Donald Angelini (September 30, 1926 – December 6, 2000) was a

mobster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

nicknamed "The Wizard of Odds" with the

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, ...

, a criminal organization that specialized in

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

operations.

Career

After years in the Outfit, Angelini became the

caporegime A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to capo or informally referred to as "captain" or "skipper", is a rank used in the Mafia (both the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia) for a '' made member'' of an Italian crime family who he ...

for a crew operating illegal gambling rackets in

Elmhurst, Illinois Elmhurst is a city mostly in DuPage County and overlapping into Cook County in the U.S. state of Illinois, and a western suburb of Chicago. As of 2021, the city has an estimated population of 47,260. History Members of the Potawatomi Native ...

. Angelini operated a highly successful

sports betting Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. The frequency of sports bet upon varies by culture, with the vast majority of bets being placed on association football, American football, basket ...

empire along with Dominic Cortina.''United States v. Cortina'', 733 F. Supp. 1195 (21 March 1990, Eastern Division of the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois) He was the brother-in-law to Chicago Outfit mobster Michael Caracci. In 1986, Angelini became the Outfit's

enforcer Enforcer or enforcers may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Comics * Enforcer (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Enforcers (comics), a Marvel Comics team * New Enforcers, another Marvel Comics team Film and television * ''The Enforcer ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

; his job was to protect the Outfit's illegal

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

profits. Angelini replaced

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

mobster Tony "The Ant" Spilotro in running the skim. Tony Spilotro and his brother, Michael Spilotro, had been killed by the Chicago Outfit. White haired, trim, and very well-spoken with a pleasant smile, Angelini was a total opposite of the brutal Spilotro. Angelini found himself operating with a new crew in Las Vegas at a time when the Outfit's flagship casinos were badly crimped due to federal investigations. However, Angelini himself avoided arrest while there. In the late 1980s, Angelini, Sam "Wings" Carlisi, and John "No Nose" DiFronzo attempted to extend Outfit influence over the gambling operations of the

Rincon Indian Reservation Rincon or Rincón (Spanish for ''corner'') may refer to: * Rincon (meadow) * Rincon (abandoned meander) People * Rincon (surname) * Rincón (footballer, born 1977), born Gilvan Santos Souza, Brazilian football striker * Rincón (footballer, 1 ...

near

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

. Their objective was to skim profits off the casino profits there. In 1989, Angelini was sentenced to 37 months in prison on gambling and

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was en ...

(RICO) charges resulting from the Rincon operation. On October 14, 1994, Angelini was released from prison.

Death

Donald Angelini died on December 6, 2000.

Notes

References

* Roemer, William F., Jr. (1990) ''War of the Godfathers: the Bloody Confrontation Between the Chicago and New York Families for the Control of Las Vegas'' Donald I. Fine, New York,

External links

ISPN Spring 1994 Who Rules Vegas?
By William F. Roemer, Jr.
American Mafia.com 2000:A Look At Mob Hits, Misses, Disappearances, and Deaths In AmericaFederal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator Website
*http://realdealmafia.com/chicagolist.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Angelini, Donald 1926 births 2000 deaths American gangsters of Italian descent Chicago Outfit mobsters