General Chicago Outfit Info Dumping Ground

[Coloboy]

Another thing to think about with the Chiaramonte hit. As Snakes already noted, we don’t know for sure if the Carlisi and Ferriola crews had been merged by this point. The guy that I know who was an associate who worked with Cicero guys during this period told me that “Big Mike” was the “boss of Taylor St/Cicero” in this period, but didn’t know anything about Marcello or Tornabene.
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Interesting bit of info on "Big Mike". I was still living in the neighborhood then (Taylor Street) and the general feeling was that Blackie Pesoli ran the neighborhood from the old Survivor's Club.
[/quote]

I'm not sure even now we have a great understanding of how the crews operate. I think at given times there is a lot of flexibility over who is in control of what areas. What I mean by this is at times I get the sense there has been something like a "territorial boss" who can oversee more than one crew at a time. It's possible Apes Monteleone was in this kind of role at some point. I keep coming back to the Marcello prison tapes. He asks what Sarno is "bringing in every month". Pretty clearly meaning that Marcello and his crew were receiving some kind of kick up/tribute from Sarno. Was this because the crews were merged and Marcello was capo of the merged crew? Or was this because Marcello was some kind of territorial boss with control over all of the Melrose Park/Cicero/southwest Chicago area? All we know is it is pretty clear that Sarno, who was a Taylor St./Cicero/Ferriola guy, was kicking up to Marcello, who was a Melrose Park/Carlisi guy.

[Snakes]

Based on the information I have, I feel like the following is a good summation of the Ferriola/Infelise (Cicero) crew from the late 80s to the early 2000s:

-By at least 1988, Ferriola was described as being "very ill" and "near death" by some informants and Rocky Infelise had effectively taken over the day-to-day operations of the crew

-Gerald Scarpelli was arrested by the FBI in July 1989 (he had just been "made" the previous month) and agreed to cooperate with the federal government, who planned to use him in their ongoing case against the Ferriola crew. Scarpelli later recanted his statement and committed suicide in May 1989 at the Chicago MCC.

-A highly lucrative sports betting operation run by Dominic Cortina and reporting to Ferriola is busted by the FBI. Cortina, Donald Angelini, and Joe Spadavecchio all plead guilty and receive prison sentences.

-Infelise, Sal DeLaurentis, Louis Marino, Robert Bellavia, Robert Salerno, and several other crew members are indicted for racketeering in February 1990. Infelise is held without bond. While in prison, Infelise is regularly visited by Michael Spano, who is apparently relaying instructions to the street on behalf of Infelise, effectively acting as capo of the crew for the time being. Infelise also assigns an unnamed member of the crew to "take care" of James Inendino who had recently been released from prison.

-Due to the indictments mentioned above, the Ferriola/Infelise crew is described by informants as being in "total disarray" in the early part of the decade. In August 1993, Rocky Infelise is given 63 years in prison and is transferred out of Oxford FCI soon after his sentencing. John Monteleone now takes over the Ferriola crew as he is described as the only "old-timer" and senior member left on the street. Monteleone also takes over the Chinatown crew upon James LaPietra's death in September of that same year. According to Frank Calabrese Sr., Monteleone also becomes underboss of the Outfit at this time.

-According to informants, Monteleone becomes boss of the Outfit in 1997. It has been understood that Michael Spano ran the crew from this time until his imprisonment in 2002, although James DiForti has been described as Monteleone's "chief lieutenant" in Cicero and could possibly also have ran this crew. Additionally, Frank Calabrese Jr. (possibly via Frank Sr.) told the FBI that Michael Sarno "took DiForti's spot" in the Outfit upon the latter's death in 2000. "Spot" would seem to indicate a position, but also could have been an area of responsibility (or even an indication of Sarno being "made"). DiForti is also listed as the "capo" of Cicero in a 2000 Chicago Police Department report. It could be that once Monteleone took over as boss, he wanted one of "his guys" in as capo, so he may have installed DiForti in that role. At any rate, by 2002, DiForti is dead and Spano in prison.

-Sometime between 2001 and 2003, the Cicero and Melrose Park crews may have been combined. Federal court documents state that Sarno "took over" the Cicero crew from Anthony Zizzo upon Zizzo's disappearance in 2006 (allegedly at the hands of Sarno). This would seem to indicate that if the prevailing idea that James Marcello was boss of the Outfit after Monteleone died in 2001 is accurate, that he may have combined the crews and placed Zizzo in charge of both (Zizzo was released from prison in 2001). Sarno, possibly taking advantage of Marcello's indictment in 2005, could have used this opportunity to eliminate Zizzo and take over the crew (and possibly the entire Outfit).

-By the mid-2000s, Sarno, Sal Cataudella, James Inendino, and Salvatore DeLaurentis were all out of prison and understood to be involved in leadership of the crew and the Outfit as a whole. As three of the four individuals are still alive, with the fourth -- Inendino -- only recently dying, there is little available concerning the specific roles of the crew and these individuals at this time.

[Patrickgold]

Another thing to think about with the Chiaramonte hit. As Snakes already noted, we don’t know for sure if the Carlisi and Ferriola crews had been merged by this point. The guy that I know who was an associate who worked with Cicero guys during this period told me that “Big Mike” was the “boss of Taylor St/Cicero” in this period, but didn’t know anything about Marcello or Tornabene.
[/quote]

Interesting bit of info on "Big Mike". I was still living in the neighborhood then (Taylor Street) and the general feeling was that Blackie Pesoli ran the neighborhood from the old Survivor's Club.
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Blackie Pesoli?? The cook county guy. He died not to long ago. Never heard anything about him being made. When did the old survivors club close?

Interesting note. Was down on Taylor St the other day. The last Italian club which was on May st just north of Taylor closed down last week. First time in a hundred years that there is no Italian social club in Little Italy. Taylor street is finished, has been for a while, as the last Italian places are closing down. I know some more that will be closing in the future but rather not say because it’s not official.

[Coloboy]

On a similar note as above. I think about Steve Mandell, the psychopathic ex-cop who was historically connected to the Elmwood Park crew. There is FBI surveillance from around 2010-2011 of him going to Albie Vena and asking for permission to kill someone. Why would Mandell be going to Vena? is it because Vena at that point controlled all aspects of the northside (EP/Grand Ave areas)? Was it because the EP crew was defunct and no one was running it? Was it because they were merged?

[Snakes]

On a similar note as above. I think about Steve Mandell, the psychopathic ex-cop who was historically connected to the Elmwood Park crew. There is FBI surveillance from around 2010-2011 of him going to Albie Vena and asking for permission to kill someone. Why would Mandell be going to Vena? is it because Vena at that point controlled all aspects of the northside (EP/Grand Ave areas)? Was it because the EP crew was defunct and no one was running it? Was it because they were merged?

Could be that EP told him to report to Vena from now on, especially if most of the guys in EP had taken a step back and didn't want to be involved with a guy like Mandell that could get them pinched.

[Patrickgold]

On a similar note as above. I think about Steve Mandell, the psychopathic ex-cop who was historically connected to the Elmwood Park crew. There is FBI surveillance from around 2010-2011 of him going to Albie Vena and asking for permission to kill someone. Why would Mandell be going to Vena? is it because Vena at that point controlled all aspects of the northside (EP/Grand Ave areas)? Was it because the EP crew was defunct and no one was running it? Was it because they were merged?

Well if it was defunct he still called it the EP crew. He was on wire tap talking about it

[Coloboy]

On a similar note as above. I think about Steve Mandell, the psychopathic ex-cop who was historically connected to the Elmwood Park crew. There is FBI surveillance from around 2010-2011 of him going to Albie Vena and asking for permission to kill someone. Why would Mandell be going to Vena? is it because Vena at that point controlled all aspects of the northside (EP/Grand Ave areas)? Was it because the EP crew was defunct and no one was running it? Was it because they were merged?

Well if it was defunct he still called it the EP crew. He was on wire tap talking about it

Yea....I remember a quote along the lines of "I'll show them what Elmwood Park is all about". You can take that many ways.

[Coloboy]

Based on the information I have, I feel like the following is a good summation of the Ferriola/Infelise (Cicero) crew from the late 80s to the early 2000s:

-By at least 1988, Ferriola was described as being "very ill" and "near death" by some informants and Rocky Infelise had effectively taken over the day-to-day operations of the crew

-Gerald Scarpelli was arrested by the FBI in July 1989 (he had just been "made" the previous month) and agreed to cooperate with the federal government, who planned to use him in their ongoing case against the Ferriola crew. Scarpelli later recanted his statement and committed suicide in May 1989 at the Chicago MCC.

-A highly lucrative sports betting operation run by Dominic Cortina and reporting to Ferriola is busted by the FBI. Cortina, Donald Angelini, and Joe Spadavecchio all plead guilty and receive prison sentences.

-Infelise, Sal DeLaurentis, Louis Marino, Robert Bellavia, Robert Salerno, and several other crew members are indicted for racketeering in February 1990. Infelise is held without bond. While in prison, Infelise is regularly visited by Michael Spano, who is apparently relaying instructions to the street on behalf of Infelise, effectively acting as capo of the crew for the time being. Infelise also assigns an unnamed member of the crew to "take care" of James Inendino who had recently been released from prison.

-Due to the indictments mentioned above, the Ferriola/Infelise crew is described by informants as being in "total disarray" in the early part of the decade. In August 1993, Rocky Infelise is given 63 years in prison and is transferred out of Oxford FCI soon after his sentencing. John Monteleone now takes over the Ferriola crew as he is described as the only "old-timer" and senior member left on the street. Monteleone also takes over the Chinatown crew upon James LaPietra's death in September of that same year. According to Frank Calabrese Sr., Monteleone also becomes underboss of the Outfit at this time.

-According to informants, Monteleone becomes boss of the Outfit in 1997. It has been understood that Michael Spano ran the crew from this time until his imprisonment in 2002, although James DiForti has been described as Monteleone's "chief lieutenant" in Cicero and could possibly also have ran this crew. Additionally, Frank Calabrese Jr. (possibly via Frank Sr.) told the FBI that Michael Sarno "took DiForti's spot" in the Outfit upon the latter's death in 2000. "Spot" would seem to indicate a position, but also could have been an area of responsibility (or even an indication of Sarno being "made"). DiForti is also listed as the "capo" of Cicero in a 2000 Chicago Police Department report. It could be that once Monteleone took over as boss, he wanted one of "his guys" in as capo, so he may have installed DiForti in that role. At any rate, by 2002, DiForti is dead and Spano in prison.

-Sometime between 2001 and 2003, the Cicero and Melrose Park crews may have been combined. Federal court documents state that Sarno "took over" the Cicero crew from Anthony Zizzo upon Zizzo's disappearance in 2006 (allegedly at the hands of Sarno). This would seem to indicate that if the prevailing idea that James Marcello was boss of the Outfit after Monteleone died in 2001 is accurate, that he may have combined the crews and placed Zizzo in charge of both (Zizzo was released from prison in 2001). Sarno, possibly taking advantage of Marcello's indictment in 2005, could have used this opportunity to eliminate Zizzo and take over the crew (and possibly the entire Outfit).

-By the mid-2000s, Sarno, Sal Cataudella, James Inendino, and Salvatore DeLaurentis were all out of prison and understood to be involved in leadership of the crew and the Outfit as a whole. As three of the four individuals are still alive, with the fourth -- Inendino -- only recently dying, there is little available concerning the specific roles of the crew and these individuals at this time.

Awesome recap Snakes. I think much of this is spot on.

One remaining question though. What year was Marcello recorded talking about Sarno in prison? I thought it was around 2000, but I could be wrong. That might lend some credence as to when those crews were merged.

[Snakes]

Based on the information I have, I feel like the following is a good summation of the Ferriola/Infelise (Cicero) crew from the late 80s to the early 2000s:

-By at least 1988, Ferriola was described as being "very ill" and "near death" by some informants and Rocky Infelise had effectively taken over the day-to-day operations of the crew

-Gerald Scarpelli was arrested by the FBI in July 1989 (he had just been "made" the previous month) and agreed to cooperate with the federal government, who planned to use him in their ongoing case against the Ferriola crew. Scarpelli later recanted his statement and committed suicide in May 1989 at the Chicago MCC.

-A highly lucrative sports betting operation run by Dominic Cortina and reporting to Ferriola is busted by the FBI. Cortina, Donald Angelini, and Joe Spadavecchio all plead guilty and receive prison sentences.

-Infelise, Sal DeLaurentis, Louis Marino, Robert Bellavia, Robert Salerno, and several other crew members are indicted for racketeering in February 1990. Infelise is held without bond. While in prison, Infelise is regularly visited by Michael Spano, who is apparently relaying instructions to the street on behalf of Infelise, effectively acting as capo of the crew for the time being. Infelise also assigns an unnamed member of the crew to "take care" of James Inendino who had recently been released from prison.

-Due to the indictments mentioned above, the Ferriola/Infelise crew is described by informants as being in "total disarray" in the early part of the decade. In August 1993, Rocky Infelise is given 63 years in prison and is transferred out of Oxford FCI soon after his sentencing. John Monteleone now takes over the Ferriola crew as he is described as the only "old-timer" and senior member left on the street. Monteleone also takes over the Chinatown crew upon James LaPietra's death in September of that same year. According to Frank Calabrese Sr., Monteleone also becomes underboss of the Outfit at this time.

-According to informants, Monteleone becomes boss of the Outfit in 1997. It has been understood that Michael Spano ran the crew from this time until his imprisonment in 2002, although James DiForti has been described as Monteleone's "chief lieutenant" in Cicero and could possibly also have ran this crew. Additionally, Frank Calabrese Jr. (possibly via Frank Sr.) told the FBI that Michael Sarno "took DiForti's spot" in the Outfit upon the latter's death in 2000. "Spot" would seem to indicate a position, but also could have been an area of responsibility (or even an indication of Sarno being "made"). DiForti is also listed as the "capo" of Cicero in a 2000 Chicago Police Department report. It could be that once Monteleone took over as boss, he wanted one of "his guys" in as capo, so he may have installed DiForti in that role. At any rate, by 2002, DiForti is dead and Spano in prison.

-Sometime between 2001 and 2003, the Cicero and Melrose Park crews may have been combined. Federal court documents state that Sarno "took over" the Cicero crew from Anthony Zizzo upon Zizzo's disappearance in 2006 (allegedly at the hands of Sarno). This would seem to indicate that if the prevailing idea that James Marcello was boss of the Outfit after Monteleone died in 2001 is accurate, that he may have combined the crews and placed Zizzo in charge of both (Zizzo was released from prison in 2001). Sarno, possibly taking advantage of Marcello's indictment in 2005, could have used this opportunity to eliminate Zizzo and take over the crew (and possibly the entire Outfit).

-By the mid-2000s, Sarno, Sal Cataudella, James Inendino, and Salvatore DeLaurentis were all out of prison and understood to be involved in leadership of the crew and the Outfit as a whole. As three of the four individuals are still alive, with the fourth -- Inendino -- only recently dying, there is little available concerning the specific roles of the crew and these individuals at this time.

Awesome recap Snakes. I think much of this is spot on.

One remaining question though. What year was Marcello recorded talking about Sarno in prison? I thought it was around 2000, but I could be wrong. That might lend some credence as to when those crews were merged.

2003, right before he was released.

[Coloboy]

Got it. That definitely lends credence to the idea that the crews were merged by that point.

[Snakes]

Scarpelli was actually arrested in July 1988 -- I put 1989 and can't edit it.

[PolackTony]

Another thing to think about with the Chiaramonte hit. As Snakes already noted, we don’t know for sure if the Carlisi and Ferriola crews had been merged by this point. The guy that I know who was an associate who worked with Cicero guys during this period told me that “Big Mike” was the “boss of Taylor St/Cicero” in this period, but didn’t know anything about Marcello or Tornabene.

Interesting bit of info on "Big Mike". I was still living in the neighborhood then (Taylor Street) and the general feeling was that Blackie Pesoli ran the neighborhood from the old Survivor's Club.

To be clear, this guy meant “boss” as in the captain of the crew, though he wasn’t in the position to know if “Big Mike” was official or acting”. If I have the chance to talk to him again, I’ll ask him about Blackie Pesoli. He mentioned several active associates around Taylor St at the time he was working with them (late 90s to early 2000s), but Pesoli wasn’t one that he specifically named.

[PolackTony]

On a similar note as above. I think about Steve Mandell, the psychopathic ex-cop who was historically connected to the Elmwood Park crew. There is FBI surveillance from around 2010-2011 of him going to Albie Vena and asking for permission to kill someone. Why would Mandell be going to Vena? is it because Vena at that point controlled all aspects of the northside (EP/Grand Ave areas)? Was it because the EP crew was defunct and no one was running it? Was it because they were merged?

Well if it was defunct he still called it the EP crew. He was on wire tap talking about it

Yea....I remember a quote along the lines of "I'll show them what Elmwood Park is all about". You can take that many ways.

There was also the claim by a witness in a case against the Carciones that they had said they were linked to the “Elmwood Park mafia”. I mentioned this briefly in a post on the “zips” thread, as it relayed to Ottavio Volpe and his murder case in FL. Again, a vague statement that could mean anything or nothing.

[PolackTony]

So has the Outfit ever done anything in Elgin, Illinois? Was wondering if there is any Elgin/Outfit connection (I have a ladyfriend there and I want to torture her with Elgin mob trivia lol). Vena lives there, right? Any other connections/rackets/etc.

It was never a serious hotbed of mob activity, as it didn’t have a large Italian population. The Battaglia crew had activities going on in that area, around Elgin and Kane County, in the 1960s though. Battaglia himself was based on a farm in that area, where he would hold meetings with LCN members from other Families (per intel from Augie Maniaci), and Battaglia soldier Rocco Pranno, who was informing to the FBI also, was reportedly in charge of Kane County during that period. Outside of Elgin itself, that area was largely rural back then, of course, and has since become much more developed as an “exurban” region of Chicagoland.

[Coloboy]

Snakes- this may be a topic of a future episode, but what is your opinion about DiFronzo‘s role between 94 when he got out of prison until his death? I know there is not a lot of good official information on this out there. There’s a few nuggets here and there, such as a law enforcement report that Sarno was kicking tribute up to him sometime around 2008 or 2009, Carparelli feared crossing him with the Melrose Park car dealer situation in like 2012, and an FBI report (I believe this one may have come through gangster report) that he met with a bunch of grand Avenue guys around 2006 at a restaurant. Then we have the well-known Chuck Goudie interview at that restaurant in River Grove in 2009, which certainly seemed like some type of meeting considering all of the guys who were there.

My only unofficial source was my grandfather, who got me interested in all this stuff in the first place. He lived in Elmwood Park until he died about a year ago at 92. He wasn’t really involved per se, but grew up with all of those guys , was full blood Sicilian, and was part of that era and culture. He knew DiFronzo, Lombardo, and D’Amico socially. I won’t go into it, but I once witnessed an interesting social interaction he had with D’Amico at Da Luciano’s In River Grove. For what it’s worth, he always heard from his old man breakfast club buddies that DiFronzo was at least officially the boss longer than most think until Alzheimer’s got him. Take that for whatever it’s worth .