Illegal gambling isn't really where the Feds need to focus when it comes to the Outfit...its more bid rigging and their ability to use their legit companies to get their claws into civic projects like McCormick Place expansion and Des Plaines casino.
Also consider their dominance of video poker in Illinois (and pull with pols who legalized it).
True but I don't think that stuff is really happening on a very wide scale. Look at Fratto's ham-fisted attempt to nudge in on McCormick. If you read the wire he comes off as someone who is mentally impaired.
It's a far, far, far cry from the Humpreys days.
It is DEFINITELY a far cry from the Humphries Days or even Pat Marcy days.
As for McCormick however, using Fratto's indictment to represent what the Outfit has going there isn't really representative however...Rudy was shelved by the Outfit already when he was pinched there. You neglect the real powers at McCormick that run large companies like Bill Daddono and the Salamone brothers. I would go as far as to say they are getting cuts of almost everything happening at McCormick. It's still a major cashcow...a larger version of the Stephens Convention Center that the Daddono family has run for decades.
PB--I agree and that's why I respect you buddy. You don't see me talking about the Bronx!
They may be getting a cut and have some scams but they aren't controlling anything.
It's difficult to know where legitimate businesses end and Outfit-related scams begin these days, although I agree with you that there is likely fishiness going on at McCormick Place.
But some people still say any business run by some old mobsters' grandson is an Outfit endeavor, whereas in reality many of them are just legitimate businesses.
