Originally Posted By: IvyLeague
I'm not a Chicago poster, obviously, but since others have posted already, I'll throw in my 2 cents.

As we know, back in 2007, the feds said the Outfit had 4 remaining crews: Elmwood Park, Grand Avenue, Melrose Park, and South Side/26th Street. What was also interesting is the Outfit was said to be run in "northern and southern sections." More recently, in 2011, the FBI said the Outfit was down to "two or three crews."

I may be wrong but, right now, this is the way it seems to me...

The "northern section" is basically the Elmwood Park crew. The DiFronzos, Andriacchi, Fratto, etc. These guys seem to be fully or at least semi-legit. DiFronzo's companies, trade shows, strip clubs, etc. Actual street rackets seem few and far between. For instance, I'm not aware of any bookmaking cases involving anyone in or affiliated with that crew since the Dotes and Donald Scalise were busted over a decade ago. And while there is still some interaction, the Elmwood Park crew seems to keep everyone else in the Outfit at arm's length while they do their own thing. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if the Grand Avenue crew doesn't exist anymore; at least in the way it once was. Maybe some elements of it have been absorbed by Elmwood Park.

The "southern section" is the Melrose Park and South Side/26th Street crews. In a lot of ways, these guys are what people think of when they hear the term "The Outfit." It was these two crews that the FBI was actively investigating back in the mid-to-late 1990's. Melrose Park seems to be the main power. The last two acting bosses have come from that crew. Toots Caruso, the boss of the South Side/26th Street crew, was supposedly answerable to Mike Sarno. And it was Sarno, like Marcello before him, who seemed to be running what people think of as "the Outfit" on a day-to-day basis. While these guys do have legit interests as well, there's far more examples of them being involved in the standard mob staples of bookmaking, video poker machines, loansharking, theft rings, etc. The Outfit's most recent murders - Jarrett, Chiaramonti, and Zizzo - have also involved these two crews.

Lastly, I don't see much evidence for today's Outfit being as hierarchical as some make it out to be. With it's downsizing and streamlined operations, there really isn't a need for top bosses, crew bosses, street bosses, in addition to the soldiers and associates. And I've seen little to nothing in recent articles or cases, involving the Chicago mob, that would suggest any of it.



Very nice analysis Ivy... that seems to make alot of sense.