So, I have a question for you. When Romie began working for his Uncle Tony Iorii (one of Al Capones most valued men) as an older teenager, James, who was 2-years Romies senior, went to school in pursuit of a law career. One major movie untruth, that was an important undercurrent in the storyline, involves the Chicago mob and President John F. Kennedy. Calabrese also testified that he and Matassa helped conduct surveillance in the late 1980s on a movie house operator who owed the mob money, according to the transcript. Marcello, of west suburban Wood Dale, has been free on bond since he was quietly indicted in December 2019. But the mob still operates, and its members still represent a potentially serious criminal threat.. Now, an FBI record obtained tonight by the I-Team may come as a surprise to those who knew Jimmy "The I" Inendino. However, he was a phenomenal son, husband, father, grandfather, and a great judge. According to my late father, one of the Outfits favorite Chicago mayors (in my fathers lifetime) was Harold Washington. Sometimes a judge would know of Romies involvement on his or her behalf, however, this was the exception and not the rule. Cook County no longer has such a court. James Marcello, 78, is serving life in prison at a maximum-security facility in Colorado. A truck for D & P Construction, a waste-hauling company that the FBI has said was controlled by brothers John DiFronzo and Peter DiFronzo. An outfit of guys who gamble. Matassa also spent thousands of dollars in union cash on expenses for himself, including restaurant meals, a cellphone, gas and car washes, according to records that were discussed in court Monday. After doing 12 years for stealing $10 million in a Ponzi scheme, he said he was a . That accident -- apparently now in litigation -- is one of the things prompting him to ask a federal judge in Chicago for mercy again. DiFronzo and D'Amico cut their teeth on the same West Side Outfit crew and were considered yin and yang crooks. Over the years the Outfit has learned that killing people brings too much heat from law enforcement. "I'm in the carpet cleaning business," DeLaurentis told the I-Team on Friday. The Judge was a mans man. I paid my debt to society, he said. As with many mobsters who claim either Christmas or New Year's Day as their birthdates, D'Amico always said he was born on Jan. 1, 1936, and official paperwork seemed to back that up. "I would guess there's some shaking of heads and some maybe some concern. 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By now it should start making more sense to some of you how relevant Romies aldermanic influence was during his discreet meetings over the decades with any one of the eight Chicago mayors who Romie dealt with during his 40-something year run as a vitally important political and labor union racketeer in Chicago. Mobster Marco D'Amico is peeking over the owner's shoulder. Despite the gory outcome of the traffic stop, in typical Outfit fashion, no jail time would be served. As a result of Romies discreet power behind the then First Ward, Romie didnt have to personally connect with every Chicago Alderman in order to cause them to perform for him. Giacchetti also said Matassa has considerable health problems, including chronic heart disease, morbid obesity, diabetes and vertigo. sentenced Marcello to 8 years in prison, New NCAA president says NIL rules could protect college athletes, Glencoe begins cost sharing program to combat lead pipes, Bill could open up pitches from different communities for a Lake County convention center, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. One record suggests that, at one point, a suburban police officer helped scuttle FBI efforts to trail DiFronzo in a car, blocking its path. surfaced in the historic Operation Family Secrets, Oswego residents vote in GOP primary for village president, trustee, Woman, 55, fatally wounded Tuesday night in North Austin neighborhood, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Dorfman was dead in the parking lot of the Hyatt, the infamous purple-colored hotel which has since been demolished. Shortly after being assigned to the Cook Countys Fourth District Courthouse in Maywood, Illinois, Assistant States Attorney Colin Simpson decided to enter Zafiratos courtroom to observe the proceedings. While there has been a long-running internet debate about the entire premise of the film and how Jimmy Hoffa was lured to his death and murdered by hoodlums in a suburban Detroit home, it is based on the book "I Heard You Paint Houses." I, along with the Chicago legal community and all those James knew throughout his life, can attest that he took his responsibility to the law with the utmost seriousness. With confidence, Romie predicted that Zafiratos would be up to the task. This went on for a little while. These votes can be negotiated with various groups who control the Irish votes and others. Binder, a retired University of Illinois-Chicago professor and Ph.D., has studied the 1960 election and assertions that Outfit vote fraud carried the day for John Kennedy. U.S. District Matthew Kennelly, however, told Matassa he didnt seem to get it. Some members of the unions board testified to a federal grand jury that they were unaware they were even trustees, Kennelly said. Dorfman was killed four years after "The Irishman" claims, an odd mistake for a film with a $150 million dollar budget and scores of researchers, aides and assistants listed in the credits who could have fact-checked the date in a simple Google search. In the scope of his important responsibilities on behalf of the Chicago Outfit, Romie discreetly weighed in very seriously on decisions that went into securing endorsements from the Chicago political machine for judicial candidates and appointing a lot of judges to the bench in Cook County, and in some cases throughout the State of Illinois. SEE ALSO | Newly released JFK documents link Chicago mob bosses to Cuban militiamen. Romie was a political fixer and labor union racketeer for the Chicago Outfit for many years (please read the previous addendums for more details, including several FBI 302 reports and other exhibits, that support my information via links located at the bottom of this page). One file, from 1982, showed cars parked near the deli, including one that was registered to D&P Construction Co., Inc. a waste-hauling business that the FBI contended was secretly controlled by DiFronzo and his brother Peter DiFronzo, who died at 87 in 2020. CHICAGO (WLS) -- Mario Rainone has spent about half of his life behind bars for various Chicago Outfit rackets from violence to extortion. They just punched up the vote a little bit to make sure that he won in Illinois.". Credit: The Chicago Outfit, John J. Binder Racehorse Dolly Val, Jimmy Emery holding the reins. Lopez told the I-Team Rainone wants to go to Italy but is now restricted to the Northern District of Illinois. Their unique education was eventually passed down to the now-retired Illinois State Senator Jimmy DeLeo by Romie personally, primarily during the early 1990s. Which is certainly a great deal less than they once did, given how their world has changed over the last several decades because of law enforcement efforts against them and a long list of other factors. Now, he's going back to prison. She had then recently stolen a shirt from a department store and she was pleading guilty to the crime. A Roman Catholic priest and former prison chaplain who ministered to Chicago mob boss Frank Calabrese, Sr., was indicted earlier this month for illegally passing jailhouse messages from Calabrese and plotting with his associates on the outsidea sobering reminder of how deeply organized crime can reach into the community, even from behind bars. Chicagos old First Ward acted as a powerful buffer between Romie and all of Chicagos aldermen. With the exception of David Duvall Orr, Romie personally knew every Chicago mayor from Kelly to Richard M. Daley. Does he have a sufficient age and health condition that the odds of his doing anybody harm are very low?". "Did he get jammed up on something related to current stuff and did he agree to therefore cooperate with them? Top Ten Fugitive James Whitey Bulger Arrested. Copyright 2023 WLS-TV. The woman explained that it was her husbands birthday and that she didnt have any money to buy him a gift. Reputed Chicago mob figure John Matassa Jr. didnt exactly sound wracked with guilt when he was asked Monday if he had anything to say before being sentenced for a union embezzlement scheme. Copyright 2023 WLS-TV. The once-secret FBI files cover mostly the 1970s and 1980s, when DiFronzo was rising in power but hadnt yet reached the pinnacle of organized crime in Chicago. Romie also secured desired assignments for judges. You dont know why theyre here. Romie Nappi and James Zafiratos grew up as boyhood friends. ", During that television interview conducted at the federal lock-up in Chicago, DeLaurentis said he was "a bricklayer by trade" and a part-time gambler. Hes just not cooperating at all. One day while on the bench, an elderly lady appeared in Zafiratos courtroom. Prior to the sentence being handed down, Marcello apologized to the court, acknowledging he made terrible choices and asking for mercy as he nears the final phase of his life. Matassas conviction wasnt the first time his association with labor unions has gotten him into hot water. Damarius Williams, 25, of Tifton, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Oct. 18, 2022, and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years of imprisonment to be followed by at least three years of supervised release and a $1,000,000 fine. DiFronzo's declining health the past few years may have allowed the mob to restructure its upper crust in anticipation of his death. Muhammad Ali with major "the maj" coxson who was a drug kingpin from philly. His ability to keep out of the limelight meshed well with Romies attitudes towards public attention. It should be noted that Murray Humphreys was already deceased, and Gus Alex was then already replaced as the Chicago Outfits head political and labor racketeer operative by Romie, which could support why Romie was contacted by Mayor Richard J. Daley prior to the start of the battery case. The US attorney tells the I-Team they'll have no comment on Rainone until a hearing next month. Regardless of what some see as an evolving line-up atop the Chicago mob, defense attorney Joe Lopez, who has represented numerous top hoodlums, says the Outfit is a thing of the past. When Calabrese and Marcello were later imprisoned together in Michigan, the two had a code to signify when they were talking about Matassa, Calabrese testified. DeLaurentis, 79, was released from federal prison in 2006 after serving a long sentence for racketeering, extortion and tax fraud. Copyright 2023 WLS-TV. During the hearing, Kennelly had pointed questions about the union itself, noting that it had only about 150 members and was composed of a strange conglomeration of workers from various industries including food service, roofers and construction in the Chicago area and Wisconsin. His wake was held Monday after he died this past Thursday at age 80. If you can put in a couple of tablespoons of Marilyn Monroe and a half cup of Frank Sinatra, so much the better.". A portion of the crews illegal gains goes to the Outfits top bosses. James mother was a major driving force behind her sons dedication to pursuing graduate school. In this artist sketch, alleged mobsters Joey "the Clown" Lombardo, from left, Frank Calabrese Sr. and James Marcello sit in court on June 19, 2007, as jury selection begins in the city's biggest organized crime trial in years. asks FBI special agent in charge Jeffrey Sallet. Marcello testified that he learned of Calabreses cooperation with law enforcement from reputed mob figure John Pudgy Matassa Jr. Ambrose was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison. That book presents mobster Frank Sheeran's version of what happened to Hoffa, and even though the crime scenario has been discredited by federal investigators, it is nonetheless Sheeran's alleged insider take on what happened and the movie repeats that faithfully. I attribute their motives to sabotaging my goals as follows: In the late 1990s, I had it out with Spina after he took advantage of Romie Nappi while Romie was suffering from senility. "Just because it's not the Outfit guys standing on the West Side or South Side selling it doesn't mean they aren't actively involved in making a lot of money off of narcotics themselves. Before I start sharing some interesting information about James Zafiratos, I will tell you a bit about my late step-uncle, Romie J. Nappi, and his role with the Cook County judiciary. CHICAGO (WLS) -- For decades, Chicago mob boss Marco D'Amico was dogged by a bad mugshot depicting him with Coke-bottle glasses that magnified a pair of bulging eyeballs. He was for a time running day-to-day operations.. Oct 29, 2021, 3:30am PST SHARE Onetime Chicago Outfit boss's FBI files shed no light on why he escaped charges in 'Family Secrets' killings Pocket Flipboard A mug shot of a young John DiFronzo, from recently obtained FBI files on the late Chicago Outfit boss. My late father, Armando Mondo Fosco, was always by Romies side. Their current boss is Salvatore "Solly" DeLaurentis. Among the companies Marcello claimed to have worked for was the Peanut Corporation of America, a peanut-processing business that collapsed amid one of the largest lethal foodborne contamination scandals in U.S. history. The two attorneys most recently listed on Inendino's federal cases did not immediately return requests for comment by the I-Team. If it werent for the bad cops in Elmwood Park, Illinois (who were eventually forced out of the Elmwood Park, Illinois, Police Department), that brought a bogus case against me in 1992, I probably would not have had the pleasure of knowing Judge Zafiratos. Marcello wasnt just involved (in organized crime), he was an operations manager, Alonso said. In the movie, Dorfman's character is shown with the on-screen title stating that he was "shot eight times in the head in a Chicago parking lot, 1979.". Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Some of the paperwork now part of the Sun-Times online The FBI Files database, which contains thousands of records on Chicago and Illinois politicians, gangsters, union bosses, religious figures, academics, spies and actors is heavily redacted. However, he played a major role in the pre-prohibition days of the gang, in creating a vast prostitution empire in Chicago. emailStay Connected Zafiratos consistently replied, Who doesnt know Daley?. On January 20, 1983, Dorfman was three days from being sentenced to federal prison in the mob-linked Teamsters pension fund corruption case. In fact, Matassa was among those indoctrinated as a made member of the mob at an October 1983 ceremony at a shuttered restaurant on Mannheim Road, Calabrese testified, according to a transcript available in court records. An official website of the United States government. Salvatore "Solly D" DeLaurentis - The Chicago Outfit has been around as long or longer than any of New York's five families. CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Chicago Outfit has lost one of its most colorful characters. As he was leaving a hotel in northwest suburban Lincolnwood - not Chicago, as the film states - two masked assassins came up from behind and one of them began blasting, continuing to fire as the business tycoon collapsed to the asphalt. "The Outfit is like a group that comes in here to paint the walls" he told investigative reporter Chuck Goudie during a 1993 interview. At Mickey Marcellos sentencing hearing in 2008, prosecutors said hed been in organized crime for almost a decade and had evaded more than $1 million in taxes. Weve got them down, and weve got to keep them down.. While it is true that Dorfman, 60, was shot in the head multiple times with a .22 caliber pistol - then the Outfit's assassination weapon-of-choice - it wasn't a Chicago parking lot and it wasn't in 1979, as the film claims. Doing 12 years for stealing $ 10 million in a Ponzi scheme, he & # x27 ; going. 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