The Infamous Chicago Mobsters Live On
Posted: Monday, June 27, 2011
by Joel Hendon
http://hebronics.org/index.html
In days gone by, Chicago was for some time, the home of many Mafia mobsters such as Al Capone and numerous others. A city of racketeers of almost ever description. Whatever enterprise showed prospects of big money, the Mafia was involved in some way. If nothing more than simply shake-down operations. A legitimate merchant whose only desire was to earn an honest living, wound up coughing up a portion of his profits simply to “be assured of protection”. In other words, if they did not buy in, their business would suffer by being raided and broken up or the owner himself may have been beaten half to death.
But Chicago, once the most famous hub for mobsters, is no longer so. There are now some five families of mobsters in New York while only one family remains active in Chicago, often referred to as “The Outfit“. Former mobster boss, Frank Calabrese, was arrested in 2009 along with 13 other members of the gang, for his involvement of the slaying of 18 gang slayings. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Now, this very month, a Roman Catholic Priest and former prison chaplain, was indicted for illegally passing jailhouse messages from Calabrese and plotting with his associates on the outside. So be sure, the beat goes on.
The big bust in 2009 came when Calabrese’s son testified against him and the mob.
Special Agent Ted McNamara, a veteran investigator who supervises the La Cosa Nostra (LCN) organized crime squad in the Chicago Field Office says The Outfit normally stays clean from drug trafficking and he adds that this is one of the reasons it is difficult to stamp out a complete mob. Rather than to become involved in some illegitimate business, they try to infiltrate themselves into unions and other legitimate businesses so they can cover their illegal activities.
McNamara also told that the “Family Secrets Case” began in 1999 and culminated in 2005 with the arrest of 14 members of the gang, dealt a tremendous blow to the mob and, although still active, the FBI is putting forth every effort to see that they do not recover and become strong again.
The Chicago mobs have been from long ago when they were extemel6y powerful and had infiltrated, or bought into, the city government, police and other highly influential areas which sometimes made it virtually impossible to root out.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)A wonderful history and I was glad to see all of the marvelous details and facts. However, the most corrupt American city has little to crow about. They look back on their mobsters as their patriarchs. They laugh and drink and toast the old boys, and know that absorbing corruption into your system is a much more effective way of controlling wealth and power. Being a mobster on the outside, looking in, is a poor second. Great article.
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