Mafia Report: Chicago Outfit – Addendum Eight
Preface
In this addendum not only will I be adding an abundance of never before disclosed facts, but I will be writing a sort of summary on portions of Mafia Report (including previous addendums), as well as some of my older Chicago Outfit related articles on ANP. I will alternate from writing in great detail to addressing matters more generally. I will do my best to keep the timeline in order, but in some sections you the reader may feel that I expect you to be keenly familiar with the previous addendums of this report. Perhaps I have subconsciously devised a plan to inspire those who aren’t as familiar with the entire report to read it thoroughly. If you want to review all previous addendums, there will be links at the end of this article.
I know that Chicago Outfit members who have been convicted of Outfit-related crimes in the court of law and sent to prison, or who have been murdered, or who have made big headlines in the news (or all of the above) seem to be more exciting and interesting subjects to research than those who haven’t made breaking headlines. Romie Nappi, Armando Fosco, and a few other serious operatives of organized crime managed to avoid prison for their significant roles in important Outfit rackets and lived out their full lives without being gunned down or appearing on the nightly news. I don’t know about you, but I find the serious Chicago Outfit operatives who managed to escape going to prison, death, or being exploited in news broadcasts, to be particularly intriguing. I trust that bosses such as Paul Ricca, Anthony “Joe B” Accardo, and Joe Aiuppa appreciated their low-key operatives as much if not more than their underlings who made headlines over the years.
For those who have followed my written work on the Chicago Outfit for the roughly 12-years that I have been writing, you should recall some of my personal experiences about the Chicago Outfit. For any newcomers to my work, this piece will bring you up to speed. If you find a subject in this piece of personal interest, please do an internet search on their name, as the person is most likely infamous. Be sure to check out some interesting information hyperlinked throughout the piece below in green font, including FBI 302 reports.
The experiences in my life outlined in this article make up a big portion of the reasons behind my decision to begin my journey as a writer about the Chicago Outfit.
The beginning and end of my experience with the Outfit quite aptly bookmark what it is like to deal with criminal enterprises. These were two different occasions where my family was extorted by members of the Chicago Outfit. Once in 1987 and another in the 2000s, both for the same amount – $500,000.00.
In 1987, the matter consisted of a softly executed extortion by one of my father’s serious criminal associates, Joseph Ferriola (who is now of late), who somehow convinced my Uncle Romie that he had asked my father Armando to hold 500k of his money for safe keeps. Romie, being very easygoing (sometimes to a fault) decided that he would honor the claim. My stepmother, Gloria Nappi Fosco, came up with a portion of my then recently deceased father’s money because she felt bad that her brother Romie decided that he should be the one to hold the bag. She well knew how my father and Romie always partnered in everything, whether it was a gain or a loss. At first, Romie resisted my step-mother’s offer, but eventually he agreed to accept on the condition that her contribution be around thirty-percent instead of half. He felt badly about the fact that she was then newly widowed. The saddest part of this matter is that my family honestly had no idea if the claimant was telling the truth. My father was newly-deceased and therefore unable to defend himself.
Another thing that probably factored into Romie’s decision to settle the matter by calling it a day was the fact that the sum in question was not considered devastating to him or my stepmother. They were both able to allocate what they paid out without having to visit a bank, as Romie and my father always kept large amounts of cash hidden in various places within their residences. The loss didn’t change lives. Romie didn’t like having unresolved issues, even if he could not be entirely certain there was an issue at all. Ferriola most likely made a palatable argument for the money. There was no mystery 500k bundle of cash hidden anywhere in any of the properties that my father owned directly or indirectly that I am aware of. Lord knows how well we looked.
Many years later, a friend named George Colucci, who had a close friendship with the then (and of course now) deceased Joseph Ferriola, told me that Ferriola’s demand against my deceased father was not Ferriola’s first time making this sort of assertion about someone recently deceased.
Perhaps if I knew this back when I was young, things would have gone differently for me. Instead I would end up back in this same situation again a couple of decades later.
From the time I was very new to adulthood, I began associating with various people connected with my then recently deceased father, Armando Fosco. As a teenager and new adult, I sometimes experienced challenges with my judgment, particularly with whom I chose to befriend. Nevertheless, I have very few regrets despite the numerous difficult situations that I experienced in my lifetime.
By 1992, I was unjustly in trouble with the Elmwood Park, Illinois, Police Department. I was falsely charged with armed violence and a couple of other lesser offenses. It was alleged that I threatened to murder the son of an Elmwood Park Police officer, and the son of the then-current fire chief (though the false allegations alleged that I was armed with a deadly weapon only while threatening to murder the son of the policeman). Both young men were around my age. In Illinois, armed violence is a class-x felony that carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10-years. Probation is not an option for such a charge. This problem prompted me to strengthen my relations with my step-uncle, Romie Nappi.
Before I explain the conclusion of my 1992 legal matter in Elmwood Park, I’ll share a brief note of interest. Former Illinois State Representative, Angelo “Skip” Fosco Saviano, who is the current Village President of Elmwood Park, Illinois, was running for his first term (of several) as Illinois state representative in 1992. According to a then living and now recently deceased friend of mine, sources very close to one of the officers who spearheaded the armed violence case against me, had asked Skip shortly prior to my arrest how he would feel if I was charged with armed violence. So, apparently the fairly well-known fact among many from Elmwood Park, which is that Skip and I are descendants of the Foscos from Pizzone, Italy, was considered by Skip prior to my false arrest for armed violence. Obviously, Skip didn’t stop the injustice that I was left to face. However, Skip’s willingness to look the other way in 1992, didn’t stop me from sending a lovely floral arrangement to his father’s wake in 2001. Skip’s dad, Pat, was a good man, may he rest in peace. I would never be critical of a person, or a person’s memory, because they had a son who is a jerk.
Sometime shortly after being falsely charged with armed violence, I went through my oldest brother Armando Jr., to accomplish my goal of asking Romie for help with my legal matter. Armando did reach out to Uncle Romie about the matter, but he was taking too long in getting back to me. By early 1993 I finally decided to discuss matters with Romie myself. Though at the time I was not yet very close with Romie, he professed his love for my father, and then told me not to worry. Romie advised me to rely on an attorney who had been doing a lot of work for him for many years. The attorney was a man named Nick Spina. I already knew Nick, who was originally introduced to me by one of my dad’s closest friends, the now late Charlie Nicosia. Nick did not represent me in this 1992 matter, but he was somewhat involved indirectly.
Years later I would learn that Nick Spina sold out the now-former mayor of Melrose Park (Illinois), Augie Taddeo, Romie, and me (all three sellout-situations were independent of each other). Nick later cooperated with the government in putting Augie Taddeo in prison in order to get his own butt out of a jam on an income-tax charge. Allegedly, Nick ended up abusing his power-of-attorney arrangement with Romie by taking a lot of money from Romie after Romie began suffering from senility in the mid to late 1990s. Nick was justly disbarred and no longer able to practice law.
Until learning in recent years that John DiFronzo was cooperating with the government throughout most of the 1990s and 2000s, I used to be confused as to why his brother and most trusted soldier, Peter DiFronzo maintained good relations with Nick Spina, despite what Nick had done to Romie and Augie. What made things even more reprehensible where Romie was concerned is the fact that Romie was the chief powerbroker behind the now former and late Cook County Judge Adam Stillo, who was Nick’s maternal uncle.
Nick caused me to receive a stupid court-ordered curfew, requiring me to be home by 8 pm, which was a condition of probation. Nick arranged this after already knowing the trial judge, who was the now late James Zafiratos, had previously revealed in a 402-conference that he thought the state’s case against me was “crap.” If it weren’t for Chicago’s then First Ward Boss Pat Marcy, and his co-defendants’ then-recent indictment (that involved a charge for criminal court-case fixing), which could have potentially put Romie in harm’s way, Romie would have been less distracted and more clear with Nick about arranging a better outcome regarding the state’s bad case against me. I did avoid going off to prison, and this satisfied Romie under the tense circumstances that he was then under because of Pat Marcy’s indictment. It is important for me to point out that this was also a difficult time for Romie because he was deeply saddened by the serious trouble that some of his closest friends, who were all power-brokers in Chicago’s First Ward, were going through.
I’ll never forget how uneasy the head state’s attorney of the courthouse, Colin Simpson, looked as he left the area after my 402-conference ended. I would later learn that Judge Zafiratos cut to the chase by aggressively zeroing in very thoroughly on the state’s shortcomings, especially regarding the class-x charge. Thankfully, Simpson had the good sense to drop the then-pending class-x charge that I was facing. Unfortunately for me, I was sold out anyway. As a result of Nick’s orchestration, I reluctantly plead out to the lesser charges, which were charges that allowed for sentences of probation.
As I began serving out my curfew (a condition of my probation), the state filed a false multi-count probation violation case against me, citing that I allegedly failed to comply with dozens of curfew timeframes. Fortunately for me, the judge who probably remembered his opinion of my case after the earlier 402-conference in his chambers, balked at the state’s violation charges and threw it out of court.
With the 1992 legal matter behind me, I relied on a source very close to Romie to introduce me to Judge James Zafiratos. I appreciated how he was able to administer justice by throwing out the state’s bogus probation violation case that was previously lodged against me. The judge and I became good friends after my case ended. Not only did His Honor officiate my wedding several years later, but he also contributed to charities that he knew meant a great deal to me. He was a generous man. In fact, you may click here to see one of the more conservative contributions that he had asked me to deliver to a church that he knew was important to me. He wanted them to know that his contribution was made possible because of me. Incidentally, after my civil marriage was officiated by His Honor, my then-wife and I had a traditional church wedding in the Catholic Church some months later.
Once my case ended, Romie told me that he would after a couple of years arrange for a pardon on my behalf through Jimmy DeLeo, who was then a new state senator in Illinois. Romie personally groomed DeLeo for the job. Unfortunately, senility prevented Romie from ever seeking a pardon on my behalf.
As I brought these legal complications to a close, I strengthened my social acquaintanceship with Willie Messino, which was possible because of the then living Romie Nappi and my then deceased father. Though Willie was not someone who associated with Romie and my father on a steady basis, they all knew each other since childhood and maintained good friendships ever since. Around this time I began formulating another close friendship with Nicholas “Buddy” Ciotti. Though Charlie Nicosia was then already deceased, my mere mention of Charlie’s name brought a warm expression to Buddy’s face.
Had I been extremely close with Willie and/or Buddy a couple of years sooner, I would not have been in the position where I had to bother Romie during a time that was very tense for him, and over a matter that was somewhat relevant to the issues that were making him tense. Both Willie and Buddy had in common some traits similar to my father and Romie, which was a natural instinct to help those who were troubled. I was blessed to have these men in my life. Wait, I have to add Charlie Nicosia and Bobby Dominic to this list (you’ll read about Bobby a little later).
While I have Willie Messino fresh in your mind, I will share some additional information regarding my 1992 legal matter in Elmwood Park. Well after the legal matter was over, I had mentioned the entire bogus experience to him. Willie was upset that I did not go to him as soon as it occurred. Despite us not being close pals in early 1992, he said that out of respect for Romie and my dad, he would have brought the entire matter to an end well prior to the second court date. He went on a bit, opining on one of the two police officers that spearheaded the bad case against me. Willie did not like him. After my conversation with Willie on this matter, I suspect Willie would have jumped at the opportunity to cause the collapse of the Elmwood Park Police Department’s case against me solely out of his dislike for the previously referenced police officer. Interestingly, both of these police officers were eventually forced out of the department.
My friendships with, Romie, Willie Messino and Buddy Ciotti caused me to build additional friendships and acquaintanceships with several in the orbit of these powerful Outfit operators.
Mob boss impersonator and gangster, Rudy Fratto, Jr.
What’s fiendishly clever about William is his ability to be so convincing without any supporting evidence of credible means to compliment his smooth but disastrous words used to harass and defame innocent and harmless people. What’s sad about William is that he will use anyone – including his own loved ones and even at their own expense – to establish and/or perpetuate his mistruths and defamatory tactics against those who he targets.
During my days as a younger man, it was obvious to many that I seemed to have more money than Rudy to spend while socializing in some of Chicago’s hotspots. Perhaps Rudy thought that I was trying to outdo him while he was out on the town vainly trying to impress those around him by impersonating a mob boss. In those days I was proudly telling old and new acquaintances that I was an arbitration mediator/judge, since my then attorney friend, Jack Cerone, allegedly made it possible for me to be verified through his law firm as such. To justify my reference of this verification, I will disclose that for a period I assisted Jack Cerone, Esquire, in numerous private union mediation-style consulting conferences concerning labor issues among the employees of Hunt-Wesson, Inc., then located in Northlake, Illinois.
Several years ago Rudy devised a scheme through mutual acquaintances of ours to intercept and steal some payments that I attempted to have delivered to a couple of Chicagoland restaurants regarding my long-standing (not to mention good-standing) house accounts that I no doubt earned because of my rich history of being a good customer.
Little did I know then, that Rudy would make a great accomplice for Jack Cerone, Esquire, for the then-future rift in my friendship with Cerone (not too long after Willie Messino’s death in late 2002). My frequent sarcastic insults directed back to Rudy in response to his instigating actions aimed at me over the years undoubtedly caused tension between him and me to increase.
Rudy started out associating with the Chicago Outfit by chauffeuring around Johnny DiFronzo’s wife and doing her errands in the 1970s. Rudy was very fortunate, because most Outfit guys earned their way into the picture by busting heads, not pouring coffee for men’s wives. Of course, Rudy was eventually brought into more serious matters under Johnny DiFronzo by the 1980s. Rudy’s slight elevation was ultimately arranged solely by Johnny.
According to a transcript of a wiretap that was published in one of the Chicago newspapers in recent years, coupled with the volunteered knowledge of a highly informed source, Rudy is apparently so self-conscious about the mundane work he did in the 1970s as Mrs. DiFronzo’s driver and gofer that he blatantly lied about his involvement in more serious Outfit business.
Rudy told an FBI informant that he helped beat up someone on behalf of an elder Chicago mob boss back in the 1970s. Rudy surely wouldn’t have shared his tall-tale had known in advance that it would be printed in the newspaper for sources extremely close to the real batterers to read. In Rudy’s rendition of the story in question, he named the wrong boss and referenced himself as one of the tough guys. The truth is that he was driving Mrs. D around at the time instead.
In fact, Rudy told this informant enough to wind up in prison. Nevertheless, Rudy managed to slither out of prison after a short period of time and managed to slither out of prison a second time shortly thereafter.
During Rudy’s career as a gangster he dealt with an ongoing problem, which was that he never landed a serious money-making position within the Outfit. For this reason, he did things such as skim Mike Castaldo’s juice-loan accounts while John DiFronzo and Mike alternated in and out of prison in the 1990s (unjustly at Mike’s expense). This is why Rudy continually schemes to this very day in many different ways to extract money from his targets, usually by using his self-embellished gangster reputation to mesmerize unlucky fools.
Unfortunately, these trusting souls, who sometimes trust Rudy too much, usually end up handing him their money in whatever way he can be successful in grabbing it. Whatever sum of cash he’s handed (he also accepts checks), it’s never enough, and he often leaves those whose cash he takes feeling uneasy at best.
As I referenced earlier, Jack Cerone, Esquire, and I ended up having a falling out, which was sometime around early to mid-2003. Jack eventually joined Rudy Fratto in Rudy’s long-lived and ongoing pursuit of harassing me.
In late 2003 (approximately), a person named Joseph Vasselli stopped paying agents of the Chicago Outfit extortion money after being on the hook for several years. Vasselli was a retired food company executive and an associate of mine. I discovered roughly 5-years later that some of the culprits behind the extortion scheme that targeted Vasselli for several years had discreetly blamed me for their extortion scheme collapsing. Between what Vasselli invested in a transportation business that I was involved in, and what he paid the culprits who were extorting him, Vasselli paid out nearly one-million dollars in cash.
Around this time I began receiving visits and calls from the FBI for the purpose of informing me that I was the target of a murder plot and that my life was in serious danger. It should be noted that approximately 2.5 years after receiving this information from the FBI, I was informed of an additional murder plot that purportedly placed my life in serious danger once again (click here to read the FBI 302s that support my statements in this paragraph).
Most people are not the target of one murder plot in their entire lifetimes.
I was the target of two.
In the course of the FBI’s first notification, the agent went to my step-mother’s Oak Park, Illinois, home looking for me. When my step-mother answered the door to discover that she was being greeted by the FBI, she pointed to her ears and shook her head back and forth, while telling the agent that she could not hear well, as she closed the door.
A short number of months after receiving the first FBI notification about my life being in serious danger, I began calling Fratto and Cerone out on their evil actions against me, by speaking over the phone through one of Cerone’s office phone lines after work hours. I knew Cerone and Fratto were behind the threats on my life, thanks to a source who was very close to them at the time. I would make my calls after business hours so I would not upset anyone who might answer the phone during the day, and so I could avoid being hung up on before having a chance to read my often scripted messages.
My strategy was to let Cerone and Fratto know that their plan to cause physical harm to me was known by the FBI, as it was well believed by Cerone and Fratto that the FBI had their phone lines tapped continuously. In addition to these phone calls, I executed a couple of other harmless attention-grabbing tactics to shine a spotlight on these miserable thugs.
With the help of James Prandini, one of the Chicago Outfit’s corrupt Italian police chiefs of the Cook County area (later forced into retirement), my colorful messages were turned against me. The vulgar language that I used in the course of leaving some of the messages became the police chief’s prime focus in an investigation into me for phone harassment. Talk about tables turning. I was ultimately charged with phone harassment.
Cerone worked very hard in an attempt to have me incarcerated over this bogus Class B misdemeanor, so hard that he succeeded in causing the state to upgrade the charge from a misdemeanor to a felony. In late 2006, Cerone took the witness stand for two days from inside a courtroom within a Cook County Courthouse located in Skokie, Illinois. After Cerone finished his ridiculous testimony, I was successful in causing the judge to reduce the charges back down from a felony to a misdemeanor. In a last-ditch effort (which was Cerone’s most desperate move in this matter), shortly prior to the close of the case, Cerone had the prosecutor read in open court a double-hearsay affidavit from a private attorney. The affidavit quoted allegations of Cerone’s and Rudy Fratto’s alleged partner in crime, who is the now de-licensed Dr. Joseph Giacchino.
The affidavit was filled with outrageous and completely false double-hearsay accusations purportedly made by Giacchino, in hopes of prejudicing the judge against me. Of course their last-resort failed, as ex parte double-hearsay is triply irrelevant. The case resulted in no conviction being entered against me, despite the Cerone family’s best efforts to put me in prison. It should be noted that only two members of the Cerone family were present in the courtroom during the time in which the case came to a favorable close for the defense. The two individuals were Jack Cerone, Esquire, and his daughter, a newly elected public official.
For a brief moment during this tumultuous time, I thought that Joseph Vasselli was a part of these murderous threats on my life. Thankfully, a well-informed source corrected my faulty belief.
After my success in court, Rudy Fratto and I had a phone conversation where he told me how lucky I was that I didn’t get locked up. I took his message to mean that he had plans for me in jail. It’s not impossible to reach people inside the Cook County Jail or the Illinois Department of Corrections for nefarious favors, especially for a pretend mob boss who sometimes comes off convincing like Rudy Fratto. Rudy, if you are reading this addendum, it wasn’t luck that kept me from being convicted and sentenced to jail – it was real justice and a lot of blessings.
My father actually contributed to helping me out of this jam from the grave. Armando had done a favor years before for Bobby Dominic, whom I previously referenced. Bobby was helpful to my problem by putting me in touch with the right defense attorney in the phone harassment case, even though I had 4 or 5 attorneys on this case for different reasons. Unfortunately, the attorney that Bobby referred me ended up being rendered useless as a capable attorney in future years, possibly due to old age. I will share what my father did for Bobby a little later on.
Within a year or so from the time in which Vasselli stopped paying the extortion money, a now de-licensed medical doctor by the name of Joseph Giacchino was brought into the lapsed Vasselli extortion plot at the behest of Rudy Fratto, which was something that I discovered roughly a couple of years later. Giacchino was wildly impressed by Outfit members and enjoyed very much being involved with them in any way possible. Giacchino and I had a turbulent friendship that was contingent upon how much grief his wife put him through over money she wanted and how much romance she would deprive him of over not being physically attracted to him.
I was reluctant to speak to the FBI, so, in a desperate measure, I went along with Giacchino, as I was strongly encouraged by Giacchino to bring Vasselli into court on a legitimate unresolved matter regarding a business endeavor that I was involved in with Vasselli up until nearly two years earlier. This endeavor was the development of a transportation venture for well-to-do golfers. I didn’t know at the time that I was actually being walked into a bait-and-switch trap by Giacchino, allegedly on behalf of Rudy Fratto and my former friend, Jack Cerone, Esquire (for the record, this was more Fratto’s scheme than anyone else’s). I was told that my efforts in going after Vasselli would actually help me out of the trick bag concerning the murder plot targeting me that the FBI informed me about, because it would supposedly net me a large monetary award, that I would be able to use to make some final extortion payments without further burdening my family (the second murder plot targeting me was not yet known to me). I foolishly thought at this time that Giacchino was trying to help me address the extortionate demands by the culprits. He would eventually turn on me, revealing himself as one of the culprits.
Approximately a few months after filing the lawsuit against Vasselli for business deal breaches, Michael B. Cohen, an attorney representing me (who was paid by Giacchino, and who is now no longer allowed to practice law), amended the pleadings of my lawsuit without my prior knowledge or approval. This amendment falsely charged Vasselli with causing a physical injury to me in a way that would be humiliating for any male individuals who take pride in their masculinity like Vasselli and myself.
This was a tactic that Giacchino previously attempted to coerce me into bringing against Cerone, which I then quickly halted. Giacchino knew the only way I could be part of a false claim against Vasselli would be if I were tricked into doing it, just as I was when Cohen filed an amended pleading in my lawsuit against Vasselli without my prior knowledge or approval. It was becoming obvious to me by this time Giacchino and Fratto, et al were working together by using me to humiliate Vasselli into an immediate and quiet settlement, despite how humiliating it would be for me as well.
Giacchino and I argued over the involuntary change in pleadings in my lawsuit against Vasselli. Giacchino’s argument was that he had some sort of medical evidence to back up this assault accusation. Giacchino claimed that during hypnotherapy sessions he led for me and a mutual friend named Larry to help us combat smoking addiction and that we both separately confirmed Vasselli’s assault of me. The hypnotherapy treatments were unsuccessful, something Giacchino was briefly experimenting with on a trial basis. Calling it a challenge for us to believe this supposed proof was real is putting it mildly.
Giacchino and Cohen brought Larry into the lawsuit against Vasselli as a supposed witness against Vasselli by coercing Larry just as they did to me. Again, this maneuver was supposed to alleviate the murder-threat situation in my life by providing needed funds to pay off the extortionists once and for all, according to Giacchino. For multiple extraordinary reasons, my judgment was temporarily compromised to an extent at that time.
As I began showing Giacchino signs that my cooperation with him and Cohen with regards to the lawsuit was actually wavering, Giacchino would sometimes become very troubled and unpleasant. Despite how difficult and offensive Giacchino could be at times, I never let him bother me. Fratto’s criminal network was more of a concern for me.
Nevertheless, Larry and I were coerced into going along with this charade for a period, before I eventually stopped cooperating with Giacchino and Cohen. However, by this time I was concerned that I would be personally and unjustly held accountable for Giacchino’s and Cohen’s fraudulent arrangement that was unjustly filed into my lawsuit. Documents appearing to verify the assault by Vasselli supposedly with mine and Larry’s signatures miraculously appeared, despite knowing that we didn’t sign them.
With these concerns in mind, I eventually managed to carefully remove myself from the bad situation that I was placed in by others and did so without any penalty besides now having an embarrassing story as a permanent part of my history. I am aware that Vasselli knew that others were forcing me to go after him in court, which is why he withdrew his request for sanctions. By this time I was not speaking to Giacchino any longer.
During the mid-2000s I was becoming very close with Bobby Dominic and his close friend Freddy “Porky” Pordyla. Bobby was very gracious to me out of respect that he claimed to have for my late father. According to Bobby, in the early 1970s a then former Chicago police officer, who is also a now late chauffeur to my dad’s good friend, Sam Giancana, named Johnny Matassa wanted to harm Bobby for a spurious reason. However, as Bobby claimed, my father purportedly stopped Matassa from causing harm to Bobby and made Matassa rectify the problem in a respectable way. Bobby’s claim was consistent with the kind of person I knew my father to be. As I have stated more than once previously, my father always helped younger troubled people, which is the polar opposite of Rudy Fratto, who often made money by exploiting younger troubled people.
In 2006, Bobby actually sponsored me while the now late Cardinal George officiated my Confirmation Ceremony at Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral (click here to see my Confirmation Certificate naming Bobby as my sponsor). My then future lawsuit against the DiFronzo brothers (which I would file in 2009) ended up being a major reason for the now permanently lapsed friendship that both Bobby and I have sustained. Bobby was not comfortable with things like my RICO lawsuit and American News Post.
In 2009, when I filed my lawsuit against John and Peter DiFronzo, Rudy Fratto, Jack Cerone, Esquire, and Dr. Joseph Giacchino, I was, for obvious reasons, unable to find attorneys willing to take my case. I couldn’t even find a process server to serve some of the defendants. I had to ask the judge to grant permission so I could have U.S. Marshals serve them. It should be noted that the only reason that John DiFronzo was named in my RICO lawsuit pertained solely to his status at the time as boss of the Chicago Outfit. As the boss of an enterprise, I felt that he was negligent because the boss should be accountable for his inferior agents’ professional misdeeds. In addition, I believe that John DiFronzo deserved being sued for allowing Rudy Fratto to exploit innocent people for many years, which was only possible because DiFronzo ignored almost everything around him that appeared incriminating. This style was the new Johnny DiFronzo that emerged after selling out a large number of his criminal associates in the mid-1990s. DiFronzo had a responsibility to be sure that Fratto was not running around pretending to be his enforcer, as he tricked and/or intimidated people out of their money.
Unfortunately, a statute of limitations issue was the major factor in keeping my case from moving forward.
In the early to mid-2000s, my biological-maternal family paid a partial sum to the Chicago Outfit extortionists who targeted me, while other monies came from sources outside of my family. In both instances, 1987 and 2000s, we were conned. In the early to mid-2000s, I knew I was being conned, especially after knowing (thanks to George Colucci) that the 1987 mater was probably a con job. However, for complicated and numerous important reasons, some of which I have not, and will not share publicly, I went along with the extortionate demands of the culprits in the 2000s, before eventually ending it once and for all.
For those who are interested in additional details concerning the extortion that I have always claimed was based on a con-game, that I was targeted in during the 2000s, I will simply let the civil RICO pleadings that I filed in 2009 speak for themselves by clicking here.
By clicking here you will find copies of two checks that I turned over to Giacchino, that were deposited by Giacchino and these assets were paid to Fratto. These funds were only a portion of the funds that were provided by my family and paid to the culprits in the 2000s. Mutual friends between Giacchino and I have told me that Giacchino falsely claims that the aforementioned checks were payments to him regarding a supposed debt. Therefore, I wish to make abundantly clear for this record that no debt whatsoever existed between Giacchino and me by anywhere near the date on those checks (this can be verified). The exhibit hyperlinked earlier in this paragraph serves as a portion of the evidence supporting my claim that I paid extortionists in the 2000s, which was one of the civil counts in my now closed Civil RICO lawsuit against Rudy Fratto, et al.
Please listen to this message that was left on my voicemail system by Dr. Giacchino during the extortion period in the early 2000s, by clicking here. He had to be drunk and/or hungover because that is what it takes for him to talk tough. The hyperlinked voicemail message was a symptom of our turbulent friendship, coupled with his true colors emerging through his drunken stupor (despite the fact that he called me a drunk). I believe that it was somewhere around the time Giacchino left this voicemail message when I discovered that he was working with Fratto, et al, for the purpose of hurting me, not helping me.
I have now given the most thorough but somewhat concise explanation of events pertaining to the extortion of Joseph Vasselli and the extortions of my family. In previous pieces I ignorantly used writing styles that set tones that probably appealed to a geriatric or adolescent demographic. Additionally, I was a newer writer back then. These days, my objective is to stick to the basics and hit the facts hard. I have also improved some by writing with less emotion when covering extremely tense autobiographical circumstances. Moreover, previous pieces on some of the matters indicated herein were written to protect others, who are now deceased.
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
6/11/21 – Mafia Report: Chicago Outfit – Addendum Five
