John DiFronzo

John DiFronzo
Born(1928-12-13)December 13, 1928
Italy
DiedMay 27, 2018(2018-05-27) (aged 89)
River Grove, Illinois, U.S.
Other names
  • "Johnny Bananas"
  • "No Nose"
OccupationCrime boss
RelativesPeter DiFronzo and Joseph DiFronzo (brothers)
AllegianceChicago Outfit

John DiFronzo (December 13, 1928 – May 27, 2018), nicknamed "No Nose", was an Italian-American mobster and the reputed former boss of the Chicago Outfit.[1]

Early life

DiFronzo was born in Italy and immigrated to the United States with his family in the mid-1930s, settling in Chicago, where he attended Wells High School on the city's Near North Side.[2]

Criminal career

DiFronzo was a member of the Three Minute Gang, a group of criminals known for their ability to burglarize stores within three minutes, the average time it took for police to respond to a burglar alarm. He was first arrested for burglary in 1946 and placed under court supervision for six months. In 1949, he and an associate were arrested and charged with a robbery on Chicago's Gold Coast.[2] DiFronzo was given the nickname "No Nose" after he sliced off part of his nose while jumping through a window during a burglary of the Fey-Manning dress shop at 304 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago in December 1949. Reportedly, the police gave him back the missing part, which was almost perfectly restored.[3] In April 1950, DiFronzo was sentenced to six months in Cook County Jail on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon related to the dress shop burglary.[2]

DiFronzo was a suspect in the unsolved 1952 murder of Charles Gross, a West Side politician with suspected ties to organized crime. He was a member of the Three Minute Gang and identified as a member of a loansharking operation along with former Chicago police officers Albert Sarno and Chris Cardi in 1964. Imprisoned syndicate leader Joseph Aiuppa chose DiFronzo to head criminal operations in Chicago's western suburbs over acting syndicate boss Joseph Ferriola. Eventually, he became one of several de facto leaders running the Outfit in Chicago.

His brother, Peter DiFronzo, a "made man", was convicted of warehouse burglary in 1963.[4]

In 1993, DiFronzo was convicted along with Chicago boss Samuel "Black Sam" Carlisi, his gambling capo Donald "The Wizard of Odds" Angelini, and four other men of federal racketeering charges for attempting to subterfuge gambling operations at the Rincon Reservation near San Diego.[5] The 1993 conviction was reversed on appeal, however, and DiFronzo was released from prison in 1994.[6]

In 2009, DiFronzo, Rudy Fratto and several others were named in a civil lawsuit by Joseph Fosco (the son of late Teamsters treasurer Armando Fosco) alleging that they attempted to extort $400,000 from Fosco.[7]

Death

DiFronzo died from complications of Alzheimer's disease on May 27, 2018.[8][9]

References

  1. ^ "Who's Who in Chicago Outfit for 1997 ISPN-97-10-12". Ipsn.org. Archived from the original on May 21, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c Goldsborough, Bob (March 30, 2018). "Reputed Chicago Outfit boss John DiFronzo dies at 89". Chicago Tribune.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  3. ^ Roemer, Jr., William F. (1996). Accardo : The Genuine Godfather (1st Ballantine Books ed.). New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 0804114641.
  4. ^ "I-Team Report: Lunch with 'No Nose' | abc7chicago.com". Abclocal.go.com. March 12, 2009. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  5. ^ Eidsmoe, John "Legalized Gambling: America's Bad Bet", page 68
  6. ^ "Federal Bureau of Prisons". Bop.gov. July 19, 1994. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  7. ^ "Reputed mobster charged with tax evasion in new case". Chicago Breaking News. September 29, 2009. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  8. ^ "Chicago mob boss John "No Nose" DiFronzo dead at 89". ABC7 Chicago. May 29, 2018.
  9. ^ "With top Chicago mob boss dead, Outfit looks for new blood". ABC7 Chicago. June 1, 2018.

Bibliography

  • Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN 0-02-864225-2
  • Mannion, James. 101 Things You Didn't Know About The Mafia: The Lowdown on Dons, Wiseguys, Squealers and Backstabbers. Avon, Massachusetts: Adams Media, 2005. ISBN 1-59337-267-1
  • Wilkins, David E. American Indian Politics and the American Political System. Oxford: Rowman & Littleton Publishers, 2006. ISBN 0-7425-5346-9
  • United States. Congress. House. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Implementation and Enforcement of the Indian Gaming Regulatory ACT, Public Law 100-497. 1992. ISBN 0-16-039224-1 [1]
  • Devito, Carlo. The Encyclopedia of International Organized Crime. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. ISBN 0-8160-4848-7
  • Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3
  • Coen, Jeff. Family Secrets: The Case That Crippled the Chicago Mob. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2009. ISBN 978-1-56976-545-6
  • Complete John DiFronzo Mob Article Archives (TheChicagoSyndicate.com)
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