Elmwood Park’s Finest – Part II
Posted on 15. Sep, 2011 by Joseph Fosco in Current Events, Organized Crime
By the time you finish reading this article, I might remind you of Clara Peller, the now late Chicago-born actress, whose fame stems from a Wendy’s commercial and her deadpan delivery of the line, “Where’s the beef?!”
My concern, however, does not revolve around an obsession with ground chuck. My query is centered on a chunk of metal in the shape of a shield.
I have reviewed public records of the September 1st, 2011, criminal arrest of Nicholas P. Rada, and based on my review, I must ask, where’s the badge?
For those of you unfamiliar with this event, please click here for part one of this article.
Before I explain the continuing mystery of the Elmwood Park Police Sergeant’s badge, I would like to inform my readers of some details relevant to the defendant, Nicholas P. Rada. I am taking the time to further explain the history because it is important for you to be aware of the background behind the Rada family of Elmwood Park and the power they hold in that town.
Defendant Nicholas Rada resides in Elmwood Park, purportedly living with his mother and father. His parents, George Rada and Bridget (Messino) Rada met sometime in the 1970s, while working in the office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County. They purportedly fell in love and decided to get married. However, Bridget insisted to wait until her then imprisoned father, gangster Willie Messino, was released from prison for extortion and other related convictions. After Willie’s release, George and Bridget married. In 1981 they gave birth to their only child, Nicholas.
After Outfit bosses Joe Aiuppa and Jack Cerone went to prison in the middle 1980s, Sam Carlisi, John DiFronzo and Willie Messino became the top three major bosses of The Outfit. However, Willie’s position of power quickly came to an abrupt end.
Willie related a story to me that explains this sudden change. The three new top Outfit bosses had a meeting with some out-of-town gangster affiliates, when Willie became enraged and threatened one of the affiliates. Shortly after the meeting, Carlisi and DiFronzo voted to eliminate Willie from the board. Carlisi and DiFronzo were worried that Willie’s antics could get them in trouble.
Willie, having gone toe-to-toe with men like Sam (Dyno) DeStefano, had that old school gangster mentality from a time when brute force was a common practice. DiFronzo believes in saving such force for when it is necessary.
Excommunicating Willie from The Outfit’s top tier must have been difficult though, as DiFronzo believed that Willie was loyal like no other gangster in his immediate circle. Both he and Willie came up together under Cerone and had known each other for decades. When DiFronzo was released from prison in the 90s, the only gangster (aside from his own brother) that he reached out to was Willie. DiFronzo ordered Willie to inform the other gangsters in Chicago to stay away from him (though today DiFronzo is not as strict on this issue). During a short period after his release DiFronzo appointed Willie as his liaison for gangsters to contact if they needed to pass the reluctant leader a message. The Messino family is so close with DiFronzo that they call him “Uncle Johnny.”
The power of the Rada family does not end at village and community levels. I have witnessed over the years that the Rada family’s closeness with State Representative Skip Saviano (the man who took thousands in political donations from Mrs. Peter DiFronzo, sister-in-law to Outfit boss John DiFronzo) helped earn George Rada a short-term, but high-paying, state job issued by the then outgoing Governor George Ryan. In fact, Skip was a pallbearer for gangster Willie Messino (I witnessed this as well), which was a request made by the Rada family that Skip certainly honored.
On a county level, for many years George Rada worked for former Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court, Aurelia Pucinski, as her Deputy Chief. Pucinski is now a Cook County Judge. While unconfirmed, it is heavily rumored in the Rada camp that George Rada allegedly arranged to have a close relative of Pucinski receive a pardon from George Ryan, through Skip Saviano’s insider connection to Ryan.
Another interesting point I would like to make is that the late Willie Messino’s son, William Jr., is the proud father of a young man named William Messino III. William the Third is currently an active Chicago Police Officer and is a first cousin of defendant Rada. I pray that Officer Messino is not connected to the arrest of his cousin Nicholas Rada. I had a very bad experience with Officer Messino’s brother, Joe, last winter (you may read about it here).
For all these reasons, The Elmwood Park Police and Village Administration have a great deal of respect for, and possibly a bit of fear of, the Rada family. This amity entirely stems from the family’s connections to organized crime. It is a sad thing to see elected officials and police officers engaging in the strangely religious worship of The Outfit.
According to the public records that I was able to review, I noticed the following items belonging to defendant Nicholas P. Rada at the time of his arrest that were inventoried as evidence by the Chicago Police Department:
1 – Ruger .38 (serial # 376-08607)
4 – Bullet, Federal .38 (live rounds)
1 – Black gun holster
1 – Narcotic: clear plastic baggie containing white powder substance
1- Fired bullet: spent Federal .38 casing
Oddly, something is missing from the official report:
1 – Elmwood Park Police Sergeant’s badge
I suppose an inventory sheet for the badge could have been misplaced, which is why I was unable to review it. However, my hunch tells me it was not.
The Elm Leaves ran a story on Rada’s arrest, confirming the presence of the badge in the car:
“During his arrest, an Elmwood Park police badge was confiscated, which had been on the console of the car, police said.”
If the badge was confiscated, then who has it now? Why was it not entered into evidence?
The Elm Leaves further reported on Elmwood Park Police Chief’s viewpoint regarding the badge in question:
“Fagiano didn’t know but he suggested Rada could have gotten it from a former police officer.
“Fagiano emphasized on Friday that no one in the Elmwood Park Police Department ever issued Rada a badge. And it never occurred during former Police Chief Tom Braglia’s administration either, Fagiano said.
‘No one in the current police department issued him a badge,’ Fagiano said.”
It amazes me that Fagiano knows with certainty that ‘no one’ in the current police department or the former police administration ever issued Rada the badge. Yet, in nearly the same breath Fagiano indicates that he “didn’t know” how Rada acquired the badge.
Well, Chief, either you know or you don’t know. If the chief told the truth when he said that he “didn’t know,” then he clearly lacks the credibility to clear anyone on the current department or former administration.
Eventually, The Elm Leaves was able to get some kind of an answer out of Fagiano about the possible origins of the mysteriously disappearing badge:
“When police officers retire, their badge is included in a memento piece honoring their years of service. Fagiano suggested Rada could have gotten it from one of those.”
If Fagiano is correct, and the badge on Rada’s person the day of the arrest is actually a pilfered memento, what is the protocol of the police administration in Elmwood Park on keeping records of their memento badges? How many have been issued and who has them? Can the public see what a memento badge looks like? Is there a badge number on one? Do they state the rank of the police official associated to the memento?
Anyone who can supply this information (since The Elmwood Park Police Department has been less than forthcoming), I ask you to contact me (jfosco@americannewspost.com) or leave a comment on this article’s thread.
So in the end we have discovered nothing. Wherever we find a John DiFronzo connection, we find a mystery. Only in Elmwood Park…
P.S.
Whenever our elected officials or police officers fail us, citizens often organize to try to hold these public servants to account. There is a community group called the Neighborhood Voice Party, which is constantly challenging the credibility of the current village administration in Elmwood Park, while priding itself on anti-corruption. The Neighborhood Voice Party recently posted a Chicago Tribune article on their Facebook wall, titled, “Gaylords Charged With Gun, Drug and Gang Crimes.” The Tribune article alleges that an Elmwood Park Auxiliary Officer is connected to a dangerous criminal street gang.
However, the Neighborhood Voice Party would now appear to have laryngitis, as the organization is oddly silent on the drug, gun and police badge matter involving Nicholas Rada. Sadly, the Rada matter proves to me that the Neighborhood Voice Party is not much different from the current Elmwood Park Village Administration. Apparently the well-connected Rada family has friends in both organizations.
I strongly urge The Neighborhood Voice Party to put aside their superstitions surrounding The Outfit and take an interest in the Rada matter. What does it matter if the alleged criminals are affiliates of The Gaylords or The Chicago Outfit? In the end, they are all alleged criminals, and should be treated the same under the law.
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http://americannewspost.com/joseph-fosco/3240/elmwood-park%e2%80%99s-finest-nicholas-rada/ Elmwood Park’s Finest – Nicholas Rada?!
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