is grand avenue still operational?

Whatever, pal. You were had by a complete nut. No point in trying to save face with any of that "for what it's worth" stuff. You were had by a deeply troubled guy, who created histories & elaborate backstories for himself out of thin air. Justify it however you like. You were wrong.

@cookcounty yes of course.

I said I was wrong.

However, that doesn't necessarily make you right about everything.

Logic 101.

Isn't the first time someone's done it on the internet, by far won't be the last. FWIW, he played it pretty well, seemed to have some decent info, Chuckie English's kid or not. He didn't lose his cool when he was confronted about his faking until the whole "fab four" thing towards the end. Decently skilled sock-puppeteer as trolls go.

Ha!

Well, I guess he was The Don. Despite the present circumstances, The Don, Black Angelo and a couple others were the most widely read posters on that board for a long time.

While the Don had some bizarre personality traits and him and Fosco went after each other viciously to the point where it was ludicrous, I don't really remember anyone ever calling him out as a liar at all... for anything like this or for the information he posted. However, now that I think about it, there was some discussion about whether those two posted under different names... and possibly if they were the same person? I can't really remember.

Like everyone else, it surprises me that anyone anywhere would derive any satisfaction whatsoever from going on an Internet board and out and out making stuff up. But, live and learn.

I was fooled too, Jonnynonos. At least now I will be more skeptical about what I read on this board. I still enjoy your posts and hope you continue to share information about The Outfit.

The Fab Four stuff was an allusion to "the Beatles of the outfit" stuff I presume?

Likewise! I'm not going anywhere, bud.

Hell, Gus Russo used the obviously highly suspect "Double Cross" as a source. Bigger fish than us have been duped.

Yeah, good analogy! The reviews on "Double Cross" were really great. NOT !

No it was a reference to his livelihood, in a way. He catches my meaning if he is reading this. I actually respect him for coming clean about it, as weird as it was.

Learn from this. There are a lot of people on here who speculate, but there are others who actually know the people you're discussing and know a little about what actually goes on. You would be surprised to learn that some of the crazy sounding stuff on here occasionally has some truth to it, regardless how ridiculous it sounds.

What is John Credidio's status? Active?

John Credidio and his brother Gino own Chicago Studio City. Both were very hooked up with the Outfit back in the 80s. John lived down the street from "Joe Nick" Ferriola and the Outfit financed their company, while the company only subcontracted through Outfit-controlled Teamster locals and allowed Outfit guys like Billy Galioto and Rudy Fratto to extort the shit out of all movie crews and force them to hire their subcontractors. The tactics probably weren't strong-arm as much as "over charging." Many say The Fugitive filmed in Chicago with the Credidios was an example of what went on--extremely inflated production costs.

Not sure what their status with the Outfit is now days, but I know that Studio City is very successful and they were both involved with the Transformers movies--one of which is being filmed in the Loop right now. I would say that given the mob financed their company, they are paying someone.

Excellent post. And yes, CSC is still going strong.

I heard he also owns a bar on rush street called the groto

That was on State St and its closed, there's the one in Oak brook that's been mentioned before.

The Grotto in Oakbrook is indeed owned by Credidio among others (Oakbrook is where he lives). That is where you will find Marco D'Amico and Fat Matassa smoking cigars on the deck on any given Friday night.

if D'Amico is retired then what's he doing with matassa at a mob joint?

Meeting Christy Spina to go to Panera.

I wonder how the boys feel about this loudmouth wannabe blabbering for 200 hours worth of tape.

Yep carparelli shit the bed this time. But wannabe? Nah, he's a legit capo with a very tough crew under him, otherwise the feds wouldn't have even bothered with two years of surveillance.

You think he's a capo? All the "in the know" chicago guys never mentioned him or nothing like that, I don't see him being a capo he might be made with a couple guys under him but hes no capo, then who knows maybe there beginning to structure themsleves more like NY, I could see him being a capo then but not with how the outfits been structured in the past.

I have never seen Matassa there and Marco I have not seen there in at least a year.

Feds aren't dumb. Like any other strategy game: find the weak link and attack. Get the mouthy braggart shooting his mouth off about everything under the sun on tape... now you own him.

"Wannabe" came from the bit about him being caught on tape "...expressing his desire to move up the ladder of organized crime."

Where did you see these tapes at?

All in the Sun Times article.

Ehh, they found a weak link in his crew & exploited it. Most lcn guys talk like him. He didn't say anything particularly outlandish or revealing. Nothing everybody didn't already know about day to day Outfit life. And I perceive wannabes as guys on the outside looking in, who will never be able to get in, because of their perpetual goof status. Paulie C is a hardened Outfit tough guy, was given his own crew with heavy responsibilities, etc. He was moving up. Is he a "wannabe" for wanting to move higher up the ladder in the company he is employed by? I suppose every single motherfucker besides popes, kings, CEOs, & presidents are a bunch of "wannabes" then, eh?

Also, carparelli is already back on the streets & just opened a new business. The judge mysteriously released him, against the advice of the feds. They can't touch these guys unless someone truly valuable flips. Nick calabrese was a freak anomaly within the Outfit.

Well, we all have our opinions. I have read a lot of wires and IMO from the articles quotes and inferences he comes across a lot more Frank Calabrese than Jimmy Marcello, but to each his own.

Curious, though, how do you know he is a "capo?" He could just be a contracted guy. There is actually a a few things suggesting that in the article IMO.

The quote "That's what the customer wanted" referring to a beating. Although he could be speaking euphemeistically, would you really refer to your boss in the hierarchy as a "customer?"

If he's part of the hierarchy why is DeLaurentis paying him $10K cash to beat the crap out of someone? Nick Calabrese killed about 20 people and there was never a suggestion that he got a cash reward for each hit. I thought conventional wisdom was that when you are in and they say to do something, you just do it.

In the story he "boasts of his commitment" not only to DeLaurentis, but Mark Polchan. Would a guy who was part of the hierarchy really be committed to a motorcycle gang boss? The way it's phrased (we can only guess) it sounds like he is putting himself in a subservient position to them both on equal footing.

He's dealing drugs. When was the last time a known made guy got caught dealing drugs.

What is "a lot of wires" Jonny? I believe there were only 2 articles about him--The Tribune and Sun-Times. And did they say he was dealing drugs too?

Paulie was released because he has a son at home who recently lost a mother (Paulie's ex wife Regina). The judge rightfully allowed him to go home to not put his boy through more stress. He has a massive new house and had just put in a nice pool in his backyard. For his sake, I hope he didn't close it yet.

I meant I've read a lot of wires on different Outfit guys, and his banter struck me as on the more loudmouth side than the smooth operator type. But, it doesn't really matter.

I'm not saying he's not a made guy or a "capo." Apparently you know him. Maybe he is. Just pointing out a few things I noticed in the article.

I guess I understand if some people on this board actually have relatives in the mob or whatever and hear all the dirt from them. Sometimes, though, it's hard to tell when people are just making educated guesses like everyone else (and leaving the door open for people to assume they have hard information) or when they really know something.

Jimmy Marcello was the #1 within the entire Chicago Outfit, what a ridiculous comparison.