Joe according to carol marin jill ran as a republican unapposed with campaign contributions from names like accordo etc. Didnt realize esquire was that dangerous.

Joe,
In Saturday’s Chicago Sun-Times article the said they gave Rudy a swab in his mouth for DNA , why ? Or why do you think ?

Joe, You say Rudy is a fake mob boss but Chuck Goudie is saying they may be the first family of the mob. If Rudy is fake why would he say that?

oop’s, ‘east coast’

Dear Seeker,

I do not want to offend the Fratto family and say Rudy’s uncles were real gangsters. I will say they were real men. They helped friends – they did not cheat people.

Rudy is not a man – I knew this all along. However, Rudy proved to the public that he is a wimp two months ago when he exploited his children in his failed attempt to win sympathy with the judge at his sentencing hearing.

His late uncles would have agreed to extra jail time to prevent their children from such exploitation. As I said, Rudy is a wimp, which is unlike any other Fratto.

Rudy you chinless wimp, enjoy your few weeks of freedom because its all over for you pal – you dumb person.

Dear Just,

Mary Ann loves criminals. She was most attracted to Jerry when he was on his way to prison several years ago. Now that many years have passed with Jerry staying out of trouble, we know Jerry is reformed, perhaps this is what is truly disappointing to her. All I can say is that Mary Ann is by far the craziest woman that I have ever met.

Mary Ann met Rudy nearly 10-years ago thru another gangster, Michael Magnafichi.

Thanks for clarifying that but from the Jerry navarro story it seems she is still attracted to him, prison or not.Didnt you state she was driving past his house and almost got caught.. stalking.Wonder why she has not done that to any of the men in her life? Do you know why?

Dear Tom,

I agree with you about Carl’s looks. Carl has a face that would scare a gay man straight.

It is nice to see that Steve Warmbir is taking Dote’s unethical dealings seriously. I would assume his piece in today’s paper is a stepping-stone for another piece on Dote’s ties to Des Plaines.

after fratto’s last indictment and sentencing, you had a lot of information about his dwindling status within the organization. such as, no nose wanted him deader than he wanted you.

has there been any new chatter in response to fratto’s troubles? it would be interesting to know the outfit’s response to the idea that fratto went ahead and advertised his membership with the mob, and that he suggested that he had influence with cleveland, oh.

Is there a Cleveland guy named Russell Papalardo who may be involved in this?

I think the fact that Lawyer Cerone (a non-mobster) and Fratto were able to convince Cleveland that they were #’s 1 and 2 in Chicago shows how insignificant the Cleveland mob is. If I’m not mistaken, it was declared inactive by the FBI in the late 1990′s. Maybe this also shows how disconnected the various LCN groups from each other nowadays.

how much of what james wagner said during the family secrets trial do you believe? he said that the trial didn’t cripple the outfit because of the younger generation of wanna-be’s who are always chomping at always the bit. wagner thinks the outfit is as strong as ever, with or without the old-timers.

Dear Merlot,

I think James Wagner is right about the Outfit surviving for years to come because of wannabes. However, I strongly disagree that it is as strong as ever. It has a fraction of the strength it once had, in my opinion.

Dear Emma,

Cerone never explained his motives behind his desire to be a gangster because he thought I was under the impression that he was a gangster. However, I was aware of his sincere interest in being like his dad. He used to tell me that he was his dads real underboss. That his father solicited advice from him on every major Outfit decision that he made (if true, that would mean the lawyer made the decision with his father and Aiuppa to murder the Spilotro’s).

Cerone used to hint that Allen Dorfman’s demise was caused by him – he persuaded his father to give the order to knock down Dorfman.

Cerone used to take his cell phone out of his pocket and call Tony Accardo, Jr, while seated with several people at a dinner table to put on a show for everyone, allowing us to listen to him talk to Tony.

Every Christmas season he hosted a lunch for the old-timers. Guys like Messino, Caifano, Pilotto, Milk-wagon Joe and several other would attend (he hosted these parties up until recently – I attended several of them). The lawyer wanted to be an Outfit guy more than anything. He asked Johnny DiFronzo if he could be made in the late 1980′s, after his dad went to prison. DiFronzo thought he was being silly. He was not made.

Michael Magnafichi always regretted that DiFronzo did not charge Jackie 1-million dollars to ‘make’ him. He would have paid for it.

Jack is not alone with this sickness. Many rich and/or legitimate men would pay to be a ‘made’ member of the Outfit. I believe the following people would pay to be ‘made’: Sam Zitella, Jimmy DeLeo, Judge Casciato, Melrose Park Mayor Ronald Serpico, former Melrose Park Police Chief Vito Scavo, late Fr. Lawrence Cozzi, the list could go on and on.

Dear Joe,
Do you agree with the person namedd “Large Fellow” that these people are honorable men. What I mean is, do you feel that there is any honor behind this organization?

Joe,

Did you ever meet the Spilotro brothers? If so, what was your impression?

Ann,
for the last comment i believe mary ann mungo has already been laid by paid by many a men.

Dear Bobby,

Please refrain from making such remarks about people on this thread.

Attention viewers, please note that the two previous comments posted by ‘Bobby’ are merely allegations.

Thank you.

Dear Joe,

What about state rep Skip Saviano? Would he be on your pay to play list?

Furthermore, do you think that the people on your list would rather pay versus earn ‘made’ status because it would mean a lot less headaches for them in terms of not having to scheme and break laws etc.

Moreover, would you say that these same people would like to become made members of the outfit because it would mean more power for them in whatever their life endeavors are?

Did you ever aspire to become a made member back when you dabbled in ‘mob life’ (No offense, I just didn’t know any other way to phrase it).

Lastly, do you think that the rumored forthcoming ‘tsunami’ of indictments for the outfit has any truth behind it?

Dear Skinny,

I am not sure Skip Saviano would want to be a ‘made’ guy (despite how impressed he is with gangsters – I think Skip likes being a politician). I would bet his brother Nick would like to be ‘made’ because he collaborated with Willie Messino in a café in Elmwood Park over 10-years ago (Willie was a silent partner). Why would Nick enter in a business partnership with someone like Willie Messino if he did not have an interest in being a gangster? In fact, Nick’s previous partner was mike Spano – go figure. Lol

I think the people on my list would do just about anything to be ‘made’. Actually, I forgot to indicate the one person that I believe wants to be ‘made’ very much, Dr. Joseph L. Giacchino, Jr, MD.

The Chicago Outfit never sold its membership. However, it is said that various New York families have done so.

When I was a teenager thru my early 20’s I imagined how it would be if I were a ‘made’ outfit member and I found the idea of it interesting. Not because I might have had to kill people but because of the respect that ‘made’ guys receive from important and famous people. I always had enough sense to know I would never be ‘made’. Today, I look back at my younger years (wasted years – so sad) and ask, ‘what was I thinking’?

Regarding your question about the ‘tsunami’, yes, I believe something big will come (at least bigger than the stupid charges Rudy keeps being hit with). They apparently want Rudy very much. I do not see the charges he has already faced as the final blow. I think the government is saving the best for last. Remember, Rudy is a killer.

Lawyer Cerone was Lackey Cerone’s real underboss?

I thought that most Chicago gangsters forbid their sons from entering the rackets. I wonder what DiFronzo would think if he found out that Lawyer Cerone was telling people that.

Dear Emma,

DiFronzo would probably laugh. You have to understand, I was in my 20′s when most of my experiences occurred. If Cerone told me the things he told me today, I would laugh at him.

Dear Never,

I do not recall any involvement of an Iacobacci. However, I believe Russ Papalardo is relevant. I will be more detailed and accurate after I speak to a source very soon. My independent memory of the events (from 2000-2003 or 2004) is somewhat limited, regarding the Cleveland portion.

Dear Metro,

I have no idea how often or to what degree the real Chicago Outfit bosses engage in business dealings with other Midwestern Outfits. My guess would be (since the time DiFronzo became last Mohican), almost never.

In my opinion, both confidence artists, Rudy Fratto and Jack P. Cerone, used both Chicago and Cleveland Outfits as unsuspecting shills to satisfy their greed. I believe both men took advantage of the communication breakdown between the two different Outfits. I am afraid to know for sure if Fratto and Cerone used me (or Michael) as unsuspecting shills at some point early on in the fraud. Obviously Billy Degironemo (and the trade show corporations that falsely verified that he was an expert in the field of forklifts) served Fratto and Cerone as shills with the intent to do so.

I am not exactly sure if the Cleveland Outfit played along in the fraud unknowingly or with intent. I would guess they unknowingly engaged the fraud as shills based on their foolish decision to think that Cerone was what he claimed to be.

Cerone always introduced the Cleveland Outfit guys to Michael and me. Michael had more exposure to them than I did. However, I do not believe that Michael engaged in Fratto and Cerone’s fraud with the Cleveland guys, nor did I (I definitely did not). As to the reason Michael did not speak up when Cerone was pretending to be boss – I am not sure. If I had to guess, Michael may have been nervous about the idea of creating a situation that could drag DiFronzo and/or Andriacchi in to clarify things, which could have put Michael in a dangerous position not being able to predict what they would do about it. Michael was under the advice of Andriacchi to stay away from Cerone. Obviously, Michael ignored Andriacchi’s advice. At this stage it does not matter a whole lot if Andriacchi knows that Michael ignored his orders nearly 10-years ago. Rumor has it that Andriacchi is very sick.

For those of you that cannot figure out why a rich lawyer would get involved in such a smalltime but high risk situation like the one we are discussing, take a few minutes to think about the wealthy people that chose to risk their lives (in some cases loose their lives) flying around the world in a hot air balloon. In other words, some people are not happy unless they are doing crazy things. And in Jack’s case, he stood to make money (he is very greedy – look at how long he has been fighting his wife in divorce court over money she wants to give their children – almost 5 years and counting). There is no doubt in my mind that Jack had his hands in every players pocket (Fratto, Degironemo, Individual A and Cleveland) – strange how Jack is not under indictment, not even named.

Dear Joe,

Thanks for addressing my question. One other thing: How did Cerone have Cleveland Outfit contacts to begin with? It would be interesting to know where else he has mob contacts. Also, I read some time ago that Cerone has a controlling interest in Iron City Brewing. Do expect there to be any wanna-be mafia shenanigans to emerge from that business situation?

Joe,Tommy Thomas was the president of a union(Local 17 USWA) that I belonged to from 1993-2004 and Cerone was the chief attorney for our local. Those two men alone almost compleatly ruined our local by over billing us for years under Tommys control. During the end of Tommys term, he was near retirement and knew he would not be elected for another term, we were in serious contract negotiations with McCormick Place about overtime pay and work restrictions. During this time there were rumors that Cerone and Thomas took a large under the table payoff to give up half of our work and put restrictions on the overtime pay we recieved which accounted for most of the money we made. I myself, figured by giving away most of the work we controlled in the building and alot of our overtime that somebody had to gain or profit from it. I know just from reading articles on ktf that you were friends with Cerone around this time. Did he ever mention anything about this subject to you?

Dear Joe,
Who, in your opinion, would you say the administration is for the outfit? I read somewhere online that it was recently as follows:
1. Boss: J. DiFronzo
2. Underboss: J. Andriacchi
3. Consigliere: A. Tornabene
Please respond with your top 3 list of who the current regime is and who the next regime could be.
Thanks in advance.
P.S. Do you think it might look like this:
1. Boss: P. DiFronzo
2. Underboss: J. Matassa
3. Consigliere: M. D’Amico

joe,

it sounds to me like being ‘made’ is a popularity contest or something. it doesn’t really seem to mean anything.

when angelo & jimmy lapietra sponsored the calabrese brothers to be made, nick & frank were told that being ‘made’ means receiving slightly more protection–but not much. nick supposedly never earned more than 40K a year working under his brother. that’s what being ‘made’ got him!

some ‘made’ guys (like fratto) are broke and are not even really all that respected by other gangsters. some gangsters who aren’t made (like marco) seem to have higher stature than guys who are.

is it like giving a gold star or cookie for insecure gangsters who need special treatment or to have their egos stroked?

who was made when Large opened the books last year?

do you agree with my characterization of being ‘made’ as ego-stroking gold star for gangsters who need to feel special?

i’m thinking that at the end of the day a poor and unpopular mobster like fratto thinks to himself, “well, at least i’m made.” while guys like marco or casey szaflarski don’t enjoy the honor of being patted on the back with a ‘made’ button–instead, they enjoy being rich and/or respected.