April 25, 2005 - Frank "Gumba" Saladino

[cavita]

Great post as always Cavita. Me and you have talked in private about Gumbo before and this just adds to more things I didn’t know.

In regards to if there is any remnants of Little Italy still around, the most famous remnant closed down about 10 years and it was a famous restaurant called “Maria’s Cafe”. The building is still up with the signs. Unsure why nobody has bought it or opened a new business in there. Another famous place was Roma Bakery and that closed down 5 years ago or so. The area is now called “Ethnic Village” which I guess is a tribute to the ethnic groups that lived there in the past including Italians. There is an ethnic heritage museum in the neighborhood but I have not been there. The area is heavily Latino now and has a crime issues. Here is a list of remnants of Little Italy that are still there:

St Anthony of Padua Catholic Church - very beautiful church that is still a very Italian church with many people traveling from outside of the city to attend mass on Sundays. They also have an excellent St Joseph’s table every year.

Zammuto’s Granita - not owned by the Zammutos anymore but still have the same recipe. Always go there when I’m in town but only open during summer. For those that don’t know, granita is Italian ice.

Benny’s Dariette - been open for years and also serves excellent granita. Is open year round.

St Ambrosia Social Club - big social club that a lot of the mob guys were members. They throw big events throughout the year.

Bove's Auto Repair - been open for years there and is owned by the Bove family.

Yes, Maria's Cafe was a staple in the community and it was just one of those classic old style Italian eateries where you always saw someone you knew. Funny story, one night maybe 25 years ago or so I was in town and walked in near closing and stopped in the kitchen area and some of the Rockford guys were in the back pouring money out of paper grocery bags on the big table back there- gambling money that was being counted.

Roma Bakery was always a good stop in the morning and interestingly enough it was originally owned by the family of Rockford LCN member Joe Marinelli.

Agreed, St. Anthony Church is a beautiful centerpiece in that part of town and many Italians to this day still go to church there and come from all across the area to get married there and the St. Joseph's Table there is second to none.

Zammuto's Granita- I haven't been there since Joe "Slippy" Zammuto sold it and I prefer Benny's Dariette granita when I'm in town.

St. Ambrogio Social Club has been there since 1918 and still attracts many for their fish fry, bocce and other events and many of the connected guys would hang out there.

Bove's Auto Repair- been there many, many years and it used to be DeCarlo's Garage which during Prohibition Chris DeCarlo would outfit the local syndicate's cars with secret compartments to hide their booze for transportation.

Thanks for the additional input Cavita. Any other businesses you can think of that are still Italian owned?

Also, Frank Saladino got involved with Chinatown through Ronnie Jarrett who he met in Pontiac prison. That’s what I heard. There was also rumors going around that Gumba died from poisoning but I’m sure the autopsy would have found that out if they did one.

He definitely didn't die from poisoning...I can't remember the technical term for the heart issue he died from per the Kane County Coroner but I have it somewhere. Frank mostly wore black shirts and pants though sometimes he was surveilled wearing gray pants and black shirts and he liked his gold rings, especially pinky rings. There's a hilarious article I have where it described that Frank frequently ordered from a pizzeria near the hotel he died in. The workers actually told him he looked like a hitman and joked around calling him "Frankie The Hammer" and Frank would laugh at that. After he died and they were interviewed, they expressed shock that they were really talking to a hit man.

Are there any pictures of Frank in his later years?

I'll look for any. Frank did not like to have his picture taken for social events.

[Aunt+Baby]

Well Rockford isn't a dead rust belt wasteland...

People say that about Cleveland too and it annoys the hell out of me.

Deindustrialization sucks, sure, but there's so much more to the place than that.

Yeah, never heard anyone say that regarding Cleveland. Cleveland has three major sports teams & is more than twice the size of Rockford. Everyone knows what Cleveland is. Most people have never heard of Rockford, and those who have imagine a town, not a city.

[Pogo The Clown]

Well Rockford isn't a dead rust belt wasteland...

People say that about Cleveland too and it annoys the hell out of me.

Deindustrialization sucks, sure, but there's so much more to the place than that.

Welcome to Cleveland: At Least We Are Not Detroit


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZzgAjjuqZM

[cavita]

From the 4/25/2005 Chicago Tribune

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Still trying to find out who the guy is that felt threatened by Saladino and the girlfriend born in Pontiac, Illinois

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Page 2

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Page 5.... Saladino had gone to "someone" about the guy who wanted his money back and the threats Saladino made to him and was told that "we're not going to get involved."
Interesting, and I feel this "someone" is Salvatore Galluzzo, reputed Rockford LCN boss after Zammuto died.

[cavita]

Page 6

[NorthBuffalo]

Great FBI notes Cavita - religious , a cheat and clearly very superstitious violent guy - he sounds very similar to Paulie Walnuts to me. Even the extreme offense about paying back small loans...

[cavita]

Great FBI notes Cavita - religious , a cheat and clearly very superstitious violent guy - he sounds very similar to Paulie Walnuts to me. Even the extreme offense about paying back small loans...

I do have to say that in June 1993 if Saladino had gone to "someone" about the money dispute, and was told "we're not getting involved" and that he was to handle it himself, it clearly points to him just being a soldier in the Rockford LCN. As I said, I suspect that "someone" was Salvatore Galluzzo, who had reportedly taken over as boss after the death of Joe Zammuto in 1990.

[NorthBuffalo]

Great FBI notes Cavita - religious , a cheat and clearly very superstitious violent guy - he sounds very similar to Paulie Walnuts to me. Even the extreme offense about paying back small loans...

I do have to say that in June 1993 if Saladino had gone to "someone" about the money dispute, and was told "we're not getting involved" and that he was to handle it himself, it clearly points to him just being a soldier in the Rockford LCN. As I said, I suspect that "someone" was Salvatore Galluzzo, who had reportedly taken over as boss after the death of Joe Zammuto in 1990.

That was great - and interesting a guy like Saladino who collected in Chicago and was around really rough people would need 'help' - though I read he was getting physical with the other guy. Do you know anything about the Galluzzo or Zammuto families today? I assume these guys actually made money given their stranglehold on things and low-key nature - I would assume the families are well off. One thing I notice about Chicago is that nearly every major 'boss' left his kids what appears to be a very nice inheritance.

[cavita]

Great FBI notes Cavita - religious , a cheat and clearly very superstitious violent guy - he sounds very similar to Paulie Walnuts to me. Even the extreme offense about paying back small loans...

I do have to say that in June 1993 if Saladino had gone to "someone" about the money dispute, and was told "we're not getting involved" and that he was to handle it himself, it clearly points to him just being a soldier in the Rockford LCN. As I said, I suspect that "someone" was Salvatore Galluzzo, who had reportedly taken over as boss after the death of Joe Zammuto in 1990.

That was great - and interesting a guy like Saladino who collected in Chicago and was around really rough people would need 'help' - though I read he was getting physical with the other guy. Do you know anything about the Galluzzo or Zammuto families today? I assume these guys actually made money given their stranglehold on things and low-key nature - I would assume the families are well off. One thing I notice about Chicago is that nearly every major 'boss' left his kids what appears to be a very nice inheritance.

Galluzzo, the last reputed Rockford boss died in 2016 and officially there were three bosses over the course of, I'll say, 1928 to 1995- Tony Musso, Joe Zammuto and Salvatore Galluzzo. At their height they spanned from southern Wisconsin to LaSalle, Illinois to McHenry County Illinois to the Mississippi River. The attached FBI file from 1980 puts it plainly that they had all they needed in their area and weren't greedy.

[B.]

Do you know which leaders they met with in New Jersey?