Roy_Aldi Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 (edited) Matthew CusanoMatthew Cusano was born on April 16, 1972 in Chicago, Illinois. Cusano's younger brother, Theodore, was born in 1979. He grew up in Elmwood Park, a working-class Italian American enclave in Cook County, Illinois. Cusano's father, Richard, provided for his family through working as an elevator mechanic. Although his father was never involved with any crime, he provided the Chicago Outfit with union bribes for over 20 years. Cusano's mother, Gloria, was originally from Clifton, NJ and came to Chicago with her family in the 1950s. Many of Cusano's relatives on both sides are involved with La Cosa Nostra in the American Midwest and Northeast. These connections were primarily formed from inter-marriage between mobsters and their wives, from different crime families. Early lifeCusano was raised in Elmwood Park by his family while being criminally active as a teenager. While attending Elmwood Park High School, he sold marijuana and burglarized cars around his school grounds for their stereos. In 1987, he was expelled from high school for juvenile delinquency that involved a police investigation. The same year, he was sentenced to 10 months of juvenile detention for selling marijuana and burglary. Due to overcrowding and good behavior, his sentence was slashed to 5 months and he was released in February 1988. Following his release, he never returned to high school and instead entered the workforce. For several years, Cusano worked several jobs in Chicago proper at supermarkets, stores, restaurants and warehouses. Eventually, he worked at automotive repair garages but was never selected for an apprenticeship. Cusano became involved with the Chicago Outfit in the early 1990s. This came after his paternal uncles, noticing his struggles with dead-end employment, offered him a more lucrative alternative. In 1993, Cusano was brought into the Elmwood Park Crew and worked for the late Caporegime John Cesani. The same year, he married his high school sweetheart, Renee Riccobene. The two have a daughter, Suzanne Cusano, who was born in 2002. In 1999, while Cusano was serving a 2 year sentence in the Danville Correctional Center for aggravated battery, his younger brother Theodore died in Los Santos, SA. Theodore was attending the University of San Andreas - Los Santos when he died. Theodore's death happened after a fraternity student intentionally spiked his drink with a lethal dosage of an unknown drug. His death was classified as a homicide and the case has since gone cold, remaining unsolved for over 20 years.Involvement with La Cosa NostraDuring the 1990s, Cusano was an associate of the Chicago Outfit for several years. He was brought into the fold by two of his uncles, Dennis and Philip, both of whom are now incarcerated in federal prisons. Cusano worked as an enforcer and debt collector, while also supervising drug deals around Chicago's numerous suburbs. From 1998 - 2000, Cusano was incarcerated at the Stateville Correctional Center for aggravated battery. His conviction came after he attacked a deli market manager in neighboring Belmont Central for failing to pay protection money. This beating was allegedly ordered by The Outfit Consigliere, Frank Sacora, though this was never proven in the state criminal court. Cusano was inducted into the Chicago Outfit as a made man in the early 2000s, following his release from state prison. In 2002, shortly after his daughter Suzanne was born in Chicago, he moved to Las Vegas, NV with his wife Renee. His family resided in North Las Vegas while he continued mob-sanctioned criminal work in the city. Cusano worked under an elderly Caporegime, John Ravena, who was in his 70s and treated the Las Vegas operation as his "retirement crew". Accompanying him in Las Vegas was an old high school friend, Charles DePippo, who had still yet to become a made man. Cusano criminally operated along the Las Vegas Strip, involved with illegal gambling and employment fraud. By this point, Cusano hadn't had a legitimate job for over 10 years and entirely sourced his income from Mafia criminality.While in Las Vegas, Cusano reportedly searched for his younger brother's killer around Nevada and San Andreas. Using his Mafia ties and private investigators, he narrowed the search down to 26 year old Edgar Morales, a former collegiate athlete and known drug dealer who attended the University of San Andreas - Los Santos. Morales died in 2004 when a car he was driving plunged into a ravine in the Hollywood Hills. The single eye witness claimed that Morales was pursued up and down a boulevard until an aggressive driver forced him off of the road, where he died after an 80 foot fall. The eye witness report was never confirmed through video footage. In 2009, the FBI investigated Cusano's involvement in Morales's supposedly accidental death, but were unable to prove any involvement.Incarceration and failing Chicago Outfit tiesThe FBI started an investigation into Matthew Cusano's Mafia activities in 2002, the same year he arrived in Las Vegas, NV. This investigation resulted in numerous indictments against Cusano from 2004 - 2005, ending with his incarceration in United States Penitentiary Leavenworth for 10 years. Cusano served 10 years of federal prison, during which he earned his GED and obtained a Journeyman qualification in carpentry. He spent 8 years of his sentence working in Leavenworth's prisoner-operated woodshop, where he made furniture for federal government facilities around the American Midwest. Cusano's contacts with the Chicago Outfit gradually faded over the years, and by the end of his sentence, was shelved by the crime family. Cusano returned to Las Vegas after his federal prison release and continued working with Charles DePippo. Criminal life was radically different for Cusano however, as he was basically shunned by the Chicago Outfit and left with no support. Cusano and DePippo's Mob contacts had all dried up and their former Caporegime, John Ravena, had died from old age in 2013. Furthermore, Cusano's wife Renee divorced him while he was still incarcerated. Aside from child support payments, Renee has placed Cusano under a No Contact Order, and Cusano hasn't personally spoken with his daughter Suzanne in almost 10 years. Regardless of these adverse factors, Cusano and DePippo furthered their old rackets around the Las Vegas Strip. But competition from non-LCN groups, such as the Russian Mafia and outlaw biker gangs, forced them out of the scene. Arrival in Los Santos, SACusano came to Los Santos, SA in 2021 while under renewed FBI surveillance in Las Vegas. The FBI suspected that DePippo was forming a crew of other washed up mobsters who felt entitled to their old criminal rackets. However, this theory fell apart when DePippo, Cusano and a few of their other old partners left Las Vegas. The FBI later lost interest when their investigation went nowhere, and when their resources were stretched too thinly between Las Vegas and Los Santos. Cusano currently resides in Los Santos, SA and it is strongly suspected that he has rebooted his criminality under the guise of legal business ventures. Edited October 16, 2021 by Roy_Aldi 9 1 Link to comment
Roy_Aldi Posted October 9, 2021 Author Share Posted October 9, 2021 (edited) Huge shoutout to @13 Ways for helping with the story. Edited October 28, 2021 by Roy_Aldi 2 Link to comment
Roy_Aldi Posted October 9, 2021 Author Share Posted October 9, 2021 (edited) On 9/3/2021 at 12:20 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/3/2021 at 4:26 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/3/2021 at 7:01 PM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/4/2021 at 2:06 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/4/2021 at 10:02 PM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/6/2021 at 3:51 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/6/2021 at 3:06 PM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/7/2021 at 5:05 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/7/2021 at 5:18 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/7/2021 at 11:12 PM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/9/2021 at 3:47 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/9/2021 at 6:19 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/10/2021 at 8:10 PM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/11/2021 at 4:16 PM, Caradrio said: On 9/12/2021 at 1:21 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/16/2021 at 4:39 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/16/2021 at 4:43 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/17/2021 at 3:40 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/18/2021 at 4:58 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/19/2021 at 4:36 AM, Eriks said: On 9/20/2021 at 7:45 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/20/2021 at 11:26 PM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/21/2021 at 11:14 PM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/24/2021 at 7:29 PM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/24/2021 at 7:53 PM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/26/2021 at 12:21 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/26/2021 at 1:36 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/27/2021 at 3:06 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/27/2021 at 3:46 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/28/2021 at 9:45 PM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/30/2021 at 1:43 PM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/30/2021 at 2:10 PM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/30/2021 at 2:21 PM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/30/2021 at 7:36 PM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/30/2021 at 7:58 PM, Eriks said: On 10/4/2021 at 12:38 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 10/5/2021 at 2:56 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 10/5/2021 at 2:59 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 10/5/2021 at 3:10 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 10/5/2021 at 11:15 PM, Roy_Aldi said: On 10/6/2021 at 1:19 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 10/6/2021 at 3:47 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 10/7/2021 at 10:44 PM, Roy_Aldi said: On 10/8/2021 at 2:38 AM, Roy_Aldi said: 23 hours ago, Roy_Aldi said: Edited October 9, 2021 by Roy_Aldi Link to comment
Redke Posted October 9, 2021 Share Posted October 9, 2021 amazing character, keep it up Link to comment
Roy_Aldi Posted October 10, 2021 Author Share Posted October 10, 2021 On 10/7/2021 at 10:44 PM, Roy_Aldi said: 1 Link to comment
Iovino Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 You come heavy, or not at all! 1 Link to comment
Roy_Aldi Posted October 11, 2021 Author Share Posted October 11, 2021 On 9/27/2021 at 3:06 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 9/27/2021 at 3:46 AM, Roy_Aldi said: On 10/5/2021 at 11:15 PM, Roy_Aldi said: On 10/6/2021 at 1:19 AM, Roy_Aldi said: Link to comment
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