General Chicago Outfit Info Dumping Ground

[funkster]

What a bizarre situation

[PolackTony]

What a bizarre situation

The Graziano-Giancana-Gotti-Gigante-Trafficante crime family strikes again.

[PolackTony]

Interesting article from 2020 from a labor union activist on Protech 33, an independent union pushing to organize workers in the CA legalized marijuana industry. Protech 33 is under the National Production Workers Union, based in Oak Brook, which observers in organized labor have long considered a “company union” front — essentially, a scam union that works with employers to funnel workers and labor contracts away from “real” unions. Interestingly, apart from its alleged shadowy anti-labor practices, NPWU seems to have functioned as a personal cash cow for the Senese family. When the Dom Senese-controlled Teamsters local 703 was placed under supervision in 1990, a number of Senese loyalists jumped ship to NPWU local 707, under the leadership of Don’s son Joe Senese, Sr. Local 707 then won a number of local 703’s contracts through the NLRB. Joe Senese was, naturally, raking in a hefty salary from the tiny independent 707, which was hit with penalties in the 90s for directing union funds to mob-connected companies. As of 2017, the last year when he was an officer of NPWU, Joe Senese made $500k in annual salary. After his formal exit from the scam union, the author of the article found that Senese had apparently set up a “consulting” LLC to continue to steer money from the union through a presumably bogus contract. Funny stuff.

Shockingly, Joe Senese, Jr, is currently the NPWU President (lol). The 7th Circuit Court has a lawsuit on its docket accusing Senese, Jr, and James Meltreger, another NPWU official, of drawing excessive salaries by improperly siphoning funds from two NPWU benefit plans (naturally). Meltreger is a Chicago attorney who worked for years with the firm Onesto, Giglio, Meltreger, and Associates. Apart from representing Joe Senese, Sr, on some past union-related cases, Meltreger also represented Vic Plescia in the ‘95 case for Plescia’s large Miami-to-Chicago cocaine trafficking operation (along with Frank Bonavolante, Camillo Grossi, Tony Grossi, and Norman Demma; Meltreger’s partner Anthony Onesto represented Bonavolante).

https://www.thestrikewave.com/original- ... h-local-33

[Coloboy]

As we attempt to piece together the very cloudy leadership succession from the 90's-today, one thing crossed my mind.

It has always been assumed that Sarno took over day to day after Marcello.

Solly D was released in 2006, just after family secrets indictments. Prior to his incarceration in 1990, Solly D was clearly higher in the pecking order compared to Sarno. What is the possibility that after his release Solly D was given operational control of the outfit, and he simply ran everything through Sarno? They both go back to the Ferriola/Infelise crew, and were well acquainted. I could see a situation where Solly was the boss, with Sarno being his man on the street.

Given the fact that even post family secrets guys like Difronzo, Andriacchi, Tornabene, Delaurentis, and even Jimmy I were still around I always thought it questionable that Sarno was the real power behind the outfit throne.

Just some food for thought.

[PolackTony]

Conversation between Angelo Bruno and Philly member Pasquale Massi concerning the upcoming arrival of Calogero Sinatra (Bruno’s cousin and the boss of the Vallelunga family) to the US. Seems that Sinatra had already communicated that he intended to visit Chicago after arriving:

[B.]

Buffalo had a bunch of people from Sinatra's hometown Vallelunga.

[PolackTony]

Buffalo had a bunch of people from Sinatra's hometown Vallelunga.

Yes, that was my assumption as to Buffalo. Chicago, maybe he wanted to meet with a guy like Pinelli. Or he had some other business to attend to with the family. This was happening immediately preceding the whole Salvo Lima thing later in 1962, so who knows what sort of contacts Chicago may have had with people in Sicily at this point.

[B.]

Sinatra knew people from Catania all the way to Palermo so he may have been taking a message on behalf of someone else also. Bruno said that was one reason they had to check with the Commission on both sides, in case another boss or Family had a message to send to someone.

[B.]

Here's confirmation Tony Pinelli transferred to LA (via Bomp). I know Tony was wondering about it.



Tony Lima told the FBI in 1975 that LA had "recruits" from Chicago and that SJ was concerned about Chicago exerting influence. Lima uses "recruits" to mean associates but I don't know if he only uses it to refer to candidates for membership or anyone on record.



Reference to Leonard Franzone from Chicago getting involved in New Orleans, guessing it's a relative of Vincenzo "James" Franzone who was an important member with SF / Chicago. It alleges he was a cousin of Phil Rizzuto -- Rizzuto's mafioso father Gioacchino was a cousin of NY boss Nicolo Schiro and the Franzones were from Borgetto (Partinico) via Tunis which fits perfectly. Rizzuto's family was from Camporeale and we know that clan was closely tied to Partinico/Borgetto. Plus there's guys like Cipolla (Partinico) and DiGiorgio (Borgetto) being leaders in New Orleans earlier, with Cipolla in turn being close to Schiro in NYC. Schiro ties could also explain why James Franzone went to SF.

[PolackTony]

Here's confirmation Tony Pinelli transferred to LA (via Bomp). I know Tony was wondering about it.

Thanks for posting. Another thing that's interesting here is that Bompensiero seems to be stating that as of 1965, Pinelli was still serving as a capodecina. This further strengthens my belief that Gary was a formal decina (either that, or perhaps he was captain of another, otherwise unknown, crew; just raising the possibility). That Pinelli was unlikely to have just been a "ceremonial" capo -- i.e., one without an actual decina -- is supported by Bompensiero's claim that Pinelli was unable to continue to perform his duties as capodecina from a distance. In the late 50s, the FBI had plenty of intel that Pinelli was still flying back and forth between LA and Chicago and his restaurant in Gary was well-noted as an active hoodlum hang-out at that time.

Tony Lima told the FBI in 1975 that LA had "recruits" from Chicago and that SJ was concerned about Chicago exerting influence. Lima uses "recruits" to mean associates but I don't know if he only uses it to refer to candidates for membership or anyone on record.

This would seem to fit the info that we discussed a little while back, that Chicago had at least one guy in the San Jose territory. I believe this came up in some of the AZ-related info that also mentioned Chicago and Joe Bonanno guys in CA. There was also that claim, IIRC from 1974, that Joe Bonanno had been meeting with Tony Spilotro; could be related to the SJ stuff as well as AZ.

Reference to Leonard Franzone from Chicago getting involved in New Orleans, guessing it's a relative of Vincenzo "James" Franzone who was an important member with SF / Chicago. It alleges he was a cousin of Phil Rizzuto -- Rizzuto's mafioso father Gioacchino was a cousin of NY boss Nicolo Schiro and the Franzones were from Borgetto (Partinico) via Tunis which fits perfectly. Rizzuto's family was from Camporeale and we know that clan was closely tied to Partinico/Borgetto. Plus there's guys like Cipolla (Partinico) and DiGiorgio (Borgetto) being leaders in New Orleans earlier, with Cipolla in turn being close to Schiro in NYC. Schiro ties could also explain why James Franzone went to SF.

I came across the Leonard Franzone stuff recently when looking into connections between NO and Chicago. It was also noted that Ralph Ammirato, son of Jimmy Emery (and himself identified as a suspected Chicago member by the FBI in the 60s) was a partner with Marcello and his guys in Marcello's race wire business, which I suspect was one of Marcello's major interests (IIRC, Marcello's company had the exclusive rights to distribute race wire info from Chicago in Louisiana). Intel from around 1960 stated that Ralph Ammirato and Frankie LaPorte were traveling to NO during that time.

Based on my info, it wouldn't seem that Leonard Franzone was likely related to Jimmy Franzone, though he may have been related to Chicago member Dominic "Hunk" Galiano (the guy who was alleged to have killed Nick DeJohn). Leonard (who died in 1986 in NO) was born in 1914 in Chicago to Antonino Franzone of Chiusa Sclafani and Caterina Gagliano. Caterina was born about 1892, in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, to Leonardo Gagliano and Caterina Zito. Several Ancestry.com family trees state that her parents were from Siculiana (which, if true, would raise the possibility of a relation to the better-known NO Gaglianos). I was not able to find any documents stating their birth apart from "Sicily", however, when I looked. I did find a 1903 NO passenger manifest for Caterina Zito and daughter Caterina Gagliano, of the same ages as the ones of interest, bound for Leonardo Gagliano, with their last residence stated as Chiusa Sclafani (they had been living in Jefferson Parish in 1900, so it appears they returned to Sicily for a couple of years). There was a Leonardo Gagliano from Siculiana who arrived in NYC in 1907 bound for Chicago; I don't think it's the same guy, as this Leonardo stated that he had never been in the US previously, but this may have been the source for the family trees giving Siculiana as the Leonardo of interest's origin.

Antonino Franzone and Caterina Gagliano married in NO in 1910; by 1914, they were living in Chicago's Little Sicily, where Antonino worked as a butcher. Antonino died in 1918, after which time Caterina remarried a Medigan from downstate IL named William Allshouse (she died in 1987 in suburban Park Ridge as Catherine Allshouse). In 1930, Leonard Gagliano lived with his family and stepfather in the Westside Austin neighborhood, on Parkside near Hirsch. Caterina's parents and several siblings also moved to Chicago with her, where they all remained. In 1935, the Trib identified Leonard Franzone as a bartender at Clark and Armitage in Lincoln Park who was arrested after fleeing the scene of an auto accident. On his WW2 draft card, Leonard stated that he was living on N Kenmore in the Northside Uptown neighborhood, and working as a salesman for Benjamin Campanella's produce wholesaling company (Campanella was born in Chicago to parents from Monreale, and had taken over his father's NW side produce business when the latter died in 1936; Ben Campanella died young in 1941, though I see no evidence of foul play). In 1942 Leonard Franzone, stated to be a salesman living on N Clarendon, was picked up by the police after running over a pedestrian when it came up that his car was registered under the name "Leonard Sabella", with an address on a different block of N Clarendon (the 1940 census lists a Leonard Sabella, born in 1914, as a boarder at that second address; given the birthdate and no other documents for this "Leonard Sabella", I believe this was just a pseudonym for Franzone). The use of a false name would suggest that Franzone was up to something shady.

Now, if Caterina Gagliano's parents were from Chiusa Sclafani, they weren't the only Gaglianos from there in their immediate neighborhood. Hunk Galiano's parents (originally Gagliano) were also from Chiusa Sclafani, and both families lived very near to each other on both Milton and Oak in Little Sicily. and there would seem to have been a direct, personal link here between Leonard Franzone and Hunk. When Hunk was murdered in 1966 at a mob-controlled card game on North Ave and Halsted, Jasper Campise and Tony Cirignani were arrested fleeing the scene and later released; also arrested as a suspect and released was Leonard Franzone, then apparently doing well enough to have relocated to suburban Morton Grove. It seems at this point Leonard Franzone skipped town and moved permanently to Louisiana.

I didn't see anything in Franzone's genealogy that connected to the Rizzutos -- presumably, if they actually were cousins of some sort, the connection was through a marriage, as both sides of Rizzuto's family were Camporealesi. Note that Franzone was developing properties in Kenner, LA, which is the town in Jefferson parish where his mother, Caterina Gagliano, was born. Well worth noting that in 1975, Leonard Franzone and Phil Rizzuto -- along with Peter Simone and Patrick O'Brien, both of KC -- were busted for running a high-stakes blackjack game out of a hotel in Houston (see Mugshots). Phil Rizzuto was closely connected to KC, where he was born in 1938, and where his mother, Lena Anello, was born in 1915 to parents from Camporeale. The Rizzutos moved back and forth from KC to NO several times, it seems.

Now, B, you'll enjoy this. Leonard's younger brother Frank Franzone, born in 1915, wound up moving to Portland, OR, in 1945. In 1966, Frank Franzone was convicted for ticket-fixing -- taking money from people with the promise that he would use his political connections to get rid of their traffic violations. These Chicago guys plant corruption everywhere they go, like Johnny Fuckin' Appleseed, lol. His 1983 obituary in Portland states that Frank Franzone, owner of Triangle Trucking, Co (naturally) was prominently active in Portland-area politics for decades and was the founder and president of the Willamette Democratic Society.

[B.]

Those Oregon ties. Got to catalog them.

What's weird is Fratianno said Galiano killed Nick DeJohn on orders from James Franzone. Strange coincidence that Galiano was linked to both Leonard and James Franzone if there's no connection. We know these things do happen but it makes me more curious if there's a connection that's not obvious.

[Antiliar]

Obituary for a Joseph Hansen found in the Chicago Tribune from November 2000. Have no idea if this the same Joey Hansen who worked for Tony Spilotro.

CT 2000Nov26 (possible) Joseph Hansen obit.jpg

[PolackTony]

Obituary for a Joseph Hansen found in the Chicago Tribune from November 2000. Have no idea if this the same Joey Hansen who worked for Tony Spilotro.

CT 2000Nov26 (possible) Joseph Hansen obit.jpg

I don’t think that’s Joey Hansen. The Joseph Hansen who matches this guy’s family members was born in 1945 in Chicago, so he would’ve been like 7 years younger than Tony Spilotro. That wouldn’t fit, as Spilotro and Hansen were supposedly HS buddies at Steinmetz together and there’s a photo of them together as kids.

EDIT: Tony Spilotro and Joey Hansen were arrested in 1959 together and both of their ages were reported as 21.

[PolackTony]

Obituary for a Joseph Hansen found in the Chicago Tribune from November 2000. Have no idea if this the same Joey Hansen who worked for Tony Spilotro.

CT 2000Nov26 (possible) Joseph Hansen obit.jpg

I don’t think that’s Joey Hansen. The Joseph Hansen who matches this guy’s family members was born in 1945 in Chicago, so he would’ve been like 7 years younger than Tony Spilotro. That wouldn’t fit, as Spilotro and Hansen were supposedly HS buddies at Steinmetz together and there’s a photo of them together as kids.

EDIT: Tony Spilotro and Joey Hansen were arrested in 1959 together and both of their ages were reported as 21.

I think that this is Joey Hansen. Born in 1937 to Herman and Katherine Hansen, I believe. Joey’s address at the time of his 1959 arrest was at 5955 W Eddy, around the corner from the Cornelia address given on this birth record.

[Snakes]

Joey Hansen was born September 4, 1937. The second one could be him as he lived in Huntington Beach.