During last year’s filming of Public Enemies, afilm depicting the true story of FBI agent Melvin Purvis’ attempt toapprehend criminals John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty BoyFloyd, many Wisconsinites learned for the first time that our state hasa history of playing host to infamous outlaws. Wooded and rural,Wisconsin was a popular getaway for Chicago-based gangsters because ofits isolation. Milwaukee, on the other hand, was already home to someof the American Mafia’s elite, powerful men, including FrankBalistrieri.
Asa young man, “Frankie Bal” started working for the Milwaukee La CosaNostra (LCN) family, which owed allegiance to the Chicago Outfit, apowerful criminal syndicate in the city of Chicago that has anear-monopoly on traditional organized crime in the Midwest.
Bythe time Balistrieri succeeded his father-in-law, John Alioto, as thenew boss of the Milwaukee LCN family in 1961, he had a sizable loanshark book, vast control over illegal sports betting and a tight holdon the vending machine market. Conducting his business from a table atSnug’s restaurant in the Shorecrest Hotel, Frankie Bal was the man whoput the Milwaukee Mafia on the map.
In1967, Frank Balistrieri was convicted of tax evasion and sentenced totwo years at a federal penitentiary in Minnesota. In 1978, the FBIinfiltrated the Milwaukee Mafia by planting an undercover agent as theowner of a vending machine company. After a long investigation,Balistrieri and his two sons, Joe and John, went to federal prison in1984, convicted for their involvement in an illegal vending machineracket.
Thefollowing year, Frank was convicted again, this time in Kansas Citywith eight other associates for skimming hundreds of thousands ofdollars from the counting rooms of three Las Vegas casinos theysecretly owned.
Itis believed that Balistrieri’s 10-year prison sentence, which ranconcurrently with his 13-year sentence from 1984, thwarted hisappointment to the ruling Mafia Commission in New York. After serving 7years, he was released from prison in 1991. On Feb. 7, 1993, FrankBalistrieri died of a heart attack at the age of 74.
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