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The history of Polish mafia in Chicago, Illinois


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armybratThreads: 1
Posts: 6
Joined: Jun 18, 09 ♀ 		 Jun 18, 09, 02:45    #1
I was wondering if anyone knew how to go about researching the polish mafia, especially in Chicago, Illinois; during a certain period of time. Would appreciate any information.
Arlene  Jun 18, 09, 04:37    #2
I think it might help you get ideas about Polish Mafia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Mob

You look up Polish Mafia in your internets and see what you can find.

Polish isn't only one. Russian is also Mafia too as Italian Mafia.

I find this very interesting to know. I loves Godfather Movies very much.
plk123Threads: 30
Posts: 6,410
Joined: Aug 29, 07 ♂ 		Edited by: plk123  Jun 18, 09, 06:42    #3
yes, google caponski. :D
armybrat:
I was wondering if anyone knew how to go about researching the polish mafia, especially in Chicago, Illinois;
armybratThreads: 1
Posts: 6
Joined: Jun 18, 09 ♀ 		 Jun 18, 09, 16:08    #4
Thanks to all for the info listed...I've looked up the Polish mafia on the internet, using the basic searches, but it does not give me what i need. It's too personal to really discuss the reasons why, just need very specific info. Again, thanks to all !!! Look forward to any more.
Arlene Edited by: Arlene  Jun 18, 09, 20:23    #5
Well, you are living in Texas. I think you should visits Chicago, IL.
We have lot of Italian Mafias living in Northwest Chicago & Surburban O'Hare Airport.
You can visits Italian Cafes around there. They are very secretives males and I can't even tell it they are mafia. Even Polish & Russian. They have odd behaviors which I don't know.

Years back we had Al Capone's groups mafias living in Illinois & Indiana. Some went to Las Vegas too. You can look up like Polish Mafia in Chicago, IL or Italian Mafias in Illinois or Las Vegas. You will find what you are searching. You don't have to tell us. It is your privacy. Good Luck!

P.S. There are movies you can find. Chicago Story & Al Capone.
Arlene  Jun 19, 09, 01:41    #6
Well, here is more websites you can look it up. I found some I think you will like to read.

http://mafiatoday.com/?tag=chicago-mafia

http://mafiatoday.com/?p=1612

http://christianparty.net/mafia.htm

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_there_still_a_mafia_in_chicago_today


All I typed is Chicago Mafia Today on my internet, it will bring all the listings for you to read and search informations you want to know.

I really don't know any Mafia men at all and I am still interesting to know more.
regionpolskiThreads: 36
Posts: 164
Joined: Mar 13, 07 ♂ 		 Jun 19, 09, 12:04    #7
I had relatives who were mafia cohorts. They were Polish-Americans, however, they grew up in the Italian section of Chicago Heights, Illinois. One of my uncles was a full-blown mafia man. He not only dressed the part, he lived the life too. He had two brothers that were also involved in crime with the mafia, one to a much greater degree than the other. Their other brother was a police officer, ironically enough. Their lives make for great stories, some are very entertaining. The parts about my cousins not seeing their dad because he was in prison are not very fun. My uncle that was really involved was a real thug in his mafia life, although he was very nice otherwise. His mother, my grandmother's sister, lived with my family when I was a kid. We had a basement apartment, and my aunt lived there until she passed away. My uncles visited her all the time. My uncles were involved in collections, either "insurance" or gambling money, as well as robbery. My cousins were paid a few bucks to have holes dug in the yard...for safes, not bodies. I recall once, in 1971 or 1972, I was real little, my uncle came by to visit my grandfather. He lived right across the street from us. My uncle drove a Cadillac, and he was towing a big U-Haul trailer. It was filled with fireworks. My uncle wanted my grandfather to sell the fireworks at the local bars. They would split the proceeds. My uncle "found" the fireworks. Grandpa declined. My uncle owed my grandfather a lifetime of favors. Grandpa, along with his brother-in-law, once bribed a prosecutor a huge sum of money so that my uncle's felony robbery charges would be dropped. He had been in hiding for a couple of years but wanted to attend his father's funeral. I cold ramble on and on about stories. The Chicago Crime Commission has a website. Check it out.
Arlene  Jun 19, 09, 14:13    #8
Wow, that is very interesting story.

I used to lived in Harwood Hts. (36 yrs.) and there were alot of Italian people living next doors and all over in my area. I didn't know anythings about Mafias living in NW Chicago & Suburban until 2 years ago when they were on News for killings someone back then. I said to myself: Wow, how come I never meet them or talk to them. I just want to meet them and I never did. I find them so interesting and been watching movies.

I just put news this morning and they are talking about making another mafia movies again. Wow. I didn't know about it at all. They are very secretive, I mean producers from California. Oh Well.
WooPeeThreads: 3
Posts: 133
Joined: Jul 1, 08 ♂ 		 Jun 19, 09, 15:02    #9
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Kuklinski probably the worst mafia killer ever.
armybratThreads: 1
Posts: 6
Joined: Jun 18, 09 ♀ 		 Jun 19, 09, 15:38    #10
Arlene...I can't say thank you enough for the help that you're giving me.! I was born in Chicago, and thanks to my mother, never got to grow up there. It's more personal than I can explain, & thanks for knowing that, but there are just some things that I need to know - especially during a certain period of time. I must have a retarted computer...(lol), it never gives me anything I can really use. :P
Arlene  Jun 19, 09, 20:21    #11
Thanks for replying back. I felt some of you are searching for someone special (Dad or boyfriend or relatives). It is okay to talk about it.
ZIMMYThreads: 10
Posts: 2,243
Joined: Feb 21, 09 ♂ 		 Jun 19, 09, 21:19    #12
In Chicago, the white gangsters are called the "Outfit" and not mafia which seems to be a generic name for organized hoodlums.
Arlene  Jun 20, 09, 00:52    #13
I never heard of Outfit. No one ever talked about it.
Sorry.

White Mafia could be Polish or Russian but not Outfit.
ZIMMYThreads: 10
Posts: 2,243
Joined: Feb 21, 09 ♂ 		 Jun 20, 09, 03:46    #14
Arlene:
I never heard of Outfit.

Just google John Kass, Outfit and you'll get plenty of stories.
plk123Threads: 30
Posts: 6,410
Joined: Aug 29, 07 ♂ 		 Jun 20, 09, 03:58    #15
regionpolski:
Their other brother was a police officer, ironically enough.

regionpolski:
Grandpa, along with his brother-in-law, once bribed a prosecutor a huge sum of money so that my uncle's felony robbery charges would be dropped.

aah, my kinda town. ;)

:D :D
EurolaThreads: 6
Posts: 2,647
Joined: Dec 2, 06 ♀ 		 Jun 20, 09, 04:35    #16
Mafia is all alive and well in Chicago. There is always "somebody" paying "somebody" for "something". A couple of decades ago I worked at a Sicilian Restaurant. There were "paisanos" coming from a "hometown", dressed in suits and ties, limited English, but oh Boy the owners were on their toes! Yes, there are still here...
The 'polish mafia" is peanuts comparing to the Italian (of course), Russian or Chinese ones...just a few losers trying to be "soldiers". I never heard of polish mafia "boss"...name one if you dare.
ZIMMYThreads: 10
Posts: 2,243
Joined: Feb 21, 09 ♂ 		 Jun 20, 09, 05:43    #17
Bugs Moran was of Polish-Irish ancestry and headed the north side gang which rivaled Capones' until the St. Valentine's Day massacre.
EurolaThreads: 6
Posts: 2,647
Joined: Dec 2, 06 ♀ 		 Jun 20, 09, 05:52    #18
Bugs Moran? I'd believe more if his name was Bogdan Moranski :)
Yeah, the Irish tried hard to be a part of the Italian mafia, a few polish too...but none really succeeded.
armybratThreads: 1
Posts: 6
Joined: Jun 18, 09 ♀ 		 Jun 20, 09, 16:10    #19
Ookkaaayyyy...... wow, Eurola, what's got your knickers in a knot?? Yes, Italians are good, very good in fact are the Sicilians, but this wasn't meant to be a discussion on who's got the bigger & better Mafia. Any group or individual, regardless of nationality, who stand up for something (even on the illegal side of things) & doesn't take crap of of others for their way of life are nothing to thumb your nose at.
All I wanted to do by starting this thread was to find a way, for reasons still too personal to talk about here, to locate information which would help me know something thats been bugging me for years.

Ya'll please keep it civilized here, alright? Geeze, we're all proud of who we are, but before anyone decides to insult someone else....think, not everyone is what you think, never take what you see in their name or profile to be all of who they are....( example: yes, I'm polish, but only half, the other parts of my ancestry might get offended at a dig on the Irish, American Indian or...yes, even Italian )
Arlene  Jun 20, 09, 16:47    #20
To Eurola:

Did you say you used to worked for Sicilian Restaurant? Which one is it?

Are you fron Harlem & Irving Area?
plk123Threads: 30
Posts: 6,410
Joined: Aug 29, 07 ♂ 		 Jun 20, 09, 17:50    #21
armybrat:
never take what you see in their name or profile to be all of who they are.

texas.... that sure say hell of a lot. :D :D
armybratThreads: 1
Posts: 6
Joined: Jun 18, 09 ♀ 		 Jun 20, 09, 18:54    #22
Plk123 - It's just something I learned the hard way a long time ago. But it's true, ya know. People are not always as they appear.....things are never exactly as they seem to be.
plk123Threads: 30
Posts: 6,410
Joined: Aug 29, 07 ♂ 		 Jun 20, 09, 20:25    #23
hard night's drinking does that to me too. :D :D
mikerizzo64  Oct 2, 09, 02:08    #24
There wasn't a Polish mafia per se. I just released a book on a Polish gang from Buffalo, NY during Prohibition. They were killers, bootleggers, robber, but were not as organized or secretive as the Italians.
Mike
sledzThreads: 29
Posts: 3,202
Joined: Sep 19, 06 ♂ 		 Oct 2, 09, 02:34    #25
mikerizzo64:
I just released a book on a Polish gang from Buffalo

So whats the name of it, maybe somebody on here might be interested?
beckskiThreads: 19
Posts: 2,105
Joined: May 15, 07 Pictures: 4 Gold Member MEMBER ♀ 		 Oct 2, 09, 02:46    #26
sledz:
maybe somebody on here might be interested?

Very interesting subject indeed. In college I had read a few books pertaining to gang activity in California. I recall one of the books had mentioned that some of the most notorious gang members in Chicago, were Polish immigrants.

Honk if you love PF :)
scrappletonThreads: -
Posts: 1,365
Joined: Apr 28, 09 ♂ 		 Oct 2, 09, 02:48    #27
mikerizzo64:
just released a book on a Polish gang from Buffalo, NY during Prohibition.

I'd like to check this out too. Don't get to hear a Polish mafia story very often.
mikerizzo64  Oct 4, 09, 18:31    #28
The book is called "They Call Me Korney: The True Story of Buffalo's Korney Gang". The book is $16.95 + $3 shipping and right now available directly from me or locally in all the stores. mikerizzo64 @ yahoo.com

As a side note, has anyone ever heard of a gangster from Chicago named Smithy? He apparently was a sometime member and provided a machine gun to the gang.

Here's a review:
In "They Call Me Korney," author Michael Rizzo provides a rare look at non-Italian ethnic crime in Prohibition Era Buffalo. Operating largely in the shadows of such legendary underworld associations as Stefano Magaddino's regional Mafia, the Korney gang carved out a more modest underworld empire in the largely Polish neighborhoods of eastern Buffalo and Depew. Through a quick-moving, detailed and readable narrative, Rizzo exposes the activities of the gang, a brutal organization of bandits, bootleggers, safecrackers and killers. The author probes into the backgrounds and personalities of the gang's most important figures - John "Korney" Kwiatkowski, Anthony "Shiddy" Kalkiewicz and others - to explain the many successes of the outlaw band and the betrayal that led to its ultimate destruction. Generously illustrated with photographs, maps and images of official documents, "They Call Me Korney" is sure to be appreciated by all interested in regional crime history. Review by Thomas Hunt, author of Deep Water.
KrystalThreads: 7
Posts: 106
Joined: Sep 17, 09 ♀ 		 Oct 8, 09, 07:13    #29
I found these. I don't know if this will work. Maybe someone else will know how.

Your Mafiosa name...............remember..........Omerta.

http://gangstaname.com/mafia_name.php

Anemic Alfredo Costanza

http://www.gangstername.net/

raymond "bingo" traficante
jerrywink  Nov 23, 09, 12:08    #30
...I just finished reading Mike Rizzo's biography of John "Korney"kKwiatkowski..or "Big KorneY" and his gang.They terrorized the East - side of Buffalo and the Depew area where I grew up....a very fast-paced interestinf book...you will not regret reading it..I could'nt put it down!
Jerry W
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