| Joseph Fosco | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Writer, Blogger, Reporter, Organized Crime Historian |
| Home town | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Children | 1 daughter |
Joseph Fosco is a writer, blogger, reporter and organized crime historian from Chicago, Illinois.[1] While he has done some work with charitable organizations,[2] Fosco is best known for his articles exposing the more obscure parts of the history of the Chicago Outfit and corruption in the greater Chicagoland area.[3] In a recent article at the National Review, Conrad Black opined on corruption in Chicago, writing that, “there are conflicts, overlaps, subplots, and Machiavellian chicanery everywhere. Another interesting current legal initiative is the personal campaign of Joe Fosco, scion of a Teamster union family once associated with the Capones, to recover blackmail money he claims was extorted from him by the mob and to establish his good name. He is fighting a lonely battle against public- and private-sector interests who are not accustomed to being treated as if they were accountable.”[4]
Contents |
Born into a family with mob connections, Joseph grew up knowing the who's who of Chicago's faction of Italian organized crime. His father is the now deceased Armando Fosco, former Secretary-Treasurer of Local 738 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters[5] with substantial connections to the Chicago Outfit. Fosco routinely posts articles at American News Post, which has a number of people who write about corruption in the greater Chicagoland area, including former Cicero Town President Betty Loren-Maltese[6] and one-time third largest media mogul and prolific author Conrad Black.
Fosco's articles exposing the supposed doings of alleged Chicago gangsters has earned him the ire of many of his father's associates and their families, some of whom have attacked him verbally in public places.[7] Detractors often point out that Fosco himself has a checkered past, including felony convictions for intimidation and communicating with a witness (which resulted in a sentence of court probation for 30-months) from a 1992 criminal case in Cook County, Illinois,[8] and seems to have had no problem hanging around supposed gangsters in his past.
In 2009, shortly after the federal government's Operation Family Secrets trial, Fosco filed a Civil RICO complaint against John DiFronzo (the reputed boss of the Chicago Outfit), Peter DiFronzo, Jack P. Cerone, Rudolph Fratto, Dr. Joseph L Giacchino and John and Jane Doe(s) members and associates of the Chicago Outfit, alleging that they bilked him out of $500,000.00.[9][10] The use of the RICO statue in a civil court case by a private civilian, particularly one concerning organized crime, is unusual and did garner some notice by journalists and other authors that write about mafia activities.[11][12][13] The case was ultimately dismissed because of statute of limitation issues.[14]
Joseph Fosco conducted and later published an exclusive interview with Michael G. Magnafichi, an alleged made member[15] of the Chicago Outfit's Elmwood Park street crew and the son of the late mobster Eligio "Lee" Magnafichi, a close confidante of gangsters Jackie "the Lackey" Cerone and Tony Accardo.[16] In a later declassified 2002 FBI memorandum, Magnafichi was identified as one of the principal threats to the safety of mob turncoat Nick Calabrese, a cooperating witness in the Operation Family Secrets trial.[17][18] The Magnafichi piece (and follow-up articles) is unique in that, at the time of the interview, Mr. Magnafichi, whose identity was fully disclosed, was neither under indictment nor cooperating with law enforcement and still did the interview with Fosco.