Rockford LCN & Control of Coin Operated Machines

[cavita]

What I have heard is that Joe Saladino is the top
guy in Rockford now. He runs what is left of the organization in Rockford. I will also say this because the place closed last year. Cavita, I’m sure you have been there and knew it since it was in your neighborhood but Saladino use hang out at the Roma Bakery in the old italian neighborhood and his people use to come and meet him there. Place closed down last year after being open for 80 years or something like that.

Interesting story about the Roma Bakery in FBI files was supposedly sometime in the 1960s the owner's son got in debt to the Rockford LCN to the tune of $37,000. The files said the owner sold the bakery to cover the debt. The original owners were the Marinelli family and at some point ownership changed hands to the Bowler family who was the son-in-law. Now, I still have to find out when this took place or even who the Marinelli son was.

That is very interesting. Surprised the Outfit just didn’t take it over in place of the debt. Was the Bowler family still running it when it closed this past year? Also, where was the original location?

The Bowler family was still running it when it closed earlier this year. I'll have to do some digging as to where the original location was but when it closed it was on Marchesano Drive.

[Patrickgold]

What I have heard is that Joe Saladino is the top
guy in Rockford now. He runs what is left of the organization in Rockford. I will also say this because the place closed last year. Cavita, I’m sure you have been there and knew it since it was in your neighborhood but Saladino use hang out at the Roma Bakery in the old italian neighborhood and his people use to come and meet him there. Place closed down last year after being open for 80 years or something like that.

Interesting story about the Roma Bakery in FBI files was supposedly sometime in the 1960s the owner's son got in debt to the Rockford LCN to the tune of $37,000. The files said the owner sold the bakery to cover the debt. The original owners were the Marinelli family and at some point ownership changed hands to the Bowler family who was the son-in-law. Now, I still have to find out when this took place or even who the Marinelli son was.

That is very interesting. Surprised the Outfit just didn’t take it over in place of the debt. Was the Bowler family still running it when it closed this past year? Also, where was the original location?

The Bowler family was still running it when it closed earlier this year. I'll have to do some digging as to where the original location was but when it closed it was on Marchesano Drive.

Let me know if you find out where it was originally. Yep right on Marchesano Dr across from the monastery. I went there about three months before it closed. Was sad to hear it closed.

[cavita]

What I have heard is that Joe Saladino is the top
guy in Rockford now. He runs what is left of the organization in Rockford. I will also say this because the place closed last year. Cavita, I’m sure you have been there and knew it since it was in your neighborhood but Saladino use hang out at the Roma Bakery in the old italian neighborhood and his people use to come and meet him there. Place closed down last year after being open for 80 years or something like that.

Interesting story about the Roma Bakery in FBI files was supposedly sometime in the 1960s the owner's son got in debt to the Rockford LCN to the tune of $37,000. The files said the owner sold the bakery to cover the debt. The original owners were the Marinelli family and at some point ownership changed hands to the Bowler family who was the son-in-law. Now, I still have to find out when this took place or even who the Marinelli son was.

That is very interesting. Surprised the Outfit just didn’t take it over in place of the debt. Was the Bowler family still running it when it closed this past year? Also, where was the original location?

The Bowler family was still running it when it closed earlier this year. I'll have to do some digging as to where the original location was but when it closed it was on Marchesano Drive.

Let me know if you find out where it was originally. Yep right on Marchesano Dr across from the monastery. I went there about three months before it closed. Was sad to hear it closed.

So Roma Bakery was started on West Street in 1924 by Ernest Marinelli, native of Italy. He retired in 1952 and his nephew Gene Bowler took it over at the request of Bowler's parents. When Gene took it over there were three locations- West Street, Brooke Road and the Meadow Mart Shopping Center in Loves Park, Illinois. Since that time Gene closed the other locations and just focused on the West Street location which when it expanded, became the Marchesano Drive location in that shopping center. Gene ran the business into the 1980s and then his son John Bowler took it over until it closed last December. I can't find any instance where the son of the owner was in debt to the Rockford LCN but perhaps that happened and that was when the owner sold off one or both of the other locations and paid the debt to the tune of $37,000.

[Patrickgold]

What I have heard is that Joe Saladino is the top
guy in Rockford now. He runs what is left of the organization in Rockford. I will also say this because the place closed last year. Cavita, I’m sure you have been there and knew it since it was in your neighborhood but Saladino use hang out at the Roma Bakery in the old italian neighborhood and his people use to come and meet him there. Place closed down last year after being open for 80 years or something like that.

Interesting story about the Roma Bakery in FBI files was supposedly sometime in the 1960s the owner's son got in debt to the Rockford LCN to the tune of $37,000. The files said the owner sold the bakery to cover the debt. The original owners were the Marinelli family and at some point ownership changed hands to the Bowler family who was the son-in-law. Now, I still have to find out when this took place or even who the Marinelli son was.

That is very interesting. Surprised the Outfit just didn’t take it over in place of the debt. Was the Bowler family still running it when it closed this past year? Also, where was the original location?

The Bowler family was still running it when it closed earlier this year. I'll have to do some digging as to where the original location was but when it closed it was on Marchesano Drive.

Let me know if you find out where it was originally. Yep right on Marchesano Dr across from the monastery. I went there about three months before it closed. Was sad to hear it closed.

So Roma Bakery was started on West Street in 1924 by Ernest Marinelli, native of Italy. He retired in 1952 and his nephew Gene Bowler took it over at the request of Bowler's parents. When Gene took it over there were three locations- West Street, Brooke Road and the Meadow Mart Shopping Center in Loves Park, Illinois. Since that time Gene closed the other locations and just focused on the West Street location which when it expanded, became the Marchesano Drive location in that shopping center. Gene ran the business into the 1980s and then his son John Bowler took it over until it closed last December. I can't find any instance where the son of the owner was in debt to the Rockford LCN but perhaps that happened and that was when the owner sold off one or both of the other locations and paid the debt to the tune of $37,000.

Thanks Cavita. Interesting. I didn’t know that there was multiple Roma locations. I bet your right that he sold off the other ones to pay off the debt.

[cavita]

What I have heard is that Joe Saladino is the top
guy in Rockford now. He runs what is left of the organization in Rockford. I will also say this because the place closed last year. Cavita, I’m sure you have been there and knew it since it was in your neighborhood but Saladino use hang out at the Roma Bakery in the old italian neighborhood and his people use to come and meet him there. Place closed down last year after being open for 80 years or something like that.

I personally haven't heard this but then again sometimes I'm limited in what information there is whenever I get back to Rockford. Him meeting at Roma Bakery confuses me because the bakery didn't have anywhere to sit and the standing space was only about eight feet by twenty feet. I do know he frequents the four Italian social clubs very often as well as the Off Track Betting place. In the most recent past he was a fixture at Maria's Restaurant (it closed a few years ago) and he and his associates would count gambling proceeds in the kitchen there after hours.

They had a couple of small tables if i remember correctly and he would sit at one. He would go in the mornings before lunch for coffee and who ever was meeting him would sit in the other chair. I saw him there once while I was picking up some cannolis but he looked to by himself at the time. I didn’t go there regularly to confirm what I heard.

I heard of Marias and was disappointed that I never went. Heard the food was amazing. I heard the same family opened up another restaurant in Loves Park I think.

Maria's was awesome and was owned by the Cason family which the name was originally Casone. Funny story which I witnessed years ago was that Joe was sitting in the bar at Maria's with a lady friend and they were all over each other. Someone at the bar called Joe's girlfriend and told her. Well, she came down to the restaurant and proceeded to beat the living shit out of the girl in front of everyone. You would have thought she would have lit into Joe but she gave the beating instead to the girl.

Here's a pic of Joe from the 80s. Of course he looks a bit different now.