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{{Short description|American mobster}}
'''Dominic Cortina''' (January 28, 1925 – November 19, 1999) was a Chicago mobster and high-ranking member of the [[Chicago Outfit]] criminal organization, who oversaw gambling. His nicknames were "Big Dom", "Large", and "the Hat."<ref>{{cite news |first=Frank |last=Main |coauthors= |title=Dominic Cortina, alleged mobster |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |page=77 |date=November 24, 1999 |accessdate=1 March 2009|quote= |url= }}</ref>▼
{{Infobox criminal
| name = Dominic Cortina
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1925|01|28}}
| birth_place = [[Chicago, Illinois]], United States
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1999|11|19|1925|01|28}}
| death_place = Chicago, Illinois, United States
| other_names = Big Dom, Large, The Hat
| occupation = [[Gangster]], member of [[Chicago Outfit]]
| conviction_status = Deceased
| spouse = Jody Cortina
| children = Pam Cortina, Vicki Annecca, Michael Cortina
| image_name =
| image_caption =
| charge = [[Gambling]], [[loan sharking]], [[robbery]], [[insurance fraud]], [[conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]]
| conviction_penalty = 3 years (for gambling), 21 months (for insurance fraud and conspiracy)
}}
▲'''Dominic Cortina''' (January 28, 1925 – November 19, 1999) was
==
In the late 1940s, Cortina famously purchased a [[cigarette tax stamp]] machine and reported it stolen. Before it surfaced, millions of dollars in bogus tax stamps had been run off for the mob.<ref
In 1963, Cortina was among associates of the [[Chicago Outfit]] named at a [[United States Senate]] hearing.<ref name="Main 77"/>
▲In the late 1940s, Cortina famously purchased a cigarette tax stamp machine and reported it stolen. Before it surfaced, millions of dollars in bogus tax stamps had been run off for the mob.<ref>{{cite news |first=Frank |last=Main |coauthors= |title=Dominic Cortina, alleged mobster |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |page=77 |date=November 24, 1999 |accessdate=1 March 2009|quote= |url= }}</ref>
In
In 1982, an Illinois legislative investigating committee linked a bingo parlor on Chicago's Northwest Side to Cortina and another reputed syndicate gambling figure, William McGuire.<ref>{{cite news |first=Art |last=Petacque
By the mid-1980s, Cortina was operating a highly successful sports betting empire along with
▲In 1982, an Illinois legislative investigating committee linked a bingo parlor on Chicago's Northwest Side to Cortina and another reputed syndicate gambling figure, William McGuire.<ref>{{cite news |first=Art |last=Petacque |coauthors= |title=Slain mob figure may have been on 'hit' job |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |page=22 |date=September 16, 1986 |accessdate=1 March 2009|quote= |url= }}</ref>
In 1987, Cortina and Angelini were sent by
▲By the mid-1980s, Cortina was operating a highly successful sports betting empire along with [[Chicago Outfit]] member [[Donald Angelini]].<ref name="Cortina">''United States v. Cortina'', 733 F. Supp. 1195 (21 March 1990, Eastern Division of the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois)</ref>
On June 22, 1989, Cortina was arrested at his home and charged with conspiring with six others to engage in loan sharking, robbery, insurance fraud, gambling and the illegal import of cars into this country from Europe.
▲In 1987, Cortina and Angelini were sent by [[Chicago Outfit]] head [[Joseph Ferriola]] to assume caretaker roles in [[Nevada]], in the wake of the murder of [[Anthony Spilotro]], who had overseen Chicago Outfit interests there.<ref>{{cite news |first=Art |last=Petacque |coauthors= |title=Mob candidates campaigning for crime fiefdoms |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |page=20 |date=March 22, 1987 |accessdate=1 March 2009|quote= |url= }}</ref>
On November 8, 1989, Cortina, Angelini and an associate, Joseph Spadavecchio, were charged with running a multimillion-dollar sports betting ring between 1982 and 1988. Cortina was alleged to have supervised offices on Chicago's [[West Side, Chicago|West Side]] and in its west suburbs that were used to take bets on professional and college football, basketball and baseball games.<ref>{{cite news |first=Adrienne |last=Drell |title=10 charged in sports betting ring - 3 ex-henchmen of late mob boss |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |page=3 |date=November 9, 1989 }}</ref> Cortina, Angelini and Spadavecchio all pleaded guilty to running the sports betting ring. Federal investigators presented evidence showing that the gambling ring operated in 16 locations in Chicago, [[Oak Park, Illinois|Oak Park]] and [[Bensenville, Illinois|Bensenville]] and took in $127,309,188 during that period.<ref>{{cite news |first=Adrienne |last=Drell |title=Betting netted $127 million for 3, U.S. says |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |page=5 |date=February 27, 1990 }}</ref>
▲On June 22, 1989, Cortina was arrested at his home and charged with conspiring with six others to engage in loan sharking, robbery, insurance fraud, gambling and the illegal import of cars into this country from Europe. The indictment, which was unsealed in [[Miami, Florida]], alleged that Cortina and others had conspired since 1982 to steal and defraud, using a [[North Miami Beach, Florida]] pawn shop as a cover for their activities. Cortina, who also had maintained a home in [[Naples, Florida]], was accused in the indictment of racketeering conspiracy, plotting a home invasion in which an expensive diamond ring was taken, running a bookmaking operation and cheating the government out of payment of tens of thousands of dollars in customs duties on so-called "[[grey market]]" cars imported from West Germany.<ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=O'Brien |coauthors= |title=Oak Brook mob suspect seized - Ferriola neighbor among 7 facing charges in Florida |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |page=10 |date=June 23, 1989 |accessdate=1 March 2009|quote= |url= }}</ref>
On
Cortina was released from federal prison in 1992, and later returned to federal prison after being convicted of other charges. He was released from federal prison for good on April 6, 1995.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=Dominic&Middle=&LastName=Cortina&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=0&y=0|title=Inmate Locator|access-date=2009-03-02|archive-date=2011-05-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525113310/http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=Dominic&Middle=&LastName=Cortina&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=0&y=0|url-status=dead}}</ref>▼
Cortina never was associated with the violent faction of organized crime. In fact, he and Angelini were known for not strong-arming clients but instead for treating them politely. In some cases, prosecutors said, the duo even suggested that their clients give up gambling for their own well-being.<ref
▲Cortina was released from federal prison in 1992, and later returned to federal prison after being convicted of other charges. He was released from federal prison for good on April 6, 1995.<ref>http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=Dominic&Middle=&LastName=Cortina&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=0&y=0</ref>
▲Cortina never was associated with the violent faction of organized crime. In fact, he and Angelini were known for not strong-arming clients but instead for treating them politely. In some cases, prosecutors said, the duo even suggested that their clients give up gambling for their own well-being.<ref>{{cite news |first=Frank |last=Main |coauthors= |title=Dominic Cortina, alleged mobster |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |page=77 |date=November 24, 1999 |accessdate=1 March 2009|quote= |url= }}</ref>
In August 1988, Cortina moved into a one-story home on Windsor Drive in [[Oak Brook, Illinois]].
Cortina died on November 19, 1999, of cancer in a Chicago-area hospice.<ref name="Breslin 10"/>
▲== Personal ==
Cortina was survived by his wife, Jody; two daughters, Pam Cortina and Vicki Annecca; a son, Michael; and five grandchildren Michelle Cortina, Joseph Cortina, Christine Cortina, and Dominic.
▲In August 1988, Cortina moved into a one-story home on Windsor Drive in [[Oak Brook, Illinois]]. The house backed up to a hotel parking lot, and investigators speculate that Cortina preferred the location because the location would make it more difficult for investigators to learn who was coming to see him.<ref>{{cite news |first=Ronald |last=Koziol |coauthors=John O'Brien |title=Mob bosses find a home in Oak Brook |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |page=1 |date=March 12, 1989 |accessdate=1 March 2009|quote= |url= }}</ref> Cortina sold that house in 1994 for $710,000 and moved into a condominium unit nearby.<ref>{{cite news |first=Bob |last=Goldsborough |coauthors= |title=Mighty Ducks - Ex-Hawks coach OKs a deal on Glenview home |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |page=5 |date=June 6, 1999 |accessdate=1 March 2009|quote= |url= }}</ref>
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Chicago Outfit}}
{{American Mafia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cortina, Dominic}}
[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:
[[Category:20th-century American
[[Category:American gangsters of Italian descent]]
[[Category:American male criminals]]
[[Category:American people convicted of fraud]]
[[Category:American prisoners and detainees]]
[[Category:Chicago Outfit mobsters]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government]]
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