Present Day Chicago Outfit

[smoker]

Afternoon, all. New poster here.

I'm of the personal belief that the Outfit is still alive & well, and taking advantage of the lack of Federal scrutiny over the past decade or so. I believe the Panozzo Crew & Carparelli busts were merely the tip of the iceberg.

The Outfit still strongly adheres to its Cammoristi roots, in that they promote internal marriages & procreation between families. The idea that Frank Calabrese Jr promoted in his book, when he said that it was uncommon for Outfit guys to bring their kids into the Life, is complete nonsense, and I'm not sure why he said it (perhaps to make his father look even worse), but that man says a lot of bizarre shit. Anyhow, the Outfit is more genetically/maritally tied than ever before at present day, and represents a "clan", if you will, more than any other Italian-American Mafia org. It's what helps keep them so well insulated, and it's what helps prevent informants. All the upper echelons of each crew are related through blood or through marriage.

I believe one of the rackets they've recently gotten involved with his human trafficking. What are some others that people may think they're getting their hand on in 2017?

Regarding current leadership, I believe that any of the following: Marco D'Amico, Solly DeLaurentis, Frank Caruso, Albie Vena, Pete DiFronzo, Jimmy Inendino, could all potentially be the defacto #1. They're all candidates. They're all lifers who have done considerable amounts of time (save for Caruso & DiFronzo). I don't think it would be outlandish to insinuate any of those 6 is Boss.

Two Outfit sleeper heavies that I believe are major players in today's era & are made guys in Cicero, are Steve Panzarella & Mark Montana. Panzarella is a shipping mogul who pumped a considerable amount of capital into the rise of Mike Sarno during the early 2000s. Montana is a real estate mogul who is in a similar boat. Both I believe were 'made' by Sarno around 2005, give or take.

Anyone with any input (other than "well there haven't been any informants, so it's either dead or we don't know), please feel free to share. Anyone with names of sleepers or young soldiers especially.

Cheers!

[Snakes]

I'm not going to say "I don't know" but there isn't a lot out there about the current Outfit activity because of the lack of cases. Even the Sarno case was limited in the amount of Outfit-related evidence presented during testimony. This is because, as you said, they are and have forever been secretive and clannish. Generally, only those that need to know specific things, know.

I don't have any argument with any of the guys you posted wielding some type of influence. All have been around for quite some time.

[Snakes]

And welcome aboard

[smoker]

Even the Sarno case was limited in the amount of Outfit-related evidence presented during testimony.

Thanks for welcoming me, guy.

Care to elaborate on that statement? That trial is one of the few that I haven't sifted all the way through thoroughly.

[Confederate]

How are all the crew leaders and upper echelon all related by blood or marriage? Was Sarno ( who is in Jail ) related to someone? Is Vena related to someone? Is Inendino related to someone? Is DeLaurentis related to someone?

[Snakes]

Sarno's niece is married to Inendino's nephew.

[smoker]

Sarno's are related to the Inendino's through marriage (did a lot for Sarnos rise to the top). Bellavia's are also related to the Inendinos through marriage, they were also related to the Infelices. Vena is married to Spina's sister, or the other way around. Andriacchi & Lombardo are blood cousins. One of Spina's elderly female relatives (mother or aunt) was Marion Nigro's grandmother, making her daughter Joe Lombardo's mother in law, and which makes Marion & Spina cousins or 2nd cousins.

Down in Chinatown, The Carusos/LaMantias/Calabreses/LaPietras/Szaflarskis are all inter-related. A simple google search will provide some info on those relations.

[smoker]

Also, Frank Schweihs's kid Nora married Mike Talarico.

I'm less familiar with the Elmwood Park Crews, but you can bet there's lots of genetic & marital mingling out there. Someone like Joe Fosco or Mike Magnafichi would obviously be very knowledgable regarding that topic.

[Snakes]

Chinatown is a good example of that inter-marriage within crews.

[Snakes]

I also want to say Fratto's daughter is married to someone in the Outfit. Don't remember off the top of my head.

[smoker]

Grand Avenue is just as incestuous, if you put them under a microscope.

Care to elaborate on the Sarno trial?

[Confederate]

Very interesting. So they are not all related but there is a lot if it. Obviously the DiFronzos are related to each other. I wonder if DAmico is related to someone? I remember on Fosco's Blog they said he was very close to DiFronzo and was brought over to the Elmwood Park Group by him. Would you say there are 4 crews remaining in the Outfit? Elmwood Park, Grand Avenue, 26th St. & Cicero?
Seems they are much smaller in man power and are much less powerful than in the old days but I guess they are still hanging on. It does seem like when the old timers all die, the Outfit might not even exist in 10 to 15 years from now. I could be wrong but I don't see any future in it except if there is a connection to union activity and white collar type of crime. The old traditional street rackets seem basically dead. There is really no future in street bookmaking, poker machines and loan sharking. The Elmwood Park guys saw that coming years ago.
Also, that guy named Paul Carparelli (may have misspelled his name) didn't seem like he was a made guy at all and was collecting free lance on his own.

[Snakes]

I'm on the phone now and can't type a bunch of stuff out. I'll do it now or in the morning when I get on my desktop.

[Snakes]

Sarno trial that is.

[smoker]

Right, I just figured the DiFronzos are implied, the guy surrounds himself with nothing but family.

D'Amico is originally from Cicero & came up under Aiuppa. His past is shady & not much is known about what crews he ran with before landing in Elmwood Park. I believe he is cousins or related to Bobby Abbinanti, who is his most dangerous heavy as well. Again, the Outfit are so inter-related that everyone is bound to be related to someone at some point. Chicagoland Italia is very much this way in general, very tight knit & clannish.

Yes, I would say those are the 4 Crews. I personally also think the Chicago Heights are still a crew, or operating as a separate entity in some form or another. There i still way, way too much action to be had down there & in Indiana, and there were still a lot of Heights guys out on the street when Caesar Tocco went away, for there to not be a crew down there. Chinatown seems to be operating on it's own accord these days, or exclusively with Cicero. I also think there may have been beef between Grand Avenue & Chinatown over Polekatz strip club, a bit of which was highlighted in the Steve Mandell trial.

Honestly, I think it's quite the opposite. Like Boston, I think the lack of federal watch compared to the past is allowing the Outfit to re-up their ranks & re-set, so to speak. And there is a way larger Italian population here compared to Boston, as well as 10x the money to be made in the rackets. There is still a lot of money to be had in bookmaking. Extortion & juice loans of course are rapidly declining everywhere (the banks overtook those rackets), but take a look at the recent John Coli extortion charges. I have no doubt that he is the Outfit's man, his dad was a legendary made guy. He was extorting one of the biggest film studios in the country, Cinespace. I think the Outfit are deep into drugs & prostitution these days. There's also the idea the high chance that they have new people in the court systems. A new generation of judges & prosecutors on their payroll, so to speak. Just because you don't hear anything in the news doesn't mean much at all in today's day & age, honestly. It means the feds are preoccupied with the historically rampant gang violence & mayhem that has been taking place in Chicago over the past 2 decades.

Carparelli could have been made. I believe it was mentioned in his trial that he was kicking up to Solly D. Carparelli was a 12th Street Player, the white Berwyn street gang that Sarno was also a member of as a teen. He could have been one of the guys Sarno made. Or not, but he was definitely kicking up & not operating independently. He is a Chicago Outfit guy through & through. He was also selling cocaine.

I really didn't want this thread to disintegrate into an "oh the Outfit is dead because there isn't any news" or whatever these threads usually turn into. Just something to keep in mind going forward