Chicago's family 'Secrets' map
September 7, 2007
BY MARK KONKOL
Al "Scarface" Capone and Sam "Mo Mo" Giancana, fuhgetaboutem.
Joey "The Clown" Lombardo, James "Little Jimmy" Marcello, Paul "The Indian" Schiro, Frank "The German" Schweihs and Frank Calabrese Sr. - are Chicago's new mob stars.
The feds' case - which spells out how these Outfit guys supposedly collected street taxes and, like the famous mobsters who came before them, murdered associates - has captivated regular folks who liked to think that by the '70s and '80s organized crime was the stuff of urban legend.
The feds' case - which spells out how these Outfit guys supposedly collected street taxes and, like the famous mobsters who came before them, murdered associates - has captivated regular folks who liked to think that by the '70s and '80s organized crime was the stuff of urban legend.
The Family Secrets trial makes you wonder where these guys spent time in when they weren't making hits or strong-arming bookies. Sadly, many of their haunts - Hoagie's, Aunt Sally's, Horwath's and the Sicilian Restaurant - where the "Last Supper" photograph was taken - have closed.
But a few Outfit-friendly joints are still around providing some perspective on where wise guys said prayers, shared a cocktail or gobbled a pepper-and-egg. With Sun-Times' mob know-it-alls Steve Warmbir and Tim Novak, I put together a handy little "Family Secrets" map. Go ahead, take a tour.
Old Neighborhood Italian American Club, 3031 S. Shields, Chinatown
This corner social club was a hangout and meeting place for the Outfit's 26th Street Crew. The current president is reputed mobster and bookie Dominic "Captain D" DiFazio.
Jos. Cacciatore & Co., 527 S. Wells, South Loop
Just take a drive past this South Loop monument to one of Chicago's oldest and most successful real estate companies. The firm's president, Victor Cacciatore, testified that the Outfit was extorting him for $5 million in the '80s. He wound up paying $200,000 to the people -- who exactly? He couldn't remember -- threatening his family. (They put the head of a dog on Cacciatore's son's car and shot out the elder Cacciatore's back windshield.)
Connie's Pizza, 2373 S. Archer, Chinatown
Captain D is a long-time Connie's employee, currently the pizza chain's director of special events. He had to skip a day at the Taste of Chicago to testify at the trial. The co-founder of the place, James Stolfe testified a couple of Outfit guys told him that if he didn't pay out $300,000 he would get hurt. Ultimately, Stolfe said he paid the Outfit $270,000 in street taxes. Frank Calabrese Sr. was a ghost on Connie's payroll, collecting $1,000 a month to do nothing.
St. Theresa Chinese Catholic Mission, 218 W. Alexander, Chinatown
This church is home to the St. Rocco Society, who's president, Bruno Caruso, is reputed mobster and former laborers union president. Society membership is restricted to men with ancestors from Simbario, Italy or who marry into a family from Simbario. Past members include Caruso's late uncle, Ald Fred B. Roti, a made member of the mob who went to prison for taking bribes. Every August, society members and their family carry a giant statue of St. Rocco, patron saint of Simbario, through the streets of Chinatown
Gene's Deli & Catering, 2202 N. Harlem, Elmwood Park
This corner deli in Elmwood Park was a lunch and lounge spot for Outfit guys, Joey the Clown among them. You can get meat by the pound, tasty sandwiches and even a 6-foot sub. I recommend the Minestrone. Very tasty.
Rosebud on Taylor, 1500 W. Taylor, Little Italy
People who know these things say this white-tablecloth place in Little Italy is a mob hangout. On some nights you might catch a glimpse of reputed mobster Joe "The Builder" Andriachi spooling pasta there. But don't go asking for a table near the The Builder. That's just rude.
Armand's, 7400 W. Grand, Elmwood Park
Mobster Frank Calabrese Jr. testified that he learned to make pizza here. And in 1999, an FBI agent said The Clown, John "No Nose" DiFronzo, Rudy Fratto and The Builder had a meal with the former Mayor of Rosemont, the late Donald Stephens at this little Italian joint. The Clown, however, denied it saying he'd take "truth serum or lie detector test."
LaScarola, 712 W. Grand, River West
Mob sources say this is where The Clown really liked to chow down. Before getting picked up by the feds, he was a regular at this River West gem. Try the Risotto Primavera, and be sure to stay for the tiramisu and a cappuccino.
The alley behind 2329 N. 74th Ave., Elmwood Park.
This is where the feds finally caught up with the Clown, who was on the lam for 9 months in 2005. They found the Clown in a car behind his friend Dominic Calarco's house, a block from the Elmwood Park police station.
Mt. Carmel and Queen of Heaven cemeteries, Wolf and Roosevelt Road, Hillside
This is where a lot of the Outfit eventually end up. There's massive mausoleums with the mob family names like Capone, Giancana, Roti, Nitti and Accardo engraved in them. Try taking a stroll there with "The Godfather" theme song playing on your iPod.
Armand's, 7400 W. Grand, Elmwood Park
Mobster Frank Calabrese Jr. testified that he learned to make pizza here. And in 1999, an FBI agent said The Clown, John "No Nose" DiFronzo, Rudy Fratto and Joe "The Builder" Andriachi had a meal with the former mayor of Rosemont, the late Donald Stephens, at this little Italian joint. The Clown, however, denied it, saying he'd take "truth serum or lie detector test."
Hit list
Aug. 1970
1. Michael "Hambone" Albergo is killed at what was then a warehouse at 3300 S. Shields. Now, it's part of the parking lot at U.S. Cellular Field.
Sept. 27, 1974
2. Daniel Seifert is killed outside his factory in northwest suburban Bensenville.
June 24, 1976
3. Paul Haggerty is murdered in a garage in the 2800 block of South Lowe.
March 15, 1977
Henry Cosentino. No testimony as to where he was murdered.
January 16, 1978
4. John Mendell is killed in the same garage in the 2800 block of South Lowe.
January 31, 1978
5. Donald Renno and Vincent Moretti are murdered in a Cicero restaurant.
July 2, 1980
6. Mob enforcer William Dauber and his wife, Charlotte, are gunned down in rural Will County on a road that's roughly halfway between Manhattan and Crete and east of 45.
December 30, 1980
7. Mobster William "Butch" Petrocelli is murdered at an empty building near 14th Street and Laramie.
June 24, 1981
8. Trucking executive Michael Cagnoni dies in a car bomb blast as his car enters the Hinsdale onramp onto I-294.
September 13, 1981
9. Nicholas D'Andrea is murdered in Chicago Heights.
April 24, 1982
Mobsters blow up the van of Nicholas Sarillo Sr. as he is driving along on a road in Wauconda. He survives.
July 23, 1983
10. Richard Ortiz and Arthur Morawski are killed in Cicero.
June 6, 1986
Emil Vaci is murdered in Phoenix, Ariz.
June 14, 1986
11. The mob's man in Las Vegas, Anthony Spilotro, and his brother Michael are lured to a Bensenville area where they are strangled to death.Staff ReporterSept. 14, 198612. John Fecarotta is killed outside a bingo hall at 6050 W. Belmont.
