Isn't Andriacchi sick as a dog? Thought he retired years ago

saw difronzo on youtbe once, some i-team investigation i think

was classic...he just kept saying he didnt know anyone they were talking about even though they had them on camera sitting next to each other

always thought it was funny

dont know shit about chicago except what i saw on the untouchables and casino

been there once, looked like nyc but cleaner

I believe Aldo Piscitelli has been dead for some time now.

Do DiFazio, Credidio, or Tominello have any type of leadership roles in the SouthSide crew or are they just money makers?

I think you are thinking of LaMantia instead of Piscitelli. I just wondered if DiFazio held any leadership since he has been around and is in charge of ONIAC. Credidio has been involved in the unions for a long time - he is also the owner of Grotto in Oak Brook. In the summer you have Outfit guys smoking cigars on the back porch of The Grotto.

Mets-Cubs the weekend of May 17th at Wrigley. I'm seriously thinking of taking my Dad. He's almost 84 and in great general health, but it's getting harder for him to move around. Anyway, he's a huge baseball fan from back in the '40s (The New York Giants), and he'd love to see Wrigley again while he still can.

Italian restaurant recommendations?

And I'm sorry for hijacking the thread, ChiTown. Give me an answer and I'll shut up about it .

I'll forgive you ya New York fuck. How bout that fight last night and Greinke's collar bone?

My recommendations for Italian in Chicago include:

High End
Piccolo Sogno, Spiaggia and Riccardo's cannot be beat.

Holes in Wall with Excellent Food:

La Scarola (Joe Lombardo's place on Grand Ave), Orso's (Frank Milito's old place in Oldtown), Gennaro's (Taylor Street), Bertucci's Corner (Bridgeport neighborhood...relatives of the Caruso family).

I'm not a Chicago poster, obviously, but since others have posted already, I'll throw in my 2 cents.

As we know, back in 2007, the feds said the Outfit had 4 remaining crews: Elmwood Park, Grand Avenue, Melrose Park, and South Side/26th Street. What was also interesting is the Outfit was said to be run in "northern and southern sections." More recently, in 2011, the FBI said the Outfit was down to "two or three crews."

I may be wrong but, right now, this is the way it seems to me...

The "northern section" is basically the Elmwood Park crew. The DiFronzos, Andriacchi, Fratto, etc. These guys seem to be fully or at least semi-legit. DiFronzo's companies, trade shows, strip clubs, etc. Actual street rackets seem few and far between. For instance, I'm not aware of any bookmaking cases involving anyone in or affiliated with that crew since the Dotes and Donald Scalise were busted over a decade ago. And while there is still some interaction, the Elmwood Park crew seems to keep everyone else in the Outfit at arm's length while they do their own thing. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if the Grand Avenue crew doesn't exist anymore; at least in the way it once was. Maybe some elements of it have been absorbed by Elmwood Park.

The "southern section" is the Melrose Park and South Side/26th Street crews. In a lot of ways, these guys are what people think of when they hear the term "The Outfit." It was these two crews that the FBI was actively investigating back in the mid-to-late 1990's. Melrose Park seems to be the main power. The last two acting bosses have come from that crew. Toots Caruso, the boss of the South Side/26th Street crew, was supposedly answerable to Mike Sarno. And it was Sarno, like Marcello before him, who seemed to be running what people think of as "the Outfit" on a day-to-day basis. While these guys do have legit interests as well, there's far more examples of them being involved in the standard mob staples of bookmaking, video poker machines, loansharking, theft rings, etc. The Outfit's most recent murders - Jarrett, Chiaramonti, and Zizzo - have also involved these two crews.

Lastly, I don't see much evidence for today's Outfit being as hierarchical as some make it out to be. With it's downsizing and streamlined operations, there really isn't a need for top bosses, crew bosses, street bosses, in addition to the soldiers and associates. And I've seen little to nothing in recent articles or cases, involving the Chicago mob, that would suggest any of it.

It's really a shame in my opinion that the law enforcement just forgot about DiFronzo's past crimes just because he's gone legit. I mean, allowing such characters into legal business is an insult to people who have really honestly worked to build their businesses.

The guy is a lifelong criminal...he's served multiple years behind bars without opening his mouth to protect this organization. Why people believe he all of the sudden said "Fuck it" and shut it all down is beyond me--but I have to assume you are the same type of people who wire money to Nigeria based on those scam emails.

Everyone saw that Chuck Goudie footage of DiFronzo meeting all the Outfit heavies back in 2009 or 2010. If you think he all of the sudden "stopped" that you are an idiot (or from Boston).

Well, I don't think he stopped, there is no need to be rude. I just said that even if he did, there is no excuse for forgiving him for what he did in the past.

I think the notion that someone who has devoted so many years of his life to something has just all of the sudden "shut it down" and gone legit is rather "naive." There is that nice enough for ya?

I agree that what you are saying makes sense. I just don't live in the USA and don't have first-hand information about what happens there and everybody says DiFronzo accumulated so much money he theoretically could well retire from crime to live the rest of his life without any problem. But I don't think that's the case, I don't believe it's in his mentality (or in any other crime boss's mentality for that matter). Once a killer, always a killer.

I'll forgive you ya New York fuck. How bout that fight last night and Greinke's collar bone?

My recommendations for Italian in Chicago include:

High End
Piccolo Sogno, Spiaggia and Riccardo's cannot be beat.

Holes in Wall with Excellent Food:

La Scarola (Joe Lombardo's place on Grand Ave), Orso's (Frank Milito's old place in Oldtown), Gennaro's (Taylor Street), Bertucci's Corner (Bridgeport neighborhood...relatives of the Caruso family).

I think you are thinking of LaMantia instead of Piscitelli. I just wondered if DiFazio held any leadership since he has been around and is in charge of ONIAC. Credidio has been involved in the unions for a long time - he is also the owner of Grotto in Oak Brook. In the summer you have Outfit guys smoking cigars on the back porch of The Grotto.