General Chicago Outfit Info Dumping Ground

[Coloboy]

Still, I wonder how things looked at the top level post 1994 when both difronzo and Lombardo were around. What are the chances that these 2 met in person to hash things out? They were both very insulated and protective by this point, but I am curious what the risk tolerance was in terms of a meeting. What are the chances Lombardo wanted to or even made a campaign for boss? .

Sit tight, I'm working on some stuff. It may be a while, but I hope to be able to shed some light on this time period sooner, rather than later.

Lol, you can't drop a bombshell like that and just expect people to "sit tight", bro.

I'm sure that I speak for everyone here when I say that I'm very much looking forward to seeing what you've been working on.

In regard to Coloboy's question regarding Lombardo. Can't imagine that Lombardo would be anywhere near DiFronzo in person while he was still on parole. Certainly possible that he had someone working as a go-between, though (e.g., Lombardo using Christy Spina, who had no record, as his driver).

Agreed definitely not during parole. However, do we know when that ended? I’m sure by the late 90s and early 2000s he was off parole.

[Snakes]

Still, I wonder how things looked at the top level post 1994 when both difronzo and Lombardo were around. What are the chances that these 2 met in person to hash things out? They were both very insulated and protective by this point, but I am curious what the risk tolerance was in terms of a meeting. What are the chances Lombardo wanted to or even made a campaign for boss? .

Sit tight, I'm working on some stuff. It may be a while, but I hope to be able to shed some light on this time period sooner, rather than later.

Lol, you can't drop a bombshell like that and just expect people to "sit tight", bro.

I'm sure that I speak for everyone here when I say that I'm very much looking forward to seeing what you've been working on.

In regard to Coloboy's question regarding Lombardo. Can't imagine that Lombardo would be anywhere near DiFronzo in person while he was still on parole. Certainly possible that he had someone working as a go-between, though (e.g., Lombardo using Christy Spina, who had no record, as his driver).

Agreed definitely not during parole. However, do we know when that ended? I’m sure by the late 90s and early 2000s he was off parole.

His restrictions ended in 1999

[Coloboy]

It’s tempting to picture some secret meeting in a warehouse somewhere at that time between difronzo, Lombardo, Andriacchi, Monteleone, and Tornabene. But that is more likely in a movie I suppose

Although it does seem that these guys were still meeting with others. I’m thinking of the reported difronzo dinner meeting with Zizzo and others

[PolackTony]

There was a pic that some guy on Reddit posted of Lombardo allegedly vacationing in St Tropez in 2002, after his restrictions ended. Helluva vacation for a guy who was ostensibly working at a masonry shop. The poster stated that he was a friend of the Lombardo family and took the photo, which showed Joey posing with Danny Salerno poolside. The poster claimed that some “men from Amsterdam” recognized Joey while at the resort, and then at the airport in Nice, Joey was met by several “older men”, who he then left with and returned three days later.

The pic is definitely Lombardo, and so far as I know not something that was just floating around in the internet. The poster said that he posted it because the old man was dead and Danny Salerno had passed as well.

[Coloboy]

Really interesting story. Just saw/found that Reddit post. Concerning the meeting with the older men, you have to wonder if those were Italian OC connects. There was also much speculation about Outfit interests in foreign casinos, and my mind went that way when I heard about this meeting.

[PolackTony]

Really interesting story. Just saw/found that Reddit post. Concerning the meeting with the older men, you have to wonder if those were Italian OC connects. There was also much speculation about Outfit interests in foreign casinos, and my mind went that way when I heard about this meeting.

If the story is factual, one thing to note is that Grand Ave (Sam and Jimmy Cozzo) had casino interests in Curaçao, which is a territory of the Netherlands (“men from Amsterdam”), in the 80s and 90s.

[PolackTony]

In 1966, the FBI received this intel from Rome concerning Michelangelo Chiacchio, mayor of the comune of Grumo Nevano and husband of Ricca's sister Luisa De Lucia. Rome told the FBI that their intel stated that Ricca hosted Michelangelo in NYC for a month:



Grumo Nevano is located north of the City of Napoli, by the notorious towns of Scampia and Secondigliano (i.e., "Gomorrah"-land). In 2017, Pietro Chiacchio, the mayor of Grumo Nevano was arrested on corruption charges. Also worth noting again that per information presented by the Italian Parliament, the Alleanza di Secondigliano Camorra group has had operations based in Chicago.

One of Ricca's other sisters, Clementina De Lucia, was married to Enrico Iervolino, who was the mayor of Ottaviano, the hometown of the De Lucia family, located on the eastern slope of Monte Vesuvio just east of Napoli City. Ottaviano was also ground zero for the formation of the Nuova Camorra Organizzata under Raffaele Cutolo, a native of Ottaviano. In the 2018 book "Mafia Violence: Political, Symbolic, and Economic Forms of Violence in Camorra Clans", it is noted that Salvatore La Marca (described as "the political wing of the Cutolos") rose to power under the administration of Iervolino:



Worth noting again here that in the 1980s/90s, the FBI had intel stating that leaders ("capos") of the Nuova Camorra Organizzata were residing in Chicago and Berwyn. One of these was Carmine Esposito (as noted on the "zips" thread), arrested in Chicago and extradited back to Italy to face charges related to 12 murders and heroin trafficking. Esposito was the capo of the De Sena clan (based in Acerra, the homeland of many Outfit members, from "Diamond Joe" to Solly D) and one of the top NCO leaders with the Cutolos. In true Chicago fashion, Esposito told the FBI when he was apprehended that his name was "John Michael Phelan", in a thick Napolitan' accent.

[PolackTony]

In 1966, the FBI received this intel from Rome concerning Michelangelo Chiacchio, mayor of the comune of Grumo Nevano and husband of Ricca's sister Luisa De Lucia. Rome told the FBI that their intel stated that Ricca hosted Michelangelo in NYC for a month:



Grumo Nevano is located north of the City of Napoli, by the notorious towns of Scampia and Secondigliano (i.e., "Gomorrah"-land). In 2017, Pietro Chiacchio, the mayor of Grumo Nevano was arrested on corruption charges. Also worth noting again that per information presented by the Italian Parliament, the Alleanza di Secondigliano Camorra group has had operations based in Chicago.

One of Ricca's other sisters, Clementina De Lucia, was married to Enrico Iervolino, who was the mayor of Ottaviano, the hometown of the De Lucia family, located on the eastern slope of Monte Vesuvio just east of Napoli City. Ottaviano was also ground zero for the formation of the Nuova Camorra Organizzata under Raffaele Cutolo, a native of Ottaviano. In the 2018 book "Mafia Violence: Political, Symbolic, and Economic Forms of Violence in Camorra Clans", it is noted that Salvatore La Marca (described as "the political wing of the Cutolos") rose to power under the administration of Iervolino:



Worth noting again here that in the 1980s/90s, the FBI had intel stating that leaders ("capos") of the Nuova Camorra Organizzata were residing in Chicago and Berwyn. One of these was Carmine Esposito (as noted on the "zips" thread), arrested in Chicago and extradited back to Italy to face charges related to 12 murders and heroin trafficking. Esposito was the capo of the De Sena clan (based in Acerra, the homeland of many Outfit members, from "Diamond Joe" to Solly D) and one of the top NCO leaders with the Cutolos. In true Chicago fashion, Esposito told the FBI when he was apprehended that his name was "John Michael Phelan", in a thick Napolitan' accent.

FBI notes concerning Ricca's behavior around flights between Chicago and Rome at the O'Hare Alitalia terminal:

[Patrickgold]

‘It was enormous’: Leader of massive sports gambling ring sentenced to 18 months in federal prison

By JASON MEISNER
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
MAR 09, 2022 AT 1:26 PM


Vincent Del Giudice, 54, of Orland Park leaves after arraignment hearing at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Wednesday, March 4, 2020.
Vincent Del Giudice, 54, of Orland Park leaves after arraignment hearing at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)

Orland Park businessman Vincent Del Giudice has been a bookie for most of his adult life, but it was a collaboration with an illegal offshore website that shot his sports gambling operation into the stratosphere, federal prosecutors say.
At its height, Del Giudice’s gambling ring generated as much as $161 million in illegal wagers in a single year and employed more than a dozen agents, including mob-connected runners, corrupt cops and even Casey Urlacher, a legendary Chicago Bears linebacker’s brother who later received a presidential pardon, court records show.
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On Wednesday, Del Giudice, 56, who goes by the nickname “Uncle Mick,” was sentenced to a year and a half in federal prison for gambling conspiracy and money laundering charges, marking an end to what prosecutors have described as the biggest illegal bookmaking case ever to be brought in Chicago.
In handing down the sentence, U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall said Del Giudice was something of a “chameleon” to her, someone who for years ran an illegal enterprise but also was known as being generous and kind to others.
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“To see these two sides of your personality is challenging to a judge, it really is,” Kendall said.
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In addition to the prison sentence, Kendall ordered Del Giudice to pay about $3.5 million in forfeiture, including $1.06 million in cash and $450,000 worth of silver bars, jewelry and gold coins, that were found in his home when agents raided it in April 2019.
Before the sentence was handed down, Del Giudice read a brief statement to the court apologizing for any hurt he caused.
“I understand what I did was wrong and I affected many people with my poor decisions,” he said. “I would like nothing more than to start the process of making things right for my family, my friends and the community.”
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The case made national headlines in early 2020 when the U.S. attorney’s office announced an indictment that included allegations that Urlacher, the mayor of suburban Mettawa and brother of Chicago Bears legend Brian Urlacher, was among the agents employed by Del Giudice.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Terry Kinney has said that Del Giudice tried to keep the operation going even after the indictment, but the ensuing media frenzy had brought so much “heat” to the Costa Rica-based company that ran Del Giudice’s website that they decided to shut it down.
“It’s all due to Urlacher,” someone affiliated with the site texted to Del Giudice in February 2020, according to evidence filed by prosecutors. “I like you and you’re a good guy but we have (no) choice but to shut it down.”
According to prosecutors, Del Giudice had been paying the offshore site a service fee of $10,000 a week to use its online platform and recruited gamblers to place wagers on his website. To expand the operation, Del Giudice hired people to act as agents and enlist new gamblers as well as collect on debts.
The indictment alleged Del Giudice kept in regular contact with all the agents and discussed their clients’ losses — which often totaled tens of thousands of dollars — in coded language.
Also acting as an agent was Nicholas Stella, 44, an 18-year veteran Chicago police officer, according to the indictment. Stella pleaded guilty to his role in the gambling ring and was sentenced last year to 15 months in federal prison.
All of the other agents sentenced so far in the case have been given probation.
Urlacher, meanwhile, was among 140 defendants granted executive clemency by President Donald Trump last month just hours before he left the White House.
In asking for as much as two years in prison, prosecutors have said Del Giudice’s operation victimized addicted gamblers, many of whom jeopardized their careers, marriages and family life by continuing to place bets.
One victim said he felt threatened by an agent after he fell behind on his debts and wound up embezzling nearly $1 million from his employer to cover his losses and is now facing federal sentencing in Indianapolis, Kinney said.
The investigation also had connections to the case against Gregory Paloian, an Elmwood Park bookie with long-standing ties to the Chicago mob who has since pleaded guilty to gambling-related charges and was sentenced to a year in prison

[Coloboy]

Good stuff. 1.5 years seems reasonable/fairly lenient for an operation that was taking in $161 million in bets.

Do we know who Del Guidice was most closely connected to? I had heard 26th st. in the past.

I still maintain that the timing of these multiple chicago area gambling busts was no coincidence. They occurred about a year after Illinois legalized sports gambling. Seemed like a coordinated effort to take down the largest illegal books they could. The fact that those large books most likely were outfit connected is telling.

[PolackTony]

Good stuff. 1.5 years seems reasonable/fairly lenient for an operation that was taking in $161 million in bets.

Do we know who Del Guidice was most closely connected to? I had heard 26th st. in the past.

Given the scale of the operation, sure beats the kind of sentence you'd get hit with for, say, narcotics.

With Paloian's involvement, I'd assume the connections are to Cicero, though I think by this time what's left of the Chinatown crew is folded into Cicero anyway.

Del Giudice was using his elderly father and former City worker Eugene "Geno" Del Giudice as a collector/runner, so he might be a link as well. He was born to Duilio Del Giudice (Italian, probably Napolitan') and Antoinette Deddo (born in Chicago) in 1935. Geno's dad had lived in the Taylor st Patch in 1929, but by 1940 when Geno was a kid they lived on Oakley in Chicago Lawn, on the SW side. So the Del Giudices are a "Southside" family, at least (also indicated by the fact that they relocated to Orland Park later). According to the Tribune, Geno had a 1996 gambling conviction, but I don't know what the extent of this was and if he was linked to any Outfit guys. While geography isn't everything, I'd assume that these guys had some connections to the Southside crew, at least in the past.

[Patrickgold]

Good stuff. 1.5 years seems reasonable/fairly lenient for an operation that was taking in $161 million in bets.

Do we know who Del Guidice was most closely connected to? I had heard 26th st. in the past.

Given the scale of the operation, sure beats the kind of sentence you'd get hit with for, say, narcotics.

With Paloian's involvement, I'd assume the connections are to Cicero, though I think by this time what's left of the Chinatown crew is folded into Cicero anyway.

Del Giudice was using his elderly father and former City worker Eugene "Geno" Del Giudice as a collector/runner, so he might be a link as well. He was born to Duilio Del Giudice (Italian, probably Napolitan') and Antoinette Deddo (born in Chicago) in 1935. Geno's dad had lived in the Taylor st Patch in 1929, but by 1940 when Geno was a kid they lived on Oakley in Chicago Lawn, on the SW side. So the Del Giudices are a "Southside" family, at least (also indicated by the fact that they relocated to Orland Park later). According to the Tribune, Geno had a 1996 gambling conviction, but I don't know what the extent of this was and if he was linked to any Outfit guys. While geography isn't everything, I'd assume that these guys had some connections to the Southside crew, at least in the past.

Do you know the address in Oakley that they lived?

[PolackTony]

Good stuff. 1.5 years seems reasonable/fairly lenient for an operation that was taking in $161 million in bets.

Do we know who Del Guidice was most closely connected to? I had heard 26th st. in the past.

Given the scale of the operation, sure beats the kind of sentence you'd get hit with for, say, narcotics.

With Paloian's involvement, I'd assume the connections are to Cicero, though I think by this time what's left of the Chinatown crew is folded into Cicero anyway.

Del Giudice was using his elderly father and former City worker Eugene "Geno" Del Giudice as a collector/runner, so he might be a link as well. He was born to Duilio Del Giudice (Italian, probably Napolitan') and Antoinette Deddo (born in Chicago) in 1935. Geno's dad had lived in the Taylor st Patch in 1929, but by 1940 when Geno was a kid they lived on Oakley in Chicago Lawn, on the SW side. So the Del Giudices are a "Southside" family, at least (also indicated by the fact that they relocated to Orland Park later). According to the Tribune, Geno had a 1996 gambling conviction, but I don't know what the extent of this was and if he was linked to any Outfit guys. While geography isn't everything, I'd assume that these guys had some connections to the Southside crew, at least in the past.

Do you know the address in Oakley that they lived?

Yeah, in 1940, when Geno Del Giudice was 5, the family lived at 6343 S Oakley (64th St). This is technically West Englewood, not Chicago Lawn/Marquette Park.

[PolackTony]

1970 informant (Ricca files) provides info supporting Battaglia taking over as captain of the DeGrazia crew ~1959. This fits my assumption, that when Giancana became boss, he put several of his top guys from Taylor St into positions as capos -- Daddono over the West burbs crew, Buccieri over the old Ricca/Giancana Taylor St (Cicero) crew, and Battaglia over the DeGrazia MP crew.

[PolackTony]

1971 informant's (Ricca files) take on the current state of the Outfit at that time: