← The Underworld Podcast
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- [00:00]
Kristen Bell
Hi, I'm Kristen Bell, and if you know my husband Dax, then you also know he loves shopping for a car. Selling a car, not so much.
- [00:07]
Anjay Nagpal
We're really doing this, huh?
- [00:09]
Kristen Bell
Thankfully, Carvana makes it easy. Answer a few questions, put in your VIN or license and done. We sold ours in minutes this morning and they'll come pick it up and pay us this afternoon.
- [00:19]
Anjay Nagpal
Goodbye, Truckee.
- [00:21]
Kristen Bell
Of course, we kept the favorite.
- [00:24]
Kurt Calabrese
Hello, other Truckee.
- [00:26]
Kristen Bell
Sell your car with Carvana today. Terms and conditions apply.
- [00:34]
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- [00:57]
Danny Gold
Learn more@WhatsApp.com Monday, April 25, 2005 in Chicago, the day the indictments come down. 18 murders, loan sharking, extortion, all sorts of violence, racketeering, your typical mob RICO. But the 14 defendants are no ordinary group gangsters. They're the upper echelon of one of the, if not the most powerful criminal organization in American history. The Chicago outfit has ruled Chicago with an iron fist for generations. At this point, you know, Al Capone, St. Valentine's Day massacre, Tony Accardo. Judges, cops, politicians, top level businessmen, community leaders. They've got them all tied in or running scared. The entire city wrapped around their fingers. In fact, prior to these indictments, there's been an estimated 3200 mob hits in Chicago. Over 100 years and only 12 convictions. They are vicious and they're untouchable. Or are they? Frank Calabrese Sr. Is facing 13 of those murder charges. He's been with the Outfit for decades, having become a made man in 1983 along with his brother Nick. In that time, he's become their go to hitman, known for strangling people to death with his bare hands. And he's the guy the heads of the most brutal organized crime outfit in America call when they need someone taken care of. Even if it's one of their own, which it usually is. And Frank Sr. Does it. Even if it's one of his close friends. You don't say no to the Outfit, and you also don't say no to Frank. That's a lesson two of his sons, Frank Jr. And Kurt, can tell you. Frank's been training them for the mob enforcer life since they were barely Teenagers, and let's just say it hasn't been pleasant. He does it through fear, intimidation, and horrific abuse, both physical and psychological. It gets so bad. Kirk goes to the hospital with an ulcer when he's only 15. And as they get older, their father only gets more vicious. Kurt's careful, but Frank Jr. Spins out, gets hooked on drugs, and starts stealing money from Frank Sr. Hundreds of thousands of dollars. Not something that Frank Sr. Is gonna take lightly. Before that gets resolved, though, the Entire family, Frank Sr. His brother Nick and his two sons, Frank Jr. And Kurt, go down on an unrelated extortion bust. They get sent to prison in 1997, and up until then, the Feds think Frank Sr. And his brother are just dollar store loan sharks, regular mobsters, nothing special. But Frank Jr. Fearing his dad might kill him and not wanting to own up to the stolen money, decides he's going to let them know a little bit more. Quite a bit more. He writes a letter to the Feds from prison telling them his father is a psychopathic killer that can't be released soon enough. Frank Jr. Is still in prison, but he's wearing a wire, talking to his father and getting him to incriminate himself and a whole lot of others on murder charge after murder charge. Now, a few years later, with the indictment dropping, the word is out. All the big outfit higher ups are about to face a massive trial with ample evidence. And caught in the middle of this is Kurt. His father, who brutally abused him for years, is about to face numerous murder charges. His brother is about to become the most infamous rat in Chicago's history. And Kurt, who grew up with the code of the street and the life instilled in him from a young age, meaning you don't ever talk to the feds, is caught right in the middle of his family and right in the middle of the biggest organized crime trial in Chicago's history. This is Kurt's story. And this is a special episode of the Underworld Podcast. Hey, how you guys doing? Welcome back to the Underworld Podcast, your home for everything. Gang, mafia, cartel, and everything else related to the world of international organized crime. A show hosted by two journalists, myself, Danny Gold, and my colleague, Sean Williams, globe trotting adventurer and former Berlin party boy who isn't here right now, who knows where he is. Probably embedded with some rebels in Borneo or something. I don't even know. Every week we bring you the fascinating tales of drugs and violence and guys who just can't figure out how to pay their taxes. And this week is something a little different. Something special. But first, as always, bonus episodes are available on patreon.com general podcast or on Spotify or on itunes. Sign up. You can also just give us monetary support there or elsewhere. If you don't want to listen underworldpod.com for shirts and other merch. The underworldpodcastmail.com for any emails. Now this episode. So in 2023, I spent most of the year, I mean I was, I was asked to hired to put together a limited series documentary style podcast about the life of Kurt Calabrese and the family secrets trial. You know, Frank, all his hits, the outfit, everything you heard in the cold open. Kurt had never really told his story before, unlike his brother who's kind of talked to everyone and there are some differences there and Kurt wanted to tell his side. So I produced this, this documentary series know talked to the, found the feds, the lawyers, people from the neighborhood, Kurt's family, journalists and all others and put this together. Spent a lot of time with Kurt, talking to Kurt and everything. And he's lived a crazy life. You know, he's done hard time. He's truly suffered the way he grew up. And this story really gets to the heart of what being a member of an organized crime family and family growing up on the inside of one is actually like. And it is not pretty. It is brutal. There's no glamour and glitz here. You know, even now, you know, I would spend time with Kurt. He never sits with his back to the door. He's always watching, he's always wary. He's careful with what he says. He's as careful as anyone I've ever met. And his story is just completely, completely nuts. So you guys are going to want to hear it. You know, I wasn't able to be there for the, for the post production and putting everything together, but the interviews were amazing. It's super well produced. It's an insane story. I've heard the first few episodes, they're amazing. And we're going to give you guys the first one right here. This is killing Kurt. If you search for season three of the Underbelly podcast or just search for the Underbelly podcast, you can find it on any platform. So without further ado, whatever it is, have a listen.
- [08:03]
Kurt Calabrese
It was a very hard thing to decide to do last time. I'm going to see my father maybe ever, maybe alive. I got things I want to get off my chest and I don't want to do it this way, but I don't know if I'm going to ever have another way to do it. They put him under a measure. It was called the SAMS measure. It was like you were a terrorist. They locked him down. They took his rights away as a prisoner and listed him as a terrorist.
- [08:31]
Anjay Nagpal
This is Kurt Calabrese. It's 2009, and one of the biggest trials in Chicago history was coming to an end.
- [08:40]
Kurt Calabrese
Walking to the courtroom was a big deal because all press was out in the hallway, and now they saw me, and they were like, you know, what's he doing here? Why is he here? And they would all swarm me to try to talk to me. It was a. It was a fiasco, Kind of a circus. The room was always full. I was in a row with victims, families that I didn't know that they were until I got there, which made me uncomfortable because it's like, well, they may be looking at me the same way they're looking at my dad. They may hate me because of what he did to their families.
- [09:14]
Anjay Nagpal
Kurt's father, Frank, is being sentenced. Kurt wasn't part of the trial, but he's insisting on reading a victim statement.
- [09:22]
Kurt Calabrese
I had my paper in my hand, and I was getting nervous, and the FBI was sitting at the table over there, and they kept looking at me. And then my dad came out shackled. He walked out, had these old glasses on with tape in the middle. All an act to make himself look like an aging old man who is dying. That was his plan, and I bought it. At that point, I hated him. I really hated him. But no matter how I feel about him, it's my dad, you know? When I saw him like that, I had tears in my eyes. And the government saw it. I had tears in my eyes. I was like, I can't do this. I can't look at him. But he spotted me. He became himself.
- [10:12]
Anjay Nagpal
When Kurt says he became himself, he means that. For a split second, his dad dropped the weak old man act, and he gave Kurt the menacing glare that. That revealed the monster inside was still there. And it reinforced to Kurt that he was doing the right thing.
- [10:31]
Kurt Calabrese
Wanted people to hear that this is what my life was about. This is what he did, this man did to me. We know he's a murderer. We know he's not a good person. But now we want to hear what kind of father he was. And so I started talking. I was reading off the paper, and then I turned around and looked at my dad. He just, like a light switch started cut me off, started yelling, you better apologize for the lies you tell. You have been treated like A king. Of all the things I've done for you and your brothers. The judges got the smirk on his face, like, ha, here we go. This is what we were waiting for, for the courtroom to see him do that, the jury to see him do that. You certainly see those kind of moments maybe in TV or in a movie, but, I mean, you don't usually see those in sort of the state courtrooms of federal court. But this was tr. Truly one of the more dramatic moments, you know, I've seen in covering courts there for decades.
- [11:32]
Damon Charonis
Sitting there watching it and thinking how strange and surreal it is to be living through something like this.
- [11:40]
Joe 'The Shark' Lopez
They wrote about sounds legendary, whatever that means. That's the words they use, not me.
- [11:46]
Anjay Nagpal
For decades, Kurt's father, Frank the Breeze Calabrese, led one of the most notorious murder squads for the Chicago outfit, the Windy City's infamous Mafia. He had been tried for over a dozen murders, and those are just the ones they could find proof of. It was called the Family Secrets trial, and it put away not only Frank Calabrese Sr. But many other top outfit bosses, effectively putting an end to the reign of terror of one of the most ruthless criminal organizations in America. And it all started with the implosion of the Calabrese family. Versions of this story have been told in books and on the news, but Kurt says there's a lot that people still don't know. He's been approached by authors, movie producers, and documentary filmmakers to tell his story, but he's kept it all inside. And like a cancer, it's been eating away at him.
- [12:49]
Kurt Calabrese
The only thing I look forward to every day, besides my kids, is being able to tell my story and hopefully hoping what comes out of it is it helps me, can help other people. This story needs to be told, and people need to know what really happened. I'm just setting the record straight with the truth.
- [13:19]
Anjay Nagpal
I'm your host, Anjay Nagpal, and this is season three of Underbelly. Killing Kurt.
- [13:27]
Joe 'The Shark' Lopez
He could have attempted to strangle me at any time he wanted to kill me.
- [13:32]
Kurt Calabrese
One of my father's favorite sayings were, I'm gonna kick you so hard, you're gonna walk funny. Would cry myself to sleep at night. I begged to die. I begged him not to wake up.
- [13:43]
Ray Morelli
He shot my dad in the head.
- [13:44]
Kurt Calabrese
With a shotgun nine times. Murdered by the mob, beaten for information, later found dead in the trunk of a burning car.
- [14:06]
Joe 'The Shark' Lopez
When you would first meet him, he was just a nice person. The way he was dressed, he looked like a Wisconsin Cheese salesman. I mean, he was a very personable, likable person, to be honest with you. My name is Joseph R. Lopez. They call me Joe the Shark. I'm an attorney in Chicago. I do criminal defense for the last 39 years.
- [14:27]
Anjay Nagpal
Joe the Shark Lopez is a legendary Chicago defense attorney who represented Frank Calabrese Sr. During the Family Secrets trial.
- [14:36]
Joe 'The Shark' Lopez
I can tell you I tried to wiggle out of it and I can still remember discussing the case and telling me that we need you in there because you're the only lawyer in Chicago can handle this guy. Because this guy's a maniac. He was not educated, but he was street smart, very cunning, very organized.
- [14:59]
Anjay Nagpal
Frank was nearly 70 when. When Joe met him and he'd been a criminal for most of those years.
- [15:05]
Joe 'The Shark' Lopez
He had that other side of him just described as vicious. His lips would tremble and I could see it in his eyes. We're stuck in this little room, five by five together. He could have attempted to strangle me at any time.
- [15:19]
Anjay Nagpal
Frank, his parents and his six younger siblings grew up in Chicago near poverty. Sometimes they'd eat nothing but polenta for dinner. A bad case of scarlet fever sent him to the children's hospital at five years old. He did poorly in school and dropped out in just the fourth grade. Later discovering he had dyslexia in his teens, he became uncontrollable and was sent to a military institute. But he rebelled and he went AWOL just five days after finishing boot camp. When he fled, he hid in his grandparents Pigeon Cooper. But he was caught. Then he went AWOL again and this time he stole a car, which led to his first arrest in prison stint in 1954.
- [16:04]
Damon Charonis
Frank Calabrese started out as a loan shark putting money out on the street. Then he rose through the ranks and became maybe one of the most prolific killers in the Chinatown crew. He would beat people, strangle them and then slit their throats. That was sort of his calling card.
- [16:20]
Anjay Nagpal
This is Damon Charonis, another prominent Chicago defense attorney. Damon represented one of Frank's co defendants in this case.
- [16:28]
Damon Charonis
They were one of the most notorious, you know, hit squads in the Chicago outfit. You know, they were known as a rough bunch. You know, they also had big loan sharking crews, they had chop shops on the south side, things like that. But they, they were described as having sort of a specialty in committing mob related murders. For instance, the murder of the Dawbers. And they drove up next to him, they opened a van and shotgun them to death. Frank Sr. Was talking about Billy Dawper's. Wife being present at the murder and said, you know, it's a shame she was there, but what we were going to do.
- [17:10]
Anjay Nagpal
Damon is describing a 1980 incident in which Chicago mob associate Billy Dawber was suspected by outfit leaders of being an informant. Frank got orders to execute Dauber. His wife was collateral damage. And that's the way it was over the years. The murders piled up and the vast majority of them remained unsolved. That's one of the reasons the Family Secrets trial was such a big deal. Here's Damon here again.
- [17:38]
Damon Charonis
I wasn't just a lawyer who sort of was on the Family Secrets trial who knew nothing about this. I mean, all of these names, with the exception of a few of them, including my own client, were people that I've heard of. You know, I've had friends who were family members of some of these people, Especially in the Elmwood park area where a lot of these guys lived. And it was a big Italian, American sort of enclave.
- [17:57]
Anjay Nagpal
Frank Calabrese senior was one of the many who settled his family in Elmwood park, joining a who's who of the outfit.
- [18:06]
Ray Morelli
Elmwood park was known from Sam Giancano's grandkids lived there. Jackie Delacky, Jackie Lackey Sorone lived there.
- [18:14]
Anjay Nagpal
This is Ray Morelli and Frank Amanti. They grew up with Kurt and his brother Junior in Elmwood Park.
- [18:21]
Ray Morelli
Tony Arcardo lived across the street in River Forest. You know, Joey Andriaki, John DeFronza. They all moved, moved out to Elmwood Park. That seemed a nice place for them to go outside the city. But they were all nice guys, too. I mean, we. We grew up with all those guys. They were like uncles to us. I mean, and.
- [18:39]
Frank Amanti
And I think that was a lot. Why Our neighbor was always safe, I gotta tell you. There was never robberies. There was never headaches. There was never burglaries. So it was just like Elmo park was like off limits to everything, which was a good thing, you know, for the neighbor. That's why everybody wanted to live there.
- [18:54]
Ray Morelli
These guys were super nice, too. I mean, during the holidays they'd give you their own homemade wine or super sod. They would pass it out to the neighbor. It's like an old time movie. And I would go there once a year for Christmas Eve. And Mr. Calabrese would have us come up on that bonus room or whatever. Right above the garage, it was a fireplace. Mr. Calabrese would give us a cappuccinos, three of them, and three snifters with brandy. And we're all only like, you know, in eighth grade, we're like, I don't drink.
- [19:22]
Kurt Calabrese
I don't.
- [19:23]
Ray Morelli
I don't even know what the hell's in this thing. But when you met him, I tell you what, I. I really enjoyed him. He just was like, I don't know if you guys know who Fred McMurray is from My Three Sons or that's the kind of guy he came across as when you met him. He was just generally a really nice guy, you know, asking about our families and how you guys doing.
- [19:44]
Anjay Nagpal
Hindsight is 20 20, and today it's easy to see that Frank Calabrese Sr. Had two distinct sides to him. But for Ray and Frank, it took them getting a little older to realize what Frank Sr. Really did for a living.
- [20:02]
Frank Amanti
Like, well, everywhere, Elmo Car, Chicago, whatever, there's bookmakers, okay? The bookmakers don't get paid. They would get a guy like Mr. Calabrese to get the money. That's what I used to always think of. I just thought that he helped out like that to collect the money and. And it wasn't a big deal because everybody was a bookmaker.
- [20:19]
Anjay Nagpal
So the conventional wisdom in the neighborhood was that Frank collected gambling bets, a relatively pedestrian job by Outfit standards. But Kurt would start to learn that there was something more going on.
- [20:34]
Kurt Calabrese
Well, the front doorbell rang. I went, could see the policeman standing at our door. And so I went down and I opened up the door and he's like, is your father home? And I said, and I always said, no. I said, no, he's not home. And he said, well, just do me a favor. When he comes home, let him know. And he points right to the car and he goes, that there's an FBI car sitting right there. And they've been here for like four or five days. Just let your father know he did it blatantly. He wanted them to see him do it, I guess, because they. They could see it was right there.
- [21:06]
Anjay Nagpal
The Elmwood park police had tipped off Frank that the FBI was tailing him. That's how tight knit the neighborhood was. And that's the kind of respect Frank commanded. And he demanded even more respect from his kids.
- [21:21]
Ray Morelli
Kirk could be sitting on the picnic bench in front of the Civic center in the circle. His brother Frank would walk up to the circle, and he was only a year older than us, but he would give Kurt to like, come here, we gotta go. And then Kurt would have this face on him. He'd be like, just turn white. And it was. Cause his dad was home, and he wanted him at the house. And that happened numerous times growing up with Kurt, that he had to leave just unexpectedly because the brother or even the father would drive by, just stare at him, and then that was it. But that's what I started noticing. Kurt, he couldn't do the things that we were all doing. I really didn't have any clue what Kurt's dad. I mean, I knew he was involved and he was, you know, collecting money and this and that, but I didn't know the. I didn't know all the details. I mean, you know, deep down inside, I know Kurt Wisher could have been different, you know, for him, his brother, and his dad. So it's a shame.
- [22:18]
Anjay Nagpal
Like every other teenager, Kurt just wanted to hang out with his friends. But his life was different during Kurt's formative years. Frank was gaining power within the outfit and was leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. More and more, his rage would come with him when he walked through the front door of his home.
- [22:40]
Kurt Calabrese
When he came home, it was like. Like he had to be like Hitler. Everybody would panic. You know, you panicked because you knew he was the boss and you knew he cracked you around a few times and he'd kick you or he'd grab you by the hair and throw you down and then kick you.
- [22:54]
Anjay Nagpal
We expected it more after a quick break.
- [23:03]
Kristen Bell
When the Moore family ditched cable Internet and switched to Ziddly fiber, they got so much more. Mr. Moore got more upload speed for next level gaming and live streaming to the masses. With reliable service, Mrs. Moore is no longer her family's IT guru, leaving her more time to stream games into overtime.
- [23:18]
Kurt Calabrese
Let's go.
- [23:19]
Kristen Bell
And young Mason Moore got more done quickly uploading HD product demos and video conferencing. Without freesight, the numbers look good.
- [23:26]
Kurt Calabrese
Brad, you're on mute.
- [23:27]
Kristen Bell
Switch from cable Internet to Zibli fiber and get more of what you love for $65 less per month than cable@zibly.fiverr.com.
- [23:33]
Kurt Calabrese
For a limited time at McDonald's, get a Big Mac Extra Value meal for $8. That means two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun and medium fries. And a drink. We may need to change that jingle.
- [23:47]
Anjay Nagpal
Prices and participation may vary.
- [23:49]
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- [24:23]
Kurt Calabrese
We. We were raised and I say we. When I say we, I refer to my brother and I because we were sick. My older brother and I are 16 months apart. We were really, really close in age and we were really, really close. You know, were kids.
- [24:37]
Anjay Nagpal
Kurt and his family lived in what is known in Chicago as a 3 flat on one floor. It was Kurt, his siblings, and his parents. The other two floors housed their grandparents and other family members.
- [24:50]
Kurt Calabrese
And we lived in this room above a garage. It was a beautiful room and it was real big. It was like a huge family room. Back before family rooms and great rooms were, you know, big, yet we had this huge room and it was, is beautiful. But the garage door. There was a heated garage downstairs, two car garage. But you could feel the garage door opening. You could feel the floor vibrate when that garage door opened. And he was the one who parked in the garage. So whenever that door opened, we'd feel it. Everybody would panic. No matter what you did or what you didn't do, you know, you panicked. If you run around, where do I go? Where do I sit? What should I do? What should I today, oh, did I forget to do something? When that garage door went up, everybody started panicking. And he was a just a nut about chores and would, would check him as soon as he walked in the door. And it was a trick because you didn't do it right. He'd say, you know, he'd go, oh, come here, come down here. You know, and you just, you froze because you didn't know what it was. He'd walk down the stairs and he'd say, come here. Did you, did you vacuum the stairs? Yeah, dad. No you didn't. This was on the floor. I put this purpose on the floor. This was still on the floor. You didn't vacuum stairs. You would have vacuumed it.
- [26:12]
Anjay Nagpal
As an outfit loan shark and hitman, Frank used intimidation, fear and violence to keep us crew and his victims in line. Sadly, he used the same tactics as a father. So Kurt and his brother Junior needed to stay on their toes, ready to run or duck at a moment's notice.
- [26:35]
Kurt Calabrese
One of my father's favorite sayings were, were, I'm gonna kick you so hard you're gonna walk funny. And he kicked me one time and I, I actually walked funny for probably at least a Couple days. I remember kids at school saying, you're walking funny. I remember walking to school and it hurting to walk.
- [26:59]
Anjay Nagpal
The punishing physical abuse was only part of the hell that Frank put his sons through. Because even when he wasn't around, the threat of his wrath haunted Kurt.
- [27:11]
Kurt Calabrese
I remember sitting, watching TV with my mother and getting a really bad pain in my stomach. And I had to take me to the hospital and went in the hospital, and I was there for a while, I think a week.
- [27:28]
Anjay Nagpal
All the stress led Kurt to being diagnosed with an ulcer at the age of 15.
- [27:33]
Kurt Calabrese
What I remember most, two things about that are coming home and my father telling me that he knew why I had the ulcer, that I do things wrong and afraid he's gonna find out. My mom knew. You know, you could see the sadness in her face. I mean, she did everything she could to protect us. There was nothing she couldn't do. I mean, he'd hit her, he'd throw stuff, something at her. He. You know, it was. It was no different for my mom.
- [28:05]
Anjay Nagpal
After years of abuse, Kurt's mom divorced Frank. This was an extreme move, given her strong traditional Catholic roots. Frank then moved in with Diane, his longtime mistress.
- [28:17]
Kurt Calabrese
When my mother and father got divorced, the FBI came to the house and rang the doorbell and wanted to talk to my mother. And my mother shut the door on him and wouldn't talk to him. And I like to believe that I got that in me from my mother, that I don't want to talk about anybody else or tell on anybody, because my loyalty came from my mother. It come from my father.
- [28:48]
Anjay Nagpal
Loyalty. It's what this story is all about. But the various members of the Calabrese family had different ideas about what loyalty was. To Frank, it meant being loyal to him. But to Kurt, it meant looking out for everyone. Even his older brother, Frank Jr. We.
- [29:08]
Kurt Calabrese
Were in the garage, and he started hitting Junior, and Junior went down on the ground. And I actually jumped on top of him to try to protect him from my dad hitting him. I. It wasn't something I thought out. It wasn't something that I ever did before. It was just a reaction to him doing that.
- [29:29]
Anjay Nagpal
Sticking together helped Kurt and his family weather Frank's abuse. But Frank knew this, so he often tried to drive a wedge between Kurt and his brother Junior.
- [29:40]
Kurt Calabrese
Just the way he talked to each one of us when we were both standing there, my father would say, oh, yeah, you know, your brother is so much better than you. Why are you wasting your time? You're no good. You're Lazy. You're not in shape. You don't take care of yourself. You're useless. You're a piece of shit.
- [29:59]
Anjay Nagpal
Kurt describes life with his father as a living hell.
- [30:04]
Kurt Calabrese
I would cry myself to sleep at night, hoping, praying to God. I begged to die. I begged to not wake up. And when I couldn't get that, when I. When I asked for it and I couldn't get it. Made me feel like there wasn't a God.
- [30:19]
Anjay Nagpal
We'll be back with more after a short break. Tron Ares has arrived.
- [30:27]
Kurt Calabrese
I would like you to meet Ares, the ultimate AI soldier. He is biblically strong and supremely intelligent. You think you're in control of this? You're not. On October 10th, what are you?
- [30:41]
Anjay Nagpal
My world is coming to destroy yours.
- [30:44]
Kurt Calabrese
But I can help you.
- [30:45]
Anjay Nagpal
The war for our world begins in IMAX. Tron Ares.
- [30:50]
Damon Charonis
Rated PG13. May be inappropriate for children under 13.
- [30:52]
Anjay Nagpal
Only in theaters October 10th. Get tickets now.
- [30:56]
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- [31:26]
Anjay Nagpal
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- [31:56]
Kurt Calabrese
The victims were found in the trunk of a car on the southwest side. Beat and slashed after they allegedly killed three other underworld figures in Elmwood Park.
- [32:04]
Ray Morelli
He shot my dad in the head.
- [32:05]
Kurt Calabrese
With a shotgun nine times. Murdered by the mob. Beaten for information. Later found dead in the trunk of a burning car. He was disposed of. He went into one of the acid tanks, took him into the basement and essentially beat them to death there. They tied her to a chair. They doused her in kerosene. They stabbed her a few dozen times and then lit her on fire while she was still alive.
- [32:29]
Anjay Nagpal
The sheer violence of the Chicago outfit dominated the nightly News in the 1980s. It spoke not only to their brutality, but also their power.
- [32:40]
Marcus Funk
During the 1980s, their Chicago outfit really had tremendous power. Some would argue that the Chicago outfit had more power, more control. Than any other organized crime group certainly in U. S. History and maybe in world history.
- [32:54]
Anjay Nagpal
This is Marcus Funk. He's one of the federal prosecutors in the Family Secrets case.
- [33:00]
Marcus Funk
The Chicago mob had and has influence in corridors of power that you just don't normally see. They historically have been able to corrupt judges, prosecutors, law enforcement agents. Obviously the civilian population.
- [33:16]
Anjay Nagpal
Unlike defense attorneys Joe the Shark Lopez and Damon Sharonis, who we heard from earlier. Funk didn't grow up in and around Chicago. He wasn't well versed in the ways of the outfit. But he quickly got up to speed.
- [33:29]
Marcus Funk
In Chicago we call it the Outfit. We don't call it the mafia. And in New York you have five families that have a tremendous amount of control within New York. But they're structured entirely differently. And frankly, in effect, more ineffectively. And I mean that in the following way. If you are a member of a one of the five families. If you're the son of the mob boss of one of the five families, you automatically sort of wear the crown. Some of the weaknesses of that structure are also. You don't always get the best and brightest. If all you do is promote the people who happen to be your children.
- [34:02]
Anjay Nagpal
In Chicago, Outfit members generally did not bring their sons into the life. But Frank Calabrese Sr. Did. And that may have been the worst decision he made in a life full of terrible decisions.
- [34:16]
Kurt Calabrese
Wasn't 16 yet. We had to go some like late, late night, early morning. Because we had to go in the stores when there was nobody in the stores. Me and my brother never went alone. He was always with my uncle.
- [34:30]
Anjay Nagpal
Not yet 16, Kurt's dad asks him and his older brother Junior to collect street tax from a local shop owner. Street tax is a form of extortion. Where the Outfit would take a share of revenue from any business operating in their territory.
- [34:47]
Kurt Calabrese
I just remember how disgusting it was. You go in and watch the movie, crash porn and jerk off and all over the machine and all over the floor and all over everything else. And you'd walk out, floor was all full of shit and quarters are off full of. It was tons of quarters. It was hundreds of dollars a quarter or thousands of dollars of quarters. Pretty dirty.
- [35:08]
Anjay Nagpal
Kurt's first assignment was a string of seedy adult video stores. He would walk in past private booths that played X rated films for customers doing God knows what for the price of a quarter a minute.
- [35:21]
Kurt Calabrese
We dip rock to a garage and would wheel with the cords on there. But problem was, the coins were all wet. Guys peeing in there, jerking off in there. We had to do with gloves on and, you know, I mean, it was just a disgusting thing to do. We hated it and, you know, but knew that we really didn't have much of an option.
- [35:46]
Anjay Nagpal
Welcome to the Outfit, kid. Kurt was learning that the life wasn't as glamorous as movies made it out to be, and that the Outfit only cared about one thing. Money. And whether it was juice, loans, gambling, or extortion, someone had to collect that money, count it, and keep track of it. With Frank sr. Now in Mr. Miyagi mode, he had another lesson ready for Kurt.
- [36:13]
Kurt Calabrese
A friend of mine. We were at a party and a fight broke out. My friend got hit with a crowbar in the mouth. Split his lip open. I had a run in with this guy's brother, and I planned on going to his house and wanted to hurt him.
- [36:31]
Anjay Nagpal
With his friend badly beaten, Kurt wants revenge. And after a run in with the assailant's brother, he starts to hatch a plan.
- [36:40]
Kurt Calabrese
As I was at home getting some stuff together, my father came home and caught me. Like, I had a black on and I had a ski mask on my head. And he said to me, what are you doing? And I got upset. And I told him, I said, dad, as a kid, I want to kill him. I'm going to his house, and I'm waiting for him to come out, and he's like. He wanted me to show him where he lived. My father came with me to the kid's house, and we were sitting on the street, and he's telling me, how are you going to do this? And I said, I don't know. He said, you're just gonna. You were just gonna come here, and what were you gonna do? Think you're gonna catch the guy and surprise him? And I was like, dad, honestly, I. I really didn't. I'm thinking about. He goes, well, here, let me just show you something. He was pointing out things by the house where. See, if you were going to do that, if you were to try to hide there, you'd have to worry about somebody seeing you from over there. You know, the. You. You'd want to try to get this light. The street light out, because it's coming right down in the corner where, you know, he's got no bushes, so how are you going to approach him? And he showed me if you were going to do something that this is how you would do it. Even if I was just mad and I wanted to go do something stupid, now I wouldn't, because now I know what I can't do now I know what I shouldn't do. Probably for the only time in my life, I actually felt. Felt. We felt like there was something there that my father understood. You know, he was. I don't know what the word is. Normal.
- [38:13]
Anjay Nagpal
It says a lot about Frank as a father that when his son was seeking violent retribution, he treated it like teaching Kurt how to ride a bike. Gone was the belittling abuser, and in came the tactful and patient teacher. Although Frank's temperament was impulsive at home professionally, he committed violence with a cool and calculated demeanor. The lessons would keep on coming, and they would grow darker.
- [38:40]
Kurt Calabrese
He showed me how to stab someone, the way to grab them and bring them to you. And the look on his face was like he was actually stabbing somebody and killing them. Like, he was like, stab it in there, and you just bring it up. Pull him to you, and then in the stomach, and then go up.
- [38:59]
Anjay Nagpal
Whether he likes it or not, Kurt's life in the outfit is just beginning, and he has no idea where it will take him. What ultimately happens not only to Kurt, but his entire family. In the end, it was so much worse than he could have ever imagined.
- [39:16]
Kurt Calabrese
And his father turned him around and put a revolver in his cheek and said, I would rather have you dead than disobey me. He knew out of all his three.
- [39:26]
Danny Gold
Sons that Kurt was the one that he could target.
- [39:30]
Kurt Calabrese
There was times when I wanted to kill my father. There were times when I thought I had every right in the world to kill him. You'd hear him laugh about some of these brutal murders. Just, you know, it's just a matter of just, you know, entertainment for him. What do you do when a mass murderer is coming home for Christmas dinner? That's Junior. That's the troublemaker. The trust caused all the problems, and he packed up and left everybody to deal with his mess. God knows how many, you know, different.
- [39:58]
Anjay Nagpal
Lies that Frank Jr. Talked about to make Frank Jr. Look good.
- [40:02]
Kurt Calabrese
But I still have to look over my shoulder every day, and I still have to worry about my family because there are people out there that are still pissed off at what Junior did.
- [40:13]
Anjay Nagpal
That's on the seat. Season of Underbelly Killing Kurt.
- [40:20]
Danny Gold
So, yeah, that was the first episode of a documentary series I produced called Killing Kurt. If. I mean, I imagine you guys want to hear more. That's a pretty crazy intro, and it just gets crazier from there. Give it a listen. Look up the Underbelly podcast. It's season three of that podcast, and, yeah, I think the first two, probably three episodes are available now. Shout out to my man Vincent Shade who really helped me put together and everything and is is a great guy and yeah, thanks for listening as always. And yeah, things are going to get interesting next week because we're starting to do video but more about that in the next episode. Be well.
- [41:06]
Ray Morelli
Sa Sam.
- [42:20]
Kurt Calabrese
Hey, this is Sarah. Look, I'm standing out front of AM PM right now and well, you're sweet.
- [42:25]
Kristen Bell
And all but I found something more.
- [42:27]
Kurt Calabrese
Fulfilling, even kind of cheesy. But I like it. Sure you met some of my dietary needs but they've just got it all. So farewell oatmeal. So long you strange soggy.
- [42:38]
Anjay Nagpal
Break up with bland breakfast and taste AM PM's bacon, egg and cheese biscuit made with cage free eggs, smoked bacon and melty cheese on a buttery biscuit. AM PM Too much good stuff.