chicago outfit (Berwyn, Time: crime, house, construction)

[fickle32]

Doing a short documentary/report on these guys, looking for specific places in the chicagoland area that they are known to still hang out at...I know of a couple i.e: Loon Cafe (closed down now) and Toms steak house in Melrose park. Also have heard joe difronzo has been known to frequent the D&P Construction offices in Melrose park. His wife is the legal "owner" of the company. Also any personal real life experiences or encounters would be awesome info as well

I'm sure this forum gets these threads all the time but this is important to me and I don't know where else to go.

Thank you

[linicx]

Moved to Chicago.

[emathias]

If you're doing a documentary, then talk to John Kass of the Tribune - he can give you some suggestions.

La Scarola on Grand has been known to host some made men now and then.

[RingWalk]

Unless you are doing this for a company like HBO I would not recommend it. There are a lot of spots in Chicago where you can still find known mobsters hanging out. Many of them are killers--as in, have been on trial for murder multiple times. If you wander in with a camera you could cause yourself some very serious problems. No it's not like the old days but the mob is still powerful. Sure chances are they are just going to ignore you, but if you walk into D&P, for instance, with a camera, tell them who you are, or they see you filming across the street, you are making the decision to bring into your life a known psychopath who still has a lot of people in his pocket, from killers for hire to people in law enforcement to politicians to judges.

Further, if you are starting from such a low knowledge base where you are asking this question, you're not going to contribute anything of interest anyway.

So it's a lose-lose, you potentially **** off the mob and you will not have anything of value for it.

Do a documentary on the Capone era instead, that way you can avoid getting yourself in trouble.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Ha good advice-
One thing is for sure the MOB is still out there.

It sounds like an interesting topic and I am sure you can find a slew full of data on the internet without getting your face in front of somebody.

[fickle32]

Thanks for info everyone. I would never wander into any of these places with a camera, notepad, ect and start taking notes. Im not looking for trouble it's for my film class. I am looking for outfit frequented restaurants, clubs, bars, ect my task is to prove organized crime in Chicago is still alive and well after family secrets trial. To do this i need (among many other things) examples. But yeah I certainly would never do something stupid like venture into D&P and ask for an interview lol. I'm looking for restaurants I can go have a casual inconspicuous meal at and see if I'm lucky enough to notice anyone there.

Thanks again

[RingWalk]

Why don't you just go to the sentencing of Mike Sarno on Oct. 28? That is the most concrete proof that the Outfit is still around you're going to get. He's about to get the book thrown at him for racketeering and, among other crimes, blowing up a competitor to his video poker business in Berwyn.

Although, actually, his offenses took place a long time ago. There is no 'proof' that the mob is still active. There have been no big trials since Family Secrets and most of the Family Secrets stuff, if not all of it, was very old.

The only big racket anyone really 'knows' that they're doing is that they reportedly have about 2000 video poker machines throughout Chicago and the suburbs where people go in, play and the bartender gives them a cash payout. (Or conversely they pay the bartender.) Beyond that no one knows what they're up to for sure right now--if anything. Some people believe that DiFronzo has more or less shut it down, and that could be the case.

Anyway the sentencing is going to be far more interesting, and safe, than sniffing around mobbed-up restaurants and bars. You're not going to see anyone you recognize anyway, unless you really, really, really know your Chicago mobsters. In fact the only person it would really be interesting to see is DiFronzo, and he is very old and doesn't get out much any more. The others you are going to see are just low-level 'associates.'

Direct message me if you want any more background.

[fickle32]

Bump

[Chi-town Native]

Reputed mobster pleads guilty to McCormick Place bid rigging - Chicago Sun-Times