Joseph Scalise

Last updated

Joseph Jerome "Jerry" Scalise (born December 25, 1937) is a Chicago mobster and a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit criminal organization. He is most known for stealing the Marlborough diamond in London in 1980, and also for serving as a technical advisor on the 2009 film Public Enemies .

Contents

On August 29, 2012, Scalise was sentenced in a Chicago federal court to 106 months in prison after pleading guilty in January 2012 to racketeering.

Early years

In March 1961, the Chicago Tribune reported that Scalise had been indicted on a larceny charge involving four stolen automobiles. [1]

In January 1963, the Chicago Tribune reported that Scalise and Harry Aleman, who would go on to become a notorious Chicago Outfit hit man, both had been arrested and charged with assaulting a Chicago police captain's son. [2]

In March 1967, the Chicago Tribune reported that Scalise had a record of arrests for possession of burglar tools, including lock-picking devices. [3]

In 1970, Scalise was sentenced to eight years in prison on federal auto theft charges. [4] [5]

Scalise also served as a soldier for Chicago mob boss Albert Tocco. [6] And in the 1970s, Scalise was allegedly part of the Chicago mob killing crew known as the "Wild Bunch." [7] He never was charged with any murders, however.

Marlborough diamond robbery

On September 11, 1980, Scalise and a colleague, Arthur Rachel, undertook a $3.6 million jewel robbery in broad daylight at Graff's jewelry store in London's busy Knightsbridge area, stealing the 45-carat Marlborough diamond, along with many other jewels. [8] Authorities quickly identified the perpetrators—noting that one of the robbers, who turned out to be Scalise, had a badly deformed left hand. [9] The heist lasted about one minute. [10] The duo was arrested as they exited their flight home at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. [11]

Before and during the robbery, Scalise and Rachel made little effort to hide their identities, with Rachel renting the getaway car in his own name. While in London, the men stayed at the Royal Mount Hotel.

Scalise spent almost three years after that in federal custody in the U.S., fighting extradition. In July 1983, Scalise and Rachel were turned over to British authorities. [12]

In August 1984, Scalise was sentenced to 16 years in an English prison—on the Isle of Wight—for the crime. [13]

In September 1987, Scalise and Rachel sued U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese, alleging that Meese was "capricious and arbitrary" in refusing to permit them to serve the rest of their sentences in the United States. [14]

In 1988, while still incarcerated in England, Scalise was interviewed by FBI agents, seeking information about possible bodies buried in a deserted field just east of Argonne National Laboratory and just 50 yards from a home where Scalise had lived with a girlfriend from 1974 until 1980. [15] [16] [17]

In May 1989, it was reported that a hitman for the Chicago Outfit who at one time was close to Scalise had told FBI investigators that Scalise had mailed the Marlborough diamond to his sister in New York City immediately after the 1980 heist. [18]

The Marlborough diamond was never recovered. A cabdriver in London, Paul Bryk, told authorities that Scalise and Rachel had asked the cabbie to mail a package they were sending to a New York address—a package that authorities believe contained the diamond.

Return to the U.S.

Scalise was released from prison around Christmas 1992 after serving more than 12 years behind bars. [19] At that point, he moved into his father's home in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood. [20]

In January 1994, he was arrested and charged with possession of burglary tools. [21]

In July 1998, Scalise was indicted with four others in a cocaine conspiracy after a government sting. [22] Scalise was alleged to have tried to buy 20 kilograms of cocaine from a federal informant in Los Angeles. In May 1999, Scalise pleaded guilty to the drug-related charges and agreed with prosecutors to a nine-year prison term. [23] On September 1, 1999, Scalise formally was sentenced to nine years in prison. Authorities had said that Scalise cooperated with them into other drug investigations, and that Scalise had been primarily responsible for delivering money to buy cocaine for further distribution in the Chicago area. [24]

In 2007, federal investigators said publicly that they believe Scalise killed mob enforcer William Dauber and his wife, Charlotte, in Will County, Illinois. Scalise has never been charged in that murder, however, and a source told the Chicago Sun-Times that his alibi was that he was at a court hearing at the time of the slayings. [25]

Movie work

Scalise served as a technical advisor to help out with filming prison sequences for the movie Public Enemies , which was shot in Chicago and was about prolific bank robber John Dillinger. [26]

Federal racketeering charges, conviction and sentencing

In April 2010, federal authorities indicted Scalise and two lifelong colleagues, Arthur Rachel and Robert Pullia, on racketeering charges as the trio was alleged to have made extensive plans for robberies and burglaries. Among the heists the three had planned—but never carried out—were robbing an armored car in La Grange, Illinois and breaking into the fortress-like home in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood owned by the late Chicago Outfit leader Angelo J. LaPietra. [27]

In January 2012, Scalise reached an agreement with federal prosecutors, pleading guilty on January 18, 2012 to racketeering and other crimes. [28] The plea deal came as the FBI released evidence of many secretly recorded tapes of Scalise and his colleagues, planning their crimes. Scalise allegedly had boasted on the recordings that he, Rachel and Pullia were too old to be recognized, and that the police would be "looking for some young guy. But there's no coppers that know us today." [29] Scalise also was implicated in a letter he wrote to corrupt former Chicago Police Chief of Detectives William Hanhardt—who recently was released from federal prison—that authorities had intercepted. In that letter, Scalise wrote that "everyone in court looks at you as guilty and that defendants often forget they did do the crime. The only approach is to make something else the issue to trick the jury." [30]

Outside court, Scalise told the Chicago Tribune's John Kass that he was writing a book about his exploits, and he explained that he pleaded guilty even though he thought he might win "because sometimes you've just got to be realistic." [31] [32] He also told Kass that "it would have been a very interesting trial." [33]

Regarding the Marlborough diamond, Scalise spoke to reporters outside the courtroom on the matter, responding to one reporter's question about whether anyone could recover the gem. "If Lloyd's (of London) wanted to pay enough money, maybe they could," Scalise told reporters, referring to the insurance company that covered the loss of the diamond. "You guys will have to wait until the book comes out." [34]

On August 29, 2012, U.S. District Judge Harry Daniel Leinenweber sentenced Scalise to 106 months in federal prison. [35] "This was certainly a waste of a life," Leinenweber told Scalise, who declined to speak in court. "This is a guy who was given a lot and certainly squandered it."

Scalise's scheduled release date is May 28, 2019, but he was released to a halfway house in the Chicago area in February 2019. [36]

Personal

Scalise's father, Louis, was a retired Chicago Park District employee. [37]

Scalise currently lives in Clarendon Hills, Illinois. [38] He lives with his longtime companion, Linda Pizza. [39]

Scalise has a deformed left hand, which lacks four fingers.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Spilotro</span> American mobster (1938–1986)

Anthony John Spilotro, nicknamed "Tony the Ant", was an American mobster and high ranking member for the Chicago Outfit in Las Vegas during the 1970s and '80s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Outfit</span> Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois

The Chicago Outfit is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, that originated in the city's South Side in the early 1910s. It is part of the larger Italian-American Mafia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Lombardo</span> American mobster (1929–2019)

Joseph Patrick Lombardo, also known as "Joey the Clown", was an American mobster and a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit crime organization. He was alleged to be the Consigliere of the Outfit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Marcello</span> American mobster incarcerated in a US federal prison

James J. Marcello, also known variously as "Little Jimmy", "Jimmy Light" and as "Jimmy the Man", is a crime boss who was a front boss for the Chicago Outfit criminal organization in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Organized crime observers identified Marcello as a figurehead during that period while the organization's day-to-day operations actually were run by John "No Nose" DiFronzo, Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, Joseph "Joe the Builder" Andriacchi and Angelo J. LaPietra.

The Hired Truck Program was a scandal-plagued program in the city of Chicago that involved hiring private trucks to do city work. It was overhauled in 2004 after an investigation by the Chicago Sun-Times revealed that some participating companies were being paid for doing little or no work, had mob connections, or were tied to city employees. Truck owners also paid bribes in order to get into the program.

Joseph Ferriola, also known as, "Joe Nagall," "Mr. Clean" and "Oscar," was an American mobster who was boss of the Chicago Outfit, from 1985 to 1988, after Joseph Aiuppa and John Cerone went to prison for skimming Las Vegas casino profits.

Leonard "Lenny" DiMaria, also known as "Prateek" and "the Conductor", is a New York mobster and Caporegime in the Gambino crime family. He is considered by law enforcement to be a close associate of Nicholas Corozzo and has served as his right-hand-man for almost 30 years.

Joseph Andriacchi is a Chicago area resident and convicted criminal, considered by that city's Crime Commission to be a high-ranking member of the Outfit, the city's LCN organization.

Ronald Joseph Trucchio, also known as "Ronnie One Arm" is a New York mobster who rose to the position of caporegime in the Gambino crime family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Calabrese Sr.</span> American gangster

Frank James Calabrese Sr., also known as "Frankie Breeze", was a made man who ran major loansharking and illegal gambling operations for the Chicago Outfit. He is best known as a central figure in Operation Family Secrets and the subsequent federal trial. Calabrese, who was battling multiple ailments, died on Christmas Day 2012 at the Federal Medical Center, Butner, in North Carolina.

Anthony Centracchio was a reputed mob boss in the Chicago Outfit who died in 2001 while awaiting trial on federal racketeering charges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marco D'Amico</span> American mobster (1936–2020)

Marco "The Mover" D'Amico was a Chicago mobster and consigliere of the Chicago Outfit crime organization. He admitted his role in the Chicago Outfit in federal court in 1995.

Dominic Cortina was a Chicago mobster and high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit criminal organization, who oversaw gambling. His nicknames were "Big Dom", "Large", and "the Hat."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Sarno</span> American mobster

Michael Sarno is an American mobster who has been identified as the alleged, current leader of the Cicero street crew, in the Chicago Outfit criminal organization. On February 8, 2012, Sarno was sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of racketeering.

Nicholas W. Calabrese is an American former mob hitman, best known for being the second made man ever to testify against the Chicago Outfit. His testimony and cooperation with federal prosecutors helped result in the 2007 murder convictions of mobsters Joseph Lombardo, James Marcello and his brother, Frank Calabrese Sr.

Louis Marino was a crime boss for the Chicago Outfit criminal organization.

Rudolph "Rudy" Fratto has been identified by federal authorities and several Chicago newspapers as a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit crime organization.

Operation Family Secrets was an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) into mob-related crimes in Chicago. The FBI called it one of the most successful investigations of organized crime that it had ever conducted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">T. Markus Funk</span> American attorney-at-law

T. Markus Funk is an American attorney, law professor, and author best known for the prosecution of several high-profile mob figures during his career at the United States Department of Justice, his role in co-leading the internal investigation into former Ohio State University team physician Dr. Richard Strauss, and trial victory on behalf of the Costa Rican citrus industry. He is currently a partner in the law firm of Perkins Coie, where he since 2015 has served as the Firmwide Chair of the firm's global White Collar & Investigations Practice.

References

  1. ↑ "Indicted in Thefts". Chicago Tribune . March 2, 1961. p. N11.
  2. ↑ "Beating Charge". Chicago Tribune . January 1, 1963. p. C4.
  3. ↑ Whisler, Weldon (March 3, 1967). "Suburb Police Seize Bank Theft Suspect". Chicago Tribune . p. A11.
  4. ↑ O'Brien, John (July 15, 1983). "2 extradicted in gem holdup". Chicago Tribune . p. A7.
  5. ↑ O'Brien, John; Dave Schneidman (September 12, 1980). "London gem robbery ends at O'Hare; mobsters held". Chicago Tribune . p. 1.
  6. ↑ Petacque, Art (April 26, 1987). "British hold 2 thieves for ransom, lawyer says". Chicago Sun-Times . p. 22.
  7. ↑ Warmbir, Steve (September 22, 2010). "'The Monk' ordered released until trial; Prosecutors fear thief will flee rather than likely die in jail". Chicago Sun-Times . p. 14.
  8. ↑ "2 suspects denied bond in London gem robbery". Chicago Tribune . September 25, 1980. p. B5.
  9. ↑ O'Brien, John (July 15, 1983). "2 extradicted in gem holdup". Chicago Tribune . p. A7.
  10. ↑ O'Brien, John (July 15, 1983). "2 extradicted in gem holdup". Chicago Tribune . p. A7.
  11. ↑ O'Brien, John (July 15, 1983). "2 extradicted in gem holdup". Chicago Tribune . p. A7.
  12. ↑ O'Brien, John (July 15, 1983). "2 extradicted in gem holdup". Chicago Tribune . p. A7.
  13. ↑ "2 Chicagoans get jail terms". Chicago Tribune . August 7, 1984. p. 6.
  14. ↑ Petacque, Art (September 21, 1987). "Gem thieves sue Meese". Chicago Sun-Times . p. 26.
  15. ↑ O'Brien, John; Ronald Koziol (May 20, 1988). "Jewel thief denies he helped FBI". Chicago Tribune . p. A3.
  16. ↑ O'Brien, John; Ronald Koziol (May 18, 1988). "Skeleton could lead to missing diamond". Chicago Tribune . p. A1.
  17. ↑ Petacque, Art (May 22, 1988). "Son's no informer, elder Scalise insists". Sun-Times . p. 28.
  18. ↑ Drell, Adrienne (May 14, 1989). "Hit man's epitaph: 'Killing is business'". Sun-Times . p. 22.
  19. ↑ O'Brien, John (January 22, 1993). "London jewel mystery takes a Chicago twist". Chicago Tribune . p. 1.
  20. ↑ O'Brien, John (January 22, 1993). "London jewel mystery takes a Chicago twist". Chicago Tribune . p. 1.
  21. ↑ Sneed, Michael (January 30, 1994). "Sneed". Chicago Sun-Times . p. 2.
  22. ↑ Simpson, Cam (July 10, 1998). "Five are indicted in cocaine sting - Alleged mob jewel thief arrested". Chicago Sun-Times . p. 12.
  23. ↑ "Payton tapes TV ad seeking organ donors". Chicago Sun-Times . May 7, 1999. p. 16.
  24. ↑ "Reputed mobster gets 9-year term". Chicago Tribune . September 2, 1999. p. 8.
  25. ↑ Warmbir, Steve (June 22, 2007). "2 others implicated in murders but not charged". Chicago Sun-Times . p. 9.
  26. ↑ Sneed, Michael (June 19, 2009). "Sister wades in". Chicago Sun-Times . p. 5.
  27. ↑ Warmbir, Steve; Natasha Korecki (April 10, 2010). "Aging mobsters allegedly planned home, bank jobs - Spent months casing La Grange bank, eyed presumed fortune in Bridgeport house". Chicago Sun-Times . p. 4.
  28. ↑ Warmbir, Steve (January 19, 2012). "Elderly jewel thief pleads guilty to racketeering, faces 9 years". Chicago Sun-Times . p. 11.
  29. ↑ Kass, John (19 January 2012). "When a bad thing is a sure thing, even a mobster can cop a plea". Chicago Tribune.
  30. ↑ "Welcome to nginx eaa1a9e1db47ffcca16305566a6efba4!185.15.56.1". Archived from the original on 2012-07-01. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
  31. ↑ Kass, John (19 January 2012). "When a bad thing is a sure thing, even a mobster can cop a plea". Chicago Tribune.
  32. ↑ Kass, John (January 19, 2012). "Faced with sure thing, even a mobster may deal". Chicago Tribune . p. 2.
  33. ↑ "Reputed mobster, 2nd man plead guilty to racketeering charges". Chicago Tribune. 19 January 2012.
  34. ↑ "Reputed mobster, 2nd man plead guilty to racketeering charges". Chicago Tribune. 19 January 2012.
  35. ↑ "Reputed mobster, 2nd man plead guilty to racketeering charges". Chicago Tribune. 19 January 2012.
  36. ↑ http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=Joseph&Middle=&LastName=Scalise&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=0&y=0 [ dead link ]
  37. ↑ Petacque, Art (May 22, 1988). "Son's no informer, elder Scalise insists". Chicago Sun-Times . p. 28.
  38. ↑ "Mob-Connected Clarendon Hills Thief Pleads Guilty". 19 January 2012.
  39. ↑ https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:OO2lcwr3Y9MJ:dig.abclocal.go.com/wls/documents/wls_080910scalisemotionforrelease.pdf+&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjyEqNmwvrwoQq7xx4K-X-kv8QXAQE77xjaNU7FzXAIodyID3qU9TopKFkAI0IqKvZovNmy-NnTEBymHhq_-FS2icdCBOFzVd59yz8xVB7N3XtLGLXGdkS9CaBxtmU5VY6in2O6&sig=AHIEtbSlX6rvfxjQe3FGSOuIS-aYGPP3Xw [ bare URL ]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.