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Frank Balistrieri died back in 1993 and his son Joseph in 2010. John Balistrieri has been fighting since his release to regain his law license but was ONCE again turned down by the Wisconsin Supreme court. They noted answers given back during a 2002 deposition by John which they described as flippant and said he was not accepting responsibility for his previous crimes. He is now willing to admit there was a conviction but still maintains that he did nothing wrong according to court documents.

The Milwaukee mafia today is all but extinct since the DEATH of its long time boss Frank back in 93. The Milwaukee mob family was always CONSIDERED to be a branch of the Chicago Outfit and it is believed that once Frank passed The Outfit moved back in and CONTROLS what is left of the local rackets. Peter “Pitch” Picciurro is considered to be the “boss” of what is left of the Milwaukee crime family keeping what remains in LINE for the Chicago Mafia leadership.

John Balistrieri was believed to have held rank of consigliere for the Milwaukee mob and may still but THOSE claims are unsubstantiated and he maintains he has no ties to the mafia.

Midwest Mafia on last leg with passing of Jospeh Caminiti
July 1, 2014 By TheBoss 5 Comments

A Midwest mafia kingfish died recently, as longtime Milwaukee mob POWER, Joseph (Joe Camel) Caminiti, 88, was laid to rest in a quiet ceremony in his hometown back in EARLY February.

Over the past 17 years, Joe Camel had been the titular figure head or “boss” if you had to label him, for a Wisconsin crime family that appears to be on its last legs. BEFORE that Caminiti served as the organization’s consigliere for close to four decades.

He was the son-in-law of one-time Milwaukee don John Alioto and the brother-in-law of legendary Wisconsin Godfather Frank (Frankie Bal) Balistreiri. Known for being well-liked, wise and understated, Caminiti yielded influence on the STREET and in labor union politics, acting as the syndicate’s liaison to the Teamsters.





Joseph Caminiti

“Joseph Caminiti”





When Balistreiri went to prison BETWEEN 1967 and 1971, he tapped Caminiti, “made” by Alioto in a 1953 ceremony, as acting boss of the-then highly-profitable Borgata.

Joe Camel could often BE seen by Balistreiri’s side as the menacing Milwaukee mafia chieftain held court almost every day from the Shorecrest HOTEL ON Prospect Avenue (today the Savoy), throughout most of the 1960s, 70s and early 80s.

Balistreiri, with the heavy BACKING of the Chicago mob, was iron-fisted in his leadership, utilizing the CAR bomb as a sinister calling-card.

Milwaukee gangster Augustino (Augie Palms) Palmisano disrespected Frankie Bal at a card game in 1978 and was car-bombed to DEATH in the fallout from the matter.

“That guy (Palmisano) insulted me, to my face, now they can’t find his skin,” Balistreiri infamously uttered to companions at a dinner MEETING.

Palmisano, 49 at the TIME of his murder, had risen through the ranks of the Milwaukee underworld working under Caminiti.

Following the imprisonment and eventual death of Balistreiri (1983 and 1993, respectively), Joe Camel was relied on to keep the Family afloat. It stayed stable for a bit, but attrition and the seizing of territory by the Chicago mob severely weakened the organization to the point today where it’s BASICALLY a small crew, operating under the auspice of the Windy City.

FBI FILES from the 1990s, indicate that Chicago Outfit brass assigned Southside capo and eventual overall syndicate street boss John (Johnny Apes) Montelone, to “push hard” into Wisconsin in response to the depletion in the Milwaukee Family’s strength.

Retired FBI agent Mike Russo KNOWS that Joe Camel Caminiti is part of a dying breed of mobsters and one of the final links to the golden era of the American mafia in the mid-to-early-late Twentieth Century.

“Wiseguys like him (Caminiti) are few and far between these days,” he said. “He was a gentleman gangster, spoke quietly, but everyone knew he possessed a lot of sway. The name of the game was MAKING MONEY, not waves. That mindset served him well.”