Outfit Snitch Living in Oklahoma City

[NorthBuffalo]

I got this off a few other Chicago guys on another forum - apparently this individual is Phillip Custino was really 'Phillip Caliendo' of Chicago who was a major player in a large prostitution scheme linked to the Ferriola Street Crew. He's also the alleged uncle of current boss Salvatore Cataudella - his son (who still goes by Caliendo) is apparently a convicted felon in Florida entangled in multiple schemes and producing mob movies.

Was this common knowledge among the Chicago posters? Kind of insane this guy was living out in the open through the 1990s as I know the Outfit has killed multiple people since that timeframe and I have to assume this guy maintains ties to his family members.

Anyone know if he's still alive? This is an old article I found that at least confirms WITSEC and OC in Chicago so I have to believe this is real.

Custino's Italian Kitchen partnership ends in legal entanglements
https://www.oklahoman.com/story/busines ... 051353007/

When Custino's Italian Kitchen reopened in May after a 14-year absence, it was greeted with long lines and buzz among foodies as to whether the lasagnas and Italian beef sandwiches they remembered might truly be back.

But just a few weeks later, the enterprise between Phillip Custino, his son Angelo and Bud Elder that led to the restaurant's revival is mired in litigation and conflicting allegations of embezzlement, sabotage and death threats. And while the Custinos did not grant interview requests to The Oklahoman, court records show a trail of legal actions and debts accumulated over 20 years.

It's a tale that appears to have begun in 1990 when Custino began selling trays of lasagna at the old AMC Flea Market that stood at NW 10 and Pennsylvania Avenue. Two years later he was providing food alongside trendy restaurants at charity events held at Remington Park. By 1993, Custino was selling his lasagna and sandwiches at four metro-area restaurants.

Bud Elder, who is now in a court battle with Custino, fondly remembers those early days when the pair were good friends.

“We lived close by,” Elder said. “He was very friendly, a very gregarious character, and I'm drawn to that. We stayed close, I did his commercials, and then he up and left. I had no idea why.”

Elder said Custino did share with him a history not told publicly (but mentioned in a recent police report filed by Elder) — that Custino was in the federal witness protection program following some legal entanglements in Chicago in the late 1980s.

What Elder claims he didn't know was that Custino closed his restaurants as he faced a series of lawsuits filed by creditors and vendors. Those lawsuits also were not reported by local media, though he did make headlines in 1998 with a deal with Hormel Foods to sell prepackaged frozen lasagnas under Custino's name.

The Hormel deal

In a 1998 interview with The Oklahoman, Custino said sales of his ziti lasagna would reach $20 million annually with a national distribution deal that called for Hormel to produce the meals at its southwest Oklahoma City plant.

Custino, then 51, saw the deal as a game changer that could create hundreds of jobs.

The deal didn't last long. In 2001, Hormel Foods filed a lawsuit in 2001 in Minnesota against Custino's company, Custino's Supreme Quality Foods, and won a $134,898 judgment against the restaurateur.

Court records, meanwhile, indicate Custino entered into another financial arrangement with local insurance executive Dan Ryan about the same time the Hormel deal was being executed.

Ryan did not return calls to The Oklahoman, but in 2008 Oklahoma County District Judge Bryan C. Dixon awarded an $85,000 judgment for Ryan against Custino after he failed to respond to summons by the court.

A surprise visit

Throughout the years, Elder wondered whatever had happened to his old friend. Elder said he was recovering from heart bypass surgery at Deaconess Hospital in October when Custino made a surprise visit.

“He said: ‘I am moving back to Oklahoma City,'” Elder recalled. “He was broke — he didn't have a dime.”

Elder said it was then that Custino first approached him about partnering with him in opening a restaurant. Discussions with friends led to introducing Custino to Danny Falcone, a native New Yorker whose own Italian restaurants had fallen on hard times. A quick expansion to five restaurants, including one in Bricktown, had collapsed and Falcone was struggling to maintain his original eatery at 6705 N May Ave.

The venture was presented to the public as the dream pairing of a popular pizza guy from New York with a popular lasagna guy from Chicago.

The dream, however, fell apart within a few short weeks. Falcone since has sold his restaurant to Michael Pugliese, president of Platt College.

Falcone said the arrangement called for Custino to buy the restaurant, but instead, Falcone claimed, Custino strung him along.

Elder remembers Custino lobbying him to back him in buying the restaurant, but it appeared to him a deal could not be struck with Falcone.

Restaurant opening

Talks then shifted to opening a restaurant in the former Kansas City Blues and Barbeque at 2724 W Britton. Custino's Italian Kitchen opened to long lines on May 16 and even ran out of several popular menu items.

Elder alleged the partnership was structured, at the request of Phil Custino, so that the partners were Custino's 21-year-old son Angelo, Bud Elder and his wife Barbara. Elder said he and his wife provided the capital, while Custino was to provide the recipes and expertise.

Elder's attorney, Bill Zuhdi, argues it was Elder's experience as a former director of the Oklahoma Film Commission and his work with the state tourism department that led to the restaurant's positive response.

“Bud is a master of promotion; he knows how to promote,” Zuhdi said. “That's why he was at the film commission. He understands products and knows how to put together a good product.”

The fallout

What happened next depends on which court filing one believes. In a lawsuit filed Aug. 1 by Angelo Custino, the Elders are accused of embezzling money on two different occasions. When questioned about the conflict, Custino's attorney, Jarrod Morris, repeatedly declined to answer and instead referred to the lawsuit.

In that lawsuit, Custino alleges he was taking a “personal day” on June 26 when the Elders changed the locks and prohibited the Custinos from access to the business or its books. Custino also alleged the Elders threatened him with criminal action if he returned to the restaurant.

Custino also alleged that Elder sent him a threatening text message and filed a report with police alleging Custino had threatened to “whack” and “kill” the Elders — an allegation Custino denied.

Both sides agree the restaurant closed for one day on June 26. At the time, Elder told The Oklahoman's food critic that Phil Custino had left the business because he was is in poor health and could not handle the workload.

That brief report prompted a response by Angelo Custino suggesting a deeper conflict was responsible for the breakup.

“Insinuating my father is in poor health and could not handle the workload has damaged my father's reputation and has caused conflict with his current business dealings,” Angelo Custino wrote in an email to Food Editor Dave Cathey.

“As for the recipes, the only ones who know them are my father and I. Anything they are producing is an imitation product, which Mr. Elder is aware of … This all stemmed from Bud having a hard time with a 21-year-old owning 50 percent of a business to which he only owned 25 percent.”

Elder presents a different version of events, that starts with what he alleges was an effort by the Custinos to shut down the operation and seize control.

In response and counterclaim to the suit, Elder alleged the Custinos called employees and told them not to show up for work on June 26, and then sought to turn off the restaurant's utilities. He claimed the food permit was pulled from display and a health inspector was contacted about the lack of the permit.

Elder denies embezzling money from the restaurant, and argues that it was Angelo Custino who took $1,600 from the restaurant's account. Angelo Custino in his filing admits withdrawing the $1,600 but added it was an effort to stabilize the restaurant operation in response to damage he saw being done by the Elders.

Still open

As of last week, Custino's Italian Kitchen remained open for business under the control of the Elders.

On Thursday the restaurant's Facebook page was wiped clean of promotional messages posted by the Elders, and they claim someone had seized control of the website.

A hearing on an injunction sought by the Custinos is set for Tuesday. Elder provided a written statement after asking The Oklahoman not to report on the matter.

“While my family and I would have never chosen such a public forum to tell our story, we do so now in hopes that others be forewarned to investigate completely any person with whom they are to share finances,” Elder said. “While our dream of owning an Oklahoma small business has been rife with challenges, the good news is that because of an unbelievably dedicated staff and consultant, we're serving up a lot of great food and fellowship every day and our wonderfully devoted customer base, many of whom come in three or more times a week, seems to agree.”

[Tonyd621]

These rats never learn. The recidivism rate has to be high.

[NorthBuffalo]

These guys are born scammers - what I'm more surprised about is a WITSEC member being outted by the local press. I've read on these boards that the Outfit has gotten to multiple rats previously - Bombacino, Lavalley, etc. - they were even in touch with a US Marshall housing NIck Calabrese in 2007. I wonder if this family was forced to move again once they were outted.



https://www.okgazette.com/food-drink/wh ... me-2957347

At odds are Bud and Barbara Elder, owners of Custino’s Italian Kitchen; and Angelo and Philip Custino, owners of Custino’s Restaurant and Bar.

In August, District Judge Lisa Davis rejected an injunction filed by the Custinos seeking to stop the Elders from using the Custino name for their restaurant. The four originally were partners in the start-up at 2724 W. Britton. In response, the Elders claimed that the Custino's had failed to show up on June 26, told employees not to show up for work, shut down utility accounts and withdrew money from the corporate checking account.

Both sides agree that the Elders were the eatery’s sole financers.

Bud Elder said he entered into the relationship in good faith, but after six weeks, the Custinos just walked away.

“The next time we heard from them was when we received notice we were being sued,” Elder said.

The restaurant was an attempt to resurrect the Custino’s Italian Kitchen of the 1990s, made famous locally by its “Stuffa You Face” jingle. The Custinos and Elders worked together on that concept until the Custinos left OKC; they returned last year.

Elder, who described Philip as his best friend during the 1990s, said the Custinos wanted to renew the friendship and business partnership.

Now that friendship is surely over, and both parties are adamant about using the Custino name.

On Nov. 9, Angelo Custino and his father, Philip, opened Custino’s Restaurant and Bar at 7801 N. May, around the corner from the other restaurant — a violation of Davis’ ruling, according to Bill Zuhdi, attorney for the Elders.

“The judge said neither party could harm the other in conducting business,” Zuhdi said. “It’s our contention that the proximity of the new location, combined with the confusion created by the use of the same name, will seriously harm the Elders’ business.”

The name Custino’s Italian Kitchen was reserved by Bud Elder several years ago and appropriate papers were filed with the Secretary of State, said Zuhdi.

The Elders also claim that Custino is not Philip Custino’s actual name. They said his legal name is Anthony Philip Caliendo, and that he was sentenced to federal prison in 1988 for his part in a prostitution ring.

Angelo Custino called the accusation a lie.

“My father was born Philip Angelo Custino,” he said. “I have the birth certificate. I’ll show it to anyone who asks. I don’t want the same thing happening to my father as happened to President Obama.”

Elder said he wouldn’t have an issue with the new restaurant if he thought it would serve OKC well.

“If I thought it might help the Custino’s brand, I could support it,” he said, “but personal knowledge and experience tells me it will be a disaster.”

[PolackTony]

Was this common knowledge among the Chicago posters? Kind of insane this guy was living out in the open through the 1990s as I know the Outfit has killed multiple people since that timeframe and I have to assume this guy maintains ties to his family members.

Anyone know if he's still alive? This is an old article I found that at least confirms WITSEC and OC in Chicago so I have to believe this is real.

There’s a lot of missing context here and it isn’t clear to me how big of a deal this was.

In 1987, a prostitution ring running out of a number of suburban Chicago spas was busted by the Feds. The ring apparently was run by Vito Caliendo (then 55, he died in 1991), a outfit associate presumably with the Ferriola/Infelise crew (the Caliendos were originally from Taylor St and later moved out to Melrose Park). This was one of the cases that resulted from Operation Safebet, a DOJ investigation of Chicagoland prostitution operations with ties to OC. In 1988, Vito Caliendo was convicted along with his nephew, Anthony Phillip Caliendo (then 40 yo), and Sal Cataudella (then 34 yo), along with some other prostitution operators or pimps. Anthony Caliendo was running a spa called Plato’s in Chicago Heights that was being used as a prostitution front. I’m not aware of any relation between Cataudella and the Caliendos myself and if it exists it’s presumably via marriage.

It was never reported in the Chicago papers that Anthony Caliendo testified in this case (just that he was convicted in 1988 and sentenced to 6 years), or any others. Maybe Snakes or Patrick are aware of something that I’m not. The articles that you posted don’t actually “confirm” that this guy who said his name was Angelo Phillip Custino was really Anthony Caliendo or that Anthony Caliendo was in WITSEC. He may have indeed been, but what the articles report is that some guy named Bud Elder who was “Custino’s” business partner alleged that “Custino” was really Tony Caliendo and that “Custino” allegedly confided this to him, after he was sued by the “Custinos” following a falling out. I’d like more to go on that the word of some guy named Bud Elder in OKC with an axe to grind. The reporters who wrote the articles just report that the Caliendo thing was a claim made by Elder, they don’t confirm it or claim there was any substance to it and there are no LE sources confirming it. Maybe Elder made up the allegation to slander “Custino”. Maybe “Custino” in fact told him this, either because it was true, or he made it up because he was a hustler and wanted to intimidate or impress a local like Elder. I can say that there are records for a “Phil A Custino”, in his 70s today, with prior addresses in IL, OK, FL, and CA. If he is really Tony Caliendo, I don’t see that these articles prove it.

For the sake of argument, however, let’s assume that Bud Elder was right and “Custino” was really Tony Caliendo living in OKC under an assumed identity in WITSEC. Who did he testify against? Any made guys or important associates, or just prostitution people? Was anyone in Chicago aware that he was living in OKC, which is not exactly a place with strong ties to Chicago? Given that his cooperation was evidently not important enough to be reported in the papers, did anyone care about him enough to use ties to corrupt LE to track him down? If they did, was he worth assassinating in the 90s, with LE force coming down like a hammer on Chicago during this time? Where they going to blow him into pieces like they did Louie Bombacino (who, as a reminder, testified against Jackie Cerone and was killed in a car bomb in Tempe, an area with strong Chicago ties, in the 70s after ignoring FBI warnings that he needed to leave AZ because his life was in danger)? Unless he did serious damage to guys who mattered, Tony Caliendo, even if he was a rat, is not going to be comparable to Nick Calabrese, for obvious reasons.

I believe that this is the son Angelo Custino mentioned in the article, born in 1991 in OKC.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2584426/

There is a Chicago guy named Anthony Caliendo who seems to be a huckster and B movie actor based in FL. He is not “Custino’s” kid though, at least not the one in the article you posted, who was born in 1991.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonycaliendo1

[NorthBuffalo]

Thanks for responding on this - I am under the impression that its probably impossible to prove one way or another - however, this is quite a coincidence - if you really google things you find message boards and such from years ago where people talk about Custino being Caliendo and his family being in the program and disappearing in the middle of the night then coming back weeks later. I think in the early 1990s in the Gotti era that these pimps in Chicago would be random guys to kind of gravitate to or misidentify or use names of - this was probably not a national case that Oklahoma people would be reading about (they were reading about Gotti) so I doubt they would just make it up out of thin air.

Any photos exist of Vito Caliendo? There is a photo of this Custino in the newspaper articles about his restaurant.

Its a really wild story if its true. Maybe I just tipped off some of the boys who never bothered to read the papers in Oklahoma

[Patrickgold]

Was this common knowledge among the Chicago posters? Kind of insane this guy was living out in the open through the 1990s as I know the Outfit has killed multiple people since that timeframe and I have to assume this guy maintains ties to his family members.

Anyone know if he's still alive? This is an old article I found that at least confirms WITSEC and OC in Chicago so I have to believe this is real.

There’s a lot of missing context here and it isn’t clear to me how big of a deal this was.

In 1987, a prostitution ring running out of a number of suburban Chicago spas was busted by the Feds. The ring apparently was run by Vito Caliendo (then 55, he died in 1991), a outfit associate presumably with the Ferriola/Infelise crew (the Caliendos were originally from Taylor St and later moved out to Melrose Park). This was one of the cases that resulted from Operation Safebet, a DOJ investigation of Chicagoland prostitution operations with ties to OC. In 1988, Vito Caliendo was convicted along with his nephew, Anthony Phillip Caliendo (then 40 yo), and Sal Cataudella (then 34 yo), along with some other prostitution operators or pimps. Anthony Caliendo was running a spa called Plato’s in Chicago Heights that was being used as a prostitution front. I’m not aware of any relation between Cataudella and the Caliendos myself and if it exists it’s presumably via marriage.

It was never reported in the Chicago papers that Anthony Caliendo testified in this case (just that he was convicted in 1988 and sentenced to 6 years), or any others. Maybe Snakes or Patrick are aware of something that I’m not. The articles that you posted don’t actually “confirm” that this guy who said his name was Angelo Phillip Custino was really Anthony Caliendo or that Anthony Caliendo was in WITSEC. He may have indeed been, but what the articles report is that some guy named Bud Elder who was “Custino’s” business partner alleged that “Custino” was really Tony Caliendo and that “Custino” allegedly confided this to him, after he was sued by the “Custinos” following a falling out. I’d like more to go on that the word of some guy named Bud Elder in OKC with an axe to grind. The reporters who wrote the articles just report that the Caliendo thing was a claim made by Elder, they don’t confirm it or claim there was any substance to it and there are no LE sources confirming it. Maybe Elder made up the allegation to slander “Custino”. Maybe “Custino” in fact told him this, either because it was true, or he made it up because he was a hustler and wanted to intimidate or impress a local like Elder. I can say that there are records for a “Phil A Custino”, in his 70s today, with prior addresses in IL, OK, FL, and CA. If he is really Tony Caliendo, I don’t see that these articles prove it.

For the sake of argument, however, let’s assume that Bud Elder was right and “Custino” was really Tony Caliendo living in OKC under an assumed identity in WITSEC. Who did he testify against? Any made guys or important associates, or just prostitution people? Was anyone in Chicago aware that he was living in OKC, which is not exactly a place with strong ties to Chicago? Given that his cooperation was evidently not important enough to be reported in the papers, did anyone care about him enough to use ties to corrupt LE to track him down? If they did, was he worth assassinating in the 90s, with LE force coming down like a hammer on Chicago during this time? Where they going to blow him into pieces like they did Louie Bombacino (who, as a reminder, testified against Jackie Cerone and was killed in a car bomb in Tempe, an area with strong Chicago ties, in the 70s after ignoring FBI warnings that he needed to leave AZ because his life was in danger)? Unless he did serious damage to guys who mattered, Tony Caliendo, even if he was a rat, is not going to be comparable to Nick Calabrese, for obvious reasons.

I believe that this is the son Angelo Custino mentioned in the article, born in 1991 in OKC.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2584426/

There is a Chicago guy named Anthony Caliendo who seems to be a huckster and B movie actor based in FL. He is not “Custino’s” kid though, at least not the one in the article you posted, who was born in 1991.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonycaliendo1

I’ll be honest, never really heard of the guy. Considering he got the most time in the case it, I guess he could have flipped after he got the time but who did he testify against? Maybe he testified against something unrelated to the outfit and then went into the witness pp. Victor Spilotro got caught up in that case and only got 6 months. There are a lot of Caliendo’s in Chicago and this guy just doesn’t ring a bell to me. I can look into it though. Who knows, he might have told Elder guy he was in the witsec and it was a lie. Very hard to verify unlesss the government verifies which they won’t

[Patrickgold]

Also it sounds like he is a Chicago heights guy considering his massage place was there. I wonder if one of the Chicago Heights experts know anything about him

[Snakes]

I think the Caliendo place was in the Heights or southern Cook Co., but belonged to Ferriola.

[PolackTony]

Let's leave aside the question of whether Tony Caliendo ever ratted out anyone important (which, if so, I'd think we would have known as it presumably would've been reported in the Chicago press, which at the time still had a very active mob beat and otherwise covered the Operation Safebet bust and trial). For now, we can see if other evidence supports Bud Elder's allegations (reportedly based on "Custino's" own statements to Elder in confidence).

Apart from Elder, it was reported several times before the 2012 stuff that "Phil Custino" was a former Chicagoan who opened a Chicago-style Italian restaurant in OKC in the early 90s, so that much isn't in doubt. He would clearly correspond to this Phillip Angelo Custino here, as this is the only person with that name with any records in OKC (or anywhere else, for that matter):



"Custino" is a very uncommon surname, doesn't exist with that spelling in Italy, and there are no records for anybody in Chicagoland named "Custino". In other words, it sounds made up to me. The only other record for a "Phil A Custino" that I could find (apart from mentions in the OKC papers) was for a 1992 marriage in Reno to a Kathy Gillings. Note in the above that "Phillip Angelo Custino" was born March 1947, presumably in Chicago.

Anthony Phillip Caliendo was born Phillip Anthony Caliendo Jr in Chicago on March 13, 1947, to Phillip Anthony Caliendo Sr and Glenda Gentile, both from the Taylor St neighborhood, and the Caliendos lived around 1950 at Claremont and Roosevelt. In 1976, Anthony Caliendo stated that he was living in Pulaski County, KY when he married a Kentucky-born woman named Robert Thornsberry in Buchanan, VA (this was his 2nd wife).

Here's a yearbook photo for a 16-year-old Anthony "Tony" Caliendo in 1963 at Foreman HS on the NW Side of Chicago (I believe this was Anthony Phillip Caliendo, as the family did move to the NW Side from Taylor St):



Given the same birth year and month, the name "Phillip", and the fact that there are no records at all for anyone named "Phillip Angelo Custino" prior to 1992 that I could find, I do think it's a very good chance that "Phil Custino" indeed is Tony Caliendo. Notice above also that over the years, "Custino" has had addresses in Palm Beach County, FL. In 1997, a guy named Anthony Phillip Caliendo married a woman named Barbara Kauts in Palm Beach County; he stated on the marriage license that he was born March 12 1948 in "New York" (a year and a day off from Tony Caliendo). NorthBuffalo posted above that "Custino" has a shady son in FL that goes by Anthony Caliendo. I posted a link to a hustlerish Chicago guy named Anthony Caliendo. He lives in DelRay Beach, which is also where "Custino's" most recent address is. One of the Caliendo businesses in Caliendo Foods, an Italian import outfit in DelRay. From their website, I can confirm that this Anthony Caliendo is indeed Tony Caliendo's son from his first marriage (Tony Caliendo's grandfather was Francesco Caliendo from San Vitaliano, just outside of Napoli):




Now, as to whether Tony Caliendo ratted out anyone of any importance in LCN, that's another question.

[PolackTony]

I think the Caliendo place was in the Heights or southern Cook Co., but belonged to Ferriola.

Right. Note that the Caliendos were originally from Taylor St, so their affiliation with the Ferriola crew would make sense. Vito Caliendo's ring was running prostitution out of "spas" in not just The Heights and Dixmoor in the South Burbs, but also Lyons and Elk Grove Village in the Western Burbs. At the time of their arrests in 1987, Vito Caliendo was living up in Deer Park on the Lake County line, while Tony Caliendo had addresses near Randolph and Michigan in the Loop as well as in Palos Hills in the SW Burbs.

[PolackTony]

Was this common knowledge among the Chicago posters? Kind of insane this guy was living out in the open through the 1990s as I know the Outfit has killed multiple people since that timeframe and I have to assume this guy maintains ties to his family members.

Anyone know if he's still alive? This is an old article I found that at least confirms WITSEC and OC in Chicago so I have to believe this is real.

There’s a lot of missing context here and it isn’t clear to me how big of a deal this was.

In 1987, a prostitution ring running out of a number of suburban Chicago spas was busted by the Feds. The ring apparently was run by Vito Caliendo (then 55, he died in 1991), a outfit associate presumably with the Ferriola/Infelise crew (the Caliendos were originally from Taylor St and later moved out to Melrose Park). This was one of the cases that resulted from Operation Safebet, a DOJ investigation of Chicagoland prostitution operations with ties to OC. In 1988, Vito Caliendo was convicted along with his nephew, Anthony Phillip Caliendo (then 40 yo), and Sal Cataudella (then 34 yo), along with some other prostitution operators or pimps. Anthony Caliendo was running a spa called Plato’s in Chicago Heights that was being used as a prostitution front. I’m not aware of any relation between Cataudella and the Caliendos myself and if it exists it’s presumably via marriage.

It was never reported in the Chicago papers that Anthony Caliendo testified in this case (just that he was convicted in 1988 and sentenced to 6 years), or any others. Maybe Snakes or Patrick are aware of something that I’m not. The articles that you posted don’t actually “confirm” that this guy who said his name was Angelo Phillip Custino was really Anthony Caliendo or that Anthony Caliendo was in WITSEC. He may have indeed been, but what the articles report is that some guy named Bud Elder who was “Custino’s” business partner alleged that “Custino” was really Tony Caliendo and that “Custino” allegedly confided this to him, after he was sued by the “Custinos” following a falling out. I’d like more to go on that the word of some guy named Bud Elder in OKC with an axe to grind. The reporters who wrote the articles just report that the Caliendo thing was a claim made by Elder, they don’t confirm it or claim there was any substance to it and there are no LE sources confirming it. Maybe Elder made up the allegation to slander “Custino”. Maybe “Custino” in fact told him this, either because it was true, or he made it up because he was a hustler and wanted to intimidate or impress a local like Elder. I can say that there are records for a “Phil A Custino”, in his 70s today, with prior addresses in IL, OK, FL, and CA. If he is really Tony Caliendo, I don’t see that these articles prove it.

For the sake of argument, however, let’s assume that Bud Elder was right and “Custino” was really Tony Caliendo living in OKC under an assumed identity in WITSEC. Who did he testify against? Any made guys or important associates, or just prostitution people? Was anyone in Chicago aware that he was living in OKC, which is not exactly a place with strong ties to Chicago? Given that his cooperation was evidently not important enough to be reported in the papers, did anyone care about him enough to use ties to corrupt LE to track him down? If they did, was he worth assassinating in the 90s, with LE force coming down like a hammer on Chicago during this time? Where they going to blow him into pieces like they did Louie Bombacino (who, as a reminder, testified against Jackie Cerone and was killed in a car bomb in Tempe, an area with strong Chicago ties, in the 70s after ignoring FBI warnings that he needed to leave AZ because his life was in danger)? Unless he did serious damage to guys who mattered, Tony Caliendo, even if he was a rat, is not going to be comparable to Nick Calabrese, for obvious reasons.

I believe that this is the son Angelo Custino mentioned in the article, born in 1991 in OKC.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2584426/

There is a Chicago guy named Anthony Caliendo who seems to be a huckster and B movie actor based in FL. He is not “Custino’s” kid though, at least not the one in the article you posted, who was born in 1991.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonycaliendo1

I’ll be honest, never really heard of the guy. Considering he got the most time in the case it, I guess he could have flipped after he got the time but who did he testify against? Maybe he testified against something unrelated to the outfit and then went into the witness pp. Victor Spilotro got caught up in that case and only got 6 months. There are a lot of Caliendo’s in Chicago and this guy just doesn’t ring a bell to me. I can look into it though. Who knows, he might have told Elder guy he was in the witsec and it was a lie. Very hard to verify unlesss the government verifies which they won’t

I believe that Vito Caliendo got the longest sentence in this case at 7 years (also believe that Vic Spilotro was involved in a different ring that was targeted by the same Operation Safebet). Tony Caliendo was given 6 years, but I can confirm from the papers that he was operating a restaurant in OKC as of 1992 at the latest. If he had been released early on parole, then presumably the terms of his parole would not have allowed him to move out of state, but who knows, maybe his sentence got overturned or something. If he was ratting out anyone of importance in LCN, or had flipped in the 1988 case, I would think it would've been reported at the time.

[Patrickgold]

I think you found him Tony. Look at his nose and it’s the same guy. Same type of nose. Now I’m really curious to know who he ratted on. I’ll have to dig into this

[Snakes]

I think you found him Tony. Look at his nose and it’s the same guy. Same type of nose. Now I’m really curious to know who he ratted on. I’ll have to dig into this

Vito Caliendo has a release date of "unknown" and "not in BP custody," which sometimes indicates the guy cooperated, but if it was Anthony that cooperated, maybe something else happened to Vito. Anthony doesn't have anything at all in the BOP database.

[PolackTony]

I think you found him Tony. Look at his nose and it’s the same guy. Same type of nose. Now I’m really curious to know who he ratted on. I’ll have to dig into this

Vito Caliendo has a release date of "unknown" and "not in BP custody," which sometimes indicates the guy cooperated, but if it was Anthony that cooperated, maybe something else happened to Vito. Anthony doesn't have anything at all in the BOP database.

Vito Caliendo appealed his conviction but the appeal was denied in 1990. The ruling noted that Tony Caliendo had withdrawn his appeal, but doesn’t mention anything concerning cooperating witnesses in this case (it does, however, state that Vito’s brother Philip Anthony Caliendo, Tony Caliendo’s father, was also involved in running the prostitution fronts; he died in 1990). Vito died in February of 1991, which could be why his BOP release date is “unknown”, I’d think?

Agree that it’s odd that nothing comes up for Tony Caliendo in rhe BOP locator. I tried looking him up under his first and middle name.

[NorthBuffalo]

Fratto says that Vito Caliendo was very close with Butch Petrocelli and came up under him. There was a murder discussed in Family Secrets that involved Robert Oliveri was related to Vito Caliendo who owned porno stores that competed with Oliveri. Petrocelli sent guys to spook him and they ended up killing him - there was a major issue with 'Robery Salerno' who owned Oliveri.

They are not related to another Caliendo family in Melrose Park who appeared to have run that local police department (Charlie and Tony Caliendo).