Topic: Frank Calabrese

Frank Calabrese, Sr. (born March 17, 1937), also known as "Frankie Breeze," is 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 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.