Donald E. Stephens

In a sworn affidavit, Peter J. Wacks, who investigated the mob in Chicago for 26 years, said he could find no proof of association between Rosemont and the mob or the mayor and the mob, and even contends Stephens actively pushed out the mob decades ago.

Mayor, attorney tell details of report

Attorney General Lisa Madigan has said the village does appear to have links, and she has so far blocked Isle of Capri from building a casino there.

"You know what, we got rid of organized crime before Lisa Madigan was born," said Stephens.

Wacks and two other former federal officials, Peter F. Vaira and Dan Webb, were not made available for questions about the report. Rosemont Attorney Robert Stephenson said it would be inappropriate for them to talk to the media before they give interviews to the Illinois Gaming Board, which is conducting a suitability investigation of Isle of Capri.

Madigan's office would not address specifics of the report.

"Upon resumption of the revocation hearings, these matters will be resolved in a professional manner," said Melissa Merz, Madigan's spokeswoman.

She was referring to revocation hearings for the license of Emerald Casino, which is seeking to transfer its license to Isle of Capri. Those hearings have been stalled because there is no administrative law judge to hear them, and one cannot currently be appointed because the gaming board only has two of five members, not enough to take official action.

No important contact

Gov. Rod Blagojevich promised in June to name new members within a week, but so far has failed to do so.

Gaming Board spokesman Gene O'Shea also declined to comment on the report.

Among the topics the report mentions is reputed associations between Stephens and alleged mob figures. In each case, Wacks said the contacts were inconsequential or the figures were not actually in the mob.

Among those covered:

• Sam Giancana, deceased, former boss of the Chicago mob. The report states "There is no question that the mayor knew Giancana. The question, however, is 'in what capacity?'æ" Rosemont, the report said, annexed land around Giancana's hotel. Stephens, with Pat Greco, bought the hotel from Giancana in 1963. Robert Stephenson, Rosemont's attorney, said rumors that Giancana continued to hold the mortgage after the purchase were untrue. Giancana gave them an extension to obtain a mortgage, Stephenson said. William Roemer, an FBI agent at the time and organized crime investigator, even acted as a reference for Stephenson and Greco when they applied for a loan from Baird & Warner, he added. "Simply stated, the motel purchase rid Rosemont of Giancana," the report said. It also contends Rosemont's outlawing of coin-operated games cut into the mob's funds.

• John DiFronzo, listed by the FBI as the current head of the Chicago Outfit. "The mayor has spoken to DiFronzo twice, both times in Rosemont restaurants. ... DiFronzo initiated both conversations. ... These two conversations obviously do not establish a connection."

• Anthony Daddino. Although the FBI does not consider him a known member of the mob, the report said, he may have made payments to the mob to conduct illegal activities. After an extortion conviction, Stephens wrote a character reference for Daddino and provided him with a job with the village. "The mayor and Daddino attended Leyden Township High School at the same time in the 1940s. ... The mayor wrote such a letter based upon his prior knowledge of Daddino," the report says.

• Nicholas Boscarino. Although a one-time admitted friend and business partner of the mayor and his son, Mark Stephens, the report said Don Stephens severed all ties when advised by the FBI he had stolen money from Rosemont in an insurance scam. Several FBI reports known as "92 reports" and "66 reports" allege Boscarino "appears to be, at the very least, a close friend of a number of Chicago LCN members and associates." But, points out Wacks, those same reports caution "source information contained herein may or may not necessarily be corroborated or verified."

And Wacks contends he found at least two provably untrue statements in those reports. "Assume, however, that the association claim in the Boscarino '66 report' is true, you still cannot conclude that either the mayor or Mark Stephens knew that Boscarino was associating with known LCN members," the report concludes.

Criticizing Madigan

The report also takes aim at Lisa Madigan and her questions about Rosemont's involvement with Emerald Casino. Madigan alleged Stephens boasted about controlling 5 percent of Emerald stock and that mob-tied firms were used in the construction of Emerald's facilities. Finally, she alleged that Rosemont could not explain how Boscarino's business partner, Ralph Aulenta obtained inside bidding information on Rosemont's insurance contract, which Aulenta testified he was given.

"I have investigated each of these allegations and find that they are totally undercut by existing sworn testimony or by objective documentation," the report said. Stephenson has contended that Aulenta cannot be believed. Nonetheless, a jury, partly on Aulenta's testimony, convicted Boscarino of fraud and tax evasion.

Also, although the report concedes that one allegedly mob-connected firm was found on the job site in Rosemont, it maintains that that company was merely a subcontractor picked by the main contractor, Power Construction. Power Construction was specifically agreed on as the contractor in the lease agreement between Rosemont and Emerald Casino. "Unless otherwise agreed by the village and the developer, the developer shall contract with Power Construction Company or Degen & Rosato," the lease agreement said.

Critics point out that Wacks, Vaira and Webb were all paid for their report by Rosemont. Wacks received $45,000. Vaira, who was the former head of the U.S. Department of Justice's Chicago organized crime strike force, was paid between $20,000 and $25,000. Webb, who was the former U.S. attorney in Chicago, has yet to submit his bill.

Rosemont answers that by contending all three took the job on the condition that if they found connections, they would report them regardless.

Skeptics also question how Rosemont obtained supposedly confidential FBI reports.

Stephenson said all the materials for the report, including the "66 reports," were given to Emerald by the Illinois Gaming Board as part of the revocation hearings. Rosemont, Stephenson said, then obtained those documents, including the "66 reports" through the discovery process in Emerald's bankruptcy, which Rosemont was a party to. He denied that Emerald assisted Rosemont in any way with Thursday's report.