Spilotro / LaPietra murders

Of all the post-Capone era Chicago gangsters, we know the most of Tony Spilotro. Even the public does as well, with the release of Casino. We know all about his job protecting the casino skim from being skimmed. But if you check the official and non-official documents, there were apparently 5 casino employees murdered as part of his job. Are there any details as to motive? Identities? Never been able to find any.

There's a similar situation with Angelo LaPietra, a capo who was also involved in skimming. Apparently he had this horrifying method of murder involving some kind of bondage suffocation on delinquent gamblers, but no bodies or victims have ever been found/named. I'm also interested in his control of auto rackets, which may have been his or may have been Albert Tocco's, whom like the other 2, was also absolutely insane.

EDIT: In fact, if anyone else is interested in the Outfit, feel free to start a PM conversation.

I am interested in learning about the outfit as its often overshadowed by NY, I have seen the documentary on Spilotro but what like to know more. Its interesting on here that I have seen heated debate on the current state of the outfit, some have said their still fairly strong, and politically connected, while others have said they only have 25 made guys left. Are you a Chicago guy?

Long Island guy. One reason The Outfit is interesting is there's rarely a concrete answer on anything.

In present state I doubt they could be too powerful. All the old timers are dead. The Cicero Crew, who has been leading things for the past 30 years (Joe Aiuppa > Joe Ferriola > Sam Carlisi > James Marcello) can't be going too strong now that James Marcello is locked up for life and the rest are dead. It's a single crew that's remained in power for a long time, with a clear successor to each caporegime. But not anymore, and I think that's the sign of the current state.

Anyway. My questions never get answered because I tend to drag on forever. To put it simply. While protecting Las Vegas skim, Spilotro murdered 5 casino employees. But no records of who they are or how it was done have ever surfaced. Seems odd because we know so much about Spilotro.

The desert is a very, very good place to dispose of unwanted things....

bill roemers books on spilotoro and family secrets books help alot im actually from cicero and theres been alot going on in the outfit they are roughly in 5 street crews down from i think 8 or 9 in the past .... look up the family secrets trial and chicago suntimes also has alot of articles... let me see if i can find you more info such as current day charts of street crews bosses and such.... http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/7967/outfitt.gif ... i will throw alot more info tonight when i have more time but im an avid follower on the outfit .... to be continued

what i would like to know is has any of the new york families n the outfit guys ever been found out to hav done business together eg wiretapes with gotti crew n the calabreeze

The Outfit is still going strong theyve got business all over the place and are still making millions.

Look up Rick Rizzolo...

Is it true they're going legitimate? Or is that just DiFronzo? I'd like to know if they're still firebombing their competitors! James Marcello sure loved his firebombs. To me he's one of the most interesting mafia figures of all time. Another thing I'd like to know. This Michael Sarno is made out to be bigger than his rank would suggest. Does he run a crew now?

Eastsider: Yeah, that's the thing. They appear small today, but people don't realize they only have a fifth of the crews of the New York families. Their focus was always on big investments, big heists and schemes, rather than risking promoting 10 extra guys to Captain and let them in the inner circle.

I think the Outfit is comparable to the Genovese family's inner circle; a bunch of pretty smart oldtimers who run a tight-knit organization. I don't think the current Outfit needs many soldiers. If they need to make certain things done, they just hire a professional and make sure there are no direct ties.

That's an interesting comparison, and I tend to agree. A core of older wiseguys who have some legitimate businesses, like Difronzo.

Michael Sarno is an interesting character who seems to hold some power on the streets, although he seems like more of a thug. He could be in a leadership position once Difronzo dies or gets indicted.

Here's a very interesting look at the modern day Outfit http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/iteam&id=6705293

Difronzo seems like a pretty sharp guy at his age.

Banwait, what's the relationship between John Matassa and Sarno? Is one the other's capo? The Cicero Crew is certainly powerful enough to hold the official caporegime title. That's a good observation about him being a thug. There's two examples of him being hired to rough up a guy for fellow crooks. And in both cases, the employers were shocked at the grisly results.

I think you're not far off. In a number of articles in recent years it's been talked about how the Outfit has intentionally downsized itself and streamlined it's operations in order to make itself less of a target for law enforcement. It's no longer this large, omnipresent, entity that rules all of Chicago like many (who are living in the past) still envision it. It's now a small family, comparable to the other small remaining families outside New York. No longer will you find any non-Italians in the hierarchy like in the past. Like other mob families, the Outfit is an Italian thing now. I also think these figures we still see of 1,200 associates are outdated. Unless you really want to stretch the definition of an associate.

I wouldn't be surprised if there were as many as 60 made guys left there. But I also wouldn't be surprised if there were only 28, plus over 100 associates, as the feds cited during the "Family Secrets" case. The top guys, like DiFronzo, have interests in legit businesses. And the rest still have the bookmaking, video poker, loansharking, burglary rings, etc. They don't need an army of killers anymore because not that many hits take place anymore.

I was under the impression the Mike Sarno had been considered streetboss of the Melrose Park crew formally fronted by Pudgy Matassa..?

Ive also heard Sarno used as an example of the brain drain inherent in the modern LCN. Although he did alright for himself during his run.

I've seen it. "How ya doin' buddy?".

That's what all the charts would tell you, but he seems to head a large and profitable crew. It gets confusing when a crew has a Street Boss. I understand how a regular Street Boss works. But in The Outfit, is it just another name for highest ranking soldier? I can't understand why they would even need the position anymore anyways, assuming Ivy's theory on DiFronzo is correct. Which I agree with.

Agreed. I've wondered before if we are a little too quick to try and force one guy or another into a certain position based on past hierarchy positions. If law enforcement comes out and says a guy is in a given position, that's one thing. But I don't know either why the Outfit would need to be so hierarchical at this point.

Spilotro was not a maniacal tyrannical nutjob in the vein of LaPietra & Tocco. Tony was a nice, generous guy who had a mean streak. Spilotro was Joey Lombardo's Pit Bull. He is not to be mentioned in the same sentence as big heavies like LaPietra & Tocco. Those two were seriously powerful individuals.

This is a 2 year old thread, why exactly did you revive it?

If it adds more info let him bump it.

Bondage/suffocation? lol doubtful. Angelo and Jimmy were simply hoods not psychopaths. They called Angelo "the hook" because he would get his "hooks" into you and your wallet. He would come and "hook" guys who owed him money. Most street guys called him "The Bull." When he ran Bridgeport, Angelo would have Specs DiCaro drive him around the neighborhood to maintain a visible presence.