Angelo J. LaPietra
Encyclopedia
Angelo J. "The Hook" LaPietra (1920–1999) was a Chicago
mobster and member of the Chicago Outfit
, involved in extensive loansharking operations in the city's First Ward during the 1970s and 80s. He earned his nickname "The Hook" due to the way he murdered his victims—those that did not, or could not pay up. He would take his victim—bound and gagged—and hang him on a meat hook, (piercing the victim's rib cage with the meat hook) and then torture him to death with a blow-torch. As if this wasn't cruel enough, the torch would not actually be the cause of death. The victims most often died from suffocation.
He was born to first generation immigrants from Sicily, Italy. A high ranking member of the Chicago Outfit
, LaPietra had an extensive criminal record
stretching back to 1939 that included murder, kidnapping and narcotic
s. He was involved in criminal operations in the suburb of Cicero, Illinois
, as well as in Chicago's First Ward, LaPietra was a top enforcer under Outfit boss Joseph "Joey Doves" Aiuppa
for Cicero criminal operations. As the result of a five-year federal investigation into organized crime
following the murder of a small time Kansas City, Missouri
mobster, LaPietra was indicted along with Aiuppa, Jackie "The Lackey" Cerone
, and other fifteen \mobsters from five cities. He is the uncle of Outfit member Joseph and Michael (Neffie) Talerico and James (Jimmy the Lapper) LaPietra.
LaPietra was later accused by a Kansas City grand jury with skim
ming an estimated $2 million from syndicate-controlled Las Vegas
casino
s. Federal authorities further charged that, by using money from the Teamsters
Union Central States Pension Fund, the mobsters were able to consolidate their control over Las Vegas casinos during the 1950s and '60s. Federal agents had also recorded at least 12,000 hours of phone conversations through wire taps from organized crime figures in Kansas
, Missouri
, Wisconsin
, Illinois
, and Nevada
over a period of four years.
In July 1984, LaPietra's attorney Louis Carbonara requested to federally appointed Judge Joseph A. Stephens, Jr. to have the tapes be transcribed and made available for the defendants. However, due to opposition from Chief David B.B. Helfrey, the U.S. Department of Justice's Organized Crime Strike Force in Kansas City, Missouri
refused to transcribe the tapes claiming the difficulties regarding the numerous jurisdictions involved in wiretapping. This issue, among other factors, caused a series of continuances and delays as the case continued for two years and, by September 1985, was called by law enforcement officials as one of the longest in 20 years of prosecution into organized crime
.
On January 21, 1986, Aiuppa, Cerone and La Pietra pleaded guilty to conspiring
to conceal ownership in a syndicate-controlled Las Vegas casino. La Pietra was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment and fined $143,409 (Aiuppa and Cerone were sentenced to 28½ years imprisonment and fined $43,000 and $430,324 respectively).
In 1999, LaPietra died of natural causes shortly after his release from prison.
Founder of the Old Neighborhood Italian American Club 31st and Shields. Original Club located on 26th Street. The Club carries influence in Chicago politics, Unions and Control. It's believed the $2 Million skimmed in the Las Vegas Trial of 1986 was invested into building the new Taj Mahal Style Italian Club; compared to the store front location on 26th street. The Club has marble floors and pillars, along with rooms for weights, steam, billards, cards, country club style kitchen and banquet rooms. This private social club has the inner circle of who's who in Chicago.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
mobster and member of the Chicago Outfit
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
, involved in extensive loansharking operations in the city's First Ward during the 1970s and 80s. He earned his nickname "The Hook" due to the way he murdered his victims—those that did not, or could not pay up. He would take his victim—bound and gagged—and hang him on a meat hook, (piercing the victim's rib cage with the meat hook) and then torture him to death with a blow-torch. As if this wasn't cruel enough, the torch would not actually be the cause of death. The victims most often died from suffocation.
He was born to first generation immigrants from Sicily, Italy. A high ranking member of the Chicago Outfit
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
, LaPietra had an extensive criminal record
Criminal record
A criminal record is a record of a person's criminal history, generally used by potential employers, lenders etc. to assess his or her trustworthiness. The information included in a criminal record varies between countries and even between jurisdictions within a country...
stretching back to 1939 that included murder, kidnapping and narcotic
Narcotic
The term narcotic originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with any sleep-inducing properties. In the United States of America it has since become associated with opioids, commonly morphine and heroin and their derivatives, such as hydrocodone. The term is, today, imprecisely...
s. He was involved in criminal operations in the suburb of Cicero, Illinois
Cicero, Illinois
Cicero is an incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 83,891 at the 2010 census. Cicero is named for the town of Cicero, New York, which in turn was named for Marcus Tullius Cicero, the Roman statesman and orator....
, as well as in Chicago's First Ward, LaPietra was a top enforcer under Outfit boss Joseph "Joey Doves" Aiuppa
Joseph Aiuppa
Joseph John Aiuppa , also known as "Doves," "Mourning Doves," "O'Brien," or "Joey Doves," was a Chicago mobster who became a leader of the Chicago Outfit.-Early career:...
for Cicero criminal operations. As the result of a five-year federal investigation into organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
following the murder of a small time Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
mobster, LaPietra was indicted along with Aiuppa, Jackie "The Lackey" Cerone
Jackie Cerone
John "Jackie The Lackey" Cerone was a Chicago mobster and boss of the Chicago Outfit, during the late 1960s. He was the younger brother of mobster Frank "Skippy" Cerone and father of lawyer, John Peter Cerone and husband to the late Clara Cerone.He was born to John Cerone Sr. and Rose Valant. He...
, and other fifteen \mobsters from five cities. He is the uncle of Outfit member Joseph and Michael (Neffie) Talerico and James (Jimmy the Lapper) LaPietra.
LaPietra was later accused by a Kansas City grand jury with skim
Skimming (fraud)
A form of white-collar crime, skimming is a slang termhttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/skim that refers to taking cash "off the top" of the daily receipts of a business and officially reporting a lower total.- Examples :* A skimming crime may be simple tax evasion: the owner of a business...
ming an estimated $2 million from syndicate-controlled Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
s. Federal authorities further charged that, by using money from the Teamsters
Teamsters
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of several local and regional locals of teamsters, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue-collar and professional workers in both the public and private sectors....
Union Central States Pension Fund, the mobsters were able to consolidate their control over Las Vegas casinos during the 1950s and '60s. Federal agents had also recorded at least 12,000 hours of phone conversations through wire taps from organized crime figures in Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, and Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
over a period of four years.
In July 1984, LaPietra's attorney Louis Carbonara requested to federally appointed Judge Joseph A. Stephens, Jr. to have the tapes be transcribed and made available for the defendants. However, due to opposition from Chief David B.B. Helfrey, the U.S. Department of Justice's Organized Crime Strike Force in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
refused to transcribe the tapes claiming the difficulties regarding the numerous jurisdictions involved in wiretapping. This issue, among other factors, caused a series of continuances and delays as the case continued for two years and, by September 1985, was called by law enforcement officials as one of the longest in 20 years of prosecution into organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
.
On January 21, 1986, Aiuppa, Cerone and La Pietra pleaded guilty to conspiring
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
to conceal ownership in a syndicate-controlled Las Vegas casino. La Pietra was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment and fined $143,409 (Aiuppa and Cerone were sentenced to 28½ years imprisonment and fined $43,000 and $430,324 respectively).
In 1999, LaPietra died of natural causes shortly after his release from prison.
Founder of the Old Neighborhood Italian American Club 31st and Shields. Original Club located on 26th Street. The Club carries influence in Chicago politics, Unions and Control. It's believed the $2 Million skimmed in the Las Vegas Trial of 1986 was invested into building the new Taj Mahal Style Italian Club; compared to the store front location on 26th street. The Club has marble floors and pillars, along with rooms for weights, steam, billards, cards, country club style kitchen and banquet rooms. This private social club has the inner circle of who's who in Chicago.