Thursday, March 28

Tony Caliendo, Drumhead And Ciotti

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Lt. Anthony “Tony” J. Caliendo

Lt. Anthony “Tony” J. Caliendo

Anthony “Tony” J. Caliendo, was born on October 13, 1943 and passed away on September 12, 2010. When Tony was a young man he was very close with “Blind Louie” Cavallaro, a business associate of my father’s in the 1960s. The combination of Tony having a rich history with a dear friend of my dad, Blind Louie, my dear friend Buddy Ciotti and Tony’s undying love and respect for his wife and daughters constitutes just a few of the reasons I developed a deep fondness and respect for him. Tony Caliendo is among the few men that have passed on that I truly miss.

Luckily, Tony lived long enough to see the worst police chief in the entire country (and one of his biggest enemies) end up right where he belongs, in prison. The chief is no other than Vito “Drumhead” Scavo, whose reign of tyranny over the Melrose Park, Illinois, Police Department is legendary.

Scavo was literally a Blago on steroids. His trial allowed the public to see what only a select few people, like Tony, knew about what was really happening in Melrose Park. When all was said and done, Scavo had over 20 felony convictions to his name. A number of these crimes are particularly despicable, considering they were committed by a high-ranking police official.

On many occasions I would sit and listen to Tony and Chicago Outfit poker machine kingpin Buddy Ciotti discuss their disappointment in and frustration with Vito Scavo. They were concerned that the power of his office had turned Scavo into a monster.

Tony, who was a rough and tough Marine at heart, desperately wanted to demonstrate the effectiveness of his physical techniques on Scavo during numerous difficult occasions over the years. I remember several times where Tony asked Buddy for permission to rip Scavo apart. Every time Tony would ask Buddy for the green light, Buddy would deny Tony his wish, citing concerns that Scavo might turn into a stoolpigeon if Tony was allowed to beat him into a bloody pulp.

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36 Comments

  1. (YOUR COMMENT WAS MODIFIED – please respond to each article accordingly. Thanks, American News Post)

  2. Mr. Jingledonkey on

    Joe,

    My family knows Mick Caliendo and one of his kids. Do you know him? He’s a real goofball, IMHO. I have some good stories about him. You?

    • Dear Mr. Jing…,
      I have met Mick; I would not say that I know him. As far as I am aware, he is not related to Tony, or at least not closely related.

      • Joe, do you know a Melrose Park detective named Micheal Castellan? He has a brother who is a dentist in Melrose Park named Albert. Both are very solid well respected guys. Micheal would absolutely not take any bullshit from any Outfit guys. He is a very solid cop. He did not like Scavo at all and avoided him.

        • Dear The Don,
          I know of Castellan. I do not know him personally. I do not know anything about him.

          • Joe,
            Do you know a Melrose Park “Wannabe” named Tom Fornarelli aka BamBam? His father Tom Sr. was known as “Tommy Cheese”. He died a few years back but I hear the son is following in his father’s footsteps.

  3. jamie harris /caliendo on

    i am tonys son that no one nos about but they should i had a father that wanted nothing to do with me so he is not that good of a man that every one said he was i all so have a twin sis that is TONYS kid aswell and i have profe that he is my dad. his wife gale new about me and my sister and even lied to his to kid they dont even no about me and my sister but they should
    jamie harris/caliendo

    • Joseph Fosco on

      Dear Jamie,
      Regardless of your issues with Tony, I would appreciate if you would not use my message thread to condemn him. Tony Caliendo was a great person, as far as I am concerned. And a couple of influential people felt the same way about him. I am not going to judge my friends personal life, especially now that he is gone and cannot defend himself.

      • jamie harris/caliendo on

        dear joe
        i can prove any thing u like i have blood work and all the tests and paper work if u would like to c them and i have pic of him with me

          • jamie harris/caliendo on

            dear joe
            did u get the pics and papers i sent u.i would like to no if u r going to post them for every one to see.
            jamie

          • jamie harris/caliendo on

            ok joe i will send both pic tomorrow am.
            thank u for ur time.
            do u know tony two kid my two sisters that i have never met

          • Joseph Fosco on

            Dear Jamie,
            No, I do not know them. I have seen them in public places over the years. One is a professional massage therapist who helped Buddy Ciotti during a time that he was suffering with great back pain. I remember seeing her come to his home for the massage. From what I know, they are wonderful people.
            Do not forget to send the photos.

          • Joseph Fosco on

            Readers: For the record, James Harris failed to keep his word. I have not received a photo of him and Tony Caliendo. Now I seriously doubt his claim.

      • jamie harris/caliendo on

        ok sorry if i said any thing that was wrong i do not no tony that way wish i would have

          • jamie harris/caliendo on

            i will send them and thank u for ur time and help
            jamie harris/caliendo

          • jamie harris/caliendo on

            dear joe
            i have a job and have not had a chance to send u the pics to u but i will to day u should have them give me an hr ur 2
            thanks
            jamie

          • jamie harris/caliendo on

            dear joe
            i sent u some pics and papers to prove tony is my dad u should have them in ur in box
            thanks
            jamie harris

  4. WOW! American News Post is different, or so I noticed. How do I get my picture to come up next to each one of my comments?

          • jamie harris/caliendo on

            dear joe
            i have sent them 2 times now if u do not get them i will be more then glade to mail them to u so u can have them
            jamie

          • Joseph Fosco on

            Dear Jamie,
            I receive dozens, sometimes hundreds of emails a day. Many of these emails contain attachments such as photos and other documents. I have been in the business of news for over 3-years now. In all of that time, you are the first and only person that has claimed to send me something via email that I did not receive. I have checked my spam and bulk mail folders as well.
            I do not see what good it would do to give you my mailing address. Take care.

          • Joseph Fosco on

            Dear Jamie,
            Thank you. I received your email about 20-minutes ago. The blood test and child support checks are legible. However, the photos are of extremely poor quality.

  5. jamie harris/caliendo on

    dear joe
    i have to rescan the photos and i will re send them . i have know idea why it took so long for u to get all of that but iam sorry and will re send u better photos
    thank you joe
    jamie