Loius Fazio - Milwaukee Mob Hit or Robbery?

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As published in the following archive of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, most of the local police officials immediately dismissed the idea that the motive for murder may have been a mob hit, and were certain that it was a “simple” robbery-murder.

But, as mentioned in several accounts, Frank Balistrieri, Milwaukee’s mob boss, and Louis Fazio were enemies.

On Feb 2, 1973, Milwaukee Journal reporters Alex Dobish and Thomas Lubenow reported in the Journal that back in 1968 there were rumors that Fazio was going to be offered the post of Mafia don in Milwaukee. That would not have set well with "The Mad Bomber" Balistrieri, who had been in command since 1961. (The Chicago Outfit had the ultimate control of Milwaukee and it was well within their power to depose and appoint a Milwaukee don.)

Joseph Pistone, an undercover FBI agent, and “Lefty Guns” Ruggerio (New York mobster) were guests in Frank Balistrieri’s Milwaukee home for dinner one Saturday evening in 1978. Joe wrote in his book, “Donnie Brasco”, that Frank wanted to go to an ethnic Italian civic dinner event the next evening that Fazio had been a previous chairman of. He had not attended the event for several years. Frank made the statement that evening about Fazio, “He’s dead, Five times thirty-eight.” Of course, thirty-eight referred to 38 caliber. The next evening, Frank and his entourage walked in unannounced, to “have some fun”, disrupting everyone as the staff scrambled to accommodate them and Balistrieri played the “godfather” to the hilt! The event took place in none other than the Grand Ballroom of the Marc Plaza hotel!

Ned Day, a former bagman and bartender for Balistrieri turned investigative reporter in Las Vegas, wrote years later:
“I remember Louie Fazio got blasted. Frankie Bal didn't like him. I remember when Augie Maniaci took two bullets in the skull. Frankie Bal didn't like him, either.”

As I remember, back in those years, Milwaukee County District Attorney Hugh O’Connell and long time Police Chief Harold Breier were persistent in their public statements that there was no evidence of organized crime in Milwaukee or Wisconsin! Did the power from the top command the bottom to “look the other way”? Other federal and state agencies didn't see it the same way.

In an article in the Milwaukee Sentinel on N0v 3, 1975, Milwaukee Dist. Atty. E. Michael McCann was quoted as saying the deaths of Louis Fazio and August Maniaci were "reflective of an interior struggle" within the organized crime element in Milwaukee.

Here’s the original story, thanks to the Journal Sentinel Archives. No reporter was credited by the Sentinel. Links provided:

Louis Fazio Shot Dead in Parking Lot of Home

Sept. 27, 1972 Louis Fazio, a member of a prominent Milwaukee restaurant family who served nearly a dozen years in prison for his part in a 1948 gangland slaying, was found shot to death outside his home Wednesday morning.

Fazio, 58 of 2805 N. Humbolt Ave., was found in a parking area behind his home at about 6:45 a.m. by a neighbor.

County medical examiner’s investigators X-rayed the body first, without removing Fazio’s clothing. By noon they had located two slugs still in the body, one in the head, with what appeared to be an entrance wound at the right rear side of the head and another in the neck, apparently fired as Fazio was falling or lying on his side.. That slug tore through the shoulder of his coat, leading detectives to believe he had a shoulder wound, officials said.

There was a third bullet wound in Fazio’s abdomen, but that slug had not been located by X-ray. An autopsy was to be held.

A copy of The Milwaukee Sentinel was found on the ground beside the body. Two more copies of the paper were found inside the car.

Joseph La Monte, deputy county medical examiner and a friend of the Fazio family since childhood, said it had been Fazio’s practice to bring a newspaper home with him after closing the Iron Horse restaurant, 100 W. Wells St., one of the family enterprises, which he managed. La Monte said said it was a practice of one of the regular late night customers to buy the papers and hand them out just before it’s 2 a.m. closing.

Detective Inspector Leo Woelfel said that as far as police could determine the motive was robbery.

He said Fazio was known to carry two or three wallets and that “he was a guy known to carry a bundle of cash.” After closing the restaurant, said Woelfel, Fazio was probably carrying much of the day’s receipts.

However, when the body was searched at the county medical examiner's office, a total of $448 was found in his pockets, more than $400 of it in a money clip.

The other wallets to which Woelfel referred were not found.

“Apparently, he put up a fight”, said Woelfel, “his knuckles were bruised.”

Woelfel discounted the possibility that Fazio was a victim of a Milwaukee gangland struggle. He said there was no evidence to point to anything but robbery as a motive.

Found in Parking Lot

However, federal authorities and agents of state Atty. Gen. Robert W. Warren’s organized crime strike force were known to be interested in the slaying investigation.

The body was found on a three stall concrete parking area behind the four-family apartment house in which he and his wife, Josephine, lived.

Fazio had parked his car in the middle space, as was his custom. The body was found at the rear of the car.

Fazio’s keys were found behind the left rear wheel of the auto, a 1972 Chevrolet.

Mrs. Fazio said that when she awoke: “I heard voices outside. I pulled up the shade and there they all were.” She was referring to police.

Mrs. Fazio said it was her husband’s practice to arrive home between 2 and 3 a.m. and take their dog out for a walk. She said she looked out a rear window about 2:30 a.m., saw the car and expected Fazio inside at any minute. The Fazios had been married 37 years.

Ray Suminski, Fazio’s nephew and a bartender at the Iron Horse, said that Fazio left the restaurant at 10 p.m. Tuesday.

According to the county medical examiner’s report, neighbors heard arguing about 2:45 a.m. Wednesday and then heard two or three shots.

Although police were officially listing robbery as the motive, detectives and other Safety Building and Courthouse officials were speculating that there might be other motives - possibly revenge.

Fazio had a police record dating back to 1933, when he was arrested on a charge of carrying concealed weapons.

First Prison Term

He received his first prison term - 10 years - in 1942, when he was sent to the State Prison at Waupun for pandering and carnal knowledge and abuse.

At the trial Fazio was accused of being a leader of a white slave ring, in which, among other things, he allegedly bought for $150 another man’s interest in a 15 year old girl whom the other man had placed in a house of prostitution in Sheboygan county.

That sentence was commuted by Gov. Julius Heil and Fazio was released from prison May 18, 1945. Heil’s action brought protest from then Dist. Atty. Herbert J. Steffes, now a Circuit Judge, who had prosecuted Fazio, and from Milwaukee women’s groups.

Slightly more than a year later - June 24th, 1948 - Fazio was returned to the state prison for his part in the slaying of Mike Farina and the attempted murder of Farina’s brother, Joseph, on Hwy 43 in Kenosha county that year.

Also convicted in that killing were John Mandella, his brother Jerome, and Dominic Lampone, all associates of Fazio.

Revenge Considered

Authorities believed the slaying was in revenge for the burglary of John Mandella’s home. Loot from the burglary was taken to Kenosha and it was on the way back that the Farina’s truck was stopped on the highway by a car following them. Inside were the four defendants.

Joseph Farina lived to testify in court and pointed to Fazio as the trigger man.

“The four punched us around,” Farina testified, “and then Fazio made me get in the back of the truck. He sat on a box and I sat on the floor. Lampone was in the driver’s seat. Then Fazio got out and went away, but he came back. I saw sparks coming toward me and felt my head twisting around. I knew I was shot when I felt blood. I was shot twice in the head and three times in the left hand. “Then I heard fighting outside the truck and Mike started in the back end. Mike said ‘Are you hurt Joe? What’s the matter?’  

More Shots

“Then there were more shots behind Mike. He grunted, and fell on me. I saw Fazio at the door of the truck. More shots were fired, so I fell down and played dead.”

Fazio was sentenced to life for the murder and to 30 years to run concurrently, for the assault on Joseph Farina.

Former Waupun Warden John C. Burke said Wednesday that he recalled Fazio as a good prisoner, one whose conduct enabled him to have some of the more privileged jobs in the prison.

While it may have been his good conduct that brought him special treatment in the state prison, it was his political influence that brought him special favors in the State Legislature. It also brought the end of the political career of Mark Catlin, then one of the state’s most powerful politicians.

Catlin, an attorney and speaker of the Assembly, was named in a complaint by Board of State Bar Commissioners with unethical conduct in trying to obtain clemency for state prisoners - among them, Fazio.

Frank Fazio, Louis’ brother and now operator of a Fort Lauderdale restaurant, testified that he paid Catlin  $5,000 in an effort to get Louis released from prison.

The attempt failed, but Catlin lost his bar license for six months - it has long since been reinstated - along with his political influence.

At the time Catlin had been considered as the choice of the state Republican organization to replace Alexander Wiley on the ballot for US senator.

Gets Parole

Fazio was paroled Dec, 2, 1957, after serving about the minimum sentence.

Within two years he was returned to prison for violating his parole. Police found 80,000 ballpoint pens and jewelry taken in a burglary of a downtown Milwaukee jewelry store in his car.

Fazio was returned to prison for a year and was paroled on Oct. 10, 1960.

He went back to work in the family restaurant on N. 5th St. and on Dec. 12, 1966, his prison sentence was commuted by former Gov. Warren P. Knowles.

Because he was serving a life sentence Fazio would have been on parole for the rest of his life and as a parolee Fazio could not have held a City of Milwaukee bartender’s license.

However, the commutation changed that and he was granted a bartender’s license on 1968.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19720927&id=zsYdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qSgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6702,4135604

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