Chicago Mafia Lieutenant charged with contract rigging

Long time Chicago Outfit member Rudy Fratto is once again under indictment by the Fed’s. Fratto has long been reputed to be a top tier player in the Chicago Mafia. He is said to be the mafia lieutenant of the Chicago Mob’s Elmwood Park street crew. These new charges of contract rigging come just as Fratto was set to begin a prison sentence of 1 year and 1 day for a previous tax evasion charge.

Fed’s say that Fratto was rigging the fork lift contracts for trade shows at McCormick Place , a national convention center that has had long standing mob influence. Fratto found himself with an opportunity to gain inside information on competitor’s bids when a consultant for a  Las Vegas exposition firm was into the Cleveland Mafia for a debt of $350,000. Fratto stepped in and offered to use his Chicago Mafia influence to intervene with the Cleveland Mobsters in exchange for his service Fratto has the consultant leak information which was supposed to be confidential about all competitors bid’s so Fratto’s mob connected company could guarantee there bid was the best and steer business there way.

With the inside information that Fratto was being feed him and an associate William Anthony Degironemo who operated MidStates Equipment Rentals and Sales were able to undercut all other competitors bids and win the forklift contracts for 2 shows the International Machine and Tool Show and National Plastics Exposition in 2006 held at McCormick Place. Degironemo the Fed’s say is set to be arraigned on charges at a later date. The forklift contracts the Fed’s say are worth more then $2 Million dollars.

Chicago’s Crime Commission says that it has maintained a file on Fratto dating back all way to 1968 and he has been a long standing made member of the Chicago Outfit. Fratto has been involved in some high level Outfit business , its noted that he attended a meeting in 1999 along with other high ranking Chicago Outfit members where it was discussed with then Mayor Donald Stephens just what control the Chicago mob would have over contracts at proposed casino’s in the state. The Chicago Mafia has long held influence over union’s and contractors in the city and it has long been entrenched at McCormick Place Fed’s say.

The size and numbers of contracts and trade shows associated with union business at McCormick Place makes it such a target for the Chicago Outfit.