Dominic “Butch” Blasi
Butch Blasi was a great guy according to many Outfit higher-ups from the earlier days of the Chicago Outfit. Butch was running around with Romie Nappi, my father, Armando Fosco, and others closely connected to them as far back as the 1930s and 40s. In more recent years, my friends, Michael Magnafichi and (the now late) Willie Messino told me that while they were having one of their routine lunches with Anthony “Joe B” Accardo and a few other friends, Butch walked into the dining room. As soon as Joe B saw Butch, Joe B stood up to greet Butch in an extremely respectful way, and with a very warm handshake and smile for him. This was not Joe B’s ordinary way of greeting most of his associates. This tidbit speaks volumes.
Butch had the nerve to carry out one of the more crucial murder-hits of the Chicago Outfit since the 1929 St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, and the 1933 assassination of Chicago’s mayor, Anton Cermak. The particular murder-hit that I am referring to is the assassination of Sam Giancana.
What might be the most remarkable thing about Butch was his involvement with FBI Agent Bill Roemer. From the mid-1960s and throughout the 1970s, Butch played FBI Agent Bill Roemer as well as some people can play the piano.
Butch met with Roemer so he could try throwing off the FBI by suggesting the Giancana assassination was the work of the CIA. In fact, Butch even presented himself as being open-minded when Roemer had suggested that a crazed and jealous husband of one of Giancana’s paramours may have been Giancana’s assassin. It was Butch’s job to try convincing Roemer that Giancana’s death was anything but an Outfit sanctioned murder-hit. Roemer ate it up with a spoon.
Butch never admitted his role in the assassination of Sam Giancana. Instead Butch pushed a theory that implicated the CIA in Giancana’s assassination, which was evidently designed by Butch to protect the Chicago Outfit. Butch never mentioned new names of Outfit operatives to Roemer beyond the names that Roemer was already well familiar with.
In other conversations from the 1970s with Bill Roemer, Butch acknowledged for Roemer that Gus Alex was in some sort of a three-way partnership with Joe Aiuppa and Anthony “Joe B” Accardo, as mutual controllers of the entire Chicago Outfit. This acknowledgment was inconsequential, as it was well speculated for several years by many agents in the FBI that Aiuppa, Accardo and Alex were at the top of the heap. What was most important for Butch, was to make sure that Roemer was without verification that men like Jack Cerone, Romie Nappi, and Ben Fillichio, were more prominently positioned than Gus Alex (of course Cerone was Aiuppa’s underboss). I’ll go into more detail on Ben Fillichio and his brother Tony in future addendums.
Gus Alex and his brother Sam, became top overseers of the Outfit’s connection-guys immediately after Murray “The Hump” Humphreys died in 1965. The connection- guys were Chicago Outfit operatives that controlled police, politicians, judges and labor leaders. Romie Nappi was right there with the Alex brothers in a very similar capacity. By the early 1970s, Romie Nappi emerged from his similar position as the Alex brothers, surpassing them in power within the Outfit, thus becoming the premier leader of the Chicago Outfit’s connection-guys, only answering to the highest bosses of the Chicago Outfit.
I will digress in order to name the only top bosses of the Chicago Outfit that Romie took orders from during his term as the premier leader of the connection-guys (spanning from the early 1970s until the mid-1990s): Paul Ricca, Sam Giancana, Anthony “Joe B” Accardo, Joey Aiuppa, and Sam Carlisi. Please note that Romie certainly had serious dealings with underbosses such as Jack Cerone and John DiFronzo during his term running Outfit rackets with the Outfit’s connection-guys. Romie became ineffective within the Chicago Outfit in the mid-1990s because of senility. He died in his River Forest, Illinois, condominium in late 2001. Personally, around the time of Romie’s death, I tightened my already good relations with a relative (who shall remain nameless) of one of Romie’s dearest lifelong friends, the now late Marino (whose surname shall remain discreet). This unnamed person and I share a special bond that consists of a rich history intertwined with many mutual close contacts that we both admire and respect very much.
Naturally, those who were in the know, which included Butch Blasi, were all well aware that Armando was partnered with Romie for the purposes of doing most of Romie’s work in directing the Outfit’s connection-guys. However, Butch certainly did not tell Roemer anything about Romie or Armando. Gus and Sam Alex already had tremendous amounts of heat on them. It didn’t make a difference for Gus and Sam to have Roemer continue recognizing the Alex brothers as if they were still the head honchos over the Outfit’s connection-guys. Regardless, the Alex brothers were still powerhouses, but by then they were somewhat under Romie’s direction. Clearly, Butch protected Romie and Armando’s names from ever entering Bill Roemer’s thoughts.
If my memory serves me correctly, my family told me that Butch lived out his last days at Villa Scalabrini Assisted Living in Northlake, Illinois.
In addition to my earlier reference where I previewed that I will be covering Ben and Tony Fillichio in greater detail in future addendums, I will be doing the same for Sam and Gus Alex.
As part of my preview for upcoming addendums, I will leave you with the following:
According to some of my close family members, sometime in March of 1987 Romie Nappi told a few select relatives of ours, “Last month when Mondo and Sam died, I may as well have lost both of my arms. Mondo was my right arm and Sam was my left.” Armando “Mondo” Fosco and Sam Alex died within one week of each other, because of cancer.
The Mafia Report Series:
5/13/20 – Mafia Report: Chicago Outfit
5/31/20 – Mafia Report: Chicago Outfit – Addendum One
6/4/20 – Mafia Report: Chicago Outfit – Addendum Two
6/24/20 – Mafia Report: Chicago Outfit – Addendum Three
7/18/20 – Mafia Report: Chicago Outfit – Addendum Four
