General Chicago Outfit Info Dumping Ground

[PolackTony]

Did Mandell actually torture anybody or did he just talk about it alot? It seems the feds had tabs on him from the beginning

He suspected of killing that Italian restaurant guy in highland park. The guy was found dead in a fire so I don’t think they determined if he was tortured but definitely possible.

So one guy for sure we can speculate on? But more bark then bite. I understand he was saying some very, very sick sh*t.

He was a very dangerous guy. The murder in highland park , where he was definitely a suspect in, was very similar to a double murder of a bar owner and bartender in a Schiller Park bar at around the same time. He would think he was definitely a suspect in that.

Yeah, I’ve posted that I suspect that Mandell may have been responsible for the Horseshoe Inn murders; I’d also not at all be shocked if he was involved in the Catalano and DeFilippis murders as well.

Mandell (legally changed from Steven Manning after his release from Death Row in the 90s) is/was (he’s old and in ADMAX now, so was seems more appropriate), by all accounts, a really vicious, intelligent, and charismatic guy. The guy’s a stone cold psycho and I don’t doubt for a second that he was capable of torturing and dismembering people as he planned. He can be linked to at least 4 murders: Giacomo Ruggirello, Jimmy Pellegrino, Thomas McKilip, and his own father, Boris Manning.

In 1986, Boris Manning was found bound, beaten, stabbed, and shot in the head in the trunk of a car ditched in a suburban Chicago shopping mall (incidentally, the Mannings lived around the corner from me on Rice and Rockwell in the 80s; not that I knew them, as I was 6). Shortly thereafter, KC-based crook Thomas McKilip was also found bound, stabbed, and shot in the trunk of a car at another suburban mall. Mandell (then Steven Manning) was facing charges stemming from his work in a burglary ring in KC. In 1990, suburban Chicago trucking firm owner Jimmy Pellegrino was found bound, stabbed, and dumped into the Desplaines River.

Anthony Mammolito, a KC Outfit associate in prison on unrelated charges who worked with both Manning and McKilip, later claimed to have knowledge that Steve murdered McKilip, who Mammolito considered a friend. Manning was eventually convicted for the Pellegrino murder based in the testimony of a CW and sentenced to death. The CW testified that Manning killed Pellegrino because the latter was “whining” about Manning having stolen $77k from him to purchase a drug shipment and Manning thought he was going to go to the police. At Manning’s sentencing hearing, the prosecution presented evidence tying him to both his father and McKilip’s murders, and later told the press that they had essentially closed those cases as Manning was going to be executed anyway. But then Manning successfully got released on appeal on the grounds that evidence for the prosecution was mishandled. He then returned to Chicago and changed his name to Steven Mandell. For whatever reasons, he was never charged in the other murders. In 2012, the Feds captured him on surveillance mentioning the Ruggirello fire the same day that it occurred, which makes it pretty clear that he was involved, though never charged on it. He was also alleged to have been caught trying to arrange a hit from jail on government witness George Michael, which is presumably why he’s in ADMAX.

Apart from those crimes, Mandell/Manning also was convicted in ‘83 for a luxury car insurance fraud scam (which forced him to resign from the CPD), for his role in the KC burglary ring, and for a double kidnapping for ransom of two KC businessmen. It’s also been alleged that he murdered a drug dealer in Missouri, did some other kidnappings, and was active in an Outfit-linked jewelry theft ring (unsure ATM which specific Outfit guys it was linked to).

Safe to conclude that Steven “I’ll show you what Elmwood Park really looks like. I can get real nasty!” Mandell/Manning had a whole lotta bark.

[Coloboy]

Since this thread has been slowing down a bit, I wanted to bring up a topic which to me is the most fascinating I've come across in recent years concerning the outfit.

Until recently, I had not heard that Calabrese Jr. claims his Dad told him that Joe Batters himself killed Giancana. On it's face, this premise seems ridiculous of course. Accardo would have been 69 at the time of the murder and was at the absolute pinnacle of power in the outfit, out-ranking even Aiuppa and Cerone. Actively participating in a murder was a risk he need not take.

After thinking on it however, the idea is a little less crazy than it may seem.

The outfit needed someone that Sam was familiar with. Someone who would not create suspicion when said person showed up at his house un-announced. (or pre-arranged a meeting for that matter). One must assume Giancana had a keen sense of impending danger at this point in his life, and knew that he had many things working against him that made him a target. We can assume he would have been playing it safe.

Second, it had to be someone he would willingly accept a meeting with as being plausible. Someone who had reason to talk with him and "made sense" that they get together.

Despite no confirmation of this, we can 99.9999% assume that Accardo was a killer, and had done so on more than one occasion earlier in his life. Being capable of such a deed is plausible.

Lastly, and I know B brought this up in another thread, there is the angle concerning Giancana's and Accardo's long history together. By all accounts, Accardo brought him up into the top levels of the outfit, and together with Ricca served as a mentor and advisor as Giancana rose through the ranks. The idea that Accardo felt it was "his mess to clean up" so to speak is a possibility.

In the end, I would say that among the list of possible suspects, Accardo is not the most likely candidate. However, it is a very interesting thing to ponder, and one that even law enforcement most likely wouldn't' have seriously considered, which could be another plus for having Accardo commit the act.

[B.]

I agree, I don't think it's as crazy as it sounds. Calabrese seems like a rational guy relaying a legit street rumor.

What we know of the Spilotro murder with high-ranking members attending/participating adds to it. I think if we heard a similar rumor about those hits before Nick Calabrese's testimony it would sound far-fetched too.

Strong possibility too that even if Accardo didn't pull the trigger he was present for the murder.

[B.]

In Jeff Coen's book he cites Nick Calabrese as claiming Accardo was "part of the killing" and Angelo LaPietra was tasked with getting rid of the gun, which used a silencer made by Frank Calabrese and Ronnie Jarrett.

If any of that's half-true, the Calabreses were in a position to know more about the murder than the average Chicago members/associates.

[PolackTony]

What we know of the Spilotro murder with high-ranking members attending/participating adds to it. I think if we heard a similar rumor about those hits before Nick Calabrese's testimony it would sound far-fetched too.

Without Nick's testimony, if someone here made that claim they'd be laughed off the forum.

[Antiliar]

Part II of Outfit associates from 1963 or thereabouts:

- Allen Dorfman, Teamsters pension fund and associate of Phil Alderisio
- Joseph Epstein, bookmaker and David Yaras associate; funded Virginia Hill
- Willie Block, partner or associate of Patrick and Yaras
- August Circella, club owner and brother of Nick Circella; reported to Gus Alex
- Louis Arger, reported to Gus Alex
- Eugene "Jimmy" James, Laundry Workers Union
- Colonel Charles "Babe" Baron, Cuba and Las Vegas associate
- Richard Cain, ex-CPD and Cook County Sheriff investigator; close to Sam Giancana and Willie Daddono (claimed to be made)
- Mike Brodkin, Outfit attorney
- Carl Fio Rito, drug trafficker, burglar and killer associated with Giancana
- Benjamin "Buddy" Jacobson, former 1st Ward candidate associated with Ralph Pierce and Pat Marcy
- Jake "the Barber" Factor, brother of Max Factor, Stardust Hotel owner, associate of Humphreys, framed Roger Touhy
- Paul "Red" Dorfman, stepfather of Allen, head of Chicago Waste Handler's Union
- Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, bookmaker and gambling expert, in early 60s associated with Fifi Buccieri
- Fed Evans, union organizer and mob accountant, killed 1959
- Roland Libonati, Congressman 7th District and Al Capone friend
- Anthony Tisci, SIL of Giancana, messenger and assistant to politicians
- Anthony DeTolve, Giancana nephew, successor to John D'Arco in 1st Ward
- Michael Fio Rito, successor to DeTolve installed by Giancana; possibly related to Carl Fio Rito
- Louis Lederer
- Larry Buonaguidi, North Side bookmaker and loan shark under Prio and DiVarco (some sources say he was made)
- Frank Sinatra, singer and actor who served as liason to the Kennedys
- Bernie Glickman, fight manager and close friend of Accardo
- George Collucci, associate of Ralph Pierce

[Waingro]

Anybody know the ages of the Nitti brothers and the Lobues?

[PolackTony]

Anybody know the ages of the Nitti brothers and the Lobues?

I don't have their exact ages confirmed but like late 40s-early 50s.

[PolackTony]

Has anyone ever checked out the Gentile brothers' book? I've seen it on Amazon, but haven't read it yet. I wasn't aware that these guys grew up in the Grand Ave Patch, so at least for that, I want to check it out. Looks like they have a story about their family coming under the protection of Vincenzo Benevento back in the day (which also goes back to the current "what is an associate?" thread). Worth listening to their interview here:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertai ... story.html

Skimmed through some of their book, which has lots of nice neighborhood/family details. Hard to tell, as is often the case with books like this, where stories that they got from family/friends ends and stuff that the authors read in books or the papers begins. I was able to confirm and fill in some details about their genealogy as well.

Anyway, their paternal grandfather, Matteo Michele "Mickey" Gentile was born in 1894 in Termini Imerese and left Sicily with his parents, Giovanni "John" Gentile and Vincenza "Jennie" Corrao, and siblings in 1896 (the book just states that the family was from "Palermo"). The Gentiles emigrated to Ontario initially and then relocated to Chicago (which they thought would be "warmer"; the joke was on them), where they settled in the Grand Ave Patch; Giovanni worked as a produce peddler. The family lived for many decades on the 400 block of N Curtis, subsequently renamed Aberdeen, near the intersection with Grand Ave. This was, of course, where Vincenzo Benevento owned his cheese and olive oil store in the 1940s. The Gentiles lived across the street from the Beneventos and their families attended church together at Santa Maria Addolorata. The authors state that Benevento was known in the neighborhood as "Don Vincenzo", or just "The Don", and was the "local president" of the "Unione Siciliana", which they claim was renamed the "Sicilian American Club" in later years (we know that Benevento was never Unione/IANU President, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was the head of a local chapter or an affiliated social club/society in the '40s). They also write that Don Vincenzo exacted a weekly "street tax" from all of the local businesses along Grand Ave, which was resented by many in the neighborhood, though they thought that paying the pizzu at least protected them from the "Irish pricks". In 1915, grandfather Mickey Gentile married Angelina Felitti, born in Chicago to parents (Michele Filetti and Raffaela Allegretti) from Trivigno, Potenza, Basilicata; the Gentile brothers' father Michael John Gentile was born in 1929.

In their account, in 1943, Mickey Gentile was walking to work in the early morning before dawn when he came upon Don Vincenzo getting jumped by two "young goons" outside of his store; Mickey grabbed a lead pipe and whacked one of the "thugs" in the head and helped the Don chase them off. In gratitude, the Don then sent the family tickets to a Cubs game, considered a luxury at that time in the impoverished neighborhood; further, in sending them the gift, it was then made implicit that the family was "protected" by Benevento. This protection wouldn't last long, as Benevento was murdered in 1946. The authors link Benevento's murder to the 1943 assault, though their account is probably not accurate. They state that the men who assaulted Benevento in 1943 were the same as the ones who murdered him in 1946. While we can link Benevento's murder to a wave of other murders related to an apparent internal war within the Outfit in 1940s, the Gentiles claim that Benevento was targeted because he had roused the ire of the local community by exploiting them with "street taxes" and that before the 1943 assault, a group of "young thugs" from the neighborhood had disrupted a "Unione" meeting to denounce Benevento and demand that he stop taxing them (they charged him with acting like a "Medigan'" by exploiting his own people). Again, I doubt this is a serious account of Benevento's murder but it's still interesting as an apparent family story regarding that chain of events. They also mention "Nicky De John", who according to them was a lower-level underlying or lackey of Benevento.

Following Benevento's murder, the Gentile family came under the "protection" of the Cerones. The family was close to brothers Frank "Skip" and Jimmy Cerone, who still resided on Grand Ave, and thus came under Jackie Cerone, who by then was no longer living in the neighborhood. The Gentiles state that in the 1940s, their family had known Jack Cerone as Accardo's driver and the operator of Rocco's Lounge on North Ave in Melrose Park. The Gentile brothers' father Michael was in the same age cohort as Joey Lombardo and Johnny DiFronzo, and attended Wells HS with them in the 1940s. Michael later went on to have life-long friendships with them and a number of other Outfit figures, who were frequent social guests in the Gentile home. The brothers quote one of their aunts as saying that their father was "never a gangster", but was "connected". Again, good example of a guy who was "with" the Outfit in that he was under the protection of guys with whom he had personal/neighborhood relationships.

[B.]

I'm guessing Benevento was a capodecina. DeRose called him "the Don" and went on to say that captains were referred to as "dons" (he doesn't make it clear if that's what he meant when referring to Benevento). This book's description of him might not be wholly accurate but they were under the impression he had a great deal of authority in their neighborhood. If Nick DeJohn, who was definitely made then, was seen as subordinate to Benevento that would make sense too.

[PolackTony]

I'm guessing Benevento was a capodecina. DeRose called him "the Don" and went on to say that captains were referred to as "dons" (he doesn't make it clear if that's what he meant when referring to Benevento). This book's description of him might not be wholly accurate but they were under the impression he had a great deal of authority in their neighborhood. If Nick DeJohn, who was definitely made then, was seen as subordinate to Benevento that would make sense too.

Yeah, while I don’t at all buy their account of what led to Benevento’s murder, I believe that their family knew the Beneventos and that their grandfather was under his “protection”, in the way that the family later was “with” the Cerones.

Some things that can be gleaned or inferred from their account:

Benevento was probably a capo; as you say, De John was made and people in the local community saw him as a subordinate of Benevento, who they addressed with the honorific title “Don Vincenzo”.

Benevento continued with the tradition of exacting a “pizzu” from the local Italian community. Unlike other, later examples of “street tax”, this didn’t seem to specifically target illegal or grey-market businesses, but all businesses. While some may not have liked it, the Outfit was a dominant institution in the community, though people likely acquiesced not simply from fear but also strong feelings of ethnic solidarity and conflict (they needed a Big Man to defend their people from the predations of the “Irish pricks”).

Related to that last point, mafia power intersected with and reinforced other primary social/paesani institutions in the Italian community. While Benevento was never “President” of the “Unione”, he may have headed an influential local fraternal organization on Grand Ave. He wasn’t just a “mobster”, he was the local businessman who everyone in the community bought their imported cheese and olive oil from as well as likely leader of a key neighborhood institution of ethnic solidarity and identity formation, then. The apparent continuing identification of the “Unione”, years after that name was no longer in official use, with the Outfit underscores the ways that the mafia was deeply embedded in the fraternal organizations of the community, a story probably as old as the mafia itself in Chicago. Benevento figures as the local-level equivalent of what D’Andrea and Merlo were on the larger scale. If Benevento indeed aimed to depose Accardo (considering how densely and tightly-knit the Grand Ave Patch community was, no way were these guys strangers, either), heading a fraternal organization may have given Benevento further ground to feel that he had a legitimate claim to leading the Outfit, as compared to a guy who — so far as we know — had a purely criminal career as his path to power.

[Waingro]

Anybody know the ages of the Nitti brothers and the Lobues?

I don't have their exact ages confirmed but like late 40s-early 50s.

So the youngest guys that we know of involved in the outfit would be Nick Ferriola and maybe Frankie Caruso? Both in their 40s.

Possibly Bobby Panozzo jr in his 20s and he has to have friends around his age we don't know about.

John Amabile in his early 30s but I'm not sure if he is considered an associate or not.

[PolackTony]

Anybody know the ages of the Nitti brothers and the Lobues?

I don't have their exact ages confirmed but like late 40s-early 50s.

So the youngest guys that we know of involved in the outfit would be Nick Ferriola and maybe Frankie Caruso? Both in their 40s.

Possibly Bobby Panozzo jr in his 20s and he has to have friends around his age we don't know about.

John Amabile in his early 30s but I'm not sure if he is considered an associate or not.

Bobby Panozzo Jr is reputed to be one of the high ranking leaders of the C-Notes today. I’m sure he has plenty of friends.

[PolackTony]

From testimony presented to a Congressional Hearing in 1953. Frank Pasqua was supplying the Cordovano-Di Caro-Annerino, et al, heroin ring in 1952:

[Coloboy]

During the family secrets trial, and all of the media coverage that was associated with it, I vividly remember transcripts being printed and shared of convos between the Marcello brothers. These were from discussions that were captured via FBI bug during Jimmy’s incarceration during the late 90s and early 2000s. Do those of you with more established research experience know where to find these?