General Chicago Outfit Info Dumping Ground

[Villain]

There were around three main "Frankie's" with Giancana at the time....Frank Ferraro, Frank Annunzio and Frank Sinatra...

[Ed]

Was Outfit informer Louis Bombacino an inducted member? Louis Fratto and Bill Roemer state he was, but is that generally accepted by researchers? Was his surname originally spelled "Bombacigno"? Also, what was the relationship between him and the other "Louis Bombacino" active later on? thanks

From what I can figure out, informer Louis Bombacino (aka Joe Nardi) was the uncle of the other Louis Bombacino. The younger Bombacino was the son of Anthony Bombacino, the older Louis's brother. Anthony Bombacino operated a bakery (he married the original owner's daughter), so somewhere along the line, all three men acquired the nickname "baker."

Interesting that the bosses permitted the younger Louis to remain active in the Outfit despite his notorious informer uncle.

[PolackTony]

Was Outfit informer Louis Bombacino an inducted member? Louis Fratto and Bill Roemer state he was, but is that generally accepted by researchers? Was his surname originally spelled "Bombacigno"? Also, what was the relationship between him and the other "Louis Bombacino" active later on? thanks

From what I can figure out, informer Louis Bombacino (aka Joe Nardi) was the uncle of the other Louis Bombacino. The younger Bombacino was the son of Anthony Bombacino, the older Louis's brother. Anthony Bombacino operated a bakery (he married the original owner's daughter), so somewhere along the line, all three men acquired the nickname "baker."

Interesting that the bosses permitted the younger Louis to remain active in the Outfit despite his notorious informer uncle.

Thanks for the follow-up Ed. I agree that it’s interesting that they let the younger Louis remain active, but I admittedly don’t know much about him.

[Ed]

Was Outfit informer Louis Bombacino an inducted member? Louis Fratto and Bill Roemer state he was, but is that generally accepted by researchers? Was his surname originally spelled "Bombacigno"? Also, what was the relationship between him and the other "Louis Bombacino" active later on? thanks

From what I can figure out, informer Louis Bombacino (aka Joe Nardi) was the uncle of the other Louis Bombacino. The younger Bombacino was the son of Anthony Bombacino, the older Louis's brother. Anthony Bombacino operated a bakery (he married the original owner's daughter), so somewhere along the line, all three men acquired the nickname "baker."

Interesting that the bosses permitted the younger Louis to remain active in the Outfit despite his notorious informer uncle.

Thanks for the follow-up Ed. I agree that it’s interesting that they let the younger Louis remain active, but I admittedly don’t know much about him.

BTW, I liked your earlier take that the undercover name "Joe Nardi" could have been inspired partly by Bombacino's former wife's surname. I might use that if you don't mind. From what I can gather, federal agents put together Bombacino's new identity ad hoc because they felt obligated to help him for his testimony. As you probably know, when Bombacino was relocated to Arizona in 1967, the federal witness protection program did not yet exist.

[PolackTony]

Was Outfit informer Louis Bombacino an inducted member? Louis Fratto and Bill Roemer state he was, but is that generally accepted by researchers? Was his surname originally spelled "Bombacigno"? Also, what was the relationship between him and the other "Louis Bombacino" active later on? thanks

From what I can figure out, informer Louis Bombacino (aka Joe Nardi) was the uncle of the other Louis Bombacino. The younger Bombacino was the son of Anthony Bombacino, the older Louis's brother. Anthony Bombacino operated a bakery (he married the original owner's daughter), so somewhere along the line, all three men acquired the nickname "baker."

Interesting that the bosses permitted the younger Louis to remain active in the Outfit despite his notorious informer uncle.

Thanks for the follow-up Ed. I agree that it’s interesting that they let the younger Louis remain active, but I admittedly don’t know much about him.

BTW, I liked your earlier take that the undercover name "Joe Nardi" could have been inspired partly by Bombacino's former wife's surname. I might use that if you don't mind. From what I can gather, federal agents put together Bombacino's new identity ad hoc because they felt obligated to help him for his testimony. As you probably know, when Bombacino was relocated to Arizona in 1967, the federal witness protection program did not yet exist.

I certainly wouldn’t mind if you use it. I’d be honored, in fact. Glad I was able to be of service, even if it was something as minor as that.

[PolackTony]

Phil Guzaldo was a lieutenant for Joe Gagliano and Jack Cerone during the 50s and 60s, who controlled numerous bookmaking ops around Grand Av and Elmwood Park. When Guzaldo got arrested, his home address during the 50s was 1808 N Latrobe Av and owned gambling spots at 3614 Chicago Av and 3620 Chicago Av. In 1955, Phil Guzaldo was 45 years old. In 1966, Phil Guzaldo lived at 1407 N Latrobe Av and was again arrested on gambling charges together with John Lardino, John Cimitile and Stanley Jasinski.

Big John Cimitile seems to have been a pretty under the radar Taylor St made guy in the Buccieri crew. The above referenced 1966 gambling raid that nabbed Guzaldo and Jasinski was at Cimitile’s N Parkside home near Augusta and Central. As this was in the North Austin neighborhood, I’m surprised that no Battaglia crew members seem to have been involved (perhaps Battaglia/Alderisio were receiving a cut from it. Or this was considered Cerone territory, with Guzaldo representing EP). The guys busted at Cimitile’s residence were later freed on the orders of a judge who ruled that CPD had no evidence of actual gambling when they made the raid.

The Tribune described Cimitile at the time as the “Maxwell St gambling boss” under Buccieri and a 1st ward “gambling and loan shark boss”. There was an earlier 1965 bust of a wire room that John Lardino and Cimitile were apparently overseeing from an Austin apartment on N Long. CPD intel observed guys like Rocky Infelise and Mugsy Tortoriello also visiting this apartment.

In the Ricca files, the Feds noted that three individuals were observed visiting Ricca’s home immediately after he died in ‘72 — Les Kruse, Moving Pictures Operators Union boss Clarence Jalas, and Big John Cimitile, the latter described as a “Prominent LCN member and associate of Ricca for decades”. I suspect that Ricca and Cimitile went back to the old days on Taylor, of course. In his WW2 draft registration, Cimitile (then resident at Polk and Halsted, which makes sense given his later-noted role as overseer of the Maxwell St area) stated that he was born 1906 in Naples, so I wonder also if his connection to Ricca went back to the Old Country. The only other info I have for Cimitile is that he married a Clara Di Giovanni in 1930. There was a kid named Giovanni Cimitile, son of Raffaele Cimitile and Giuseppa Sepe, who arrived in NYC from Brusciano, Napoli in 1911. I suspect this was him.

Big John Cimitile seems to have died 1986 in Las Vegas.

[Villain]

Phil Guzaldo was a lieutenant for Joe Gagliano and Jack Cerone during the 50s and 60s, who controlled numerous bookmaking ops around Grand Av and Elmwood Park. When Guzaldo got arrested, his home address during the 50s was 1808 N Latrobe Av and owned gambling spots at 3614 Chicago Av and 3620 Chicago Av. In 1955, Phil Guzaldo was 45 years old. In 1966, Phil Guzaldo lived at 1407 N Latrobe Av and was again arrested on gambling charges together with John Lardino, John Cimitile and Stanley Jasinski.

Big John Cimitile seems to have been a pretty under the radar Taylor St made guy in the Buccieri crew. The above referenced 1966 gambling raid that nabbed Guzaldo and Jasinski was at Cimitile’s N Parkside home near Augusta and Central. As this was in the North Austin neighborhood, I’m surprised that no Battaglia crew members seem to have been involved (perhaps Battaglia/Alderisio were receiving a cut from it. Or this was considered Cerone territory, with Guzaldo representing EP). The guys busted at Cimitile’s residence were later freed on the orders of a judge who ruled that CPD had no evidence of actual gambling when they made the raid.

The Tribune described Cimitile at the time as the “Maxwell St gambling boss” under Buccieri and a 1st ward “gambling and loan shark boss”. There was an earlier 1965 bust of a wire room that John Lardino and Cimitile were apparently overseeing from an Austin apartment on N Long. CPD intel observed guys like Rocky Infelise and Mugsy Tortoriello also visiting this apartment.

In the Ricca files, the Feds noted that three individuals were observed visiting Ricca’s home immediately after he died in ‘72 — Les Kruse, Moving Pictures Operators Union boss Clarence Jalas, and Big John Cimitile, the latter described as a “Prominent LCN member and associate of Ricca for decades”. I suspect that Ricca and Cimitile went back to the old days on Taylor, of course. In his WW2 draft registration, Cimitile (then resident at Polk and Halsted, which makes sense given his later-noted role as overseer of the Maxwell St area) stated that he was born 1906 in Naples, so I wonder also if his connection to Ricca went back to the Old Country. The only other info I have for Cimitile is that he married a Clara Di Giovanni in 1930. There was a kid named Giovanni Cimitile, son of Raffaele Cimitile and Giuseppa Sepe, who arrived in NYC from Brusciano, Napoli in 1911. I suspect this was him.

Big John Cimitile seems to have died 1986 in Las Vegas.

Thanks for the additional info.

Btw, Lardino was with Aiuppa and also had ties to Glimco who in turn was under Battaglia.

[Villain]

Frank Buccieri is shown in this vid...do we know who was the informant?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ySTCmKCZYpM

[Tonyd621]

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/ne ... leigh.html

Cant get behind the paywall.

[Tonyd621]

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/ne ... leigh.html

Cant get behind the paywall.

[PolackTony]

https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/ne ... leigh.html

Cant get behind the paywall.

I can’t access the article either, but from what I can tell, former NHL player Jonathan “Bates” Battaglia and his brother Anthony — grandsons of Sam Battaglia, of course — opened a mob themed bar in Raleigh called “Teets”.

[SolarSolano]

Raleigh bar owner's new lounge in Glenwood South pays homage to family's mobster past
By Erika Wells – Staff Writer, Triangle Business Journal
Apr 19, 2021

A longtime Raleigh bar owner – who is a former Carolina Hurricane – and his brother are taking a shot at opening a new venue with a name that pays homage to their grandfather’s mobster lifestyle.

Brothers Bates and Anthony Battaglia plan to open Teets in the heart of Glenwood South later this month. They've been working since last fall to prepare the space at 425 Glenwood Ave., which features large front and back patios and a 40-foot main indoor bar. Their company bought the building in 2004, but now they want to make the most of the former Noir Bar & Lounge location.

Financial details of the project were not disclosed.

Both brothers are former professional hockey players. Bates spent six seasons with the Hurricanes during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The business owners decided to name the new bar after their late grandfather, Sam “Teets” Battaglia, a Chicago native who turned to organized crime to provide for his family. Teets, a first-generation American of Italian decent who was born in the early 1900s, joined the Chicago Outfit as a teenager and ran with crime bosses Johnny Torrio and Al Capone. By the 1930s, Teets became a high-ranking member and loan shark. He reportedly got his nickname after being questioned about his debt collection practices, threatening to hit another mobster in the mouth, saying, “Shaddup, or I'll bust ya in da ‘teets.'"

He was eventually convicted on federal charges and died in 1973.

“My papa died before [my brother and I] were born but we grew up hearing stories about him from my dad,” Bates Battaglia said. “He always wanted us to know who he was and where we came from, so we always looked up to my dad and papa. My dad passed away last May, so this is a tribute to my dad and his dad.”

Battaglia’s dad, Rich, inspired him to get into the bar industry. In 2004, Battaglia and business partner Mike Lombardo, an All-American wrestler at North Carolina State University, opened Lucky B's on Tucker Street in Glenwood South. Bates said Lucky B's has become a popular “dive bar” but Teets will have a different atmosphere.

“Lucky B's is known as a party place but this will be more upscale – more of a lounge where you can relax after work or get the nightlife going on the weekend,” Battaglia said.

In 2020, like many bar and restaurant owners, Bates and his team struggled to stay afloat because of the pandemic. Revenue was down at least 80 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year, Battaglia said. They are still trying to recover even as Covid restrictions have eased.

“For months, we weren’t open at all, but then when we reopened and started at 30 percent [capacity], the pandemic still killed us,” he said. “Now, we're back at 50 percent but it’s still tough. With the capacity going up and later hours, that helps, but we hope things continue to get better. They seem to be moving in the right direction.”

Still, Bates has been pleased with how Glenwood South has evolved since he became a resident there in 2000.

“It’s gotten better and better every year,” Bates said. “I’ve seen the changes and been part of them. It's the best place to be as far as for restaurants, nightlife and art. You name it, we’ve got it.”

[Tonyd621]

Raleigh bar owner's new lounge in Glenwood South pays homage to family's mobster past
By Erika Wells – Staff Writer, Triangle Business Journal
Apr 19, 2021

A longtime Raleigh bar owner – who is a former Carolina Hurricane – and his brother are taking a shot at opening a new venue with a name that pays homage to their grandfather’s mobster lifestyle.

Brothers Bates and Anthony Battaglia plan to open Teets in the heart of Glenwood South later this month. They've been working since last fall to prepare the space at 425 Glenwood Ave., which features large front and back patios and a 40-foot main indoor bar. Their company bought the building in 2004, but now they want to make the most of the former Noir Bar & Lounge location.

Financial details of the project were not disclosed.

Both brothers are former professional hockey players. Bates spent six seasons with the Hurricanes during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The business owners decided to name the new bar after their late grandfather, Sam “Teets” Battaglia, a Chicago native who turned to organized crime to provide for his family. Teets, a first-generation American of Italian decent who was born in the early 1900s, joined the Chicago Outfit as a teenager and ran with crime bosses Johnny Torrio and Al Capone. By the 1930s, Teets became a high-ranking member and loan shark. He reportedly got his nickname after being questioned about his debt collection practices, threatening to hit another mobster in the mouth, saying, “Shaddup, or I'll bust ya in da ‘teets.'"

He was eventually convicted on federal charges and died in 1973.

“My papa died before [my brother and I] were born but we grew up hearing stories about him from my dad,” Bates Battaglia said. “He always wanted us to know who he was and where we came from, so we always looked up to my dad and papa. My dad passed away last May, so this is a tribute to my dad and his dad.”

Battaglia’s dad, Rich, inspired him to get into the bar industry. In 2004, Battaglia and business partner Mike Lombardo, an All-American wrestler at North Carolina State University, opened Lucky B's on Tucker Street in Glenwood South. Bates said Lucky B's has become a popular “dive bar” but Teets will have a different atmosphere.

“Lucky B's is known as a party place but this will be more upscale – more of a lounge where you can relax after work or get the nightlife going on the weekend,” Battaglia said.

In 2020, like many bar and restaurant owners, Bates and his team struggled to stay afloat because of the pandemic. Revenue was down at least 80 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year, Battaglia said. They are still trying to recover even as Covid restrictions have eased.

“For months, we weren’t open at all, but then when we reopened and started at 30 percent [capacity], the pandemic still killed us,” he said. “Now, we're back at 50 percent but it’s still tough. With the capacity going up and later hours, that helps, but we hope things continue to get better. They seem to be moving in the right direction.”

Still, Bates has been pleased with how Glenwood South has evolved since he became a resident there in 2000.

“It’s gotten better and better every year,” Bates said. “I’ve seen the changes and been part of them. It's the best place to be as far as for restaurants, nightlife and art. You name it, we’ve got it.”

Thank

[Patrickgold]

New Chicago Tribune article related to the Outfit

Greylord-era murder case tainted by corrupt judge is re-docketed in Cook County

criminal court 
MEGAN CREPEAU

April 26 at 3:30 PM

CT
A relic of a scandalous era in Cook County history made its way back to the courthouse where it all began Monday — setting up the possibility of a new trial on a 1982 double murder with links to the Outfit and the momentous federal probe known as “Operation Greylord.”
Robert Gacho, 66, has been trying to win a new trial for decades, given that the judge who presided over his trial was later found guilty of fixing murder cases and apparently had taken a bribe from his co-defendant.
But Gacho was unsuccessful until earlier this year, when the federal 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the judge’s corruption tainted the case even though Gacho never paid a dime.
So on Monday, Gacho’s case returned to the Leighton Criminal Court Building, where Gacho’s case was re-docketed in a routine hearing and scheduled for arraignment in front of Judge Adrienne Davis next month.

A spokesperson for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office declined to comment Monday on whether the office has decided to go forward with a second trial for Gacho. Proceeding to trial on such old charges presents obvious challenges, but is not unheard of at Leighton. 
If Gacho is retried, it would resurface the infamous Greylord probe, a corruption investigation among the widest-ranging in Chicago history, inside the courthouse where much of that conduct took place.
Leaving a lasting stain on the county’s courts, the Greylord investigation hinged on a Cook County lawyer who posed as a corrupt attorney and wore a wire to catch lawyers and bagmen handling bribes. Ultimately, 92 public officials were indicted, and 15 Cook County judges were convicted.
But of all the dirty judges investigated in Greylord, only one, Thomas Maloney, was ever convicted of fixing murder cases. Also investigated in the adjacent Operation Gambat, Maloney was accused of taking bribes to fix three, including one involving members of the El Rukn street gang.

And it was Maloney who presided over Gacho’s trial nearly four decades ago.
The allegations at the center of the case are gruesome. In December 1982, a forest ranger came across a car in a desolate spot near the Des Plaines River, and heard pounding coming from inside the trunk.
Inside were cocaine dealers Aldo Fratto and Tullio Infelise, who — like Maloney himself — orbited the Outfit world. Infelise was a relative of Chicago mob figure Ernest “Rocco” Infelise, Gacho’s lawyers noted in one court filing.
Both had been tied up and shot multiple times.

Fratto was dead. But Infelise survived for two weeks afterward, and told police his attackers were “Robert Gotch, Dino and Joe.”
Cook County prosecutors charged Gacho along with Dino Titone and Joe Sorrentino with murder, kidnapping and armed robbery in what they alleged was a drug deal gone bad.
Sorrentino was tried separately, while Gacho and Titone stood trial together in Maloney’s courtroom. Gacho chose to have his case heard by a jury.
But Titone opted to have Maloney determine his fate — and the 7th Circuit found his father had forked over $10,000 to ensure an acquittal, citing an earlier affidavit where the Titone’s father said he had been told if Maloney found the others charged in the case guilty it would be enough to cover his tracks.
But soon, “federal investigators began closing in,” the 7th Circuit wrote. Maloney ultimately backtracked on the deal and found Titone guilty in an apparent attempt to make himself look less suspicious.
Gacho was found guilty by the jury, and Maloney sentenced him to death, a sentence that was later tossed out by an appeals court. Gacho, who did not appear on a video link for his hearing Monday, instead is serving life in prison.
Maloney retired in 1990, and despite his attempts to throw investigators off the scent, he was indicted the next year on racketeering and extortion charges related to allegations that he rigged the cases in the decade prior.
While Maloney was not charged with wrongdoing in the Titone case, he was accused of taking bribes in several other cases during the same era. In 1993, after a six-week trial, Maloney was convicted of taking payoffs. He was sentenced to prison and died in 2008 after being released.
Titone, who paid Maloney for an acquittal that never came, won a new trial because of the bribe. He was convicted again in 1998, this time in a jury trial, after testifying he was playing poker with friends at the time of the crime.
But Gacho, who has since alleged that his lawyer unsuccessfully tried to solicit a $60,000 payoff to Maloney, saw his case linger in sluggish post-conviction proceedings for decades. An Illinois appeals court had previously rejected his argument that his case was affected by judicial bias.
But he won relief in federal court in February, when the 7th Circuit said they could not expect Maloney to be impartial in Gacho’s case when he had been paid off by Gacho’s co-defendant in the joint trial.
“Any decisions Maloney made in Titone’s case based on his desire to deflect scrutiny from the Operation Greylord investigators would necessarily affect Gacho too,” the appeals court wrote. “No reasonable person could accept that Maloney would be neutral in the joint trial after he accepted a bribe from Gacho’s co-defendant and then reneged on the deal out of self-preservation.”
And so the case is back at Leighton, where Gacho is set for arraignment on the 40-year-old charges next month

[PolackTony]

New Chicago Tribune article related to the Outfit

Greylord-era murder case tainted by corrupt judge is re-docketed in Cook County

criminal court 
MEGAN CREPEAU

April 26 at 3:30 PM

CT
A relic of a scandalous era in Cook County history made its way back to the courthouse where it all began Monday — setting up the possibility of a new trial on a 1982 double murder with links to the Outfit and the momentous federal probe known as “Operation Greylord.”
Robert Gacho, 66, has been trying to win a new trial for decades, given that the judge who presided over his trial was later found guilty of fixing murder cases and apparently had taken a bribe from his co-defendant.
But Gacho was unsuccessful until earlier this year, when the federal 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the judge’s corruption tainted the case even though Gacho never paid a dime.
So on Monday, Gacho’s case returned to the Leighton Criminal Court Building, where Gacho’s case was re-docketed in a routine hearing and scheduled for arraignment in front of Judge Adrienne Davis next month.

A spokesperson for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office declined to comment Monday on whether the office has decided to go forward with a second trial for Gacho. Proceeding to trial on such old charges presents obvious challenges, but is not unheard of at Leighton. 
If Gacho is retried, it would resurface the infamous Greylord probe, a corruption investigation among the widest-ranging in Chicago history, inside the courthouse where much of that conduct took place.
Leaving a lasting stain on the county’s courts, the Greylord investigation hinged on a Cook County lawyer who posed as a corrupt attorney and wore a wire to catch lawyers and bagmen handling bribes. Ultimately, 92 public officials were indicted, and 15 Cook County judges were convicted.
But of all the dirty judges investigated in Greylord, only one, Thomas Maloney, was ever convicted of fixing murder cases. Also investigated in the adjacent Operation Gambat, Maloney was accused of taking bribes to fix three, including one involving members of the El Rukn street gang.

And it was Maloney who presided over Gacho’s trial nearly four decades ago.
The allegations at the center of the case are gruesome. In December 1982, a forest ranger came across a car in a desolate spot near the Des Plaines River, and heard pounding coming from inside the trunk.
Inside were cocaine dealers Aldo Fratto and Tullio Infelise, who — like Maloney himself — orbited the Outfit world. Infelise was a relative of Chicago mob figure Ernest “Rocco” Infelise, Gacho’s lawyers noted in one court filing.
Both had been tied up and shot multiple times.

Fratto was dead. But Infelise survived for two weeks afterward, and told police his attackers were “Robert Gotch, Dino and Joe.”
Cook County prosecutors charged Gacho along with Dino Titone and Joe Sorrentino with murder, kidnapping and armed robbery in what they alleged was a drug deal gone bad.
Sorrentino was tried separately, while Gacho and Titone stood trial together in Maloney’s courtroom. Gacho chose to have his case heard by a jury.
But Titone opted to have Maloney determine his fate — and the 7th Circuit found his father had forked over $10,000 to ensure an acquittal, citing an earlier affidavit where the Titone’s father said he had been told if Maloney found the others charged in the case guilty it would be enough to cover his tracks.
But soon, “federal investigators began closing in,” the 7th Circuit wrote. Maloney ultimately backtracked on the deal and found Titone guilty in an apparent attempt to make himself look less suspicious.
Gacho was found guilty by the jury, and Maloney sentenced him to death, a sentence that was later tossed out by an appeals court. Gacho, who did not appear on a video link for his hearing Monday, instead is serving life in prison.
Maloney retired in 1990, and despite his attempts to throw investigators off the scent, he was indicted the next year on racketeering and extortion charges related to allegations that he rigged the cases in the decade prior.
While Maloney was not charged with wrongdoing in the Titone case, he was accused of taking bribes in several other cases during the same era. In 1993, after a six-week trial, Maloney was convicted of taking payoffs. He was sentenced to prison and died in 2008 after being released.
Titone, who paid Maloney for an acquittal that never came, won a new trial because of the bribe. He was convicted again in 1998, this time in a jury trial, after testifying he was playing poker with friends at the time of the crime.
But Gacho, who has since alleged that his lawyer unsuccessfully tried to solicit a $60,000 payoff to Maloney, saw his case linger in sluggish post-conviction proceedings for decades. An Illinois appeals court had previously rejected his argument that his case was affected by judicial bias.
But he won relief in federal court in February, when the 7th Circuit said they could not expect Maloney to be impartial in Gacho’s case when he had been paid off by Gacho’s co-defendant in the joint trial.
“Any decisions Maloney made in Titone’s case based on his desire to deflect scrutiny from the Operation Greylord investigators would necessarily affect Gacho too,” the appeals court wrote. “No reasonable person could accept that Maloney would be neutral in the joint trial after he accepted a bribe from Gacho’s co-defendant and then reneged on the deal out of self-preservation.”
And so the case is back at Leighton, where Gacho is set for arraignment on the 40-year-old charges next month

Great post. In the “Chicago Zips” thread the Fratto/Infelise murders came up. These guys were Calabrese drug dealers, but it’s interesting to note that Gacho’s defense claimed that Tullio Infelise was indeed related to Rocky. This goes to further suggest that the Outfit maintained criminal links with their relatives in Italy, as I strongly suspect that Aldo Fratto and Tullio Infelise were connected to the ‘Ndrangheta in Catanzaro.

It seemed like Gacho, Sorrentino, and Titone were Latin Kings or connected to them at least. This is one of those stories that is like a tip of the iceberg, a hint that there were some heavy things happening in Chicago that we don’t have a good grasp on.