Leading up to 1977, Vincent Maniaci had an interesting criminal career. He was believed to be the money behind his friend August Palmisano’s gambling business. He oversaw a group of cartage thieves. He was, of course, close to his brother August Maniaci who was murdered in 1975. Around that time, Vince and his friend Palmisano were accused of threatening cabaret owner Karl Lotharius, soon a murder victim. While not clear that Vince was ever a Mafia member like his brother, he benefited from running in those circles.
An informant later said a meeting was held at the Shorecrest in May 1977 and Frank Balistrieri said, “Vincent Maniaci was a troublemaker and should be murdered like his brother.” (I have no guess as to who the informant was. Who was part of the “inner circle” after Augie Maniaci was killed, and would also speak to the FBI?)
On June 21, 1977, Vincent Maniaci was released from Metropolitan Correction Center in Chicago (where he had been following his cartage theft conviction) and placed in Milwaukee Inner City Halfway House at 2407 West Fond Du Lac Avenue. The administrator there was Clennistine Wilder.
On the morning of June 30, 1977, a blue Mercedes registered to John Balistrieri was observed following Vincent Maniaci.
July 1, 1977: Vince Maniaci entered Snugs restaurant at 10:45pm. Frank Balistrieri entered at 12:05am. They have a conversation, joined by a white female, until Maniaci leaves at 2:20am and goes to Pitch’s. Balistrieri leaves at 2:30am and goes to the Plankinton Hotel.
July 19, 1977: Steve DiSalvo was observed meeting with Frank Balistrieri, Peter Balistrieri, Joseph Balistrieri and John Molle. This day and the next, the FBI conducted “coordinated aerial and ground surveillances.” A Cessna Model 172 was being used at $27 per hour, and two rental cars at $12 per day plus 12 cents per mile. The two days ran up a bill of $904 – they were allocated $1,000. The goal was to catch discussion of a “contract” believed to have been put on Vincent Maniaci’s life. DiSalvo was followed constantly the next few days.
Roughly August 10, 1977, Vincent Maniaci was called before a grand jury to testify about the use of .22 pistols in gangland murders —over 25 such murders were alleged to have featured .22s in the last two years, including the murder of August Maniaci. Maniaci pleaded the Fifth.
Also on August 11, FBI agents witnessed Chicago mobster John “Johnny Apes” Monteleone (or someone who looked like him) driving a silver car with Illinois plates and following the activities of Vincent Maniaci around 2121 Newhall (his dead brother’s house) at 7:17am.
August 17, 1977: 6:30am, Vince Maniaci came downstairs and had a cup of coffee and watched the morning news with Wally Vivians, the financial counselor of the halfway house. He left at 7:06am and had trouble keeping up with traffic. His accelerator was stiff and he could not get the car over 20-25mph. Despite this, he arrived at his sister-in-law’s house (Augie’s widow) around 7:20am and brought her to the Milwaukee Inn, where she worked as a cook. She was dropped off around 7:40am and he went to the mechanic.
A bomb consisting of 18 sticks and 4 half-sticks of dynamite (Red Arrow Dupont, 70% strength) was found “attached to the fire wall” in his 1969 Buick Electra at the Lake Front Car and Cycle Shop (1334 North VanBuren) by mechanic Thomas Wendlandt. Assistant Special Agent in Charge Ralph Hill arrived at 8:05am. Milwaukee police arrived at 8:20am and evacuated the surrounding buildings. The bomb did not go off because Maniaci had pushed down on the accelerator, jamming the device and causing the alligator clips to make improper contact. Had he turned the ignition before hitting the accelerator, the bomb would have detonated. Maniaci fled the scene on foot, going east on Ogden.
At 2:00pm, a conference was held at the Milwaukee Police Department between the police, ATF, FBI, Vincent Manaici and his attorney. Maniaci was put under 24-hour guard, and after Maniaci left the room, the Milwaukee Police representative berated the FBI agent for not telling the police they knew a contract was out on Maniaci’s life. The agent denied the accusation, saying they had several meetings over the last few weeks where this issue was brought up.
Samples of the dynamite and wrappers were kept for evidence, but the explosives themselves were turned over to Vulcan Industries (5713 West Rawson) for disposal. While you typically want to keep the murder weapon in evidence, it’s understandable that law enforcement had little desire to store dynamite.
August 18, 1977 in the Milwaukee Journal an unnamed FBI official said, “All our Mafia sources are being tightlipped about this. We think Vince knows why the bomb was planted but doesn’t know exactly who put it there.” An FBI official (perhaps the same one) told the Sentinel, “He’s of the old school and won’t say anything.” Pierce County Sheriff Stanley Christiansen suggested the dynamite came from a theft of 1,600 pounds of dynamite from Pierce County Highway Department’s storage sheds east of Ellsworth back on July 24. FBI agents said this was not the same dynamite. (It was soon traced to part of 431 cases from Potomac Works in West Virginia, but could not be further narrowed down. A dark brown hair was also found attached to the tape surrounding the bomb.) The August 18 Milwaukee Sentinel quoted an anonymous “official” concerning Vince that, “He’s of the old school and won’t say anything.”
August 18, 1977: A lieutenant and detective (names redacted) met with SA (redacted) at the FBI office. They were given a photograph of an unidentified white man with a beard who appeared to be following Vince Maniaci as he left Snug’s. The agent also told the officers the FBI suspected Steve DiSalvo had set up the “hit” attempt on Maniaci.
August 19, 1977: A meeting was held between the Milwaukee FBI, Milwaukee police chief Harold Breier and certain officers of the MPD. Chief Breier wanted to “straighten out any misunderstandings” between the two agencies. Breier felt there needed to be a clear liaison who should receive information between the two agencies, and prioritized the Special Assignment Squad (SAS) over the detective bureau. The FBI had been accused on withholding information when, in fact, it turned out that the information was passed along but not properly disseminated to the SAS by the detectives.
August 19, 1977 in the Milwaukee Sentinel an unnamed ATF official said, “Whoever put that bomb together wouldn’t have worried about fingerprints, since the explosion would have destroyed all the evidence anyway.” He believed it was “unlikely it was put together by someone wearing gloves,” as the design was too intricate. That same day, a Milwaukee detective turned the dynamite wrappers over to the FBI to check for latent prints. (On September 16 it was determined no prints could be found – perhaps the bomber WAS wearing gloves. Either way, I suspect the public statement was to create fear in the bomber that they could be caught.)
On August 23, 1977, Vincent Maniaci was sent back to Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago by William Bycott, the Wisconsin community programs officer for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. “It was my judgment that his safety could not be assured in Milwaukee,” Bycott said. “It was my decision entirely. I wouldn’t want to have to ride in a car pool with him.” With good behavior, Maniaci would complete his sentence January 24.
FBI Agents looked over the registration cards at the Holiday Inn (201 North Mayfair Road) on September 12, 1977 and found someone of interest in the Maniaci bombing had stayed there in Room 204 on August 11: Peter F. Picciurro with a guest. They checked out 5:37pm on August 12. (The FBI was checking hotel registrations to see if Chicago mobsters were in town; there’s no way to know who Pitch’s guest was.)
An informant told the FBI on November 4, 1977 that Balistrieri no longer considered Vincent Maniaci a threat, despite the failed bombing attempt. Balistrieri allegedly said that people now knew “if they stepped out of line, the Outfit would take care of them.
Vincent Maniaci suffered a heart attack on December 18, 1977, while in the Metropolitan Correctional Center. He was rushed to the Cook County Hospital where he was in critical condition. Maniaci remained in the hospital until January 4.
The FBI interviewed the operator of the Milwaukee halfway house Vincent Maniaci stayed at on March 15, 1978. She said he parked his vehicle in the yard area, which was accessible from the alley behind the house. She further said she kept complete records of all visitors and every time someone came or left. She had learned since the bomb was discovered that if it had gone off near the halfway house, the explosion could have greatly damaged her home and injured or killed the eleven people living there at the time. She said she had once observed a small blue and white car with three men in it near the house, weeks before the bomb was planted, but otherwise had no recollection of anything unusual during the time Maniaci lived in the house.
Thomas J. Wendlandt, the mechanic who found the Maniaci car bomb, was interviewed by the FBI on March 16, 1978, at Lakefront Car and Cycle (1334 North VanBuren). Wendlandt told them about finding the bomb, and said that once they knew it was a bomb, Maniaci had walked away before police arrived. Maniaci did not say to Wendlandt who might have planted it, and Wendlandt had not actually even seen him since that morning. Wendlandt commented that police dismantled the bomb in the street in open view of anyone with the bomb components fully visible. When asked, Wendlandt said he was “not familiar” with Frank Balistrieri or his sons.
On March 22, 1978, the operator of the halfway house got back to the FBI with her personal notes. She had written down what she believed was the license plate number of the suspicious car she saw. She further advised the agents that Maniaci would occasionally spend time at Satin Doll’s Lounge, a tavern at 2337 West Fond du Lac Avenue (less than a block away). The tavern was run by Minette D. Wilson, a former dancer with Duke Ellington. (The license plate she wrote down traced to a man in Coon Valley who was on his local school board with no criminal record.) Someone connected to Satin Doll’s Lounge had a child and Maniaci was (redacted) to the child.
On April 5, 1978, the FBI spoke with a parole officer to get information on a man who stayed at the halfway house with Maniaci and was said to be his friend. The man was determined to be a member of the Outlaws biker gang, had dealt drugs and was now living in Joliet, Illinois. A telephone call to the man indicated he was willing to be interviewed by the FBI.
Special Agent W. D. Moberg traveled to Joliet on April 7, 1978, to talk with the Outlaw gang member who knew Maniaci. The agent called the gang’s clubhouse, and a woman said the man would be there after 2pm. When the agent called back, the man was there but said he was hesitant to speak to law enforcement because it was possible some of Maniaci’s associates might retaliate. The man was told anything he said would be in strict confidence. He said he would consider talking to someone in Milwaukee on April 10. (He did not contact anyone.)
Around April 24, 1978, the FBI received word that a former Milwaukee police officer was bragging that he had placed the bomb in Maniaci’s car. The man was an associate of Frank Balistrieri and had been forced to resign from the police department roughly two years prior. Inquiries with the police department and bomb squad indicated the man was divorced from his wife (who was from Heinesville, Georgia) and was known to be a braggart, whose claims should be taken with a grain of salt. The bomb squad members said it was certainly possible that the man had placed the bomb, but it was of such simple construction that almost anyone —with or without police training —could have done it. They believed the man now worked for Central Watch, an electronic protection company on Kilbourn Avenue.
On May 8, 1978, FBI agents (including SAC Hogan) met with Milwaukee police to discuss Vincent Maniaci. They believed that he was currently in Hawaii but would be returning to live in Milwaukee within the week and would be a likely target of future assassination attempts. Arrangements were made for regular spot checks to be conducted on Maniaci.
On May 15, 1978, the FBI spoke with the ex-wife of the former police officer who had bragged about planting the bomb in Vincent Maniaci’s car. She said she rarely saw him but confirmed he was a “braggart” and “loudmouth” and should not be taken seriously.
May 15, 1978: Vincent Maniaci was supposed to return to Milwaukee but decided to stay in Hawaii. A Hawaii FBI agent asked him about this, and he said he heard no specific threats but feared for his safety in Milwaukee based on concerns from family.
A former Milwaukee police officer was interviewed by the FBI on June 9, 1978, in Room 1705 of the Clark Building (633 West Wisconsin Avenue) in the presence of his attorney. He had been a police officer for ten years, with four of those years being on the bomb squad, before he was pressured to retire because of personality conflicts. He said he had received his bomb training at the US Army facility at Redstone Arsenal. He freely admitted to casually knowing Vincent Maniaci and Frank Balistrieri and said he knew attorney Joseph Balistrieri from chatting in a courtroom setting. He insisted that he knew nothing about the bomb beyond what he had read in the newspapers, had not instructed anyone on how to make a bomb and had not placed the bomb himself. The former officer specifically said he would not have told anyone he was involved, even if he was intoxicated, contradicting what others had told the FBI.