It’s always a sad day when “criminal” masterminds finally go away after being caught by the Feds.  Today, Joey “the Clown” Lombardo, a kingpin of Chicago’s Grand Avenue Outfit, will be sentenced.  The majority of his crimes are not really crimes with victims, but the Feds were able to pin a 34 year old murder charge on him and find a convinction.

Of his non-violent “crimes,” Lombardo was charged and found guilty of running a variety of rackets which are only called rackets due to the government not liking competition.  One such racket is street gambling, a wonderfully high-expectation operation compared to our government’s licensed casinos.  In street gambling, players see a much higher return on their money, versus the typical casino payout of about 80% (or less) per dollar wagered.

Lombardo was said to have run ”the oldest and most reliable floating craps game on Grand Avenue,” according to his lawyer Rick Halprin during the trial.  And what’s wrong with that, I ask.  People didn’t wager with Lombardo’s crew out of force or intimidation, they did it because they knew the odds were better than going to a registered casino.  On top of better odds, they also didn’t have to worry about the legal theft that happens to all us players from the IRS rules governing the casinos.

Another supposed “crime” that Lombardo was convicted of is what the Feds called high-juice loans.  On the street, people with a need for fast cash can usually look to their local Outfit crew for a fast cash loan.  These loans, which carry a very high interest rate, are doled out based on how well the Outfit is familiar with you: your home, your job, your family.  Instead of putting up your credit score backing the loan, you put up your dependability to repay it.  The vig (vigorish) or interest rate, is generally fairly high, sometimes in the realm of 100% a year or more, but for those with bad credit scores or no assets, they can be lifesavers.

Of course, the government doesn’t get its share of taxes and profits from these loans, so they criminalize it instead.  In many cases, when local Outfits have been run out of the market by the law, poor people who need quick cash resort to the legalized form of loansharking called the Payday Loan, which is often times MUCH worse than the Outfit loans.  Again, this is to be expected, as those who are blessed by the State are given much more ability to cause rampant harm on others.  It’s part and parcel for the Outfit, who has been known to forgive loans and even extend them without a vig, based on the person’s actual reason for needing the cash.

Lombardo’s other charge was the collection of what the Feds call “Street Taxes.”  Street taxes are a form of private security for business owners in an area controlled by the local Outfit.  They’re usually forced under the threat of violence — no difference than the IRS who will put you in jail for not paying.  The difference is that the people who pay these “Street Taxes” actually see a return on their payment: reduced crime from gangbangers, reduced hassling by the local corrupt police officers, and a place to turn to when there are neighborhood beefs.  In exchange for the money, most businessmen see a markable improvement in relations with others in the area, and rely on the Outfit to handle squabbles.  Lombardo’s crew ran a tight ship, making sure that local entrepreneurs were protected from street thugs and corrupt cops.

The final charge is the one I take the largest exception with: the murder charge of Federal Information Daniel Seifert in 1974.  In the case, the Feds were not able to tie Lombardo to Seifert except through two old checks.  There was no DNA evidence, no witnesses, and no schedule to tie Lombardo to Seifert’s death.  The testimony of attorney Matt Lydon, who prosecuted a Teamster pension fund fraud case in the 1970s, was used by the prosecution to add more circumstancial evidence that Lombardo was the murderer.  In the end, it was all circumstancial evidence, and no real facts.  Nonetheless, the government hates competition, so Lombardo was also convincted of murder.

In the Family Secrets case so far, two others have been convicted and sentenced.  Arizona Outfit member Paul “the Indian” Schiro received 20 years for the racketeering conviction, and Frank Calabrese Sr. (71 years old) got life for racketeering and for seven murders.  The Feds were able to turn Calabrese’s own brother against him in exchange for government protection and lesser or no charges, a common ploy by government agents to find an indictment against a possibly higher-ranked Outfit member.  In addiction, top Mob Outfit boss James ”Little Jimmy” Marcello (67 years old), will be sentenced this Thursday.

Joey “the Clown” Lombard will likely be sentenced to Life in prison.  He is almost 80 years old.  Earlier in the trial in 2007, Lombardo’s friend Joseph “Shorty”  LaMantian said ”I personally don’t think the jury was intelligent enough to decipher all the evidence the government put on.  It’s another slap in the face to Italians who are ‘alleged’ gangsters, and I emphasize ‘alleged.’ ”

Previously, Joey Lombardo was charged, conviced and sent to federal prison in the 1980s for bribing a Senator to work against a trucking deregulation bill.  He was charged along with International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Roy Lee Williams and union pension fund manager Allen Dorfman for bribing Sen. Howard Cannon (D-Nev.).  In politics, we call this lobbying, which is acceptable if you’re registered with the State and allowed to follow their inane procedures.  When a common man tries to lobby a politician in the same manner, it’s a crime.  As it always is, Senator Cannon was never charged with any wrongdoing.

Related posts:

1. They’ve taken away my freedom to say no
2. Can a politician tell the truth about desiring freedom?
3. Another Chicago ex-cop pleads guilty to Federal charges: beating a man in a wheelchair