General Chicago Outfit Info Dumping Ground

[SolarSolano]

Anyone know anything about a Ricky Nitti (Melrose Park) and if he is any relation to Jason Nitti? Along with Vincent Sabello Jr. (son of a CPD internal affairs officer) and Michael Berendt, Nitti participated in the murder of a Louis D'Avolio in late 1983. Nitti and Berendt testified against Sabello (the shooter) and were spared prison sentences.

I know who Vince Sabello Sr. was and know he has multiple sons in the CPD today - Anthony Sabella is a Sargent and often at press conferences. I've never heard of D'Avolio or this case, but would love to learn more. I do believe Johnny and Nick Nitti have another brother named Richard - that may be him but I'm not sure. I would be surprised if it was -

[Snakes]

Anyone know anything about a Ricky Nitti (Melrose Park) and if he is any relation to Jason Nitti? Along with Vincent Sabello Jr. (son of a CPD internal affairs officer) and Michael Berendt, Nitti participated in the murder of a Louis D'Avolio in late 1983. Nitti and Berendt testified against Sabello (the shooter) and were spared prison sentences.

I know who Vince Sabello Sr. was and know he has multiple sons in the CPD today - Anthony Sabella is a Sargent and often at press conferences. I've never heard of D'Avolio or this case, but would love to learn more. I do believe Johnny and Nick Nitti have another brother named Richard - that may be him but I'm not sure. I would be surprised if it was -

Sabello didn't serve a long sentence, either; like 10-12 years, if I remember correctly. He was convicted on murder conspiracy counts but not the murder charge itself, presumably because it could not be proved that he had pulled the trigger (despite two witnesses against him). This was originally thought to be Outfit-related, but it turned out that Sabello had a workplace beef with D'Avolio and paid Nitti and Berendt to help him murder D'Avolio.

[Snakes]

Some info on Outfit operations in the 80s and 90s:

-John Monteleone transferred from LaPietra's 26th Street/Southside crew to the Ferriola/Cicero crew sometime in the early 1980s
-After a stretch in prison, Monteleone (released in 1/1990) was said to be due for a big "bump" because of his reputation and time served
-In 1990, sometime after the indictment which took down most of the crew, Monteleone took over the Cicero crew from the acting capo (name was redacted, but this is presumed to be Michael Spano, Sr) who was described as "weak."

This is interesting as it jives with some of the existing information about Monteleone being "boss of Cicero" and Spano reporting to him in the Cicero "bilking" case coverage. The possible lineage would now read:

19xx-1973: Fiore Buccieri (died, 1973)
1973-1979: Turk Torello (died, 1979; although he was probably acting in Buccieri's stead for a couple years prior)
1979-1989: Joe Ferriola (died, 1989)
1989-1992: Rocky Infelise (sentenced to 63 years in prison, 1992)
Acting 1990: Michael Spano, Sr. (demoted)
Acting 1990-1992: John Monteleone
1992-~1997~: John Monteleone (promoted to boss)

-Prior to his release from prison in 1995, there was apparently serious talk that Angelo LaPietra would assume the mantle of boss of the Outfit.

-The Outfit in the early 90s was described as an organization composed of "top echelon" bosses (capos?) who "manage and direct" lower street crew bosses (presumably guys like Frank Calabrese). These "lower" street crew bosses command additional members and associates who engage in criminal activity on behalf of the Outfit.

-Source revealed in late 1993 that Joseph Lombardo will assert control of mob drug dealing being conducted by members of the Outfit. Lombardo was also described (possibly by a different source) as being a "consultant" for the Chicago LCN. Lombardo also believed to be reorganizing the Grand Avenue crew and is still considered a "powerful force" in the Chicago LCN.

-It was believed that upon his release from prison, Alfred Pilotto would resume his position as boss of Chicago Heights.

-After James LaPietra's death in September 1993, Monteleone took over both the Cicero and 26th Street crew, due to the imprisonment of high-ranking members in both crews. These crews would be operated in concert for the time-being.

-The Outfit at this time (1993) was described as being in "total disarray" with Monteleone being the only "old timer" with enough stature to run things. Monteleone advised as being "extremely close" to the "new" operating boss of the Chicago LCN (redacted -- Andriacchi? DiFronzo?) and has been for a number of years.

-A redacted Chicago crew (presumably Chicago Heights because of the reference to a "200 year" sentence, alluding to Al Tocco) was considered by informants to be "no longer active." The remnants of this crew are not noticeably active in any illegal activity.

[Snakes]

A couple of the strip clubs which were on the arm to the Cicero crew at this time were:

The Spot Lounge (5801 W Roosevelt Rd)
The Solid Gold (4901 W Roosevelt Rd)

The Spot Lounge was also alleged to be a house of prostitution in addition to employing topless dancers.

[Snakes]

I keep editing the original post to add shit, so I'll just make a new one:

-Willie Messino, who -- despite his age -- is still active in LCN affairs, is purported to be shaking down drug dealers from the "old country" (presumably Italy and/or Sicily?)

-Jim DiForti purported to be Monteleone's #2 man in combined Cicero/26th Street operations. DiForti was also the first member to be "made" in a "very long" time, although this information has to be taken with a grain of salt considering he was later revealed by Nick Calabrese to have been made in 1988. Perhaps this informant did not find out about his making until 1993. This may also imply that no members were made between 1988/89 and this time period, which makes sense as the leadership had been decimated in the intervening years.

[Coloboy]

Great stuff Snakes. Monteleone transferring to cicero in the early 80's explains a lot. We've heard many times that there was some sort of leadership agreement between him, Andriacchi, Lombardo, and Difronzo during this time. Given the fact that Monteleone had such strong influence over both Cicero and 26th St, it would make sense to have a guy like Andriacchi overseeing north side/EP/Grand area.

I can definitely understand the statement about the outfit being in dis-array at this time in 93. Things were messy at the top. Accardo had died the year before, and no matter his level of involvement at that time, we know that he would step in during situations like this in the past to help organize things. Carlisi in prison, Difronzo in prison or soon to be, and Lombardo getting out of prison and into a power vacuum.

The statement on Lombardo directing drug dealing is interesting too. It could be the early groundwork with the street gangs that we see continued today with Cicero and Grand. Also, interesting that they refer to him as a "consultant". Could jive with the speculation that he held a title similar to a "senior advisor", uninvolved in most day to day operations but perhaps holding even more sway than whoever was actually the "boss" at the time.

[Coloboy]

Unrelated question....I will be in vegas in March for work. Anyone been to the Mob Museum? Worth the trip?

[Snakes]

Great stuff Snakes. Monteleone transferring to cicero in the early 80's explains a lot. We've heard many times that there was some sort of leadership agreement between him, Andriacchi, Lombardo, and Difronzo during this time. Given the fact that Monteleone had such strong influence over both Cicero and 26th St, it would make sense to have a guy like Andriacchi overseeing north side/EP/Grand area.

I can definitely understand the statement about the outfit being in dis-array at this time in 93. Things were messy at the top. Accardo had died the year before, and no matter his level of involvement at that time, we know that he would step in during situations like this in the past to help organize things. Carlisi in prison, Difronzo in prison or soon to be, and Lombardo getting out of prison and into a power vacuum.

The statement on Lombardo directing drug dealing is interesting too. It could be the early groundwork with the street gangs that we see continued today with Cicero and Grand. Also, interesting that they refer to him as a "consultant". Could jive with the speculation that he held a title similar to a "senior advisor", uninvolved in most day to day operations but perhaps holding even more sway than whoever was actually the "boss" at the time.

I should also point out that some of this information was corroborated many times over (such as Monteleone heading both Cicero and Southside), while some was mentioned once or with little other detail (the stuff about Lombardo and Messino). So, I'm still approaching some of this with an open mind until I get further information which could corroborate it. But each individual person can take digest this information in their own respective way. The intelligence from different informants can also be conflicting; see: one informant believing Pilotto to be resuming his position as head of the Heights while another believing the crew to be defunct.

[Snakes]

I should also the clarify the Lombardo snippet by adding (since I cannot edit the original post) that he would "attempt" to assert control over Outfit drug deals after he had regained enough power. Whether he ever did this, I can't tell with the information at hand. Sorry, should have written it better in the original post.

[PolackTony]

I should also the clarify the Lombardo snippet by adding (since I cannot edit the original post) that he would "attempt" to assert control over Outfit drug deals after he had regained enough power. Whether he ever did this, I can't tell with the information at hand. Sorry, should have written it better in the original post.

Criminologist John Hagedorn claimed to have interviewed two (anonymous, of course) made members who stated that Lombardo was directly involved in the 1990s project to direct the Latino Folks gangs via the C-Notes. This specifically focused on using the "Insane" faction, led by the Spanish Cobras (who controlled a significant amount of the street-level drug distribution on the NW side of Chicago) and to which the C-Notes belonged, to direct the "Tabla" (the "Board of Directors" of SGDN, or "Spanish Growth and Development") that controlled the Latin Folks organizations from within the IL prison system. One of his informants had Lombardo as meeting to discuss these plans at Bella Notte. This informant, who Hagedorn calls "Sal", essentially stated that the Outfit had read the writing on the wall of demographic change and wanted to assert control over Latino street gangs to their own benefit (of course). The plan fell apart mainly due to bloody infighting that repeatedly erupted between the Maniac Latin Disciples and Spanish Cobras (a series of wild gang wars in the 90s) primarily over control of drug distribution territory.

[SolarSolano]

I should also the clarify the Lombardo snippet by adding (since I cannot edit the original post) that he would "attempt" to assert control over Outfit drug deals after he had regained enough power. Whether he ever did this, I can't tell with the information at hand. Sorry, should have written it better in the original post.

Criminologist John Hagedorn claimed to have interviewed two (anonymous, of course) made members who stated that Lombardo was directly involved in the 1990s project to direct the Latino Folks gangs via the C-Notes. This specifically focused on using the "Insane" faction, led by the Spanish Cobras (who controlled a significant amount of the street-level drug distribution on the NW side of Chicago) and to which the C-Notes belonged, to direct the "Tabla" (the "Board of Directors" of SGDN, or "Spanish Growth and Development") that controlled the Latin Folks organizations from within the IL prison system. One of his informants had Lombardo as meeting to discuss these plans at Bella Notte. This informant, who Hagedorn calls "Sal", essentially stated that the Outfit had read the writing on the wall of demographic change and wanted to assert control over Latino street gangs to their own benefit (of course). The plan fell apart mainly due to bloody infighting that repeatedly erupted between the Maniac Latin Disciples and Spanish Cobras (a series of wild gang wars in the 90s) primarily over control of drug distribution territory.

I have to assume this is where Bobby Panozzo really started being around Lombardo - and I always wonder if he was one of the main links with these gangs, given he seems to run with a lot of these gangbangers.

[SolarSolano]

I keep editing the original post to add shit, so I'll just make a new one:

-Willie Messino, who -- despite his age -- is still active in LCN affairs, is purported to be shaking down drug dealers from the "old country" (presumably Italy and/or Sicily?)

-Jim DiForti purported to be Monteleone's #2 man in combined Cicero/26th Street operations. DiForti was also the first member to be "made" in a "very long" time, although this information has to be taken with a grain of salt considering he was later revealed by Nick Calabrese to have been made in 1988. Perhaps this informant did not find out about his making until 1993. This may also imply that no members were made between 1988/89 and this time period, which makes sense as the leadership had been decimated in the intervening years.

This note on Messino may be one of the more interesting things to me - I've wondered whether the Outfit still had juice in the 90s to essentially extort some of these sicilian mafia guys and turns out they may have been doing that. This is also the time Frank Rappa and these guys were around Chicago so its interesting to see Willie's name referenced here.

[PolackTony]

I should also the clarify the Lombardo snippet by adding (since I cannot edit the original post) that he would "attempt" to assert control over Outfit drug deals after he had regained enough power. Whether he ever did this, I can't tell with the information at hand. Sorry, should have written it better in the original post.

Criminologist John Hagedorn claimed to have interviewed two (anonymous, of course) made members who stated that Lombardo was directly involved in the 1990s project to direct the Latino Folks gangs via the C-Notes. This specifically focused on using the "Insane" faction, led by the Spanish Cobras (who controlled a significant amount of the street-level drug distribution on the NW side of Chicago) and to which the C-Notes belonged, to direct the "Tabla" (the "Board of Directors" of SGDN, or "Spanish Growth and Development") that controlled the Latin Folks organizations from within the IL prison system. One of his informants had Lombardo as meeting to discuss these plans at Bella Notte. This informant, who Hagedorn calls "Sal", essentially stated that the Outfit had read the writing on the wall of demographic change and wanted to assert control over Latino street gangs to their own benefit (of course). The plan fell apart mainly due to bloody infighting that repeatedly erupted between the Maniac Latin Disciples and Spanish Cobras (a series of wild gang wars in the 90s) primarily over control of drug distribution territory.

I have to assume this is where Bobby Panozzo really started being around Lombardo - and I always wonder if he was one of the main links with these gangs, given he seems to run with a lot of these gangbangers.

Panozzo grew up in a world where everyone knew how Lombardo was, he was the Godfather of Da Patch. You know this already, but Joey and Marion's building on Ohio is right in the middle of OL Notes' territory and across the street from Mitchell school yard where the Notes initially started. I believe that Vena brought Panozzo in though, as Vena was a Note himself. Red Wemette told me that he remembers Vena very well as a gangbanger, as that's what he was when Red was around. When I asked Wemette if it was true that the Notes treated Lombardo with a lot of respect his response was "Yeah, because they knew that Joey would have them clipped in a second if they got out of line".

[Snakes]

Name doesn't ring a bell, but Frank Ciangi was named as one of Monteleone's collectors on the West Side. He was also Monteleone's driver for a time.

[Snakes]

I certainly think the Lombardo involvement with drugs is plausible, especially considering his gang ties. Part of me also feels like he may have done this "off the record," especially if he was on the outs with Outfit higher-ups. Just a theory.