Frank Balistrieri

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Frank Peter Balistrieri (* May 27, 1918 - † February 7, 1993 ), also known as "Mr. Big "," Frankie Bal "," Mr. Slick "and" Mad Bomber ", was a mobster of the La Cosa Nostra and for three decades the official boss of the Balistrieri family (Milwaukee Crime Family) named after him .

Life

Early years

Balistrieri studied law for six months at the university. As a young man he began working for the Mafia family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin , which at the time was under the control of the Chicago Outfit .

He soon had a reputation for being haughty, cruel and merciless; He got his nickname "Mad Bomber" (en: Crazy Bomber) because he is said to have used unconventional explosive devices and incendiary devices on his enemies' cars during attacks .

He married Antonina "Nina" Alioto, the daughter of boss Giovanni "John" Alioto . Balistrieri had two sons, Joseph and John Balistrieri, one of whom became a lawyer and one also entered the "family business".

He also later had two daughters, Benedetta and Cathrine ("Cootie"), after he had married Tami MacLeod.

On December 27, 1961, Frank Peter Balistrieri became the new head of the Milwaukee criminal family, which was then named after him, and succeeded his late father-in-law, John Alioto.

He eventually described himself as "the most powerful man in Milwaukee" and ran his business from his regulars' table in the "Snug's restaurant" of the "Shorecrest Hotel" in Milwaukee, from where he commanded his men by telephone.

In March 1967, Balistrieri was convicted of tax evasion , jailed in a federal prison in Sandstone, Minnesota for two years , and released in June 1971.

Skimming the casinos

On March 20, 1974, Balistrieri met the two Kansas City bosses of the Civella family - Nicholas Civella and Carl DeLuna - in Las Vegas. At this meeting, the gangsters arranged a meeting between Balistrieri and Allen Glick , the casino front man in the Chicago outfit. Balistrieri originally intended to acquire shares in four casinos previously held by Glick. Some time later, Glick accepted a deal and sold half of its shares to Frank's sons, John and Joseph P. Balistrieri, for $ 25,000.

In 1977 the FBI began an undercover investigation in Milwaukee that targeted Balistrieri. So Joseph Pistone (aka "Donnie Brasco") - who was actually an undercover investigator against the Bonanno family in New York - was sent to Milwaukee to set up vending machines. The goal was to either get Balistrieri to act against these activities in its sphere of influence or to get involved in the new business.

When Pistone and another undercover agent met with Balistrieri to agree on a partnership, he is said to have laughingly admitted that he would be ready to kill her at any time. In 1978 the FBI named Balistrieri in a press release as the "crime leader" of Milwaukee.

Later, Balistrieri often clashed with Nicholas Civella when skimming the casinos (am: "casino skimming") and the management of the Chicago outfit - boss Joseph Aiuppa and underboss Jackie Cerone - was asked for clarification. As a result, an arrangement was negotiated that provided for a 25% tax on the revenue from all skimming operations in the direction of Chicago. Balistrieri particularly blamed Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal , the unofficial manager of the outfit in the Stardust (hotel and casino) , for his difficult situation in Las Vegas (Nevada) and in 1982 Rosenthal narrowly escaped death when he was hit by a car bomb. Assassination almost killed. To this day, Balistrieri is considered responsible for this act, which has never been legally clarified.

Judgment and death

In September 1983, Frank Balistrieri and his two sons were charged with tax evasion for failing to disclose $ 2 million (illegally) siphoned from the Fremont Hotel & Casino and the Stardust as income. This was the first case in which federal agencies managed to link mobsters from four different states to joint illegal deals. On October 9, 1983, Balistrieri was found guilty of five cases of illegal gambling and tax evasion. While Balistrieri was still waiting for the verdict, he declared that he was innocent: "The first time I heard the word" mafia "was when I read it in the newspaper". On May 30, 1984, Balistrieri was sentenced to 13 years in prison and a $ 30,000 fine in Milwaukee; his sons were found guilty of extorting a vending machine and each received a two-year prison sentence.

State attorneys also directly accused Balistrieri of illegally siphoning off organized crime casinos in Kansas City, Chicago, Milwaukee and Cleveland. On December 31, 1985, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy and extortion in two cases - in poor health - and was thus able to save his sons from further conviction.

He received another 10 year sentence, which was added to his old 13 year sentence.

On November 5, 1991, Balistrieri was released early from federal prison due to his poor health. Frank Peter Balistrieri died of natural causes on February 7, 1993 and was buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery & Mausoleum in Milwaukee. After Frank Peters death, his brother Peter Frank Balistrieri alias "Pete Bal" took over the management of the Milwaukee family.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Jerry Capeci: The complete idiot's guide to the Mafia , 2nd. Edition, Alpha Books, Indianapolis, IN 2004, ISBN 1592573053 , p. 91.
  2. ↑ a b c Jay C. Ambler: Milwaukee . In: American Mafia.com . Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  3. ↑ Joseph D. Pistone: Donnie brasco , 1st. Edition, A Signet Book, New York, NY 1987, ISBN 0451192575 .
  4. ↑ Crime Leaders as Cited by FBI . In: New York Times , August 6, 1978. Retrieved June 11, 2012. 
  5. ↑ Wallace Turner: UNION LOANS: MOB'S HOLD ON CASINOS . In: New York Times , April 3, 1986. Retrieved June 11, 2012. 
  6. ^ John L. Smith: Of rats and men: Oscar Goodman's life from mob mouthpiece to mayor of Las Vegas . Huntington Press, Las Vegas, Nev. 2003, ISBN 0929712986 , p. 147.
  7. ↑ Loan Recipient Testifies In Skimming Trial , Daytona Beach Morning Journal - Nov 7, 1985, Retrieved November 19, 2013
  8. ↑ AROUND THE NATION; Milwaukee Crime Figure Guilty in Gambling Case . In: New York Times , October 10, 1983. Retrieved June 11, 2012. 
  9. ↑ REPUTED MILWAUKEE CRIME FIGURE PLEADS GUILTY IN KANSAS CITY TRIAL . In: New York Times , January 1, 1986. Retrieved June 11, 2012. 
  10. ^ Frank Peter Balistrieri . In: Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator . Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  11. ^ Frank Peter Balistrieri . In: Find a Grave . Retrieved June 11, 2012.
personal data
SURNAME Balistrieri, Frank
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Balistrieri, Frank Peter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American mobster
DATE OF BIRTH May 27, 1918
DATE OF DEATH February 7, 1993
Place of death Milwaukee, Wisconsin