He tried every evasive maneuver he had used so many times before to lose a government tail, but these guys were no amateurs. ", "I would have killed him if I had to." Feb 16, 2023. He was Wortman's right-hand man when they were convicted together in. Now, he felt the adrenaline taking control of his body. Arts & Culture Theater & Performing Arts St. Louis MusicSt. In the first, in 1954, he was sentenced to 10 years. On one side was the Kansas City Mafia, which demanded his execution for violating sacred mob protocol. He grabbed his .45 automatic from under the seat. The Leisure family was then in a gang war with loyalists of the late Southside Syrian syndicate boss Jimmy Michaels, who had been murdered in a car bombing on Interstate 55 in South St. Louis County by the Leisure gang in September 1980. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporters who nailed County Exec Steve Stenger turned a blind eye to the historic influence of organized crime that presaged their reportage. James OMara, the manager of Local 562, was the chairman of the St. Louis County Council at this time. No longer was he on center stage. Worse, he had lost his independence and he could not be his own man. Hal Goldsmith, the prosecutor in the Stenger case, previously served as an Assistant U.S. attorney in East St. Louis in the 1990s, which was Bernes territory. In each case, he says, Stoneking told the truth. He was concerned, and justly so, that the Italians were making a concerted move to take over all three Laborers' locals. Stoneking doesn't want to know. By underworld standards, his arrest record was unimpressive and did not reflect his propensity for violence. Other forces, no less deadly, were preparing to make a move against him. No other young hood would have been given such an opportunity. The victim's ambition was to become a hoodlum and Stoneking sold him a membership in the Mafia for $10,000. here as a federal informant in the 1980s. One day, I was supposed to be working for this guy. 1 talking about this. They weren't Outfit guys and he wasn't concerned. The suspect was an undercover federal agent. "You take care of it and you'll be set up for life," he promised. Ellington cocked the .38 and raised it. "The son-of-a-bitch saw me." He recalled Trupiano to Chicago for a meeting and admonished him for breaking the mob's code about talking to the media about underworld activities. Stoneking, an expert jewelry appraiser, estimated the loot at worth well in excess of $1 million. No sex, just companionship, he assured Stoneking. According to the FBI informant, control of Local 562 rested in the hands of the Chicago Outfit. Stoneking's intense loyalty had been repaid with disloyalty. ", Then Giordano gave Berne an unmistakable warning. Stoneking pleaded guilty rather than risk exposing other members of the crew and was sentenced to three years . "He didn't know where it was coming from. A thousand years ago, huge pyramids and earthen mounds stood where East St. Louis sprawls today in Southern Illinois. Stoneking laughed. ", "You got a man we want. A hit was coming down. I figured the guy deserved it." At the time I was an investigative reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In May 1991, Stoneking informed the FBI that Berne had told him that the Rallo Construction Company belonged to the Chicago La Costa Nostra. But by whom? I'll just say, Okay, where's the soap, I want to wash my hands of him. "He thought the guy was his friend, but he wasn't his friend any more. The problem was that I did not know where Stoneking lived at the time and still don't. He told Brostrom that Trupiano and Bartolotta had been inducted into the Mafia during the same ceremony, which occurred at a St. Charles, Mo. Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Fireams foiled the plot. he screamed. Stoneking's first contract was a mark of his criminal manhood, a reward for his faithful service to the boss. By then, the real Jesse Stoneking of the past two years was becoming unmasked. He introduced a wealthy, but gullible, used car dealer to an attractive woman. They told him there was no place in their town for a hoodlum. She was with him the night he almost was assassinated as he left his mother's house. It was a clear case of arson, and five people from Marlborough were duly convicted of the crime. Why kill a guy for stealing? It wasn't long before he was betrayed again. The old Stoneking had disappeared and in his place was a different person. St. Louis boasts an arts scene that's second to none. The man was dead before he hit the floor. It got kind of hot at times. They began planning his extrication and concealment in the Witness Protection Program. It wasn't there. The underworld waited and watched to see who would kill him first. He was to begin his sentence shortly after Christmas. He should not have been because, driven by his unbridled passion to make it big, he had stepped on the wrong toes. I'm a mover. So what? Only bad memories and trouble. Twenty-five of 40 rental storage units nearby were destroyed. He might have been betrayed, but he would remain loyal. Ray ain't got me with my arm around him. The city is brimming with free, world-class attractions and boasts an arts-and-culture scene that's second to none. Documents released by the FBI under the Freedom of Information Act in October 2020 show Webbe Jr. and his late father were embroiled in a power struggle with St. Louis Mafia leader Matthew Trupiano and the Detroit Mafia in 1982. Stram has been in an out of trouble. A drug dealer who pimped for his wife owed him a lot of money and refused to pay. He died Oct. 22, 1997. It was a pleasant rush. As he sped east on Interstate 70, the terror of his own sudden, ugly death gripped him for the first time in his life. He slowed and so did it. He struck a deal with Tom Fox and Terry Bohnemeier, the FBI agents who had arrested him. Two-time Grammy Award nominee and East St. Louis native Russell Gunn was commissioned by The Apollo to commemorate the 60th . Stoneking knew he would be running forever. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, U.S. Then they made this mutual agreement that they would leave Spica alone. The Best Things to Do in St. Louis This Weekend, February 16 to 19. Only the agents and Stram, whom he trusted implicitly, knew where he was. That's what the word on the street was. By late October, 1979, it was inevitable that his life would end violently. On Oct. 4, Flynn was appointed to the position with the acquiescence of Giordano. The union was good to him and in recognition of his underworld status it hired him as a security consultant at $500 a week almost $300,000 over the 10 years he served in that capacity and gave him a credit card and gasoline for his car. In 1991, Stonekings name surfaced again, during an investigation of then-St.Louis Teamster boss Bobby Sansone. What could I say?" Gun powder residue on his hand confirmed it. His intuition, which had served him so well for years, said no. I figured the guy deserved it. Nick Civella in Kansas City wanted him dead and so did Ray Flynn, the most violent labor racketeer in St. Louis. The tow truck driver advised the deputy that the SUV and the vehicle driven by Stoneking had flat tires from hitting rocks on the highway. "Tony didn't say anything. (Later, he got to know Hickey, who never indicated he was aware of the aborted assassination. The official police version of Stonekings death raises questions about the immediate actions taken by law enforcement officers, the methods used in the initial investigation and conclusions drawn afterwards.The following account is based on the reports of the first officers who arrived on the scene and a police interrogation of Stonekings friend. Their goal was to cover all aspects of true crime: Read More, Contents Copyright 1998-2020 by Crime Magazine | J. Patrick O'Connor Editor | E-mail CrimeMagazine.com, Designed by Orman. He developed a relationship with the intended victim. Sonnenschein is now serving a one-year sentence and was ordered to pay$1.25 million in fines and restitution.The grand jury investigation centered on the solicitations of prostitution across state lines through ads placed in the St. Louis Riverfront Timesfrom 1994 to2000. The Leisures were not charged in the Spica bombing. Construction industry unions were the outfit's principal power base. Though the FBI records were released only last month, details of the rift between the Webbes and Trupiano had already been reported decades ago by the Post-Dispatch but that background information was inexplicably omitted from the newspapers coverage of Webbe Jr.s part in the Stenger affair. He was arrested on Sept. 16, 1981. You rape and beat up a girl like that and you ain't got any friends. What Trupiano lacked in criminal acumen, he made up with bravado. It was too close to home. Above him rain-laden clouds low on the horizon forebode an approaching storm. Stoneking also had become close to Giordano, serving at times as his driver and bodyguard. Case Closed: Crime scene photo of the interior of the 1995 Ford Crown Victoria occupied by Jesse Stoneking on Jan. 19, 2003. There were no jobs available requiring a hood's skills and talents. ", At the time I was an investigative reporter for the, John Wayne Gacy Confessed to Killing Dozens (December 22, 1978). Jesse Stoneking, the unnamed informant cited by the FBI in the report, died of a gunshot wound to the head in Arizona in 2003. Even the imperturbable Stoneking checked his car before starting it. City History. Kickbacks were common on property purchased by the unions at inflated prices. She silently approached his bed and stood for a moment only three feet from him. Contact Tonya Hahne, Manager of Development Operations, at Tonya-H@KeepArtHappening.org The St . Giordano shook down contractors in return for permitting them to use non-union workers at a tremendous saving. Trupiano did not escape unscathed; it was Stoneking who helped bring him down. "The word on the street was that Ellington was set up and that he was cracked by one guy," Stoneking recalls unemotionally. Art Saint Louis Varsity Art XXVII Art Saint Louis presents our 27th annual invitational Varsity Art exhibition featuring 43 undergraduate and graduate level art students representing 22 STL regional colleges and universities. In 1917, after a labor dispute, a mob of white men rampaged through the city, driving Black families from their homes and businesses . "You could of killed him and the world would be better off." The intensity of the search for Stoneking was clearly demonstrated to me early in 1988, more than three years after the $100,000 price tag had been placed on him. It's safe with me. He never went to trial on any of these charges, instead pleading guilty to two of them. He became known as a soft-spoken gentleman and a shrewd businessman. With these killings, Stoneking's prowess and his ability to survive became legendary in the underworld. Sonny Spica. Plus, fans of fresh air will be surprised and delighted by our flourishing public parks, miles of trails and exhilarating waterways. He immediately gave the stone to Aiuppa in Chicago to fence. Conclusions contradict. The wheelman was a convicted killer, who had tried to kill him before, the other a labor racketeer. The agents were well aware of Stoneking's reputation on the streets and his ability to talk his way in and out of situations. In indictments filed by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri against St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger on April 25, 2019, John Johnny Roller Rallo was named as a participant in a pay-to-play scheme. His reputation in the underworld as a stand-up guy would be enhanced greatly. The ensuing two years were harrowing, yet challenging, for Stoneking.He worked for the FBI with the same passion and ingenuity with which he had pursued his criminal enterprises. He brought Ellington to Berne for a meeting. 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