Paul Carparelli: Chicago Outfit, Extortion Plot, and Sentence

Paul Carparelli is a reputed Chicago Outfit associate who was sentenced in February 2016 to three and a half years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to commit extortion. A crew chief in the Outfit’s Cicero faction, he organized violent debt-collection schemes across Chicago, Las Vegas, New Jersey, and Wisconsin, and was caught on thousands of FBI recordings discussing beatings, threats, and his ambition to become a “made” member of the organization.1Chicago Sun-Times. Reputed Chicago Mobster Gets 3 1/2 Years in Prison

Who He Is and Where He Came From

Carparelli was born around 1968 or 1969 and grew up in Chicago’s western suburbs. Prosecutors said his ties to the Outfit began as a teenager, when he joined the 12th Street Players, a Cicero-based gang founded in the late 1960s and credited as the first street gang in the west suburbs.2Sun-Sentinel. Reputed Mob Debt Collector’s Recordings Read Like Low-Grade Gangster Script

He racked up arrests through his teens and twenties for bar fights, street beatings, and gun-related incidents. In 1995, he was arrested at a Chicago Blackhawks game for allegedly punching a man in the face without provocation. Federal agents said he also dealt cocaine for more than 20 years.2Sun-Sentinel. Reputed Mob Debt Collector’s Recordings Read Like Low-Grade Gangster Script

In the 1990s, Carparelli briefly worked as a firefighter in Bloomingdale, Illinois. He later complained on FBI recordings about the pay, the truck-washing, and the medical calls to a nursing home. “You gotta help them [expletive] people,” he told an associate. “I guess you gotta like people. My problem is I hate everybody.” After leaving the fire department, he went to work for Marina Cartage, a trucking company owned by Michael Tadin.2Sun-Sentinel. Reputed Mob Debt Collector’s Recordings Read Like Low-Grade Gangster Script

His Role in the Chicago Outfit

Federal prosecutors identified Carparelli as a member of the Outfit’s Cicero Street Crew and a lieutenant under acting boss Salvatore “Solly D” DeLaurentis.3Cosa Nostra News. Alleged Mobster Took Pleasure in Fear Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather McShain also pointed to his ties to Michael “The Large Guy” Sarno, described as a top Chicago mobster, and to Mark Polchan, a ranking member of the Outlaws motorcycle gang.1Chicago Sun-Times. Reputed Chicago Mobster Gets 3 1/2 Years in Prison

With several Cicero bosses in prison, prosecutors said, Carparelli saw a chance to move up. On one recorded call about a planned assault, he told an accomplice, “Let me tell you something, we, we, we do good on this, put us right on the map.”4Chicago Tribune. Restaurant Owner Indiana Gambling Case Outfit Beating Plot In a 2011 conversation with associate George Brown, he told him, “Because this is what I’m made of, this is where I f—in’ come from and I’m f—in’ proud of it.”5Chicago Sun-Times. FBI Captures Reputed Mobster’s Colorful Musings on Certain Rules

His defense attorney, Ed Wanderling, painted a different picture. He called Carparelli a “wannabe” who dropped the names of people he had never met and had watched The Godfather and The Sopranos too many times. The defense argued he had never actually been seen with, or heard speaking to, any real organized crime figures.5Chicago Sun-Times. FBI Captures Reputed Mobster’s Colorful Musings on Certain Rules

The Extortion Conduct

Three indictments unsealed on July 24, 2013, charged Carparelli and eight other Chicago-area men.6FBI. Alleged Attempts to Collect Debts Lead to Extortion Charges Against Nine Chicago Men The conduct at the center of the case fell into two connected schemes.

The Plot to Break a Debtor’s Legs

Michael “Mickey” Davis, a landfill owner and longtime associate of DeLaurentis, had lent $300,000 to Joe Serpico and his son R.J. Serpico to start a used car dealership called Ideal Motors in Melrose Park. The elder Serpico gambled the money away and the business collapsed. Davis wanted violent retribution against R.J. Serpico.7Chicago Tribune. Mob Associate Gets 4 Years in Prison for Plotting to Break Debtor’s Legs

A Burr Ridge restaurant owner connected Davis to Carparelli. For $10,000, Carparelli agreed to arrange the beating and put a crew together. On a recorded call, he described the intended damage: “Hey, in that situation, if it’s your legs or not, what’s the f—in’ difference, you ain’t movin’.”1Chicago Sun-Times. Reputed Chicago Mobster Gets 3 1/2 Years in Prison Davis paid a $5,000 down payment that passed through intermediaries to Carparelli.8FindLaw. United States v. Davis, No. 15-3671 The assault never happened. The man Carparelli trusted to coordinate the attack, George Brown, was cooperating with the FBI. Agents arrested Carparelli on July 23, 2013, while he was driving with his son, and seized the $5,000 from his home.9Fox 32 Chicago. Reputed Chicago Mobster Gets 3 1/2 Years in Prison

Debt Collection Across State Lines

The broader indictment alleged that Carparelli and others conspired to collect business debts owed to an unnamed Carol Stream, Illinois, company or its affiliate, going after owners in Nevada, Wisconsin, and New Jersey with threatening in-person demands.6FBI. Alleged Attempts to Collect Debts Lead to Extortion Charges Against Nine Chicago Men In one incident, prosecutors said, enforcers confronted a business owner in Appleton, Wisconsin, over a $100,000 debt at a Fuddruckers restaurant; the man was so frightened he gave up a Ford Mustang.10Chicago Tribune. Mob Enforcer Sentenced to 3 1/2 Years in Prison for Threats, Violence

How the FBI Built the Case

The government’s evidence came largely from George Brown, a 300-pound mixed martial arts fighter who had worked as muscle for Carparelli in the Outfit’s loan-sharking operation. After the two had a falling out, the FBI recruited Brown to record his old boss. For nearly two years, Brown wore a wire during meetings and allowed agents to monitor his calls.11Chicago Sun-Times. Mob Debt Collector’s Cooperation Pays Off With Light Sentence

Investigators captured thousands of profanity-laden conversations in which Carparelli described the Outfit’s hierarchy, ordered beatings, and worried aloud about his standing.1Chicago Sun-Times. Reputed Chicago Mobster Gets 3 1/2 Years in Prison At sentencing, the judge would say his willingness to talk on tape had been a boon to prosecutors.

Bond Revocation, Guilty Plea, and Sentence

Carparelli was released on bond after his 2013 arrest, but he did not stay out of trouble. In April 2015, U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman revoked his bond after prosecutors alleged he had threatened a witness’s life outside a Chicago-area Walmart. According to the government, he pulled up alongside an employee of the witness and said, “Tell him he is a [expletive] rat. Tell him he knows what happens to rats.”12Chicago Tribune. Reputed Mob Enforcer Pleads Guilty to Threats, Violence to Collect Debts Prosecutors said he continued making threats from the Metropolitan Correctional Center against a business partner he suspected of cooperating.2Sun-Sentinel. Reputed Mob Debt Collector’s Recordings Read Like Low-Grade Gangster Script

On May 8, 2015, Carparelli appeared in federal court in an orange jumpsuit and leg shackles and pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to commit extortion.13Chicago Sun-Times. Suburban Man Pleads Guilty for His Role in Extortion Plot

On February 3, 2016, Judge Coleman sentenced Carparelli, then 47, to 42 months in federal prison. Prosecutors had asked for 135 months, more than 11 years. His defense had asked for probation, citing his role as a single parent to a teenage son and his firefighting past.14CBS News Chicago. Reputed Mobster Paul Carparelli’s Sentencing Delayed With credit for time served since the April 2015 bond revocation, he was expected to be released roughly two years from sentencing.10Chicago Tribune. Mob Enforcer Sentenced to 3 1/2 Years in Prison for Threats, Violence

The Co-Defendants

Nine men in all were charged across the three indictments. The outcomes varied widely.