We all heard about murderous Chicago mobsters like Fiore Buccieri, Sam DeStefano or Tony Spilotro who used insane torture tactics over some of their victims by not having any type of regret. In almost all of the cases these guys did it on the orders from their bosses and executed their jobs in ruthless style. But besides those already known terrible individuals, there were also other less known individuals which were perfect for the likes of killers such as DeStefano and company.

Born in 1921 on Chicago's West Side, Nick Guido grew up on Taylor Street which in fact was the main "headquarters" for many future Outfit leaders and killers. His father Nick Sr. was a notorious criminal, something which probably deeply affected Nick Jr. For example in 1924, when Junior was just a three year old boy, Nick Sr committed a home invasion and during the process he strangled to death one wealthy house owner and so he was sentenced to life in prison.

At the age of 14 or in 1935 Guido committed his first crime and was arrested on robbery charges, and so he was sentenced to the Illinois Training School for Boys in Kane County for two years. Later in 1938, Guido was sent to Pontiac reformatory for five years and again in 1944 to Joliet penitentiary for 10 years on robbery charges. During those days, many criminals used the so-called "crazy act" in the court rooms and Guido was no exception. Once he entered the court building and began tearing apart all of his clothes and screamed like a lunatic. There were even some cases in which Guido sat in the courtroom completely naked.

By 1955 Guido already established himself as a ruthless criminal within both criminal and law enforcement circles by being labelled as a savage and cunning stickup artist and professional burglar. Guido formed his own crew and most of the guys were not professionals and were less sophisticated, but instead they were sort of unrestrained animals who plundered countless homes of the wealthy, while maiming and molesting helpless women and children just to extract a fortune in stolen cash, furs or jewels.

Few of Guidos prime crew members were his two younger brothers, Louis and Don who in turn were his main so-called “logisticians” in plotting all kinds of “jobs”, including murder. But besides being prefessional burglars, the brothers were also heavily involved in the narcotics business which one part was financed by the Chicago Outfit. Other prominent members of the Guido crew were Al Sacko, James McGarry, Louis Vasselli, Joseph Gaynor, Stanley Miller, John Pellegrini and Alex Micele. Many of these fellas were previously arrested or convicted on narcotics and burglary charges, and some on murder charges.

One of their main tactics was to follow many rich individuals for days so they cal learn their daily activities, and later tried to bribe their so-called “house help” so they can receive info on where the safes were located. Guido also prepared masks and hoods for the crew, which were used in home raids. The so-called masks were fashioned from women’s stockings which were dyed in bright red. The gang also used house keys which were usually obtained from the auto key rings of wealthy women patrons, and sometimes Guido ordered his men to smash the windows to make it appear that the gang did not have any duplicate keys that enabled them to enter all residences without a sound. Under Guido's direction, the gang looted over 100 homes and joints, thus terrorizing families and owners during the process.

In November 1955, Guido and two of his associates robbed the Maywood-Proviso State Bank in Maywood, Illinois. During the course of the robbery, they were kicking the employees and customers and als hitting them with their machineguns. After the robbery Guido took a safety deposit box in the Pioneer Trust and Savings Bank in Chicago, which was rented under the name “Don Schiavone”. Less than two weeks, Guido was arrested by the cops because they found his getaway car which was used during the robbery. Guido was quickly arrested and when the cops searched his apartment they managed to find a 25 round magazine for a machine gun, two magazines, one of them loaded for a 9 mm. automatic pistol, an empty magazine for a .45 caliber pistol, a belt of .38 caliber cartridges , and an assortment of loose .32, .38, and .45 caliber cartridges.

At first, during the trial, things were looking good for Guido since he managed to establish an alibi by testifying on the trial that he was in the Roxy Movie Theatre across the street from his apartment on the evening of the robbery, somewhere between 6:00 P.M. and 8:30 or 9:30 P.M and he even specified the movie which was ironically entitled “To Catch a Thief”. Also one of the eyewitnesses failed to make a positive identification but even with that, the evidences such as the getaway car, the marked bills and a footprint at the scene of the crime which perfectly fitted Guido, were too overwhelming and he was sentenced to 6 years in prison.

In 1961 Guido was again released from jail and sources say that his attitude was worst than before, meaning he quickly gathered his gang and started planning new jobs, obviously because he needed money. So when you need fast money, you need a fast “job” and planning a bank robbery wasn’t something that you can do it that fast but instead, the crew mainly focused on their greatest passion which was the home invasions of wealthy “targets”.

One of Guido’s most prominent partners in this kind of crime was a young criminal know as Frank Yonder and this young fella was a real walking terror and a “mad-dog” since he was known as the gang’s torturer. Usually when the gang entered the home of some rich and helpless lady, Yonder was the one who would tie the victim up, then he would burn her body with lighted matches and cigarettes, or cut her all over her body with a sharp razor and in the end, he would kick, beat, and punch her in the face and drag her across the room by her hair until she speaks about her alleged hidden stash.

According to some police reports, Guido reportedly instructed Yonder to torture women and children in some robberies, but not to molest them in others, hoping that police would be deceived and not suspect that one gang was responsible for all of the invasions of homes. The funny thing was that Yonder worked as a women’s hairdresser in a North Side beauty parlor known as the Key-Den Beauty Shop, and from there the gang selected their targets. One of Yonder’s associates Leo Johnson, who also worked at the beauty parlor but as car hiker, allegedly supplied the gang with copies from car keys or home keys of their wealthy costumers. These young thieves sold duplicate keys to Guido and Yonder at prices up to $50 a piece.

On May 28, 1962 the gang decided to break into the home of the Botthof family. They lived in a $200,000 fortress and were considered quite wealthy, which was obviously the main reason for being targeted by the gang. The individuals involved in the robbery were Guido, Yonder and few of their associates such as Duane Pinkowski, Louis Vasselli and Guido’s wife Patricia. Few days before the robbery occurred, Yonder and Vasselli met in a tavern where Guido told Vasselli that Yonder would be the main players on the job and that another of Vasselli’s role was to bring the guns. One day before the robbery, Yonder and Vasselli managed to steal a getaway car from a used car lot and the plan was for Patricia and Nick Guido to wait in the same car, near some restaurant, while the robbery was in progress.

On that faithful day, with the help of the copy keys, the gang entered the Botthof residence without any trouble. First, Vasselli and Pinkowski tied up Mr. Botthof, his eleven year old son and their three maids. Then Yonder grabbed Mrs. Botthof by her neck and started burning her face, breasts and whole body with cigarettes, while her husband and son were watching. While torturing her, Yonder asked Mrs. Botthof about their hidden safe and the alleged $100,000 stash of family jewelry. But the poor woman told him that most of their cash was spent on the expensive education of their five children. This made Yonder even more mad, and so he pulled her by her hair, stomped on her neck several times, and later on he forced her to watch as Vasselli and Pinkowski beat her husband without mercy. Vasselli poked his thumb as hard as he could into Mr. Botthof's eye and pounded his chest, kicked him several times in the ribs, thus breaking two of them and in the end, he slammed the heel of his shoe into Botthof's face.

Next on Yonder’s “menu” were the maids. He struck matches and lighted the pubic hairs of the women, while all three of them were being stripped off their clothes and laid naked on the floor. Later Vasselli proposed that they rape his wife in front of their son if he doesn’t give up his family’s treasure. As a result of the violent beating, Mr. Botthof lost site on one of his eyes but Vasselli continued his terror by threatening the bloodstained couple that if they don’t give up something, they would watch as their child suffers. The family’s agony lasted for nearly two and a half hours and in the end, the poor victims prayed for mercy down on their knees.

So the animal-like and notorious robbers took whatever the Botthof family “coughed up” and left the poor people in a horrible psychological and physical trauma. When they exited the house, Yonder's suit was all splattered with blood, and allegedly told Guido the bad news that he had left the Botthof family almost for dead and that they were only able to get $130, two pairs of pearls and a ring. When they returned to Guido’s apartment, they gave Patricia the pearls and their guns and told her to drive Yonder to his house in Joliet.

Some of their other “jobs” were the looting of the home of Jack Delott on June 5, 1962 in which more than $10,000 in furs and jewelry was taken in the robbery while Delott was also slugged many times and his wife and children were tortured. The gang also managed to steal $21,150 from the home of Mr. and Mrs. Schamberg at 6525 Kilbourn Av., in Lincolnwood. On June 29, 1962, once again the gang managed to obtain more $10,000 in furs and jewelry in a burglary which occurred at the home of S. L. Widran, at 5060 Marine drive.

In fact Guido made the burglary business look so easy that it just might take you under temptation. First he called the Widran apartment and since there was no answer, Guido quickly called for Yonder to burglarize the apartment that same moment. They put on their gloves, took their flashlights and walked to the apartment building side entrance. In less than 10 minutes, they came out with Yonder carrying a white pillow case, filled with two mink stoles, a woman’s diamond ring, costume jewelry, a couple of wallets and cash. Guido took everything which he did not consider of any value and told Yonder to bury them. And that was that.

Another robbery occurred at the Bank of Lincolnwood in which more than $15,000 were stolen but this time Guido was acting differently which was quite rare. The day after the Lincolnwood job, Guido allegedly told his wife "There was a cute little boy in the bank at the time of the robbery. I was nice to him [the boy] and said: 'Don't worry, we won't hurt you.”

The gang was responsible for around 20 home invasions and three bank robberies in just two months, and so it is natural that by the end of the day someone might get “pinched” by the police and that’s what really happened. Two of Yonder’s young associates in the key-stealing business at the beauty parlor, were nabbed by the feds. The two unlucky youngsters were Leo Johnson and Herbert Kwate and these two young criminals began crying the moment they set foot into the police station. Later their bonds were paid and so Guido gave the “contracts” to his brothers Louis and Don, who in turn plotted the murders and later gave it to Gary D'Allessandro and Alex Wallace, two of the gang’s best “hitters”. On June 1, 1962, the bullet-riddled body of Johnson popped up in a West Side alley and also more than two weeks later, on June 17, the lifeless body of Kwate was found near Carpentersville in Kane County. Right after the Kwate murder, the feds realized that another car hiker was gone and this time it was William Collins. In fact, Collins disappeared the next day, after the cops found Johnson’s body. Collins’ body was never found.

The killings of the two young car hikers was the last straw in the eyes of the federal government and so they decided to take the situation under control. The government quickly issued warrants for the arrest of Guido, Yonder and the rest of the gang and so on June 18, 1962, the cops visited Guido’s home but the problem was that none of the gangsters were present except for Guido’s wife Patricia.

She told the cops almost nothing but right after the police visit, she received three telephone calls from her husband, who in turn managed to make a huge mistake. You see, Guido was a real scumbag who had no respect for his wife and three kids, and so during their telephone conversation, he threatened his own wife to keep her mouth shut or else. Well after receiving that last threatening call, on June 20 1962 Patricia Guido made a decision to contact the Joliet police and, in the presence of the State's Attorney's police, sheriff's police and Joliet police, unearthed the hidden canisters which contained some of the stolen property from the Botthof job. After turning the canisters over to the police, Patricia was arrested and charged with taking part in the Botthof robbery but after that, she was subsequently released on bond.

Even though she still kept her mouth shut regarding Guido and the rest of the gang, her husband’s senseless threats did not end up there. While being hunted all around the Midwest by the police, Guido again somehow managed to send word down to his wife that if she opened up her mouth ever again, he was going to kidnap their own kids and that he was going to hurt them. Immediately, at Patricia’s request, she was placed in protective custody by the State's Attorney's office to remain like that until the trial, of course, in return for every information that she possessed regarding the Guido gang.

Next to “spill the beans” was Duane Pinkowski who got also indicted for armed robbery, and decided to testify against his former colleagues as a state witness. He detailed for the feds on how he was allegedly forced into going on the Botthof robbery under the threats to harm his wife and child by Guido. Pinkowski said that Guido first offered him to forget about a $1,000 loan which he had made to Pinkowski, if he would take part in the robbery. Also, the feds raided a drug store at 43d street and Drexel Boulevard, which was used by the gang to keep some of their stolen loot until it was sold. In fact, Guido reported to the parole agents that he was working as a purchasing agent for the drug store. Owners of the place were Mrs. Grace Pine and her daughter Mrs. Delite and both were charged with possession of stolen property, which forced them to open their mouths.

Meanwhile, one of the gang’s “hitters” Alex Wallace also opened his mouth and had signed a confession in which he said he fired the first shot into his accomplice’s body and charged D'Allessandro, who allegedly fired four more shots. The slayings, according to Wallace, were ordered by Guido himself. In the end even though he helped the government, Wallace was again sentenced to no less than 33 year in prison regarding the Kwate murder. After this there was a national hunt for Guido and Yonder with a “shoot on site” warrant.

In November 1962 the two fugitives were caught and arrested by the police in Michigan State and after proving their sanity, by early January 1963, they were taken to trial. The whole trial was a huge spectacle. First, the defense was destroyed by all of the witnesses that took the stand such as Patricia Guido, Mr. and Mrs. Botthof, Pinkowski, Wallace etc. For example when Miss Botthof took the witness stand, she was on the verge of insanity and while in tears she told of the agony she endured as the bandits tried to extract information from her and her husband.

On January 16, 1963 the jury found Guido and Yonder guilty regarding the Botthof robbery and were sentenced each from 60 to 100 years in prison. According to some reports Guido received his sentence without any emotion and as for Yonder, he maintained a wry smile which was the only expression he has shown throughout the whole trial. Minutes after the notorious duo had been sentenced to prison, as they left the courtroom, Yonder attacked and threatened to kill a police lieutenant who stood nearby. Yonder lunged toward Lt. Edward King and slammed his head against the cell bars after spitting into his face. Later Yonder threw his arm around King's neck and said "Now I'm going to kill you!" and attempted to grab King's .38 caliber pistol. In the end, Yonder was subdued by the court bailiffs, who in turn handcuffed him to the cell bars.

Later Patricia Guido testified in another trial against Guido's brother Louis regarding the dope peddling business, in which both brothers received additional sentences. During the trial, Louis Guido and the rest of the gang were stunned from all of the “surprises” that the prosecutors had prepared for them. After that during a nationwide search for Vasselli, in June, 1964, the feds unknowingly stumbled upon him in San Francisco but his real identity was established much later, after he had paid a $65 fine for drunkenness under his real name. And so in September 1964, the feds managed to locate Vasselli and arrested him in some Calumet City motel and quickly placed him in prison.

Now that's what I call a "violent crew". Cheers

In addition, it is quite possible that the Guido gang allegedly received their heroin shipments from both the Buccieri and Elmwood Park crews (I dont have any straight answer except of "guilty by association") since one of the Guido brothers Louis was allegedly connected to Outfit dope peddlers such as Angelo LaPietra, Rocky Infelice, Joseph and Fred Coduto, Chris Cardi, Albert Sarno, Mike and Frank Carioscia, Frank Micelli, Alex Micelli or Micelle, John Pellegrini, Anthony D'Agostino and Frank Milazzo. For example Chris Cardi was an ex-policeman and together with his constant companion Al Sarno mainly worked as musclemen and loan sharks for Outfit capo Joe Gagliano who belonged to the Elmwood Park faction under Tony Accardo and Jack Cerone.

By 1965 most of the main players such as Louis Guido, D'Agostino, Pellegrini and Milazzo were all thrown in jail on narcotics charges and received sentences between 10 and 12 years in prison.

In 1970 Frank Carioscia, Fred Coduto and Louis Guido somehow won their appeals and they were released from prison and in no time all of them were back in business, but now the main overseers were Outfit guys such as Rocky Infelice, Carl Fiorito and Fred Coduto. On February 22 and 23, 1971, some of the crew members such as Coduto, Carioscia and Louis Guido were arrested by federal agents and charged with violations of the federal narcotics laws and one week later one of their "leaders" Carl Fiorito was also arrested by the feds.

The court held mandatory release revocation hearings for Coduto, Guido, and Carioscia and so the board of parole revoked the releases of all three individuals and so Fiorito received 12 years in prison, while Louis Guido, Coduto and the rest of the gang all received 10 years sentences.

In 1972, the imprisoned Louis Gudio still oversaw his dope business from prison mainly with the help of his new wife Mary Guido, since his ex-wife previously testified for the government against him and his crew. Another individual that helped in continuing Guido’s operation was his brother-in-law John Skeva, who in turn was connected to another street dealer and old associate of the Guido gang, known as Joe Russo who in turn allegedly had many political and business connections. Reports say that by 1972 the crew still distributed around 30 or 40 kilos of heroin per month.

in no time the feds realized that the “head” of this whole operation was in fact the imprisoned Guido and so they quickly devised a plan by infiltrating one of their own undercover agents as a prison inmate, so he can get closer to their target. While in prison, Louis Guido unknowingly approached the DEA agent and proposed the purchase of white heroin from his wife Mary and his brother-in-law John Skeva. In a matter of days, the whole crew was arrested and later convicted for conspiracy, transportation and selling of narcotics and Gudo received additional years in prison.