Butch Is Butchered

Butch Petrocelli was a renowned member of the Chicago Outfit, responsible for countless hits and the most difficult murder jobs possible. However, things took a dramatic turn when the hit man became the mafia’s prey. As Petrocelli began to gain confidence, his actions and behavior set the Outfit’s bosses on edge, but what led to this begins back in 1979 when Petrocelli eliminated a competitor within his own Outfit.

A young shop owner named Oliver, a low life crony to the powerful Salerno, owned an adult book shop full of X rated media and paraphernalia. However, Oliver’s business was detracting from Vito Caliendo who also owned an adult bookstore. Approaching Oliver, Petrocelli demanded that Oliver shut down his shop or move it elsewhere as it interfered with Vito’s business. Oliver bravely refused, but Vito was a member of Petrocelli’s gang, and Petrocelli far outranked Salerno. As a result, Oliver was left defenseless, and Petrocelli took matters into his own hands.

Organizing the Cicero crew, Petrocelli- and Salerno who also belonged to the Cicero crew- invaded Oliver’s store. Together, they grouped Oliver and his employees in the peep-show booths towards the back of the store. Once Oliver was detained, the Cicero group proceeded to destroy glass cases, tear up merchandise, and destroy all they could of the store. During this, Oliver managed to escape his holding place, but in the commotion, he was shot and killed. After taking what they wanted from merchandise, to valuables, and money, Petrocelli loaded Oliver’s body into the back of their get away van.

From that point on, Vito’s competition was eliminated, and his adult bookstore became the singular distributor of adult content in the area. But what this mess showed, was Petrocelli’s willingness to strive for personal gain through great measures of violence, and as time passed Petrocelli’s confidence only worsened. He became flamboyant, narcissistic, and boastful, but perhaps the most irritating display of this newfound attitude occurred on Christmas. Upon hosting a loud, glamorous, and glittering party, Petrocelli boasted to guests that it wouldn’t be long until he became boss of the Chicago Outfit. When news of this travelled up stream, Petrocelli was already on thin ice. Still, the last straw had yet to be broken. That came when Aleman went to prison.

A member of the Chicago outfit, and former partner to Petrocelli, Harry Aleman ordered Petrocelli to be killed. Having spent time in prison, Aleman trusted Petrocelli to take care of his finances. However, Aleman learned that Petrocelli had made upwards of $100,000 dollars by skimming his appeals finances, creating new ‘taxes’ on mob bookmarks, and refusing to financially aid Aleman’s wife as originally promised. After finding out about Petrocelli’s scheme and betrayal from Aleman, the Chicago Outfit had enough of Butch Petrocelli.

Harry Aleman

As a result, Butch Petrocelli went missing on December 30, 1980. His whereabouts remained unknown until mob bosses approached Ernie Severino- an important trustee of Petrocelli’s. When asked to turn over bank documents and other items that once belonged to Petrocelli, Ernie hesitantly refused. He was afraid that Petrocelli would return from wherever he was hiding and take revenge for overturning information. Yet, upon the expression of his fears, Gerry Scarpelli replied, “…he’s not coming back.” Scarpelli then went on to inform Ernie that the Outfit’s bosses were giving him Petrocelli’s ‘Wild Bunch’ gang. If that wasn’t convincing enough, Scarpelli continued with a revelation. The bosses had told him, “You can go in the next room and take care of the garbage if you want.” What resided in the adjoining room, were Petrocelli’s remains.

Providing what he could, Ernie remained on the outskirts of the case. All the while, new details began to unfold within the mafia’s own internal investigations. Each time, mobsters of all sorts would return to Ernie demanding something new. Then, one day, the bosses arrived wanting to know where all of Petrocelli’s belongings were. Ernie revealed everything, and perhaps one of the most chilling statements in this case comes from him, “[Mafia bosses] don’t ask unless they already know the answer.”

Butch's Remains

With everything belonging to Petrocelli out of Ernie’s possession and watchful eye, the exposure of new information fell to the court. As Outfit Members were taken into custody for other charges, Petrocelli’s body turned up unexpectedly adding a new crime to their already long list of 18 murders. Found in a car extremely decomposed, Petrocelli’s remains indicated that he’d been stabbed twice in the chest, had his throat slit, face burned, mouth covered in tape, and legs bound at the ankles. His remains went unnoticed in the back of an abandoned vehicle for nearly two months, and medical examiners confirmed that Petrocelli had been dead for at least seven weeks. As forensics continued to dig up lingering evidence, Frank Calebrese (one of the men going on trial) admitted to participating in Petrocelli’s murder. His brother, Nicholas, explained that the Outfit’s bosses began to detest Petrocelli on account of his growing confidence and flamboyancy. However, the extent of Petrocelli’s torture and infractions will remain unknown, and though his story is frustratingly vague, it provides insight to the behavior of the mafia: sometimes ‘family’ business is bad business.