Jewelry Heists

Excerpted from CULLOTTA – The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster, and Government Witness 

Jewelry stores were lucrative targets for thieves. Always on the lookout for good scores, Frank wasn’t shy about hitting a jewelry store now and then. However, they weren’t easy to burglarize and those jobs required special planning. Frank came up with two ideas and used them both.

For the first plan Frank had his partner, a guy named Duke, dress up in a painter’s uniform, complete with paint sprinkles on it. He even used a van with lettering on it to make it look like a painter’s work vehicle. The scheme called for Duke to enter the store and ask to see a piece of jewelry, and then to mace both clerks. At that point Frank would come in and they’d tie up the clerks, put a closed for remodeling sign in the window and do the robbery.

On the day of the caper there were only a couple of minor snags. When Frank walked into the store the mace was still in the air and he and Duke both got it in their faces. It was annoying, but not debilitating. And as Frank was locking the door a guy wanted to come in to get a bracelet. Frank told him the store was closed and sent him on his way. He and Duke cleaned out the vault and got away with a pretty good haul.

The second plot required Frank to do something he never thought he’d do: dress as a Chicago cop. He had the whole uniform, belt, badge and gun, everything issued to real cops. Frank took two other men on the job with him. One of them would assist Frank inside the store after he gained control of the employees; the other manned the work car.

Frank entered the store and asked to see the manager. He told him his car was parked illegally and he had to move it right away or get a ticket. When the manager and the clerks came out from behind the counter to check the parking situation, Frank pulled his gun and ordered them to the floor. He told them not to move and that no one would get hurt if they behaved. The manager finally began to realize that something was fishy, and was slow to comply. He looked at Frank and said, “You’ve gotta be kidding. I don’t even think you’re a real police officer.”

Frank snarled, “It doesn’t make any difference who the fuck I am. You’d better get on the goddamn floor, stay quiet and don’t look up.”

When all the employees were under control, Frank used a walkie-talkie to contact the work car. His assistant came in and they loaded a duffle bag with merchandise. In jewelry store robberies the safe was always emptied first to assure making off with the most valuable stuff — the diamonds. And then, time permitting, lesser items were taken. Watches were a low priority because they could be easily traced.

 After cleaning the place out, the employees were taken into a back room and tied up with duct tape. The phones were pulled out of the wall and the bandits left with a good score. 

Witness Protection

ABC News ran a story about the Witness Protection Program. You can see the piece at:

http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3781361&page=1

Personal Matters

 Frank’s criminal career progressed he had more contact with the police and the justice system. But he was able to get the most serious charges against him dismissed or bargained down to misdemeanors. Although he and Tony had different career goals, they kept in contact.

Excerpted from CULLOTTA – The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster, and Government Witness

Although Frank and Tony had gone separate ways in their careers, with Tony pursuing an association with the Outfit while Frank preferred to remain independent, the two stayed in contact and worked together on occasion.

One of those times was when Tony needed help in settling a personal matter. Tony stopped by Frank’s house. “Frankie, there’s a guy trying to give me a fuckin’ and I want to teach him a lesson. I figure you, me and maybe one other guy ought to scoop this bastard up and give him a beating. What do you say?”

Frank asked, “Who is this guy? What did he do?”

“His name is Robin Dragon. He was supposed to arrange to have some legal work done for me. He told me the lawyers wanted three grand [three thousand dollars], but I found out they were only charging half that much. This prick Dragon was planning to pocket the extra fifteen hundred. We’ll pick him up and take him to your garage and work him over.”

“Sure, I’ll help you out,” Frank said.

Tony contacted Dragon and said he needed to meet with him. Tony, Frank and one of their friends, went to pick the victim up; Frank was driving. Dragon got in the car without realizing what was going on. Tony and his helper went to work on him right away, tying him up and taping his mouth shut. Then they beat on him while Frank drove to his place. Once inside the garage they yanked Dragon out of the car and continued the beating. Tony snarled, “You think you’re going to rob me, you rotten prick? Who do you think you’re fuckin’ with, you cocksucker?” He then hit the prisoner so hard with his .38 that it bent the trigger guard. Dragon went into convulsions, and then soiled his pants.

When the beating was over Dragon got down on his knees and thanked his captors for not killing him. The battered man was taken back to his neighborhood and dumped down a sewer. The following day the newspapers reported that a passerby had heard somebody hollering for help from the sewer. The police came and found Dragon all beat up. He told them he’d been mugged by unknown assailants.

Another incident of addressing a perceived injustice involved Crazy Bob Sprodak, Frank’s first armed robbery partner. Sprodak came to Frank and complained that members of a gang known as the K Knights had roughed him up. He said these were some big, mean guys and he needed help in getting his revenge.

 Tony and Frank told Bob they’d help him. The trio put together some Molotov cocktails, got a couple of rifles and stole a car. With Tony driving they pulled up in front of the K Knights’ hangout, got out of the car, fired a few shots through the window and tossed in the Molotovs. As the cops closed in Tony and Bob got away, but Frank was arrested. He was charged with arson and attempted murder. His lawyer was able to get the arson rap dropped completely and the attempted murder reduced to a misdemeanor. For the third straight time Frank had avoided a felony conviction. He drew another year of incarceration, this time in the county jail. 

The Robber Meets the Cops

Frank and one of his crew robbed a bank messenger in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park. It had been an easy score; too easy as it turned out. In the aftermath, Frank had his first interrogation by the police as an adult. It was an experience he’ll never forget.

Excerpted from CULLOTTA – The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster, and Government Witness 

At the time of the Oak Park incident, the Chicago Police Department’s robbery detail was under the command of Frank Pape. The legendary cop is credited with killing nine alleged criminals in the line of duty, and was responsible for sending 300 more to prison. He survived a 39-year law enforcement career and passed away in March 2000, at the age of 91.

One of Pape’s detectives was Tom Durso, who was also a tough guy. He and an associate named Mike Gargano used to shake down the thieves, demanding a cut of their scores. The word on the street was that if you failed to pay you could end up dead. If you were a crook, these were good men to stay away from. Frank Cullotta had the misfortune of having encounters with all three of them as a result of the Oak Park bank messenger job. It was his first adult interrogation by the Chicago cops, and was not a very pleasant experience.

Things began to unravel for Frank when witnesses passed the license plate number of his friend’s Lincoln to the police. The cops traced the registration to Frank’s partner, who was known to them. Durso and Gargano went on the prowl and picked Frank and his buddy up on the street. They first handcuffed Frank’s pal and gave him a beating. He denied being involved in the Oak Park situation and stuck to his story. Eventually he was released.

Next it was Frank’s turn.  Durso and Gargano put him in their car and then Durso stuck a gun in his face. The cop said, “Where’s the fuckin’ money?” 

Frank acted confused. “What money?”

“Cut the shit. You know goddamn well what I’m talking about. Where is it?”

“I don’t know nothin’ about any money. You must have me mixed up with somebody else.”

“Listen you prick, we could whack you right now and dump you out on the street. Nobody’d know any better; they wouldn’t miss you because you’re just a scumbag crook.”

Frank hung tough. “I tell you I don’t know what the fuck you’re talkin’ about.”

Frank’s denials didn’t set well and a beating ensued. Further demands that he admit to the robbery and divulge the location of the messenger’s money were unsuccessful. Frank was then transported to the station and up to the detective’s office on the eleventh floor. He was handcuffed to the back of a chair. A few minutes later Frank Pape walked in. He said, “How ya doin?”

Assuming the question had been directed at him, Frank answered. “I’m doin’ pretty good.”

Pape had apparently been talking to Durso. He grabbed a phone book from a desk and hit Frank in the head with it. “Who’s talkin’ to you, you no good cocksucker? When I tell you to talk, you talk. Otherwise, shut the fuck up. Understand?”

Frank’s failure to answer resulted in another crack in the head with the phone book. That was followed by a punch in the chest, knocking him and his chair over. Looking up at Pape, Frank said, “I haven’t done anything wrong and don’t even know why I’m here.”

Pape said to Durso, “Get the cattle prods in here. I’m going to make this son of a bitch talk.”

A few minutes later the cattle prods were applied near Frank’s testicles. The same questions were asked over and over: Tell us about the robbery. Who was with you? Where’s the money? Each time, the prisoner answered that he didn’t know what his interrogators were talking about. Every denial was followed by a zap with the cattle prods. Screaming in agony, Frank told the cops what he thought of them, generating additional pain. But through it all he didn’t talk, he didn’t admit to anything.

After a while Pape left the room. On his way out he said to Durso, “Throw this bastard out the window. Say he tried to escape.”

Frank was hung out the window by his ankles, praying he wouldn’t be dropped. There were more questions, but Frank kept his mouth shut. Eventually he was pulled back inside where Frank Pape was waiting. He said, “Was your father Joe Cullotta?”

“Yes,” Frank answered.

“Are you trying to be the man he was? You aren’t going to make it. You’ll never be the man he was.”

A little while later Frank was turned loose. He’d made it through the session, but had definitely gotten the worst of it. He would meet up with Durso and Gargano again, though, and under very different circumstances.