Fred Bruno Roti (December 18, 1920 – September 20, 1999) was an American Democratic politician from

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

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. He was a state senator for six years, and an alderman for 24 years. He was a loyal member of the " Machine" established by Mayor

Richard J. Daley Richard Joseph Daley (May 15, 1902 – December 20, 1976) was an American politician who served as the Mayor of Chicago from 1955 and the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party Central Committee from 1953 until his death. He has been cal ...

, and widely believed to be an associate of the

Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

. In 1993, he was convicted in Federal court of 11 criminal counts, and was sent to prison.

Background

Roti was born in an apartment in Chinatown. Fred's father, Bruno Roti, Sr., known as "Bruno the Bomber", was a henchman of Al Capone, was arrested twice in murder investigations, and was the first capo of what became the 26th Street/Chinatown "crew" of 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, ...

. He owned a grocery store on the 2100 block of S. Wentworth Avenue, less than six blocks away from Capone's headquarters, the

Lexington Hotel Lexington Hotel or Hotel Lexington may refer to: * Lexington Hotel (Chicago), now demolished * Lexington Hotel (New York City) * Lexington Hotels & Inns, a brand operated by Vantage Hospitality {{dab ...

, at 2135 S. Michigan Avenue. Fred Roti's start in city government was modest: he shoveled

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

on a city paving crew. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he served in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

as a machine-gunner on a boat in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. On his return to

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

, Roti became active in the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, serving as a

precinct captain A precinct captain, also known as a precinct chairman, precinct delegate, precinct committee officer or precinct committeeman, is an elected official in the American political party system. The office establishes a direct link between a political ...

, and held a succession of mundane city and county jobs. The diminutive Fred Roti was nicknamed "Peanuts" because of his size and called "Freddie" by his friends. Fred Roti was also the brother-in-law of Frank "Skids" Caruso, Roti, Sr.'s successor as capo.

Illinois State Senator (1951–1957)

In 1950, Roti was tapped by the Democratic Party organization to run for

Illinois state senator The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the I ...

from the 1st District. At the time of his slating by the 1st Ward Democrats, Roti was described as "a state revenue department investigator and precinct captain." Roti faced nominal

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

opposition in the election on November 7, 1950. He won easily, and served from 1951 to 1957. In the state legislature, Roti was a member of a

bipartisan Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing political parties find co ...

bloc of West Side lawmakers linked with organized crime, known as "The West Side Bloc." He was a consistent opponent of anti-crime bills. In 1956, the state legislature was redistricted, and Roti's district was broken up. Roti retired from the legislature in 1957, returned to precinct work, and took a patronage job as a drain inspector with the city Department of Water and Sewers.

Chicago alderman (1968-1993)

In 1968, Roti was tapped by the Democrats to replace 1st Ward

Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

Donald Parillo, who had resigned. Roti won the special election of 11 June. Roti was re-elected with little opposition to a full term in 1971, and again in 1975, 1979, 1983, 1987, and 1991. He became Chairman of the Buildings Committee.

The "literary club": "Booth One" at Counsellor's Row

Roti's 1st Ward in Chicago was unique in that it included most of downtown Chicago, the "

Chicago Loop The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in Nort ...

", and City Hall. Roti was thus unique in having his ward office and political office directly across the street from his offices in City Hall. However, Roti's favorite location for political business was "Counsellor's Row", a restaurant also across

LaSalle Street LaSalle Street is a major north-south street in Chicago named for Robert de La Salle, a 17th century French explorer of the Illinois Country. The portion that runs through the Chicago Loop is considered to be Chicago's financial district. Sou ...

from City Hall, very popular with politicians. Roti usually occupied "Booth One" with his cronies, who included several aldermen, ward committeemen, state legislators, and other prominent Democrats. The group was nicknamed "the literary club". In 1988, a busboy discovered a secret

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 ...

video camera monitoring Booth One.

Indictment and conviction

In 1990, Federal prosecutors

indicted 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 ...

Roti and four other Chicago Democrats for numerous acts of corruption, including racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, bribery, and

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

. The charges were based on evidence including recordings from "Booth One". On January 15, 1993, Roti was found guilty. He was convicted on 11 counts, including two out of three "fixing" charges: taking $10,000 for influencing a

civil court Civil law may refer to: * Civil law (common law), the part of law that concerns private citizens and legal persons * Civil law (legal system), or continental law, a legal system originating in continental Europe and based on Roman law ** Private la ...

case and $7,500 to support a routine zoning change, both in 1989. But he was acquitted of the most serious allegation, sharing $72,500 for fixing a Chinatown murder trial in 1981. Roti was sentenced to four years incarceration and served three years in a minimum-security prison in Oxford, Wisconsin followed by six months in a work-release program with

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

"Made man"

In 1983, former FBI agent William Roemer told the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), stood up in March 1941 as the "Truman Committee," is the oldest subcommittee of the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (formerly the Committee on Governme ...

that "informants continue to advise through the years former 1st Ward alderman John D'Arco and Roti were the front men for businessman Pat Marcy and for the mob." Roti was identified as a member of ''

La Cosa Nostra The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian American criminal society and organized crime group. The organization is often referred to by its membe ...

'' in the 1991 ''Annual Report of the Attorney General of the United States''. On August 11, 1999, in a civil racketeering complaint against the Chicago Laborers District Council (CLDC), the Justice Department described Roti:

Fred Roti was convicted of
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) conspiracy, bribery, and extortion regarding the fixing of criminal cases in the Circuit Court of
Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

County A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
, including murder cases involving
organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
members or associates and was sentenced to 48 months' imprisonment. Roti was released from prison in 1997. As First Ward alderman, Roti was a key
political patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
boss and, along with his co‑defendant Pat Marcy, a fixer 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, ...
. Roti has directly participated in interfering with the rights of the members of
Laborers' International Union of North America The Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA, stylized as LiUNA!), often shortened to just the Laborers' Union, is an American and Canadian labor union formed in 1903. As of 2017, they had about 500,000 members, about 80,000 of whom ...
in the selection of their officers and officials in that he has improperly influenced the selection of officers of the CLDC and has been responsible for the pervasive hiring of mobster Angelo "the Hook" LaPietra's crew members and associates at the Chicago Streets and Sanitation Department. Roti is a "
Made Member In the American and Sicilian Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. To become "made", an associate first must be Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by another made man. An inductee will be required to take the oat ...
" of 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, ...
.

An ill Roti never commented on the allegations.

Death

Roti died September 20, 1999, at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center from complications from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Legacy

Roti's legacy lives on through the many City of Chicago employees whose hiring he effected. He also led the fight for Chicago's handgun ban in Chicago's City Council. Roti was instrumental in the appointment of William Hanhardt as Chief of Detectives of the Chicago Police Department. Hanhardt was the Chicago Outfit's main plant, was convicted in 2001 of masterminding multi-million-dollar jewelry thefts, and served 10 years in prison.

References

External links

Illinois House of Representatives, 91st General Assembly, House Resolution HR0425, Roti memorial resolution

The Roti Family
special section
Chicago Sun-Times
* access date March 24, 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Roti, Fred B. 1920 births 1999 deaths Politicians from Chicago Military personnel from Illinois Democratic Party Illinois state senators Chicago City Council members Illinois politicians convicted of crimes 20th-century American politicians Chicago Outfit mobsters United States Navy personnel of World War II Deaths from cancer in Illinois American politicians of Italian descent