Louis Marino (March 14, 1933 - March 7, 2017) was a crime boss for 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, ...

criminal organization.

Early life

Marino once worked for the Chicago-based Anthony Marano Company, a fruit and vegetable wholesaler.

Chicago Outfit career

Marino was identified in a July 1986

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

article as an enforcer and driver for longtime Chicago mob boss Ernest Rocco Infelise. In September 1986, Marino was identified as being a lieutenant of Chicago Outfit boss Joseph Ferriola, and as being recently elevated to be boss of the Outfit's gambling operation in

McHenry County, Illinois McHenry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 Census, it had a population of 310,229, making it the sixth-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Woodstock. McHenry County is one of the f ...

. Also, in September 1986, Marino sued the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

for allegedly stealing his car while he left home for the Independence Day weekend. Marino had left his

Chrysler Fifth Avenue The Chrysler Fifth Avenue was a trim level/option package or model name used by Chrysler for its larger sedans from 1979 to 1993. The Fifth Avenue name was no longer used after 1993 when Chrysler introduced its new LH-platform New Yorker and simil ...

for the weekend at his brother's house in

Cicero, Illinois Cicero (originally known as Hawthorne) is a suburb of Chicago and an incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 85,268. making it the 11th largest municipality in Illinois. The town of Cic ...

, and the FBI was alleged to have stolen his car and replaced it with a different Fifth Avenue. Marino returned earlier than expected and noticed the switch. The FBI returned the vehicle after Marino reported the theft to police. Marino claimed that, after the car was returned, he noticed holes in it, suggesting that either the FBI had planted and removed listening devices from the car or intended to place listening devices in the car. On February 7, 1990, Marino was

indict An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...

ed in federal court in Chicago on racketeering charges in a sweeping indictment of mobsters. On February 15, 1990, he was ordered held without bond. He was later allowed house arrest and was released on bond to his house in

Palos Park, Illinois Palos Park is a village in southwestern Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 4,899. Geography Palos Park is located at (41.665682, -87.836633). According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Palos Park ...

. Several months later, Marino informed the court that he was working as a clerk at an archery range in

Berwyn, Illinois Berwyn is a suburban city in Cook County, Illinois, coterminous with Berwyn Township, Cook County, Illinois, Berwyn Civil township, Township, which was formed in 1908 after breaking off from Cicero Township, Cook County, Illinois, Cicero Townshi ...

. His defense attorney was former United States District Judge George N. Leighton. On March 10, 1992, Marino was convicted of racketeering, income tax violations, and participating in an illegal gambling business. Nevertheless, he was acquitted of murder-conspiracy in the 1985 killing of bookmaker Hal Smith. During the trial, prosecutors alleged that Marino had hung a gambler over a balcony at the Chicago Board of Trade when the gambler failed to pay a debt. On August 19, 1993, Marino was sentenced by United States District Judge

Ann Claire Williams Ann Claire Williams (born August 16, 1949) is a retired United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern Di ...

to 28 years in federal prison—the maximum sentence allowed. Marino served his sentence in the federal prison in

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. Marino was identified in court during the " Family Secrets" mob trial" in Chicago in 2007 by

turncoat

Nicholas Calabrese Nicholas W. Calabrese (born November 30, 1942) is an American former mob hitman, best known for being the second made man ever to testify against the Chicago Outfit. His testimony and cooperation with federal prosecutors helped result in the 2007 ...

as having been one of several mobsters in the room during the fatal 1986 beatings of Chicago mobsters Anthony Spilotro and Michael Spilotro, whose murders were fictionalized in the 1995 film ''

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 ...

''. Marino has never been charged with the Spilotros' murders; however, the only person ever convicted of participating in the murders is imprisoned Chicago mob boss James Marcello. Marino was released from federal custody on October 31, 2014.

Family

Marino's son, Dino Marino, pleaded guilty in January 2000 to bilking the town of

, out of more than $130,000 as a ghost-payroller in the town's health department. Marino was later sentenced to a year in federal prison and was released on May 29, 2001.

References

1933 births 2017 deaths American gangsters of Italian descent Chicago Outfit mobsters American crime bosses {{American Mafia