Chicago Outfit boss DiFronzo, 89, dies following illness

John DiFronzo, reputed boss of the Chicago Outfit, died Sunday, May 27, 2018, at his home in River Grove, according to published reports. (Chicago Tribune reports he died May 28) He was eighty-nine years old.

DiFronzo

Criminal defense attorney Joe Lopez told the media that the crime boss suffered with Alzheimer's disease and had been "extremely ill."

DiFronzo was widely suspected of involvement in the brutal 1986 murders of brothers Anthony and Michael Spilotro (depicted in the film Casino). His role was discussed during the 2007 Family Secrets trial of Outfit leaders. But DiFronzo was not a defendant in Family Secrets, and federal prosecutors were unable to assemble a convincing case against him.

Attorney Lopez told CBS-Chicago that DiFronzo's greatest achievement was "beating the G."

The press frequently referred to DiFronzo as "No Nose." The nickname sprang from an attempted robbery back in 1949, though the details of that story are disputed. Some sources say DiFronzo jumped through a window to escape capture and had a piece of his nose sliced off by the breaking glass. (Actually, he neither jumped through a window nor escaped, but a glass injury cannot be ruled out.) Others say a bullet fired by a police officer tore off the nose...

Read a biography of John "No Nose" DiFronzo
on the American Mafia history website.

See also:

• ABC-7.
• CBS-2.
• NBC-5.
• Chicago Tribune.

Feds grab treasure at Calabrese home

Federal agents executed a search warrant March 23 at the home of convicted Chicago mobster Frank Calabrese Sr. (left) and came away with a sensational haul, according to a story by Craig Wall of Fox Chicago News.

Behind a family portrait in the basement of Calabrese's Oak Brook home, agents found a compartment in the wall paneling. Inside they reportedly discovered seven loaded handguns, 15 manila envelopes containing a total of $728,481 in cash, about 1,000 items of jewelry, recording devices and casette tapes. The items and cash were seized by the government. As part of his Family Secrets Case sentence, Calabrese owes the government $20 million and owes the families of his victims $4.4 million. Calabrese was convicted of racketeering and of participation in 13 gangland murders.

Records of the Chicago Crime Commission indicate that Calabrese was involved in criminal activities since he was a teenager. A former mob loan shark who demanded interest as high as 520% a year, he was convicted in 1954 in federal court for possession of stolen cars in interstate commerce. He has arrests for robbery, stolen autos and illegal use of firearms. His loan sharking ring operated from 1970 to 1990s. Calabrese headed the 26th Street Crew of the regional underworld Outfit. The crew oversaw gambling and loan sharking in the Chicago area.

Chicago West Sider Tornabene dies at 86

Alfonso "Pizza Man" Tornabene, reportedly a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit, died May 17 at the age of 86, according to a story by Bon Goldsborough printed in today's Chicago Tribune. The story indicated that Tornabene died at MacNeal Hospital in Berywyn of complications related to peptic ulcer disease.

Authorities say Tornabene (right), once owner of Villa Nova Pizzeria, was a member of the Outfit for decades. A 1997 book by the Chicago Crime Commission identified him as a lieutenant within the leadership of the Outfit's West Side Crew, then reportedly run by Anthony Centracchio.

Court documents show that he and Joseph "Joey Doves" Aiuppa presided over a 1983 induction ceremony for the criminal society. Among those inducted were Frank Calabrese Sr. and his brother Nick, both of whom figured prominently in the recent Family Secrets case. During the Family Secrets trial, a mob informant testified that Tornabene helped run the Outfit while boss James Marcello was in prison between 1992 and 2003.

In the summer of 2007, a news report by Chuck Goudie of WLS-TV in Chicago suggested that Tornabene might have risen to the position of consigliere in the crime family. The Chicago Sun-Times boosted him still further, speculating he might have taken over the position of boss.

Tornabene was the cousin of Sam "Wings" Carlisi, a former influential member of the Outfit. Authorities believe Tornabene's late brother Frank was also affiliated with the organization.

Deputy U.S. marshal guilty of leaking info

A jury yesterday found John T. Ambrose, former deputy U.S. marshal, guilty of leaking information about federal witnesses, according to published accounts. He was acquitted on two counts of lying to federal agents.

See:
ABC7-Chicago
CBS2-Chicago
Chicago Sun-Times

Ambrose (right) was convicted of stealing and leaking information from the file of Nicholas Calabrese, a former Chicago mobster who aided prosecutors on the Family Secrets Case and was placed in the Witness Protection Program.

Federal agents became aware of the leak after they bugged the visitors room at a prison in Milan, Michigan, where Chicago Outfit boss James Marcello was held. During a visit by Marcello's brother Michael, the two men were overheard discussing an underworld ally within federal law enforcement.

The Marcellos referred to their "mole" in law enforcement as "the Babysitter" and indicated that he was the son of a former Chicago policeman who went to prison years ago after extorting money from drug dealers. From that information, federal authorities decided that Ambrose was the source of their information leak.

Ambrose's jury deliberated for three days, according to a story by the Chicago Tribune. One of the jurors had to be excused from the 12-person panel because she was sick with flu-like symptoms. The law permits a jury of 11 to reach a verdict.

Ambrose remains free on bond. He is expected to appeal. Judge John Grady provided grounds for appeal when he was slow to stop the playing of an FBI video recording of the two mobsters discussing Ambrose. The judge ordered the jury not to consider the tape as evidence.

Leak case is in jury's hands

The case of a deputy U.S. marshal accused of leaking information about a federal witness to members of the Chicago mob has been in the hands of a jury since late Thursday afternoon (April 23), according to a story by Chuck Goudie of WLS-TV Chicago.

Deputy U.S. Marshal John Ambrose (left), 42, is charged with providing information about protected federal witness Nick Calabrese to a friend with connections to the Outfit. Prosecutors say he also leaked classified information regarding reputed Outfit boss John "No Nose" DiFronzo and leaked police information regarding the mob murders of the Spilotro brothers.

Through the testimony of convicted racketeer Mickey Marcello - brother of reputed Outfit leader James Marcello - prosecutors were able to link mob awareness of Nick Calabrese's cooperation in the Family Secrets investigation with Ambrose's friend. Robert Grant, special agent in charge of Chicago's FBI field office, testified April 20 to a confession made by Ambrose. Grant said Ambrose admitted to "a huge mistake" and to having improper friendships.

Ambrose's defense attorney Frank Lipuma argued that his client may have violated policies but committed no crimes. Among the character witnesses brought forward for Ambrose was longtime federal Judge Charles Kocoras. Kocoras did not choose to testify but was brought to the witness stand through a subpoena.

Leak threatened 'most important witness'

A leak of information about turncoat Mafiosi Nicholas Calabrese could have led to the death of "the most important organized crime witness that has ever testified in this district, and perhaps in the entire United States," FBI Special Agent Michael Maseth stated in court earlier this week.

Maseth was testifying at the trial of Deputy U.S. Marshal John Ambrose, who is accused of revealing confidential details about Calabrese while Calabrese was in the witness protection program. The leak is believed to be the first ever for the program, according to a Chicago Tribune story. Calabrese cooperated in the Family Secrets case, helping the federal government jail several senior members of the Chicago Outfit.

Four Secrets defendants to pay $24 million

Chicago mob bosses, convicted of racketeering and murders in the 2007 Family Secrets trial, have been ordered to pay more than $24 million in fines and restitution to their victims, according to stories by Mike Robinson of the Associated Press and Chuck Goudie of WLS-TV Chicago.

One defense attorney called the amount "ridiculous."

Judge James Zagel yesterday ordered Frank Calabrese Sr., Joseph Lombardo, James Marcello and Paul Schiro to pay $4.3 million as restitution to the families of 14 men who were killed by the mob. (Back in October, prosecutors calculated that the victims' families were owed $3.9 million in lost wages.) Calabrese, Lombardo and Marcello were found guilty of racketeering and murders. Schiro was convicted of racketeering. He was charged with racketeering murder, but a jury deadlocked on the question of his guilt.

The remainder of the $24 million, the judge said, "represents the total amount of proceeds acquired and maintained by the Chicago Outfit since the 1960s" in criminal endeavors charged in the Family Secrets trial.

Family Secrets defendant Anthony Doyle, convicted of racketeering but not charged with murder, was assessed a fine of $44,225.

Nick Calabrese gets 12+ years

A federal judge today sentenced Chicago Outfit hitman Nicholas Calabrese to 12 years and four months in prison, according to published accounts by the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times. Calabrese, who became the only "made" member of the Chicago Outfit to testify against the organization in court, admitted involvement in a number of Mafia murders. He was convicted of killing 14 people.

In the Family Secrets trial of 2007, Nicholas Calabrese testified against his older brother Frank Calabrese Sr. and other leaders of the Outfit. His testimony helped to secure convictions and long prison sentences for several Outfit bosses.

Nicholas Calabrese, 67, will be credited for time already served. A previous loansharking sentence expired in 2002, but he has remained in prison since that time, as he cooperated with authorities. He is expected to serve an additional for years in prison.

Chicago's 'Twan' Doyle gets 12 years

The last of Chicago's Family Secrets defendants, former police officer Anthony "Twan" Doyle, was sentenced today to 12 years in prison, according to a story by Steve Warmbir of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Doyle (left), 64, was convicted of racketeering in the 2007 Family Secrets case. His four codefendants already have been sentenced. James Marcello, Joseph Lombardo and Frank Calabrese Sr., convicted of racketeering and murders, were sentenced to life in prison. Paul Schiro, convicted of racketeering, was sentenced to 20 years.

Prosecutors charged that Doyle was an associate of the Chicago underworld organization known as the Outfit since the 1960s. He became a member of the local police force in 1980.

Outfit's Marcello sentenced to life in prison

Former Chicago mob boss James Marcello, convicted of racketeering and racketeering murders in the 2007 Family Secrets case, was sentenced yesterday to life in prison, according to reports by Jeff Coen of the Chicago Tribune and the Associated Press.

Prosecutors believe Marcello (right) was the highest ranking mob leader brought down in the case. Among other crimes, he was convicted of involvement in the 1986 murders of brothers Anthony and Michael Spilotro. The Spilotros beaten bodies were found buried in an Indiana cornfield. Anthony Spilotro led an Outfit arm in Las Vegas for more than a decade. The Spilotro story was fictionalized in the movie "Casino."

At sentencing, Marcello maintained his innocence, allowing his attorneys to speak for him: "Mr. Marcello has denied his involvement in the Spilotro brothers' murder... That's all he can do."

Marcello was also convicted of participating in the 1981 beating death of Nicholas D'Andrea. D'Andrea and Spilotro relatives spoke at the sentencing hearing yesterday.

"[Marcello] should have known better," said Patrick Spilotro, brother of the murdered Spilotros, "having lost his own father in a grisly, horrible fashion - stuffed into a 50-gallon barrel."

Video from WGN9.

"Joey the Clown" to prison for life

Chicago Outfit big shot "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, convicted of racketeering and the 1974 racketeering murder of Daniel Seifert, was sentenced yesterday to life in federal prison, according to reports by Jeff Coen of the Chicago Tribune and Mike Robinson of the Associated Press.

Lombardo (right), now 80, and four other defendants were convicted of racketeering in the landmark Family Secrets trial of September 2007. Lombardo, Frank Calabrese Sr. and James Marcello were also convicted of racketeering murders. Calabrese was sentenced last week to life in prison.

Before sentencing, Lombardo remarked, "I suppose the court is going to send me to a life in prison for something I did not do... I did not kill Danny Seifert."

Seifert was shot to death by masked men at his Bensenville plastics company, as his wife and son looked on. Seifert was expected to testify against Lombardo in a 1974 case. After Seifert's death, the charges against Lombardo were dropped.

Trial witnesses described Lombardo as boss of the Outfit's Grand Avenue crew and indicated that he extorted "street tax" payments from area businesses.

Calabrese sentenced to life in prison

Frank Calabrese Sr., 71, convicted of racketeering and racketeering murders in Chicago's Family Secrets trial of 2007, was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison, according to reports by Jeff Coen of the Chicago Tribune and Steve Warmbir of the Chicago Sun-Times.

A jury found Calabrese (right) guilty of participating in seven killings related to Chicago organized crime. His victims were William and Charlotte Dauber, Michael Cagnoni, John Fecarotta, Michael Albergo, Richard Ortiz and Arthur Morawski. The panel could not reach a decision on whether he had a part in six other killings.

At sentencing, Calabrese told the judge, "I'm no big shot. I'm not nothing but a human being, and when you cut my hand, I bleed like everybody else."

Racketeer Schiro gets 20 years in prison

Paul "the Indian" Schiro, 71, convicted of racketeering in the Family Secrets trial of September 2007, was sentenced yesterday to 20 years in prison, according to reports by CBS2Chicago and by Jeff Coen of the Chicago Tribune.

Though the Family Secrets jury did not convict Schiro (right) on a racketeering murder charge, U.S. District Court Judge James Zagel said he considered the 1986 murder of Emil Vaci when calculating Schiro's sentence. Vaci was killed in Phoenix, Arizona, after Chicago mob bosses felt he was cooperating in a federal investigation.

Schiro was indignant at his sentencing and denied that he was involved with Chicago's underworld. "There's no evidence of racketeering I can see at all," he said. "I went to trial with codefendants I never met in my whole life."

Federal officials say Schiro has been a career criminal and was once a close friend to Anthony Spilotro. The Chicago Outfit sent Spilotro to Las Vegas in the early 1970s to watch over its casino investments there. Spilotro was killed in 1986.

Calabrese letter asks about his son

In a lengthy letter from Frank Calabrese Sr. to family friend Frank Coconate, the jailed Calabrese asks a series of questions about his son, who testified against him during the Family Secrets trial. The point of the questions seems to be that Frank Calabrese Jr. testified in order to profit financially from his father's underworld career. Frank Sr. also seemed to be trying to determine the whereabouts of his son and other members of his family. The discovery of the letter occurred at the same time that Frank Sr. was moved into solitary confinement.

Click for the text of the letter.

Click for a video report by ABC7-Chicago.

Outfit bosses request later sentencing

James Marcello and Frank Calabrese Sr., both convicted of participation in Chicago-area racketeering murders in last year's Family Secrets trial, have asked a federal judge to postpone their sentencing, according to a report broadcast by WANDTV-17 in Illinois. Calabrese was scheduled for sentencing tomorrow. Marcello's sentencing was to be Dec. 17.

Calabrese waits in solitary for sentencing

Frank Calabrese Sr., 74, convicted of racketeering murders in last year's Family Secrets trial in Chicago, now awaits sentencing in solitary confinement, according to a story by Steve Warmbir of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Calabrese (right) was placed under strict lockdown measures at the Metropolitan Correctional Center after twice allegedly threatening a U.S. prosecutor. He is isolated from fellow prisoners and is only permitted visits by three members of his immediate family.

He is scheduled for sentencing next week.

Feds call for $3.9 million from convicted mobsters

Five convicted Chicago mobsters owe $3.9 million in restitution to the families of their murder victims, federal prosecutors insist. The prosecutors say Frank Calabrese Sr., James Marcello, Joseph Lombardo, Paul Schiro and Anthony Doyle should be held jointly and severally liable for the restitution amount, according to a report by Chuck Goudie and Ann Pistone of ABC-7 in Chicago. The amount took into consideration an accountant's estimate of the lost earning capacity of 14 victims.

The five men were convicted in the Family Secrets case last year. They are waiting to be sentenced. After the initial racketeering verdict, Calabrese, Marcello and Lombardo also were found guilty of participating in 10 racketeering murders. A jury deadlocked on Schiro's involvement. Doyle was not charged with racketeering murder.

Lombardo (right) has challenged the restitution and called for a forfeiture hearing in front of a jury. The Family Secrets defendants had waived the right to a hearing. But Lombardo argued that his bad ears kept him from learning that his defense attorney had waived the right. Defense attorney Rick Halprin has acknowledged that he never discussed the matter with Lombardo before or during the trial.

Prosecutors answered the challenge by pointing out that recent Supreme Court opinion has viewed forfeiture as an element of sentence, beyond the scope of the jury's responsibility.

Family Secrets sentencing dates approach

Sentencing dates for a number of Family Secrets Case defendants are coming up, according to a blog entry by Steven Warmbir of the Chicago Sun-Times. Sentencing dates have not yet been set for several key defendants. Warmbir drew the following information from the docket of Judge James Zagel's U.S. District Court at the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago.

Nicholas Calabrese, Sept. 24, 2 p.m.
Anthony Doyle, Oct. 1, 2 p.m.
Thomas Johnson, Oct. 6, 11:30 a.m.
Frank Calabrese Sr., date not set.
Joseph Lombardo, date not set.
James Marcello, date not set.
Paul Schiro, date not set.

Already sentenced:
Nicholas Ferriola sentenced yesterday to 3 years in prison.
Dennis Johnson sentenced to 6 months in prison.
Michael Marcello sentenced to 8 and a half years in prison.
Joseph Venezia sentenced to 40 months in prison.
Frank Schweihs died before trial.

Chicago's Ferriola will serve three years

U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel yesterday sentenced reputed Chicago mobster Nicholas Ferriola (right), 33, to three years in prison for racketeering, gambling and extortion, according to reports published by CBS-2 Chicago and the Chicago Tribune. Ferriola was also ordered to forfeit more than $9 million and to pay a fine of $6,000.

Ferriola, a defendant in the Family Secrets case, pleaded guilty on the eve of trial. He admitted to regularly collecting a "street tax" payment from a pizza restaurant and to operating a gambling racket that generated $160,000 a month in profits. The "street tax" was a protection racket reportedly run by Frank Calabrese Sr. Prosecutors described Calabrese as Ferriola's mentor.

Ferriola's father, Joseph, was a leader in the Chicago Outfit, according to Steve Warmbir of the Sun-Times.

Chicago mob associate gets more than 3 years

Joseph Venezia, 65, a minor player in last year's Family Secrets Case, was sentenced in Chicago yesterday to 40 months in prison, according to a story by Jeff Coen of the Chicago Tribune. Before the Secrets trial began, Venezia pleaded guilty to gambling and tax charges.

Yesterday, Venezia argued for a light sentence, saying he was a mere pawn of the Outfit as he collected cash from video poker machines. U.S. District Judge James Zagel explained the 40-month sentence: "Without the Joseph Venezias of the world, the enterprise of which he was a part... would, in fact, crumble."

Prosecutors said Venezia oversaw a portion of a gambling business owned by brothers James (right) and Michael Marcello and also served as a front man for an Outfit-run lounge in Cicero that was used for prostitution.