I have placed some FOIA requests for FBI files on several individuals who were former members of the Chicago Outfit and thought I would share some of what I find with you guys.

First one I got back was Bobby Ansani, who was a member of the Cicero crew and active for over thirty years from the 30's to the 60's.

-The earliest mention of Ansani in the FBI files is in June, 1954 when he and his company, Taylor and Co., come under investigation for advertising a type of slot-machine converter known as a trade booster. Taylor and Co. placed an advertisement in The Billboard magazine (which originated as a type of amusement magazine and eventually evolved into today's Billboard music magazine). The advertisement came to the attention of the FBI office in Cincinnati (where the magazine was headquartered) which then contacted the Chicago office.

-The "trade booster" was basically advertised as a way of legitimizing slot machines; the booster called for the removal of the coin slots and dispensers which were replaced by the machine in question - which tabulated the scores of the player and could be remotely activated by a separate device.

-It was later determined that Taylor and Co. was a large manufacturer of casino and gambling equipment which was owned by Ansani, Joey Aiuppa, John Moore (a.k.a. Claude Maddox), and two other individuals. The address for the company was 2242 Cicero Avenue, Cicero, IL. Google Map it, it still stands but appears to be abandoned.

-Ansani was questioned by FBI officials in July, 1954 about the unit. Ansani explained the unit's operation and how it could not considered a gambling device under federal law as it removed the payment mechanisms required for slot machines to accept coinage. He also detailed the sale of several of these devices to Pennsylvania, Montana, and Alaska, of all places.

-An informant described Taylor and Co. as being a mob-controlled business.

-A diagram for the construction and installation of the "trade booster" was included in the file.

-Further investigation revealed that Taylor and Co. had dispatched one of their employees, Walter Clennin, to obtain legal advice concerning the device from an Illinois D.A. When the D.A. ruled against the device's legality, Clennin forged the D.A.'s signature to a legal document proclaiming the legitimacy of the "trade booster".

-Further investigation revealed that Ansani had taken over Taylor and Co. in 1939 after the original owner, Bobby Taylor, ran into financial trouble over losses incurred at Matt Capone's gambling joint in Cicero.

-The FBI questioned the recipients of the devices in Pennsylvania concerning whether or not the trade boosters were used to for gambling purposes, with varying results. One customer stated that they had given the bartender a set amount which allowed them to enter that into the machine with a remote. Another customer claimed they saw bartenders giving and receiving money to and from individuals playing the machine. Two other customers reported receiving cash from the bartenders. The bartenders interviewed stated that they did not receive any payments from customers.

-In September, 1954, warrants were issued for the five owners of the company. Ansani, Harry Milner, and J.R. Johnson were immediately apprehended while (unsurprisingly) Aiuppa and Claude Maddox were fugitives. Both eventually gave themselves up in October when they claimed that they "heard that the federal government were looking for them". All five individuals were freed on bond.

-The charges against Ansani and his cohorts were (1)interstate shipping of gambling devices, (2) failure to file monthly sale and delivery figures with the United States Attorney, Chicago, IL, (3) failure to clearly mark gambling devices as such for shipping and (4) failure to register as salesmen of gambling devices with the United States government. The charge of failing to file monthly figures was dismissed as the presiding judge found it would self-incriminate the charged individuals, making it thereby unconstitutional. Trial date was set for March 15, 1955.

-Walter Clennin was also indicted for forging a state official's signature. Clennin was set to go on trial August 8 but to the surprise of no one reading this post, disappeared in July. He was never found and was presumed murdered, presumably because it was assumed he would cooperate with authorities and implicate others in the forgery trial.

-The trial for Ansani, Aiuppa, and their two co-owners in Taylor and Co. was delayed for several months but finally finished in December. No jury was present for the trial. Judge William Campbell would hand down his decision and sentencing in January of 1956.

-On January 26, Judge Campbell found Ansani guilty of the transportation charge and all four were convicted of failing to register as dealers in gambling devices. All defendants were acquitted of improper labeling. All were sentenced to one year and one day in prison.

-The decision hinged on Judge Campbell's legal opinion that a slot machine, regardless of removal of its coin acceptors and dispensers, was still, by legal definition, considered a "gambling" machine and therefore unlawful.

-Appeals for Aiuppa and Maddox were dragged out over the next year and ultimately fell on deaf ears. Interestingly, Ansani did not attempt an appeal and requested to be imprisoned immediately to carry out his sentence as he was in poor health. This was apparently to receive free medical treatment at the expense of the U.S. government! Johnson and Milner also did not appeal the decision.

-This case took up the majority (roughly ¾) of Ansani's FBI file but there are still some interesting notes to make of the remainder.

-Ansani received scant attention from the feds until 1965 when the FBI began to refocus its resources on organized crime.

-Ansani's address was listed as 332 Olmstead Rd, Riverside, IL but he also had a larger residence at 16W636 37th Pl, Oak Brook, IL. Look them up on Google Maps. He was married in 1930 and had one son and one daughter. He got his start in the Outfit in the '30s at his father's soft drink company, which was apparently was the preferred supplier for many of the Outfit's bars and speakeasies. Ansani's record (besides the above-mentioned charges) includes an arrest for rape (serving one year in IL St. Penitentiary) and several arrests for "general principles". Read about that here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbitrary_arrest_and_detention

-Interestingly enough, Ansani was listed by an informant as a pallbearer at Al Capone's funeral, along with Aiuppa and Maddox.

-Ansani's associates were listed as Aiuppa, Claude Maddox, and Bucky Ortenzi, in addition to Outfit bigshots like Giancana and Accardo. Ansani's main hangouts were the Towne Hotel and Turf Club in Cicero, both notorious Outfit hangouts. The hotel was owned by Ansani and Aiuppa and used for poker and dice games while the Turf Lounge held the same in addition to stripper and drinking parties.

-Ansani was seen and identified by an informant at a BBQ thrown by Tony Accardo at his house in July, 1954.

-Ansani and Aiuppa, with Ortenzi as Treasury/Secretary were also owners of the Rosmar Realty Company, which owned the building complex which included the Towne Hotel and Turf Lounge (on the 4800 block of West Cermak Avenue, Cicero). The local police tried to raid these buildings numerous times and were largely unsuccessful, mostly because crooked cops were able to tip the locations off in advance. The raids were mainly concerned with busting prostitution, gambling, and liquor license violations.

-Ansani was reputed to be involved in pursuing a 1.5 million dollar sewer contract with the Village of Lisle in 1966 but it was shut down upon citizen complaints. Sounds like Lisle was one of the few places to resist Outfit infiltration in this time period.

-Not much more of consequence is said in the files. According to surveillance and informants, for the next couple of years, Ansani mainly frequented the building complex containing the Towne Hotel and Turf Lounge where it was assumed he ran gambling in the area from. He probably didn't get around too much because of failing health and he was seen less and less, especially after a heart attack in March, 1968. On April 25, 1968, Ansani died. Chicago P.D. as well as federal agents were expected to be present to record license plates and identify potential Outfit associates attending the wake.

-Tony Accardo, Joey Aiuppa, and Rocky Potenza were among those ID'd at Ansani's wake.

Hope you guys enjoyed reading. I will try to have another one up in the next month or so.