Chicago Mob boss' tale offers peek at Chicago's 'Secrets'

John Kass of The Chicago Tribune reports on the sentencing of Chicago Mob Capo Frank Calabrese:

During the Family Secrets trial, the connection between Chicago politics and the Outfit came up often. In one bit of testimony in 2007, Mayor Richard Daley's friend Fred Bruno Barbara, the trucking boss and Rush Street investor, was identified by Nick Calabrese as a willing driver for mob boss Angelo "The Hook" LaPietra on bombing runs.

Daley got so angry when asked about Barbara that he turned purple and shrieked. The governor of Illinois could have called him "cuckoo."

For generations, the Outfit has formed the base of the iron triangle that runs things, and no understanding of politics in Illinois is complete without them.

Sentencing of other bosses continues on Monday. The dancing monkey show in Springfield will be over by then, but if the national media wants to understand Chicago, they should show up in federal court to see how the apes behave.

For more on Mayor Daley's good friend and campaign contributor Fred Bruno Barbara.For more on the relationship between Chicago Democrats and The Chicago Mob.For Mayor Daley's praise of a "high ranking made member" of The Chicago Mob.