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COLLEGE #7 |
 "Do dese indite-a-ments mean we're gonna miss the senior pancake breakfast Sunday?" |
Gangster indictments hit
lots of used-up mobsters
By ANDY MURCIA
of TheColumnists.com
When the U.S. Attorney's
office recently announced that it was bringing charges against
mob figures that would solve at least 18 murders, I was very
impressed. This was a record-breaking indictment!
Then I read the indictment in full, all 41 pages. This document,
in my humble opinion, seems a bit vague. While it’s not
uncommon not to tip one's hand too early, I would like to have
read more evidence about who exactly killed whom?
Because I’m an old cop, I always like to see dangerous guys taken out of circulation just so they can’t hurt the rest of us. While many of those indicted fit that description, some others just don’t. Some of those indicted are too old, too out of power and too busy checking their prostrate problems to whack mosquitoes, let alone you or me. I take that back. Some of these guys might be able to hurt me if they hit me with their walker!
There also were two retired cops indicted along with these mugs for allegedly passing messages for the bad guys. Their arrests are always a sad day for the good cops.
Soon as I read some of the old time Chicago Outfit names in those indicted my mind went to the fact that the G-men had Ken “Joe The Jap” Eto in protective custody for a long time now. He’s well into his late 70’s. I heard Joe was singing his well-mannered ass off.
Killer Joe was once an indirect breakfast dining mate of mine (and others, including my wife, Ann Jillian) at the Burgerville “round table” restaurant located then at Rush and Oak Streets in Chicago.
Joe always nodded politely and respectfully to us. When I told Ann what he did for a living, she sneaked a peek over her Chicago Tribune with all the tact and comedic timing of “Here’s Lucy?”
This guy. who once scared Ann silly, would later survive several bullets shot into his skull by mob assassins. From his hospital bed he made his deal with the “G” to get into the “witness protection program” pronto. He testifies with a hood over his head to protect his new identity. His life story even inspired a legit play titled “Seven Out.”
The indictments at hand reflect that era in which Eto was connected to the outfit in Chicago. He once owned a strip joint on Rush Street called Bourbon Street. I tried to bust the place numerous times for allowing prostitution, but every time I arrived the place was cleaner than a church, No doubt someone tipped them in advance. The lousy bartender would place an upside down shot glass in front of me at the bar which was then a signal for the hookers to stay clear of me. I tried every trick I knew but nobody was biting on me. It was as if someone had painted the word “COP” on my forehead.
I didn’t recognize any current mob boss names in the current indictments, but then I live in California now. The names I did recognize are from the old school. They are Joey “The Clown" Lombardo, Frank “The German” Schweihs, (both of whom are well into their late 70’s or early 80’s), and Frank “Gumba” Saladino. These wise guys aren’t kids anymore. They’re so old and mostly so retired that they're mostly concerned with when their Social Security check is arriving.
Fame passes quickly, not only for Hollywood stars, but also for gangsters. Some of these old guys walk around telling others who they used to be just to keep from being lonely.
The Clown got his name because he was always laughing. Once he cut a hole in a newspaper so he could stick his tongue out at the prosecutors, cops and media folks while coming out of court. Everyone laughed at him. He called them all bad names, and he was laughing, too.
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one more peep outa youse during Timmy's birt-day party and I'm gonna put your feet in cement and drop youse in dat river!!!" |
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I know law enforcement officials have to lock up those who break the law, if only to protect us law abiding citizens, but none of these old duffers could hurt you or me now.
"The German” always had stomach problems and was noted for passing gas rather noisily. One time a cop was on a phone wiretap of “The German” and heard a very loud “bah-boom”! He flipped the headset off his ears fast! He thought he accidentally hooked into the Atom Bomb testing grounds! But that was many years ago. I would hope The German stopped eating at that same sausage and sauerkraut stand on Belmont Avenue.
While I’m glad these bums are busted, I did have some laughs about this bunch going down. One of these old mobsters--Frank “Gumba” Saladino--was fixing to go on the lam when he got wind of the indictments. He grabbed his cash and a bunch of checks and was about to hit the road. Before hitting the road, he sat down in his chair at the retirement hotel where he lived in Kane County, just west of Chicago. That's where where the Feds found him--dead of natural causes. Guess the old heart gave out on “Gumba” from all the excitement. In the old days when he was younger he would have given the G-men a better run for the border.
Joey “The Clown” Lombardo and Frank “The German”Schweihs were still on the loose as I wrote this column. You know they beat it soon as the indictments hit the press. Why the G-men didn’t have them under surveillance before issuing their press release about the indictments is a question experienced cops will ask. I would not go so far as to say it was poor police work. With these guys spread out in Florida, Illinois, Arizona and other places, the logistics can be staggering for any law enforcement agency. These old-timers learned their lessons well in Gangster College.
The indictments also suggest the G-Men have solved the murder of my old enemy Vince Moretti, the guy who wanted to hurt me and my family. (I told you about that in my second "Gangster College" column.) I can’t help but wonder how many guys Moretti gave his own form of “justice” to in his power days. I didn’t shed a tear when he turned up dead as a mackerel.
They claim to have also solved the murder of Tony “The Ant” Spilotro whose life inspired the “imaginative” film “Casino” in Las Vegas. The Ant is dead, he lives with the real ants now--and the worms. He and his brother Michael were found buried in an Indiana cornfield in 1986. It is said they were buried alive. The Ant administered more then his share of “justice” to those who would not pay. So now the G-men say they have his murderer(s). These indictments do not specify who killed whom, but the U.S. Attorney's office claims the evidence will be produced at trial. I hope so.
Since 1919 to the present time there have been 1,111 unsolved gangland style murders on the books in Chicago alone. Even with the advent of DNA and improved criminal investigation tools, solving them could really take a lot of time and effort from our good guys. Only about 14 gangland killings have led to convictions, although there were another three cases in which the suspects were killed just before being convicted.
I’m not saying these G-men should not arrest criminals who have murdered other criminals. With innocent people being murdered everyday in our big cities, I would just like to see them prioritize the cases they go after first. A low-level gangster once told me, “We only kill each other. Why do you coppers care anyway?”
It’s only my opinion, but I think “Organized Crime” today should be renamed “Disorganized Crime.” The days of criminal organizations such as the old Cosa Nostra, Mafia, Syndicate, and Outfit have about had it. I can’t find anyone who can tell me exactly who's running the Chicago outfit today.
I hear several names tossed about but nobody knows for sure who's No. 1. Some say it’s James Marcello. He and his brother were indicted, too. Most of the top guys who once held it all together are either dead or too old to have any power over the younger toughs. You might say the young turks took over for a while and loused it all up. All they had going for them was muscle and very little brain.
Little by little, these organizations broke up into smaller groups. Neighborhoods had small bands of hoods who worked together in doing crime but they were simply too disorganized and it soon deteriorated even further. The legit businessmen the hoods once relied upon for their incomes were showing their teeth to the mob toughs, refusing to pay “street tax” to do business. Some got a beating or killed, but many got away with it. This one fact alone weakened the mob muscle greatly.
The bums who used to be mob "soldiers" are now doing odd jobs. I suspect they work together on a few jobs now and then, but all in all it’s really not what it once was. A few uneducated tough guys is not a Cosa Nostra or Mafia; it’s just a few dopey bums looking for a quick buck.
Today the best organized crime cartels are the South American narcotic groups. These bums use fear in even more treacherous ways then the old Mafia guys. Just one comparison would be if a guy got out of line the Mafia would kill him. If a guy got out of line in the South American cartel, they’d kill him and his entire family. This kind of fear is what it takes to keep bums in line and well organized.
The Russian mobsters are also a more current and equal threat to us all. Our home-grown second and third generation Italians are just not that hungry anymore--and too well educated to become mobsters. Their forefathers paid the price and in some instances even grub-staked the legit businesses their descendants run today.
There was a last minute bit of news on these indictments: Joey "The Clown" Lombardo sent a letter to the presiding judge from wherever he's hiding, by way of his lawyer. In the letter, he argued that he's an old man with a heart condition, but was afraid to surrender because he felt the Feds could convict anyone they wanted to. As he put it, "These guys could convict a hamburger!"
Anyway, I wish the Feds all the best of luck with their indictments. They've struck a blow at the bad guys, which we all should be applauding. If they're successful, they'll at least have settled the retirement plans of a lot of old hoodlums.
©2005 by Andy Murcia. The caricature of Andy Murcia is ©2003 by Jim Hummel. The cartoons are from IMSI's Master Clips Collection, 1895 Francisco Blvd. E., San Rafael, CA, 94901-5506, USA. This column first posted May 6, 2005.
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