Reputed Outfit member charged in federal extortion case
By Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
The indictment alleged Panozzo had loaned a
Panozzo, however, told the victim he still owed him
Later that year, Panozzo and his alleged accomplice --
Panozzo was convicted that fall of 2006 for participating in a sophisticated burglary ring and was sentenced to 7 years in prison. When he was released in 2008, he resumed his demands for payment from Victim 1, leaving harassing and threatening voice mails at his home and instructing Abbott to leave notes at the victim's house demanding a meeting, the charges alleged.
In
Abbott was charged in January with several extortion-related counts related to the scheme and is awaiting trial in
Panozzo and longtime associate
The crew came to investigators' attention in October, when law enforcement uncovered evidence that Panozzo tried to have a witness in a home invasion and kidnapping case murdered to prevent the witness from testifying at trial against crew members,
Also arrested on the county charges were Koroluk;
The sweeping racketeering charges against the four men alleged they participated in a slew of crimes, including home invasions, armed robberies, burglaries, insurance fraud and prostitution. The crew allegedly carried out five or six major "rips" a year, robbing drug stash houses while posing as police officers. Prosecutors said the crew used sophisticated methods, including attaching GPS trackers to dealers' cars to find where they stashed their drugs.
During a home invasion last year, the elder Panozzo allegedly sliced off the ear of a victim after he heard the man speaking English when he'd claimed that he only spoke Spanish, the charges alleged.
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