General Chicago Outfit Info Dumping Ground

[Patrickgold]

What about in the suburbs? That's where most of the whites moved, right? Any white gangs out there?

White gang members, yes. White street gangs as such haven’t really existed in Chicagoland in some time, just historically white organizations like the Players and Notes who have had a mixed membership for decades now. Maybe there are some crews of white kids in the burbs who call themselves a name, but we wouldn’t consider that a real “gang” in Chicago.

You had the "Italian Playboys" in Melrose Park and Addison in the '90s but to your point, they were the same as the gangs in the city.

Italian Playboys were big at one time but we’re definitely not in the league of the hardcore gangs. I think they died out when they got into it with MLD. MLD shot up their houses in Addison and that was the end of the Italian Playboys.

Boyz in the Hood gang was an Elmwood Park gang and so were the Harlem Ave Boys. Gang culture has changed significantly since the 90s and is not what it use to be.

One of their members beat another kid to death in Addison in the early '90s as well. Kid went to jail and a connected relative hooked him up with the Northsiders for protection. He got a reduced sentence in a plea deal about 5 years later.

Interesting. Never heard this story. Any idea who the guy was that beat someone to death?

Vince DiVincenzo

Is that the same family that owns Frannie’s beef on River rd in Schiller Park?

[SonnyC]

What about in the suburbs? That's where most of the whites moved, right? Any white gangs out there?

White gang members, yes. White street gangs as such haven’t really existed in Chicagoland in some time, just historically white organizations like the Players and Notes who have had a mixed membership for decades now. Maybe there are some crews of white kids in the burbs who call themselves a name, but we wouldn’t consider that a real “gang” in Chicago.

You had the "Italian Playboys" in Melrose Park and Addison in the '90s but to your point, they were the same as the gangs in the city.

Italian Playboys were big at one time but we’re definitely not in the league of the hardcore gangs. I think they died out when they got into it with MLD. MLD shot up their houses in Addison and that was the end of the Italian Playboys.

Boyz in the Hood gang was an Elmwood Park gang and so were the Harlem Ave Boys. Gang culture has changed significantly since the 90s and is not what it use to be.

One of their members beat another kid to death in Addison in the early '90s as well. Kid went to jail and a connected relative hooked him up with the Northsiders for protection. He got a reduced sentence in a plea deal about 5 years later.

Interesting. Never heard this story. Any idea who the guy was that beat someone to death?

Vince DiVincenzo

Is that the same family that owns Frannie’s beef on River rd in Schiller Park?

Not sure, but I'll find out tonight. I'm seeing my brother-in-law who lived a few doors down from where this took place and knows both the families. He was there right after the attack and saw the bloody aftermath.

[PolackTony]

Another gang that I don’t know much about is the Unknown Assassins, who were active back in the day in Melrose Park and Stone Park. Believe they were Folks as I understand that they had close ties to the MLDs, and my impression is that they used to go at it with the Kings who set up in MP in the 80s. Would imagine that they had Italian members given where they were located. I’d also imagine that they didn’t get along with the Italian Playboys, given that the latter seem to have gotten shut down by the Maniacs.

[SonnyC]

What about in the suburbs? That's where most of the whites moved, right? Any white gangs out there?

White gang members, yes. White street gangs as such haven’t really existed in Chicagoland in some time, just historically white organizations like the Players and Notes who have had a mixed membership for decades now. Maybe there are some crews of white kids in the burbs who call themselves a name, but we wouldn’t consider that a real “gang” in Chicago.

You had the "Italian Playboys" in Melrose Park and Addison in the '90s but to your point, they were the same as the gangs in the city.

Italian Playboys were big at one time but we’re definitely not in the league of the hardcore gangs. I think they died out when they got into it with MLD. MLD shot up their houses in Addison and that was the end of the Italian Playboys.

Boyz in the Hood gang was an Elmwood Park gang and so were the Harlem Ave Boys. Gang culture has changed significantly since the 90s and is not what it use to be.

One of their members beat another kid to death in Addison in the early '90s as well. Kid went to jail and a connected relative hooked him up with the Northsiders for protection. He got a reduced sentence in a plea deal about 5 years later.

Interesting. Never heard this story. Any idea who the guy was that beat someone to death?

Vince DiVincenzo

Is that the same family that owns Frannie’s beef on River rd in Schiller Park?

Not sure, but I'll find out tonight. I'm seeing my brother-in-law who lived a few doors down from where this took place and knows both the families. He was there right after the attack and saw the bloody aftermath.

Different family. The dad was an electrician.

[B.]

After the suspicious "suicide" of Nick Ciotti's wife Daryle Clark Ciotti on December 28th 1974, her mother Patricia Clark / Newman (newspaper uses Clark but other records uses Newman) began providing info to the FBI:

- Patricia told them her daughter's husband Nick Ciotti was an in-law of Louis Eboli, as his brother Tom Eboli was married to Ciotti's sister. Ciotti was an abusive husband who worked for Eboli distributing / collecting football parlay cards.

- Around September 1974 Daryle brought her baby to her mother Patricia's house urgently asking her to babysit because Nick was likely tied to the murder of a man and his wife in connection with a plastic plant. She said an off-duty cop was also injured and the Ciottis needed to go on the lam. Louis Eboli had asked the Ciottis to keep the getaway car in their garage and they painted the garage windows black.

- After the Ciottis returned, Daryle told her mother the car had been moved but she believed Nick was worried she would talk. She told her mother the names of four people involved in the aforementioned murder but when talking to the FBI Patricia could only recall the names of Louis Eboli and "Butch". Patricia had seen the police sketches of the murder suspects too and felt one of them looked exactly like Eboli and was surprised Chief Joe Cimino of Melrose Park PD didn't recognize him. With the car gone, Nick Ciotti asked Daryle and her mother Patricia to thoroughly clean the garage.

- The month before Daryle's death, she came to her mother's house after being severely beaten by Nick Ciotti. She had been beaten so badly one of her eyes popped out of the socket. The reason for the beating was because she had met with Joe DeVita, one of Nick's closest friends, and after drinking too much she asked DeVita to talk to her husband and try to discourage him from some of the "bad things" he'd been doing with Louis Eboli, including storing the car used in the double murder. She may have also discussed Nick's involvement in gambling and loansharking with DeVita.

- Right away Joe DeVita went to Louis Eboli about Daryle Ciotti's conduct and Eboli called Nick Ciotti in the next day and warned him about his wife's "big mouth". After this and before Daryle died, Nick Ciotti called his mother-in-law Patricia and told her what Daryle had said to Joe DeVita and that DeVita had gone to Louis Eboli about it. Ciotti called his mother-in-law to discuss what could be done to control or prevent Daryle from talking so much. He also admitted to Patricia that the car he had stored was "very very hot".

- Daryle Ciotti was found dead in her car, which was parked in the garage, on December 28th. Nick Ciotti said they had been out at a bar drinking earlier and when they got home he went to bed but she must have stayed up and killed herself. Her mother told the FBI that Daryle never parked in the garage because she was afraid of hitting the garage doors and didn't believe Nick's story. She said a doctor told her the amount of ethanol found in Daryle's system at her time of death was so high it wasn't humanly possible without having been injected. The mother also spoke with a waitress from Dante's Lounge who had been with the Ciottis the night of Daryle's death and she said they left Dante's at 5:30 AM which was inconsistent with what Nick Ciotti claimed.

- At Daryle's funeral, Nick Ciotti avoided his mother-in-law and eventually approached her to tell her "I didn't want this to happen." After Daryle's death, Ciotti disconnected the phone service to his own house, moved in with his parents (who lived in a house directly behind his own house), and still had the car Daryle died in sitting in the garage with the garage windows still painted black.

- Daryle's mother, the informant Patricia Clark / Newman, admitted she herself was once Sam Giancana's paramour and he had her boyfriend Angelo Fasel killed. She said Giancana strongly believes one of her sons is actually his and because of this Butch Blasi served as her son's godfather at Giancana's request. Patricia had three sons, Mark, Brian, and Gary, so not sure which of these was believed by Giancana to be his own kid. Daryle's maiden name was Clark, which her mother used, but her father was apparently named Turner so not sure which surname the sons used or where exactly the Clark and Newman names come from.

[PolackTony]

To revisit Pietro Catalanotto of Villafranca Sicula, the “Silver King” of Little Sicily and possibly capo or acting capo of Chicago following Rosario Dispenza’s death.

Catalanotto’s was murdered in Little Sicily in June 1915. Several days later, Antonina LoCascio, née LoVerde, wife of Carlo LoCascio, was murdered in front of her home a couple of blocks away. Her murder was stated to have been revenge for Catalanotto, as her son Mariano “Michael” LoCascio was alleged to have slain the Silver King. Antonina was sitting outside with her 4-year-old grandson, Frank Ingo, when two gunmen opened fire on her and the kid. Frank Ingo was the son of Antonina’s daughter, Angelina LoCascio and Angelin’s deceased husband, Giuseppe Ingo of Lucca Sicula. Joe Ingo had himself been murdered in 1914 when two men opened fire on him with a sawed-off shotgun in an alley behind Hobbie and Milton in Little Sicily, a block from the LoCascio family home. A 12-year-old boy who witnessed the shooting identified Francesco Cannella as one of the assailants. Cannella, from Villafranca Sicula, was another LoCascio brother-in-law, as his wife was Giuseppina LoCascio, another child of Carlo LoCascio and Antonina LoVerde. Catalanotto’s sons, John and Phillip, and Vito Barone (probably from Ciminna and possible sotto capo under Catalanotto) were charged with Antonina’s murder but all were acquitted at trial. In November of 1916, John Catalanotto was shot to death on a streetcar at Belmont and Elston. It was believed that the murder was done by Michael LoCascio and his younger brother John; a witness said that he had never seen a look of hatred as strong on a man’s face as the expression of the man who killed John Catalanotto.

After Joe Ingo was murdered, Angelina LoCascio remarried a Joseph Bullaro, who was from Villafranca. Sam DiGiovanni’s brother, Nicola (from Palazzo Adriano, neighboring Chiusa Sclafani where the LoCascios were from) married a Martha Bullaro whose father was also a Giuseppe Bullaro from Villafranca (mother was a Miceli from Burgio; they were closely connected to the Agrigento colony in Downstate IL, Marion/Johnston City). Martha’s brother John Bullaro died in CO in 1931, and we know that the DiGiovannis were closely linked to the Pueblo Family. In 1923, a Domenico Ingo was apparently murdered in CO during the mafia war in the Pueblo Family (per Bill Feather). He may have been a relative of the Joe Ingo murdered in 1914 in Chicago.

Giuseppe Bullaro, who married Angelina LoCascio Ingo in 1916, was born in 1882 in Villafranca Sicula to Giovanni Bullaro and Giuseppa Cannella. Angelina's mother, Antonino LoVerde LoCascio, and first husband, Giuseppe Ingo, were murdered in the apparent war that erupted in Little Sicily in 1914-1915 following the slaying of boss Rosario Dispenza, while her brother-in-law Domenico Ingo was killed alongside Charles Carlino in CO in 1923 during the war in the Pueblo Family (as noted previously in this thread, Domenico's son, Frank Dominick Ingo, later married the sister of Chicago member Mike Glitta).

Giuseppe Bullaro's father Giovanni was a brother of the Antonino Bullaro noted below, as well as of the Giuseppe Bullaro whose daughter Martha married Chicago member Nick DiGiovanni. One of their sisters, Giuseppa Bullaro, lived in Pueblo and married Calogero Bacino of Lucca Sicula, brother and grocery business partner of Pueblo mafiosi Vincenzo and Francesco Bacino (the latter murdered in the feud involving the Dannas in 1926, when it was reported that the local mafia was importing gunmen from Chicago and other cities). The younger Giuseppe Bullaro's mother, Giuseppa Cannella, was also the sister of Francesco Cannella, husband of Angelina LoCascio's sister Giuseppa "Josephine" Locascio but also identified by an eyewitness as a shooter in the 1914 murder of Angelina's first husband Giuseppe Ingo.

Possibly unrelated was the Salvatore Canelli [sic] who the Chicago press reported as an Aiello guy slain in 1928 by Lombardo/Capone gunmen. I haven’t been able to confirm a death record for someone by that name so it may have been an alias or the surname was badly butchered by the papers. “Canelli” was stated to have been with “Tough Tony” Califiore, described as a top “lieutenant” to Joe Aiello, when assailants opened fire on them. Califiore (given as “Califura” by the papers at the tim) also survived an attack in the summer of 1928 when he was shot and gravely wounded by alleged Lombardo/Capone gunmen at North Ave and Wells. These attacks were thought to have been reprisals for the slayings by the Aiello faction of Giovanni Oliveri (Corleonese) and his partner Giuseppe Salamone (Alcamese), stated to have been staunch Lombardo/Capone loyalists. When Lombardo was murdered in September of 1928, Calafiore was considered to be a prime suspect in the killing, as investigators were working under the belief that the Lombardo hit was retaliation for the above-noted attacks against Aiello’s men. Not sure if Calafiore surfaced, but there were at least two Antonino Calafiores from Bagheria in Chicago, so the contention that he was an Aiello man seems solid.

The Aiello faction "Salvatore Canelli" killed in July of 1928 was unrelated, as he was Salvatore Canale, born in 1903 in Chicago to Giuseppe Canale, of Altavilla Milicia and Giacinta Guzzo, of Casteldaccia.

After the bloodshed in the 1910s in Little Sicily, a number of the relatives in the extended LoCascio/Ingo/Bullaro/Cannella et al clan relocated to the Taylor St area, in the vicinity of the intersection of Taylor and California where Pasquale Miceli was living and where Giuseppe Tomasello was murdered in 1931 at Arthington and California. Francesco Cannella lived at Congress and California, while Giuseppe Bullaro and Angelina LoCascio lived at Lexington and California. In 1934, their son (born to the slain Giuseppe Ingo as his biological father) Carlo Raymond Ingo, was named in the papers as a member of a local "gang" infamous for terrorizing the neighborhood. A Local witness to a burglary of a neighborhood business attended court testify against the burglars, after having received threats should he do so. In retaliation, the witness, WW1 veteran Richard Johnston, was jumped by a group of young men, including Carlo Ingo, and stabbed ingo twice in self-defense. One of the members of the robbery crew who Johnston was testifying against was Chuck Nicoletti, who lived a couple of blocks from the Bullaros, at Campbell and Lexington. At this same time in the 1930s, Sam Giancana also lived at Lexington and California, and two doors down from Giancana lived Sam English. As noted previously in this thread, Carlo Ingo was later known as a "hoodlum" who worked as a bartender at an outfit-controlled club in North suburban Niles (presumably controlled by Rocky the Parrot) and murdered a female employee there in 1959 in an apparent jealous rage.

[B.]

Felice said in the Sicilian mafia they used "sotto-capodecina" to refer to the number two man in a crew. Nick Calabrese said "sottocapo" was used to refer to the acting capodecina of a crew so this may have Sicilian precedent. Curious what Sicilian sources said about it.

[PolackTony]

From Jimmy Emery's FBI file, citing a memo in 1943 that stated that Sam Costello had been the "head [of] all the rackets" in Chicago Heights until his murder in 1938, at which point Emery assumed command of Costello's former position (Sam's nephew Joe Costello, of course, went on to marry Emery's daughter Vera). The file also cites a memo by the FBN that Emery was documented as visiting Lucky Luciano in Italy in 1948 and 1949, and that Frank LaPorte had been investigated along with Emery for narcotics trafficking connections to Luciano (I've previously mentioned that the FBN cited Italian LE as attempting to charge Emery along with Francesco "Tre Ditti" Coppola in 1952 for heroin trafficking to the US). The file additionally notes that Emery's 1957 funeral at the Gerardi Chapel in Chicago Heights was done in the "plush" style of a 1920s gangster, with hundreds of floral arrangements sent, some up to 6' tall (reminiscent of Bruno Roti's funeral that same year, referred to by the papers as one of the biggest in the history of Chicago).

[PolackTony]

1975 report from the file of Joseph Frank DiMiceli, a Milwaukee/San Diego-based businessman and associate of the Balistrieris as well as Chicago LCN figures. Italian LE surveilled DiMiceli visiting Palermo with a redacted "close associate" of Accardo in 1975. Note that during this time, Al Pilotto informed Frank Bompensiero that he was taking a trip to Italy and had been instructed by Accardo to deliver messages to Accardo's "friends" there; additionally, following Accardo's own recent trip to Italy, Italian LE was investigating connections between close Accardo associate Antonino Paterno (founder of Armanetti's Liquors in Chicago and a major wine importer and wholesaler who had investments in wine production in Italy) and the Sicilian mafia.

Joseph Frank DiMiceli was born in 1918 in Chicago to parents from Cefala Diana, who lived at Grand and Curtis (later renamed Aberdeen; infamous for being the site of the murders of Mike Genna, Giuseppe Saitta, and Domenico Scaduto and the home and cheese store of Vincenzo Benevento). In the 1970s and 1980s, DiMiceli owned the Rafters Bar in Milwaukee; he also operated a hotel next door which was reported by the FBI to be used as a hangout for "numerous Chicago hoodlums".

[NorthBuffalo]

I had no idea that Eto’o crew was involved in narcotics but it makes sense considering who his clientele were. Also, Sam Sarcinelli is still alive and living in the south suburbs. He was an investor at polekatz but I don’t think he is anymore. There was a great book that talked about him and his dope connections in California. It’s called “LA Secret Police: inside the LAPD elite spy network” by Mike Rothmiller

Interesting. Do you know which higher ups?

Thanks again for the additional info. It seems that Eto was pressured by some of his higher ups to get involved in the dope trade after they began losing their influence over the Bolita racket

Some of the other Chicago guys raised this great old Youtube video of the Sarcinelli drug crew that starts about 18 minutes in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pXiqG2InYU

[Patrickgold]

I had no idea that Eto’o crew was involved in narcotics but it makes sense considering who his clientele were. Also, Sam Sarcinelli is still alive and living in the south suburbs. He was an investor at polekatz but I don’t think he is anymore. There was a great book that talked about him and his dope connections in California. It’s called “LA Secret Police: inside the LAPD elite spy network” by Mike Rothmiller

Interesting. Do you know which higher ups?

Thanks again for the additional info. It seems that Eto was pressured by some of his higher ups to get involved in the dope trade after they began losing their influence over the Bolita racket

Some of the other Chicago guys raised this great old Youtube video of the Sarcinelli drug crew that starts about 18 minutes in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pXiqG2InYU

Great video. Thanks for sharing. Sarcinelli is still alive living in the south suburbs. He’s not in good health from my understanding. Surprisingly he is rarely talked about despite all the drugs he moved for the Outfit

[PolackTony]

I had no idea that Eto’o crew was involved in narcotics but it makes sense considering who his clientele were. Also, Sam Sarcinelli is still alive and living in the south suburbs. He was an investor at polekatz but I don’t think he is anymore. There was a great book that talked about him and his dope connections in California. It’s called “LA Secret Police: inside the LAPD elite spy network” by Mike Rothmiller

Interesting. Do you know which higher ups?

Thanks again for the additional info. It seems that Eto was pressured by some of his higher ups to get involved in the dope trade after they began losing their influence over the Bolita racket

Some of the other Chicago guys raised this great old Youtube video of the Sarcinelli drug crew that starts about 18 minutes in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pXiqG2InYU

Great video. Thanks for sharing. Sarcinelli is still alive living in the south suburbs. He’s not in good health from my understanding. Surprisingly he is rarely talked about despite all the drugs he moved for the Outfit

Yes, he’s 90 (born in 1934) as of this year. Though he was 78 when he was investing in Polekatz and presumably still involved to some degree at that age.

Also, great footage of Sarcinelli here. Guy was quite a character.

This was referencing an old post, but it’s worth putting in some
reminders in case anyone reading is unfamiliar with Sarcinelli. He was a real estate and insurance executive partnered with Eto in a Skokie-based food processing company, Taco-Si, from which Eto suffered major losses to his investment in 1973. After Eto flipped, the FBI learned that Sarcinelli was bankrolling Eto’s Bolita operation with capital from Sarcinelli’s cocaine distribution operation. Elaine Smith, the FBI agent handling Eto’s case, spent years after following up on Sarcinelli’s connections and investments, from the US to Colombia, and found evidence that he was laundering drug money with members of the Genovese Family via financial exchanges in Manhattan. In 1973, Sarcinelli was indicted for embezzling $250k from Briar Management, a real estate investment company in Chicago with a $10 mill portfolio backed by NYC investors, along with Sam Annerino, who was allegedly employed by Sarcinelli at Briar without the knowledge of other executives. Reportedly, Sarcinelli and Annerino were in the process of attempting to buy some major city properties, including the Allerton Hotel on North Michigan Ave and the Windmere Hotel in Hyde Park. Another Briar employee was Walter Micus, a BIL of Sarcinelli who operated an outfit-connected nightclub on Rush St. It was also reported at this time that Sarcinelli also managed two Texas insurance firms which had their charters revoked for fraud. In 1974, LE conducted a search on a suburban property in Crestwood owned by Sarcinelli and turned up a cache of firearms; possibly related is an FBI memo from 1975 that named Sarcinelli as a suspect connected to the murder of Danny Seifert.

Sarcinelli was born in Chicago in 1933 and grew up at Taylor and Damen. His father, Matteo “Matt” Sarcinelli was a restaurateur from the comune of Cagnano Varano, Foggia, who had previously lived in NY and PA and moved to Chicago around 1930, where he married Sam’s mother, Assunta “Susie” Fassano, of Teano, Caserta.

In the early ‘40s, Matt Sarcinelli owned a pizzeria at 923 S Loomis. By 1948, he owned Sarcinelli’s Restaurant at 637 W 26th St in Bridgeport, where he and his family then lived (Assunta subsequently divorced Matt and then moved up to Lincoln Park). That year, Matt Sarcinelli was arrested for shooting a customer, along with his buddy Joseph DiNovo, who lived on the same block and was alleged to have also opened fire on the victim. Pete Gushi also lived on the same block, a connection that could be important given that Gushi and Annerino were both connected to Jimmy Catuara. Later, in the ‘50s, Matt Sarcinelli operated Matt’s Pizzeria at 26th and Halsted. In the 1950s, Sam Sarcinelli was named in a tax fraud case and operated an auto garage on the Southside.

After Sam Sarcinelli’s legal troubles in Chicago in the 1970s, he moved to Latina Beach, CA. Here’s some links to past posts about Sarcinelli and his various shenanigans and associates:

viewtopic.php?p=202719#p202719

viewtopic.php?p=202885#p202885

Given that subject of Altavilla Milicia came up recently on the “Origins” thread because of Angelo LaMantia, worth noting again that the former attorney of Sarcinelli enforcer Robert Bridges, Jimmy Cutrone (a friend of my family when I was a kid in the ‘80s, who also represented Albie Vena), also represented Nicola Incandela, a drug dealer who recently arrived in Chicago from Sicily and was charged with killing three guys in a deal gone bad near Belden and Avers in Logan Square in 1989 (given the location, I’d suspect that the victims were likely affiliated with the YLO Cobras or YLO Disciples). Incandela was very likely from Altavilla and a relative of the Incandelas who owned the Sicily Restaurant on Harlem and Diversey where the “Last Supper” meeting was held in ‘76. Angelo LaMantia, possibly a “sleeper” Chicago member for decades, had returned to live in Altavilla before his death in the 1980s.

[Patrickgold]

I had no idea that Eto’o crew was involved in narcotics but it makes sense considering who his clientele were. Also, Sam Sarcinelli is still alive and living in the south suburbs. He was an investor at polekatz but I don’t think he is anymore. There was a great book that talked about him and his dope connections in California. It’s called “LA Secret Police: inside the LAPD elite spy network” by Mike Rothmiller

Interesting. Do you know which higher ups?

Thanks again for the additional info. It seems that Eto was pressured by some of his higher ups to get involved in the dope trade after they began losing their influence over the Bolita racket

Some of the other Chicago guys raised this great old Youtube video of the Sarcinelli drug crew that starts about 18 minutes in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pXiqG2InYU

Great video. Thanks for sharing. Sarcinelli is still alive living in the south suburbs. He’s not in good health from my understanding. Surprisingly he is rarely talked about despite all the drugs he moved for the Outfit

Yes, he’s 90 (born in 1934) as of this year. Though he was 78 when he was investing in Polekatz and presumably still involved to some degree at that age.

Also, great footage of Sarcinelli here. Guy was quite a character.

This was referencing an old post, but it’s worth putting in some
reminders in case anyone reading is unfamiliar with Sarcinelli. He was a real estate and insurance executive partnered with Eto in a Skokie-based food processing company, Taco-Si, from which Eto suffered major losses to his investment in 1973. After Eto flipped, the FBI learned that Sarcinelli was bankrolling Eto’s Bolita operation with capital from Sarcinelli’s cocaine distribution operation. Elaine Smith, the FBI agent handling Eto’s case, spent years after following up on Sarcinelli’s connections and investments, from the US to Colombia, and found evidence that he was laundering drug money with members of the Genovese Family via financial exchanges in Manhattan. In 1973, Sarcinelli was indicted for embezzling $250k from Briar Management, a real estate investment company in Chicago with a $10 mill portfolio backed by NYC investors, along with Sam Annerino, who was allegedly employed by Sarcinelli at Briar without the knowledge of other executives. Reportedly, Sarcinelli and Annerino were in the process of attempting to buy some major city properties, including the Allerton Hotel on North Michigan Ave and the Windmere Hotel in Hyde Park. Another Briar employee was Walter Micus, a BIL of Sarcinelli who operated an outfit-connected nightclub on Rush St. It was also reported at this time that Sarcinelli also managed two Texas insurance firms which had their charters revoked for fraud. In 1974, LE conducted a search on a suburban property in Crestwood owned by Sarcinelli and turned up a cache of firearms; possibly related is an FBI memo from 1975 that named Sarcinelli as a suspect connected to the murder of Danny Seifert.

Sarcinelli was born in Chicago in 1933 and grew up at Taylor and Damen. His father, Matteo “Matt” Sarcinelli was a restaurateur from the comune of Cagnano Varano, Foggia, who had previously lived in NY and PA and moved to Chicago around 1930, where he married Sam’s mother, Assunta “Susie” Fassano, of Teano, Caserta.

In the early ‘40s, Matt Sarcinelli owned a pizzeria at 923 S Loomis. By 1948, he owned Sarcinelli’s Restaurant at 637 W 26th St in Bridgeport, where he and his family then lived (Assunta subsequently divorced Matt and then moved up to Lincoln Park). That year, Matt Sarcinelli was arrested for shooting a customer, along with his buddy Joseph DiNovo, who lived on the same block and was alleged to have also opened fire on the victim. Pete Gushi also lived on the same block, a connection that could be important given that Gushi and Annerino were both connected to Jimmy Catuara. Later, in the ‘50s, Matt Sarcinelli operated Matt’s Pizzeria at 26th and Halsted. In the 1950s, Sam Sarcinelli was named in a tax fraud case and operated an auto garage on the Southside.

After Sam Sarcinelli’s legal troubles in Chicago in the 1970s, he moved to Latina Beach, CA. Here’s some links to past posts about Sarcinelli and his various shenanigans and associates:

viewtopic.php?p=202719#p202719

viewtopic.php?p=202885#p202885

Given that subject of Altavilla Milicia came up recently on the “Origins” thread because of Angelo LaMantia, worth noting again that the former attorney of Sarcinelli enforcer Robert Bridges, Jimmy Cutrone (a friend of my family when I was a kid in the ‘80s, who also represented Albie Vena), also represented Nicola Incandela, a drug dealer who recently arrived in Chicago from Sicily and was charged with killing three guys in a deal gone bad near Belden and Avers in Logan Square in 1989 (given the location, I’d suspect that the victims were likely affiliated with the YLO Cobras or YLO Disciples). Incandela was very likely from Altavilla and a relative of the Incandelas who owned the Sicily Restaurant on Harlem and Diversey where the “Last Supper” meeting was held in ‘76. Angelo LaMantia, possibly a “sleeper” Chicago member for decades, had returned to live in Altavilla before his death in the 1980s.

I couldn’t open the links for the prior discussion. When did Elaine Smith talk about Sarcinelli? I don’t remember him being mentioned in her book.

[PolackTony]

I had no idea that Eto’o crew was involved in narcotics but it makes sense considering who his clientele were. Also, Sam Sarcinelli is still alive and living in the south suburbs. He was an investor at polekatz but I don’t think he is anymore. There was a great book that talked about him and his dope connections in California. It’s called “LA Secret Police: inside the LAPD elite spy network” by Mike Rothmiller

Interesting. Do you know which higher ups?

Thanks again for the additional info. It seems that Eto was pressured by some of his higher ups to get involved in the dope trade after they began losing their influence over the Bolita racket

Some of the other Chicago guys raised this great old Youtube video of the Sarcinelli drug crew that starts about 18 minutes in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pXiqG2InYU

Great video. Thanks for sharing. Sarcinelli is still alive living in the south suburbs. He’s not in good health from my understanding. Surprisingly he is rarely talked about despite all the drugs he moved for the Outfit

Yes, he’s 90 (born in 1934) as of this year. Though he was 78 when he was investing in Polekatz and presumably still involved to some degree at that age.

Also, great footage of Sarcinelli here. Guy was quite a character.

This was referencing an old post, but it’s worth putting in some
reminders in case anyone reading is unfamiliar with Sarcinelli. He was a real estate and insurance executive partnered with Eto in a Skokie-based food processing company, Taco-Si, from which Eto suffered major losses to his investment in 1973. After Eto flipped, the FBI learned that Sarcinelli was bankrolling Eto’s Bolita operation with capital from Sarcinelli’s cocaine distribution operation. Elaine Smith, the FBI agent handling Eto’s case, spent years after following up on Sarcinelli’s connections and investments, from the US to Colombia, and found evidence that he was laundering drug money with members of the Genovese Family via financial exchanges in Manhattan. In 1973, Sarcinelli was indicted for embezzling $250k from Briar Management, a real estate investment company in Chicago with a $10 mill portfolio backed by NYC investors, along with Sam Annerino, who was allegedly employed by Sarcinelli at Briar without the knowledge of other executives. Reportedly, Sarcinelli and Annerino were in the process of attempting to buy some major city properties, including the Allerton Hotel on North Michigan Ave and the Windmere Hotel in Hyde Park. Another Briar employee was Walter Micus, a BIL of Sarcinelli who operated an outfit-connected nightclub on Rush St. It was also reported at this time that Sarcinelli also managed two Texas insurance firms which had their charters revoked for fraud. In 1974, LE conducted a search on a suburban property in Crestwood owned by Sarcinelli and turned up a cache of firearms; possibly related is an FBI memo from 1975 that named Sarcinelli as a suspect connected to the murder of Danny Seifert.

Sarcinelli was born in Chicago in 1933 and grew up at Taylor and Damen. His father, Matteo “Matt” Sarcinelli was a restaurateur from the comune of Cagnano Varano, Foggia, who had previously lived in NY and PA and moved to Chicago around 1930, where he married Sam’s mother, Assunta “Susie” Fassano, of Teano, Caserta.

In the early ‘40s, Matt Sarcinelli owned a pizzeria at 923 S Loomis. By 1948, he owned Sarcinelli’s Restaurant at 637 W 26th St in Bridgeport, where he and his family then lived (Assunta subsequently divorced Matt and then moved up to Lincoln Park). That year, Matt Sarcinelli was arrested for shooting a customer, along with his buddy Joseph DiNovo, who lived on the same block and was alleged to have also opened fire on the victim. Pete Gushi also lived on the same block, a connection that could be important given that Gushi and Annerino were both connected to Jimmy Catuara. Later, in the ‘50s, Matt Sarcinelli operated Matt’s Pizzeria at 26th and Halsted. In the 1950s, Sam Sarcinelli was named in a tax fraud case and operated an auto garage on the Southside.

After Sam Sarcinelli’s legal troubles in Chicago in the 1970s, he moved to Latina Beach, CA. Here’s some links to past posts about Sarcinelli and his various shenanigans and associates:

viewtopic.php?p=202719#p202719

viewtopic.php?p=202885#p202885

Given that subject of Altavilla Milicia came up recently on the “Origins” thread because of Angelo LaMantia, worth noting again that the former attorney of Sarcinelli enforcer Robert Bridges, Jimmy Cutrone (a friend of my family when I was a kid in the ‘80s, who also represented Albie Vena), also represented Nicola Incandela, a drug dealer who recently arrived in Chicago from Sicily and was charged with killing three guys in a deal gone bad near Belden and Avers in Logan Square in 1989 (given the location, I’d suspect that the victims were likely affiliated with the YLO Cobras or YLO Disciples). Incandela was very likely from Altavilla and a relative of the Incandelas who owned the Sicily Restaurant on Harlem and Diversey where the “Last Supper” meeting was held in ‘76. Angelo LaMantia, possibly a “sleeper” Chicago member for decades, had returned to live in Altavilla before his death in the 1980s.

I couldn’t open the links for the prior discussion. When did Elaine Smith talk about Sarcinelli? I don’t remember him being mentioned in her book.

Odd that you couldn’t open them. They’re in the Articles forum.

I don’t recall Smith mentioning Sarcinelli in her book either, but apparently she was interviewed by Chicago magazine for their recent piece on Eto:

https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-maga ... tokyo-joe/

Following up on Smith’s investigations into Sarcinelli’s activities with the NYC stock markets, stock broker Herbert Stone, stated at the time to have been a partner of Sarcinelli, was convicted in 1985 on stock manipulation charges following a probe by the SEC.

[PolackTony]

BTW, here are the older posts on Sarcinelli and one of his associates, former CPD officer turned drug dealer Larry Brady, that I had linked above, in case anyone is having trouble accessing the Articles section. Larry Bradi was the son of Northside crew affiliate Lawrence “Larry The Hood” Buonaguidi (ID’d as a Chicago member by Louie Bombacino, though not by any confirmed member sources that I’ve seen thus far).

As I stated above, the Sarcinellis may have lived in Lincoln Park for a time (Sam’s mother Assunta Fossano, a native of Naples province, listed an address near Fullerton and Clark on her naturalization document). But either the family had multiple addresses or they moved, as they also were listed as living in Bridgeport/Chinatown, where Sam’s father Matteo “Matt” Sarcinelli (a native of Foggia province) operated a pizzeria at 26th and Lowe (incidentally, and as a tie-in to a recent topic on the other thread, Calogero “Carl” Galione lived around the corner near 26th and Union when his family arrived in Chicago around 1958). So personal links to both the Northside crew as well as Catuara/Annerino would make sense.

Some more info on Sarcinelli:

In 1948 his father Matteo Sarcinelli shot a guy, ostensibly over a $5 bill, in front of his restaurant, Matt’s Pizzeria. Also named by the Tribune as a shooter was a Joseph DiNovo, then 28, who lived near the Sarcinellis at the time (it may be worth noting that DiNovo’s parents were from Termini Imerese). Haven’t seen any info about this or other DiNovos with Outfit links, and it may or may not be relevant that when Richie Urso (trucking magnate, real estate proprietor, major political contributor to Richard M Daley and Rod Blagojevich, and lucrative juice loan client of Frank Calabrese Sr whose account was implicated in the decision by Calabrese to seek a contract on John Feccarotta) died the Tribune named his then-girlfriend as a Mary Ann DiNovo (there were a number of DiNovos from Termini who settled in Chicago).

In 1954 Matt Sarcinelli was the victim of an armed robbery in his pizzeria, which had moved to 26th and Halsted. His home address was listed near 25th Pl and Union (today underneath the Stevenson Expwy).

In 1956, Sam Sarcinelli makes his first appearance in the papers when he was subpoenaed to be questioned by a federal grand jury regarding an ambulance chasing and tax fraud scam. At the time Sam was reported to own an auto repair shop on the Southside near 54th and Halsted (again pointing to a potential link to Catuara and Annerino?). Two years later his father Matt’s address was listed at 57th and Halsted.

In 1973, the Tribune, drawing on CCC sources, reported that Sam Sarcinelli and Sam J Annerino controlled (and/or were in the process of acquiring) millions of dollars of prime real estate in the Loop, Oak Park, and the affluent Southside Hyde Park neighborhood. Apparently the CCC was very concerned about a “syndicate” takeover of major real estate interests around Chicago. The Tribune reported that Sarcinelli, along with an Allan Martinelli, had been indicted the year prior for grand theft in a bust-out scam where they allegedly stole $250k from an insurance company they controlled. Sarcinelli and Annerino were working for Briar Management, reported as backed by NYC investors and based in the 42-story Bankers Building at Adams and Wells ( I believe that this is the same building where the Marriott Hotel in the Loop is located today), one of the prominent properties managed by Sarcinelli and Annerino. Sarcinelli and Annerino were fired by Briar after the Tribune disclosed that the CCC named the two as mob affiliated. The CCC also identified Walter Micus, Rush St club owner and Sarcinelli’s brother-in-law, as connected with Briar. Micus of course was named in 1982 as a partner in Joe Eto’s Bolita operations and obviously would be another link between Sarcinelli and the Northside crew. In a subsequent article, the Tribune reported that Micus was one of the “New York investors” running Briar Management and was a co-owner and manager of the Bankers Building with Sarcinelli (see Mugshots thread for a photo of Sarcinelli).

In 1980, Sarcinelli was found guilty for tax evasion related to the above-mentioned insurance company bust-out, though Sarcinelli and Martinelli had previously been acquitted on the theft/embezzlement charges. Sarcinelli was sentenced to two years. By this time, Sarcinelli’s address was of course in Laguna Beach, CA.

In 1982 Sarcinelli was convicted on additional federal tax charges relating to his narcotics operations and sentenced to twelve years. The bust of Sarcinelli’s Ft Lauderdale motel room (the Tribune reports that 14 lbs of cocaine were seized) was apparently orchestrated with the help of a Chicagoan named Ron Segal, who had posed as a buyer in Florida for Sarcinelli. Segal, who seems to have been a private citizen, told the Tribune that he had made it his mission to infiltrate major narcotics rings in order to bring them down and assist LE.

In 1985, the Tribune reported that Robert Bridges — named as a convicted narcotics peddler and bodyguard of Sam Sarcinelli — was cooperating with federal investigators as part of Operation Greylord, targeting judicial corruption in Cook County. Bridges claimed that his lawyer, James Cutrone, had paid off Circuit Court judge Michael Close to acquit Bridges on murder charges from the killing of a Gold Coast art dealer. Incidentally, Jimmy Cutrone was a close friend of my family when I was a kid in the 80s. Cutrone has represented other Outfit-connected figures, including a young Albie Vena (when Vena was charged with jumping a cop in the middle of Grand Ave in the 70s, when I believe he was still an active C-Note) and Little Mike Spano (during the whole Betty Loren-Maltese/Cicero crew insurance fraud case).

In 2003, the Tribune published an article about former Chicago Police Superintendent and long time CPD narcotics agent Phil Cline. Cline recounted that when he was working undercover in 1982, he met with Sarcinelli narcotics operative Larry Bradi on the Chicago lakefront outside the Adler Planetarium. For the duration of the meeting, a DEA sniper was locked onto Bradi, as Bradi had been overheard on wiretap claiming that he would “wack” Cline at this meeting. Although the meeting proceeded without incident, Bradi informed Cline that he would be a “dead man” if he tried anything. Bradi was a longtime CPD cop busted in 1982 as part of Sarcinelli’s Rush St narcotics distribution operation (he was probably also the son or other relative of an older Lawrence Bradi who was convicted in 1946 for his part in a theft ring headed by a CPD cop). At the time it was noted that Bradi was a close associate of Robert Bridges, charged alongside Bradi for selling cocaine to undercover cops on Rush St. EDIT: Bradi seems to have been changed from the original surname, Buonaguidi — Sicilian family (probably Altavilla Milicia, Palermo) from the old Near Northside Little Sicily community.

As noted above, the Goldman book on the LA intelligence squad stated that Sarcinelli testified against four stockbrokers in a stock swindling case while Sarcinelli was in federal prison for his tax abrasion charges. If true, this was not reported in the Chicago papers (perhaps Antiliar, as BOD member and capo of our west coast crew, can help shed light on this lol).

It may also be worth noting that in 2015, Naperville police arrested a Kyle Sarcinelli (relation unknown) for dealing drugs while working at a suburban pizzeria. Could be a coincidence, or could be that an old family tradition dies hard.

Again, I don't know if this is the same guy, but in 1992 there was a wedding notice of a Danielle Ann Bradi whose father was Lawrence Bradi of Chicago and Lynette Inserra of 433 Walworth Street, no city given but apparently Park Ridge, IL. US Public Records shows a Lawrence Arthur Bradi born in 1947 with a residence in Park Ridge, so probably the same guy. (Lynette had married a Joseph A. Inserra, son of Joseph Mariano & Mildred Inserra; Joseph Mariano Inserra appears to have been born in St. Louis, Missouri, like Vincent "the Saint" Inserro and his brother Max; in fact he does appear to be the older brother of Vincent and Max).

Good info on the Inserra connection. The Lawrence Bradi born 1947 is the guy busted in 1982 with Robert Bridges. Bradi was a CPD cop who was working for Sarcinelli's Rush St distribution operation. While it's always possible that I'm wrong, I believe that this Lawrence Bradi was the son of a Lawrence Bradi Sr and a Rosaria "Sarah" Anania. I am, however, quite sure that the "Bradi" surname was changed from the original Buonaguidi (either by Lawerence Sr or his father, Natale Buonaguidi. There are documents referring to Natale's son Lawrence as both Buonaguidi and "Bradi"). As stated in one of my posts above, there was a "Lawrence Bradi" busted in a commercial burglary ring with a CPD officer in 1946. There was also a Lawrence Buonaguidi arrested in 1963 in a gambling raid for running a card game at the Ramblers Social Athletic Club on N Clark near Grand. Then in 1966, Lawrence Buonaguidi was hauled in to testify as part of a juice loan probe along with other figures such as Leo Manfredi, Peter Cappelletti, and Rocco Pranno. At the time, the Tribune described him as: "Lawrence Buonaguidi [Larry the Hood], a near north side gambler who kept insisting his name was Lawrence Brady.".

I should state that the Buonaguidis/Bradis were not Siciliani -- from what I can tell, they were actually from Lucca, Tuscany but lived around the Near North Little Sicily community. Rosaria Anania (the younger Lawrence Bradi's apparent mother) was Sicilian (father from Alcamo, mother's family apparently from Altavilla Milicia), however.