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Family secrets: mobster grandpa, Playboy bunny grandma
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Content
FAMILY SECRETS: MOBSTER GRANDPA, PLAYBOY BUNNY GRANDMA
During the 1970s, my grandpa, a Chicago wiseguy, met my grandma, a Playboy bunny,
at a restaurant in Florida. Now, I’m uncovering the truths behind my father’s birth and
my grandpa’s life in the Mafia.
By
Micaela Bastianelli
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ANNENBERG SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION &
JOURNALISM
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(SPECIALIZED JOURNALISM)
December 2023
i
DEDICATION
To my daddy, who never got the father he deserved growing up, but still managed to be
the incredible father he knew I deserved. Gone way too soon, but forever in my heart.
ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To professor Oscar Garza, professor Sandy Tolan, professor Allissa Richardson, and
professor Janice Littlejohn: Thank you for the constant support during this journey and
writing process. All of the feedback made this piece come together the way I imagined.
To my loving partner, Jesse: You are my everything. Your love and support has always
been a driving force for my accomplishments. And to my mother and stepfather, thank
you for always believing in my aspirations, for the encouragement, and the discipline
instilled within me from a young age to complete every goal I pursue.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication ........................................................................................................................... i
Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................. i
List of Figures………………………………………………………………………………..…iv
Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………..……v
Chapter 1:The mobster grandpa with tender hugs…………………………………….……1
Chapter 2: Growing up in Chicago…………………………………………………………….6
Chapter 3: History of The Chicago Outfit……………………………….……………….….10
Chapter 4: Grandpa goes to prison……………………………………………….…………14
Chapter 5: Grandpa meets a Playboy bunny………………………………………….……20
Chatper 6: New life begins as another forever changes………………………….……….22
Chapter 7: The journey continues………………………………………………….….…….32
Bibliography…………………………………………………………......................…………33
iv
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Photo of young Grandma Nancy…………………………………………...………1
Figure 2: Photo of young Grandpa Jack……………………………………….……..………1
Figure 3: Micaela with grandpa & mom………………………………………………….……3
Figure 4: Map of Chicago……………………………………………………………………..11
Figure 5: Photo of young grandpa Jack…………………………………………………….15
Figure 6: Photo of young Grandma Nancy……………………………………………..…..21
Figure 7: Photo of Grandma Nancy & my father as a baby……………………………….22
Figure 8: Photo of my father and mw………………………………………………………..24
Figure 9: Photo of my father and mw………………………………………………………..25
Figure 10: Photo of my father as a teenager……………………………………………..2
v
ABSTRACT
Every family has secrets. I just recently learned about the dark ones within mine. And it
all begins with my Playboy bunny grandmother who fell in love with my sly mobster
grandfather from Chicago. Come along this journey of discovery as I learn about the
deep Jewish mafia roots of my father’s family, and uncover the real truths behind my
grandfather’s past.
1
1976. About 21 years old. Photo courtesy of Nancy West. 1974. Jack Gail. About 30 years old. Photo courtesy of Jack Gail.
Chapter 1
The mobster grandpa with tender hugs
I’ve only met my paternal grandfather once in my life. I was seven years old and it was
about a year after my father died in a car crash. My parents had been divorced, and my
mother decided it was time for me to finally meet Grandpa Jack. My mother and I flew to
my grandpa’s hometown of Chicago, where we met him at a cafe for an early morning
breakfast.
2
I remember the encounter sparingly. It was a windy morning and dark gray clouds
blanketed the sky. My mother and I arrived first and waited for him at a table near a
window. I ordered hot chocolate and an iced water and played with a rubber toy
dinosaur.
I didn’t understand why I had never spoken to or met him previously, but I was just
eager to have a new grandpa. My maternal grandfather was always present in my life,
and even played the dad role during my early childhood. With my father gone, I wanted
to feel a connection to him through a relationship with his father. I couldn’t wait to see
him walk through the door.
2006. Micaela Bastianelli with her grandfather, Jack Gail, and her mother, Nicol Howard. Photo
courtesy of Micaela Bastianelli.
3
He was a giant man, about six-foot-three, but his hug was gentle. He had kind brown
eyes that shrunk in size when a smile creased his face, and a tenderness that made me
love him quickly. His voice was quiet but with a hearty bass that complemented his
Chicago Jewish accent. He sported tan cargo pants and a reddish crew neck shirt under
a black zip-up jacket that contrasted with his frosty white hair. He was a dapper
gentleman with a charming humor.
I couldn’t have imagined that my grandfather, Jack Gail, had spent 15 of his 77 years
behind bars.
His smile was warm. My heart fluttered with joy, almost as if a missing puzzle piece had
found its designated home. But I didn’t know our final embrace would be our last. A
naive child, I was unaware of my grandpa’s history with my father and his past
transgressions. However, my mother knew, and although she gave us the chance to
meet, she needed to protect me. Protect me from gaining confidence in a male figure
whom she didn’t trust would remain constant in my life. She didn’t want me to lose
another important person after losing my father.
After being accepted to the University of Southern California, where my father also
attended and played football, I was overcome with the longing to dive deep into my
father’s family history. I finally wanted to explore a relationship with Jack on my own as
an adult. I remembered my Grandma Nancy, my father’s mother, mentioning years back
4
that she had Jack’s phone number if I ever wanted to contact him. I asked her for the
number, and sent him a message. Five minutes after my initial text, the phone rang.
Hearing his gruff voice on the other end of the line was nostalgic. I could almost see his
smile as he spoke with excitement.
“I’ve been waiting for this day to come,” he said, with a sigh that sounded like a
thousand pounds of sorrow lifting from his heart.
It was during our long series of phone calls where I discovered deeper family secrets
that I wasn’t prepared to face.
It turns out the grandfather with the tender hugs was a Chicago mobster in his former
life.
5
Chapter 2
Growing up in Chicago
Jack Gail grew up on the north side of Chicago with Jewish parents. His mother, Betty,
and his father, Lenny, got married a month before America entered World War II, and
Jack was born shortly before Lenny was shipped out to Italy.
When Lenny returned from war, he learned that Betty was diagnosed with multiple
sclerosis. Betty was immobile by age 28, and Jack said he has very little memory of his
mother out of a wheelchair.
As a teenager, Jack spent most of his time caring for his mother, while his father catered
to his tile business.
Before leaving for the war, Lenny had been involved with some local mobsters , and
when he returned, they wanted him to continue making bets. But Lenny knew he
needed to do something more than bookmaking.
6
Three of Lenny’s war buddies ventured into construction, which presented an
opportunity. They told Lenny every home needs tile, and that they’d buy from him if he
went into the business. That’s when the family business was born: Gail Tile & Carpet,
Inc.
When young Jack and his father found a few hours to spare away from Betty and the
business, the two would bond at Roberts Show Lounge, a Jazz club in Chicago known
as a “black-and-tan joint” because “all the mixed couples would go there,” Grandpa Jack
explained. The music was Lenny’s holy grail: “My father was a Jazz freak and you
could not walk into his house without hearing music play,” Grandpa said. “I’m talking
about Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong — all the talents of that time.”
Lenny’s lively home and happy-go-lucky personality never faltered, Jack recalled, even
after Betty succumbed to MS at age 39. Less than a year later, Lenny remarried,
making an old family friend his second wife when Jack was 16 years old. Unlike Betty,
Jack’s stepmother wasn’t as selfless and caring.
“That woman only married my father for his money and good looks,” Grandpa Jack said
with a sense of disappointment.
Jack wished happiness for his father, but he couldn’t bear living in a house with his
stepmother.
7
“On my 18th birthday, I enlisted in the army to get away,” he said.
I became aware of how much Grandpa Jack despised his stepmother when he refused
to tell me her name.
After serving his three-year army commitment, Jack settled back home to work for Gail
Tile. “I worked in the warehouse, delivered, and worked in sales in the showroom, which
I really loved,” Grandpa recalled. “Subdivisions were being built at the time, so I would
help people design entry ways, bathrooms, kitchens — and I was good at it.”
In late 1966, Jack visited The Tiara, a 30-story condominium building that was under
construction, intending to sell some tile. It was there that he met one of the sharpest
looking men he had ever come across: Dominic Santarelli.
“I’ve always been impressed by talent, and Dominic had it in spades,” Grandpa said.
“He began building two-flats in his early 20s and worked his way up to 64-unit
apartment buildings in less than five years. The Tiara was part of the Chicago skyline
before he turned 30.”
Jack and Dominc hit it off immediately. A potential tile deal turned into an afternoon over
lunch where the two laughed and talked about people they both knew.
8
When I asked my grandpa about his relationship with Dominic, he declined to provide
much detail, and wouldn’t explain why. It was information I learned only by reading my
grandpa’s 2017 memoir about his life before, during and after his time in prison.
“We were inseparable for the next three years,” he recalled in Strictly Personal: Why
Federal Agents Conspired to Frame an Innocent Man and How They Got Away With It.
“The rapport Dominic and I had was rare because you don’t find guys with similar
personalities who got along as well as we did. We never competed with each other,
except when we were picking up women, and we went everywhere together. He took
me to clubs where mob figures hung out and that’s where I was first introduced to
members of organized crime.”
Little did my grandpa know, Santarelli would also introduce him to a way of life that led
him to a prison cell in 1977.
Chapter 3
History of The Chicago Outfit
During my grandfather’s early childhood, his father would bring his mobster friends
around. But according to Grandpa Jack, he was never directly exposed to aspects of
organized crime. Lenny tried to make sure there was never any such conversation when
his Italian acquaintances visited the house.
“All I knew about his friends was that they were kind people who took care of their
families,” Grandpa Jack told me. “They were men I wanted to be like.”
9
They were members of the Chicago Outfit, one branch of the American Mafia.
Organized crime groups within the U.S. were divided into five major organizations
throughout the country, known as La Cosa Nostra (New York City), The Outfit
(Chicago), The Mob (generic), The Arm (Buffalo, New York) and The Office (New
England, which included Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island). In
Chicago, The Outfit was divided into factions based on their geographic locations, with
sub-factions within each community. The five communities of The Outfit were the
Northwest Side, South Side, Near West Side, North Side and the South Suburb.
10
Map of Chicago, Illinois. Represents the five major communities and
sub-factions within the communities. Courtesy of City-Data.com.
Jews were heavily involved in the mob, “something not many people know,” Grandpa
Jack told me. “The Outfit wouldn’t have existed without the Jewish.” They typically filled
administrative duties, and Jewish bookies were common in the Chicago mob.
11
My great great grandfather, Tommy Gail, was an active member, according to Grandpa
Jack, owning two bookie joints and two poker rooms, which were the Jewish men’s
clubs of that time. During the 1940s, the Chicago mob was more interested in
bookmaking than casinos. Casinos became more prevalent during Grandpa Jack’s time
in the Mafia. Bookie joints are commonly known for sporting event gambling, while
casinos focus on poker games and slot machines. A bookie typically sets the odds,
accepts bets, and hands out winnings. My great grandfather, Lenny, was a big help with
the bookie business since he was good with numbers.
The Chicago Outfit rose to power during the 1920s under Al Capone and Johnny Torrio.
When Capone was convicted of tax evasion in 1931, Paul Ricca and Tony Accardo
gained control of The Outfit.
Accardo and Ricca took charge near the end of prohibition, forcing The Outfit to refocus
on gambling operations. During Accardo’s reign, he ventured into slot machines and
vending machines, counterfeiting cigarette and liquor tax stamps and expanding
narcotics smuggling.
When Grandpa Jack was active in The Outfit, primarily during the ‘70s, Accardo was in
charge. Accardo first reigned from 1947 to 1957, alongside Ricca, and again from 1972
to 1992, when he ruled as the sole boss
12
“After prohibition, they were looking for other sources of revenue.” Wayne A. Johnson
told me in an interview. Johnson is a former police chief of Chicago and a professor who
has lectured on organized crime. “That’s when they got into businesses like liquor
distribution, trucking, opening taverns, restaurants and speakeasies. They had the
trucks from the bootlegging era, so it was a natural evolution of organized crime. The
gambling and prostitution was also big at the turn of the 20th Century.”
Once prohibition ended, a lot of operations moved into the suburbs and went
underground, where they weren’t as public, Johnson said.
“The Outfit actually got into black market events, such as selling food stamps,
cigarettes,” he said, “anything to make a buck, because that’s the bottom line when it
comes to the Chicago Outfit.”
Chapter 4
Grandpa goes to prison
Although great grandpa Lenny tried his damndest to keep his son Jack away from mob
activity, it was all around him. He grew up immersed in the culture, becoming best
friends primarily with mobsters such as Dominic Santarelli and powerful bosses.
Tony Accardo pushed The Outfit’s exponential growth into the western United States,
but Hyman “Red” Larner, another prominent mob figure known to be the primary head of
the Jewish mafia, ran The Outfit’s international gambling operations. When Spain
legalized casino gambling, Larner asked Jack to run the operation there.
13
“This was a big deal for mobsters,” Grandpa Jack told me. “The Outfit could have
chosen anyone to run the casino operation in Spain, but they chose me. That’s when I
knew I had made it.”
A couple months after Larner broke the news, Jack flew to Madrid for six weeks. He and
Larner searched for properties to build three casinos, but Jack dreamt bigger. He
wanted to construct the biggest theme park in the world, 300 acres of land, with roller
coasters that ran at about 200 miles per hour, an indoor shopping mall, two Ferris
wheels, an outdoor concert venue, a petting zoo, a water park, and a food court.
“The goal was to bring in more revenue separate from the gambling,” Grandpa Jack
said. “It was my greatest idea and Larner loved it too. I wrote up a three-page proposal
outlining the plan and he was ready to set the plan in motion. I was invited into an
exclusive world with the great mob figures and I felt like I was on top of the world. But I
was sent to prison before I could finish the job.”
14
1974. Jack Gail. About 30 years old. Photo courtesy of Jack Gail.
“Dominic asked me to get two silencers for a guy named Frank Ammirato,” Grandpa
Jack recalled. “Like an idiot, I got them, and it’s the biggest regret I have. I never
involved myself with weapons or drugs, so this was a big mistake.”
Under RICO statutes, Grandpa Jack was convicted for possession of weapons and drug
smuggling.
In 1970, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) was passed as
a federal law designed to fight organized crime in the U.S. The act allows prosecution
and civil penalties for racketeering activities including drug trafficking, embezzlement,
15
illegal gambling, money laundering, bribery, kidnapping, murder, counterfeiting, and
slavery.
To convict someone under RICO, the prosecution has to prove that the defendant
practiced two or more circumstances of racketeering activity and was directly involved
with a criminal business that affected interstate or foreign commerce. RICO has been
used to prosecute Mafia members and many other criminal enterprises, and my
grandpa in 1976 and 1979
Under the RICO statutes, he was sentenced three separate times to terms in federal
prison. Initially, he received two years on weapon charges, which he never denied.
Grandpa Jack said he obtained the silencers, just like Santarelli asked him to, which led
to his 1976 arrest. But “I never killed anyone,” Jack insisted repeatedly.
Jack was taken to a federal building where ATF special agent James Delorto tried
convincing him to snitch on Santarelli. He was a mob figure the federal agents had been
trying to nail for years. If Jack snitched, Delorto assured that his prison sentence would
be reduced.
Jack wouldn’t snitch on Santarelli, or anyone else, so he was taken to Chicago’s
Metropolitan Correctional Center for booking.
16
“RICO allowed the government to prosecute whole groups of people,” former Chicago
police chief Johnson said. “People who were members of an organization could be
brought in by police simply for being members, and could have nothing to do with the
specific crime.”
This is what Grandpa Jack believes happened to him — taken into custody for the main
purpose of becoming an informant.
“That’s what the federal agents did,” Grandpa Jack said. “They tried turning people into
informants so they could destroy the mob and better their reputations. A lot of wiseguys
became informants to decrease their sentences, but I refused to let the feds take my
soul. I wasn’t raised to be a snitch, and I didn’t want that reputation to follow me. My
decision hurt my family because I was put away for years, but the feds don’t care that
they ruined my life and my family’s.”
After serving his two years, he was convicted to 14 additional years in 1979 for drug
smuggling crimes he says he didn’t commit.
Leading up to his arrest, a mobster and undercover informant named Joe Granata met
with Jack. Granata secretly recorded their conversation , trying to build a case against
Jack for solicitation of murder of a man who Jack strongly disliked.
17
The judge denied the tapes as evidence since Jack never admitted to killing or plotting
to kill anyone.
However, according to court records, my grandfather sold drugs and weapons during
several meetups between two undercover FBI agents, Ralph Altman and Gary Peacock.
The agents were initially after two other men, including Frank Ammirato. During one of
their meetups at a middle school in Coral Springs, Florida, Ammirato informed the
agents that he had a contact in Chicago who could give them silencers, which was
Jack.
The agents and Ammirato flew to Chicago, and, according to the agents’ testimony, Jack
allegedly sold them one silencer and offered to supply 50 more per month. During the
same meeting, Ammirato told the agents that he would supply them with quaaludes and
cocaine that Jack would be interested in buying.
About three weeks later, Ammirato showed Altman and Peacock two pistols he
purchased for them. He explained that one of his men would carry the guns to Chicago
and deliver them to Jack to be fitted for silencers. With undercover agents watching, a
man named Alfred Beuf flew to Chicago and handed a briefcase to Jack at the airport.
After Ammirato told the agents that the pistols were ready, Peacock and Altman went to
Chicago to purchase the silenced pistols from Jack.
All defendants involved were arrested and included in a 21-count indictment.
18
And, according to Jack, when Ammirato also accused him of masterminding a drug deal
in Ft. Lauderdale involving $1 million in cocaine and $1 million in cash, the prosecution
believed Ammirato.
Grandpa Jack was eventually charged with conspiring to distribute controlled
substances and to possess, transfer and transport unregistered firearms.
“I was convicted of crimes that I did not commit, in addition to the one I did,” Jack said.
“The judge gave me 14 years for picking up a bag that contained one night’s cocaine,
and an unloaded gun that I never asked for and didn’t know was there.”
Chapter 5
Grandpa meets a Playboy bunny
When my grandfather reminisced about his past, he frequently expressed the same
sentiment with a tinge of sorrow in his voice: “I never hurt anyone except my own
family.”
His sorrow turned to guilt, and perhaps this was why he was hesitant to tell me the story
of how he met my grandmother.
19
We talked on the phone about eight times over two months, and each time I grew more
hesitant to ask about him and my grandmother, Nancy West. It appeared to be a touchy
topic for the brusque wiseguy.
When I finally asked him, he said he didn’t “really want to get into it.” I didn’t want to
push, out of fear of turning him away from speaking with me entirely. So I called my
Grandma Nancy instead. When I told her that Grandpa Jack refused to tell me their love
story, she gasped. “Why didn’t he tell you?” she said sharply. “I don’t understand why he
would hide that from you.” I always got the raw honest answer from her, but I wasn’t
prepared for what I was about to hear.
1976. Photo courtesy of Nancy West.
20
“The year was 1976. I was a Playboy Bunny at the time,” my grandma said. “My
girlfriend was dating the owner of Frank’s Restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale, and when we
went one night, he introduced me to his friend, Jack. He was the most good looking guy
I ever laid eyes on.”
Jack Gail was a smooth man. He would send luxury cars to pick up Nancy and take her
to high-class hotels complete with hair salons. They went out on a couple of expensive
dates, and she said the first time they had sex was momentous.
Chapter 6
New life begins as another forever changes
“I didn’t know I was pregnant until I started throwing up,” Grandma Nancy recalled. “At
the time, I was living with an older woman who told me my sickness was a sign of
pregnancy, so I took a test and the results were positive.”
“Well, that’s too bad,” my grandma recalls the old woman saying. “You know he’s
married, right?”
21
1976. Grandma Nancy and my father. Photo courtesy of Nancy West.
My grandma said she was shocked, but nothing was going to stop her from giving birth
to that baby. That baby was my father, Michael.
After an hour-long talk with my grandma, I immediately called my mother to ask her if
she was aware of my grandpa’s infidelity. She was. And to make matters more
complicated, she said that Grandma Nancy had disclosed to my father that she knew
Grandpa Jack was married when she met him — even though, decades later, Grandma
told me a different story.
Grandma said she left Florida out of desperation and confusion, and moved back home
with her mother in Oklahoma City. Grandpa Jack promised to come visit while she was
pregnant, but he never showed up. And a few years after my father was born, Grandpa
was sent to prison on the weapon charges.
22
I asked my grandfather why he never visited Nancy while she was pregnant. He
adopted his wiseguy persona: “Why you gotta ask me so many damn questions?” The
silence on the line lingered for a long moment before he switched subjects.
I never did get an answer.
2004. My father and I. Photo courtesy of Micaela Bastianelli.
23
2002. My father and I. Photo courtesy of Micaela Bastianelli.
Grandma Nancy knew Jack was a mobster, but he never disclosed the trouble he was in
prior to being arrested. He would simply say, “There’s just some things I have to take
care of.”
24
Grandma and Grandpa weren’t in a committed relationship, but he played the role of the
stereotypical smooth mobster, and spoiled her with gifts and many other luxuries.
After his arrest, she was forced to move on with her life. My grandma says she never
stopped loving Jack, but his prison sentence, wife and the kids he already had, forced
her to give up on their love story.
When my grandmother married her first husband, my dad was around nine years old.
He decided to take his stepfather’s surname: Bastianelli.
When my father turned 16, Grandma Nancy received a call from Jack in prison. My dad
was home at the time.
25
1990s. My father, Michael, in high school. Photo courtesy of Micaela Bastianelli.
“Michael, Jack is on the phone, he wants to talk to you,” my grandma told my father.
My dad had never spoken to his own father, but he wasn’t eager to talk to him that day.
“Well, I have a football game to get ready for, so I’ll just talk for a little bit,” he told
Grandma Nancy. Maybe my father was protecting himself emotionally. By the time Dad
graduated high school and went to college, Grandpa Jack was finally out of prison. They
reconnected and talked, but only a few times.
26
“Your father thought he was funny and that their conversations were cool, but he never
really cared for Jack,” Grandma Nancy said. “That was shocking to me because
everybody loved Jack. But I think he always carried resentment towards him for being
absent. Michael watched me struggle and Jack was never there to help.”
My grandmother struggled with alcoholism for decades, losing control of the disease
when my father was a child. As a Playboy bunny, she often brought home random men.
Due to her frequent debilitating drunkenness after a long night out, she couldn’t prevent
the men from physically abusing my father and his two half-siblings. As the eldest son,
my father had to be the man of the house and fight for his brothers. Also, with no
financial help from Grandpa Jack, that responsibility fell on my dad. He became the sole
protector and provider. When he was 15, he started mowing neighbors’ lawns and
working as a clerk at the local grocery store.
He was still a boy, but forced to act like a man.
This was a primary reason I wanted to create a bond with Grandpa Jack. I wanted to
hear his side of the story. Why was my father’s existence or wellbeing never a priority
for him? Even in his memoir, he never mentions my grandma or my father, but he
mentions his other children and previous relationships.
During my father’s time at USC, he and Grandpa Jack had stopped talking. When my
father passed away at 28, all communication had long ceased.
27
“I went to the funeral, but I felt guilty for being sad,” Grandpa Jack said in a somber
tone. “I didn’t feel that I deserved to feel sadness because I was never there to begin
with. I’m sad that he didn’t want to get to know me more and I’m sad that I couldn’t be
around when he was young.”
On the car ride home after the funeral, Grandpa Jack said he began feeling intensely
anxious.
“I noticed my toes started to tingle,” he recalled. “That was the first time I ever felt that
sensation. I never dealt with anxiety in my life. To this day, whenever I feel anxious, my
toes start to tingle. I’m constantly reminded of the pain I put your father through and I
feel guilty for it.”
When my Grandpa told me this, I asked him if his toes started to tingle as he drove to
meet my mom and I at the cafe. Was he anxious to meet his granddaughter? Did he
know how to explain to the seven-year-old me, clutching a toy dinosaur for a sense of
security, why he hadn’t been around?
“I was afraid of failing you and your mother,” Grandpa Jack said. “I didn’t want to hurt
you like I had hurt your dad and my other loved ones. So after our first meet up, I
figured I’d give you and your mom some space and you’d reach out to me when you’re
ready.”
28
29
Chapter 7
The journey continues
It’s been two years since our reconnection. And although I’d love to end this story on a
happy note, our communication has dwindled. After attempting to take our relationship
more public by sending a friend request on Facebook, my grandpa sent me a
disheartening message.
“Let’s keep our relationship between you and me,” he told me. “No one needs to know
that we talk.”
By exploring my journey with Grandpa Jack, I gained some closure. I can understand
why my father probably felt better off without having him around. And why my mother
protected me from him as a child.
I will not be a secret because of his own guilt. And my father never deserved to be one
either.
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https://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/29/us/anthony-accardo-long-a-figure-in-mob-worlddies-inbed-at-86.html
https://www.nationalcrimesyndicate.com/chicago-outfit-leadership-timeline/
https://www.newspapers.com/article/40658627/big-tuna-article/
31
https://americanmafiahistory.com/chicago-outfit/
https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-109-rico-charges
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/content/rico-act.html
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/616/1295/299063/
Abstract (if available)
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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Bastianelli, Micaela Nicol
(author)
Core Title
Family secrets: mobster grandpa, Playboy bunny grandma
School
Annenberg School for Communication
Degree
Master of Arts
Degree Program
Specialized Journalism
Degree Conferral Date
2023-12
Publication Date
12/14/2023
Defense Date
12/13/2023
Publisher
Los Angeles, California
(original),
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
Chicago,Chicago Outfit,Jewish,mafia,mobster,OAI-PMH Harvest,Playboy bunny
Format
theses
(aat)
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Garza, Oscar (
committee chair
), Littlejohn, Janice (
committee member
), (
Richardson, Allissa
)
Creator Email
bastiane@usc.edu,micaela.bastianelli@gmail.com
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC113792519
Unique identifier
UC113792519
Identifier
etd-Bastianell-12558.pdf (filename)
Legacy Identifier
etd-Bastianell-12558
Document Type
Thesis
Format
theses (aat)
Rights
Bastianelli, Micaela Nicol
Internet Media Type
application/pdf
Type
texts
Source
20231214-usctheses-batch-1115
(batch),
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Access Conditions
The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright.
Repository Name
University of Southern California Digital Library
Repository Location
USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA
Repository Email
cisadmin@lib.usc.edu
Tags
Chicago Outfit
mafia
mobster
Playboy bunny