General Chicago Outfit Info Dumping Ground

[Antiliar]

My source says Solly D isn't doing well with his cancer. He expects Rainone to replace him, although Rainone is technically under Jimmy I.

[PolackTony]

My source says Solly D isn't doing well with his cancer. He expects Rainone to replace him, although Rainone is technically under Jimmy I.

He thinks Rainone will be the next boss? If true, maybe older guys like Inendino, Cautadella, Matassa, would rather have a younger guy step up.

[Antiliar]

He's not familiar with Matassa at all. He's another inactive guy. Joe Andriacchi, Rudy Fratto, and a lot of other guys from the previous generation are not involved at all. I asked him about Mike Mags and he said he only knows of him through watching Fosco's videos.

[Patrickgold]

More info: The Cicero crew used to meet at the Big Top restaurant at the corner of Roosevelt and Austin (6001 W Roosevelt). Jimmy Marcello, Jimmy I, and Johnny Apes used to meet there. It was owned by George Kokenes, who lost money on it. Johnny Apes's son lived upstairs without paying rent. The pawn shop The Gold Exchange is next door. He said that he doesn't think Jerry Scalise is made, so my previous info is probably wrong. A lot of Outfit guys and their families work at Maranos, including Louie Marino before he died. The Cicero guys now meet in a restaurant in the suburbs every Sunday. A guy named TJ Lynch does heavy work for Cicero.

A bit embarrassed to say I was able to find the Lynch guy on FB. Weird world, but the guy fits the bill

Solly D and the Lobue brothers are on Facebook too. Practically the whole Outfit is on Facebook!

Yes, as well as some of their zip affiliates who are now back in Calabria and Sicily but with tons of Chicago people with connected names in their FB friends.

In Solly D's case, I've shown it to people who don't really have any mob interest, saying that this guy is "allegedly a top guy in the Chicago mob." There responses are unanimously "he just looks like an old grandpa hanging out with his family," which I guess is the whole point of having the page.

Exactly. Plus the carpet cleaning biz, the restaurants he’s always promoting, I’ve always thought it was all a front to appear legitimate.

And I agree with everyone that thinks he would be nuts for continuing the mob life into his 80’s. However, besides it just being in his blood, I have to think there’s a part of you that after spending so much time in prison just wants to get what’s coming to you in terms of money and respect.

Fosco has claimed that Willie Messino was bitter that DiFronzo was letting something he had dedicated his life to fall apart. Just because DiFronzo seemed content to let the thing whither away does not mean that these other old timers felt or feel the same way. Solly gave years of his life in prison to the Outfit. While he doesn’t “need” the envelopes, he won’t sneeze at any money coming his way. But I imagine it’s more than that. If this source is right that Solly has young made guys stationed in EP direct with him, keeping the thing going must have some significant personal value for him. The Outfit is a powerful identity for these guys, and to spend his twilight years on top of the same family once headed by Capone, Ricca, etc., I imagine gives a guy like this tremendous satisfaction. To an outsider it may seem like nothing but symbolism, but people live, kill, and die for symbols. As already noted, the Life is in Solly’s blood, going back at least to his grandfather.

Messino’s family says that he was given the option to take over the Outfit but declined. Well if he really cared about the Outfit then he would have taken over in my opinion. I always saw him as a minion type. He use to look over Accardo’s monkey. Supposedly he died broke living in a one bedroom apartment.

[PolackTony]

He's not familiar with Matassa at all. He's another inactive guy. Joe Andriacchi, Rudy Fratto, and a lot of other guys from the previous generation are not involved at all. I asked him about Mike Mags and he said he only knows of him through watching Fosco's videos.

I guess it’s a whole new world out there and has probably been so for a while. The names we’ve had to work with are obviously those that we’ve known, so they were what we’ve had to try to fill in the blanks. I think it’s pretty clear there’s a whole lot we simply had no idea about, for obvious reasons.

[Patrickgold]

He's not familiar with Matassa at all. He's another inactive guy. Joe Andriacchi, Rudy Fratto, and a lot of other guys from the previous generation are not involved at all. I asked him about Mike Mags and he said he only knows of him through watching Fosco's videos.

I guess it’s a whole new world out there and has probably been so for a while. The names we’ve had to work with are obviously those that we’ve known, so they were what we’ve had to try to fill in the blanks. I think it’s pretty clear there’s a whole lot we simply had no idea about, for obvious reasons.

Definitely agree with you on this. We can only work with the names that we know. I would be surprised if all those guys are inactive though. Like you said before, some of these guys have it in their blood and being high up in the structure does have its benefit. I would be surprised if Fratto is retired. He would be the guy that you think wouldn’t. Supposedly doesn’t have any legit businesses or wealth and will probably hustle until he dies.

[Antiliar]

Fratto could still hustle, cheat and steal, but if so he's doing it separate from the Outfit.

[Coloboy]

As I’m absorbing the last week of conversations on this thread, all I can really say for certain is there is so much we don’t know about the present day outfit. It seems likely that there are many younger guys we are not aware of, and that those are the ones that are really keeping it going. A week ago none of us would’ve even entertained the idea that Louis Rainone might be a candidate for boss. Hell, I didn’t even know who he was. Or that Mattassa, Fratto, Andriacchi etc. we’re all retired. (Although I’m not sure about that last one, in the outfit it seems the old guys always are getting some kind of tribute. It’s kind of the point of sticking with it your whole life.). Plus, I really do think the soldiers down the ladder are kept somewhat in the dark about what is happening at the very top. It seems sometimes even made guys don’t have the full picture, going back to the 90s.

[Patrickgold]

What was the reason Fratto was supposedly shelved? Difronzo is the one that did it, correct? Mattassa I always wondered about. He was made young and had opportunity to climb high but never seemed to be very active. He was on that chart the FBI put together in the mid 90s as a union liaison. It’s posted below.

[Snakes]

We also need to be careful about taking everything this guy says as fact. Take it, digest it, compare it to other information that we have, and make a decision. So far, I have no reason to think anything he said has been inaccurate, specifically in regards to the goings-on in today's Outfit. However, without knowing the source (made guy, associate, family member?), it's difficult to make a true judgement on veracity. For example, Richard Mara was interviewed by agents in 1980 and identified a bunch of guys as "made" who weren't. He also said Spilotro was boss over Lombardo on Grand Avenue and that DiVarco was also part of that crew, all of which we now know is false. That doesn't mean that everything he said was false, or that I don't believe Antilar's guy is being truthful, we just have to be cautious.

[Patrickgold]

We also need to be careful about taking everything this guy says as fact. Take it, digest it, compare it to other information that we have, and make a decision. So far, I have no reason to think anything he said has been inaccurate, specifically in regards to the goings-on in today's Outfit. However, without knowing the source (made guy, associate, family member?), it's difficult to make a true judgement on veracity. For example, Richard Mara was interviewed by agents in 1980 and identified a bunch of guys as "made" who weren't. He also said Spilotro was boss over Lombardo on Grand Avenue and that DiVarco was also part of that crew, all of which we now know is false. That doesn't mean that everything he said was false, or that I don't believe Antilar's guy is being truthful, we just have to be cautious.

Good point. As the source already said, he knows about Cicero. Outside of that it might just be hear-say so he might think some of those guys are inactive but they are not.

[SolarSolano]

It seems strange they would make a younger guy boss whose spent more time in prison than in the real world as adult - and I know for a fact that a lot of these guys who hung around those Cicero and Berwyn guys were into drugs so its interesting and definitely a change for the Outfit if Louis Rainone comes in out of nowhere - but I think while some of these guys are playing checkers, there are still some guys out there playing chess like Inendino, Vena, etc. Really have no idea what is going on.

[Antiliar]

We also need to be careful about taking everything this guy says as fact. Take it, digest it, compare it to other information that we have, and make a decision. So far, I have no reason to think anything he said has been inaccurate, specifically in regards to the goings-on in today's Outfit. However, without knowing the source (made guy, associate, family member?), it's difficult to make a true judgement on veracity. For example, Richard Mara was interviewed by agents in 1980 and identified a bunch of guys as "made" who weren't. He also said Spilotro was boss over Lombardo on Grand Avenue and that DiVarco was also part of that crew, all of which we now know is false. That doesn't mean that everything he said was false, or that I don't believe Antilar's guy is being truthful, we just have to be cautious.

I think that's good advice. We should be cautious with every informant. We also need to be cautious with our own presuppositions and what we think we know to be true. I can say that my source was and is a well-placed associate with a family history that includes a made guy. He's somewhat disgruntled, but maintains his connections. Not everyone is happy with him, but the top people are protecting him. Some other people have vouched for him. I've come to consider him very credible based not only on the information he shared with me, but also the many photos he shared. I shared a couple of those photos here. To me, his information also makes sense and seems to fit with what Mike Mags told me. But each should decide for themselves what to conclude. I'm not putting any pressure on anyone on what to think. The new information can be a bit overwhelming for some. It's been overwhelming for me. He's shown personal information that I haven't shared here, and details that I wish he hadn't told me. I'm not sure why he picked me, but others contact me too. Anyways, I thought this group would enjoy the new material and would get something out of it.

[Antiliar]

What was the reason Fratto was supposedly shelved? Difronzo is the one that did it, correct? Mattassa I always wondered about. He was made young and had opportunity to climb high but never seemed to be very active. He was on that chart the FBI put together in the mid 90s as a union liaison. It’s posted below.

This chart looks very familiar. Hmm...

[Snakes]

We also need to be careful about taking everything this guy says as fact. Take it, digest it, compare it to other information that we have, and make a decision. So far, I have no reason to think anything he said has been inaccurate, specifically in regards to the goings-on in today's Outfit. However, without knowing the source (made guy, associate, family member?), it's difficult to make a true judgement on veracity. For example, Richard Mara was interviewed by agents in 1980 and identified a bunch of guys as "made" who weren't. He also said Spilotro was boss over Lombardo on Grand Avenue and that DiVarco was also part of that crew, all of which we now know is false. That doesn't mean that everything he said was false, or that I don't believe Antilar's guy is being truthful, we just have to be cautious.

I think that's good advice. We should be cautious with every informant. We also need to be cautious with our own presuppositions and what we think we know to be true. I can say that my source was and is a well-placed associate with a family history that includes a made guy. He's somewhat disgruntled, but maintains his connections. Not everyone is happy with him, but the top people are protecting him. Some other people have vouched for him. I've come to consider him very credible based not only on the information he shared with me, but also the many photos he shared. I shared a couple of those photos here. To me, his information also makes sense and seems to fit with what Mike Mags told me. But each should decide for themselves what to conclude. I'm not putting any pressure on anyone on what to think. The new information can be a bit overwhelming for some. It's been overwhelming for me. He's shown personal information that I haven't shared here, and details that I wish he hadn't told me. I'm not sure why he picked me, but others contact me too. Anyways, I thought this group would enjoy the new material and would get something out of it.

All good points. Thanks for the added info which supports your trust in the source.