Frank Calabrese, Sr.

Frank Calabrese Sr.
Federal Bureau of Investigation mugshot of Frank Calabrese, Sr., December 6, 1990.
Born	(1937-03-17)March 17, 1937 Chicago, Illinois
Died	December 25, 2012(2012-12-25) (aged 75) Federal Medical Center, Butner, North Carolina
Cause of death	Ailments
Other names	Frankie Breeze

Frank Calabrese Sr. (March 17, 1937 – December 25, 2012), also known as "Frankie Breeze," was a made man and a caporegime who ran major loansharking and illegal gambling operations for the Chicago Outfit. He is best known as a central figure in Operation Family Secrets and the subsequent Federal trial. Calabrese, who was battling a myriad of ailments, died on Christmas Day 2012 at the Federal Medical Center, Butner in North Carolina.

Frank Calabrese, Sr. was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 17, 1937 to James and Sophie Calabrese. Calabrese grew up on the West Side of Chicago, dropped out of school in the fourth grade and sold newspapers on Grand Avenue, he told jurors during a trial in 2007. He also told jurors that his family was so poor that they would eat oatmeal for dinner.

Calabrese's arrest record dates back to 1954, when he served two years in prison for a violation of the Dyer Act (auto theft). He was The Outfit's Chinatown, or 26th Street, crew boss who provided loans to hundreds of customers at exorbitant interest rates that varied from one percent to 10 percent per week. The federal government estimates that Calabrese's crew grossed more than $2,600,000. Calabrese instructed his crew members to, "do anything you have to do," to collect the loans. If a debtor did not have the money, the Calabrese crew would seize the debtor's car, home and business. Calabrese reported to Angelo J. LaPietra "The Hook", who was the ultimate boss of the 26th Street Crew and Founder of the Italian American Club from where operations were handled.

At one point, Calabrese gained control of an auto repair shop in River Grove, Illinois when the owner, Matthew Russo, fell behind on a loan. In 1990, Calabrese entered an agreement with a car dealership in Elmhurst, Illinois to direct car repair work to this mob-controlled repair shop in exchange for kickbacks. However, Russo had become an undercover government informant and recorded the mobsters at one meeting at the dealership. Calabrese and eight of his crew members—sons Frank Calabrese, Jr., and Kurt Calabrese, brother Nick Calabrese, Louis Bombacino, Philip Tolomeo, Kevin Kudulis, Terry Scalise and Philip Fiore— were eventually arrested.