Dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity
POPULARITY
Categories
Gen 3:1-4:26, Matt 2:13-3:6, Ps 2:1-12, Pr 1:7-9
Gen 3:1-4:26, Matt 2:13-3:6, Ps 2:1-12, Pr 1:7-9
"Saint Seraphim was born in the town of Kursk in 1759. From tender childhood he was under the protection of the most holy Mother of God, who, when he was nine years old, appeared to him in a vision, and through her icon of Kursk, healed him from a grave sickness from which he had not been expected to recover. At the age of nineteen he entered the monastery of Sarov, where he amazed all with his obedience, his lofty asceticism, and his great humility. In 1780 the Saint was stricken with a sickness which he manfully endured for three years, until our Lady the Theotokos healed him, appearing to him with the Apostles Peter and John. He was tonsured a monk in 1786, being named for the holy Hieromartyr Seraphim, Bishop of Phanarion (Dec. 4), and was ordained deacon a year later. In his unquenchable love for God, he continually added labours to labours, increasing in virtue and prayer with titan strides. Once, during the Divine Liturgy of Holy and Great Thursday he was counted worthy of a vision of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who appeared encompassed by the heavenly hosts. After this dread vision, he gave himself over to greater labours. "In 1794, Saint Seraphim took up the solitary life in a cell in the forest. This period of extreme asceticism lasted some fifteen years, until 1810. It was at this time that he took upon himself one of the greatest feats of his life. Assailed with despondency and a storm of contrary thoughts raised by the enemy of our salvation, the Saint passed a thousand nights on a rock, continuing in prayer until God gave him complete victory over the enemy. On another occasion, he was assaulted by robbers, who broke his chest and his head with their blows, leaving him almost dead. Here again, he began to recover after an appearance of the most Holy Theotokos, who came to him with the Apostles Peter and John, and pointing to Saint Seraphim, uttered these awesome words, 'This is one of my kind.' "In 1810, at the age of fifty, weakened by his more than human struggles, Saint Seraphim returned to the monastery for the third part of his ascetical labours, in which he lived as a recluse, until 1825. For the first five years of his reclusion, he spoke to no one at all, and little is known of this period. After five years, he began receiving visitors little by little, giving counsel and consolation to ailing souls. In 1825, the most holy Theotokos appeared to the Saint and revealed to him that it was pleasing to God that he fully end his reclusion; from this time the number of people who came to see him grew daily. It was also at the command of the holy Virgin that he undertook the spiritual direction of the Diveyevo Convent. He healed bodily ailments, foretold things to come, brought hardened sinners to repentance, and saw clearly the secrets of the heart of those who came to him. Through his utter humility and childlike simplicity, his unrivalled ascetical travails, and his angel-like love for God, he ascended to the holiness and greatness of the ancient God-bearing Fathers and became, like Anthony for Egypt, the physician for the whole Russian land. In all, the most holy Theotokos appeared to him twelve times in his life. The last was on Annunciation, 1831, to announce to him that he would soon enter into his rest. She appeared to him accompanied by twelve virgins martyrs and monastic saints with Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Theologian. With a body ailing and broken from innumerable hardships, and an unspotted soul shining with the light of Heaven, the Saint lived less than two years after this, falling asleep in peace on January 2, 1833, chanting Paschal hymns. On the night of his repose, the righteous Philaret of the Glinsk Hermitage beheld his soul ascending to Heaven in light. Because of the universal testimony to the singular holiness of his life, and the seas of miracles that he performed both in life and after death, his veneration quickly spread beyond the boundaries of the Russian Empire to every corner of the earth. See also July 19." (Great Horologion) July 19 is the commemoration of the uncovering of St Seraphim's holy relics, which was attended by Tsar Nicholas II. Saint Seraphim's life became a perpetual celebration of Pascha: in his later years he dressed in a white garment, greeted everyone, regardless of the season, with "Christ is Risen!" and chanted the Pascha service every day of the year
Quaranteam - Dave In Dallas: Part 12 Consequences.
V tej zgodbi mladenič porabi ves denar da reši psa, mačka in kačona pred smrtjo. Oče ga zaradi tega izžene, a živali mu ostanejo zveste. Kačon razkrije, da je sin radže in mladeniča povabi v čudežno deželo, kjer ga čaka nagrada za njegovo dobroto. Pravljica poudarja, da se sočutje pogosto povrne na nepričakovane načine.Vir: Zvezdna ogrlica in druge indijske pravljice, prevedel Ivan Skušek, Mladinska knjiga 1967, Ljubljana, bere Nataša Holy
Gen 1:1-2:25, Matt 1:1-2:12, Ps 1:1-6, Pr 1:1-6
The St. Paul Center's daily scripture reflections from the Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God by Mr. Clement Harrold. Mary, Mother of God Solemnity (Octave of Christmas). Holy day of Obligation. First Reading: Numbers 6: 22-27 Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 67: 2-3, 5, 6, 8 Second Reading: Galatians 4: 4-7 Alleluia: Hebrews 1: 1-2 Gospel: Luke 2: 16-21 Learn more about the Mass at www.stpaulcenter.com If you've been wanting to grow in your knowledge of sacred Scripture or learn how to share God's Word with others, check out Dr. John Bergsma's weekly show, The Word of the Lord, where Dr. Bergsma unpacks the Sunday mass readings and carefully guides the faithful to a deeper understanding of salvation history. Sign up for your 30-day free trial today at stpaulcenter.com/memberships
One of the legacies of the Holy roman empire is that Germany does not have just one place where everything happens, where politicians, entrepreneurs, bankers, artists, and actors travel on the same underground trains and eat at the same restaurants. Berlin is the capital with its political class of members of the Bundestag, journalists and lobbyist and at the same time a major gathering place for artists, musicians and thespians of all stripes and home to many tech startups. But the bankers are in Frankfurt, the headquarters of the major companies are in Stuttgart, Munich, Düsseldorf and spread around everywhere. Several of the major publishing houses are in Hamburg, the private TV stations in Munich, but none of these places have a monopoly on any of these activities. There are banks headquartered in Munich and major corporates in Frankfurt, there is great theater in Düsseldorf, Dresden and Schwerin, there are world leading companies headquartered in tiny towns like Künzelsau.And that cuts through to the major cultural sites. Though the quip that there were 365 states in the Holy Roman empire is vastly exaggerated, there were once a hundred capital cities, from splendid Dresden to tiny Hohenzollern-Hechingen, each with its princely residence, cathedral, grand monastery and theater. The great artists either travelled from court to court, leaving behind their works here or there, or stayed in one of the free imperial cities, operating large workshops.Therefore what you cannot do in Germany is to go to one city and see all the major treasures the country has “collected” over the centuries, as you can do in the Louvre or the British Museum and the National Gallery. In Germany you have to move around, see one thing at the time, always in the knowledge that its significant counterpart is a few hundred miles north, south, east or west of you. This is one of the legacies of the medieval empire that Germany has in common with Italy.And hence we are going through each of the Bundesländer trying to pick out one absolute must-see and one place where you are likely to encounter fewer people. And as we have covered 9 Bundesländer up to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern already, the next location we will have to get to is Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany's most populous state.
7 CHRISTIAN PILLARS for 2026 - BRIAN SUMNER - 2025Pastor Brian Preaching on 7 Essential Pillars for the Christian Faith, as we head into 2026.To support this channel and partner with Brian in Ministryhttps://www.briansumner.net/support/For more on Brianhttp://www.briansumner.nethttps://www.instagram.com/BRIANSUMNER/https://www.facebook.com/BRIANSUMNEROFFICIALTo listen to Brians Podcast, click below.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Purchase Brians Marriage book at https://www.amazon.com/Never-Fails-Da...Brian is a full time "Urban Missionary" both locally and internationally with a focus on MISSIONS - MARRIAGES - MINISTRY. Since coming to faith in 2004 doors continued opening locally and internationally to do more and more ministry with a focus on Evangelism, Outreach Missions, Marriage, Counsel, Schools, Festivals, Conferences and the like. Everything about this ministry is made possible because of people personally partnering through the non profit. God Bless and thank you. †Support the showSUPPORT THE SHOW
Gen 1:1-2:25, Matt 1:1-2:12, Ps 1:1-6, Pr 1:1-6
Send us a textIn this New Year's episode, Kendra Corman gets candid about why she's heading into 2026 tired, excited… and fiercely committed to one word: no. After a 2025 defined by “forge” (building, growing, expanding), a family crisis and an overload of opportunities forced her to re-evaluate sustainability, boundaries, and what it really takes to preserve creative focus.Kendra shares the behind-the-scenes story of her year—what went right, what went sideways, and why the systems and people you build now are what save you later. What 2025 Taught Kendra About Growth and OverloadKendra went into 2025 with momentum, capacity, and big goals—and hit them hard.A strong first quarter with focused, energized work timeA goal of 25 speaking gigs that turned into 35+ eventsMovement on major business projects, including a second edition of her bookA huge personal “yes”: becoming a full-time assistant professor at Rochester Christian UniversityThe Moment Everything ChangedA serious fall and ICU stay for Kendra's mom pulled her into months of caretaking and travel.What stood out most wasn't just the disruption—it was the proof that what she'd built actually held up:Her assistant (Carol) triaged inboxes, managed tasks, and kept clients supportedSystems like Asana and strong relationships prevented a total business collapseThe experience reinforced how vital support structures are—even for solopreneursKendra realized: capacity isn't just about time. It's about what you've built to hold you when life happens.When “Forge” Turned into “Fracture”Even with major wins, Kendra stretched too far.Weeks with multiple speaking events, including one with four in a single weekDrift from a 4–5 day workweek back to 7 daysFeeling like she was working constantly but not moving forwardBook revisions stalled, and recovery time evaporatedThe truth she landed on: success without boundaries becomes burnout in disguise.Why “No” Is Her Word of the Year (Again)Kendra revisits a tool that once helped her escape burnout in 2022: saying no first.So in 2026, “no” is back as the guardrail.Her challenge to listeners:Block vacations nowProtect pre- and post-travel buffersPut the important stuff on the calendar before it gets crowded outKey TakeawaysSystems and support are what keep your business stable when life interrupts.Saying yes is exciting—but on Looking to leverage AI? Want better results? Want to think about what you want to leverage?Check and see how I am using it for FREE on YouTube. From "Holy cow, it can do that?" to "Wait, how does this work again?" – I've got all your AI curiosities covered. It's the perfect after-podcast snack for your tech-hungry brain. Watch here
The St. Paul Center's daily scripture reflections from the Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God by Mr. Clement Harrold. Mary, Mother of God Solemnity (Octave of Christmas). Holy day of Obligation. First Reading: Numbers 6: 22-27 Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 67: 2-3, 5, 6, 8 Second Reading: Galatians 4: 4-7 Alleluia: Hebrews 1: 1-2 Gospel: Luke 2: 16-21 Learn more about the Mass at www.stpaulcenter.com If you've been wanting to grow in your knowledge of sacred Scripture or learn how to share God's Word with others, check out Dr. John Bergsma's weekly show, The Word of the Lord, where Dr. Bergsma unpacks the Sunday mass readings and carefully guides the faithful to a deeper understanding of salvation history. Sign up for your 30-day free trial today at stpaulcenter.com/memberships
2025_11_22 Be Holy – Part 2 of 2 (Rabbi Burt Yellin) - - - see additional note below Additional podcasts hopefully will be uploaded before too long. Anticipated Podcasts: Burt Yellin 11-29-2025 – Thanksgiving 2025 Alex Yalenga 12-06-2025 – With God All Things Are Possible (Founding Rabbi, Zambia Missionary Fellowship) Burt Yellin 12-13-2025 – Whitewashed Sepulchers Burt Yellin 12-19/20-2025 – Chanukah & The End of Days 2025 Burt Yellin 12-26/27-2025 – Christmas 2025
Emmy Award–winning music journalist Alan Light is the author of numerous books including The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of “Hallelujah” (which was adapted into an acclaimed documentary), as well as Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain and biographies of Johnny Cash, Nina Simone, and the Beastie Boys. He was the cowriter of bestselling memoirs by Gregg Allman and Peter Frampton. Alan was a senior writer at Rolling Stone and the editor-in-chief of Vibe and Spin. He contributes frequently to The New York Times, Esquire, and The Wall Street Journal, among many publications, and cohosts the podcast Sound Up! With Mark Goodman and Alan Light.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-unplugged-totally-uncut--994165/support.
…a holy restlessness with what “is,” and the mental and spiritual space to imagine what “can be.” Thursday • 1/1/2026 •
Proverbes 1
Gemara Chabura - Rabbi Karlinsky - The Letter Of Monetary Laws And Beyond: Is It Legal? Is It Moral? Is It Holy? 06 by Shapell's Rabbeim
Drübergehalten – Der Ostfußballpodcast – meinsportpodcast.de
Frohes Neues, zusammen! Mit diesem nigelnagelneuen Mailbag wünschen wir euch einen fantastischen Start ins Jahr 2026! Wir hätten unsere zwölf Monate kaum schöner ausklingen lassen können als mit euren einmal mehr bärenstarken Fragen. Deswegen sprechen wir heute unter anderem über die Lakers, den Anthony-Davis-Trade, Jalen Johnson und Tyrese Maxey, die OKC-Defense, die deutschen Talente am College und die am Horizont stehende NBA-Europe-Liga. Wisst ihr, wie ihr am allerbesten ins neue Jahr starten könnt? Mit dem Starter-Set-Deluxe oder einem der drei brandneuen Iced Tea Classics von HOLY! Schaut mal im Shop vorbei und sichert euch die Neujahrsangebote! Mit unserem Code "DS" spart ...Dieser Podcast wird vermarktet von der Podcastbude.www.podcastbu.de - Full-Service-Podcast-Agentur - Konzeption, Produktion, Vermarktung, Distribution und Hosting.Du möchtest deinen Podcast auch kostenlos hosten und damit Geld verdienen?Dann schaue auf www.kostenlos-hosten.de und informiere dich.Dort erhältst du alle Informationen zu unseren kostenlosen Podcast-Hosting-Angeboten. kostenlos-hosten.de ist ein Produkt der Podcastbude.
Holy Meat | Ist das Kirche oder kann das weg? - Review Kritik Frohes neues Kinojahr 2026! Gleich zum Jahresauftakt macht mit „Holy Meat“ ein Film aus deutschen Landen den Anfang, der die Gemüter womöglich nicht erhitzt, aber spürbar spalten dürfte. So erging es zumindest Sero und Dom, die den zweiten Langspielfilm von Regisseurin Alison Kuhn in Augenschein nahmen und sich im Anschluss alles andere als einig über den eigenwilligen Mix aus Kirchensatire, Komödie und Dorfdrama waren. Wer von beiden dem Ganzen mehr und wer weniger abgewinnen konnte und wo sich beide vielleicht doch eher einig sind - das und mehr erfahrt ihr im Podcast. Viel Spaß mit der neuen Folge des Tele-Stammtischs! Trailer Wir liefern euch launige und knackige Filmkritiken, Analysen und Talks über Kino- und Streamingfilme und -serien - immer aktuell, informativ und mit der nötigen Prise Humor. Viel Spaß mit unseren Besprechungen! Website | Twitch | PayPal | BuyMeACoffee Großer Dank und Gruß für das Einsprechen unseres Intros geht raus an Engelbert von Nordhausen - besser bekannt als die deutsche Synchronstimme Samuel L. Jackson! Thank you very much to BASTIAN HAMMER for the orchestral part of the intro! I used the following sounds of freesound.org: 16mm Film Reel by bone666138 wilhelm_scream.wav by Syna-Max backspin.wav by il112 Crowd in a bar (LCR).wav by Leandros.Ntounis Short Crowd Cheer 2.flac by qubodup License (Copyright): Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Malachi 3:1-4:6, Rev 22:1-21, Ps 150:1-6, Pr 31:25-31
Reigndrops, we are back with Monica Garcia for your Real Housewives of Salt Lake City recap, and we are astounded by the instant hypocrisy. What happened to families and husbands being off limits? Of course, Carlos and Monica also break down the reunion seating chart and share their thoughts on what we can expect heading into next week’s finale.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There are so many bittersweet flavors to our emotional landscape: our grief intermingled with relief, the tears of compassion when those who have hurt us express their regrets, the push and pull between our inner and outer worlds, the existential ache of not finding full expression in any world, the relief at expressing who we are aloud only to discover that we still only belong to ourselves, the lonely costs of success, the recognition that what was broken in our lifetime may not be made whole for hundreds more years, and a thousand more inner contradictions. Yosef's story is the story of a dreamer whose dreams came true. But even stories with the happiest endings come with an underlying ache. As we close Yosef's story in this week's Parsha, we analyze Yosef's emotional world through the astounding record of Yosef's tears, a central character in the Torah who is plainly recorded in verse after verse as weeping: sometimes in private, sometimes in public, sometimes so loudly that the entire land can hear. How do we make meaning of these tears? What story do they tell us about Yosef's experience of his life's triumphs and hardships, of the inner, emotional world that beat beneath this powerful figure, who rose from the pit to find astounding success as viceroy in Egypt, and as he released his restraint on his buried identity, expressed an emotional landscape that echoes the complexity of each of our own inner worlds?* * * * * * *To inquire about sponsorship & advertising opportunities, please email us at info@humanandholy.comTo support our work, visit humanandholy.com/sponsor.Find us on Instagram @humanandholy & subscribe to our channel to stay up to date on all our upcoming conversations ✨Human & Holy podcast is available on all podcast streaming platforms. New episodes every Sunday & Wednesday on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.
In this captivating episode of Holy Disruption, host Heather Schott is joined by special guest Jonathan Cahn, a renowned Messianic Jewish rabbi, author, and prophetic voice. Together, they discuss the spiritual battles facing America, drawing parallels between ancient biblical patterns and modern events. They delve into the symbolic significance of figures like Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, and other political leaders, exploring how these manifestations reflect a greater spiritual war for the nation's soul. Rabbi Cahn also shares profound insights from his latest book, 'The Avatar,' and emphasizes the urgency of revival and reformation within the church. Heather and Jonathan call the church to awaken and stand firm in their faith, pushing back against darkness to prepare for a great harvest. The episode concludes with a powerful prayer for awakening and revival in America, urging believers to live boldly and publicly for Christ.
Check out this awesome encore show from June 21, 2024! (2:06) Bible Study: 2 Kgs 11:1-4, 9-18, 20 Father Unpacks this complicated Passage in the bible. You won’t want to miss this! Mt 6:19-23 What does it mean to store up treasure where your heart is. (18:12) Break 1 (18:57) Letters: Father answers letters as to why you should go back to church, if orthodox Jews adopt none Jews, why some Holy days of obligation are not obligatory to all diocese and what do you do if they have Mass but no confession. (40:00) Break 2 (40:17) Word of the Day: Zion (43:38) Phones: Al - What is the chronological order, Sodom, Gomorrah, Ten Commandments, Moses and the Flood? Winnifred - A Catholic marrying a protestant, they weren't married before a priest. Are they considered married in the eyes of the Church, and receiving communion?
Malachi 3:1-4:6, Rev 22:1-21, Ps 150:1-6, Pr 31:25-31
Busted Parents: 2 Stories “Do as we say, not as we did.” Based on a post by yellowjacket66. Listen to the Podcast at my First Time. Her Parents Caught Us Naked But Haley and I discovered their shameful secrets. "I'll rip your fucking dick off; and stuff it down your fucking throat, if you knock-up my daughter." It was Mr. Boyd Summers, the father of my girlfriend Haley. He was very angry. Haley and I, both 18, having recently graduated from high school were sitting in her parents' kitchen listening to the diatribe from Haley's father. Haley spoke up, "Daddy, we're not doing anything like that. Please don't say things like that." Mr. Summers continued, he was drunk and pissed-off. He ranted at me, "Don't you tell me you're not fucking my daughter!" But I hadn't told him I wasn't fucking his daughter; his daughter had. She continued to defend herself. "Daddy, please! Josh and I have not been having sex." Mr. Summers said, "Bull; shit! Don't lie to me, little girl." "I'm not lying." She said. Haley was now crying. Mrs. Summers entered the fray, "Boyd, don't speak like that to your daughter." He said, "She's just a slut! Just like you and your sister." Mrs. Summers ignored the words and calmed him down. "Boyd, sit here! Let your daughter explain herself." Oh boy, this would have to be a good explanation. Mr. Summers sneered, "Okay, explain how you and this asshole” Boyd sneered at me; “Came home naked? What were you doing, reading poetry to each other?" He was drunk and angry. I could see his point, though. Haley and I had showed up at the front door to her house, buck naked. It was a Saturday night in late May, and I had picked her up for a date at 6:30. We left, fully clothed, only to return at 1:30AM, without our clothes. Seeing their slender, beautiful daughter, naked with some kid, had to be an incredible shock to her parents. I walked her from the driveway to her front door. It was locked because we violated curfew. Haley had knocked on the door and we both retreated to hide behind some shrubs. My plan was to get the hell out of there once Haley had contacted her mother and gotten inside the house. Her mom opened the door, to find no one on the porch. The conversation went like this; "Pist, Mom. Can you get me a coat. I'm cold." Her mother said, "Well come inside. Why are you hiding?" Haley said, "I lost my clothes. Someone stole them." "Where's Josh?" "He's out here too." I had asked her to just go inside and not involve me. It would only make things worse if she were naked and with me. "Does he have clothes on?" Haley answered, "No. They stole his clothes too." That's when Haley's dad came outside. "Helen, Wha da fuckis going on?" He asked. We could tell immediately that he'd been drinking. Haley's mom explained; “Boyd, Haley and her boyfriend were saying their clothes had been stolen.” "Whah dah fuck!" He said. Haley said to me, "Josh, Let's just go to your house." I imagine my mom would be more receptive to me bringing home a naked girl. She probably expected shit like that from me. Haley's mom said, "No. Get in here; both of you!" "I don't want Daddy to see me naked." Haley protested. Boyd said, "Why not. Probably half the city has seen you naked." Anyone on the block could have heard Boyd announce his daughter's nakedness. He was hot, and getting hotter. But he didn't actually want to see his daughter naked, so he turned and went in the house while Mrs. S got a couple of coats from the closet and handed them to us in the bushes. She gave Haley a long coat, but I had just a short coat that really didn't cover my ass and my dick was sticking out. Having a girl's mother see your cock is not going to create a favorable impression. It was enough to get us in the house. Mrs. S got a pair of her husband's work pants for me, and a sweatshirt. Haley went to her room and put on some clothes. We were hoping that would be the end of it, but Mr. S called her down to the kitchen and told me to sit my ass down. That's when he threatened to cut my dick off and shove it down my throat. He was a big, rough guy, and I believed him. Anyway, Haley and I tried to explain what had happened. She told the story, the G-rated version. "Josh and I went to the movies and afterward we were driving around talking." Partially true, we'd gone to the drive-in where we had necked furiously through the entire movie. Neither of us could remember what the flick was about. I was playing with her naked tits the entire time. She continued, "After the movie, we drove around for a bit. We just like to drive around and talk about things." We were looking for a place to park. It was years ago, before cell-phones and the internet. Haley continued, "You remember the old rock quarry out past Hooverville, where we would swim during the summers." Her mom and dad nodded. "I convinced Josh to go swimming. It was such a nice night and I remembered all the good times when you had taken us there when we were kids." She was sucking-up to them, playing the little daughter but not emphasizing that she went swimming while naked with her boyfriend. I spoke up and said, "It was my idea to go swimming. It wasn't, but I was trying to shield Haley's honor. She said, "No, it was my idea. We didn't have swim suits, so I convinced Josh we should skinny-dip. He didn't want to, but finally gave in, because it was very dark and he didn't want me to get hurt and not be able to help. We'd never done anything like that before.” I hoped they believed it. This part about it being her idea was true. When Haley suggested we both strip and go swimming, it actually didn't take me more than a second to agree. We'd been to the drive-in movie. We'd gone there on dates half-a-dozen times. We'd graduated from just kissing to where I stripped Haley to the waist and spent a couple of hours playing with her fascinating tits. I took my shirt off too. I also had my hands in her pants, playing with her virgin pussy and rubbing her smooth, soft ass. I sucked her tits and put my fingers inside her. She pulled on my cock. She had gotten me off many times. She would use her hands to satisfy me, which avoided my urge to go further. She would come too. Her crotch would get so warm that I couldn't believe it. We steamed up the car windows, which obscured our view of the movie, but we didn't care. We were young and in love. After the movie, we drove around as we said. The quarry she mentioned was a popular 'make-out' spot where teens like us would 'park'. Haley continued telling her folks, "We were swimming, when a couple of guys saw our car and pulled up. Then they saw our clothes on the hood of Josh's car, and took them." It was true. We were swimming in the cool deep water, and when a few guys we knew from school showed up. They knew my car. "Hey Josh. What are you doing?" One of them said. It was a guy named Eddie. He called a few times and I said, "I'm just taking a piss." "Bullshit. Your clothes are on your car. Are you taking a piss or whacking off." "Okay. I'm just swimming. I'll talk to you guys next week." Eddie asked, "Are you alone?" I said I was, but he said, "Well is this your bra and panties on the hood of your car." I begged them to just be on their way, but they were enjoying their mastery of the situation. "Who's with you?" "None of your business. Please just leave us alone." He said, "It must be Haley Summers in there with you. Her ID is in her jeans." His friend john said, "She must be naked. I'd like to see that." I said, "We are wearing swim suits (a lie)." Carl, another of the guys said, "Why don't you two come out and say hello. You must be getting cold in that water." It was true. The water was very cold. My dick had shriveled to the size of a peanut. We both had goosebumps and Haley's nipples were hard, like little pebbles. The banter went back and forth with them wanting us to come out and me trying to get them to go away. Haley asked them to please leave. I offered money, but they weren't interested and I didn't have much anyway. It was a stalemate, but we were in the losing position. We were shivering from the cold water. Finally, they said, "We'll wait over here by our car while you two come out." Haley was very cold and said, "Let them see. I really don't care. We won't see them again since school is over." We had graduated and probably wouldn't cross paths with the three guys very often again, although two of them were juniors and would undoubtedly spread salacious stories around school next year. It pissed-me-off that they would say embarrassing things that might detract from Haley's reputation, but we had no options. So, I went first. Haley hung back in the bushes. They had taken our clothes from the car hood, including my wallet and the car keys. I tried to talk them into returning my stuff, but they wouldn't do it. I was embarrassed, standing there naked. They'd seen me naked after gym class. Haley was the prize. "We want to see Haley naked." Eddie said. John said, "I want to see those titties of hers that she flaunts around school." Haley was a very popular girl. She had a killer body and a nice set of boobs. Many young men drooled over her. She'd only started at our school for her senior year (and was 18), but had attracted many invitations for dates. She went out with a number of guys, but she wouldn't 'put out', so the more lecherous dudes left her alone. I was in American History class next to her, and asked her out in a moment of rare courage. She accepted and we had been 'going steady' for the last four months of the school year. As time went on, we did more and more, but she had limits and I proceeded very cautiously, not wanting to disrespect her; but damn, she made me hot. Haley was a young woman with glands and sexual desires too. We hadn't had sex. She was telling her daddy the truth. We sure were proceeding toward it though. She wanted to wait at least until we had graduated; and I had agreed. Anyway, Haley finally had to walk out naked and the assholes shined a light on her, seeing her pretty naked body. She tried to cover-up, but with limited success. She had one hand covering her pussy, and the other arm over her breasts, but everything else was exposed. I'll bet they all went home and whacked-off, thinking about her. She stood there for a moment then hid behind my car. They wouldn't give us our clothes, but did return my wallet and keys and Haley's ID. Eddie put the items on a rock and then insisted that Haley walk over to get them. She was angry and embarrassed, but gave them their show. They could see her tits when she picked up the items. She dropped my wallet and needed both hands to hold everything, so the jerks had a glimpse of her pussy. They finally drove away with our clothes. I'm sure Haley's panties were their most popular trophy. They were wet with her scent, perfume and the secretions from her pussy during our hours at the drive-in. Haley was upset. She knew an unknown number of boys would be fondling and sniffing her panties. I lamented my inability to recover them somehow. On the other hand, after a few minutes, Haley became highly aroused, over being exposed to other people. She didn't say anything but she was hot when I kissed her. It was our first hint of her exhibitionist tendencies. Those guys had seen her naked, but I was the one taking her home. Haley had told her mom and dad a sanitized version of the events at the quarry; she said; “Somebody stole our clothes but we hadn't seen who it was.” Her dad wasn't satisfied and was skeptical of everything she had told them beyond the fact of Haley and I showing up naked at their door. The tables Turn. He ranted, "Helen, your daughter is going to get knocked-up, then what?" Haley had gotten into a good college and her dad was afraid she would get pregnant and mess up her future. Helen said, "Boyd. She's not going to get pregnant. She'd told you she's not having sex with this boy. Why don't you believe her." He said, "I know what goes on with kids these days." She said, "They're smarter than we were." He grumbled and Helen said, "Here you are yelling at this boy about whether he's doing the same things you did when you were his age. I don't think he's pressing her to have sex like you did with me." Some family secrets were coming out. Haley looked at her mom. Mrs. S said, "Go ahead, Boyd, tell your daughter how you begged me to let you screw me and how you got me pregnant and I had to quit college. Your daughter is smarter than I was." Whoa, too much information, but it explained his suspicions. Haley, angry with her dad, pushed the issue, "Daddy, did you have sex with Momma before you guys were married?" Mr. Summers was being confronted by his daughter, tried to avoid answering, but she was agitated. Helen volunteered, "They called it fucking back then, just like they do how. Tell them Boyd, how you had to marry me; or my daddy would've cut your dick off and shoved it down your throat." Boyd was finally stymied. "We shouldn't be talking about this in front of Haley." Haley said, "Jennie and I used to wonder about how Benjamin was born only five months after you guys got married. You told us he was premature. He sure was." Haley was laughing now. Her mom joined her. “No wonder you assume everybody does it! Truth is, you did it!” It finally broke her daddy's angry mood and he began to laugh. “Go ahead, Helen, let your daughter know everything. Tell your daughter what a slut you were.” Helen laughed too. She walked around the table and stepped behind Boyd, then slid her hands down inside the collar of his tee shirt; and said; "Your daddy couldn't keep it in his pants, once he met me. Damn right I was irresistible, wasn't I Boyd." He just meekly said, "You were, oh boy, you were." Then he reached around and slapped her ass. They realized they were saying too much. Boyd pulled Helen's arm around and gathered her on his lap. The two parents seemed to lose interest in us kids. After a few minutes, Helen said, "We're going to bed. You kids can watch TV downstairs. Just keep quiet. See you tomorrow." I sensed that they had urges to satisfy. I was following Haley to the staircase when Boyd called me to the side and handed me something. It was a three-pack of condoms. He tried once more to put his game face on and said, "My warning stands." They went off. Haley looked up at me from the bottom of the stairs, relieved that it was over, at least for now. Then, we reflected. Her parents had just confirmed they were going to leave us alone in the basement game room, and her dad had given me a 3-pack of rubbers. Haley laughed and asked me to help pull out the hide-a-bed. We found a movie on TV; another movie that we weren't going to watch. I got comfortable and she went back up to the kitchen to make popcorn. I was sitting back on the hide-a-bed with my naked body under the sheet and quilt, thinking I was going to give Haley a delightful surprise. I was just watching the movie when I heard her coming, and looked her way when she reached the bottom of the stairs. She had a bowl of popcorn, but that was all. She was naked. I looked at her firm young breasts; her flat stomach with her sexy navel; the furry dark triangle of hair on her pussy; her toned thighs; her tanned legs; her glimmering long hair; her smile; and her pretty face. I was transfixed by the most wonderful thing I had ever seen. My very own girlfriend, naked and walking toward me. She put down the refreshments and crawled up, straddling my lap and put her breasts in my face. I ran my hands over her back and her tender ass-cheeks. My cock was hard, of course and she soon discovered my complete state of undress. I nuzzled her breasts and licked her nipples. I said, "Are you sure we should be doing this?" She said, "Didn't you just hear them tell us they were going to leave us alone as long as we don't make too much noise?" I wasn't sure they meant it that way, but I nodded. She moved down and pulled on the sheet. My horny young cock popped out. I reached to the lamp table and got a condom. I started to open it. "You don't need that." Haley said. "Why not. I don't want your daddy to cut my dick off and shove it down my throat." She said, "I'm on the pill. Momma took me to the doctor last month. She said she couldn't tell me what to do anymore since I was an adult; and that I should never be dependent on some horny boy having a rubber when he needs it; or pulling out of my pussy before he comes." I was experiencing a lot of new surprises, tonight. I just looked at Haley, speechless. "Momma told me not to tell Daddy. He doesn't know. It would upset him so much. I think he wants me to stay his little girl until I'm past menopause!" Haley leaned in and kissed me passionately. I had one hand on her soft tit, and my other hand on her soft ass. Then she decided to move straight to the feature presentation. She slid her pelvis down onto me, using her hand to guide my straining cock into her smooth, warm vagina. It was the first time for both of us, and it felt marvelous, like nothing I had ever experienced. My Cock was squeezed in the sleeve of her cunt, and I felt a sensation along the entire length of my dick, massaging and stimulating it. She kissed me and humped her hips, riding my cock. It didn't take me long. My cock had dreamt of being inside a pussy for its entire life, and wouldn't wait any longer. I felt my semen build up and my balls began to contract; then I exploded into Haley's spasming cunt. The release was amazing. We were both panting and sweating from extreme arousal. Unbelievable! We kissed and held each other. I apologized for coming so soon. She told me not to worry, because we were going to do it again. "My daddy gave you three condoms, so he expects you to screw me three times tonight." I was pretty sure that was not his intent, but I said. "Well, I certainly don't want to piss him off, do I?" We made love a second time and then a third. We made good use of the couch in the recreation room while the television played a movie; we had no idea what it was. I relished Haley for the entire night. The second time we did it, she wanted to try 'doggie style' so I had the pleasure of gazing at her soft young ass while my cock sawed in and out of her pussy. The third time was in the 'missionary position' and was tender and slow. It is the most memorable night of my life, the first time I made love to my future wife. I was there all night but left very early in the morning before her parents were up and about. I didn't want to confront her mom and dad after spending the night with their daughter. But I'm sure they heard my car start when I left. Haley couldn't honestly deny that we were having sex any longer. I told my mom that I'd stayed at another friend's house. Haley and I dated through college and were married the year before we graduated. We must've fucked a thousand times over those four years. We are still together. Haley still laughs with her brother and sister about the secrets her mom and dad had revealed that night. One vivid memory I have is after I impregnated Haley for the first time, after we were married, of course. Her mom and dad came to visit and we told them. I shook hands with her dad with one hand on my crotch. He saw and said, "Don't worry. I'm not going to cut your dick off and shove it down your throat. I was just kidding when I said that." He sure fooled me! Based on a post by yellowjacket66, for Literotica. Santa's Christmas Sausage. Mark saw mommy doing Santa Claus. Based on a post by Bh76. Listen to the Podcast at my First Time. I woke to the sound of scraping, on the roof. At nineteen years old, I knew it was the big tree in the backyard and not Santa Claus. It woke me all the same. I looked at the time and sighed; three o'clock. We had gotten home from my grandmother's a little after one, and I was out like a light. My parents used the time after we got home, to wrap our immediate family's presents. It was an annual tradition. They always opened a bottle of wine, turned on 'A Christmas Story,' and wrapped our presents. It never made sense to me that they did it the night before, but it was what it was. I was thirsty, so I opened my door, and looked to see if they were still up. I didn't want to get yelled at for spying on my presents. Those spankings from my youth, were still fresh on my mind. Hearing nothing, and seeing no lights on, I made my way down a few stairs and sat low. Through the ballusters I could see motion near the sofa. In the glow of the Christmas Tree lights and a burning fireplace, I could clearly see the back of a man, with a red santa hat, incredible white beard, red tanktop, and red pants dropped to his ankles, and the bare legs of a woman. Santa's coat was draped over the ottoman. I slid on my ass, wearing just my boxers and a tee-shirt. Now 3 steps lower, I could clearly see the backside of done serious doggie fucking! My mom was bent over the couch, getting fucked from behind, by a man in a Santa suit. It was a very authentic-looking suit. And the beard looked incredibly real. I watched in shock as she had her legs spread wide, and leaning down on her hands with her pelvis at rest on the sofa's rounded armrest. her large natural breasts swung with each hard thrust from Santa, who I certainly hoped was my father. Her heavy breathing was loud, and she occasionally looked back over her shoulder, and the man who was reaming out her wet cunt. I assume her eyes were closed in lust, and she at times bit her lips. "Fuck me, Santa. Fuck me harder, Saint Nick." I stayed down and peered through the balusters, to avoid being seen; and watched as Santa continued to plow my modest, old-fashioned mother from behind. I have to admit she looked hot with her sweaty hair matted to her forehead and her plump ass jiggling with each impact. I found myself getting hard at the sight. The slapping sound was loud and sexy. Her moans were soft and frequent. Santa groaned, "Ho, ho, fucking ho, you've been a naughty girl this year; haven't you?" "No, uh; Santa; oh. I've; oh God! Been, a; ah; good, uh, girl." "You've been a slut, haven't you? You've been letting your husband have your ass, haven't you?" Santa said; which made me almost give up my presence up high on my perch. I couldn't believe my mom did anal. Holy shit! "Yes, Santa, oh God! Harder, I'm so close. Jim loves my ass, and I love it too." I couldn't believe my ears. Then my cock got rock hard, imagining my mom, with a cock deep in her ass. "Well, Mary, I just happen to have some lube, right here." What happened next, shattered all of my preconceived notions of what was really happening. Out of nowhere, a bottle appeared in his hand ,bathed in a shower of golden sparkles. It couldn't really be Santa Claus, banging my mom in our living room, could it? I watched Santa take off his gloves and squirt the liquid onto her crack. He fingered her backdoor and she squealed in delight at the double penetration. "So good, Santa. So fucking good." I gasped when he pulled out of her pussy and flopped his fat sausage, lying flat on her ass crack. I couldn't take my eyes off of his long fat cock as he lubed it up. I couldn't believe she was going to try to take it. I looked down at my boxers and realized I was nearly as long, now poking way out of my fly; but I was nowhere near the girth of that salami roll. I feared for her getting injured. He said, "Are you ready, Slutty Mary?" "Yes, Santa. Give it to me." He pressed the tip in, and I watched her turn her head back, she was terrified as she looked at his face; her eyes bulged in shock as he wedged his shaft deep in. "Holy hell," she shrieked. Santa flashed an evil grin and pushed forward. "Oh, damn," he groaned. "You're the tightest ass I'll have, all this night." I saw anger flash in my mother's eyes, but it was only for a moment. She got lost in the sensation from the intruder in her ass. "Yes, Santa. Nice and slow. Just like that." He threw his head back; then started to piston back and forth. The sight was incredible! I wished I had a camera. I was going to have jerk-off fodder for a long time, with just the memory. "Oh yeah, Mary. That's what you like, isn't it, Santa's slut. You're my slut right?" "Yes, Santa. I'm your slut. Oh, fuck that's good." He continued his steady pace as he stretched her hole. I could only imagine what it looked like up close. What I was seeing was better than any porn I'd ever seen. "You love it don't you. You love my big cock in your ass." "Yes, Santa. Oh, fuck! Yes." He picked up his pace and started to slam into her. I could hear the slapping again and it was so sexy. I loved that sound. Then I watched her face and tits fall to the cushion and she brought her fingers to her pussy. Added to the slapping sound was the sloshing sound of her wet pussy being frigged to orgasm. I noticed a round black object on the Ottoman, that I hadn't seen before. Lean my face up to the slot between two balusters of the staircase railing. It had been obscured by mom's head; until she laid her face onto the sofa cushion. A square lighted shape was next to it. Mom had a camcorder, filming her sex video with Santa? "Cum for me, Mary. Cum hard." "Fuck, fuck, yes!" she shrieked loudly. They didn't break stride, oblivious to how loud they were. I couldn't believe they didn't wake my sister. "I'm close, Mary. I want to cum on your tits." He pulled out and she rolled around onto her knees. He only stroked a few times, before rope after rope blasted onto her neck and tits. He groaned in pleasure before he flicked the last drops of cum at her open mouth. It was so dirty, so unlike my mother on any other day of the year. Well, I assumed that. I'd never watched her get fucked before. A red towel appeared, and he wiped off his glistening cock, still slick with lube, then my mom's spread ass. He tossed it into the burning fireplace and pulled up his pants. I watched my naked mom sit on the rug and sip some wine as she watched his semi-flaccid cock get tucked into his red pants. Then he fastened his belt. He smiled at her as he put on his coat and straightened his hat. "You're the best fuck ever, Mary. I still can't believe you took me anally." "I trained for it, Santa. I used dildos and butt plugs, all day, to get used to the size." "Such a good girl, Mary. You've definitely earned this one." He moved his hands like a magician and a present appeared in his hand. It looked like a necklace box. "Oh, Santa. You're too good to me." She stood naked, her tits swinging, and kissed him in what looked like serious tongue-wrestling. I took that opportunity to return to my bedroom. I never got my drink. Morning Light. "Rise and shine, everybody," my mom shouted from the kitchen. When we were kids, she was the one who got woken up by us. Funny how times change. I walked into the hall and saw my sister emerge from her room. Her hair looked every bit like a rat's nest as she scratched her butt and elbowed me out of her way. I shook my head and took delight in the smell of cinnamon rolls and sausage, wafting through the house. Dad was pouring a cup of coffee as mom flipped the sausage. "Jenny and Mark, do you want to put the icing on the rolls?" We'd been doing that since we were old enough to hold the spatula. "Of course, daddy," Jenny said brightly. She was eighteen, but delighted in Christmas as if she were still five. I sat down and watched dad as he slapped mom on her ass. She winced and gave him a yelp. He smirked knowingly, as he sat with his coffee. I still didn't know what the hell happened the previous night. Was it really Santa Clause? Or was it my dad? I watched mom closely that morning. I'd never before noticed how sexy she was. I always knew she was pretty but seeing her, taking a large fat cock in her ass; gave me something entirely different to think about. We finished icing the rolls and Jenny excused herself to go to the bathroom. Mom sat down and took dad's hand. She looked at me with a smirk and said, "So Mark, I hope you got enough sleep, last night. But did you enjoy the show?" Busted! "Um..." I stuttered. "It's okay," dad said. He waved his hands and a napkin appeared in his hand. "Just don't do it again, okay? You're old enough to know a healthy marriage when you see it; but unless you're invited to watch, just go about your own business. Got it?" I nodded and bit into my roll. I couldn't believe; I forgot. Dad used to do magic for us, when we were little kids. And I couldn't believe that's all they said about their sex fantasy videos. Years later, when I caught them screwing in my garage, I realized they were becoming full-blown exhibitionists. Unreal. Not long after that; Jenny told me she came across a folder of sex videos, hidden deep in a portable hard drive. She thought Dad had a secret porn stash, that mom ought to know about. I told her; “Mom knows. Trust me. The videos are probably home movies they made; and then watch together as a turn-on.” “What?” she said. “Mom and dad do that stuff?” “Yeah! I said. “I stumbled upon the two of them really late one night, in the living room. The next morning mom and dad asked if I enjoyed it. I was speechless. They just told me to give them space, and quit watching.” “Damn!” Jenny said. “Never would have thought our prim and proper mother would be this kinky?” Hey!” I added. “At least they have a great sex life. How many of our friends even have both parents still together?” “As long as we don't have to explain to our friends about our parents posting it on Pornhub, I'll be just fine with it.” Jenny concluded. Based on a post by Bh76, for Literotica.
Proverbes 31
Malachi 1:1-2:17, Rev 21:1-27, Ps 149:1-9, Pr 31:10-24
Malachi 1:1-2:17, Rev 21:1-27, Ps 149:1-9, Pr 31:10-24
Worship Leader Desi Whorton reflects on the Lord's Prayer, highlighting its profound simplicity and the significance behind its words. Through this, Desi emphasizes the importance of our relationship with God, encouraging us to understand the prayer's deeper meaning as Jesus taught his disciples.
Malachi 1:1-2:17, Rev 21:1-27, Ps 149:1-9, Pr 31:10-24
Jesus offers the fulfilling fruit of union with his Spirit in place of the isolated barrenness of our self-determination.
Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
Zech 14:1-21, Rev 20:1-15, Ps 148:1-14, Pr 31:8-9
Zech 14:1-21, Rev 20:1-15, Ps 148:1-14, Pr 31:8-9
In this episode of Gangland Wire, Gary Jenkins sits down with Bob Cooley, the once–well-connected Chicago lawyer who lived at the center of the city's most notorious corruption machine. After years out of the public eye, Cooley recently resurfaced to revisit his explosive memoir, When Corruption Was King—and this conversation offers a rare, firsthand look at how organized crime, politics, and the court system intersected in Chicago for decades. Cooley traces his journey from growing up in a police family to serving as a Chicago police officer and ultimately becoming a criminal defense attorney whose real job was quietly fixing cases for the Chicago Outfit. His deep understanding of the judicial system made him indispensable to mob-connected power brokers like Pat Marcy, a political fixer with direct access to judges, prosecutors, and court clerks. Inside the Chicago Corruption Machine Cooley explains how verdicts were bought, cases were steered, and justice was manipulated—what insiders called the “Chicago Method.” He describes his relationships with key figures in organized crime, including gambling bosses like Marco D'Amico and violent enforcers such as Harry Aleman and Tony Spilotro, painting a chilling picture of life inside a world where loyalty was enforced by fear. As his role deepened, so did the psychological toll. Cooley recounts living under constant threat, including a contract placed on his life after he refused to betray a fellow associate—an event that forced him to confront the cost of the life he was leading. Turning Point: Becoming a Federal Witness The episode covers Cooley's pivotal decision in 1986 to cooperate with federal authorities, a move that helped dismantle powerful corruption networks through FBI Operation Gambat. Cooley breaks down how political connections—not just street-level violence—allowed the Outfit to operate with near-total impunity for so long. Along the way, Cooley reflects on the moral reckoning that led him to turn on the system that had enriched and protected him, framing his story as one not just of crime and betrayal, but of reckoning and redemption. What Listeners Will Hear How Bob Cooley became the Outfit's go-to case fixer The role of Pat Marcy and political corruption in Chicago courts Firsthand stories involving Marco D'Amico, Harry Aleman, and Tony Spilotro The emotional and psychological strain of living among violent criminals The decision to cooperate and the impact of Operation Gambat Why Cooley believes Chicago's corruption endured for generations Why This Episode Matters Bob Cooley is one of the few people who saw the Chicago Outfit from inside the courtroom and the back rooms of power. His story reveals how deeply organized crime embedded itself into the institutions meant to uphold the law—and what it cost those who tried to escape it. This episode sets the stage for a deeper follow-up conversation, where Gary and Cooley will continue unpacking the most dangerous and revealing moments of his life. Resources Book: When Corruption Was King by Bob Cooley Hit me up on Venmo for a cup of coffee or a shot and a beer @ganglandwire Click here to “buy me a cup of coffee” Subscribe to the website for weekly notifications about updates and other Mob information. To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here To rent ‘Brothers against Brothers’ or ‘Gangland Wire,’ the documentaries click here. To purchase one of my books, click here. 0:03 Prelude to Bob Cooley’s Story 1:57 Bob Cooley’s Background 5:24 The Chicago Outfit Connection 8:24 The Turning Point 15:20 The Rise of a Mob Lawyer 23:54 A Life of Crime and Consequences 26:03 The Incident at the Police Station 50:27 The Count and His Influence 1:19:51 The Murder of a Friend 1:35:26 Contracts and Betrayal 1:40:36 Conclusion and Future Stories Transcript [0:00] Well, hey guys, this is a little prelude to my next story. Bob Cooley was a Chicago lawyer and an outfit associate who had been in, who has been in hiding for many years. I contacted him about six or seven years ago when I first started a podcast, I was able to get a phone number on him and, and got him on the phone. He was, I think it was out in the desert in Las Vegas area at the time. And at the time he was trying to sell his book when corruption was king to a movie producer And he really didn’t want to overexpose himself, and they didn’t really want him to do anything. And eventually, COVID hit, and the movie production was canceled. And it was just all over. There were several movie productions were canceled during COVID, if I remember right. A couple people who I have interviewed and had a movie deal going. Well, Bob recently remembered me, and he contacted me. He just called me out of the clear blue, and he wanted to revive his book and his story. He’s been, you know, way out of the limelight for a long time. And so I thought, well, I always wanted to interview this guy because he’s got a real insider’s knowledge to Chicago Outfit, the one that very few people have. [1:08] You know, here’s what he knows about. And he provides valuable insight into the inner workings of the Outfit. And I don’t mean, you know, scheming up how to kill people and how to do robberies and burglars and all that. But the Chicago court system and Chicago politics, that’s a, that’s a, the, the mob, a mafia family can’t exist unless they have connections into the political system and especially the court system. Otherwise, what good are they? You know, I mean, they, they just take your money where they give you back. They can’t protect you from anybody. [1:42] So I need to give you a little more of the backstory before we go on to the actual interview with Bob, because he kind of rambles a little bit and goes off and comes back and drops [1:54] names that we don’t have time to go into explanation. So here’s a little bit of what he talked about. He went from being, as I said before, Chicago Outfit’s trusted fixer in the court system, and he eventually became the government star witness against them. He’s born, he’s about my age. He was born in 1943. He was an Irish-American police family and came from the Chicago South side. He was a cop himself for a short period of time, but he was going to law school while he was a policeman. And once he started practicing law, he moved right into criminal law and into first ward politics and the judicial world downtown. [2:36] And that’s where the outfit and the old democratic machine intersected. He was in a restaurant called Counselor’s Row, which was right down. Bob had an office downtown. Well, he’s inside that system, and he uses his insider’s knowledge to fix cases. Once an outfit started noticing him that he could fix a case if he wanted to, he immediately became connected to the first ward power broker and outfit political conduit, a guy named Pat Marcy. Pat Marcy knew all the judges He knew all the court clerks And all the police officers And Bob was getting to know him too During this time But Bob was a guy who was out in He was a lawyer And he was working inside the court system Marcy was just a downtown fixer. [3:22] But Bob got to where he could guarantee acquittals or light sentences for whoever came to him with the right amount of money, whether it be a mobster or a bookmaker or a juice loan guy or a crap politician, whoever it was, Bob could fix the case. [3:36] One of the main guys tied to his work he was kind of attached to a crew everybody’s owned by somebody he was attached to the Elmwood Park crew and Marco D’Amico who was under John DeFranco and I can’t remember who was before DeFranco, was kind of his boss and he was a gambling boss and Bob was a huge gambler I mean a huge gambler and Bob will help fix cases for some notorious people Really, one of the most important stories that we’ll go into in the second episode of this is Harry the Hook Aleman. And he also helped fix the case for Tony Spolatro and several others. He’s always paid him in cash. And he lived large. As you’ll see, he lived large. And he moved comfortably between mobsters and politicians and judges. And he was one of the insiders back in the 70s, 60s or 70s mainly. He was an insider. But by the 80s, he’s burned out. He’s disgusted with himself. He sees some things that he doesn’t like. They put a contract out on him once because he wouldn’t give somebody up as an informant, and he tipped one of his clients off that he was going to come out that he was an informant, and the guy was able to escape, I believe. Well, I have to go back and listen to my own story. [4:53] Finally in 1986 he walked unannounced they didn’t have a case on him and he walked unannounced in the U.S. Courthouse and offered himself up to take down this whole Pat Marcy and the whole mobster political clique in Chicago and he wore a wire for FBI an operation called Operation Gambat which is a gambling attorney because he was a huge gambler [5:17] huge huge gambler and they did a sweeping probe and indicted tons of people over this. So let’s go ahead and listen to Robert Cooley. [5:31] Uh, he, he, like I said, he’s a little bit rambling and a little bit hard to follow sometimes, but some of these names and, and, uh, and in the first episode, we’ll really talk about his history and, uh, where he came from and how he came up. He’ll mention somebody called the count and I’ll do that whole count story and a whole nother thing. So when he talks about the count, just disregard that it’ll be a short or something. And I got to tell that count story. It’s an interesting story. Uh, he, he gets involved with the only own, uh, association, uh, and, uh, and the, uh, Chinese Tong gang in, uh, Chicago and Chicago’s Chinatown. Uh, some of the other people he’ll talk about are Marco D’Amico, as I said, and D’Amico’s top aide, Rick Glantini, uh, another, uh, connected guy and worked for the city of Chicago is Robert Abinati. He was a truck driver. [6:25] He was also related to D’Amico and D’Amico’s cousin, former Chicago police officer Ricky Borelli. Those are some of the names that he’ll mention in this. So let’s settle back and listen to Bob Cooley. Hey, all you wiretappers. Good to be back here in studio gangland wire. This is Gary Jenkins, retired Kansas City Police Intelligence Unit detective. And, you know, we we deal with the mob here once a week, sometimes twice a week on the podcast. And I have a special guest that hadn’t been heard from for a while. And, you know, to be honest, guys, I’ve kind of gotten away from the outfit. I’ve been doing a lot of New York stuff and Springfield, Massachusetts and all around the country. And I kind of got away from Chicago. And we’re going back to Chicago today. And I’m honored that Bob Cooley got hold of me. Now, you may not know who Bob Cooley was, but Bob Cooley was a guy. He was a mob lawyer in Chicago, and he really probably, he heard him as much as anybody’s ever heard him, and he did it all of his own accord. He was more like an undercover agent that just wasn’t officially designated an FBI agent rather than an informant. But anyhow, welcome, Bob. [7:37] Hello. Nice meeting you. Nice to meet you. And I’ve talked to you before. And you were busy before a few years ago. And you were getting ready to make some movies and stuff. And then COVID hit and a lot of that fell through. And that happened to several people I’ve talked to. You got a lot in common with me. I was a Kansas City policeman. And I ended up becoming a lawyer after I left the police department. And you were a Chicago copper. And then you left the police department a little bit earlier than I did and became a lawyer. And, and Bob, you’re from a Chicago police family, if I remember right. Is that correct? Oh, police, absolute police background, the whole family. Yes. Yeah. Your grandfather, your grandfather was killed in the line of duty. Is that right? [8:25] Both of my grandfathers were killed in the line of duty. Wow. In fact, that’s one of the reasons why I eventually did what I did. I was very, very close with my dad. Yeah, and your dad was a copper. [8:38] He was a policeman, yeah. And in fact, you use that term. I, for many, many years, wouldn’t use that word. It just aggravated me when people would use the word copper. To me, it would show disrespect. Oh, really? I said to us in Kansas City, that’s what we call each other, you know, among coppers. Oh, I know. I know. But I know. But, you know, I just, for whatever reason, one of the things that aggravated me the most, in fact, when I was being cross-examined by this piece of shit, Eddie Jensen, the one I wrote about in my book that was, you know, getting a lot of people killed and whatever. And he made some comment about my father. and I got furious and I had to, you know, my father was unbelievably honest as a policeman. [9:29] Everybody loved him because they didn’t have to share, uh, you know, but he was a detective. He had been written up many times in true and magazines and these magazines for making arrests. He was involved in the cartage detail. He was involved in all kinds of other things, but honest as the day is long. And, and, um, but, uh, again, the, uh, my father’s father was, uh, was a policeman and he was killed by a member of the Capone gang. And, uh, and when he was killed, after he was killed. [10:05] The, uh, well, after he got shot, he got shot during a robbery after he got shot, he was in the hospital for a while. And then he went, then he went back home. He went back home to his, uh, you know, to his house, uh, cause he had seven kids. He had a big family too. And, uh, stayed with his, you know, with his wife and, and, and eventually died. And when he died they had a very mediocre funeral for him. They had a bigger, much bigger funeral when Al Capone’s brother died. But during that time when I was a kid when I was about 13, 12, 13 years old, I worked among other places at a grocery store where I delivered to my grandmother. My grandmother lived in South Park which later became Mark Luther King Drive. She lived a very, very meager life because she basically had nothing. [11:09] What they gave them for the, at that time, what they gave them for the police department was a portion of the husband’s salary when they died, whatever. It was never a big deal like it is now, you know, like it is now when policemen get killed in the line of duty. and I’m thinking at the same time I’m thinking down the road, You know, about certain things from my past did come back to affect me. [11:38] Doing what I was doing, when I got involved, and I got involved absolutely with all these different people. My father hated these people. I didn’t, you know, I didn’t realize how much. I didn’t realize much when I was growing, you know, when I was growing up and whatever. And even when I was practicing law and when I opened up Pratt-Mose, I would have my father and mother come along with other people. And the place was all full of mobsters. I mean, we’re talking about, you know, a lot of Capone’s whole crew. A lot of the gunmen were still alive. In fact, the ones that ran the first award were all gunmen from Capone’s mob. And never said a word, never said a word about it. You know, he met my partner, Johnny Diaco, who was part of the mob, the senator, and whatever colitis could be. My dad, when my dad was dying. [12:38] When my dad was dying, he had what they didn’t call it, but it had to be Alzheimer’s because my dad was a unbelievably, he was a big, strong man, but he was never a fighter, sweet as could be to anybody and everybody. When he started getting bad, he started being mean to my mother and doing certain things. So we finally had to put him into a nursing home. When I went to see him in the nursing, and I had a close relationship with my dad because he saved my life many times when I was a kid. I was involved with stolen cars at school. I should have been thrown out of school. It was Mount Carmel, but he had been a Carmelite, almost a Carmelite priest. [13:25] And whatever, and that’s what kept me from being kicked out of school at Marquette when they were going to throw me out there because I was, again, involved in a lot of fights, and I also had an apartment that we had across the hall from the shorter hall where I was supposed to stay when I was a freshman, and we were throwing huge parties, and they wanted to throw me out of school. My dad came, my dad came and instead of throwing me out, they let me resign and whatever he had done so much, you know, for me. Yeah. [14:00] Now when I, when I meet, when I meet him up in the hospital, I, I came in the first time and it was about maybe 25 miles outside, you know, from where my office was downtown. And when I went in to see him, they had him strapped in a bed because apparently when he initially had two people in the room and when somebody would come in to try to talk to him and whatever, he would be nasty. And one time he punched one of the nurses who was, you know, because he was going in the bed and they wouldn’t, and he wouldn’t let him take him out. You know, I was furious and I had to go, I had to go through all that. And now, just before he died, it was about two or three days before he died, he didn’t recognize anybody except me. Didn’t recognize my mother. Didn’t recognize anybody. Yet when I would come into the room, son, that’s what he always called me, son, when I would come in. So he knew who I basically was. And he would even say, son, don’t let him do this to me when he had to go through or they took out something and he had to wear one. Of those, you know, those decatheters or whatever. Oh, yeah. [15:15] Just before he died, he said to me, he said, son, he said, those are the people that killed my father. He said, and his case was fixed. After, I had never known that. In fact, his father, Star, was there at 11th and State, and I would see it when everyone went in there. Star was up there on the board as if there’s a policeman or a policeman killed in the line of duty. When he told me that it really and I talked to my brother who knew all about all that that’s what happened, the gunman killed him on 22nd street when that happened the case went to trial and he was found not guilty apparently the case was fixed I tell you what talk about poetic justice there your grandson is now in that system of fixing cases. I can’t even imagine what you must have felt like when you learned that at that point in your life. Man, that would be a grief. That would be tough. That’s what eventually made me one day decide that I had to do something to put an end to all that was going on there. [16:25] I’m curious, what neighborhood did you grow up in? Neighborhood identity is pretty strong in Chicago. So what neighborhood do you claim? I grew up in the hood. First place I grew up, my first place when I was born, I was at 7428 South Vernon. Which is the south side, southeast side of the city. I was there until I was in sixth grade. That was St. Columbanus Parish. When I was in sixth grade, we had to move because that’s when they were doing all the blockbusting there in Chicago. That’s when the blacks were coming in. And when the blacks were coming in, and I truly recall, We’ve talked about this many times elsewhere. I remember knocking on the door and ringing the doorbell all hours of the day and night. A black family just moved in down the street. You’ve got to sell now. If you don’t, the values will all go down. And we would not move. My father’s philosophy, we wouldn’t move until somebody got killed in the area. Because he couldn’t afford it. He had nine kids. he’s an honest policeman making less than $5,000 a year. [17:45] Working two, three jobs so we could all survive when he finished up, When he finished up with, when we finally moved, we finally moved, he went to 7646 South Langley. That was, again, further south, further south, and the area was all white at that time. [18:09] We were there for like four years, and about maybe two or three years, and then the blacks started moving in again. The first one moved in, and it was the same pattern all over again. Yeah, same story in Kansas City and every other major city in the United States. They did that blockbusting and those real estate developers. Oh, yeah, blockbusters. They would call and tell you that the values wouldn’t go down. When I was 20, I joined the police department. Okay. That’s who paid my way through college and law school. All right. I joined the police department, and I became a policeman when I was 20. [18:49] As soon as I could. My father was in recruit processing and I became a policeman. During the riots, I had an excuse not to go. They thought I was working. I was in the bar meeting my pals before I went to work. That’s why I couldn’t go to school at that time. But anyhow, I took some time off. I took some time off to, you know, to study, uh, because, you know, I had all C’s in one D in my first, in my first semester. And if you didn’t have a B, if you didn’t have a C average, you couldn’t, you kicked out of school at the end of a quarter. This is law school. You’re going to law school while you’re still an active policeman. Oh yeah, sure. That’s okay. So you work full time and went to law school. You worked full-time and went to law school at the same time. When I was 20, I joined the police department. Okay. That’s who paid my way through college and law school. All right. I joined the police department, and I became a policeman when I was 20, as soon as I could. My father was in recruit processing, and I became a policeman. Yeah, yeah. But anyhow, I went to confession that night. [20:10] And when I went to confession, there was a girl, one of the few white people in the neighborhood, there was a girl who had gone before me into the confessional. And I knew the priest. I knew him because I used to go gambling with him. I knew the priest there at St. Felicis who heard the confessions. And this is the first time I had gone to confession with him even though I knew him. [20:36] And I wanted to get some help from the big guy upstairs. And anyhow, when I leave, I leave about maybe 10 minutes later, and she had been saying her grace, you know, when I left. And when I walked out, I saw she was right across the street from my house, and there’s an alley right there. And she was a bit away from it, and there were about maybe 13, 14, 15 kids. when I say kids, they were anywhere from the age of probably about 15, 16 to about 18, 19. And they’re dragging her. They’re trying to drag her into the alley. And when I see that, when I see that, I head over there. When I get over there, I have my gun out. I have the gun out. And, you know, what the hell is going on? And, you know, and I told her, I told her her car was parked over there. I told her, you know, get out of here. And I’ve got my gun. I’ve got my gun in my hand. And I don’t know what I’m going to do now in terms of doing anything because I’m not going to shoot them. They’re standing there looking at me. And after a little while, I hear sirens going on. [22:00] The Barton family lived across the street in an apartment building, and they saw what was going on. They saw me out there. It was about probably about seven o’clock at night. It was early at night and they put a call in 10-1 and call in 10-1. Assist the officer. Is that a assist the officer? It’s 1031. Police been in trouble. Yeah. And the squad’s from everywhere. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. So you can hear, you can hear them coming. And now one of them says to me, and I know they’re pretty close. One of them says to me, you know, put away your gun and we’ll see how tough you are. And I did. [22:42] Because you know they’re close. And I’m busy fighting with a couple of them. And they start running and I grab onto two of them. I’m holding onto them. I could only hold two. I couldn’t hold anymore. And the next thing I know, I wake up in the hospital about four days later. Wow. What had happened was they pushed me. Somebody, there was another one behind who pushed me right in front of a squad car coming down the street. Oh, shit. Yeah, man. And the car ran completely over me. They pulled me off from under the, just under the back wheels, I was told were right next to, were onto me, blood all over the place. Everybody thought I was dead. Right. Because my brothers, my one brother who was a police kid that, you know, heard all the noise and the family came in. I tried to prostrate my house and they all thought I was dead. But anyhow, I wake up in the hospital about three days later. When I wake up in the hospital, I’m like. [23:54] Every bone of my body was broken. I’m up there like a mummy. And the mayor came to see me. All kinds of people came to see me. They made me into an even bigger star in my neighborhood. The Count lives down the street and is seeing all this stuff about me and whatever. Jumping quickly to another thing, which got me furious. Willie Grimes was the cop that was driving this quad. He was a racist. We had some blacks in the job. He was a total racist. When my brother and when some others were doing their best to try to find these people, he was protecting them. Some of them, if they caught, he was protecting them. [24:48] I was off the job for like nine months when I came back to work. I never came to the hospital to see me. I mean, everybody came. Every day, my hospital went. Because one of the nurses that I was dating, in fact, she was one of those killed. That’s when Richard Speck wound up killing her and some of the others at the same time. It was at the South Chicago Hospital. Holy darn. What they did for me, I had buckets in my womb with ice. We were bringing beer and pizzas and whatever. Every day was like a party in there. When I finally came back to work, it was 11 o’clock at night. I worked out in South Chicago, and I’m sitting in the parking lot, and the media is there. The media, they had all kinds of cameras there. Robert Cooley’s coming back to work after like nine months. They wouldn’t let me go back. [25:51] I’m walking by the squads. And Willie was a big guy. He was probably about 220, a big one of these big muscle builders and all that nonsense. [26:04] He’s sitting in the first car. The cars are all lined up because when we would change, when we would change at like 11 30 uh you know the cars would all be waiting we jumped into the cars and off we go as i’m walking by the car i hear aren’t you afraid to walk in front of my car. [26:26] I look over and he had a distinctive voice i walk over to the car and i reach in and i start punching them, and I’m trying to drag them out of the car. The cameras, the cameras are, you know, they’re all basically inside. They’re all inside. You know, as you walk in there, they’re all inside there. When I do, I eventually walk up there. But the other police came, and they dragged me. They dragged me away, and they brought me in, and whatever. We got transferred out the next day out of the district. And the first policeman I meet is Rick, Rick Dorelli, who’s connected with, who’s a monster. He’s connected with them. And, and he’s the one who told me, he said to me, you know, we played cards and he realized I was a gambler, but I had never dealt with bookmakers. And he said, he says, yeah, you want to make some money? You want to make some easy money? Well, yeah, sure. You know, uh, you know, and thinking that’s, you know, working security or something like that, like I had done back in Chicago, you know, like I had done on the south side. And he said, I want you to make some bets for me with somebody who said. [27:43] And I remember him using the term. He said, I want you to be my face. He said, and I want you to make some bets for me. He said, and he said, and if you, if you’ll do it, I’ll give you a hundred dollars a week just to make the bets for me. And then, you know, and then meet with these people and pay these people off. And I said, sure. You know, I said, you know, why? He says, because I can’t play with these. people he said i’m connected with him he said and i’m not allowed to gamble myself he said but he told me he said i’ve got a couple people i take bets from i’ve got my own side deal going so i want you to do it i want you to do it and i’ll give i’ll give you to them as a customer, and you’re gonna be a customer and he’s and he tells people now that i got this other police He’s in law school. He comes from a real wealthy family, and he’s looking for a place to bet. He’s in Gambia. He’s looking for a place to bet. [28:47] So I call this number, and I talk to this guy. He gives me a number. When you bet, you call, and you do this, and you do that. And I’m going to get $100 at the end of the week. Now, I’m making $5,200 a year, and they’re taking money out of my chest. I’m going to double my salary. I’m going to double my salary immediately. Why wouldn’t you do it? That’s fantastic money at the time. So I start doing it. And the first week I’m doing it, it was baseball season. [29:19] And I’m making these bets. He’s betting $500 a game on a number of games. And he’s winning some, he’s losing some. But now, when I’m checking my numbers with the guy there, he owes, at the end of the week, he owes $3,500. [29:38] And now, it’s getting bigger and bigger, he’s losing. I’m getting worried. What have I got myself into? Yeah, because it’s not him losing, it’s you losing to the bookie. That’s what I’m thinking. I’m thinking, holy, holy, Christopher, I’m thinking. But, you know, I’ve already jumped off the building. So anyhow. I’d be thinking, you better come up with a jack, dude. It’s time to pay up, man. Anyhow, so when I come to work the next day, I’m supposed to meet this guy at one of the clubs out there in the western suburbs. [30:21] I’m supposed to meet the bookmaker out there. And Ricky meets me that morning, and he gives me the money. It’s like $3,400, and here’s $100 for you. Bingo. That’s great. So, okay. When I go to make the payment to him, it’s a nightclub, and I got some money in my pocket. Somebody, one of the guys, some guy walks up. I’m sitting at the bar and, you know, I hear you’re a copper. I said, pardon me? He says, I hear you’re a copper. He was a big guy. Yeah. I hear you’re a copper. Because at that time, I still only weighed maybe like, well, maybe 60, 65 pounds. I mean, I was in fantastic shape, but I wasn’t real big. And I said, I’m a policeman. I don’t like policemen. I said, go fuck yourself. or something like that. And before he could do anything, I labeled him. That was my first of about a half a dozen fights in those different bars out there. [31:32] And the fights only lasted a few minutes because I would knock the person down. And if the person was real big, at times I’d get on top and just keep pounding before they could do anything. So I started with a reputation with those people at that time now as I’m, going through my world with these people oh no let’s stay with that one area now after the second week he loses again, this time not as much but he loses again and I’m thinking wow, He’s betting, and I’m contacted by a couple of people there. Yeah. Because these are all bookmakers there, and they see me paying off. So I’m going to be, listen, if you want another place to play, and I say, well, yeah. So my thought is, with baseball, it’s a game where you’re laying a price, laying 160, laying 170, laying 180. So if you lose $500, if you lose, you pay $850, and if you win, you only get $500. [32:52] I’ve got a couple of people now, and they’ve got different lines. And what I can do now is I check with their lines. I check with Ricky’s guy and see what his line is. And I start moving his money elsewhere where I’ve got a 30, 40, sometimes 50 cent difference in the price. So I’d set it up where no matter what, I’m going to make some money, No matter what happens, I’ll make some money. But what I’m also doing is I’m making my own bets in there that will be covered. And as I start early winning, maybe for that week I win maybe $1,000, $1,500. And then as I meet other people and I’m making payments, within about four or five months, I’ve got 10 different bookmakers I’m dealing with. Who I’m dealing with. And it’s become like a business. I’m getting all the business from him, 500 a game, whatever. And I’ve got other people that are betting, you know, are betting big, who are betting through me. And I’m making all kinds of money at that time. [34:14] But anyhow, now I mentioned a number of people, A number of people are, I’ve been with a number of people that got killed after dinner. One of the first ones was Tony Borsellino, a bookmaker. Tony was connected with the Northside people, with DeVarco, the one they called DeVarco. And we had gone to a we had gone to a I knew he was a hit man, we had gone to a basketball game over at DePaul because he had become a good friend of mine he liked hanging with me, because I was because at that time now I’m representing the main madams in Chicago too and they loved being around me they liked going wherever I was going to go so I always had all kinds of We left the ladies around. And we went to the basketball game. Afterwards, we went to a restaurant, a steakhouse on Chicago Avenue. [35:26] Gee, why can’t I think of a name right now? We went to a steakhouse, and we had dinner. And when we finished up, it came over there. And when we finished up, I’d been there probably half a dozen times with him. And he was there with his girlfriend. We had dinner and about, I’d say it was maybe 10, 30, 11 o’clock, he says, you know, Bob, can you do me a favor? What’s that? Can you drop her off? He said, I have to go meet some friends. I have to go meet some friends of ours. And, you know, okay, sure, Tony, not a problem. And, you know, I took her home. [36:09] The next day I wake up, Tony Barcellino was found dead. They killed him. He was found with some bullets in the back of his head. They killed him. Holy Christopher. And that’s my first—I found that I had been killed before that. But, you know, wow, that was—, prior to that, when I was betting, there was i paid off a bookmaker a guy named uh ritten shirt, rittenger yeah john rittenger yeah yeah yeah he was a personal friend yeah was he a personal friend of yours yeah they offed him too well i in fact i he i was paying him i met him to pay him I owed him around $4,500, and I met him at Greco’s at my restaurant he wanted to meet me out there because he wanted to talk to me about something else he had a problem some kind of a problem I can’t remember what that was. [37:19] But he wanted to meet me at the restaurant so I met him at Greco’s, And I paid him the money. We talked for a while. And then he says, you know, I got to go. I got to go meet somebody. I got to go meet somebody else. I got to go straight now with somebody else. And he said, I’ll give you a call. He said, I’ll give you a call later. He said, because, you know, I want to talk to you about a problem that I have. He says, I want to talk to you about a problem that I have. I said, okay, sure. He goes to a pizza place. Up there in the Taylor Street area. That’s where he met Butchie and Harry. In fact, at the time, I knew both of them. Yeah, guys, that’s Butch Petrucelli and Harry Alem and a couple of really well-known mob outfit hitmen. Yeah, and they’re the ones that kill them. I’m thinking afterwards, I mean, But, you know, I wish I hadn’t, I wish I hadn’t, you know, I wish I could save him. I just gave him. Man, you’re cold, man. [38:34] You could have walked with that money. That’s what I’m saying. So now, another situation. Let me cut in here a minute, guys. As I remember this Reitlinger hit, Joe Ferriola was a crew boss, and he was trying to line up all the bookies, as he called it. He wanted to line them up like Al Capone lined up all the speaks, that all the bookies had to fall in line and kick something into the outfit, and Reitlinger wouldn’t do it. He refused to do it no matter. They kept coming to him and asking him his way. I understand that. Is that what you remember? I knew him very well. Yeah. He was not the boss. Oh, the Ferriola? Yeah, he wasn’t the boss, but he was kind of the, he had a crew. He was the boss of the Cicero crew. Right. I saw Joe all the time at the racetrack. In fact, I’m the one who, I’m the one, by the time when I started wearing a wire, I was bringing undercover agents over. I was responsible for all that family secret stuff that happened down the road. Oh, really? You set the stage for all that? I’m the one who put them all in jail. All of them. [39:52] So anyhow, we’re kind of getting ahead of ourselves. Reitlinger’s been killed. Joe Borelli or Ricky Borelli’s been killed. These guys are dropping around you, and you’re getting drawn into it deeper and deeper, it sounds to me like. Now, is this when you – what happens? How do you get drawn into this Chicago outfit even more and more as a bookie? Were you kicking up, too? Well, it started, it started, so many things happened that it just fell into place. It started, like I say, with building a reputation like I had. But the final situation in terms of with all the mobsters thinking that I’m not just a tough guy, I’m a bad guy. [40:35] When I get a call, when Joey Cosella, Joey Cosella was a big, tough Italian kid. And he was involved heavily in bookmaking, and we became real close friends. Joey and I became real close friends. He raised Dobermans, and he’s the one who had the lion over at the car dealership. I get a call from Joey. He says, you’ve got to come over. I said, what’s up? He says, some guys came in, and they’re going to kill the count. They want to kill the count. And I said, And I said, what? This is before the Pewter thing. I said, what do you mean? And so I drive over there, and he says, Sammy Annarino and Pete Cucci. And Pete Cucci came in here, and they came in with shotguns, and they were going to kill them. I said, this was Chicago at the time. It’s hard to believe, but this was Chicago. And I said, who are they? I didn’t know who they were. I said, who are they? I mean, I didn’t know them by name. It turns out I did know them, but I didn’t know them by name. They were people that were always in Greco’s, and everybody in Greco knew me because I’m the owner. [41:49] But anyhow, so I get a hold of Marco, and I said, Marco, and I told him what happened. I said, these guys, a couple of guys come in there looking for the talent. That are going to kill him because apparently he extorted somebody out of his business. And I said, who were they with? And he said, they were with Jimmy the bomber. They were with Jimmy Couture. [42:15] I said, oh, they’re for legit then? I said, yeah. I said, can you call? I said, call Jimmy. I knew who he was. He was at the restaurant all the time. He was at Threatfuls all the time with a lot of these other people. And I met him, but I had no interest in him. He didn’t seem like a very friendly sort of anyone. I could care less about him. I represented a lot of guys that worked for him, that were involved with problems, but never really had a conversation with him other than I. [42:53] I’m the owner. So I met with him. I wrote about that in the book. I met with them and got that straightened out where the count’s going to pay $25,000 and you’ll get a contract to the… He ripped off some guy out of a parlor, one of those massage parlors, not massage parlor, but one of those adult bookstores that were big money deals. Oh, yeah. So when I go to meet these guys, I’m told, go meet them and straighten this thing out. So I took Colin with me over to a motel right down the street from the racetrack, right down from the racetrack, and I met with him. I met with Pete Gucci. He was the boss of, you know, this sort of loop. When I get finished talking with him, I come back, and here’s the count and Sammy, and Sammy’s picking a fork with his finger and saying, you know, I rip out eyes with these. [43:56] And the count says, I rip out eyes with these. And I said, what the fuck is going on here? I said, Pete, I said, you know, get him the fuck out of here. And you all at the count said, what’s the matter with you? You know, these guys are going to kill him. And now the moment I get involved in it, he knows he’s not going to have a problem. You know, he’s pulling this nonsense. [44:23] So anyhow, this is how I meet Pete Gucci and Sammy Annarino. After a while, I stopped hanging around with the count because he was starting to go off the deep end. Yeah. Yeah. [44:39] And we were at a party, a bear party with, I remember Willie Holman was there, and they were mostly black, the black guys up there on the south side. And I had just met this girl a day or two before, and the count says, you know, let’s go up to a party, a bear’s party up there on Lakeshore Drive. If we go up there, we go to this party, it’s going to be about maybe 35, 40 people in there, one or two whites, other than the players. And other than that, we’re the only white people there. When we walk into the place, there’s a couple of guys out there with shotguns. It was in a motel. And you walk through like an area where you go in there, and there’s a couple of guys standing there with shotguns. We go in and we go upstairs and, hey, how are you? And we’re talking with people. And I go in one room. I’m in one room. [45:45] There were two rooms there. I’m in one room with a bunch of people and, you know, just talking and having a good old time. And the count was in the second room. And I hear Spade. He always called me Spade. Spade, Spade, you know. And I go in there, and he’s talking with Willie Holman. I remember it was one of them. He was the tackle, I think, with the Bears and a couple of others. And this whole room, all these black guys. And he goes, that’s Spade Cooley. He says, him and I will take on every one of you. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And we’re in a room, and he goes, that’s what he says. You know, him and I will take it on every one of you. And Willie did that. He calmed down. He’s telling him, calmed down. What the fuck? It was about a week or so after this. And because I had been out with the county, he’s calling me two or three times a week to go out. And we’re going, a lot of times it was these areas in the south side with a lot of blood. He liked being around Blacks. [47:00] That’s when I met Gail Sayers, and I met some of these others through him. But a lot of the parties and stuff were in the South Side out there, mostly Blacks and all. But we had gone someplace for dinner, and we’re heading back home. We’re heading back to my place, and we’re in his car. He had a brown Cadillac convertible. On the side of it, it had these, you know, the Count Dante press. And he always ran around. He ran around most of the time in these goofy, you know, these goofy outfits with capes and things like that. I’m driving and when we’re talking and I’m like distracted looking at him. And I’m waiting at a stoplight over there right off of Chicago Avenue. And as we’re there. [47:48] I barely touched the car in front of us, you know, as I’m drifting a little bit and barely touch it. There were four guys in the car and, you know, and the one guy jumps out first, one guy jumps out first and then second one, and they start screaming. And when the count gets out, the guy starts calling you, you faggot or something like that, you know, whatever. And as the other one gets out, I get out of the car. And the next thing I know, they jump back in the car, and they run through a red light, and they disappear. Somebody must have recognized them. One of the other people there must have realized who this is that they’re about to get into a little battle with. In fact, they ran the red light. They just ran the red light and disappeared. They come, no, no, no, no, no. And we go off to my apartment and I’m here with this girl, another girl I had just met a day or so before, because I was constantly meeting new people, uh, running around and, uh, we’re sitting on the couch. I’m sitting in the couch next to her and the count, the count was over there. And he suddenly says to her, he says, he says, this is one of the toughest people I’ve ever met. He said, and he says, tell her how tough you are. Tell her how tough you are. [49:10] I said, you know, I said, you know, you know, and he says, tell them how tough you are. And I said, John, you know, and he walks over, And he makes a motion like this towards me. And he barely touched my chin. But I thought he broke it. He then steps back and he goes, I got to cut this hand off. He says, you saved my life. He said, you saved my life. He said, the only two friends I’ve had in the world were my father and you. He says, I wasn’t even that crazy about my mother. That’s when I said then he goes and he stands and I’m looking at it now he stands up against the window I looked up on the 29th floor, he stands by the window he says get your gun he says and I want you to aim it at me, and say now before you pull the trigger and I’ll stop the bullet, I’ll stop the bullet this guy was nuts and I said I said, what? [50:28] He says, before you pull the trigger. [50:36] Tell me before you pull the trigger and I’ll stop the bullet. He wanted me to shoot him. He stopped the bullet. When I got him out of there, Now when he’s calling me, I’m busy. I’m busy. Once in a while, I’d meet him someplace. No more driving or whatever. That was smart. I hadn’t seen him in probably five or six months. And this is, again, after the situation when I had met with Anna Randall and Gooch and the others. I’m up in my office and I get a I get a call from the county, and he said and I hadn’t probably seen him even maybe in a month or two at all and he said, can I come over and talk to you and I was playing cards in fact I had card games up in my office and, we called him Commissioner. [51:41] O’Malley Ray O’Malley, he was the head of the police department at night. On midnights, he got there at 4 to 12. He started at 4 to 12 until midnights. He was the head of them. He was the commissioner. He was in charge of the whole department. He used to play cards up in my office. We had big card games up in my office. And when he’d come up there, we’d have the blue goose parked out in front. We’d have his bodyguard sitting out there by my door. When he was playing in the games. This went on for a couple of years. [52:15] I was at the office, but, you know, I’m at the office playing cards. [52:20] And I had a, it was a big suite. We had, you know, my office was a big office in this suite. We had about six other, you know, big, big suites in there. And so he comes over, he comes over to meet with me. And so I figure he’s in trouble. He’s arrested. He says, I’ve got a situation going. He says, well, you can get a million dollars. And he said, but if I tell you what it is, he says, and you’re in, he said, you got to be in. I’ll tell you what it is. I said, John, if I need money, I said, you get $2 million, then you can loan me if you want, but I don’t want to know what it is. I said, I just don’t want to know what it is. [52:59] It was about a week or two later. It was a pure later, basically. It was a pure later caper. Yeah, guys, this was like the huge, huge. And the one he set it up with was Pete Gucci, the guy that was going to kill him. That was the one who set it up. I knew that. I thought I remembered that name from somewhere. I don’t remember. They ended up getting popped, but everybody got caught, and most of the money got returned. No, no. No bit that the outfit kept, I understand, if I remember right. What was the deal on that? There was more to it than that. Just before that happened, I go up, and Jerry Workman was another lawyer. Actually, he was attorney up in the office, post-rending bank. When I’m going up into the office, I see Pete Gucci there. This is probably a week or so after the situation with the count. Or maybe even a little bit longer than that. I said, Pete, what are you doing? I said, what are you doing here? Jerry Workston’s my lawyer. Oh, okay. [53:55] Okay. He said, I didn’t know you were off here. I said, yeah. I said, Jerry’s a good friend of mine. Okay. And as I’m walking away, he says, you tell your friend the count to stop calling me at two, three in the morning. He says, I got a wife and kids and whatever. And I said to him, I said, Pete, you got no business dealing. I don’t know what it is. I said, but you guys got no business dealing involved in anything. You got no business being involved with him. And I walked away. I see him and I see him as he’s leaving. I see him as he’s leaving and say goodbye to him. Jerry was going to be playing cards. [54:39] It was card night too. Jerry was going to be playing cards in my office because the people would come in usually about 9 o’clock, 9.30 is when the game would usually start. I talked with Jerry. He had been in there for a while. He was arrested a day or two later. The fbi comes in there because he had stashed about 35 000 in jerry’s couch oh really that was his bond money he got that was his bond money if he got to get bailed out to get him bailed out that was his bond money that was there that’s how bizarre so i got involved in so many situations like this but anyhow anyhow now sammy uh, So it’s about maybe a week or two later after this, when I’m in the car driving, I hear they robbed a purulator. The purulator was about a block and a half from my last police station. It was right down the street from the 18th district. That was the place that they robbed. And not long after that, word came out that supposedly a million dollars was dropped off in front of Jimmy the bomber, in front of his place. With Jimmy the bomber, both Sammy Ann Arino and Pete Gucci were under him. They were gunmen from his group. Now I get a call from, I get a count was never, you never heard the count’s name mentioned in there with anybody. [56:07] The guy from Boston, you know, who they indicated, you know, came in to set it up. The count knew him from Boston. The count had some schools in Boston. And this was one of his students. And that’s how he knew this guy from Boston that got caught trying to take a, trying to leave the country with, you know, with a couple thousand, a couple million dollars of the money. Yeah, I read that. It was going down to the Caribbean somewhere and they caught him. And Sammy Ann Arino didn’t get involved in that. He wasn’t involved in that because I think he was back in the prison at the time. [56:44] Now, when he’s out of prison, probably no more than about maybe three or four months after all that toilet stuff had died down, I get a call from Sam, and he wants me to represent him because he was arrested. What happened was he was shot in a car. He was in a car, and he had gotten shot. And when they shot him, he kicked out the window and somehow fought the guys off. When they found him there in the car and in his trunk, they found a hit kit. They said it was a hit kit. How could they know? It was a box that had core form in it, a ski mask, a ski mask, a gun, a gun with tape wrapped around it and the rest of it. Yeah. And he’s an extra time. Mask and tape or little bits of rope and shit like that. I’d say no. So he was charged with it, and he was charged with it in his case, and he had a case coming up. I met him the first time I met him. He came by my office, and he said, you know, and I said, no, that’s not a problem. And he says, but I’ve got to use Eddie Jensen, too. [57:52] And I said, I said, what do you mean? I said, you don’t need Eddie. And he says, I was told I have to use him. Jimmy Couture, his boy, he said, I have to use him. I know why, because Eddie lets these mobsters know whenever anybody’s an informant, or if he’s mad at somebody, he can tell him he’s an informant, they get killed. And so I said, you know, that piece of shit. I said, you know, I want nothing to do with him. I had some interesting run-ins with him before, and I said, I want nothing to do with that worthless piece of shit. You know, he’s a jagoff. And I said, you know, I says, no. He said, please. I said, no. I said, Sammy, you know, you don’t need me. He knows the judge like I know the judge, Sardini. I said, you know, you’re not going to have a problem in there. I get a call from him again, maybe four or five days after that. He’s out of my restaurant and he says, Bob, please. He said, You know, he says, please, can I meet you? He says, I got a problem. I go out to the meeting. And so I thought, there’s something new. I want you to represent me. I want you to represent me, you know, on the case. And I says, did you get rid of that fence? He says, no, I have to use him. But I says, look, I’m not going to, I want, no, Sammy, no, I’m not going to do it. He leaves the restaurant. He gets about a mile and a half away. He gets shotgunned and he gets killed. In fact, I read about that a couple of days ago. [59:22] I know it’s bullshit. They said he was leaving the restaurant. It was Marabelli’s. It was Marabelli’s Furniture Store. They said he was leaving the furniture store. What they did was they stopped traffic out there. They had people on the one side of the street, the other side of the street, and they followed, they chased him. When he got out of his car and was going to the furniture store, They blasted him with shotguns. They made sure he was killed this time. After that happened, it’s about maybe three or four days after that, I’m up in my office and I get a call. All right, when I come out, I always parked in front of City Hall. That was my parking spot. Mike and CM saved my spot. I parked there, or I parked in the bus stop, or in the mayor’s spot. Those were my spots. They saved it for me. I mean, that was it, for three, four, five years. That’s how it was. I didn’t want to wait in line in the parking lot. So my car is parked right in front of the parking lot. And as I go to get in my car, just fast, fast, so walking, because he was at 134 right down the street from my office and he parks like everybody else in the parking lot so he can wait 20 minutes to get his car. [1:00:40] And, and, and Bob, Bob, and, you know, and when I meet up with him, I’m both standing and we’re both standing right there in front of the, in front of the, uh, the parking lot. And he was a big guy. He weighed probably about 280, 290, maybe more. You know, mushy, mushy type, not in good shape at all. In fact, he walked with a gimp or whatever. And he says, you better be careful, he says. Jimmy Couture is furious. He heard what you’ve been saying about me. [1:01:17] You’ve been saying about me. and something’s liable to happen. And I went reserved. I grabbed him, and I threw him up on the wall, and I says, you motherfuckers. I said, my friends are killing your friends. [1:01:34] I said, my friends, because he represented a number of these groups, but I’m with the most powerful group of all. And when I say I’m with him, I’m with him day and night, not like him just as their lawyer. Most of them hated him, too, because most of them knew what he was doing. Yeah most of these and most of these guys hated him and i said you know but i and and i just like you’re kissing his pants and i don’t know if he crapped in his pants too and uh you know because i just turned around i left that same night jimmy katura winds up getting six in the back of the head maybe three miles from where that took place yeah he was uh some kind of trouble been going on for a while. He was a guy who was like in that cop shop racket, and he had been killing some people involved with that. He was kind of like out away from the main crew closer to downtown, is my understanding. Like, you were in who were you in? Who was I talking about? Jimmy Couture? Jimmy Couture, yeah. He was no, Jimmy Couture was Jimmy Couture, in fact, all these killers, we’ll try and stay with this a little bit first. Jimmy Couture was a boss and he had probably about maybe a dozen, maybe more in his crew and, He didn’t get the message, I’m sure. [1:03:01] Eddie Jensen firmly believes, obviously, because it’s the same day and same night when I tell him that my friends are killing your friends. [1:03:14] He’s telling everybody that I had him kill, I’m sure. Yeah, yeah. Because it was about another few days after that when I’m out in Evanston going to a courthouse. And there you had to park down the street because there was no parking lot. Here I hear Eddie, you know, stay. I’m going to say Bob, Bob. And when he gets up, he says, Bob, he says, when I told you, I think you misunderstood. When I told you it was Jimmy Cattrone. it was it was jimmy katron was a lawyer that you know worked in out of his office close friend of mine too he was a good friend of mine it was jimmy it was jimmy katron that you know not because he obviously thought he believed so he’s got all these mobsters too bosses and all the rest thinking that i was involved in that when i when i wasn’t uh when i was when i wasn’t actually But it’s so amazing, Gary. And that’s one of a dozen stories of the same sort. I met unbelievable people. I mean, we’re talking about in New Orleans. We’re talking about in Boston. Now, if you were to say, who were you with? Always somebody’s with somebody. Were you with any particular crew or any particular crew. [1:04:41] Buzz, were you totally independent? [1:04:46] Everybody knew me to be with the Elmwood Park crew. And that was Jackie Cerrone before Michael, I mean, before Johnny DeFranco. That was Jackie Cerrone. Okay. That was Giancana. That was Mo Giancana. Mo was moving at the clubhouse all the time. That was the major people. [1:05:13] And where was their clubhouse? What did they call their clubhouse? Was that the Survivors Clubhouse, or what was the name of their operation? Every group had one, sometimes more clubhouses. Right. That was where they would have card games in there. They’d have all kinds of other things going. the place was full of like in Marcos I call it Marcos but it was actually Jackie Sharon’s when I first got involved Jackie Sharon was the boss who became a good friend of mine, Jackie Sharon was the boss and Johnny DeFranco was, right under him and then a number of others as we go down, our group alone we had. [1:06:04] Minimum, I’d say, a thousand or more people in our group alone. And who knows how many others, because we had control of the sheriff’s office, of the police department, of the sheriff, of the attorney general. We had control of all that through the elections. We controlled all that. So you had 1,000 people. You’re talking about all these different people who we would maybe call associates. It would be in and out of our club all the time. Okay. Yeah. We’re talking a number of policemen, a number of policemen, a number of different politicians of all sorts that we had. I knew dozens of people with no-show jobs there. We had control of all the departments, streets and sanitation, of absolutely urbanizing. We controlled all the way up to the Supreme Court. What about the first ward, Pat Marcy, and the first ward now? Was your crew and Jackie Cerrone’s crew, did that fall into the first ward, or were they totally there? How did that relate, the Pat Marcy and the politicians? And I found out all this over a period of time. [1:07:28] Everything had changed right about the time I first got involved with these people. All these people you’ve read about, no one knows they were still alive. I met just about all of them when I got connected over there with the first word. A lot of the, we were talking about the gunmen themselves. All the Jackie not just Jackie but I’m talking about Milwaukee Phil Milwaukee Phil and all the rest of them they were over there at Councilors Row all the time because when they were to meet Pat Marcy, what they had there in the first war and, It just so happened, when I started in my office, it was with Alan Ackerman, who was at 100 North, where all their offices were upstairs. The first ward office was upstairs. [1:08:22] And below the office, two floors below, I found out on this when I got involved with them, we had an office. looked like it was a vacant office because the windows were all blackened out. That’s where he had all the meetings with people. When Arcado or Yupa, anybody else, any of the other people came in, this is where he met them. When the people from out of town came in, we’re talking about when, what do you think? [1:08:58] But when Alpha, when Fitzgerald, when all these people would come in, this is where they would have their meetings. Or these are the ones who would be out with us on these casino rides. When these people came in, this is where they would do the real talking because we’d go to different restaurants that weren’t bugged. If this office was checked every day, the one that they had down below, and nobody, nobody, their office was, I think it was on the 28th floor, the first ward office. You had the first ward office, and right next to it, you had the insurance office when everybody had to buy their insurance. Obviously at upper rates big office connected to the first ward office when the back there’s a door that goes right into into theirs but the people were told you never get off or you get off you get off at the office floor but then you you walk you you get off it and i’m sorry you get off it at the. [1:10:11] You don’t get off at the first ward office you get off at one of the other offices one of the other offices or the other floors and when you come in there, then you’ll be taken someplace else after that a double shop that’s where they would go and in fact when I had to talk to Petter Cary messages or whatever people like Marco couldn’t talk to Marcy. [1:10:41] Only a few people could. Only people at the very top level could. Marco, he was a major boss. He could not talk to Marco. If he needed, you know, whatever. Marco D’Amico. Marco was, you had, Marco was the one right under Johnny DeFonza. Yeah. Marco’s the one that was in charge. He was the one who was in charge of all the gambling. Not just in Chicago, but around all those areas in Cook County. We had not just Chicago. They were also the ones that were in charge of all the street tax, collecting all the street tax. That’s where the big, big money was also. Everybody paid. What happened was in the 70s, right as I got involved
Sleep better and Stress Less— with Abide, a Christian meditation app that provides a biblically grounded place to experience peace and progress in your relationship with Christ. We hope this biblical sleep meditation, narrated by James Seawood, helps your body relax and your mind rest on the truth found in scripture. Fall asleep to a miraculous account inspired from 1 Kings, where an act of faith as simple as baking bread unveils abundant provision from God. For a 30 day free trial of our premium ad-free content, your trusted friend for better sleep is right here: https://abide.com/peaceDiscover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us
Join Rabbi Schneider inside of a life sized replica of the Tabernacle and venture inside of the Holy of Holies, where God's presence used to dwell on earth. Learn how God has made a way for you to enter into His presence. **** BECOME A MONTHLY PARTNER - https://djj.show/YTAPartner **** DONATE - https://djj.show/YTADonate **** TEACHING NOTES - https://djj.show/1hj
Jonny and Richard are on a merrineum walk to and from the pub discussing Snoop's inability to buy tonic water, scuffed Jazzes, an update on Richard's motorcycle nemesis, getting woken by a Carrera GT, a gouty Panda, long life advice from Jag-man Dick van Dyke, the colour and trim of owls, Pat Benatar's classic Buick restoration nightmare, the DeLorean siren song, car new year resolutions, and does anyone actually organise the London to Brighton run? For early, ad-free episodes and extra content go to patreon.com/smithandsniff To buy merch and tickets to live podcast recordings go to smithandsniff.com Get 10 percent off any order of HOLY https://uk.weareholy.com/discount/SSG?ref=SSGGet £5 off your first order of HOLY over £14.99 https://uk.weareholy.com/discount/SSG5?ref=SSG Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Join Rabbi Joey Rosenfeld as he guides us through the world and major works of Kabbalah, Hasidic masters, and Jewish philosophy, shedding light on the inner life of the soul. To learn more, visit InwardTorah.org
Zech 12:1-13:9, Rev 19:1-21, Ps 147:1-20, Pr 31:1-7
Zech 12:1-13:9, Rev 19:1-21, Ps 147:1-20, Pr 31:1-7