Gus Alex
Called by the Seventh Circuit in 1994 "the higher-up in the Outfit" to whom Leonard Patrick reported; convicted in 1992 in the Patrick Street Crew case and sentenced to 188 months. FBI teletypes of January 1974 name him with Accardo as members of a "three man leadership team."
- Family
- Chicago Outfit, as the Seventh Circuit names it (1994)
- Role
- "The higher-up in the Outfit" to whom Leonard Patrick reported, in the Seventh Circuit's account of the 1991 indictment (court opinion, 1994)
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited federal records state.
On the record
- 9 June 1959 — McClellan Committee investigator James McShane testified (Part 53, p. 18696) that Frank Ferraro was "Gus Alex's No. 1 man in the first ward in Chicago." Staff testimony, not a finding.
- January 1974 — FBI Chicago teletypes in the Accardo file (Vault, Accardo Part 01, pp. 154, 157, 249) name Gus Alex and Anthony J. Accardo as "two members of three man leadership team currently responsible for direction of organized crime in Chicago," and say attorney Sidney Korshak is "especially close to Gus Alex, another member of leadership team." The FBI's assessment.
- 1983-1989 — United States v. Rainone (7th Cir. 1994) describes a 1991 indictment charging Leonard Patrick, Nicholas Gio and Mario Rainone, "along with Gus Alex, the higher-up in the Outfit ... to whom Patrick reported," principally with conspiring to conduct the Patrick Street Crew's business from 1983 to 1989 through a pattern of racketeering.
- 17 April 1992 — United States v. Alex, 791 F. Supp. 723 (N.D. Ill. 1992): ruling on his pretrial motions, the district court says the indictment charges the defendants with operating the "Lenny Patrick Street Crew" and alleges eleven separate acts of extortion, intimidation or arson against eleven individuals.
- 1992 — Rainone records that Alex and Gio were convicted by a jury in 1992, and that Alex, Gio and Rainone were sentenced to 188, 137 and 210 months. It notes he was 75 at trial and showed early signs of senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type; the court upheld the district judge's refusal to hold a competency hearing.
- 23 August 1994 — The Seventh Circuit affirmed.
The family and role lines are the Seventh Circuit’s words in Rainone, describing the indictment on which he was convicted. The FBI’s 1974 “leadership team” wording is the Bureau’s assessment, kept in the events. The McClellan staff remark is testimony. No opened record gives his birth or death date; the court gives only his age at trial.
Records
itemUnited States v. Rainone, 32 F.3d 1203 (7th Cir. 1994)The Seventh Circuit affirms the convictions of Gus Alex, Nicholas Gio and Mario Rainone in the Patrick Street Crew case, describing Alex as 'the higher-up in the Outfit' to whom Leonard Patrick reported and calling the Outfit 'the clearest possible example' of an organized-crime gang.itemUnited States v. Alex, 791 F. Supp. 723 (N.D. Ill. 1992)Judge Alesia's pretrial order on Gus Alex's motions in the case charging the 'Lenny Patrick Street Crew' with a pattern of racketeering, including eleven separate acts of extortion, intimidation or arson against eleven people.
itemFBI Chicago teletypes, January 1974: Accardo, Gus Alex and the 'three man leadership team' (Vault Accardo Part 01)Chicago and Los Angeles communications in the Accardo file describe Accardo and Gus Alex as two members of a 'three man leadership team' directing organized crime in Chicago, refer to the 'deceased LCN leader Fiore Buccieri who died 1973', and note Marshall Caifano's parole travel.itemMcClellan Part 53: staff testimony on the January 1953 Los Angeles trip and Frank Ferraro (9 June 1959)Staff members Pierre Salinger and James McShane described a January 1953 trip to Los Angeles by Giancana, Anthony Accardo and Dr. Eugene Chesrow, met by Frank Ferraro and Anthony Pinelli. McShane called Ferraro 'Gus Alex's No. 1 man in the first ward' and gave his true name as Frank Sortino.
itemFBI Chicago teletypes, January 1974: Accardo, Gus Alex and the 'three man leadership team' (Vault Accardo Part 01)Chicago and Los Angeles communications in the Accardo file describe Accardo and Gus Alex as two members of a 'three man leadership team' directing organized crime in Chicago, refer to the 'deceased LCN leader Fiore Buccieri who died 1973', and note Marshall Caifano's parole travel.itemMcClellan Part 53: staff testimony on the January 1953 Los Angeles trip and Frank Ferraro (9 June 1959)Staff members Pierre Salinger and James McShane described a January 1953 trip to Los Angeles by Giancana, Anthony Accardo and Dr. Eugene Chesrow, met by Frank Ferraro and Anthony Pinelli. McShane called Ferraro 'Gus Alex's No. 1 man in the first ward' and gave his true name as Frank Sortino.