General Chicago Outfit Info Dumping Ground

[Patrickgold]

Speaking of that - crew Jeff Hollingshead must have fallen through as a witness/CI/etc. against the broader Outfit - he flipped 10 years ago. I remember reading BS articles that he used to vacation with DiFronzo and was close to higher-ups. I don't think they could ever build a case beyond anyone but Pannozzo and I don't think Hollingshead was really that instrumental in providing additional evidence there.

Yeah, you have to think they would have liked to get more from him, although the PK crew robbery bust was pretty damn big. That was a serious operation he helped bring down. With that said, he didn’t get Vena, let alone someone bigger.

I do recall there was a FBI report about a dinner that DiFronzo had with Hollingshead and his girlfriend, as well as Panozzo sometime in 2005 or 2006.

I'm fairly certain there was never an FBI report saying that Hollingshead was around DiFronzo - only Scott's 'sources...' I do believe he was a major component of the Grand Avenue Crew and even had a truck through Spina's Chica Trucking in the Hired Truck Scandal, which showed he had some juice. However, I don't think he was around any of the 'top brass' and I think most of what he was involved in was really major street crimes as opposed to political or sophisticated rackets.

I know DiFronzo grew up in Grand Avenue and likely knew Vena and others - I just don't think he was having lunch with the PK-Crew at the time when he was doing all he could to stay out of the spotlight.

You may be right and I could have conflating Scott's mention of an FBI report with an actual report. Given that Hollingshead was close enough to Ponozzo to bring his immediate crew down, I have to imagine that Vena followed some pretty strict protocols regarding only speaking of crimes directly with Ponozzo and not Hollingshead, which we hear is the way made guys tend to operate.

Scott has never seen an unredacted non-public FBI report in his life. I think Hollingshead was just close to the Grand Avenue guys. If you read this indictment, he had one truck in the hired truck program driven by an illegal - the door held together with bungee cords - the street criminal types like that are really not meeting with the made guys from my view.

https://www.illinoiscourts.gov/Resource ... 100540.pdf

Yes, he was small time. As I said before, the FBI threw him to the wolves after he flipped and nothing really came from him. He basically got more time than Panozzo and Koroluk. He did grow up in the patch so he definitely knew the grand ave guys but doubt he had any business dealings with guys like DiFronzo. I think his wife was talking with Scott B and that is where he got the information. I saw a recent picture of him and he looks horrible. Prison looks like it has been rough on him.

[RushStreet]

So how do you think Jeff feels of becoming a rat and then not getting a reduced prison sentence? He fucked up big time.

[NorthBuffalo]

Speaking of that - crew Jeff Hollingshead must have fallen through as a witness/CI/etc. against the broader Outfit - he flipped 10 years ago. I remember reading BS articles that he used to vacation with DiFronzo and was close to higher-ups. I don't think they could ever build a case beyond anyone but Pannozzo and I don't think Hollingshead was really that instrumental in providing additional evidence there.

Yeah, you have to think they would have liked to get more from him, although the PK crew robbery bust was pretty damn big. That was a serious operation he helped bring down. With that said, he didn’t get Vena, let alone someone bigger.

I do recall there was a FBI report about a dinner that DiFronzo had with Hollingshead and his girlfriend, as well as Panozzo sometime in 2005 or 2006.

I'm fairly certain there was never an FBI report saying that Hollingshead was around DiFronzo - only Scott's 'sources...' I do believe he was a major component of the Grand Avenue Crew and even had a truck through Spina's Chica Trucking in the Hired Truck Scandal, which showed he had some juice. However, I don't think he was around any of the 'top brass' and I think most of what he was involved in was really major street crimes as opposed to political or sophisticated rackets.

I know DiFronzo grew up in Grand Avenue and likely knew Vena and others - I just don't think he was having lunch with the PK-Crew at the time when he was doing all he could to stay out of the spotlight.

You may be right and I could have conflating Scott's mention of an FBI report with an actual report. Given that Hollingshead was close enough to Ponozzo to bring his immediate crew down, I have to imagine that Vena followed some pretty strict protocols regarding only speaking of crimes directly with Ponozzo and not Hollingshead, which we hear is the way made guys tend to operate.

Scott has never seen an unredacted non-public FBI report in his life. I think Hollingshead was just close to the Grand Avenue guys. If you read this indictment, he had one truck in the hired truck program driven by an illegal - the door held together with bungee cords - the street criminal types like that are really not meeting with the made guys from my view.

https://www.illinoiscourts.gov/Resource ... 100540.pdf

Yes, he was small time. As I said before, the FBI threw him to the wolves after he flipped and nothing really came from him. He basically got more time than Panozzo and Koroluk. He did grow up in the patch so he definitely knew the grand ave guys but doubt he had any business dealings with guys like DiFronzo. I think his wife was talking with Scott B and that is where he got the information. I saw a recent picture of him and he looks horrible. Prison looks like it has been rough on him.

I think she was just all over social media and its easy to grab a bunch of photos and paint a picture of someone that way.

Here is the recent photo of Hollingshead courtesy of JoePuzzles: https://www.reddit.com/r/Mafia/comments ... associate/

Was Hollingshead a C-Note too?

[PolackTony]

Was Hollingshead a C-Note too?

I believe he almost certainly was a Note. So far as I know, his family owned a building by Ohio and Oakley, same block as Lombardo and across from Mitchell schoolyard. His wife’s family, the Ruccis, were from Erie and Western area too. Incidentally, they were originally from Modugno, Bari, so paesani of Jimmy Cozzo and Vito Stramaglia.

[NorthBuffalo]

You mean Rick Stramaglio right? Vito Stramaglia is a Cleveland guy.

I assumed Hollingshead's wife was Hispanic - personally, I don't think she was a dime piece by any means.

[PolackTony]

You mean Rick Stramaglio right? Vito Stramaglia is a Cleveland guy.

I assumed Hollingshead's wife was Hispanic - personally, I don't think she was a dime piece by any means.

Not the Cleveland guy. I was talking about Vito “Vitucci” Stramaglio who was the father of Richard and Vic Stramaglio and a native of Modugno.

And to be clear, I also was not referring to Hollingshead’s later chick who Scott reported on, but his wife who he was with before that chick. The wife was Italian and from Grand Ave.

[RushStreet]

The later chick ended up in the Witness Protection Program yes or no?

[NorthBuffalo]

You mean Rick Stramaglio right? Vito Stramaglia is a Cleveland guy.

I assumed Hollingshead's wife was Hispanic - personally, I don't think she was a dime piece by any means.

Not the Cleveland guy. I was talking about Vito “Vitucci” Stramaglio who was the father of Richard and Vic Stramaglio and a native of Modugno.

And to be clear, I also was not referring to Hollingshead’s later chick who Scott reported on, but his wife who he was with before that chick. The wife was Italian and from Grand Ave.

Got it. I know Vic as he shared some photos of Joey Lombardo in a private group. There was a 'Fat Vic Stramaglio' that was on multiple charts that he always got a kick out of and it was a joke on the ANP boards - my understanding was his father was around Lombardo.

Thanks for the additional background on Hollingshead's wife Tony. Interesting back story too - these are dangerous people - kidnapping and holding drug dealers, violent break-ins, juice victims shooting back (the Martinelli kid). I would put that crew against any mob crew in the country in terms of sheer balls alone.

[PolackTony]

You mean Rick Stramaglio right? Vito Stramaglia is a Cleveland guy.

I assumed Hollingshead's wife was Hispanic - personally, I don't think she was a dime piece by any means.

Not the Cleveland guy. I was talking about Vito “Vitucci” Stramaglio who was the father of Richard and Vic Stramaglio and a native of Modugno.

And to be clear, I also was not referring to Hollingshead’s later chick who Scott reported on, but his wife who he was with before that chick. The wife was Italian and from Grand Ave.

Got it. I know Vic as he shared some photos of Joey Lombardo in a private group. There was a 'Fat Vic Stramaglio' that was on multiple charts that he always got a kick out of and it was a joke on the ANP boards - my understanding was his father was around Lombardo.

Thanks for the additional background on Hollingshead's wife Tony. Interesting back story too - these are dangerous people - kidnapping and holding drug dealers, violent break-ins, juice victims shooting back (the Martinelli kid). I would put that crew against any mob crew in the country in terms of sheer balls alone.

Yeah I remember that lol.

I do believe that the elder Vic Stramaglio — the dad, who owned a successful construction firm and died in 2019 — was with either Lombardo or Cerone. Not in the sense of being like a guy working for the crew necessarily, but in the way that relatives, friends, etc., can be “with” a guy (represented by him and under his protection; a patron-client relationship that works to further confer honor on a mafioso as a “big man” with his own personal social network), without necessarily being gangsters themselves. Both the Stramaglios and Lombardos (Lombardi) were Bares’ and lived in the same section of Grand Ave, near Ogden, so they almost certainly were at least socially connected since way back. As we’ve discussed before, Richard Stramaglio’s widow is also a member of one of the extended Cerone family branches. One of those families with presumably multigenerational mafia connections even if they weren’t formally affiliated themselves necessarily (though, they might have been and we wouldn’t even know for sure!).

And yeah, Grand Ave has been a breeding ground for hardcore mafiosi since like the 1890s. The modern Grand Ave guys are of course largely affiliated with the C-Notes as youth which is not incidental, as that was an extremely rough organization back in the day, which held its own for years while basically besieged on all sides by enemies and surrounded by some of the roughest neighborhoods in Chicago (in the past; gentrification had obviously radically transformed that area since the 2000s). The Notes always had a lot of respect even from their most bitter enemies as they were *down AF* and absolute barbarians. When guys like Bobby P and Paulie K were pulling shit like kidnapping Latin Kings for ransom, one had to keep in mind that these were guys who cut their teeth as youth pulling missions on the LKs, LDs, etc.

[NorthBuffalo]

You mean Rick Stramaglio right? Vito Stramaglia is a Cleveland guy.

I assumed Hollingshead's wife was Hispanic - personally, I don't think she was a dime piece by any means.

Not the Cleveland guy. I was talking about Vito “Vitucci” Stramaglio who was the father of Richard and Vic Stramaglio and a native of Modugno.

And to be clear, I also was not referring to Hollingshead’s later chick who Scott reported on, but his wife who he was with before that chick. The wife was Italian and from Grand Ave.

Got it. I know Vic as he shared some photos of Joey Lombardo in a private group. There was a 'Fat Vic Stramaglio' that was on multiple charts that he always got a kick out of and it was a joke on the ANP boards - my understanding was his father was around Lombardo.

Thanks for the additional background on Hollingshead's wife Tony. Interesting back story too - these are dangerous people - kidnapping and holding drug dealers, violent break-ins, juice victims shooting back (the Martinelli kid). I would put that crew against any mob crew in the country in terms of sheer balls alone.

Yeah I remember that lol.

I do believe that the elder Vic Stramaglio — the dad, who owned a successful construction firm and died in 2019 — was with either Lombardo or Cerone. Not in the sense of being like a guy working for the crew necessarily, but in the way that relatives, friends, etc., can be “with” a guy (represented by him and under his protection; a patron-client relationship that works to further confer honor on a mafioso as a “big man” with his own personal social network), without necessarily being gangsters themselves. Both the Stramaglios and Lombardos (Lombardi) were Bares’ and lived in the same section of Grand Ave, near Ogden, so they almost certainly were at least socially connected since way back. As we’ve discussed before, Richard Stramaglio’s widow is also a member of one of the extended Cerone family branches. One of those families with presumably multigenerational mafia connections even if they weren’t formally affiliated themselves necessarily.

And yeah, Grand Ave has been a breeding ground for hardcore mafiosi since like the 1890s. The modern Grand Ave guys are of course largely affiliated with the C-Notes as youth which is not incidental, as that was an extremely rough organization back in the day, which held its own for years while basically besieged on all sides by enemies and surrounded by some of the roughest neighborhoods in Chicago (in the past; gentrification had obviously radically transformed that area since the 2000s). When guys with Bobby P and Paulie K were pulling shit like kidnapping Latin Kings for ransom, one had to keep in mind that these were guys who fit their teeth as youth pulling missions on the LKs, LDs, etc.

Thanks for the background on Stramaglio - Vic Jr. said he worked for Lombardo as a kid.

I don't understand how the PK Crew hit cartels and survived in prison. Modern day Omar Littles if you think about it - and I know Pannozzo, Obrachta and Koruluk and Louie Capuzzi are tough guys but they are also getting older.

[PolackTony]

You mean Rick Stramaglio right? Vito Stramaglia is a Cleveland guy.

I assumed Hollingshead's wife was Hispanic - personally, I don't think she was a dime piece by any means.

Not the Cleveland guy. I was talking about Vito “Vitucci” Stramaglio who was the father of Richard and Vic Stramaglio and a native of Modugno.

And to be clear, I also was not referring to Hollingshead’s later chick who Scott reported on, but his wife who he was with before that chick. The wife was Italian and from Grand Ave.

Got it. I know Vic as he shared some photos of Joey Lombardo in a private group. There was a 'Fat Vic Stramaglio' that was on multiple charts that he always got a kick out of and it was a joke on the ANP boards - my understanding was his father was around Lombardo.

Thanks for the additional background on Hollingshead's wife Tony. Interesting back story too - these are dangerous people - kidnapping and holding drug dealers, violent break-ins, juice victims shooting back (the Martinelli kid). I would put that crew against any mob crew in the country in terms of sheer balls alone.

Yeah I remember that lol.

I do believe that the elder Vic Stramaglio — the dad, who owned a successful construction firm and died in 2019 — was with either Lombardo or Cerone. Not in the sense of being like a guy working for the crew necessarily, but in the way that relatives, friends, etc., can be “with” a guy (represented by him and under his protection; a patron-client relationship that works to further confer honor on a mafioso as a “big man” with his own personal social network), without necessarily being gangsters themselves. Both the Stramaglios and Lombardos (Lombardi) were Bares’ and lived in the same section of Grand Ave, near Ogden, so they almost certainly were at least socially connected since way back. As we’ve discussed before, Richard Stramaglio’s widow is also a member of one of the extended Cerone family branches. One of those families with presumably multigenerational mafia connections even if they weren’t formally affiliated themselves necessarily.

And yeah, Grand Ave has been a breeding ground for hardcore mafiosi since like the 1890s. The modern Grand Ave guys are of course largely affiliated with the C-Notes as youth which is not incidental, as that was an extremely rough organization back in the day, which held its own for years while basically besieged on all sides by enemies and surrounded by some of the roughest neighborhoods in Chicago (in the past; gentrification had obviously radically transformed that area since the 2000s). When guys with Bobby P and Paulie K were pulling shit like kidnapping Latin Kings for ransom, one had to keep in mind that these were guys who fit their teeth as youth pulling missions on the LKs, LDs, etc.

Thanks for the background on Stramaglio - Vic Jr. said he worked for Lombardo as a kid.

I don't understand how the PK Crew hit cartels and survived in prison. Modern day Omar Littles if you think about it - and I know Pannozzo, Obrachta and Koruluk and Louie Capuzzi are tough guys but they are also getting older.

They’re old heads from the Notes, so I don’t think there’s any doubt that in the joint they ride with the Folks. Guys online, like Reddit and stuff seem to have a hard time grasping what that means. “They were kidnapping gangbangers these guys are gonna get them in prison!”. Like, pal, these guys *are* gangbangers, they are cliqued up in the prisons. I can’t imagine that a guy like Bobby P doesn’t have a ton of respect in the joint.

[NorthBuffalo]

You mean Rick Stramaglio right? Vito Stramaglia is a Cleveland guy.

I assumed Hollingshead's wife was Hispanic - personally, I don't think she was a dime piece by any means.

Not the Cleveland guy. I was talking about Vito “Vitucci” Stramaglio who was the father of Richard and Vic Stramaglio and a native of Modugno.

And to be clear, I also was not referring to Hollingshead’s later chick who Scott reported on, but his wife who he was with before that chick. The wife was Italian and from Grand Ave.

Got it. I know Vic as he shared some photos of Joey Lombardo in a private group. There was a 'Fat Vic Stramaglio' that was on multiple charts that he always got a kick out of and it was a joke on the ANP boards - my understanding was his father was around Lombardo.

Thanks for the additional background on Hollingshead's wife Tony. Interesting back story too - these are dangerous people - kidnapping and holding drug dealers, violent break-ins, juice victims shooting back (the Martinelli kid). I would put that crew against any mob crew in the country in terms of sheer balls alone.

Yeah I remember that lol.

I do believe that the elder Vic Stramaglio — the dad, who owned a successful construction firm and died in 2019 — was with either Lombardo or Cerone. Not in the sense of being like a guy working for the crew necessarily, but in the way that relatives, friends, etc., can be “with” a guy (represented by him and under his protection; a patron-client relationship that works to further confer honor on a mafioso as a “big man” with his own personal social network), without necessarily being gangsters themselves. Both the Stramaglios and Lombardos (Lombardi) were Bares’ and lived in the same section of Grand Ave, near Ogden, so they almost certainly were at least socially connected since way back. As we’ve discussed before, Richard Stramaglio’s widow is also a member of one of the extended Cerone family branches. One of those families with presumably multigenerational mafia connections even if they weren’t formally affiliated themselves necessarily.

And yeah, Grand Ave has been a breeding ground for hardcore mafiosi since like the 1890s. The modern Grand Ave guys are of course largely affiliated with the C-Notes as youth which is not incidental, as that was an extremely rough organization back in the day, which held its own for years while basically besieged on all sides by enemies and surrounded by some of the roughest neighborhoods in Chicago (in the past; gentrification had obviously radically transformed that area since the 2000s). When guys with Bobby P and Paulie K were pulling shit like kidnapping Latin Kings for ransom, one had to keep in mind that these were guys who fit their teeth as youth pulling missions on the LKs, LDs, etc.

Thanks for the background on Stramaglio - Vic Jr. said he worked for Lombardo as a kid.

I don't understand how the PK Crew hit cartels and survived in prison. Modern day Omar Littles if you think about it - and I know Pannozzo, Obrachta and Koruluk and Louie Capuzzi are tough guys but they are also getting older.

They’re old heads from the Notes, so I don’t think there’s any doubt that in the joint they ride with the Folks. Guys online, like Reddit and stuff seem to have a hard time grasping what that means. “They were kidnapping gangbangers these guys are gonna get them in prison!”. Like, pal, these guys *are* gangbangers, they are cliqued up in the prisons. I can’t imagine that a guy like Bobby P doesn’t have a ton of respect in the joint.

I agree with you to a certain extent. I talk to a guy who did time in Illinois and he said the issue is that prisons changed as the streets did - there are so few actual gangs and so many 'cliques' that a lot of the 'folk vs. people' stuff fell apart. He also said these young kids coming into prisons are savage and kind of the 'anti hierarchy' types - made me think it was more of a 'dog eat dog' environment with so many young violent offenders in that city.

[Patrickgold]

You mean Rick Stramaglio right? Vito Stramaglia is a Cleveland guy.

I assumed Hollingshead's wife was Hispanic - personally, I don't think she was a dime piece by any means.

Not the Cleveland guy. I was talking about Vito “Vitucci” Stramaglio who was the father of Richard and Vic Stramaglio and a native of Modugno.

And to be clear, I also was not referring to Hollingshead’s later chick who Scott reported on, but his wife who he was with before that chick. The wife was Italian and from Grand Ave.

Got it. I know Vic as he shared some photos of Joey Lombardo in a private group. There was a 'Fat Vic Stramaglio' that was on multiple charts that he always got a kick out of and it was a joke on the ANP boards - my understanding was his father was around Lombardo.

Thanks for the additional background on Hollingshead's wife Tony. Interesting back story too - these are dangerous people - kidnapping and holding drug dealers, violent break-ins, juice victims shooting back (the Martinelli kid). I would put that crew against any mob crew in the country in terms of sheer balls alone.

Yeah I remember that lol.

I do believe that the elder Vic Stramaglio — the dad, who owned a successful construction firm and died in 2019 — was with either Lombardo or Cerone. Not in the sense of being like a guy working for the crew necessarily, but in the way that relatives, friends, etc., can be “with” a guy (represented by him and under his protection; a patron-client relationship that works to further confer honor on a mafioso as a “big man” with his own personal social network), without necessarily being gangsters themselves. Both the Stramaglios and Lombardos (Lombardi) were Bares’ and lived in the same section of Grand Ave, near Ogden, so they almost certainly were at least socially connected since way back. As we’ve discussed before, Richard Stramaglio’s widow is also a member of one of the extended Cerone family branches. One of those families with presumably multigenerational mafia connections even if they weren’t formally affiliated themselves necessarily.

And yeah, Grand Ave has been a breeding ground for hardcore mafiosi since like the 1890s. The modern Grand Ave guys are of course largely affiliated with the C-Notes as youth which is not incidental, as that was an extremely rough organization back in the day, which held its own for years while basically besieged on all sides by enemies and surrounded by some of the roughest neighborhoods in Chicago (in the past; gentrification had obviously radically transformed that area since the 2000s). When guys with Bobby P and Paulie K were pulling shit like kidnapping Latin Kings for ransom, one had to keep in mind that these were guys who fit their teeth as youth pulling missions on the LKs, LDs, etc.

Thanks for the background on Stramaglio - Vic Jr. said he worked for Lombardo as a kid.

I don't understand how the PK Crew hit cartels and survived in prison. Modern day Omar Littles if you think about it - and I know Pannozzo, Obrachta and Koruluk and Louie Capuzzi are tough guys but they are also getting older.

They’re old heads from the Notes, so I don’t think there’s any doubt that in the joint they ride with the Folks. Guys online, like Reddit and stuff seem to have a hard time grasping what that means. “They were kidnapping gangbangers these guys are gonna get them in prison!”. Like, pal, these guys *are* gangbangers, they are cliqued up in the prisons. I can’t imagine that a guy like Bobby P doesn’t have a ton of respect in the joint.

I agree with you to a certain extent. I talk to a guy who did time in Illinois and he said the issue is that prisons changed as the streets did - there are so few actual gangs and so many 'cliques' that a lot of the 'folk vs. people' stuff fell apart. He also said these young kids coming into prisons are savage and kind of the 'anti hierarchy' types - made me think it was more of a 'dog eat dog' environment with so many young violent offenders in that city.

Panozzo has completed his state time and is currently in federal pen in Oxford. I would be curious to know who he associates with up there. It is a low security prison so I doubt gang politics up there.

[PolackTony]

I agree with you to a certain extent. I talk to a guy who did time in Illinois and he said the issue is that prisons changed as the streets did - there are so few actual gangs and so many 'cliques' that a lot of the 'folk vs. people' stuff fell apart. He also said these young kids coming into prisons are savage and kind of the 'anti hierarchy' types - made me think it was more of a 'dog eat dog' environment with so many young violent offenders in that city.

Things change of course and the younger guys are always going to be difficult to control, so there’s some truth in that. But I wouldn’t overstate it, as prisons have a certain logic that trends towards more organization than the streets. From what I know, the whole People and Folks thing really only matters today inside the IL system, as it’s basically been a dead letter on the streets for years at this point.

As Patrick said already, Panozzo is out of the IL system now anyway and in a minimum security Federal facility, which I imagine is pretty easy time for a guy like him. I’d really be interested to know who he associates with in there. Who knows, nowadays some excon might well wind up talking about him on a YT podcast lol.

[funkster]

As we've discussed before, the Stramaglios own a ton of property over here.