General Chicago Outfit Info Dumping Ground

[Patrickgold]

Here is something interesting. I have recently started communicating via Facebook with the director of the real casino documentary that was made in the early 2000s. Frank Buccieri was featured in the documentary but it was not advertised as him and his face was darkened out to not make it obvious. The director met Frank through Frank’s daughter. The director told me that he was introduced to Dominic Cortina at Giannotis by Frank Buccieri who told him that Cortina was the current boss of the Outfit at that time. This occurred sometime in the late 90s. The director told me he thinks Cortina was an interim boss between Carlisi and Monteleone. I think it’s possible. Anyone hear this before?

I've never heard that before, but it's interesting. The only problem with it, in my mind, is that Cortina was in prison for most of the first part of the decade, not getting out until 1995. He also had some major health issues, stomach cancer, I believe. Terms like "boss" can be interpreted differently by different people, especially non-members, so I can see something getting lost in translation.

Could Cortina or someone like that have been given the job as they were seen as less violent than their predecessors? Cortina and Angelini were always huge money makers and well respected. Wouldn’t be a huge suprise, but they weren’t particularly close to DiFronzo.

I’m sure having a low key guy that wasn’t prone to violence could have helped in in decision process considering what happened in the 80s.

[Antiliar]

I can't go into too much detail, but I have it on good authority that Cortina was not even close to being the acting boss. I do have reason to doubt Frank Buccieri's sincerity.

[PolackTony]

Here is something interesting. I have recently started communicating via Facebook with the director of the real casino documentary that was made in the early 2000s. Frank Buccieri was featured in the documentary but it was not advertised as him and his face was darkened out to not make it obvious. The director met Frank through Frank’s daughter. The director told me that he was introduced to Dominic Cortina at Giannotis by Frank Buccieri who told him that Cortina was the current boss of the Outfit at that time. This occurred sometime in the late 90s. The director told me he thinks Cortina was an interim boss between Carlisi and Monteleone. I think it’s possible. Anyone hear this before?

I've never heard that before, but it's interesting. The only problem with it, in my mind, is that Cortina was in prison for most of the first part of the decade, not getting out until 1995. He also had some major health issues, stomach cancer, I believe. Terms like "boss" can be interpreted differently by different people, especially non-members, so I can see something getting lost in translation.

Could Cortina or someone like that have been given the job as they were seen as less violent than their predecessors? Cortina and Angelini were always huge money makers and well respected. Wouldn’t be a huge suprise, but they weren’t particularly close to DiFronzo.

I’m sure having a low key guy that wasn’t prone to violence could have helped in in decision process considering what happened in the 80s.

Never came across anything about Dom Cortina being an acting boss in this period, but we still have a lot of gaps in our understanding here. It's an interesting claim, for sure.

Cortina was, by all accounts, a very intelligent, well-respected, and well-liked individual. A source told the Feds that in another life, Cortina could have been CEO of GM. While Chicago was a Family that put a high premium on capacity to commit violence for the organization, they also always had guys in their ranks who were not known for being rough street guys, including longtime sleepers like Phil Ponto, who was described as having the bearing and manner of a heart surgeon. It takes different kinds to have a well-rounded Family and Chicago never suffered for lack of tough guys, while guys like Cortina and Angelini were not a-dime-a-dozen and were highly valuable members of the LCN network.

Cortina and Angelini were, also, *probably* the most senior made guys on the street by this time, along with LaPietra. I believe that Cortina was made in the 1950s. While the FBI only had Louie Bombacino as a source to identify Cortina's membership as of 1967-73 (and Bombacino was himself unlikely to have been a member), there were reports in FBI files of Cortina attending meetings with Giancana by the early 1960s (Angelini, I would think, was likely to have been made around the same time as Cortina). Apart from his, obviously considerable, personal qualities, Cortina's seniority was presumably not an insignificant thing at a moment when so much of Chicago's older guard had fallen.

As Snakes already noted, Cortina died of cancer in '99. I'm not sure exactly how long he had been seriously ill before his death, however.

Cortina and Angelini were always huge money makers and well respected. Wouldn’t be a huge suprise, but they weren’t particularly close to DiFronzo.

I'm not aware that Cortina was ever particularly close to DiFronzo. He did, however, live in Elmwood Park (N 76th Ct) in the 1950s-60s and the FBI was told that Cortina was personally close to Jack Cerone. Cortina and Angelini were of course also charged along with Jack and Jimmy Cerone in the 1970 gambling case. Neither here nor there in terms of what role, if any, he could have had in the 90s, but these guys did have close ties going back to the Elmwood park crew.

[Patrickgold]

I can't go into too much detail, but I have it on good authority that Cortina was not even close to being the acting boss. I do have reason to doubt Frank Buccieri's sincerity.

I know you have good sources and wouldn’t doubt that statement. The fact that Frank Buccieri did make that documentary tells me something about the guy. He could have been a big bullshiter. The director has told me this so far in that Frank Buccieri personally told him the below information:

-Frank Buccieri was definitely made and possibly a capo
-He was the true power on the West Coast and was the one that put Lefty at the stardust (I have heard from other sources that he had interest on the West Coast. Not sure where that story originated)
-Frank was a member of the old 42nd gang
-He “raised” both Joey Lombardo and Joe Ferriola
-Frank lost some power after his brother died and was a reason he didn’t get higher in the Outfit

Anybody have any info or sources that said or indicated that Frank Buccieri was made?

[Antiliar]

I can't go into too much detail, but I have it on good authority that Cortina was not even close to being the acting boss. I do have reason to doubt Frank Buccieri's sincerity.

I know you have good sources and wouldn’t doubt that statement. The fact that Frank Buccieri did make that documentary tells me something about the guy. He could have been a big bullshiter. The director has told me this so far in that Frank Buccieri personally told him the below information:

-Frank Buccieri was definitely made and possibly a capo
-He was the true power on the West Coast and was the one that put Lefty at the stardust (I have heard from other sources that he had interest on the West Coast. Not sure where that story originated)
-Frank was a member of the old 42nd gang
-He “raised” both Joey Lombardo and Joe Ferriola
-Frank lost some power after his brother died and was a reason he didn’t get higher in the Outfit

Anybody have any info or sources that said or indicated that Frank Buccieri was made?

I agree that he was made. He was mentioned as a possible acting capo when his brother went to prison. Rosenthal didn't mention Frank in his writings, but maybe he was protecting him. He knew Feef pretty well. Everything else adds up too, but with some stories they make mistakes or they mean what they say in unique ways that require more time to break down.

[Snakes]

Wasn't there a file from a well-placed informant that said Frank still hadn't been made at a time when everyone figured he should have been? I don't recall the exact year, but I believe it was some time before Fifi died, so he certainly could have been made in the interim. Just found it interesting as this source seemed to have a good understanding of what being made meant at a time when they didn't have a lot of Chicago sources that did.

[PolackTony]

FWIW, the only source the FBI had from ‘67 to ‘73 for Frank Buccieri’s membership was Lou Fratto, who was IMO not a reliable source. The FBI did not list Frank Buccieri as a Chicago member in their ‘85 list. This could mean that they just didn’t have a source to support listing him under the new LCN member identification protocols at this time. But, Frank Buccieri wasn’t a “sleeper” type, he was a pretty well known guy in OC circles, so you would think that if he were made he would have been one of the Chicago guys the Feds could ID at that time.

[PolackTony]

As a follow-up, in 1966 a CI told the FBI that despite his brother’s status, Frank Buccieri was never “‘made’ a member of the Chicago ‘family’” (this might be the report that Snakes mentioned above). The informant code was redacted so I don’t know who the source was, but given that he apparently used the terms “made” and “Family”, he at least seemed to have known what it meant to be a member.

Another consideration is that despite having close ties to the Milwaukee area, Frank Buccieri was never identified as an LCN member by Augie Maniaci. Possible that Buccieri was made after Maniaci’s death in ‘75. We know that a ceremony was held in ‘76, with Frank Balistrieri reported by a Milwaukee CI to have travelled to Chicago to be introduced to the newly inducted members (the source seems to have been a Milwaukee member and may have been Vincent Maniaci). If Buccieri was made at that time, the Milwaukee sources did not name him, so far as I’m aware. We don’t know whether Chicago had any other ceremonies between ‘76 and ‘83, but we at least know that Buccieri wasn’t made in ‘83.

In 1987, an FBI memo stated that Frank Buccieri’s membership status still had not been confirmed as of that time. Although Buccieri had been living in CA for several years by this time, it’s interesting that the FBI, by 1982 at the latest, had confirmed Vito Spillone’s LCN membership, given that Spillone was also living and operating in CA during this period. In fact, Frank Buccieri’s file has repeated references to Spillone’s confirmed membership status while noting that Buccieri was still “unverified”. And it’s not like Frank Buccieri had been living under a rock. In 1986, Fortune magazine had him on their list of the “50 Biggest Mafia Bosses”.

[Antiliar]

It's true that in 1966 a source said that in a sitdown between Frank Buccieri and Joe Ferriola, Frank's brother Fiore would have to side with Ferriola since Frank wasn't made. However, in 1974 and FBI memorandum said that Frank and Turk Torello would inherit his brother's rackets following Fifi's 1973 death, and in a Milwaukee file Frank is identified as a Chicago LCN member. In another from 2000 he was also described as an Outfit member, along with the late Anthony Spilotro. I can ask my sources if they can confirm if he was made.

[PolackTony]

One doesn’t have to be made to inherit some racket interests, of course. As of 1973, the only source the FBI had for Frank Buccieri was Lou Fratto. For this reason, there were files in this period that referred to him as a member. To my knowledge, he was never identified as such by a Milwaukee or (reliable) Chicago source. Hence, the FBI no longer being able to list him as made in 1985. After investigating him for over 20 years, they were unable to confirm his membership, which again, is interesting given that he was not a low profile guy. The source/s that allowed them to identify Spillone as a CA-based Chicago member in the ‘80s evidently did not identify Buccieri as such.

It is possible that the FBI acquired a source after 1987 who was able to identify Buccieri. On the 1993 list that Snakes shared a while back, there were two redacted names between Angelini and Frank Calabrese. One of them would have been Sal Bastone, who was on the unredacted 1985 list. Following Bastone, the ‘85 list had Butch Blasi and Frank Buscemi preceding Calabrese. Buscemi of course died in ‘87. Blasi, however, died in the Spring of 1993 and could well have been the other name on that list, depending on when in the year the intel for it was compiled. Otherwise, as Snakes said before, another candidate for the second redacted ‘93 slot could have been Bobby Bellavia.

[Coloboy]

I did some searching on the forum but couldn't find anything detailed for this question....

Can some of the researchers give me a high level run down of the history/timeline of what would become the Elmwood Park crew? I've read that it stemmed out of Accardo's actual crew, hence why he retained close relationships with both Cerone and Difronzo down the line, but couldn't really find any details on that. I also believe Joe Gagliano was an important early figure.

My assumption was the leadership went something like.....

Accardo?
Cerone
Joe Gags?
Difronzo
Andriacchi

[Snakes]

One doesn’t have to be made to inherit some racket interests, of course. As of 1973, the only source the FBI had for Frank Buccieri was Lou Fratto. For this reason, there were files in this period that referred to him as a member. To my knowledge, he was never identified as such by a Milwaukee or (reliable) Chicago source. Hence, the FBI no longer being able to list him as made in 1985. After investigating him for over 20 years, they were unable to confirm his membership, which again, is interesting given that he was not a low profile guy. The source/s that allowed them to identify Spillone as a CA-based Chicago member in the ‘80s evidently did not identify Buccieri as such.

It is possible that the FBI acquired a source after 1987 who was able to identify Buccieri. On the 1993 list that Snakes shared a while back, there were two redacted names between Angelini and Frank Calabrese. One of them would have been Sal Bastone, who was on the unredacted 1985 list. Following Bastone, the ‘85 list had Butch Blasi and Frank Buscemi preceding Calabrese. Buscemi of course died in ‘87. Blasi, however, died in the Spring of 1993 and could well have been the other name on that list, depending on when in the year the intel for it was compiled. Otherwise, as Snakes said before, another candidate for the second redacted ‘93 slot could have been Bobby Bellavia.

It had to have been Bellavia as the list noted he was imprisoned at Oxford FCI with a release date of 3/27/2016, which was very close to his ultimate release date of 4/29/2016.

[Snakes]

I did some searching on the forum but couldn't find anything detailed for this question....

Can some of the researchers give me a high level run down of the history/timeline of what would become the Elmwood Park crew? I've read that it stemmed out of Accardo's actual crew, hence why he retained close relationships with both Cerone and Difronzo down the line, but couldn't really find any details on that. I also believe Joe Gagliano was an important early figure.

My assumption was the leadership went something like.....

Accardo?
Cerone
Joe Gags?
Difronzo
Andriacchi

Cerone>Gagliano>DiFronzo>Lee Magnafichi>Andriacchi>unknown

[Coloboy]

I did some searching on the forum but couldn't find anything detailed for this question....

Can some of the researchers give me a high level run down of the history/timeline of what would become the Elmwood Park crew? I've read that it stemmed out of Accardo's actual crew, hence why he retained close relationships with both Cerone and Difronzo down the line, but couldn't really find any details on that. I also believe Joe Gagliano was an important early figure.

My assumption was the leadership went something like.....

Accardo?
Cerone
Joe Gags?
Difronzo
Andriacchi

Cerone>Gagliano>DiFronzo>Lee Magnafichi>Andriacchi>unknown

Other than Accardo's relationship with Cerone, is there any truth to the group being an evolution of Accardo's crew?

[Snakes]

I did some searching on the forum but couldn't find anything detailed for this question....

Can some of the researchers give me a high level run down of the history/timeline of what would become the Elmwood Park crew? I've read that it stemmed out of Accardo's actual crew, hence why he retained close relationships with both Cerone and Difronzo down the line, but couldn't really find any details on that. I also believe Joe Gagliano was an important early figure.

My assumption was the leadership went something like.....

Accardo?
Cerone
Joe Gags?
Difronzo
Andriacchi

Cerone>Gagliano>DiFronzo>Lee Magnafichi>Andriacchi>unknown

Other than Accardo's relationship with Cerone, is there any truth to the group being an evolution of Accardo's crew?

Rick and Tony can better speak to that than I as it predates my comfort zone of knowledge