Angelo LaPietra – “The Hook” of Chicago

A biography about the life and times of Cosa Nostra Leader Angelo LaPietra – “The Hook” of Chicago...

“The primary weapon of emotional abusers is the deliberate infliction of guilt. They use guilt the same way a loanshark uses money.
They don’t want the “debt paid off because they live quite happily on the interest.”
– Gavin de Becker in his book, Gift of Fear

https://thenewyorkmafia.com/angelo-lapietra-the-hook-of-chicago/

Impressive article NYM !

It's reall well-documented and well-written. It reads like a movie.

That was super interesting.

A very extensive bio that also explains the true reason for his nickname "The Hook" which I never knew.

Wow just saw this and I love all of the pics. Im going out to buy a bottle of wine and one nice cigar lol

Wow so much to read here my head is spinning! Thank you for releasing this! It is outstanding!!!! Much deserved for Angelo to have this released on his life as it would have made him proud.

Btw dont mean to ruin a good thing here but his fortress was actually located in Bridgeport (Armour Square.)

In 1977, LaPietra celebrated his new position by building a huge, fortress-like house at 30th Street and Princeton Avenue in Cicero. Encircling the home was a 6-foot high brick wall, and, at night, several huge lights covered the whole area. LaPiera’s display of power probably didn’t satisfy everyone in the Outfit, especially his bosses, but he was making a lot of money for them so they kept quiet. Because of that, LaPietra’s influence didn’t just extend around Chinatown, Cicero, and the South Side. He also had many allies and interests from around the Chicago Heights area and some other southern suburbs.

The real location is listed here...

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/late-mob-boss-angelo-lapi_n_555597/amp

Thanks. Btw heres where I got the info from...



I also want to apoligize for some of the typos that I made but everything will be cleared in near future.

Its such a small little error that honestly I only was able to pick out due to spending time in that neighborhood. Thank you very much again for all your hard work it is much appreciated!!

You're welcome and thank you for your support.

Not a problem!

Heres the address if you want to get technical its listed as Armour Square. That neighborhood borders Bridgeport.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/oq8uK5Qp5ERhJDd79?g_st=ic

Cool and thanks again.

Well, we did promise you guys a new Windy City bio was "coming soon." lol. Glad you enjoyed it Malavita.

TD and Lisa did a great job with it...as usual.

LOL. We're glad it meets with such approval, TD.

It's really a great biography and inside profile about one of Chicago's most important members over the last half-century.

You should be commended for your efforts, and Lisa too. Bravo!

I'm so very grateful and glad that everybody is going to enjoy this wonderful article on Angelo.

Thank you to Lisa and also NYMafia as well!!

[quote=RushStreet]I'm so very grateful and glad that everybody is going to enjoy this wonderful article on Angelo.

Thank you to Lisa and also NYMafia as well!![/quote
-

Rush, thank you for the enthusiasm for the story and your kind words for us.

PS: I told you I'd surprise you, right? lol. So here it is. Glad you enjoyed it!

No problem! Much appreciated!!

Since @Rush reminded me about the situation....interesting to note is that when Scalise and Rachel managed to steal the Marlborough Diamond and the rest of the jewels from England, later the whole stash was never recovered. Some reports say that Scalise has mailed the famous diamond to New York, where it was allegedly “welcomed” by Scalise’s sister. Sources say that the robbery mightve been an Outfit-sanctioned job, and that the precious loot has ended up in the hands of the Cicero-Chinatown group but I also believe that both Scalise and Rachel never saw a dime from the stolen loot. So it is possible that was the main reason for which Scalise decided to "invade" the LaPietra home, decades later, believing that the diamond and other jewels were still in some safe somewhere in the house.

TD, That theory of yours, about Scalise burglarizing LaPietra's home in search of the jewelry he was stiffed on, is very plausible to me. Because LaPIetra was known as a very cheap guy, and a chiseler. So that scenario could have very well have been the case, where the original thieves got stiffed for their end of the job.

Thats right and you're spot on everything you said. In fact, during the 90s the Outfit allegedly stopped taxing all of city's burglary crews and so this gave a "green light" to guys like Scalise to steal or to rob any establishment, even the ones who were previously owned by former Outfit guys. According to one convo between Scalise and one of his associates, Scalise knew that former or late bosses like Ferriola and LaPietra had safes in their houses filled with stolen jewelry from the old days.

I think it was Jimmy Inendino who gave Scalise that green light based on what I read - perhaps not to rob LaPietra's home outright, but to rob essentially anyone. Scalise is one of the most interesting guys in the Outfit - all that prison time and never flipped on guys who likely fucked him over.

Thats right @ChiTown since I already mentioned Inendino's name in the whole story and sources say that it was Jimmy I who allegedly gave Scalise info on what was going on in the LaPietra's house on daily basis. Jimmy I received the info from some of his associates regarding that PARTICULAR DAY, something which makes me think on whether the Outfit still took care of the families of fallen members?! I mean if Jimmy I was able to find out if anyone from the LaPietra family was in the house that same day, than it is quite possible that he and his associates from the Cicero-Chinatown group visited the residence quite often...some food for thought

More than likely Joann has had some guys looking out for her over the years since Angelos passing. She lives directly across the street from the Old Neighborhood Italian American Club which her father founded and still has members there that worked in Angelos crew when he was running daily operations. You also have women from the neighborhood who do the same for her. The day they tried to rob the house she was sitting in her kitchen with a few friends having tea.

Thats right and also that was my point, meaning by 2010 some guys still followed protocol or maybe simple tradition....btw, I think the burglary attempt occurred around 8 p.m.

One of the guys that was involved in that robbery was in that house at one time or another. Pretty much guaranteed they knew the layout of the place.

BTW no way those guys attempt that Robbery if Angelo would have been alive. They would have ended up as his last victims which also is a guarantee even if it was 2010.

That Scalise guy, is he a made man ?

I think he was made during the late 1980s.




I completely agree

Robbing the house of a made guy's widow should be a major no no and I am surprised they would make a guy who would do such a thing.

It creates a dangerous precedent for everybody because it means a made guy's widow and kids are no longer off limits.

This was in 2010 and after the Family Secrets trials, meaning the old guys were gone, several crews were completely extinct and the organization was on its knees. So even though he was made during 1980s, Scalise was with the Outfit since the late 1960s, meaning he obviously knew on how the situation looked like during the old days and also on what went down by 2010. On top of that, Scalise was backed by Cicero big shot Jimmy I and they both belonged to the leading Cicero-South Side admin at the time under Sarno, Cataudella and DeLaurentis. So I dont think they cared much about the old rules at the time.

See this is the problem, and Toodoped this was covered in the write up on Angelo. Angelo was a very hated individual and the main reason why people respected him when he was alive was that they knew it was a death sentence if they crossed him the wrong way. None and I mean none of these guys, Scalise or Jimmy I would have ever fuckin thought twice about robbing his house when he was here. Even if he was 90 years old and someone pulled that shit, no questions asked he would have ordered them killed and if anyone refused the job when he told them to do it, they would have ended up fucking dead also. He wouldn't have given a fuck if it was 2010!!!!!!!!!

If the feds wouldn't have stepped in that day and busted them before they could get inside, and something would have happened to Joann and whoever else was in that home that day, well we may have seen something happen to these 3 fucking idiots who thought it was a good idea.

I for one have faith that someone would have stepped up to the plate and atleast found them and gave them a good old school beating. May have not been murder like the old days but an old school ass whipping would have been warranted as a message that you don't fuck with a bosses daughter no matter the circumstances, no matter if he's deceased you just don't do it!

I am sure they could have found a few neighborhood guys who would have been willing to take the job that are still capable of violence. It may not be like the old days of guys like Frank Calabrese Sr, but let me tell you theres some tough motherfuckers from that crew under the radar right now not on any FBI Chart that are young enough to break your legs and would gladly do it if necessary. I think this situation warrants it.

Great profile Toodoped, another Neapolitan who became one of America's most notorious gangsters.

Thanks @H for your support and also nicely said.

Btw I dont know if you guys ever knew that Scalise served as a technical advisor for the 2009 movie Public Enemies with Johnny Depp lol. This was after the burglary attempt on LaPietras house. Only in the U.S. lol

....in addition, during the 1988 induction ceremony, Pete DiFronzo, Rudy Fratto, Anthony Chiaramonti, Greald Scarpelli and LaPietra/Chinatown crew member Jim DiForti were all made.

Sal DeLaurentis was made the following year or in 1989, possibly together with Scalise, Matassa and others.

Scalise was interviewed several times for his role in that movie - a bunch of those 'behind the scenes' or 'making the movie' documentaries. He talks openly about the feeling of a score. Michael Mann actually had a lot of friends who were serious burglars in Chicago - he had quite a lot of real life influence.

Scalise was also a kid born into wealth - his father was college educated as are his siblings.

You probably remember that Bill Hanhardt also acted as technical advisor for the 1981 movie "Thief". NY mobster Anthony Casso lied that the movie was about his burglary gang, obviously since Hanhardt was from Chicago and used stories from his own burglary crews lol

One of the characters in Thief was based on Chicago's own Ronnie Jarrett.

+1

Yeah James Caan actually hung out on social clubs on Grand Avenue in the early 80s - he was tight with Legs D'Antonio and guys like that - the real people in Handhardt's burglary crew. I knew Sam DeStefano Jr. socially in the 1990s who was in that crew - he told me the movie Heat was based on another Chicago crew. Mann was said to be working on a movie about Accardo - I wonder what ever happened to that. Mann had a real fascination with the Outfit.

I agree and as always, special respect goes to you, and I also wonder on what the hell happened to that flick regarding Accardo...

By the way its very interesting to read that LaPietra was heavily involved in business with the Gambinos in New York. I've always wondered about that and now I come to find out it was in fact true.

It is possible that LaPietra mainly financed the narco deals and also used "middlemen"/associates between him and the Gambinos in NY, meaning LaPietra possibly never had direct contact with the product, and those same "middlemen" had their own crews of "runners" who in turn sold the product on the streets. Mad Sam did the same thing and also other Outfit loan sharks.

TooDoped have you ever heard the transcripts of Angelo LaPietra talking in sicilian to one of the KC guys (Civella I believe?)

No but thanks for the info and so Ill try to find it. During those days it was quite rare for an Outfit guy to speak in Italian. And yes, there were many meetings between the Outfit (Aiuppa, Cerone, LaPietra) and KC (Civella) and there was allegedly some type of problem between Aiuppa and Civella at the time regarding the Vegas scheme, as I already stated in the article.

Speaking about convos between LaPietra and other made guys, heres one interesting convo regarding LaPietra buying a Winchester rifle from Alderisio's guy and Grand Av crew member Sam (Blackie) Cesario....Cesario's name was misspelled as "Spilario"....

Very cool to see. Thank you for posting.

As always, you're welcome

Btw, there are hunderds of interesting convos between LaPietra, Torello, Annoreno, Monteleone etc. but believe it or not I personally dont have the time to go through all of them lol

All those conversations are from the Buccieri investigation into the juice rackets - and a lot of good breaking balls.

Someone posted this about Angelo a little bit ago. Thought I would share...

As a kid, I grew up in Bridgeport, and my mother‘s cousin, somehow was associated with the Italian American club, and the 28th & Wallace reunion one year at Christmas. My sisters were good singers, and my cousin called my mom and said they wanted some kids to come and sing at the club Christmas caroling for the party, we went over there, and my mother pointed him out, he was old at the time, but seemed really nice, patted me on the head and pinched my ear, then gave my mother $1000. My dad was out of the picture, and he knew it. He may be a killer, but that went a long way.

For guys like Ricca it was their first language LaPietra being born in the 1920s would probably be fluent.

LaPietra spoke fluent Italian, his wiretaps with Kansas City prove it. It's very interesting to hear him on those wiretaps because it really makes you realize how much of a real old school gangster he really was. There's extremely very few guys out there today that are alive on the same level as Angelo LaPietra.

Heres one wiretapped convo in which we can see LaPietra speaking in Italian on the phone....



And another one....

....and a third convo in which LaPietra was playing cards with his associates but the feds werent able to identify on who spoke constantly in Italian....

At last, someone gets the reason behind his nickname correct. It's about time. Well done, good article.

That means a lot and thank you very much. Stay tuned for further never released Outfit articles. Cheers

Interesting stuff. Thanks TP

You're always welcome @G and thank you too.

Btw heres another interesting short convo which shows us on how LaPietra worked the "juice" racket....

Yep, "juice" was one of the Outfits biggest and most lucrative rackets...it also became an absolute favorite of theirs.

Two of the largest juice guys in Chicago who don't get enough credit but were essentially the mentors of guys like LaPietra are Frank 'Calico' Teutonico and Joe Rossi. If you go through those transcripts, Rossi and 'Calico' are discussed frequently as being the smartest and crudest with their loans. These guys were ruthless fucks who are burning in hell as we speak.

I always wonder what a heavyweight earner for decades leaves behind in terms of assets and cash. Is there a few bank accounts overseas filled with millions of dollars? Some barrels buried somewhere? A ring of keys to a bunch of properties and businesses that have been acquired and "legit" owned on paper and taxes paid and alla that and passed down to family, not Family? Or does that get absorbed back into the Outfit and the remaining family just looked at as regular square civilians and ignored by the Outfit? They don't take care of member's families after they're out of the picture, whether dead or in jail. I mean, open season on "The Hook's" compound is pretty brazen and disrespectful. Even for someone that was not liked. Unless the people that allowed it to happen were anticipating a nice cut of whatever it was they would find. IF there was something to find.

Nice article! Weird that they always incorrectly say he was called "The Hook" for hanging juice loan victims from meat hooks. I seem to remember reading somewhere that someone had taken some steaks or meat from the fridge at the social club and Angelo would sit in there at night in the dark with a shotgun trying to catch who was stealing the meat. Guy with that much scratch caring that much about some missing meat. I guess the principle of the thing. Never heard that Angelo was a drunk like Jackie, surprised that's not a bigger deal...not good for guys to be getting drunk and possibly running their mouths or making stupid decisions while wasted.

The social club story is true. The culprit that drove Angelo crazy was Rocco LaMantia.

That story about Angelo at ONIAC is from the Scalise/Rachel/Pullia wiretaps - they talk about him being nutty following a prison stint. If you followed that case, they were also meeting with Jimmy Inendino on Grand Avenue where it was alleged they got 'permission' to hit Angelo's house. I think some of that had to do with the Outfit's distaste of the Calabrese crew at that time (Kurt Calabrese was married to Angelo's daughter and his mother in law was in the home when the FBI caught them). I'm sure they definitely wanted some money.

I've been to ONIAC and their events previously - I've heard guys say Angelo was a cagey old man who scared people shitless.

These guys really also don't give a fuck about your family. The Outfit has extorted the families of deceased mobsters frequently and I'm not talking Joe Fosco - Ricca's kids were scammed, Solano's kids, etc. There is a well-known story that Ferriola's kids have discussed about the day their father died, Rocky Infelise came in the house and immediately emptied their family safe. I assume that was the 'bank' for their crew - but its heartless.

+1 from the mid 1940 possibly until today lol



Thats right @ChiTown, Teutonica/Teutonico was one of Buccieri's/Torello's best loan sharks, although maybe Im mixing some stuff but I think he had some problems with the Outfit and was taken out of the picture, like being "shelved" or something like that?! Btw, also dont forget Julius, Joe and Donald Grieco....



Thanks @Goldy and also thanks for your support.

As I already stated in one of my previous posts, when the so-called plan for the home invasion on LaPietra's house occurred, it was already a different time when the organization was placed on its knees after the Family Secrets trials, and after that the Cicero-Chinatown group was still the most powerful active group on the streets because by that time most of their members like Tootise Caruso, Sarno, Solly D, Jimmy I and Cataudella, were free on the streets and they had the power to "break" every rule they wanted to, obviously by staying under the radar. And thats what they all did, obviously except for Sarno. On the other hand, lower level members like Scalise still believed that there were secret safes in the houses like the ones of LaPietra and Ferriola, and I think they were probably right. The Marlborough diamond is not found even today, so we still have space for a lot of speculation.

During those days some so-called Mob drunks were quite useful for some brutal capos like Buccieri, Cerone and Alderisio, obviously because they were able to do anything at any time, but the interesting thing is that they kept their mouths shut. Even Mad Sam lol, I mean he was speaking all types of bullshit in public and making all types of circus attractions lol, but he never ratted and never gave out anyone. Cerone's cousin "Skippy" Cerone was also a drunk but by the end of the day he was respected by all members from his crew. I mean we have pictures of Giancana being completely wasted and dressed as the queen of England lol or with a baby hat with a whistle in his mouth, which means the Chicago Outfit was probably THE most Americanized crime family in the U.S. and we wonder why they invaded LaPietra's home?! lol

Cheers



@Rush do you have any additional info on the situation?

Yeah, pretty "honorable" for them to go after fellow mobster's civilian families.

I remember on Frank Cullotta's YT show talking about how he ran into Tony Spilotro's wife Nancy at a pharmacy while he was in Witness Protection, she recognized him thru his disguise. She was flat broke, and he claims he gave her money to pay the rent for her apartment and that she was involved in getting fake prescriptions to sell pills or whatever to get by. So a guy like Tony who also had millions of dollars pass thru his hands leaves his wife broke? I get that the Outfit wouldn't have helped her out given that her husband was killed by them for various reasons, but seems odd to me that a lot of these guys basically leave nothing behind or it just gets taken back into the organization. Tony had legitimate businesses and whatnot, selling his jewelry store for at that time the equivalent of $700K. They just blow that kind of $$$ on dinners and drinks? My Great Uncle worked for John Deere and was retired for 40 years before he died, and he left behind a lot of $$$, stocks, acreage, etc. These guys weren't able to figure out how to take care of their families similar? Especially back then, when they still had a substantial amount of power and influence? I would think all these upper echelon guys would have had money/assets so laundered and clean they'd be passing off millions that the feds couldn't touch....otherwise, what's the point? Just have money in a bank account or safe deposit box that the Feds seize for taxes/fines when you get busted? That also seems like a pretty good incentive for a guy to flip. Go to prison and keep your mouth shut and they essentially put you on the shelf when you're gone and offer no $$$$. Nick Calabrese was sitting in jail and they were paying his wife $50K a year to keep him happy? That's it? Should have been $50K a month. Marcello had the $$$ for that kind of payoff and look what ended up happening to him. 24/7 lockdown in Supermax for the rest of his life. No thanks.

And you are welcome @toodoped. I enjoy reading that type of thing and the posts here, but mostly lurk, lol.

This was amazing. Sorry I am a late comer to this. Really good article and I appreciate the details here. You consistently show your unchallenged expertise when it comes to The Outfit. Thanks for sharing this. It’s greatly appreciated.

You should Google Sam Destefano II's interview - not the infamous Mad Sam but his nephew the diamond thief (a good pal of mine at one point) who worked for Bill Handhardt. Destefano discusses how Nancy Spilotro owned real estate on rush street and the outfit basically scammed and used her in a tax scheme and then took over her shares. Brutal shit - these guys would rob their sisters if they were desperate enough. I've heard these stories time and again - look what they did to Turk Torello's wife with the property scams in Wisconsin - that was Spano (the guys who used to work for Turk).

https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-sam-destefano-nicoles/30924258/

Thanks a lot Jimmy for being our constant supporter. Salut my friend.




Nicely said @Goldy and I completely understand your view on the whole situation but as @ChiTown already said, those guys were brutal and were able to sell their own mother. Even the old non-Italian guys did the same stuff, like for example Gus Alex allegedly extorted Guzik's family after the old man's death (besides Guzik being his long time mentor and boss), while on the other hand Alex was also known for passing his hat during the funerals of some of his associates who ended up broke, so he can collect money from everyone present for the families. So I think that they usually extorted only the families of former rich members and associates, who kept their cash and jewelry "under their beds". No honor among thieves right?!

As for their millions and where the money went after their deaths...well I think thats one quite complicated situation. Some of the top level bosses like Ricca, Accardo, Buccieri, Battaglia etc. left quite enough money, legit businesses and real estate for their families and other blood relatives, while other rich guys like Ralph Capone or Alex (who didnt have any families of their own) left their fortunes either to some relatives or friends. And obviously 90% percent of the so-called brotherhood lived the lavish life by being degenerate gamblers, dope addicts, driving expensive cars and buying hookers on daily basis. For example Outfit capo Rocco Fischetti used to be one of the richest members during the 1930s and 40s, but by the early 60s he lost his fortune and also high status within the Mafia because of huge gambling debts and so his non-Italian associate Les Kruse got him out of trouble and also became the "unofficial crew boss" for Roccos crew, especially around Lake County and also some south side areas.

Also dont forget that some of those guys lived for the adrenaline and believed in the "Life" 100%, meaning some of them died penniless by following only the "tradition". We also have examples when the families of deceased members were not able to find the hidden cash and remained to live normal lives or "poor" according to U.S. mob standards.




Nice example and thanks.

Lots of very good info here.

Stay tuned for more and never released Chi Outfit articles...

What happened to this article? Why was it taken down?

Tomorrow Ill re-post it @Rush and its gping to be free for everyone, although you also might see it soon in the form of a youtube video.

Excellent! Thank you!

Looking forward to the video as well!

Any update here on posting the article again or a you tube video? I was really hoping to see one or the other!