On the last forum, I posted a pic of Carl Dote with the alderman and Mayor of Des Plaines all smiling and having drinks. Ivy had no response and stopped commenting on the thread.
I don't recall if I commented or not. But you bringing that picture up is a good example of what I'm talking about when it comes to the Chicago Outfit. There's always allegations, insinuations, hearsay, speculation, and so on. Especially by posters like yourself. This guy knows that guy. That guy was at a party with so and so. This guy was at somebody's fundraiser. That guy got a city job. In other words, lots of smoke. Not much fire. Relatively little of this ever ends up establishing the line you and others have been trying to sell everyone else. Maybe that's why you've resorted to posting pictures. The most recent FBI statements about the Outfit certainly don't bare out what you say. Nor do the indictments.
Gambling outposts in Costa Rica, etc., (Central America) established by Mooney in the 1960’s still exist today and bring in more money for the Outfit these days than Aruba. If you do not believe me, ask Michael Magnafichi that exact question before his next podcast. If what I am claiming is false, then he should have no problem discussing and dismissing it, the same way he does with other false information. What Mike will say is, “I am not comfortable talking about that.” Also, when Joe Lump skipped town when the Family Secrets indictments dropped, the government publicly stated that he was could have gone somewhere south of the border where he had gambling interests. Likewise, James Marcello discussed with his brother the prospect of hopping on an airplane to Central America immediately upon his release on the “prison tapes.” That the Outfit has “interests abroad” is not new information.
Or you could just be more specific if you really have anything to say. All you said above is Magnafichi knows but won't say. More hearsay, rumor, etc.
By the way, if anyone reading this denies that there is endemic corruption in the State of Illinois then it is pretty clear that you do not live in the State of Illinois. Corruption is part of the state infrastructure, and if the Outfit was somehow to magically disappear, there would be a vacuum. The corruption would remain, and that is a fact. Illinois is not a normal state, and does not know how to be a normal state. The street gangs (Gangster Disciples, Latin Kings) even have a certain amount of influence through particular alderman. Read about Chicago’s political violence problem. Chicago is an awful place.
Nobody ever denied there is widespread corruption in Chicago. What's being rejected, including by me, is the false notion that it all revolves around the Outfit.
I find it odd that the, for lack of better term, "anti-Outfit" people get so angry. If people like Huron and ChiTown are wrong who cares? Why are you guys getting so angry? I have not once seen any of these guys claim the Outfit was all powerful. In reality, almost every single one of them has said just the opposite. All they've said is that they're still around in some form or another...which I don't really think anyone debates.
And furthermore, aren't we all "fanboys" to an extent? For Christ's sake we're posting on a mafia message board. Some people on here have more than 5,000 posts!
Being a fanboy has nothing to do with your post count. It means you're actually rooting for a certain crime family, much like a sports team. It means you have a hard time being objective about it and often have an outdated and false view of it. Now, people are free to believe what they want, but to expect to post bullshit on the forums without being questioned or challenged shows they don't have much confidence in their own rhetoric.
