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The Outfit in Lake Geneva, WI and Lake County, IL – a Documentary

 

The Outfit in Lake Geneva, WI and Lake County, IL – a Documentary

For a while I had wanted to do something of the Chicago Outfit in Lake Geneva, WI, not only to see what Al Capone may have owned but other outfit members as well.

My understanding is that Capone had a home in the area as well as storage for bootlegging coming in from Wisconsin (a story in itself) and others may have had homes in the 20’s in and around Lake Geneva, a place for them to get away from everything, and maybe to have meetings far far away from prying eyes.

After Capone, my understanding is that homes were still owned as get-away hunting and fishing spots as well as disposing of the bodies of those who ran afoul of the mob.

As a bonus, it is rumored that my guy Frank Balistrieri owned large acreage from his long-term leadership in running the Milwaukee Mob and involvement in the Vegas skim. After all, how do you  hide the millions he must have had from the IRS: landwords owned via straw men and corporate shells, and when he was sent away for the last time and his end days how better to pass it along to others without the government knowing much.

Funny thing is, two years ago I met a retired realtor who loved poking around the area of Bulington, WI and Lake  Geneva, looking for old coins, farm signs and  the like. He invited me more than once but I never went with him and I regret that. I know he had interesting stories of the area and would have been great to be in on the finds, not only the old coins or cool old seed signs, but the horde of coins, well over 10 lbs of dimes, quarters and gold one and two dollar bills, he found in a caved-in drainage ditch, using a cheap metal detector and an old school dowsing rod. We counted the bills about 300 in face value, way more as collector items and so many coins with silver. I do think the value as collecting items was quite a bit, and the last I heard from the guy is that he was moving to Deadwood, CO to try his hand at prospecting. It makes me think how much did he get? Did he go back for more? Are there other hordes to be found?

The Film

Not only can we look at the old homes of the outfit but also look into the story of if the Outfit did try to take over the Grayhound Track in Lake  Geneva, which would be a very interesting story. Can we find the old stashes for the bootlegging? The list goes on.

Then we have Lake County, from petty crime, a bit of corruption to a few murders and the story of an illegal casino, a murder with a few ghosts, maybe a bit of arson.

As I see it, Lake County, IL has quite the story to tell and we should tell it.

My thought is this could be a 90 minute to 2 hour documentary to be put on Amazon Prime and YouTube. I got a great presenter and a talking head for explaining some of the background when needed.

We got a research crew going now!

 

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Podcasts Shows!

Have restarted the Podcasts with a series of what I call Blasts, so far we have, Mr Curtis. of Billion Dollar Hollywood Heist fame, you can buy his book here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085CN5HHX/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

The Podcast below

https://www.blogtalkradio.com/wayne_c/2020/04/22/houston-curtis-tells-his-story-far-more-interesting-then-any-film-could-be

 

And Gavin Schmitt wild show on Crime in Wisconsin Below

https://www.blogtalkradio.com/wayne_c/2020/04/23/gavin-schmitt-talks-mafia-in-madison

 

 

 

 

 

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Crazy Times

 

So…. here we are.

With the way that events have played out, there is no way that either of the mafia books (Frank Goes to Vegas or the one of the mafia in Buffalo) will be able to finish this year. Originally it was expected that Frank Goes to Vegas would be done around June and Mafia in Buffalo around August but it has been a strange year. And that’s putting it lightly, since it just continues to get weirder. As much as I was looking forward to the books, events can (and do!) dictate actions and with my appointment coming up I will not plan anything after this year.

So I could go looking for another co-writer but that’s not going to happen. Most feel they should get a car and a mortgage payment as a fee and I will not be able to find someone I trust like Zack Long. Men like him are hard to find and as hen’s teeth.
So rather than just having that info for the books live on my hard drive, I will post it to my blog so that others may read it and gain a better understanding of the topic and perhaps they’ll even be able to use it in books of their own.
As you may or may not know, the Mr. Big Talks line of books are starting to come out with:
both out now
 
and Mr. Big Talks Texas Hold ‘Em Poker and Mr. Big Talks Slots to be out late April to Mid-May. All will be in ebook format, though I may combine them together to make for one big paperback. All links will be posted.
I also have a notebook you can get as well.       https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0863RMSQ3
Oh and Frank got a new cover
    Get The Kindle Here that make Frank happy https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07S15JL4B
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Frank Goes To Vegas The Fund Raising

 

 

Frank Goes to Vegas Crowd Sourcing and Sponsorships

(Not so) Fun fact: It costs money to create a book, even if you are self publishing it. Readers want (and deserve) a well written book with a great cover and top-notch editing by an expert so that their money is well spent on their purchase. Each book needs to be a reward for the reader, a joyful experience, because (let’s be honest) we’ve all suffered through books that could have benefited from that extra investment.
In order to ensure that Franks Goes to Vegas is of the highest possible quality, we will be obtaining documents for research through the Open Record laws and The Freedom of Information Act. Doing this requires funds, however, and so we are asking if you would kindly help. We have set up two ways in which those interested can help ensure that the story of Frank Balistrieri and the Vegas Skim is captured with as much quality as possible:
1) We have set up a GoFundMe campaign and welcome any donation that is offered. Even just sharing information with us is welcomed. You can find our campaign at: http://gf.me/u/xfcq2p
2) We are also offering sponsorship for Frank Goes to Vegas at a cost of $50. As a sponsor, a hyperlink to a website of your choosing will be added into the book. Our thought here is that Casinos or Hotels in Vegas could include a link to a discount code (perhaps for a free meal or upgraded room). We believe that many of our readers are also interested in visiting Vegas, both for gambling and out of history interest, and we are convinced that they would jump at the chance to get and use a discount code. At $50, this is an affordable marketing cost that we’re convinced will easily pay for itself.
Questions or to sign up for a sponsorship  please Email me at wclingman@wi.rr.com
Thanks!
Wayne (Mr. Big) Clingman
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Let’s pay some bills!

Let’s pay some bills!

As do we all, there are bills to be paid in the Clingman household. The cats need to have food, the cat shelters could use a fixing and it would be great to get started on the books I’ve got planned for 2020. We’ve all got all kinds of bills and they have to be paid one way or another.

The books that I have out do indeed help and the book on Frank Balistiere especially. Words can’t express how grateful I am for the love that book has found.

However, I can do more to that effect. I will be posting affiliate links here and one there  own pages and will be doing an Amazon store. I will also be doing affiliate links to Vegas, perfect for those who love to gamble. I may also expand this to include Atlantic City Casinos and maybe even other cities as time goes by.

When you follow these links it really helps me to keep these cats fed and continue my investigation into all things mafia.

Thank you.

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Why I Write

 

Why I Write

Of course I write to make money. But the idea is to make the cash necessary to help the stray cats in my area and foster them when we can. We come across kittens all the time (and are currently fostering two of them).

For some background to this: We live in the inner city of a slowly dying city, Racine, Wisconsin. Moving into our home in the slums, we found out fast that one of the major sports here was dog fighting. Working with the Parks department and the police, we were able to put an end to this (at least in the park below our home). The monsters’ running this ring were up to the triple act: Stealing pets to use as bait to train dogs, shooting dogs that lost and simply letting them go when they had no more use for them (because of injury or age). We got real tired of having to call about another injured or dying animal.

At least we were able to stop this by our house.

An issue that still goes on here though is when a kitten or a puppy is no longer cute, the owner gets bored of taking care of it and just tosses it outside. Because of this we have a lot of stray cats and a few dogs in the area. The city is good at getting the dogs off the streets and into the new shelter that’s gone up. They’re not so good with taking care of the cats.

I know I can’t change the world but I am sure that I can do something for the cats.

The Gun Moll and I have built two cat houses (still need red lights) filled with straw for the outside strays, as well as two beds for them in the wind break that our front door creates. We feed them cat food and treat them with dewormer when we can. There’s not much more we can do but when we do find young kittens we have been very lucky in our ability to foster them. In a perfect world we would run a spay and release program but sadly we can’t afford that. Yes, the world is a cruel place and most of the outside strays only last a year or two. It is what it is but we have done everything that is in our power to do.

It is nice that the books I have written are able to help pay for the cats, something that being on a fixed income would not allow us to do.

I just wanted to take the time to tell you about why I write and how it helps greatly in our efforts looking after these poor creatures.

Thanks!

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Frank Goes To Vegas

 

 

I proposed on my @TheMilwaukeeMob Twitter account the idea of doing a six part YouTube series on the Vegas Skim (with each episode being about 60 minutes).

This project would have production values above what my first documentary of Frank Balistrieri had and aim to dispel the myths around the skim and ask questions for the viewers to meditate on.
The ballpark number to put this together would be around $5000 to $7000 and would take about a month to film and edit.
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Boy we been busy !

 

 

Doing all kinds of stuff from doing an Audio Book on Frank you can find here : https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Life-and-Times-of-Frank-Balistrieri-Audiobook/B07YF57GWX?asin=B07YF57GWX

To a crime fiction  with the DEA joining up with a  Narco killer , in the  book by the same name Narco Saints  https://www.amazon.com/dp/1693614308

You got to love the cover art !

 

We are also pleased to present to you from England David Breakspaer’s first but we hope not last book A Father’s Son  . Set in the 60’s takes you from London to Chicago  look at a life of  crime and the world it existed in https://www.amazon.com/dp/1690018496

 

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The Book is out!

  Book Cover

 

Wayne Clingman, producer of the film Milwaukee Mafia – Frank Balistrieri, The Longest Running Mob Boss in Milwaukee’s History, announced today that the book, Frank Balistrieri: The Last, Most Powerful Godfather of Milwaukee, is live on Amazon both in paperback and kindle format. Perfect for fans of mafia history, Milwaukee, and/or the Outfit.

This book, by myself and cowriter Zack Long, is based on over 1000 pages of documents received from a Freedom of Information Act request, along with newspaper stories from The New York Times,The Milwaukee Journal and others. Mr Clingman said on the matter, “I had no idea that when I started to produce my film, Milwaukee Mafia, that doing so would lead to a book. Yet once I received the FOIA return, I knew I had to continue to tell Frank Balistrieri’s story. Frank was, even if many would not like to admit it, a major part in the history of not only Milwaukee but Las Vegas and the American Mafia at large.”

Mr Clingman continued, “The best part was working with such a great writer, Zack Long.”

Mr Long spoke on the project, “It has been a lot of fun working with Wayne to turn Balistrieri’s story into a book. It is downright shocking just how much violence can orbit a single life.”

Paper back available for $11.99.
Get the ebook for $3.95.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1098754697

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Frank Balistrieri, A look at “The Last Godfather of the Milwaukee Mafia” The Ebook Pre-Sale

 

Today, Wayne Clingman, the producer of the film Milwaukkee Mafia – Frank Balistrieri, The Longest Running Mob Boss in Milwaukee’s History, announced that the book, Frank Balistrieri, A look at “The Last Godfather of the Milwaukee Mafia” is about done and being offered for pre-sale to those fans of mafia history, Milwaukee, and/or The Outfit, who will want to own it for their own collections.

This book, by myself and co-writer Zack Long, is based on over 1000 pages of documents received from a Freedom of Information Act request, along with newspaper stories from The New York Times, The Milwaukee Journal and others. Mr. Clingman said, “I had no idea that when I started to produce my film, Milwaukee Mafia, that doing so would lead to a book. Yet once I received the FOIA return, I knew I had to continue to tell Frank Balistrieri’s story. Frank was, even if many would like not to admit it, a major part in the history of not only Milwaukee but Las Vegas and the role of the American Mafia at large.
Mr. Clingman continued,”The best part was working with a great writer, Mr Zack Long.”
Mr. Long spoke on the project, “It has been a lot of fun working with Wayne to turn Balistrieri’s story into a book. It is downright shocking just how much violence can orbit a single life.”
The ebook can be purchased via pre-sale for $5. Buyers will also receive a Chicago Outfit Blood on the Street sticker along with their purchase.
The sale of the ebook on Amazon will begin in mid-June for $3.95;