Friends of Ours

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and AG Designee Eric Holder

Eric Holder, President-elect Obama's designate for Attorney General, neglected to reveal to the Senate Judiciary Committee that in 2004 he had been selected by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich as a "special investigator to the Illinois Gaming Board" in connection with its controversial vote to issue a casino license to the town of Rosemont whose well-entrenched mayor, Donald Stephens, was an alleged mob associate.

The Gaming Board voted to issue the license over the strident objections of staff, and its "chief investigator in 2004 said the timing of Blagojevich's appointment of Holder raised the staff's suspicions":

"The concern was Holder had a bias to do whatever Blagojevich wanted, which was to give the casino to Rosemont," said Jim Wagner, who was a top Chicago FBI agent before he joined the Gaming Board, from which he retired in December 2005. "We all believed the only reason Holder was coming in was to fashion an investigation that would manipulate the casino into Rosemont." 

Convicted racketeer Tony Rezko, a Blagojevich and Obama fundraiser, "had held an option to lease a hotel site next to the proposed casino site in Rosemont."

In the end Holder's role became a moot point:  "The board -- this time listening to its staff's concerns -- refused to hire him, and Blagojevich on May 18, 2004, said he was scrapping Holder's probe."  And then the previously awarded casino license to Rosemont was revoked.

At a 2005 revocation hearing an FBI agent testified that on May 29, 1999 Mayor Donald Stephens "met with five high-ranking organized crime figures to discuss what control the mob would have over contracts at the casino":

Sitting with Stephens at Armand's restaurant in Elmwood Park were reputed mob leader Joey "The Clown" Lombardo, who is being sought by U.S. officials; John "No Nose" DiFronzo; his brother Peter; Joe "The Builder" Andriacchi; and Rudy Fratto, among others, said John Mallul, head of the FBI's organized crime unit in Chicago.

Mayor Donald Stephens died in April 2007, and been replaced by his son, Bradley, and in September 2007 Joey "The Clown" Lombardo was convicted for ten murders in the so-called Family Secrets trial.

Last month the Gaming Board once again selected Rosemont -- over the objections of the Chicago Crime Commission and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan -- as one of three towns in the running for the casino license, and it still is deliberating on the final decision.

News: Vincent Gotti & Richard Gotti; Joseph Chirico & Marco Polo; Rosemont & D&P Construction; Richard Tauber & Kevin Frankel; & Diana Clemente & Big Apple Car

***  Vincent Gotti, brother of the late Gambino boss John Gotti, and his nephew Richard Gotti, both were sentenced yesterday to eight years in prison for the attempted murder in May 2003 of bagel store owner Angelo Mugnolo in Howard Beach.  Vincent Gotti ordered the hit because he believed that Mugnolo was fooling around with his wife, and Richard Gotti orchestrated the attempt in which a hit team shot Mugnola three times outside of his house.

***  Giving truth to the adage that it pays to have friends in high places, reputed Gambino soldier and restauranteur Joseph Chirico dodged a prison term on a money laundering charge after current and former Brooklyn Borough Presidents Marty Markowitz and Howard Golden, respectively, pleaded for leniency on his behalf:

He was sentenced to six months' house arrest - and can spend 10 hours a day at his Marco Polo restaurant in Carroll Gardens - without even wearing an ankle bracelet. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Brownell said Chirico passed $1,500 in tribute money from a mob associate to another Gambino soldier. "Organized crime has been a curse, especially in counties like Brooklyn and Queens," Brownell argued.

***  After both the Chicago Crime Commission and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan raised concerns about the suitability of the town of Rosemont as a candidate for a casino license, its mayor Bradley Stephens has returned a campaign contribution from a company, D&P Construction, with alleged mob ties:

In 2001, the Illinois Gaming Board linked the company to "individuals who have been identified as known members of organized crime." * * * In that 2001 document, the Gaming Board said: "The owner of D&P, Josephine DiFronzo, is married to Peter DiFronzo and is the sister-in law of John DiFronzo, individuals who have been identified as known members of organized crime."

***  Two former Broward County Sheriff's deputies, Richard Tauber and Kevin D. Frankel, pleaded guilty yesterday after getting snared in an FBI undercover sting:

The two deputies admitted providing drug transportation and surveillance services for men they thought were organized crime figures. In reality, the men were undercover FBI agents and the drug loads faked.

The undercover FBI agent who arrested Tauber and Frankel earlier this year was Joaquin Garcia.  Garcia is the author of Making Jack Falcone which chronicles his cases during his former 26-year career as an undercover agent with the FBI, including infiltrating the Gambino crime family as Jack Falcone and bringing down capo Greg DePalma.

***  A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought against Diana Clemente, the daughter of Bonanno consigliere Anthony Spero who recently died in prison.  Last month Jane Sammarco, the surviving mistress of Murray Kufeld, filed the lawsuit against Clemente in a dispute involving the limo service Big Apple Car.  According to the allegations of the complaint, Clemente purchased 74 percent of Big Apple Car from Kufeld in 1996, and Kufeld was guaranteed $12,000 a month until 2013:  "[t]he suit claims an unidentified Bonanno 'button man' threatened to put a bullet in Kufeld's head if he didn't sign the agreement[.]"  After Kufeld died last June, Clemente allegedly ceased making payments under the agreement to which Sammarco now claims entitlement for the remaining five years.  In a 4-page ruling dismissing the lawsuit, United States District Court Judge Brian Cogan said the allegations were barred by the statute of limitations and appeared frivilous. 

 

The Chicago Crime Commission Says Rosemont Can't Be Trusted With Casino

The Chicago Crime Commission is on record against issuing a license for a casino in the town of Rosemont because the suburb has "not earned the trust and confidence of the public":

"While Rosemont's $435 million bid for the 10th casino license is tempting, particularly in these tough times, in our view the inability of the Illinois Gaming Board to address the concerns about alleged mob ties is enough to disqualify their application," Chicago Crime Commission president J.R. Davis says in a statement being delivered to the board.

Last month Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan expressed similar concerns when Rosemont was selected as one of the three towns in the final running for a casino license:

Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan immediately said she "remains concerned" about putting a casino in Rosemont. Four years ago, Madigan blocked the license from going to Rosemont, citing the village's alleged ties to organized crime and arguing the Gaming Board never explained how it became comfortable allowing a casino there.

"As the [Gaming Board] scrutinizes the bids, the attorney general expects that they will, in the most transparent way possible, fully explain to the public how they are addressing those concerns, including Rosemont's past conduct in the Emerald casino matter," Madigan spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler said in a statement.

The Gaming Board wasn't doing that Friday, declining to answer most questions or release staff analyses of the seven companies that bid anywhere from $60 million to $435 million for rights to open a casino. The dormant casino license is the same one originally slated for Rosemont in 1999 until questions about investors with organized crime ties scuttled the deal.

At a 2005 hearing to revoke the previously awarded license to Rosement an FBI agent testified that on May 29, 1999 the village's well-entrenched mayor Donald Stephens "met with five high-ranking organized crime figures to discuss what control the mob would have over contracts at the [Emerald] casino":

Sitting with Stephens at Armand's restaurant in Elmwood Park were reputed mob leader Joey "The Clown" Lombardo, who is being sought by U.S. officials; John "No Nose" DiFronzo; his brother Peter; Joe "The Builder" Andriacchi; and Rudy Fratto, among others, said John Mallul, head of the FBI's organized crime unit in Chicago.

Mayor Donald Stephens died in April 2007, and been replaced by his son, Bradley, and in September 2007 Joey "The Clown" Lombardo was convicted for ten murders in the so-called Family Secrets trial.

News: Casino License In Illinois; Al Sharpton in New York; & Rick Renzi in Arizona

***  The Illinois Gaming Board inexplicably remains insistent on the town of Rosemont as a viable choice for the state's only available casino license notwithstanding continued concerns by Attorney General Lisa Madigan about organized crime:

Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan immediately said she "remains concerned" about putting a casino in Rosemont. Four years ago, Madigan blocked the license from going to Rosemont, citing the village's alleged ties to organized crime and arguing the Gaming Board never explained how it became comfortable allowing a casino there.

"As the [Gaming Board] scrutinizes the bids, the attorney general expects that they will, in the most transparent way possible, fully explain to the public how they are addressing those concerns, including Rosemont's past conduct in the Emerald casino matter," Madigan spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler said in a statement.

The Gaming Board wasn't doing that Friday, declining to answer most questions or release staff analyses of the seven companies that bid anywhere from $60 million to $435 million for rights to open a casino. The dormant casino license is the same one originally slated for Rosemont in 1999 until questions about investors with organized crime ties scuttled the deal.

At a 2005 hearing to revoke the previously awarded license to Rosement an FBI agent testified that on May 29, 1999 the village's well-entrenched mayor Donald Stephens "met with five high-ranking organized crime figures to discuss what control the mob would have over contracts at the [Emerald] casino":

Sitting with Stephens at Armand's restaurant in Elmwood Park were reputed mob leader Joey "The Clown" Lombardo, who is being sought by U.S. officials; John "No Nose" DiFronzo; his brother Peter; Joe "The Builder" Andriacchi; and Rudy Fratto, among others, said John Mallul, head of the FBI's organized crime unit in Chicago.

Mayor Donald Stephens died in April 2007, and been replaced by his son, Bradley, and in September 2007 Joey "The Clown" Lombardo was convicted for ten murders in the so-called Family Secrets trial.

***  The Federal Election Commission has ruled that Rev. Al Sharpton -- who settled with the IRS earlier this year over millions in back taxes -- must pay nearly $500,000 in fines in connection with the financing of his 2004 presidential run.

***  Retiring Congressman Rick Renzi has been indicted on racketeering charges "related to previous charges that he funded his campaign with money he embezzled and used his position in Congress to commit extortion":

The Arizona Republican originally was indicted on corruption charges in February. Mr. Renzi, who owns an insurance agency, previously has pleaded not guilty. He is a three-term congressman who did not seek re-election this year. According to the indictment, which was unsealed Thursday, Mr. Renzi embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from insurance premiums paid to his company to fund his campaign and other personal expenses. His company specialized in providing coverage to nonprofit groups, and stealing the premiums led to a lapse in coverage or some groups for several months, according to the indictment. Mr. Renzi also is accused of telling two companies he would use his position in Congress to help them if they purchased land from James W. Sandlin, who is also under indictment. But the companies didn't know Mr. Sandlin owed Mr. Renzi $700,000, which was paid after the sale of the properties to the two companies, which are not named in the indictment. Mr. Renzi didn't include that money on his congressional financial disclosure forms, according to the indictment. Part of that money was used to pay back the money he stole from the customers of his insurance agency, the indictment states.