Milwaukee crime family
Encyclopedia
The Milwaukee crime family is an American Mafia
crime family
based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
. The crime family was considered a branch of the Chicago Outfit
. The family's most influential boss was Frank "Mr. Big" Balistrieri
, who was greatly involved in the Las Vegas
skimming
casino
s. Today the family is nearly extinct with the Chicago Outfit gaining the control over the illegal rackets in the area.
American Mafia
The American Mafia , is an Italian-American criminal society. Much like the Sicilian Mafia, the American Mafia has no formal name and is a secret criminal society. Its members usually refer to it as Cosa Nostra or by its English translation "our thing"...
crime family
Crime family
A crime family is a term used to describe a unit of an organized crime syndicate, often operating within a specific geographic territory. The term is used almost exclusively to refer to units of the Mafia, both in Sicily and in the United States, although it is occasionally used to refer to other...
based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. The crime family was considered a branch 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...
. The family's most influential boss was Frank "Mr. Big" Balistrieri
Frank Balistrieri
Frank Peter Balistrieri , also known as "Mr. Big", "Frankie Bal", "Mr. Slick", and "Mad Bomber", was a Milwaukee Mafia boss who was a central figure in skimming during the 1980s.-Early years:...
, who was greatly involved in the Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
skimming
Tax avoidance and tax evasion
Tax noncompliance describes a range of activities that are unfavorable to a state's tax system. These include tax avoidance, which refers to reducing taxes by legal means, and tax evasion which refers to the criminal non-payment of tax liabilities....
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. Today the family is nearly extinct with the Chicago Outfit gaining the control over the illegal rackets in the area.
Bosses of the Milwaukee crime family
- 1918-1921 - Vito Guardalabene - died on February 6, 1921 from natural causes
- 1921-1927 - Peter Guardalabene - the son of Vito Guardalabene was boss until 1927
- 1927- Joseph Amato - died of natural causes on March 28, 1927
- 1927-1949 - Joseph Vallone - the Commission decided that the Milwaukee family would answer to and remain under the Chicago Outfit's power. Vallone retired in 1949 and died on March 18, 1952 from natural causes.
- 1949-1952 - Sam Ferrara - in 1952 he was voted out by his family and members of the Chicago Outfit forced him to step down.
- 1952-1961 - John Alioto - trained his son-in-law Frank Balistrieri
- 1961-1993 - Frank "Mr. Big" BalistrieriFrank BalistrieriFrank Peter Balistrieri , also known as "Mr. Big", "Frankie Bal", "Mr. Slick", and "Mad Bomber", was a Milwaukee Mafia boss who was a central figure in skimming during the 1980s.-Early years:...
imprisoned March 1967-June 1971. In the late 1970s, with his two sons Joseph and John worked with Bonanno crime family capo Michael SabellaMichael SabellaMichael "Mimi" Sabella was a caporegime in the Bonanno crime family and a relative of Philadelphia crime family mob boss Salvatore Sabella.-Early years:...
. He was imprisoned from 1983-1991 for his involvement in Las Vegas skim racket. He died of natural causes on February 7, 1993.- Acting 1967-1971 - Peter Balistrieri - Frank Balistrieri's brother and Underboss
- Acting 1983-1993 - Peter Balistrieri - Frank Balistrieri's brother and Underboss, he became boss in 1993
- 1993-1997 - Peter Frank Balistrieri - he died of natural causes on August 17, 1997
- 1997–present - Joseph P. Caminiti - he was Frank Balistrieri's Consigliere