Star witness says sheriff met with Morgano
Post-Tribune (IN)
August 13, 1991
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Accused mobster Bernard "Snooky" Morgano allegedly met with Lake County Sheriff Stephen R. Stiglich to discuss a police raid on a gambler paying Morgano protection money, according to the federal government's star witness.
The testimony of Anthony Leone, Morgano's "right hand man," concluded the final day of the prosecution's case in the three-week trial of six men on gambling and racketeering charges.
The case may go to the jury Wednesday.
Morgano, 54, of Valparaiso, is the Northwest Indiana street boss of the Chicago crime syndicate, according to the government.
He is on trial with Dominick "Tootsie" Palermo, 73, of Orland Park, Ill.; Nicholas "Jumbo" Guzzino, 49, of Chicago Heights, Ill.; Sam Nuzzo Jr., 45, of Merrilliville.
Leone testified that reputed gambler Steve Sfouris called him in June 1987 after Indiana State Police raided Sfouris' strip joint, the Duchess Lounge at Cline Avenue and the Borman Expressway.
The government alleges Morgano and Leone extorted crime syndicate "street taxes" from area gamblers, including Sfouris, who ran a high-stakes Greek dice game called barbotte.
Leone and Sfouris originally were indicted along with the six defendants. Leone, however, has entered a plea agreement and became a federal witness. Sfouris fled to Greece to avoid prosecution.
Under questioning by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Thill, Leone testified he and Morgano met frequently - sometimes twice weekly - with reputed East Chicago gambling boss James A. "Sonny" Peterson.
Peterson turned to Morgano when the heat came down on Sfouris, Leone said. ''He (Morgano) and Mr. Peterson were supposed to see the sheriff," Leone said.
At the time, Stiglich had been sheriff for seven months.
"Did you ride with him?" Thill asked.
"Yes," Leone said.
"Did you see the sheriff?" Thill continued.
"No," Leone responded.
Leone said, however, he and Morgano met Peterson "at a shopping center parking lot on Route 6 and Cline Avenue," then drove to meet the sheriff, ''somewhere in Hammond."
It was the second time in the trial the sheriff has been allegedly linked to the defendants.
On Aug. 1, jurors heard Morgano say in a secretly recorded conversation taped April 15, 1986, that, "I take a thousand a week to the sheriff."
Leone, 49, of Porter Township, was convicted in late 1988 of operating an illegal lottery in Gary.
Leone also testified Morgano enlisted the help of Gary City Councilman Clemmons Allen Jr., D-at large, in collecting a debt owed Leone by William ''Junior" Brookshire.
An alleged numbers runner in the Gary lottery, Brookshire pleaded guilty to gambling charges in 1988.
Allen, a former Gary police officer, works for Stiglich as an internal affairs investigator for the sheriff's department.
Leone's allegation came during cross-examination by Ronald Menaker, Guzzino's attorney.
"I didn't approach him," Leone said of the request to Allen. "I asked Mr. Morgano and Mr. Morgano introduced me to him (Allen)."
"Did you not tell Mr. Allen you wanted him to intimidate and scare ... (Brookshire)?," Menaker asked.
Leone indicated, yes, "to a certain extent."
Neither Stiglich nor Allen could be reached for comment.
Speaking on behalf of Stiglich, county police spokesman Ron Rybarczyk said, "the sheriff would not dignify those statements with a comment."
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