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

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

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

Machine A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromol ...

" 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 from 1953, until his death. He has been called "the last of ...

, and widely believed to be an associate of the

Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

. 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 Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

. Fred's father, Bruno Roti, Sr., known as "Bruno the Bomber", was a henchman of

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone ( ; ; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American organized crime, gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-foun ...

, 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 Americans, Italian American American Mafia, Mafia crime family based in Chicago, I ...

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

asphalt Asphalt most often refers to: * Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete * Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...

on a city paving crew. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

as a machine-gunner on a boat in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. On his return to

, Roti became active in the Democratic Party, 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 captain establishes a direct link between a politica ...

, 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 th ...

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 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 party, politica ...

bloc of

West Side West Side or Westside may refer to: Places Canada * West Side, a neighbourhood of Windsor, Ontario * West Side, a neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia United Kingdom * West Side, Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Westside, Birmingham ...

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 Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

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 government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

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 is Chicago's central business district and one of the city's 77 municipally recognized Community areas in Chicago, community areas. Located at the center of downtown Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan, it is the second-largest busi ...

", and

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

. 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 René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur 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 f ...

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 agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

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 offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an indi ...

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

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercion, coercive, fraud, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. ...

, racketeering conspiracy,

bribery Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or Offer and acceptance, acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official ...

, and

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

. 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 Oxford is a village in Marquette County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 537 at the 2020 census. The village is located within the Town of Oxford. The Union Pacific Railroad runs through the town and over Neenah Lake to the northwe ...

followed by six months in a work-release program with

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

"Made man"

In 1983, former FBI agent William Roemer told the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

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 Govern ...

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 terms Italian Mafia and Italian Mob apply t ...

'' 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 A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

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 e ...
(RICO) conspiracy, bribery, and extortion regarding the fixing of criminal cases in the
Circuit Court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...
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 (profession), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * C ...

County A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
, including murder cases involving
organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...
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, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
boss and, along with his co‑defendant
Pat Marcy Pat Marcy (born Pasqualino Marciano, September 6, 1913 – March 13, 1993) was an Italian-American political boss who wielded enormous power over the Illinois Democratic Party during much of the 20th century. According to Federal prosecutor ...
, 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 Americans, Italian American American Mafia, Mafia crime family based in Chicago, I ...
. 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" 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 Americans, Italian American American Mafia, Mafia crime family based in Chicago, I ...
.

An ill Roti never commented on the allegations.

Death

Roti died September 20, 1999, at

Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center Rush University Medical Center (Rush) is an academic medical center in the Illinois Medical District neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is the hospital for the Rush University System for Health, which includes Rush Oak Park Hospital and Rush ...

from complications from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

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 The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Chicago City Council. It is the second-largest Law enforcement in the United States#Local, ...

. 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
{{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 Chicago Outfit mobsters United States Navy personnel of World War II Deaths from cancer in Illinois American people of Italian descent 20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly