of EP? Was it before or after Magnafichi?

[Patrickgold]

I dont remember really so maybe Antiliar, Snakes, Confederate or Pete can chime in, but i think that the Magnafichis were the source regarding DiFronzo succeeding Gagliano in 71 or maybe im wrong, i dunno maybe Calabrese was the one who said something...by the early 70s besides Gagliano being dead, both Messino and Cerone were in prison, Cardi was also out of the picture abd so there werent many top EP guys left on the st at the time...anyways later Magnafichi allegedly succeeded DiFronzo as capo of EP when the latter one became the underboss....btw what time period Joe Kong was the alleged capo of EP? Was it before or after Magnafichi?

Villian, I’m pretty sure Fosco is the one that said that. I personally don’t think Cerone relinquished control of the EP crew while he was in upper management. He only did about three years in the early 70s. He also had his personal underboss working for him and doing everything he wanted, Willie Messino. Messino was in prison from 70-76. The last supper picture was taken at Harlem and Diversey. Right on the border of Elmwood Park. If Difronzo was a capo at that time, I’m pretty sure he would have been there. If Difronzo was the EP boss, it’s very likely it was acting during that time. I remember seeing Outfit charts and not seeing him in that spot. I have to look again to confirm. As for Culotta, I’m not sure he ever really was EP boss. I know the CCC listed him as a lieutenant in their 97 chart. His brother claims he was not.

[Villain]

I dont remember really so maybe Antiliar, Snakes, Confederate or Pete can chime in, but i think that the Magnafichis were the source regarding DiFronzo succeeding Gagliano in 71 or maybe im wrong, i dunno maybe Calabrese was the one who said something...by the early 70s besides Gagliano being dead, both Messino and Cerone were in prison, Cardi was also out of the picture abd so there werent many top EP guys left on the st at the time...anyways later Magnafichi allegedly succeeded DiFronzo as capo of EP when the latter one became the underboss....btw what time period Joe Kong was the alleged capo of EP? Was it before or after Magnafichi?

Villian, I’m pretty sure Fosco is the one that said that. I personally don’t think Cerone relinquished control of the EP crew while he was in upper management. He only did about three years in the early 70s. He also had his personal underboss working for him and doing everything he wanted, Willie Messino. Messino was in prison from 70-76. The last supper picture was taken at Harlem and Diversey. Right on the border of Elmwood Park. If Difronzo was a capo at that time, I’m pretty sure he would have been there. If Difronzo was the EP boss, it’s very likely it was acting during that time. I remember seeing Outfit charts and not seeing him in that spot. I have to look again to confirm. As for Culotta, I’m not sure he ever really was EP boss. I know the CCC listed him as a lieutenant in their 97 chart. His brother claims he was not.

Thanks for the info on Culotta and Fosco, although im going to wait for Antiliars answer also since i think he mentioned some additional stuff....

I agree that almost every boss or underboss in the Outfits history never relinquished their power over their own crews...for example Ricca never relinquished his power over his Taylor St faction, nor did Accardo over his EP crew...same story goes for underbosses such as Ferraro who always had full control over the Chinatown/Cicero/South Side faction, or Battaglia over the MP, Stone Park and Northlake faction...BUT they all had their own district bosses aka capos who controlled the day to day ops

So theres no question that Cerone represented EPs interests on that 1976 photo....and by the way, do you see a Cicero/MP rep on that same photo? I dont think so since Aiuppa represented his own group or Ortenzis and Carlisis interests, besides he being the boss at the time.

Cerone was released in 1973....it is very well documented that Alex asked Accardo for Cerone to take his place temporarly....in 1974, Cerone is seen having meetings with top individuals such as Aiuppa and even the recently deported Giancana....the files say (thanks to Snakes) that after Giancanas demise, in September or October, Cerone became the official underboss which possibly means that Aiuppa also became official and Alex was also back in the game. Do you see Alex on that photo? I dont think so but we have that other pic with Gus and Sam Alex, Accardo, Aiuppa, Cerone and Marcy, and on top of that we also have numerous sources, even later from the 80s, that Alex was the Outfits "consigliere" or senior advisor....

So my point is that DiFronzo was a sleeper during those days and became a capo sometime between 1971 and 1976....there was no way during those days for some1 to become the underboss without previously serving at least 5 or 6 years as a district boss.....when Messino got out of jail, he worked as Cerones chauffer, bodyguard and personal assistant....he was probably looked upon as elder statesman by the rest of the EP crew but i dont think that he had any kind of personal control over it

[SolarSolano]

Bella Notte is owned by Ramon and Francisco Aguierre. Ramon's wife Bertha is the hostess. They both worked at Rosebud - Alex Dana was a previous owner. I believe Cozzo was the one who owned the building the restaurant was housed in, which was later sold to Francisco. Now its in bankruptcy.

Where people get Bellavia coming in is because Ramon had a previous restaurant on Dempster called "Bella Via" in Morton Grove on Dempster. That was owned in part by Suzy Bellavia, Chucky's daughter. I am not sure if its there anymore.

Aguierre runs a building maintenance company that had a lot of contracts with the city at one point. He was also connected to Local 743 and has a number of relatives working there.

Ah, thanks for clearing it up. Was the Bella Notte out in the burbs connected to it at all with Cassano and Amanti's issue?

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-7th-circuit/1378364.html

Not sure Funk, but I do know Charlie Salvatore who owned that currency exchange in Stone Park. He is a retired cop and the son of Rocky Salvatore, who worked for Teets Battaglia. These guys just stay connected to each other whenever they can - and its interesting to see sons of Outfit guys who probably have their own connections testifying against others in civil lawsuits like this.