From what I've read on Sam, he is originally from Buffalo, NY where his older brother Roy was a powerful capo. In Chicago, I believe he had one or more additional brothers who were involved in the Outfit. Years back in Florida, I met a younger gal claiming to be his granddaughter. Like most children and especially grandchildren of mob guys, she said she really had no idea of his involvement with the mob until he went to trial. She said other than that, he was a typical grandfather. Toodoped, since he came up through the Cicero crew, do you know how he later ended up in Melrose Park?
The first info which I have on Sam Carlisi being in the Cicero area is from 1947 where he was arrested as a keeper of a gambling joint. It seems that Sam had a brother who went by the name of Alphonse who also was an Outfit guy in the same territory and both brothers used the same alias which was "Drago".
I assume that Carlisi's Melrose Park connections came through Aiuppa and Ansani since both were operating in the two areas since the old days. Later or during the early 70s when Aiuppa became the boss, his crew began absorbing the whole MP area, probably with the help of Carlisi and his close associate Marcello, but they never completely relinquished their old Cicero connections.
