In the book by Giancana's brother, I seem to recall him quoting Sam's mockery of the way NY makes guys, that Chicago sees the process as childish, that their thinking is if you're a solid gangster and can be trusted, you're as good as in. Although, in Casino, Ace Roethstein (DeNiro) refers to Nicky (Pesci) as being "made". Maybe that's Scorsese sticking to what he knows, the way the mob does things where he's from.

What does the mob really control anymore? Are they working with the cartels? Seems drugs is where all the money is now, and the cartels would seem to run that show considering their proximity to the source, and their sheer dominance in numbers on the U.S. inner city streets where its sold. How does the mafia cut into this? I'm sure they've got something going, but it's just hard to make sense of how the Italian mob still exists in today's U.S. underworld.

http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/mafi...=20150530021806

can someone verify this chart? Makes the Chicago Mob look huge with Italian operatives etc.

Payday loans, home equity. Most people are finding themselves in debt that way, as opposed to having to go on the run for owing the mob money. Although I've heard of a few people on the run for owing drug dealers money. I've figured most of the mob must be in legitimate business now. Wonder how many inroads them mob made into Wall Street. My union is pretty progressive, but there's still a few guys around that look like they might have a couple of "friends" back east.

I am not an expert, I just wanted to start a thread for disussions sake, also if someone can varify my information and/or explain the real current situation.

Each active crew is run by its own boss as its own family, yet they answer to three top guys who are sort of 'the boss of all bosses' or like the Comission of Chicago.

The DiFronzo era is over and they are replaced by Solly D's guys / Cataduella and Matassa.

I do not entirely know who runs what crew or what crew is still active though I know Chris Spina and the Marino-brothers are big players, with Chris operating in the West side crew and the Marino brothers are under Melrose Park.

The reason why Salvatore DeLaurentis (Solly D) was elected boss was mostly because he prevented a war between some old timers and the young guys. Can anyone explain what this situation was all about, also question; what would happen if Solly didn't prevent a war - what would've happened and who would be playing who?

Also (I am not from America but a friend of mine and I was discussing the Outfit, and he told me that two earlier associates got their button - Charlie Marzano and Salvatore Galioto with Little Joe Lombardo on the way up)

As I understand it, being an official associate of the outfit is like being made in any other original family. And being made is like being a capo.

A Chicago Capo is like a boss of a family with two head-guys beneath them, and Made guys/Soldiers acting as capos on the streets.

I'd like your guys input on this. Been scrolling the site for a few days now and I look forward getting to know you's. :-)

What does the mob really control anymore? Are they working with the cartels? Seems drugs is where all the money is now, and the cartels would seem to run that show considering their proximity to the source, and their sheer dominance in numbers on the U.S. inner city streets where its sold. How does the mafia cut into this? I'm sure they've got something going, but it's just hard to make sense of how the Italian mob still exists in today's U.S. underworld.

Much of what you describe above, as far as the make up of the Outfit is concerned, seems more based on long held theories than demonstrable fact. If we're talking about modern day, an Outfit crew is no more it's own family than crews in other cities. I'm not sure what three top guys you're referring to. If you look over the past decade you had DiFronzo as official boss. Marcello and later Sarno as acting boss. Those two both being from the Melrose Park Crew shows that crew has been the main power in the family. Andriacchi being right up there of course. An Outfit associate is just that - an associate. The days of a non-Italian associate, or an Italian associate for that matter, being high up in the Outfit hierarchy are long gone. Some guys may be in important positions but there are no more Humphreys, Guziks, or Alex's. And by the same token, an Outfit soldier is just that - a soldier. They may or may not have associates under them, just as in other families.

People need to stop trying to make the Outfit more different than it is. Many of the differences are a thing of the past, if they ever existed at all. The Outfit started using the same blood and fire ceremony. It essentially has the same hierarchy and ranks as other families.



Are we talking the mob as a whole or Chicago specifically?

The only families that could still be considered major players in the drug trade are the NY families. And even they have been marginalized to one degree or another.

The Outfit has always had relatively little involvement in narcotics. So the cartels being the dominant force hasn't had all that much effect. The Outfit today makes its money off much of the same sources of income it has for years. Illegal gambling, specifically bookmaking and poker machines, most of all. Bid-rigging for city contracts, as well as some remaining labor union involvement. Some ad-hoc stuff like robberies and fencing stolen goods. You can look over the past 15 years and the drug cases are few and far between.

Drugs are still a big money maker for the NY families but the key isn't them being on top of the drug trade but it being only one of their sources of income. The NY families are very diversified. And diversification has been a key to their longevity. They still control most of the bookmaking, and continue to be involved in other forms of illegal gambling like video poker machines, numbers, and card games. Loansharking goes hand in hand with the gambling. They continue to be involved in extortion of businesses. Also labor racketeering in key industries like construction, demolition, the waterfront, trucking, waste hauling, etc. They've always been quick to move into some new scam, whether it be gas tax fraud, stock fraud, health care fraud, telecommunications fraud, etc.

As I said above, diversification has been key to the mob's longevity. And that applies to narcotics as well. They aren't the main suppliers anymore but they continue to be involved in the trade, and that includes cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy, heroin, and prescription drugs.

I'm not even so sure DiFronzo is even official boss anymore Ivy. He is said to be losing his mind. Unless they kept him there in name only out of respect. But I really dont think he is calling any shots anymore.

The traditional-style with the bloody burning picture ceremony started with Aiuppa and ended with Marcello I think. I don't picture Chicago still going old school, and not alot but some of their members are still foreign/Jewish.

Ivy, do you know what crew is still active and who's who in charge of what?

I suppose a good argument can be made that the blood and fire ceremony started in the Aiuppa era but I dont know if it's ended. The Outfit has made members since the last known ceremony in the early 1980's.

I could be wrong Lol. But if I was going to be in possession of over 160 pounds of cocaine I would have ways to get rid of it. Which would not be relatively little involvement in narcotics. Everyone Knows the five families have more members/associates than Chicago, so trying to compare one family with no competition to five families competing for rackets is off base. They will have more things that they are involved in at any given time because there are many more members in New York. You can say a orange is an apple, it still doesn't make it an apple. But to each their own.


State's Attorney Alvarez Announces Charges
in Rackeetering Operation
Cook County prosecutors execute second long-term investigation using RICO laws


Five people have been charged with Super Class X felonies in connection with a proactive state racketeering investigation targeting members of an organized crime street crew that engaged in a wide array of criminal activity including drug trafficking, home invasions and kidnapping, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez announced today.

Cook County prosecutors announced RICO and other related charges against the defendants who are associated with a sophisticated and high tech criminal enterprise that operated in the Chicago area for years. The criminal complaints against the defendants were filed in Cook County Criminal Court today. The case marks the second state RICO prosecution by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office since the Illinois Street Gang RICO law was passed in 2012.

Three men have been charged with the Super Class X felony offenses of Racketeering Conspiracy and Criminal Drug Conspiracy, including Robert Panozzo, age 54, and Paul Koroluk, age 55, as well as Maher Abuhabsah, age 33. Panozzo’s son, Robert Jr, age 22, was charged with Criminal Drug Conspiracy, and Koroluk’s wife, Maria Koroluk, age 53, was charged with Possession with Intent to Deliver a Super Class X amount of cocaine as a result of this investigation.

After the bond hearing, State’s Attorney Alvarez noted that, like the prior RICO case brought by her office against the violent Black Souls Street Gang, her investigation was triggered when a criminal enterprise plotted to kill a witness, saying that “in both matters, organized crime sought to attack the criminal justice system itself, and now, armed with a proper state RICO statute, my office can fight back effectively and hold the right offenders accountable for their crimes.”

“The completion of this second proactive investigation is yet another example of the vital importance that our Illinois RICO law now plays in our ability to combat violent organized crime in the state of Illinois, and I am pleased to work in collaboration with our law enforcement partners at the local and federal level once again, and use this critical tool to send a strong and lasting message to criminals who plague our communities with violence and crime,” Alvarez said.

“Operation Crew Cut” was a 10-month long-term covert investigation, which targeted members of the Panozzo-Koroluk street crew (P-K street crew), who at times posed as police officers to rob drug cartel stash houses for illegal contraband including drugs and cash proceeds. The ongoing pattern of criminal activity included home invasions, robberies, kidnapping and insurance fraud among other offenses. The joint state-federal investigation included the use of advanced law enforcement tools such as court-ordered electronic surveillance, consensual overhears, tracking orders, and search warrants of cell phones and email accounts.

According to prosecutors, the investigation began in October 2013 after law enforcement authorities developed evidence that a member of the P-K street crew attempted to solicit the murder of a state witness who was set to testify against members of the P-K street crew in a pending home invasion and kidnapping case. Specifically, investigators discovered that Robert Panozzo Sr., along with other individuals, solicited another individual to kill the victim on that case to prevent them from testifying at the trial.

Based on that information, prosecutors, along with other law enforcement agencies began the proactive racketeering investigation into the illegal activities of the close-knit P-K street crew. The investigation revealed evidence that the crew engaged in a wide array of crimes including drug trafficking, murder, home invasion, armed violence, burglary and weapons offenses. As the investigation progressed, it became clear that the scope of the crimes committed by members of the P-K crew were quite substantial and violent.

The investigation also revealed that the members of the P-K street crew routinely obtained information from Chicago street gang members to determine the location and contents of drug cartel stash houses. The P-K street crew members would then utilize high tech equipment, such as video surveillance and GPS trackers placed on the cars of drug dealers, to determine the location of the stash house. Once the location was obtained, P-K street crew members would then enter the houses, posing as police officers and steal large quantities of contraband including drugs and other items.

According to court documents, during the course of one home invasion and kidnapping in 2013, Panozzo sliced off the ear of a victim at the location after Panozzo heard the man speaking English after claiming he only spoke Spanish. During this particular incident, the P-K street crew stole over 25 kilograms of cocaine and two cars.

The defendants in this case were arrested on July 16, 2014 after Panozzo, Koroluk, Abuhabsah and Panozzo Jr, attempted to steal approximately 44 kilograms of cocaine stored at what they believed was a drug dealer’s stash house. Unbeknownst to the defendants, however, law enforcement authorities had obtained court authorization to rig the house with audio and surveillance equipment as part of a covert sting operation. The defendants entered the home and took possession of cocaine, and shortly after emerging from the location, the men were arrested by police who were monitoring the operation.

The “Street Gang Rico” bill written by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and passed by the state legislature in 2012, allows prosecutors at the state level to target gang and organized crime enterprises who engage in a pattern of crimes involving violence such as illegal weapons, sex-offenses, drug trafficking and other offenses.

The investigation was conducted by the State’s Attorney’s Office in cooperation with the Chicago Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the United States Attorney’s Office.

The public is reminded that criminal charging documents contain allegations that are not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which time the state has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

What FBI memo or press release stated this?

The only source for that was Scott Burnstein's website, which many people take with a grain of salt. I typically like to wait until another source confirms something before running with it.

Speaking of Ivy; who would you say to the last guy to be "Made" by the Chicago Family?

@ivyleague

u do realize that the alleged boss of the outfit is from the lake county crew right