Joey Lombardo biography

Synopsis

Profile

Mobster. Born Joseph Lombardo on January 1, 1929 in Chicago, Illinois. Lombardo owned and operated the International Fiber Glass Corporation in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, and is also a reputed extortionist, arsonist, high-level loan shark, and street boss for the Chicago mob.

In 1974, Lombardo was arrested on charges that he defrauded the Teamster's Union pension fund out of $1.4 million. The charges were dropped, however, when the only witness for the prosecution, Daniel Siefert, was murdered two days before giving his court testimony.

Lombardo was further charged with extorting $800,000 from homebuilder Robert Kendler in 1982. After attempting to bribe U.S. Senator Howard W. Cannon of Nevada to keep the crime under wraps, he was charged with attempted bribery and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

In 1983, Lombardo came to the forefront of the national media shortly after the assassination of Teamster official Allen Dorfman outside the Lincolnwood Hyatt Hotel. For years, Dorfman provided insurance and consulting services to the Central States Pension Fund, a cash cow for the mob since the 1950s. According to Chicago police, Lombardo controlled the Central States Pension Fund, and in 1975, was one of six men to be indicted with Dorfman for defrauding the fund.

The Dorfman hit occurred only a month after Dorfman was convicted on bribery and conspiracy charges with Teamster president Roy Lee Williams. In court, Williams testified against Lombardo, who was charged with concealing mafia ownership of the Stardust Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and for skimming over $2 million in unreported casino proceeds. In January 1986, Lombardo was convicted and sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison.

In April 2005, Lombardo and 14 of his mob associates were indicted with racketeering conspiracy and the murder of a federal witness. The indictment included a total of 18 hits, including Tony "The Ant" Spilotro and his brother, Michael, who were made famous by Martin Scorsese's 1995 film Casino.

Immediately following the 2005 indictment, Lombardo became a fugitive in his late 70s. He was eventually captured by FBI agents in Elmwood Park, Illinois, after visiting a dentist for a decaying tooth. On September 10, 2007, Lombardo was found guilty of racketeering, extortion, loan sharking and murder. The same jury also found him guilty of the 1974 Seifert murder. He was sentenced to life in prison and is currently serving his time in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago.

© 2013 A+E Networks. All rights reserved.