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William “Red” Wemette was an FBI informant who testified against against the most feared and dangerous Chicago Outfit killers of modern times. I must note that Red was not the usual infomant but more a contract agent. He was not providing information as a trade to get out of a criminal charge, he was gathering information as a public service. He was paid, but this work was so dangerous, the pay was minimal compared to the risk and time involvement required. In this exciting interview Red Wemette calls in from an undisclosed location in a warmer climate (his words) and recounts how he got started as an undercover contract agent for the F.B.I. He explains how he was not trying to inform his way out of a criminal case, he just saw the arrogance and brutishness of the Chicago Outfit and wanted to help stop them.
Red recently released a biography of his exploits in a book titled “Nobody Cares and What I did About It! The Red Wemette Story of the Chicago Outfit” through Joshua Tree Publishing in Chicago, IL.
Red operated a pornography shop in Chicago and in Chicago if you are involved in any grey area business like a porn shop, you must pay a “street tax” to the outfit. Red was so angry about this interference with his business that he contacted the FBI and agreed to wear a wire and allow a hidden video camera to be installed in his office have his discussions with the mobsters recorded. Red reveals the Outfit Capo who was to receive his street tax money was the notorious Joseph “Lumpy or Joey the Clown” Lombardo.
He met with FBI agents in 1971 at the Lion House in the Lincoln Park Zoo and agreed to become a
Hidden Camera
contract agent and provide information on Chicago Mob activity and figures. Wemette had video cameras concealed in his apartment that captured his regular meetings with organized crime figures.
Frank “the German” Schweihs
One of the most dangerous killer ever produced in Chicago was Frank “The German” Schweihs. “The German” took a liking to Red and often showed up at his office telling stories into the hidden recording equipment. Click here to see a news story that contains some of that hidden video footage.
Wemette has been a key witness in a number of federal trials of mobsters and other Chicago area crime figures ending with the well known and important Family Secrets trials.
If you have ever wanted to see what it is like to live on the wild side—all from the safety and security of your own armchair, listen to this interview and then read Nobody Cares and What I Did About It! The Red Wemette Story of The Chicago Outfit.
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