General Chicago Outfit Info Dumping Ground

[PolackTony]

Feds made a really strong run at him if you read his case. He already had 65 years and they took him in a room and said if you get out we will indict your for this and that etc your gonna die in jail unless you tell us who ordered these hits and he refused

I agree with Snakes that it probably made a big difference who he was ratting out. Random fellow prisoners vs the Outfit. Says a lot about Tony Calabrese that he’d rather die in a cage than rat out the mob. I suspect that guys like Panozzo and Mandell are in that same caliber.

[Pete]

One of my other theories and you guys please chime in it’s been assumed the hatch getting killed was ordered by jimmy marcello. Being that sarno had zizzo killed I think it’s just as likely sarno was behind the hit on the hatch. He takes out jimmy’s number 2 and 3 guys and takes over. Calabrese had a connection To sarno through the outlaws there’s been nothing I’ve seen that says he was connected to jimmy even though that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. What says you guys?

[Snakes]

One of my other theories and you guys please chime in it’s been assumed the hatch getting killed was ordered by jimmy marcello. Being that sarno had zizzo killed I think it’s just as likely sarno was behind the hit on the hatch. He takes out jimmy’s number 2 and 3 guys and takes over. Calabrese had a connection To sarno through the outlaws there’s been nothing I’ve seen that says he was connected to jimmy even though that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. What says you guys?

The only thing about that is Marcello was due out the year after Hatch was killed. When Zizzo was killed, Marcello was away forever, so the chance for retaliation was smaller. It would seem pretty risky for Sarno to kill one of Marcello's top guys (presumably) knowing he was taking things over once he got out. It could be that Marcello passed the word through Mickey (and maybe Tornabene) to Sarno to have Hatch hit. We already know that Marcello knew that Sarno and Cataudella were making a lot of moves, so maybe he figured he could use their aggression to his advantage.

[Antiliar]

EDIT: Had Roti's name on there for some reason, so I took it off and added Inendino. Also added ages and prison status.

I've also been working on the infamous "28 made members" from the 2007 Chicago SAC comment. This is what I have:

1. Living members (as of 27 September 2007) who had already been identified as "made" on available lists (again, assuming the FBI is the source for the 2000 police booklet list members and also assuming that no names were removed from the FBI membership lists -- either due to additional intel or from Nick C's cooperation)

2. Members added by Nick Calabrese because of their involvement in the 1983 ceremony

3. Members added by Nick Calabrese who were *not* part of the '83 ceremony. I had to guess at these by looking at the names on Nick C's threat assessment, coupled with their relative position in the Outfit at the time and came up with Sarno, Spano, and Inendino. Being on the threat assessment meant that Nick was at least familiar with them and possessed information about them that could lead to closer investigation (such as being made). The other four names on the threat assessment that I passed over were Mickey Marcello, Dino Marino, Jerry Scalise, and Paul Spano, who don't quite match the level of the three I chose.

1. Joseph Andriacchi (74)
2. Robert Bellavia (IP, 67)
3. Frank Calabrese, Sr. (IP, 70)
4. Bruno Caruso (63)
5. Frank Caruso (61)
6. James J. Cerone (57)
7. Marco D'Amico (71)
8. Sal DeLaurentis (71)
9. John DiFronzo (78)
10. Joseph DiFronzo (72)
11. Peter DiFronzo (74)
12. Rudy Fratto (63)
13. Joseph Grieco (79)
14. Nicholas Guzzino (66)
15. James Inendino* (IP, 64)
16. Joey Lombardo (IP, 78)
17. Rocco Lombardo (67)
18. Mike Magnafichi (45)
19. James Marcello (IP, 64)
20. Louis Marino (IP, 74)
21. John Matassa, Jr. (56)
22. Lawrence Petitt (79)
23. Michael Sarno* (49)
24. Robert Salerno (IP, 72)
25. Michael Spano, Sr.* (IP, 66)
26. Michael Talarico (55)
27. Al Tornabene (84)
28. Angelo Volpe (85)

Again, I'm not arguing vociferously about the veracity of the above names, I'm just trying to pinpoint what the FBI thought at a particular time and place.

I understand that this list is what you think the FBI might have had as of September 2007 and are not vouching for the accuracy. With that in mind, Talarico might not merit being on the list since he testified in court against Frank Calabrese Sr in July of that year. I can see where the FBI could have had Marco D'Amico, Joseph DiFronzo and Larry Petitt; all I can say about them is that Mags was adamant that they weren't made. He did admit that he didn't really have any idea what Marco was doing after the early 2000s since he had no contact with him at that time, so he could have been made later. He believed Marco, after all that time, wouldn't have wanted it.

Regarding DiFronzo, after more conversations with different people, Fosco came to believe that he had an Accardo-like role after he put Johnny Apes in as boss, and he retained that role until around the early 2010s, when he started getting dementia. What his level of involvement was is up for grabs. Maybe minimal. I'm not saying I agree or don't agree, this is his belief. I'm agnostic on the subject.

[Patrickgold]

https://casetext.com/case/early-v-shepherd-1

Posted this in another thread but thought I’d put it here too. Tony calabrese who stood on his head for multiple murders even on his deathbed when offered a way out was actually cooperating in prison. This I can’t understand. Again the facts are here we just gotta find them!

Correct me if I’m wrong (I read it on my iPhone and might have missed something) but from I read in the link you posted, it states that Calabrese was working in the dental clinic in Terre Haute and he gave a statement on what he saw. I’m not sure if that is really considered cooperating with law enforcement. It was basically sticking up for the Dr., who he was working for. I would not consider this cooperating but I can see where some people would consider that. I posted a link a while back about a murder of a female by Peter Assenato, a Taylor street drug dealer who’s family owned Little Joe’s bar on Taylor steeet. In the court document, Albert Vena tells a witness to go to the police about the murder. Obviously Vena was not cooperating but it wasn’t beyond him to tell someone to go to law enforcement about the matter. Link posted below. Some hard core mafiosos might consider something like this cooperating. I guess it’s how you look at it.

https://casetext.com/case/people-v-assenato-1

[Patrickgold]

EDIT: Had Roti's name on there for some reason, so I took it off and added Inendino. Also added ages and prison status.

I've also been working on the infamous "28 made members" from the 2007 Chicago SAC comment. This is what I have:

1. Living members (as of 27 September 2007) who had already been identified as "made" on available lists (again, assuming the FBI is the source for the 2000 police booklet list members and also assuming that no names were removed from the FBI membership lists -- either due to additional intel or from Nick C's cooperation)

2. Members added by Nick Calabrese because of their involvement in the 1983 ceremony

3. Members added by Nick Calabrese who were *not* part of the '83 ceremony. I had to guess at these by looking at the names on Nick C's threat assessment, coupled with their relative position in the Outfit at the time and came up with Sarno, Spano, and Inendino. Being on the threat assessment meant that Nick was at least familiar with them and possessed information about them that could lead to closer investigation (such as being made). The other four names on the threat assessment that I passed over were Mickey Marcello, Dino Marino, Jerry Scalise, and Paul Spano, who don't quite match the level of the three I chose.

1. Joseph Andriacchi (74)
2. Robert Bellavia (IP, 67)
3. Frank Calabrese, Sr. (IP, 70)
4. Bruno Caruso (63)
5. Frank Caruso (61)
6. James J. Cerone (57)
7. Marco D'Amico (71)
8. Sal DeLaurentis (71)
9. John DiFronzo (78)
10. Joseph DiFronzo (72)
11. Peter DiFronzo (74)
12. Rudy Fratto (63)
13. Joseph Grieco (79)
14. Nicholas Guzzino (66)
15. James Inendino* (IP, 64)
16. Joey Lombardo (IP, 78)
17. Rocco Lombardo (67)
18. Mike Magnafichi (45)
19. James Marcello (IP, 64)
20. Louis Marino (IP, 74)
21. John Matassa, Jr. (56)
22. Lawrence Petitt (79)
23. Michael Sarno* (49)
24. Robert Salerno (IP, 72)
25. Michael Spano, Sr.* (IP, 66)
26. Michael Talarico (55)
27. Al Tornabene (84)
28. Angelo Volpe (85)

Again, I'm not arguing vociferously about the veracity of the above names, I'm just trying to pinpoint what the FBI thought at a particular time and place.

I understand that this list is what you think the FBI might have had as of September 2007 and are not vouching for the accuracy. With that in mind, Talarico might not merit being on the list since he testified in court against Frank Calabrese Sr in July of that year. I can see where the FBI could have had Marco D'Amico, Joseph DiFronzo and Larry Petitt; all I can say about them is that Mags was adamant that they weren't made. He did admit that he didn't really have any idea what Marco was doing after the early 2000s since he had no contact with him at that time, so he could have been made later. He believed Marco, after all that time, wouldn't have wanted it.

Regarding DiFronzo, after more conversations with different people, Fosco came to believe that he had an Accardo-like role after he put Johnny Apes in as boss, and he retained that role until around the early 2010s, when he started getting dementia. What his level of involvement was is up for grabs. Maybe minimal. I'm not saying I agree or don't agree, this is his belief. I'm agnostic on the subject.

I think Difronzo, like Fosco said, was in a advisor role since the 90s. When he gave up the top spot is the question but it sounds like it happened when he went away. I think that it was proven that he still has some type of authority until at least the Sarno indictment when it came out that Sarno was still sending money up to him. Now I always thought Monteleone was a street boss but it’s very possible that he was running the entire outfit. If Spano said that then his word is good enough for me lol. even though I think he was still leading the Chinatown crew, hence he ordered the murder of Jarrett when Jarrett wasn’t kicking up money or was complaining about not being given the spot. It’s hard to tell.

Now correct me if I’m wrong on this but wasn’t Talarico put as acting 26th st capo after Jimmy Lapietra died? If that’s the case then he would have to be made and he was very young at that time, in his 30s. I have no idea about D’Amico but the position he had, the money he brought in and the respect people gave him all the way up until his death would make me think it was almost impossible that he wasn’t made but I have no idea. Chicago obviously did stuff different then NYC and gave non-made guys very important positions in the Outfit.

Joe Difronzo could have easily been made because of the power his brothers had and is certainly not out of the question but he has never held a position of power as far as I know or even had a crew. Other than the marijuana bust, there is very little about him. Larry Pettit I am not very familiar with. He was a burglar I believe. Has there been any members or associates that claimed he was made?

[Snakes]

With that in mind, Talarico might not merit being on the list since he testified in court against Frank Calabrese Sr in July of that year.

The original Sun-Times article from 2006 is behind a paywall, but this is an excerpt of it that I originally used when I added Bruno Caruso and Mike Talarico to the "suspected members" page of the chart section. I couldn't find it a few months(?) ago when we were discussing the idea of Bruno Caruso being made, but I knew I wasn't crazy when I added him to the "suspected members" list. This also leads me to believe that the 1999 report used in the article was the basis for the membership ID's in the 2000 police report. I remember corresponding with Steve Warmbir a few years ago and seeing if he still had the 1999 report but he did not know:

[Bruno]Caruso, a nephew of the late Ald. Fred B. Roti, was identified in a 1999 FBI report as a "made" member of the mob. He is also a member of the Old Neighborhood Italian-American Club. The group's "purpose . . . was to keep the neighborhood very active with children," Caruso said in a deposition six years ago.

Other current or recent members include two other men the FBI identified as "made" mob members: Caruso's brother Frank "Toots'' Caruso and Michael Talarico, a restaurant owner who married into the extended Roti family.

[Coloboy]

And this conversation is why I say the exact power relationship is still murky. Yes, we have lots of information calling apes the “boss “. However, we also have that same word being used over and over again about Aiuppa, when we know that at the end of the day when push came to shove Accardo had the final say (if he chose to engage). There are tons of other documents with people calling Giancana the boss as well, but he was certainly under the thumb of both Ricca and accardo.

And given how hard the FBI was investigating him in the mid to late 90s, my theory is that Difronzo was still the Accardo type top boss role. I’ve heard it from enough non-official sources that it seems plausible. Again, this is not to say he was involved on a day-to-day basis or consulted on every decision.

Remember, the picture that has emerged over time is that the “boss” is almost an elected position, someone who had the skills to operate the organization effectively. However, it appears more and more clearly that this role could be essentially “fired” by more senior members if needed. The accardo role is not elected, and seems to be the senior person (or persons in the Ricca/accardo arrangement), that can make the final call on things. This would jive with Foscos statement when he claimed difronzo had stepped down in the early 2010s and was replaced by the builder, who was “only the 5th or 6th person to have that role” according to fosco.

As far as the hatch thing, I still don’t think high-level murders of powerful made men are happening without the sanction of some of the elders like Difronzo, Lombardo, and possibly Andriacchi. With both Hatch and Zizzo, I believe those are fully authorized hits that were at the very least approved from the top of the top. By that time hitting anyone, let alone a made man, was a very touchy thing and not something I believe Sarno could authorize by himself.

[Snakes]

And this conversation is why I say the exact power relationship is still murky. Yes, we have lots of information calling apes the “boss “. However, we also have that same word being used over and over again about Aiuppa, when we know that at the end of the day when push came to shove Accardo had the final say (if he chose to engage). There are tons of other documents with people calling Giancana the boss as well, but he was certainly under the thumb of both Ricca and accardo.

And given how hard the FBI was investigating him in the mid to late 90s, my theory is that Difronzo was still the Accardo type top boss role. I’ve heard it from enough non-official sources that it seems plausible. Again, this is not to say he was involved on a day-to-day basis or consulted on every decision.

Remember, the picture that has emerged over time is that the “boss” is almost an elected position, someone who had the skills to operate the organization effectively. However, it appears more and more clearly that this role could be essentially “fired” by more senior members if needed. The accardo role is not elected, and seems to be the senior person (or persons in the Ricca/accardo arrangement), that can make the final call on things. This would jive with Foscos statement when he claimed difronzo had stepped down in the early 2010s and was replaced by the builder, who was “only the 5th or 6th person to have that role” according to fosco.

As far as the hatch thing, I still don’t think high-level murders of powerful made men are happening without the sanction of some of the elders like Difronzo, Lombardo, and possibly Andriacchi. With both Hatch and Zizzo, I believe those are fully authorized hits that were at the very least approved from the top of the top. By that time hitting anyone, let alone a made man, was a very touchy thing and not something I believe Sarno could authorize by himself.

Well, for all intents and purposes, Giancana, Aiuppa, Carlisi, etc. were the actual boss. They were recognized as such by other families and they represented Chicago on the Commission and meetings with other families. Accardo, Ricca, and possibly DiFronzo had veto power but they were not involved in the day-to-day running. They allowed the bosses to run the Outfit how they saw fit, but were available to consult or provide guidance on important issues. They certainly handed down orders, but not on a daily basis.

[Snakes]

As for the Hatch and Zizzo hits, I could see DiFronzo and/or Andriacchi authorizing both, but through as many channels as possible to insulate themselves. Either that, or they gave Marcello or Sarno free reign to take guys out, as long as they weren't involved or directly affected. To compare, I doubt Aiuppa had to run every hit by Accardo. Maybe Dorfman, Spilotro, or a major one like that, but not guys like Paul Haggerty.

[Coloboy]

I agree on your characterization of the relationship between the Accardo role versus the day to day boss. Meaning the “boss” was officially recognized as such, and ran the organization pretty much as they saw fit. However, veto power is a strong thing and it certainly appears that Ricca, accardo and possibly difronzo retained this. Also agreed they were not involved on a day-to-day basis, but engaged when needed, particularly during transitions of power.

[Snakes]

I agree on your characterization of the relationship between the Accardo role versus the day to day boss. Meaning the “boss” was officially recognized as such, and ran the organization pretty much as they saw fit. However, veto power is a strong thing and it certainly appears that Ricca, accardo and possibly difronzo retained this. Also agreed they were not involved on a day-to-day basis, but engaged when needed, particularly during transitions of power.

But I think they rarely used the veto power. When you give guys the freedom to murder people, you pretty much have the freedom to do whatever you want, as long as it doesn't affect their bottom line. If a boss thought that something would, they'd seek consultation before making a decision. Otherwise, they were free to act as they saw fit.

[Antiliar]

With that in mind, Talarico might not merit being on the list since he testified in court against Frank Calabrese Sr in July of that year.

The original Sun-Times article from 2006 is behind a paywall, but this is an excerpt of it that I originally used when I added Bruno Caruso and Mike Talarico to the "suspected members" page of the chart section. I couldn't find it a few months(?) ago when we were discussing the idea of Bruno Caruso being made, but I knew I wasn't crazy when I added him to the "suspected members" list. This also leads me to believe that the 1999 report used in the article was the basis for the membership ID's in the 2000 police report. I remember corresponding with Steve Warmbir a few years ago and seeing if he still had the 1999 report but he did not know:

[Bruno]Caruso, a nephew of the late Ald. Fred B. Roti, was identified in a 1999 FBI report as a "made" member of the mob. He is also a member of the Old Neighborhood Italian-American Club. The group's "purpose . . . was to keep the neighborhood very active with children," Caruso said in a deposition six years ago.

Other current or recent members include two other men the FBI identified as "made" mob members: Caruso's brother Frank "Toots'' Caruso and Michael Talarico, a restaurant owner who married into the extended Roti family.

I have to question the quality of some of the informants supplying names to the FBI. Even with the policy of requiring two sources to consider a potential made member as confirmed. Returning to Talarico, perhaps it made sense to list him as made in the 1999, but after he testified in open court against a known made member in 2007 they should have reconsidered it. On the other hand, I don't take issue with Bruno Caruso.

[Snakes]

With that in mind, Talarico might not merit being on the list since he testified in court against Frank Calabrese Sr in July of that year.

The original Sun-Times article from 2006 is behind a paywall, but this is an excerpt of it that I originally used when I added Bruno Caruso and Mike Talarico to the "suspected members" page of the chart section. I couldn't find it a few months(?) ago when we were discussing the idea of Bruno Caruso being made, but I knew I wasn't crazy when I added him to the "suspected members" list. This also leads me to believe that the 1999 report used in the article was the basis for the membership ID's in the 2000 police report. I remember corresponding with Steve Warmbir a few years ago and seeing if he still had the 1999 report but he did not know:

[Bruno]Caruso, a nephew of the late Ald. Fred B. Roti, was identified in a 1999 FBI report as a "made" member of the mob. He is also a member of the Old Neighborhood Italian-American Club. The group's "purpose . . . was to keep the neighborhood very active with children," Caruso said in a deposition six years ago.

Other current or recent members include two other men the FBI identified as "made" mob members: Caruso's brother Frank "Toots'' Caruso and Michael Talarico, a restaurant owner who married into the extended Roti family.

I have to question the quality of some of the informants supplying names to the FBI. Even with the policy of requiring two sources to consider a potential made member as confirmed. Returning to Talarico, perhaps it made sense to list him as made in the 1999, but after he testified in open court against a known made member in 2007 they should have reconsidered it. On the other hand, I don't take issue with Bruno Caruso.

Yeah, you have to wonder if they ran some of these names by Nick for his opinion. He may not know about guys from other crews, but you think he'd know for sure about Talarico because he and Frank worked with him. I'm not sure what FBI protocol is for "removing" names from a membership list, but I'm sure it's something they try to avoid.

[Patrickgold]

With that in mind, Talarico might not merit being on the list since he testified in court against Frank Calabrese Sr in July of that year.

The original Sun-Times article from 2006 is behind a paywall, but this is an excerpt of it that I originally used when I added Bruno Caruso and Mike Talarico to the "suspected members" page of the chart section. I couldn't find it a few months(?) ago when we were discussing the idea of Bruno Caruso being made, but I knew I wasn't crazy when I added him to the "suspected members" list. This also leads me to believe that the 1999 report used in the article was the basis for the membership ID's in the 2000 police report. I remember corresponding with Steve Warmbir a few years ago and seeing if he still had the 1999 report but he did not know:

[Bruno]Caruso, a nephew of the late Ald. Fred B. Roti, was identified in a 1999 FBI report as a "made" member of the mob. He is also a member of the Old Neighborhood Italian-American Club. The group's "purpose . . . was to keep the neighborhood very active with children," Caruso said in a deposition six years ago.

Other current or recent members include two other men the FBI identified as "made" mob members: Caruso's brother Frank "Toots'' Caruso and Michael Talarico, a restaurant owner who married into the extended Roti family.

I have to question the quality of some of the informants supplying names to the FBI. Even with the policy of requiring two sources to consider a potential made member as confirmed. Returning to Talarico, perhaps it made sense to list him as made in the 1999, but after he testified in open court against a known made member in 2007 they should have reconsidered it. On the other hand, I don't take issue with Bruno Caruso.

Has it been confirmed that Talarico was acting capo of 26th street after Jimmy LaPietra died from 1993-1994? I swear that I saw that somewhere.