General Chicago Outfit Info Dumping Ground

[Snakes]

Posted a pic of Ignoffo in the Photos thread: viewtopic.php?p=286359#p286359

[NorthBuffalo]

Posted a pic of Ignoffo in the Photos thread: viewtopic.php?p=286359#p286359

I still don't have access despite being on here and sharing as much as I do BC I'm SolarSolano/Fratto/TallGuy and several other posters all at once.

[PolackTony]

Also for you Chicago experts, I was also recently put on to an individual named 'Steven Veteto' who was a collector for Anthony Chiaramonte in the early 1990s. Has anyone heard of him?

Ignoffo's actual first name is Ronald, but is commonly misspelled as "Roland."

Veteto seems like quite a character. He assaulted an undercover FBI agent and then agreed to cooperate before skipping town. He also beat up his mother and tried to set her on fire(!) according to this court opinion: https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/u-s-v-veteto-888307723

He ended up serving a few years. I'm not sure if he is still alive, but he is only in his 70s, so it's very possible.

I spoke with someone who knows Ignoffo. Roland Ignoffo was his father who was a major bookmaker for the northside crew in the 1970s, hence the confusion with the names. There was a Roland Jr. who is dead. There is a Salvatore Ignoffo (Ron's brother/Roland's oldest son) who was also affiliated with the Outfit. All of the Ignoffo sons were members of a white gang in Norridge (ChiWest).

Ronald Ignoffo goes by 'RJ' to most who know him. There is a lot of gambling up in north suburbs where he resides.

Right, Ronald Ignoffo’s dad was Roland Salvatore “Goldie” Ignoffo, Sr, a longtime outfit associate. Born in Chicago in 1915 to parents from Sambuca, he married Christine Nappi, sister of Romie Nappi and Gloria Nappi Fosco, Joe Fosco’s stepmother. Sons Ronald and Salvatore Ignoffo are thus step cousins of Joe Fosco. Other sons of Roland and Christine Ignoffo were Richard and Joseph; they did have a son named Roland Ignoffo, Jr, but he died as a toddler in the 1940s.

Not sure where you got Norridge from. I’m not aware that Chi-West ever had a chapter in Norridge, and the Ignoffos were not from there. The Ignoffos lived for over half a century at Keating and Wabansia in West Humboldt Park (father Roland Ignoffo was still living there when he died in 2006, amazingly, as he was interviewed by the Tribune earlier that year during the controversy over Chicago’s first WalMart, located nearby). For those not from Chicago, there is an enormous difference between having grown up in Norridge (a safe middle class suburb) and Humboldt Park (a former blue collar ethnic neighborhood that over the 1960s and 70s precipitously declined into a hardcore slum and one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Chicago).

Eldest brother Salvatore Ignoffo was hospitalized in 1954 after being hit by a shotgun blast during a gang fight in the Montclare neighborhood when he was 15. It should be noted that this predated the formation of Chi-West, so his gang involvement was unrelated to that organization. Chi-West was a predominately Ukrainian gang formed in the late 50s in the vicinity of the intersection of Chicago and Western in the Ukrainian Village section of West Town (on the Westside of Chicago just north of the Grand Ave Italian community; I grew up in this area in the last years of Chi-West’s activity as a street gang). Later, in the 1960s and 70s, Chi-West expanded with new recruitment due to white youth organizing in opposition to the influx of Puerto Ricans on the NW Side, opening chapters in Logan Square, Hermosa/Belmont-Cragin, Albany Park, and West Humboldt Park. Ronald Ignoffo was the President of the latter chapter, which was based around Armitage and Cicero, near the Ignoffo home. Formed in the late 1960s, this chapter only lasted a few years before it was forced to shut down due to heavy opposition, as Chi-West was basically at war with every gang on the NW Side.

By the 1980s, Chi-West had become relegated to their original territory in Ukie Village. Their remaining leadership had, however, reputedly made close ties to Ukrainian organized crime. In the late 80s, Chi-West Chief Jack “The Jew” Farmer was featured on America’s Most Wanted after he fled to Fl to escape trial in Chicago on a litany of 108 Federal charges, ranging from murder to narcotics trafficking, armed robbery, and extortion. Described by Federal LE as a “mini-mafia”, the remaining Chi-West organization was alleged to have been operating a host of criminal activities to finance a FL-to-Chicago cocaine pipeline (the prosecutor in the case described Chi-West as “one of the most vicious groups of people I have ever seen” and feared that Farmer was aiming to have him assassinated). Farmer escaped custody after assaulting his own attorney and went on the lam, but was apprehend and sentenced to 40 years; he hung himself in prison in 1993. After Farmer was busted, Chi-West was basically defunct, though you could still find a couple of them menacing people in the vicinity of Chicago and Western, or near Augusta and Leavitt, into the early 90s, as they were backed on the street by the Latin Kings (Chi-West was left with no choice but to join the People alliance for the protection of the remaining membership). Chi-West was a legendary organization on the Near NW Side when I was a kid, in their last years of decline by then but notorious for their extreme viciousness and bravery. Absolute savages.

[Patrickgold]

Also for you Chicago experts, I was also recently put on to an individual named 'Steven Veteto' who was a collector for Anthony Chiaramonte in the early 1990s. Has anyone heard of him?

Ignoffo's actual first name is Ronald, but is commonly misspelled as "Roland."

Veteto seems like quite a character. He assaulted an undercover FBI agent and then agreed to cooperate before skipping town. He also beat up his mother and tried to set her on fire(!) according to this court opinion: https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/u-s-v-veteto-888307723

He ended up serving a few years. I'm not sure if he is still alive, but he is only in his 70s, so it's very possible.

I spoke with someone who knows Ignoffo. Roland Ignoffo was his father who was a major bookmaker for the northside crew in the 1970s, hence the confusion with the names. There was a Roland Jr. who is dead. There is a Salvatore Ignoffo (Ron's brother/Roland's oldest son) who was also affiliated with the Outfit. All of the Ignoffo sons were members of a white gang in Norridge (ChiWest).

Ronald Ignoffo goes by 'RJ' to most who know him. There is a lot of gambling up in north suburbs where he resides.

Right, Ronald Ignoffo’s dad was Roland Salvatore “Goldie” Ignoffo, Sr, a longtime outfit associate. Born in Chicago in 1915 to parents from Sambuca, he married Christine Nappi, sister of Romie Nappi and Gloria Nappi Fosco, Joe Fosco’s stepmother. Sons Ronald and Salvatore Ignoffo are thus step cousins of Joe Fosco. Other sons of Roland and Christine Ignoffo were Richard and Joseph; they did have a son named Roland Ignoffo, Jr, but he died as a toddler in the 1940s.

Not sure where you got Norridge from. I’m not aware that Chi-West ever had a chapter in Norridge, and the Ignoffos were not from there. The Ignoffos lived for over half a century at Keating and Wabansia in West Humboldt Park (father Roland Ignoffo was still living there when he died in 2006, amazingly, as he was interviewed by the Tribune earlier that year during the controversy over Chicago’s first WalMart, located nearby). For those not from Chicago, there is an enormous difference between having grown up in Norridge (a safe middle class suburb) and Humboldt Park (a former blue collar ethnic neighborhood that over the 1960s and 70s precipitously declined into a hardcore slum and one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Chicago).

Eldest brother Salvatore Ignoffo was hospitalized in 1954 after being hit by a shotgun blast during a gang fight in the Montclare neighborhood when he was 15. It should be noted that this predated the formation of Chi-West, so his gang involvement was unrelated to that organization. Chi-West was a predominately Ukrainian gang formed in the late 50s in the vicinity of the intersection of Chicago and Western in the Ukrainian Village section of West Town (on the Westside of Chicago just north of the Grand Ave Italian community; I grew up in this area in the last years of Chi-West’s activity as a street gang). Later, in the 1960s and 70s, Chi-West expanded with new recruitment due to white youth organizing in opposition to the influx of Puerto Ricans on the NW Side, opening chapters in Logan Square, Hermosa/Belmont-Cragin, Albany Park, and West Humboldt Park. Ronald Ignoffo was the President of the latter chapter, which was based around Armitage and Cicero, near the Ignoffo home. Formed in the late 1960s, this chapter only lasted a few years before it was forced to shut down due to heavy opposition, as Chi-West was basically at war with every gang on the NW Side.

By the 1980s, Chi-West had become relegated to their original territory in Ukie Village. Their remaining leadership had, however, reputedly made close ties to Ukrainian organized crime. In the late 80s, Chi-West Chief Jack “The Jew” Farmer was featured on America’s Most Wanted after he fled to Fl to escape trial in Chicago on a litany of 108 Federal charges, ranging from murder to narcotics trafficking, armed robbery, and extortion. Described by Federal LE as a “mini-mafia”, the remaining Chi-West organization was alleged to have been operating a host of criminal activities to finance a FL-to-Chicago cocaine pipeline (the prosecutor in the case described Chi-West as “one of the most vicious groups of people I have ever seen” and feared that Farmer was aiming to have him assassinated). Farmer escaped custody after assaulting his own attorney and went on the lam, but was apprehend and sentenced to 40 years; he hung himself in prison in 1993. After Farmer was busted, Chi-West was basically defunct, though you could still find a couple of them menacing people in the vicinity of Chicago and Western, or near Augusta and Leavitt, into the early 90s, as they were backed on the street by the Latin Kings (Chi-West was left with no choice but to join the People alliance for the protection of the remaining membership). Chi-West was a legendary organization on the Near NW Side when I was a kid, in their last years of decline by then but notorious for their extreme viciousness and bravery. Absolute savages.

Good write up Tony. Just a little more recent info on Chi-West. There tagging has been popping up again on the Western and Chicago area again and supposedly they have made a resurgence by recruiting recent Ukrainian immigrants that have fled war torn Ukraine. I also heard a son of one of their chiefs has been the one responsible for their resurgence. He was living somewhere down south but moved back. No idea who that is. Despite the property value exploding in Ukrainian village, it is still an entry port for Ukrainians coming to Chicago. Never heard of them having a branch in Norridge like you commented on but it would not surprise me now bc if recent Ukrainian immigrants are no going to Ukrainian Village they are moving to that Cumberland and Lawrence area where the huge Ukrainian Church is.

[NorthBuffalo]

Also for you Chicago experts, I was also recently put on to an individual named 'Steven Veteto' who was a collector for Anthony Chiaramonte in the early 1990s. Has anyone heard of him?

Ignoffo's actual first name is Ronald, but is commonly misspelled as "Roland."

Veteto seems like quite a character. He assaulted an undercover FBI agent and then agreed to cooperate before skipping town. He also beat up his mother and tried to set her on fire(!) according to this court opinion: https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/u-s-v-veteto-888307723

He ended up serving a few years. I'm not sure if he is still alive, but he is only in his 70s, so it's very possible.

I spoke with someone who knows Ignoffo. Roland Ignoffo was his father who was a major bookmaker for the northside crew in the 1970s, hence the confusion with the names. There was a Roland Jr. who is dead. There is a Salvatore Ignoffo (Ron's brother/Roland's oldest son) who was also affiliated with the Outfit. All of the Ignoffo sons were members of a white gang in Norridge (ChiWest).

Ronald Ignoffo goes by 'RJ' to most who know him. There is a lot of gambling up in north suburbs where he resides.

Right, Ronald Ignoffo’s dad was Roland Salvatore “Goldie” Ignoffo, Sr, a longtime outfit associate. Born in Chicago in 1915 to parents from Sambuca, he married Christine Nappi, sister of Romie Nappi and Gloria Nappi Fosco, Joe Fosco’s stepmother. Sons Ronald and Salvatore Ignoffo are thus step cousins of Joe Fosco. Other sons of Roland and Christine Ignoffo were Richard and Joseph; they did have a son named Roland Ignoffo, Jr, but he died as a toddler in the 1940s.

Not sure where you got Norridge from. I’m not aware that Chi-West ever had a chapter in Norridge, and the Ignoffos were not from there. The Ignoffos lived for over half a century at Keating and Wabansia in West Humboldt Park (father Roland Ignoffo was still living there when he died in 2006, amazingly, as he was interviewed by the Tribune earlier that year during the controversy over Chicago’s first WalMart, located nearby). For those not from Chicago, there is an enormous difference between having grown up in Norridge (a safe middle class suburb) and Humboldt Park (a former blue collar ethnic neighborhood that over the 1960s and 70s precipitously declined into a hardcore slum and one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Chicago).

Eldest brother Salvatore Ignoffo was hospitalized in 1954 after being hit by a shotgun blast during a gang fight in the Montclare neighborhood when he was 15. It should be noted that this predated the formation of Chi-West, so his gang involvement was unrelated to that organization. Chi-West was a predominately Ukrainian gang formed in the late 50s in the vicinity of the intersection of Chicago and Western in the Ukrainian Village section of West Town (on the Westside of Chicago just north of the Grand Ave Italian community; I grew up in this area in the last years of Chi-West’s activity as a street gang). Later, in the 1960s and 70s, Chi-West expanded with new recruitment due to white youth organizing in opposition to the influx of Puerto Ricans on the NW Side, opening chapters in Logan Square, Hermosa/Belmont-Cragin, Albany Park, and West Humboldt Park. Ronald Ignoffo was the President of the latter chapter, which was based around Armitage and Cicero, near the Ignoffo home. Formed in the late 1960s, this chapter only lasted a few years before it was forced to shut down due to heavy opposition, as Chi-West was basically at war with every gang on the NW Side.

By the 1980s, Chi-West had become relegated to their original territory in Ukie Village. Their remaining leadership had, however, reputedly made close ties to Ukrainian organized crime. In the late 80s, Chi-West Chief Jack “The Jew” Farmer was featured on America’s Most Wanted after he fled to Fl to escape trial in Chicago on a litany of 108 Federal charges, ranging from murder to narcotics trafficking, armed robbery, and extortion. Described by Federal LE as a “mini-mafia”, the remaining Chi-West organization was alleged to have been operating a host of criminal activities to finance a FL-to-Chicago cocaine pipeline (the prosecutor in the case described Chi-West as “one of the most vicious groups of people I have ever seen” and feared that Farmer was aiming to have him assassinated). Farmer escaped custody after assaulting his own attorney and went on the lam, but was apprehend and sentenced to 40 years; he hung himself in prison in 1993. After Farmer was busted, Chi-West was basically defunct, though you could still find a couple of them menacing people in the vicinity of Chicago and Western, or near Augusta and Leavitt, into the early 90s, as they were backed on the street by the Latin Kings (Chi-West was left with no choice but to join the People alliance for the protection of the remaining membership). Chi-West was a legendary organization on the Near NW Side when I was a kid, in their last years of decline by then but notorious for their extreme viciousness and bravery. Absolute savages.

This guy is in his 70s but he says Ignoffo went to Foreman High School. He said 'Norridge/Cragin' area. He also went by 'Monster' and 'Ronnie the Beast.' He says the dad was indeed called 'Goldie.'

[NorthBuffalo]

[PolackTony]

Also for you Chicago experts, I was also recently put on to an individual named 'Steven Veteto' who was a collector for Anthony Chiaramonte in the early 1990s. Has anyone heard of him?

Ignoffo's actual first name is Ronald, but is commonly misspelled as "Roland."

Veteto seems like quite a character. He assaulted an undercover FBI agent and then agreed to cooperate before skipping town. He also beat up his mother and tried to set her on fire(!) according to this court opinion: https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/u-s-v-veteto-888307723

He ended up serving a few years. I'm not sure if he is still alive, but he is only in his 70s, so it's very possible.

I spoke with someone who knows Ignoffo. Roland Ignoffo was his father who was a major bookmaker for the northside crew in the 1970s, hence the confusion with the names. There was a Roland Jr. who is dead. There is a Salvatore Ignoffo (Ron's brother/Roland's oldest son) who was also affiliated with the Outfit. All of the Ignoffo sons were members of a white gang in Norridge (ChiWest).

Ronald Ignoffo goes by 'RJ' to most who know him. There is a lot of gambling up in north suburbs where he resides.

Right, Ronald Ignoffo’s dad was Roland Salvatore “Goldie” Ignoffo, Sr, a longtime outfit associate. Born in Chicago in 1915 to parents from Sambuca, he married Christine Nappi, sister of Romie Nappi and Gloria Nappi Fosco, Joe Fosco’s stepmother. Sons Ronald and Salvatore Ignoffo are thus step cousins of Joe Fosco. Other sons of Roland and Christine Ignoffo were Richard and Joseph; they did have a son named Roland Ignoffo, Jr, but he died as a toddler in the 1940s.

Not sure where you got Norridge from. I’m not aware that Chi-West ever had a chapter in Norridge, and the Ignoffos were not from there. The Ignoffos lived for over half a century at Keating and Wabansia in West Humboldt Park (father Roland Ignoffo was still living there when he died in 2006, amazingly, as he was interviewed by the Tribune earlier that year during the controversy over Chicago’s first WalMart, located nearby). For those not from Chicago, there is an enormous difference between having grown up in Norridge (a safe middle class suburb) and Humboldt Park (a former blue collar ethnic neighborhood that over the 1960s and 70s precipitously declined into a hardcore slum and one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Chicago).

Eldest brother Salvatore Ignoffo was hospitalized in 1954 after being hit by a shotgun blast during a gang fight in the Montclare neighborhood when he was 15. It should be noted that this predated the formation of Chi-West, so his gang involvement was unrelated to that organization. Chi-West was a predominately Ukrainian gang formed in the late 50s in the vicinity of the intersection of Chicago and Western in the Ukrainian Village section of West Town (on the Westside of Chicago just north of the Grand Ave Italian community; I grew up in this area in the last years of Chi-West’s activity as a street gang). Later, in the 1960s and 70s, Chi-West expanded with new recruitment due to white youth organizing in opposition to the influx of Puerto Ricans on the NW Side, opening chapters in Logan Square, Hermosa/Belmont-Cragin, Albany Park, and West Humboldt Park. Ronald Ignoffo was the President of the latter chapter, which was based around Armitage and Cicero, near the Ignoffo home. Formed in the late 1960s, this chapter only lasted a few years before it was forced to shut down due to heavy opposition, as Chi-West was basically at war with every gang on the NW Side.

By the 1980s, Chi-West had become relegated to their original territory in Ukie Village. Their remaining leadership had, however, reputedly made close ties to Ukrainian organized crime. In the late 80s, Chi-West Chief Jack “The Jew” Farmer was featured on America’s Most Wanted after he fled to Fl to escape trial in Chicago on a litany of 108 Federal charges, ranging from murder to narcotics trafficking, armed robbery, and extortion. Described by Federal LE as a “mini-mafia”, the remaining Chi-West organization was alleged to have been operating a host of criminal activities to finance a FL-to-Chicago cocaine pipeline (the prosecutor in the case described Chi-West as “one of the most vicious groups of people I have ever seen” and feared that Farmer was aiming to have him assassinated). Farmer escaped custody after assaulting his own attorney and went on the lam, but was apprehend and sentenced to 40 years; he hung himself in prison in 1993. After Farmer was busted, Chi-West was basically defunct, though you could still find a couple of them menacing people in the vicinity of Chicago and Western, or near Augusta and Leavitt, into the early 90s, as they were backed on the street by the Latin Kings (Chi-West was left with no choice but to join the People alliance for the protection of the remaining membership). Chi-West was a legendary organization on the Near NW Side when I was a kid, in their last years of decline by then but notorious for their extreme viciousness and bravery. Absolute savages.

Good write up Tony. Just a little more recent info on Chi-West. There tagging has been popping up again on the Western and Chicago area again and supposedly they have made a resurgence by recruiting recent Ukrainian immigrants that have fled war torn Ukraine. I also heard a son of one of their chiefs has been the one responsible for their resurgence. He was living somewhere down south but moved back. No idea who that is. Despite the property value exploding in Ukrainian village, it is still an entry port for Ukrainians coming to Chicago. Never heard of them having a branch in Norridge like you commented on but it would not surprise me now bc if recent Ukrainian immigrants are no going to Ukrainian Village they are moving to that Cumberland and Lawrence area where the huge Ukrainian Church is.

I’ve heard the same about Chi-West undergoing a resurgence recently and recruiting current Ukrainian immigrants. Can’t speak to the veracity of it but wouldn’t shock me if true. As with other old school gangs like the GLs, they remained like a social club for their old heads for decades after becoming basically defunct as an active street criminal organization. So there was some basis for continuity, as like a close knit tradition among the core membership from back in the day. If they indeed have a history of ties to Ukrainian OC, as has also been alleged and which I believe was true, they could well have relationships with those elements still.

And yeah, for decades the more affluent Ukies have been moving out to the Far NW Side. As you note, that community is anchored by the huge St Joseph Ukrainian Catholic Church, though there are several other Ukrainian churches also on the Far NW Side and adjacent suburbs. This community really has grown since the 90s, and since that same time there have been vague claims about “Eastern European organized crime” being active in Elmwood Park and nearby areas. While details are lacking, my assumptions has been at least a good part of this element is Ukrainian (though there are of course plenty of Russians, Balkans, and now a growing Central Asian population around too).

Back in the day, at least, I’m not aware that Chi-West ever had any suburban sections. So far as I know, they were always a city organization (unlike the Notes, who have had some presence in the burbs too), and even their other chapters outside of Ukie Village didn’t last long due to demographic turnover and the fact that they were fighting basically everyone else simultaneously. If they really are coming back today, who knows what the deal is now.

[PolackTony]

Yes, Ronnie Ignoffo did attend Foreman HS in the 60s, which is located in the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood just a bit to the north of the section of WHP where the Ignoffos lived (the other HS that served that area I believe was Orr, located at Chicago and Pulaski. With the big flight of Italians from HP in the early 60s, this HS was becoming heavily black by this time and it’s unsurprising that Ronnie Ignoffo didn’t go there). Not Norridge, but maybe someone who told you this got confused. As I noted, Ignoffo was the President of the short-lived Armitage and Cicero Chi-West section. I have also heard that his nickname with the Chi-West was “Monster”.

[NorthBuffalo]

I've mentioned this to a few of you previously, but there is an 'Anthony Labalestra' who has a looming indictment in Northern District Illinois - I'm told that is the son of Pete Labalestra. Lots of speculation as to what it involves. Anthony has also been arrested several times for burglaries that seem more sophisticated than teenage/hooligan stuff. I'm not sure if anyone can access the actual indictment, but it would be interesting to see what's in there.

https://casetext.com/case/united-states-v-labalestra

[Snakes]

I've mentioned this to a few of you previously, but there is an 'Anthony Labalestra' who has a looming indictment in Northern District Illinois - I'm told that is the son of Pete Labalestra. Lots of speculation as to what it involves. Anthony has also been arrested several times for burglaries that seem more sophisticated than teenage/hooligan stuff. I'm not sure if anyone can access the actual indictment, but it would be interesting to see what's in there.

https://casetext.com/case/united-states-v-labalestra

He has already pled guilty to it. Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and the sale or manufacture of firearms in exchange for money or narcotics. He sold 5 pistols and 1 "AR-Style rifle" to a couple of Colombians. He had previously been convicted of burglary and manufacture of ecstasy (two separate convictions). There was no indictment as he pled guilty and agreed to be prosecuted by "way of information." The most interesting part of the plea agreement is Labalestra's agreement to "fully and truthfully" cooperate when called upon by the Northern District of Illinois to provide testimony in any court proceeding. His sentencing (facing a maximum of 15 years) has been delayed until the completion of this cooperation. I had first thought he was going to cooperate against the Colombians he dealt with, but they have also pled guilty, so it must be concerning some other matter.

[NorthBuffalo]

I've mentioned this to a few of you previously, but there is an 'Anthony Labalestra' who has a looming indictment in Northern District Illinois - I'm told that is the son of Pete Labalestra. Lots of speculation as to what it involves. Anthony has also been arrested several times for burglaries that seem more sophisticated than teenage/hooligan stuff. I'm not sure if anyone can access the actual indictment, but it would be interesting to see what's in there.

https://casetext.com/case/united-states-v-labalestra

He has already pled guilty to it. Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and the sale or manufacture of firearms in exchange for money or narcotics. He sold 5 pistols and 1 "AR-Style rifle" to a couple of Colombians. He had previously been convicted of burglary and manufacture of ecstasy (two separate convictions). There was no indictment as he pled guilty and agreed to be prosecuted by "way of information." The most interesting part of the plea agreement is Labalestra's agreement to "fully and truthfully" cooperate when called upon by the Northern District of Illinois to provide testimony in any court proceeding. His sentencing (facing a maximum of 15 years) has been delayed until the completion of this cooperation. I had first thought he was going to cooperate against the Colombians he dealt with, but they have also pled guilty, so it must be concerning some other matter.

Wow thanks Snakes for finding this .Do you have any of the links handy where you got this? We've been looking into this for some time- you are gonna make me a hero to this goofball who sends me all these things. Can you also confirm this is indeed the son of Pietro Labalestra? I think Scott B's got his next Outfit article

It's rare when you link someone affiliated to the Outfit to something that violent and street level these days - reminds of the PK Crew with all the work they were doing with hispanic drug gangs. Then again, maybe this has no ties to the Outfit.

[Coloboy]

I've mentioned this to a few of you previously, but there is an 'Anthony Labalestra' who has a looming indictment in Northern District Illinois - I'm told that is the son of Pete Labalestra. Lots of speculation as to what it involves. Anthony has also been arrested several times for burglaries that seem more sophisticated than teenage/hooligan stuff. I'm not sure if anyone can access the actual indictment, but it would be interesting to see what's in there.

https://casetext.com/case/united-states-v-labalestra

He has already pled guilty to it. Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and the sale or manufacture of firearms in exchange for money or narcotics. He sold 5 pistols and 1 "AR-Style rifle" to a couple of Colombians. He had previously been convicted of burglary and manufacture of ecstasy (two separate convictions). There was no indictment as he pled guilty and agreed to be prosecuted by "way of information." The most interesting part of the plea agreement is Labalestra's agreement to "fully and truthfully" cooperate when called upon by the Northern District of Illinois to provide testimony in any court proceeding. His sentencing (facing a maximum of 15 years) has been delayed until the completion of this cooperation. I had first thought he was going to cooperate against the Colombians he dealt with, but they have also pled guilty, so it must be concerning some other matter.

Wow thanks Snakes for finding this .Do you have any of the links handy where you got this? We've been looking into this for some time- you are gonna make me a hero to this goofball who sends me all these things. Can you also confirm this is indeed the son of Pietro Labalestra? I think Scott B's got his next Outfit article

It's rare when you link someone affiliated to the Outfit to something that violent and street level these days - reminds of the PK Crew with all the work they were doing with hispanic drug gangs. Then again, maybe this has no ties to the Outfit.

From whatever Intel is out there, it actually seems like there are sort of two levels of the outfit remaining today. The older, legacy guys, who have a lot of legitimate businesses and probably participate in some of the traditional rackets. Thinking of people like Solly D, Gary Gags, Spina, Bobby D, etc. Then there appears to be a gangbanger type element, similar to the PK crew, which you mentioned. Seems like some elements of the Cicero crew are that style. Real street dudes involved in drugs, armed robberies, and violence.

[Coloboy]

Curious if any of you have read “The Insane Chicago Way” by John Haggedorn of University of Chicago?

Seems to be about Latin gangs in Chicago, working in concert with the outfit, attempting to model themselves after the mob. Lots of references to the C notes.

thinking of ordering it.

[PolackTony]

Curious if any of you have read “The Insane Chicago Way” by John Haggedorn of University of Chicago?

Seems to be about Latin gangs in Chicago, working in concert with the outfit, attempting to model themselves after the mob. Lots of references to the C notes.

thinking of ordering it.

It’s an excellent book and I’ve been trying to get people here to read it for years lol.

To summarize. John Hagedorn is a veteran criminologist who has spent decades researching street gangs in Chicago and Milwaukee. Some time like around 2010, IIRC, an Italian kid took one of his courses at UIC on gangs and told Hagedorn that he knew some people who could tell him things. He wound up being put into contact with a guy who Hagedorn refers to by the pseudonym “Sal”. He describes Sal as a made guy with the Grand Ave crew, and Hagedorn conducts a series of in depth interviews with Sal over an extended period.

Sal tells Hagedorn that after Joey Lombardo, who he calls “the old man”, was released from prison in the early 90s, the Grand Ave crew under Lombardo’s direction spearheaded what was basically an outreach program to steer the organizational structure of the Latin Folks (the non-black organizations in the Folks alliance) via liaisons with the C-Notes. The Notes by this time had joined the Folks alliance under the banner of the “Insane” faction headed by the Spanish Cobras (a major PR gang). The motivations seems to have been the realization that “our people” (the Italians) were becoming a declining demographic and criminal force in Chicago and thus elements of the mafia sought to control the Hispanic organizations and push them into a more sophisticated, OC-oriented mode. With the C-Notes, the Grand Ave crew had access to the leadership of the “Tabla”’(the “Board”) of the Spanish Gangster Disciples Nation (aka “Spanish Growth and Development”), the deliberative and command echelon in the IL prison system for the Latin Folks (modeled on, but semi-autonomous from, the Black Gangster Disciples “Board” set up under “Chairman” Larry Hoover; Hoover, in turn, is apocryphally said to have modeled this structure on LCN). [should note here there is also an active street gang organization on the Northside of Chicago called SGDN; this was directly sponsored by the formation of the prison organization].

Long story short, this attempt to more fully organize the Latin Folks blew up pretty quickly in the 90s, in spectacular fashion, as bloody waves of gang warfare erupted on the streets of Humboldt Park, Logan Square, Hermosa etc., between the “Insane” and “Maniac” (the latter controlled by the Maniac Latin Disciples) factions (leading to a situation that while their leaders in prison all sat on the “Tabla” together, these organizations became implacable foes on the streets, a situations that pertains to this day).

Hagedorn has longstanding informant connections in the gang world and was able to corroborate and more fully flesh out the events of this period following his interviews with Sal. I can at least say that his account of the Insane/Maniac wars in the 90s is extremely accurate, as I lived through it and was a participant (to say that I am a “survivor” of these events isn’t hyperbole). I knew a number of the shooting victims and other actors that Hagedorm discusses. It also jibes with the general picture I had as a youth on the street: that not only the C-Notes (because duh, everyone know they were mobbed up) but also the Spanish Cobras had close ties to the mafia.

An interesting tangent in the book also comes from a separate interview that Hagedorn conducted with an informant that he calls “The Don”. This was not our good friend John Lennon, but rather the pseudonym that Hagedorn gave to an elderly Sicilian outfit member that Hagedorn was introduced to by a contact in the gang world. As part of the longer context of mafia-street gang contact, “The Don” told Hagedorn about longstanding ties between the outfit and black organizations on the Southside such as the Vice Lords and the Black P Stones, who “The Don” claimed outfit affiliates supplied with narcotics for street level distribution operations in the 1960s-70s. Again, fully plausible to me as factions of the VLs were long-rumored to have close ties to LCN.

In short, an excellent book by a respected criminology scholar, but which seems to have largely been ignored by the mob enthusiast readership.

[NickyEyes1]

New Scott video

https://youtu.be/xnRFxghjmPA?si=IFa_LeJabJqqzmwK