One quiet afternoon in August of 2003, I personally drove out to an office building in Schaumburg, Illinois, on Tower Road to see Mr. William Anthony Degironemo, aka, Billy D. It was my intention to have a discrete meeting with Billy D, as I planed to inform him of a crucial matter. Upon reaching Billy in person, I asked him to step outside so I could talk to him without his nosy secretary Ronda eavesdropping. Once we were outside in his parking lot, I explained to Billy that I captured some intelligence indicating that Jack Cerone (the lawyer) was arranging to have his legs broken. Jack and Billy D had been considering the idea of collaborating on opening a few cellular phone stores in Wisconsin. Apparently, Billy went through with opening the stores without Jack’s involvement. Jack was taking too long deciding if he wanted to join the partnership or not. Jack was furious when Billy opened the stores without him. Naturally, Jack had to rely on a real gangster for the work he needed done, which turned out to be Rudy Fratto.
Rudy Fratto
Billy seemed nervous when I told him of this news. He knew that Jack was mad. Apparently, he had no idea the extent of Jack’s fury. I also tried convincing Billy that he did not need thugs in his life and that only bad things would come from his associating with them. However, Billy enjoyed associating with gangsters, wannabe gangsters and wannabe Outfit bosses. Billy thanked me for the information and gave me a hug as we said goodbye.
37 Comments
Without his cooperation, is Rudy certain to walk?
I am not sure, however, I would think that Billy knows of other crimes that Rudy is not charged with right now.
How has Cerone managed to stay out of trouble over the years? I think I remember hearing something about a “Chicago attorney” when this McCormick Place story broke, but he hasn’t been indicted that I’m aware of.
Dear Merlin,
Cerone is not dumb (nor is he a genius); he is smart enough to know how to keep his voice off surveillance equipment. Years ago, he explained to me that when he meets people to discuss classified matters, he would leave his pager, cell phone and I-Pass at home for the day. The car he drove at the time did not have any tracking devices other than I-Pass. He would also make sure he was not followed. He would avoid setting up his meetings over the phone. In addition, he would usually meet the other person in a Forest Preserve. He would make sure the other person would follow the same careful steps.
In addition, Jack insolated himself well with Fratto and Billy D, which prevented him from being exposed to any weak links such as the person that wore the wire. Cerone’s safety is as strong as Fratto and Billy D hold up. If one of them snaps, Cerone is screwed. If Cerone did make a mistake by failing to exercise his many privacy methods, perhaps he is cooperating with the government. Anything is possible.
Nonetheless, I am sure Billy D could help the government with many other things.
I wonder if Rudy ever sold his home. And how about Blue Skies Travel?
(LOL, John “Jackey the Lackey” Cerone–that MOTHER!)
Boy, Rudy is ugly! His face looks like the back of a donkey’s ass. DiFronzo & Andriacchi need Fratto in their crew like They need a hole in the back of their heads. His days are over. The next guy to go down will be Cerone Jr. Esq., the phony bullshit lawyer who doesn’t have a made guy as his partner in organized extortions anymore.
His Family Calls him “ALF” in Regards to his appearance in looks. From the puppet of the show called ALF a old TV series
What do you make of Fratto’s release?
He served his time. I was hoping that another case (a third case) would have emerged to keep him where he belongs – in prison. However, the wire fraud case involving McCormick Place will put him away for much longer, thank God. I still hope that a third case will emerge at some point. It would be nice if Rudy does what I believe he is capable of doing and put away his bosses in exchange for leniency.
Are you done posting on ANP? Is it all Theo and Alex now? I hope others haven’t intimidated you into scaling back your writing.
I am not done by a long shot, thank you for asking. When I decide to move on from ANP, I will write a goodbye piece. Keep in mind that I have no plans of moving on right now. Forces far more intimidating that a bunch of internet slander and libel have not shaken me, so there is no need to wonder if I am scaling back – I am not – I have had personal matters to attend, which have cut into my schedule at ANP. I should have something new published soon. Thank you for your readership.
Well I never!
Joe, I never thought I’d see the day when you’d even allude
to stepping back from ANP or publishing articles! I am glad to see you’re not
done “by a long shot,” but you still make it sound like your retirement is
imminent.
We all have personal lives, and if you have a family, I’m
sure ANP can’t be your #1 priority forever. If and when the day comes when you
must take a break from all of this, it will be a very dark day for our city.
ANP has to be one of the most widely read blogs in Chicago.
I hope you’re not disheartened by the recent backlash on
YouTube and that dumb amateur site from anonymous people who obviously have
some personal or familial connection to the individuals you have focused on
over the years. (Perhaps they even ARE the people you have written about.)
I hope there are many more articles to come targeting the
Outfit and corruptors of the public trust. Your work is certainly having an
effect otherwise the recent uproar would not have happened. By the way, I
thought you came out on top in that long thread on the other site. You stuck to
the facts, while all anyone else seemed to be able to do was engage in juvenile
name-calling.
Things have slowed down here as far as reader “participation,”
but I attribute it, as I said before, to a succession of format and
registration changes. Also, I think the Don’s banishment had some effect since
he initiated a lot of discussion and was somewhat of a polarizing figure that
sparked much debate.
I think there wasn’t more support for you in that other
thread and that other site because no one knew about it. If you had posted a
link to it here at ANP, many of us would have risen to the occasion and
supported you. It only recently started appearing in search engines. I’ve heard
they moderate their comments now, so no pro-Fosco stuff is going to be posted
to that thread.
Joe, never forget that you have discussed and predicted many
things that have come to pass. (Cousins restaurant in Des Plaines to name one.)
You and your RICO case were mentioned in a book about the Outfit recently (by Sam
Giancana and Scott M. Burnstein). You have gotten Betty Loren Maltese and
Conrad Black to write articles for ANP. You are responsible for disseminating a
wealth of information that has been a public service, (and has created quite a
stir).
Please keep all this in mind when weighing decisions that
may affect your future as a web-based journalist. That’s quite a resume.
Plus, at this point, your readers will not accept your
resignation.
Dear MTP,
Thank you for your kind words. However, I wish to clarify that if and/or when I leave ANP or close it down, it will be so I could concentrate on a new and different media venue totally focused on corruption in Chicago, especially organized crime. Again, thank you for your kind words. JF
Thanks for the compliment. The Don has been back in full force as you can see from the threads. The arguement in the past was a misunderstanding and meant nothing. In Fact, everybody involved are actually better friends on the blogs than before. It’s difficult sometimes to communicate on a thread, especially when a disagreement takes place and people become emotional. Sitting down and discussing something face to face is better. However, that cannot always be done so the next best thing is to have discussions via a computer. One of my best friends in college only became a good friend after I stood up to him and was ready to fight him. After that, the fight never took place and we were very good friends. Life is funny that way.
Joe,
I read something yesterday about how Giancana came up with concept of sleepers in the Outfit, and how they were originally placed out in Vegas and answered to directly to Johnny Roselli. They were low profile made guys who most of the rank-and-file were unaware of. Does this sound right?
(Also, could you hurry up and write something? Warren Jeffs on the homepage is really starting to bother me.)
Dear Horse,
I could affirm (based on highly accurate sources) that Giancana indeed had many powerful, capable (some ‘made’) individuals all over the world, including Nevada, who almost no one but he and a few others within his inner circle would know.
I’m always interested in how much play the term “sleeper” gets on these threads. People seemed to be fascinated by who these people are. The term “sleeper” implies that noone is supposed to know, I suppose. That being said, I’ve recently found out that my now deceased grandfather was a sleeper under Mooney until his death in the mid-sixties. You can imagine my surprise when I was reading the secret FBI-Giancana book and saw a transcript of a discussion between Murray Humphries and Mooney concerning my grandfather and the towing racket in Chicago.
I am unfamiliar with the book. What was grandfathers name?
Joe,
Here’s the book in question “The FBI Files: Sam Giancana” by Tony Dark. For several reasons I am uncomfortable publishing my grandfathers name at this time. Thank you.
Thank you.
I am without significant information on Mr. Ponti right now.
Joe,
Did Armando Sr. have any connection to Johnny Roselli, or do you know anything about him? He was one of those guys who was famous for being a gangster in his day and a lot of legitimate people liked him, but he was a stone gangster. He was loyal to Mooney but had a tenuous relationship with JB, which was probably why JB had no problem signing off on his murder. Also, I wanted to ask you about Jimmy Fratianno (the Weasel). Do you know anything about him? He was said to have “transferred” to the from the Los Angeles mafia to the Outfit for a time, under the sponsorship of Roselli. He’s notorious in the annals of organized crime for being a snitch, obviously. Supposedly he was disinforming the FBI in the capacity of a dry snitch but ended up with no choice except to cooperate with the government after he found out some Cleveland guys were going to be learning the identities of mafia informants. The interviews with him on YouTube are fascinating.
My late father knew Roselli. What do you want to know about him? I have limited knowledge on the Weasel. However, I have a source with extensive information on him. What would you lime to know?
Re: Fratianno, he seemed like a gangster “at large.”
He was originally a Cleveland guy who was ‘made’ under the Dragna Outfit out in Los Angeles, but was buddies with a lot of Chicago guys, especially Roselli. In the 1960’s, he was supposedly officially with the Chicago Outfit and was one of its guys out in Vegas and California. He also had strong connections to New York, and is even pictured with Carlo Gambino, Paul Castellano, Frank Sinatra, and other NY gangsters in that famous photo.
Fratianno was so close to Roselli, in fact, that when Roselli was murdered in the 70’s, Aiuppa called the Weasel in for a meeting to try to get a sense of how he felt about Roselli’s murder. Fratianno supposedly acted like it didn’t bother him because, if he had, Aiuppa would have had him killed, too.
My question is: Who was he with?
I will double check with one of my sources on who he was with. Give me a day or two to get back to you. Thanks.
Horsey, Fratiano was a made guy in the Los Angeles Mafia Group. He was friendly with Joey Auippa and Roselli because Los Angeles answered to Chicago and Roselli was the Chicago Outfit Made guy in Los Angeles. Once you’re made into a Family or in Chicago, once you’re made into a street crew, there is no switching around like in the legitimate corporate world. You belong to a crew or a family until you die. If the newspapers or book writers tried to make you believe that Fratiano swithed back and forth between Cleveland, Los Angeles and Chicago, they’re wrong and have no fucking clue what they’re talking about. There are no revolving musical chairs in the Outfit and I’m almost 100% sure the same applies to all other Mafia groups across the country.
Well, if Fratianno was part of the Los Angeles organization, he would’ve ultimately answered to Chicago anyway, since the Outfit had dominion over everything west of the Mississippi. Even the top boss of L.A. would have been subservient to the hierarchy of the Outfit.
Fratianno wasn’t an effective snitch until he was in danger of being exposed. Prior to entering the WPP, he was giving the FBI bogus information and information about non-mafia crimes, as I understand it.
That’s a different thing than actually being in the Outfit. I’m wondering if Fratianno was ever in the Outfit itself.
Roselli was a few years older than Accardo, actually. From what I understand, he was direct with Capone before Accardo was, which was something Accardo was eternally jealous about. Roselli was higher up in the organization than Accardo in the beginning. He was highly trusted and was sent out to California prior to the Ricca-era, so it’s likely he was personally sent out there by Capone himself. It took Nitti’s suicide and Ricca’s imprisonment for Accardo to eclipse Roselli in Outfit stature.
Roselli was close with Mooney, and Accardo and Aiuppa disliked them both. I’m sure it was their pleasure to have them killed.
I googled “Phillip Ponti Chicago Outfit” and found this passage from a book by Gus Russo,
“Dalitz’s has got Yale Cohen to watch his end. But Sam’s got a sleeper in there, Phil Ponti, a made guy from Chicago. A real sharp operator.”
It’s from a book called The Outfit: The Role of Chicago’s Underworld in the Shaping of Modern America. It’s a quote from Johnny “Handsome” Roselli, and he actually used the word “sleeper.”
Joe,
Here’s an interview with Fratianno describing how Joey O “tested” him about his feelings about Roselli’s murder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVEnqO3JWBA#t=02m23s
Also, do you think Roselli was murdered by the Outfit because he talked about the CIA-Cuba-Castro thing, or just because of he was Giancana’s guy?
Horsey, Roselli was a made guy that Giancana inherited who had previously reported direct to the two Top Bosses in the Oufit. He was the Outfit representative in Los Angeles for a long time. Any men who worked directly under Roselli were soldiers working directly for him or associates who did business with him or the Oufit out West. Phil Ponti falls into this catagory. He was not made. Remember, the number of made men in the Outfit is not and has never been a real large number. Chicago has always been different than New York in this regard. I think Roselli was murdered for both of the reasons you stated. Auippa & Cerone were very cautious men who did not take chances and who were afraid of Giancana. Joe Fosco, this I.P. address is different because I’m commenting on the road, not from my normal location.
That’s interesting. I’m usually good at remembering or making note of where I read about something, but for the life of me, I can’t remember where I read about Ponti. It was different than the book cited by Merlin T, but it was along the same lines. The reason I brought it up is because “sleepers” are commonly discussed in these threads, and from what I read it was Giancana who developed the concept, and put it into practice.
I’ve always known that the foundation of the Outfit was a comparatively small group of made Italian gangsters. I was stunned when I read that Frank Calabrese Sr. told his son that there were only about 100 left in (roughly) 1999. (This number must have included obscure old-timers who were put on the shelf long ago.) I would have guessed the number to be somewhere around 30.
I was actually told once that the term “made” specifically referred to guys who were inducted into the Chicago Outfit and its satellite groups west of the Mississippi. Out East, fully inducted members were “wiseguys” or guys who had been “straightened out.” The term “made” became co-opted by other LCN groups when gangsters from different cities mingled in the prisons. I’ve also heard the when you get made in the Outfit, you are said to have gotten a “new uniform.”
Horsey, According to Nick Calabrese, there were about 60 made guys in the Outfit at any given time. How many there are right now in 2011 may be smaller. The Outfit was always organized into 6 Street Crews. During Auippa’s long reign, the crews were as follows; Cicero, Elmwood Park, Rust St,. Grand Ave,, 26th Street & Chicago Heights. Auippa & Cerone had the largest crews which included the made guys who reported direct to them that were inherited from the past. The soldiers work for the made guys unlike New York where everybody gets made. Chicago was always better organized and more powerful than any of the New York 5 Families. In the old days, man per man, nobody could touch Chicago. The Los Angeles Mafia Group answered to Chicago along with all the other groups west of the Mississippi. If Chicago said ‘ JUMP’ , they all said ‘How High’. This is the same basic information that I heard over the years which correponds with what Nick Calabrese stated. Frank’s number of 100 was probably an off hand number which included soldiers.
The Don,
I’m not sure if I ever asked you this, but just as a matter of curiosity, what do you understand to be the status of the Outfit today? Do you think with Family Secrets and the Sarno conviction it’s on its last legs? Do you expect the Rivers Casino or the legalization of video poker to kick start mob activity again? I am interested in your opinion on this. Thanks.
Horsey, I believe the Outfit today in 2011 is smaller and less powerful than in the 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s 1980’s and 1990’s. I believe the Outfit has slightly downsized from my understanding to 5 street crews. they are as follows; Cicero, Elmwood Park, Grand Ave., 26th Street & Chicago Heights. I believe the North Side Rush St. Crew is not a powerful distinct crew like in the old days when Ross Prio was the Boss and then Dominic DiBella and then Vince Solano. I believe Pudgy Matassa is a made guy who belongs to the extended Elmwood Park crew and is a direct descendent from the Rush St. Crew. In fact his uncle was Mike Glitta who was a made guy years ago with the Rush St. Crew under Vince Solano. All of those guys are dead and Matassa is with Elmwood Park. I also believe the number of active made guys has been reduced to maybe 40 instead of 60 like years before. I think the Outfit will still survive and still be around but not like the glory days of the past. I think legalization of poker machines will hurt the Outfit, not help it. The Family Secrets trial was more damaging to the Outfit than Sarno’s conviction.