Chicago SyndicateChicago SyndicateThe Chicago Syndicate will focus on the Chicago Mob. In addition to featuring current news articles, it will also attempt to provide some additional analysis and background information. This site may also feature news about the mafia in other cities Articles
Alleged Mob Associate: "We Put the Boots to Him..."
2008-02-07 21:11:00 The former right-hand man of reputed mob killer Anthony Calabrese had a simple explanation for jurors Tuesday about how the two men roughed up a suspected snitch. "We both got to stomping," explained Robert Cooper, testifying against his former friend on the second day of Calabrese's trial. "We put the boots to him. We both had steel-toed boots," Cooper said. The victim, Edmund Frank, really More About: Boots , Associate
Sandy Smith's Nerves of Steel
2008-02-07 16:47:00 In 1966, intrepid Chicago Sun-Times reporter Sandy Smith broke a national story about how the Chicago mob controlled and skimmed millions of dollars a year from Las Vegas casinos. The cash was lugged out in bags and suitcases and personally delivered to the Tony Sopranos of the day in Chicago, Miami, Cleveland and New York. "To protect that vast funding of syndicate operations, a generous and More About: Steel
Will Robbery Trial Lead to Confession from Suspected Mob Hit Man?
2008-02-06 16:33:00 The reputed mob hit man sat at a courtroom table Monday in Chicago looking more corporate than killer, in glasses and a blue suit wrapped around his beefy frame, as federal prosecutors presented their case against him that could put him in prison for the rest of his life. Anthony Calabrese, 47, is a suspect but not charged in the last known mob hit in the Chicago area in 2001 and the attempted More About: Trial , Confession , Robbery , Lead , Fess
Was it Self-Defense or Murder by Alleged Mobster?
2008-02-04 22:21:00 A reputed low-level gangster on trial for killing a high-level mobster in a Bronx street brawl is expected to take the witness stand Monday. Frank Santoro, 59, is on trial for the July 11, 2002, murder of Thomas Pennini, who authorities said was acting as a good Samaritan trying to break up a street fight involving three women - including Santoro's girlfriend. Bronx Assistant District Attorney More About: Murder , Defense , Self-Defense
Al Capone's Last Getaway
2008-02-04 20:15:00 Al ''Scarface'' Capone beat the rap in Miami's Courtroom 6-1, but within a year he would be locked up for good. The name Alphonse Capone appeared as a defendant on the courtroom's docket in early July 1930. The charge: Not murder, but perjury -- one count. Historical photographs show a dandy Capone arriving at the Dade County Courthouse, flanked by police. Capone didn't have to travel far to More About: Getaway
Banks Family Rules
2008-02-03 21:17:00 In the overly gentrified Bucktown community on the city's North Side, neighbors call the gigantic gray stone home on Wood Street by a special name: the "French Embassy." But why not give it a proper name -- "La Palais de la famiglia du Pastries Banks ." The massive single-family home that dwarfs neighbors and casts a humongous shadow was featured in the Tribune's amazing series on zoning this More About: Family , Rules
"Tony Soprano" Punches Fan at Airport
2008-02-01 16:27:00 "Soprano s" star James Gandolfini launched a violent attack on a fan at a New York airport after he was approached for an autograph. The 46-year-old became enraged when the man, brandishing a notepad and pen, came too close to the actor's fiance, Deborah Lin, and Gandolfini hit out, grabbing him by the collar and punching him in the face. The altercation -- captured on camera -- took place as More About: Airport , Tony , Tony Soprano , Punches
Cook County State's Attorney Candidate Lobbied for Reputed Mob Associate's
2008-01-31 15:45:00 Larry Suffredin -- a self-styled reformer running for Cook County state's attorney -- lobbied for a landfill controlled by Fred Bruno Barbara, a businessman once charged with extortion and implicated in the mob bombing of a restaurant, the Sun-Times has learned. Suffredin, a Cook County commissioner (D-Evanston), has come under attack by rivals for his work as a lobbyist on behalf of casino and More About: Attorney , Candidate
The Chicago Outfit Stretches into Rockford
2008-01-28 17:44:00 Stuart R. Wahlin has shared with us several articles that he has written that examine the reach of the Chicago Outfit into Rockford along with a current case with organized crime ties. Chicago's Family Secrets Told in Rockford provides a recap of the Family Secrets Trial and includes information on a case in Rockford in which nine men were sentenced this past summer, between May and June, on
Chicago's FBI Joint Task Force on Gangs Featured on AMW
2008-01-27 05:52:00 Dionne Garcia: After several years of hard work, the Chicago FBI's Joint Task Force on Gangs was able to indict 52 people in relation to the manufacture and distribution of PCP on the streets of the Windy City . Of all those indictments, only two people remain on the run. Agents say Dionne Garcia fled after being charged, probably with her common-law husband and their four children. Jimmy More About: Featured
Tatto Parlor Order Hit by Mob for Retaliation
2008-01-27 05:16:00 A reputed hit man ordered a Chicago-area tattoo shop closed and its owner hurt because the daughter of a mob boss was tattooed there, court records allege. The revelation came in the case of alleged mob killer Anthony Calabrese, scheduled to go to trial in February on charges he participated in three suburban robberies, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Friday. The recent court filings provided More About: Order
James "Whitey" Bulger Audio Recording and Transcript
2008-01-24 16:36:00 The Bulger Fugitive Task Force (BFTF), comprised of agents and officers from the FBI, State Police, Department of Corrections, and Prosecutors from the United States Attorney's Office, is making recordings of fugitive James J. Bulger available. Bulger is on the FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted List. Although these recordings were taken prior to Bulger's fugitive status, it is believed that they depict More About: Audio , Recording , Whitey
Eliot Ness Amber Lager
2008-01-24 04:34:00 As a fan of microbrews and brewpubs's I was not aware that Great Lakes Brewing Company had created a beer called Elio t Ness Amber Lager . It is described as an amber lager with rich, fragrant malt flavors balanced by crisp, noble hops. Per the Brewery, Eliot Ness Amber Lager was named after one of Cleveland's most respected safety directors who frequented the Brewpub's bar during his tenure from
Poll Results: Would a Casino Operated by the City of Chicago be Influenced
2008-01-23 17:07:00 Poll Results : Would a Casino Operated by the City of Chicago be Influenced by the Chicago Outfit? 48% Yes - The Mob would have their hands all over it. 22% Yes - But the Mob would only be on the fringes. 17% No - But it would still be influenced by typical Chicago Clout. 2% No - But I am pretty naive. 9% No - I think it will be regulated fairly. More About: Poll
One Last Shot at Glory for The Sopranos
2008-01-23 16:29:00 It’s bound to be a major dramatic moment at the 14th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards: the announcement of the winner for performance by an ensemble in a drama series. Contenders for the award are the casts of “Boston Legal,” “The Closer,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Mad Men” and “The Sopranos .” “The Sopranos” closed its sixth and final season last year with the infamous “cut to black” ending, leaving More About: Shot , Glory
The ABA Journal, Family Secrets Trial Appeals and Connie's Pizza Included i
2008-01-20 23:21:00 Attorney Joseph "The Shark" Lopez returns with more Shark Tales. The ABA Journal 's January 2008 issue included an article titled Full Court Coverage. It is a very nicely done piece that addressed the question: "What happens when defense counsel and ordinary citizens blog about high-profile trials?". Both Joseph R. Lopez and The Chicago Syndicate were interviewed for perspective on this subject. More About: Family , Pizza , Trial , Secrets
The Good Rat
2008-01-20 22:59:00 Jimmy Breslin stared helplessly out the window of his office in The Daily News one afternoon in the 1970s, seeking inspiration — through a haze of cigar smoke — from the nondescript facade of a building across 42nd Street. He betrayed no visible brain activity, not even a flicker of the genius that infused his columns, one of which was close to being overdue. I know because I was his anxious More About: Good , The Good
DEA Agents Say They are Not Villians, Sue "American Gangster" Filmmakers
2008-01-19 03:35:00 A group of retired federal drug enforcement agents sued NBC Universal on Wednesday, saying the movie "American Gangster " falsely made them out to be villains in the story of a Harlem heroin trafficker played by Denzel Washington. Shortly after the movie was released, the American Gangster Myth was brought to light and reporter Clarence Walker answered the question "What's the Real Story Behind More About: Agents
$100,000 REWARD OFFERED IN MURDER OF MAYWOOD POLICE OFFICER
2008-01-17 15:11:00 Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Elvia Williams, Chief of the Maywood, Illinois Police Department (MPD) are asking for the public's help in identifying the individual(s) responsible for the October 23, 2006 murder of MPD Officer Thomas Wood. A nine year veteran of the MPD, Officer Wood was found shot to death in his More About: Murder , Reward
Crime Time Blogs
2007-12-16 07:28:00 A few weeks ago, this site was named to the ABA journal Blawg 100. It was their editor's way to honor the best 100 blogs "by lawyers for lawyers". Although, I mentioned this back when it was first released and I added a Vote for this Blog button on the left side column, I wanted to mention each of the other blogs that were classified in the Crime Time category. If you want to vote for this blog More About: Blogs
Illinois Governor Blagovich Leads List of Politicians Receiving Contributio
2007-12-16 07:13:00 An Oak Brook businessman who has extensive financial and personal ties to the former head of the Chicago mob has given more than $200,000 in contributions to Illinois politicians through personal and corporate donations -- with Gov. Blagojevich receiving the most money, $35,000, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned. Among other top recipients of donations from the businessman, Nicholas Vangel, a More About: Leads , Politicians , List , Governor
Will the Chicago Outfit Assign Hitmen to Compose 'Trunk Music' Against the
2007-12-16 05:22:00 Daily Variety editor-in-chief Peter Bart has come up with a novel idea to end the six-week-old writers’ strike – bring in the Chicago mafia to whack a few leaders of the striking Writers Guild. In a column that ran in Daily Variety on Dec.10 under the headline “A way to settle so it’s all in the ‘family’” – with the word ‘family’ in quotes to make sure we all know he’s talking about the Mafia – More About: Music , Outfit , Hitmen
Federal Case for Sopranos Sequel
2007-12-16 00:56:00 Tony Soprano never had to sing in court. But the brains behind the mobster is ready to take the stand. David Chase turned up Wednesday in a federal courtroom Trenton, New Jersey, for a trial that will determine whether the Sopranos mastermind got help dreaming up the series from a former gavel-banger. The outcome, or any financial award, will be decided by a jury of seven women and one man, who More About: Case , Sequel
Would the Mob Control a City of Chicago Casino?
2007-12-15 03:21:00 Cities across the country have looked to casinos as a way to generate money, but Chicago is going a step further. There's a movement in Illinois to allow Chicago to actually go into the casino business. Under the deal, Chicago would own and operate a casino, making it the first municipality in the country to do so. Given Chicago's history with the mob, gambling and corruption, the plan is raising More About: Casino , City , Control
Mob Trial Ends in Aquittal for Pizza Maker
2007-12-14 17:51:00 In a stunning reversal of fortune, a Brooklyn jury Thursday night acquitted a pizza maker of cooking up a plan to gun down a mob loanshark and his cousin. Carmine Polito, 48, whose 2003 federal conviction in the case was overturned on a technicality, is free and clear after a five-week trial in Brooklyn Supreme Court - where one of the victims and two accomplices testified against him. " More About: Pizza , Trial , Maker , Ends
Big Pussy is Not Dead, He's in Chicago
2007-12-10 20:48:00 When you play a guy on TV named Big Pussy , you have big problems. People yell that name in the most inconvenient places -- in quiet bookstores, in churches, in restaurants. Actor Vincent Pastore, one of the most popular members of Tony's crew on "The Sopranos" before being whacked at the end of the second season, puts it like this: "Big Pussy is my nickname for the rest of my life. My friends More About: Chicago , Dead
Mob Influence on Tennis Worries John McEnroe
2007-12-10 17:52:00 US tennis legend John McEnroe expressed his concern on Friday that organised crime, such as the Russian mafia, could be infiltrating tennis. The former world number one believes that threats to tennis players or their families could be forcing them into throwing matches. "The thing that worries me is that mafia types, like the Russian mafia, could be involved. That's potentially pretty dark and More About: Tennis , Influence
Mafia Princess Finds God
2007-12-10 17:43:00 I was a mafia princess. I know—it sounds like something straight out of The Sopranos, dangerous and exciting. The truth is much less glamorous, and I don't look back on any of it with relish. In fact, I'd prefer to keep those now-unpleasant memories safely locked away, out of sight and mind. But God's voice whispers, Good can still come from the past, Barbara, if you'll just release it. So I More About: Princess , Mafia
Last of Gotti's Capos To Marry
2007-12-07 16:52:00 One way or another, his life as a free man is nearly over. Reputed Gambino capo George DeCicco, 78, and his longtime girlfriend, Gail Lombardozzi, 52, yesterday got a marriage license - a year after feds indicted the high-powered capo, who had successfully ducked prosecution for decades. A federal judge allowed the gray-haired mobster - who is under house arrest pending his racketeering and More About: Marry
Lin DeVecchio to Return to Court?
More articles from this author:2007-12-07 16:45:00 Former G-man Lindley DeVecchio may return to court as a defense witness for Colombo crime boss Alphonse (Allie Boy) Persico, the Daily News has learned. DeVecchio, 67, was cleared last month of orchestrating four gangland murders with informer Gregory Scarpa after a key witness was snared in a web of lies. Defense lawyer Sarita Kedia wants to call the retired agent as an organized crime expert More About: Return , Court 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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