According to reports Chicago mafia acting boss Salvatore “Solly D” DeLaurentis has promoted veteran mobster Albert Vena to Outfit street boss.

Vena has been handling the day to day operations acting as an intermediary between Solly D and the Chicago mob capos for months now. He leads the infamous Westside Grand Avenue crew and even though his crew has been under siege by the feds over the last few years he has been able to avoid any indictments. DeLaurentis took control of the Chicago Outfit back in 2012 in place of aging mob boss John DiFronzo and has been reorganizing the families hierarchy according to reports from sources of Scott Burnstein and his gangsterreport.

The now 67-year-old Vena will remain a capo of his Westside crew while handling his new street boss gig. Vena has long been a feared Outfit wiseguy and he has been called “the most dangerous man in Chicago” by the media and FBI informants. Vena operates from his Richard’s Bar headquarters and is often seen dining next door at La Scarola restaurant next door. Along with Solly D and Vena also known as “Albie the Falcon” the current Chicago mob hierarchy also includes consigliere Marco D’Amico and underboss Salvatore Cataudella.

The mafia in Chicago has been seen as a declining organization over the last decade or so but has seemingly stabilized in the last couple of years and may be rebuilding and re-establishing itself at least to some extent under its new leadership. Along with what seems to be a stable hierarchy the Chicago Outfit also has capable capos in place including alleged Elmwood Park crew skipper Rudy Fratto and Cicero crew capo James Inendino. The Outfit will never see the power and influence it commanded in its heyday but the mafia today in Chicago may be rejuvenated to some extent and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

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Charles (Chuckie) Russell a reputed soldier in the Chicago mafia was captured on undercover recordings bragging about a plan to rob an elderly suburban lawyer according to prosecutors.

The 67-year-old wiseguy was formerly arrested on gun charges after he allegedly showed up to purchase eight guns from an undercover federal agent at a South Loop deli according to Chicago tribune report. Russel is an alleged member of the infamous Grand Avenue crew of the Chicago Outfit currently led by his brother-n-law Albert Vena who also serves as Cosa Nostra families street boss. The widely feared mafia crew has been led in past by mafia heavyweights such as Joey (The Clown) Lombardo but has fallen on hard times of late losing multiple members in recent cases.

“Charles (Chuckie) Russell”

According to the report, a confidential informant tipped off the A.T.F. about Russell bragging that he was a high-ranking member of the Chicago mob. He told the informant during a meeting at a coffeehouse that he was the leader of a prolific burglary gang called the “Bishop boys” that was responsible for lots of burglaries and home invasions. In December the informant set up a meeting with Russell and an undercover agent who secretly recorded Russell talking about his plans for the upcoming robbery of the lawyer. He believed that there could have been as much as $750,000 in cash in the lawyers home safe and that he had been casing the house for years along with an ex-girl who was on the inside and knew the location of the safe and other valuables.

In court filing Russell was quoted as telling the informant “Nothing gets my juices flowing like putting a gun to someone’s head, taking their stuff, and making it mine, It will be a great Christmas, I’m telling you.” He also was quoted as telling the informant and undercover during their meeting “If he doesn’t open it, we’re gonna make him open it,” Russell said, according to the complaint. “They always open for me, believe me. I bring my butane torch, put it on the bottom of their feet, they open it.” Russell wanted the two men to help with the robbery telling them his crew would be equipped with the proper tools to avoid detection including police scanners.

Russell then talked to the undercover agent about a plan to purchase firearms from him. A second meeting was set up between the three men at an Inn in Jefferson Park where the alleged mobster gave the agent a list of guns he was looking for that included AK-47’s and Uzi’s. He also handed the agent a driver’s license of a man then showed him a cell phone photo of a bullet-riddled car which Russell said was “some decent work” of his saying the guy was “no longer with us.” He went on to say “All (expletive) blood and brain all over the (expletive) seat, Went right through his head and out that side. Take (the car) and drop it off in the black community, and someone else gets caught with it” according to the complaint. Chicago PD would later confirm the man depicted on the license was indeed killed in November.

The recording also captured Russell saying “The fun for me is the score, That’s how I get my adrenaline. … You know how long it takes to come to down for me? I counted money one night for so long my hands were filthy.”  He has a long criminal past including an aggravated criminal sexual assault conviction back in 1992 that landed him a 35-year prison sentence. He beat an attempted murder charge in that same case and was let out on parole back in 2011. Russell’s arrest is the latest blow to the mafia crew but may not be the last as rumors continue to swirl about potential indictments which may involve Vena who has been in the feds crosshairs for some time now.

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Taking down the Chicago Mafia is once again a top priority for the Feds according to Jeffrey Sallet the newly installed head of the FBI in Chicago.

In a recent interview, the new Special Agent In Charge said “The Chicago Outfit? We haven’t forgotten about you,” pledging to refocus the fight against organized crime. The last major mafia case in Chicago happened over a decade ago but Sallet says the Chicago Outfit is still a force and cannot be overlooked. The 2005 Family Secrets case took down most of the Cosa Nostra families hierarchy but after a decade-long lull in major cases, the mafia in Chicago has had a chance to rebuild its ranks.

Sallet is considered to be an expert in mafia investigations and has worked in New York, Boston, and New Orleans. He helped take down over 100 La Cosa Nostra figures including leading members of the Bonanno crime family of the New York Mafia. He also worked on the capture of fugitive Boston mob boss Whitey Bulger. The lack of cases and headlines surrounding the Chicago mob in recent years has led many to believe the declining organization was on its deathbed. But during his interview with the ABC7 I-Team Sallet said: “The Chicago Outfit is 100 years old, so when you look at an organization that is 100 years old and says we’re not going to work those guys because they’re done, would be a huge mistake.”

“Mob guys or Outfit guys whatever you want to call them are resilient,” said Sallet. “Where there is an opportunity to make money, they will engage. The reason they don’t kill people the same way they did 25 years ago is because it’s bad for business.” The faces of those leading the Chicago Mafia have changed but they are still engaged in plenty of mob rackets and remain a viable and profitable organization. These new Chicago mafia leaders which include alleged acting boss Salvatore “Solly D” DeLaurentis, street boss Albert Vena, consigliere Marco D’Amico and underboss Salvatore Cataudella could be under fire sooner rather than later. There could be some interesting Chicago Mafia news on the way!

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Reputed Chicago Mafia soldier Charles “Chuckie” Russell has passed away according to recent federal court filings.

According to reports the 70-year-old mobster was suffering from prostate cancer and had recently been moved to a hospice facility. Russell was schooled in the ways of the mafia by his longtime mentor and former Chicago mob enforcer Frank (Frankie The German) Schweihs. In his prime, Chuckie was a feared figure within the cities Cosa Nostra family known for being one of the cities most prolific thieves and a reputed hitman. He was a member of the infamous Grand Avenue crew serving under his brother-n-law and alleged Outfit street boss Albert Vena.

“Charles (Chuckie) Russell”

Russell was arrested back in 2016 after buying a bundle of eight weapons from an undercover ATF agent. The agent with the help of an undercover federal informant was able to get close to Russell. He enlisted their help in a plot to rob hundreds of thousands of dollars from a former attorney. During the investigation, secretly recorded conversations captured Russell bragging about pulling off thousands of robberies and even killing a man. According to Russell his method of choice to convince his victims to open their safes was to was a butane torch to the bottom of their feet.

He also said during a conversation “Nothing gets my juices flowing like putting a gun to someone’s head, taking their stuff and making it mine.” He was immediately arrested in December of 2016 after he purchased either guns including an AK-47 and a submachine gun from the undercover agent. He would eventually plead guilty to a single gun possession charge and was awarded bond due to his medical condition. He was ordered to home confinement at his longtime girlfriends home in suburban Chicago. She is a niece of former Chicago Outfit enforcer Tony (The Ant) Spilotro.

Charles “Chuckie” Russell passed away before he could be sentenced for his remaining crime. Because of his previous convictions which included murder and rape he would have been facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years behind bars.

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  Rudy “The Chin” Fratto did not let his latest bid behind bars derail his mob lifestyle according to area sources. The 70 year old Chicago mobster released last November after doing a year behind bars on charges on construction bid rigging is back in his old neighborhood of Elmwood Park reestablishing himself in the [...]

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  Chicago mafia capo Albert (Albie the Falcon) Vena is said by some to be the most-feared man in the Windy City, a new-and-improved version of Anthony (Tony the Ant) Spilotro, if you will. His emergence the past few years as a major player in the upper-echelon of the city’s mob landscape has reinvigorated his [...]

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  Joseph “The Builder” Andriacchi is believed to be the new face of the Chicago Outfit taking over for former mob boss Johnny “No Nose” DiFronzo according to sources. DiFronzo has seen his physical and mental health decline over the last few years forcing him to finally step down as boss of the Chicago mob. [...]

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  Chicago mobsters Bobby Panozzo and Paul Koroluk of the Outfit’s Grand Avenue crew were stung last week. And the 54-year old Panozzo could be stung again soon……with murder charges. Operating a sub-group within the Grand Avenue faction, identified as “The P-K Crew” (the pair’s initials), Panozzo and Koroluk, and two subordinates, one being Panozzo’s [...]

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