All Blog Posts Tagged 'Chicago' (106)

By Robert Sberna

The recent death of Frederick “Fritz” Graewe (photo above), a feared mob associate in Cleveland, Ohio, shows that it’s possible to live by the sword but not die by the sword. Graewe, 66, seemingly enjoyed a peaceful suburban lifestyle until passing away of natural causes in February. He had been at home…

By Gary Jenkins

“I’ve known Tony since I was about 12 years old, we grew up together. At the end of 78, he called and asked me to come out to Vegas and, you know, watch his back, be his underboss, more or less, that’s the term they use. So that’s what I was noted for, the Underboss and the leader of the Hole in the Wall…

By David Amoruso

Chicago Outfit mobster Anthony “The Ant” Spilotro continues to fascinate the public. Thanks in large part to Martin Scorsese’s epic movie Casino and Joe Pesci’s portrayal of him, but also due to the gangster’s violent way of doing business. For those interested, you can now live in his former home or…

By Gary Jenkins

This is the 4th and final installment about the life and times of Chicago’s most feared hitman, Harry “The Hook” Aleman. We have arrived at the downfall of this infamous mobster. Though he got away with countless murders, justice finally caught up and brought him down. Here’s how.

Harry had been…

By Gary Jenkins

In this third installment about Harry “The Hook” Aleman, a half Mexican, half Sicilian Chicago Outfit hitman, enforcer, street tax collector, and the capo of a home invasion crew, I will examine the case that will eventually bring Aleman to justice. This will be a long and crazy path so hang on and keep…

By Gary Jenkins

This is the second installment of a 4-part series about the life of Chicago mobster Harry “The Hook” Aleman, who operated as a thief, enforcer, juice loan collector, and hitman. In this edition, I will detail Aleman’s use of violence and murder as a tool to increase his power in the Chicago underworld and…

By Gary Jenkins

Harry “The Hook” Aleman was one of the Chicago Outfit’s most feared mobsters. In the first of a 4-part series documenting the life and violent crimes of this notorious thief, enforcer, juice loan collector, and hitman I recount how Aleman’s criminal career began.

He was born Harry Peralt Aleman on…

By David Amoruso

Hollywood loves gangsters. Not because film makers condone their crimes, but because their stories make them lots of money. It’s difficult to name any other genre that has so many titles based on a true story. Yet, despite this label, the true story often gets twisted to fit the…

Estimate members: Between 50 and 90 made members

First Boss: James "Big Jim" Colosimo

Primary…

By David Amoruso / originally published on May 7, 2018 - updated October 8, 2018

Don’t you just wish you could get away from all the madness and enjoy some peace and quiet? Al Capone also had that wish, so he got himself…

By Gary Jenkins

Most law enforcement entities that had an interest in the Midwest Sicilian La Cosa Nostra crime families suspected those criminal organizations exerted influence over Las Vegas casinos, had corrupted Nevada politicians and claimed their territory in Las Vegas.

Mob experts believe that at a meeting of…

By David Amoruso

You know a mobster is respected when his colleagues refuse to utter his name out loud, preferring to point to their nose to signify they mean the man known on the streets of Chicago as “No Nose.” Chicago Outfit boss John DiFronzo was that kind of gangster. He passed away on Sunday, at age 89.

DiFronzo had…

By David Amoruso

“It’s good to be in something from the ground floor. I came too late for that and I know. But lately, I’m getting the feeling that I came in at the end. The best is over.” – Anthony Soprano, HBO’s The Sopranos

Mob boss James “Little Jimmy” Marcello must know the feeling. Born on December…

By David Amoruso

You can call Charles Russell an old-time hood that just doesn’t know when to quit. As a member of the Chicago mob’s Grand Avenue Crew, which was once headed by infamous boss…

By Gangsters Inc. Editors

Law enforcement agents operating under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) arrested 14 alleged members of the Latin Kings this week. They join a group of 20 other gang…

By Gary Jenkins

“I remember one night in Circus Circus, we had an obligation to meet, course I was young and had some balls, I guess,” Carl Thomas says. “There was two guys from the state outside, Bybee was one of them, and I was in there on my fuckin' back, snatching that money, and they weren't as far from me as that…

By David Amoruso

Politics is a dirty game. Always has been, always will be. But most of the dirt is kept hidden from view. Skeletons stay in the closet. Sometimes, however, the dirt comes out because it is so mind-blowing, it cannot be kept secret. Like the time the United States government recruited the American Mafia to kill Cuban…

By Gangsters Inc. Editors

Former Mafia hitman Frank Cullotta has written a new book and will be out and about doing some heavy promoting. Known as a member of infamous Chicago mobster Anthony Spilotro’s …

By Gangsters Inc. Editors

Nine alleged members of the Four Corner Hustlers street gang in Chicago were charged this week with participating in a criminal organization that murdered six people and violently protected drug-dealing territories on the city’s West and Southwest Sides.

Prosecutors say that the Four Corner Hustlers dealt…

By David Amoruso

The Prohibition era in Chicago has gone down in history as a time of extreme mob violence. A time when hoodlums were mowing down enemies with Thompson machine guns in a battle over the lucrative bootlegging business. When mob boss Al Capone ruled supreme while being on the cover of every newspaper. Author John J. Binder…