Gangland Wire Blog

The Family Secrets Trial Part 1

In Part one of a two-part series, Chicago Outfit historian James Imlach tells how he attended the entire Family Secrets trial in 2007. The Family Secrets investigation started on July 27, 1998. Outfit associate Frank Calabrese Jr. mailed a letter from prison to the FBI and said he was willing to cooperate and help the […]

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Frank Balistreri and the Milwaukee Mob

Venmo me @ganglandwire Click here to “buy me a cup of coffee” To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup  click here Gary talks to Milwaukee author and mob historian Gavin Schmitt about the history of the Milwaukee organized crime family. One of the first things we

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How to Turn an Informant!

In this bonus episode, Gary tells about when he developed his first long-term organized crime informant. Turning a mob associate into an informant is a nuanced and delicate process. Gary began by merely revisiting the guy many times at his business as they developed a friendship and trust. He knew the guy had something to

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Chuckie “I love to use a blow torch” Russell

Charles Chuckie Russell was a vicious and brutal Chicago Outfit thief. He was a member of the Grand Avenue crew after Joey the Clown Lombardo went away in the Family Secrets trial. He was married to the sister of the new Grand Avenue Crew boss Albert Vena. Chuckie Russell took in an informant who was

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The Murder of Roger Wheeler

In 1981, Boston hitman Johnny Martorano murdered businessman and owner of World Jai Lai Roger Wheeler in the parking lot of the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Johnny Martorano was hired by the infamous and now deceased Whitey Bilger to perform this hit because Roger Wheeler presented a threat to an embezzlement that

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Porn and the Mafia

Gary and Cam Robinson discuss organized crime’s infiltration of the pornographic film business. Specifically, Colombo Family member Tony Peraino. He was this crime family’s biggest earners because Tony Peraino developed pornography into one of organized crime’s biggest moneymakers after narcotics and labor racketeering. Tony Peraino was aided by his brother Joe “The Whale” Peraino, his

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Bonus Forced Sex Trafficking: What It Is and How You Can End It

Chris Armitage wrote a book on Sex Trafficking in the United States. This is a short interview to alert listeners to this problem and help Chris get his message out to a greater audience. As I suspected, drug gangs and sex trafficking go together. To find a copy, click on Forced Sex Trafficking: What it

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Chicago Woman found Butchered

Gary tells the story of a party girl named Estelle Carey, who was found beaten, tortured, and burned in her Chicago apartment. Estelle was a B-girl and chip hustler in the Rush Street Colony Club owned by Outfit associate Nick Circella, aka Nicky Dean. He was purportedly the first person who suggested and helped the

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Lou Romano on Gene Borrello and John Alite

Lou Romano is a guy that grew up in a New York Mafia neighborhood where young men either became cops, firemen, or joined the mob. As an adult and as a true-crime author, he became friends with mob guys Gene Borrello and John Alight. He was able to write books about both these men. His

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Mobsters in Leavenworth

Venmo me @ganglandwire Click here to “buy me a cup of coffee” To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup  click here Gary interviews retired Leavenworth Correctional Officer Ken Lemaster. We hear great stories like the time he asked Bufalino, “Hey what did you do with Hoffa’s

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