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Gangland Wire

Red Wemette and the Chicago Outfit

Gangland Wire

Gary Jenkins: Mafia Detective

True Crime, History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.6645 Ratings

🗓️ 2 October 2016

⏱️ 69 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

William “Red” Wemette was an FBI informant who testified against against the most feared and dangerous Chicago Outfit killers of modern times. I must note that Red was not the usual infomant but more a contract agent. He was not providing information as a trade to get out of a criminal charge, he was gathering information as a public service. He was paid, but this work was so dangerous, the pay was minimal compared to the risk and time involvement required. In this exciting interview Red Wemette calls in from an undisclosed location in a warmer climate (his words) and recounts how he got started as an undercover contract agent for the F.B.I. He explains how he was not trying to inform his way out of a criminal case, he just saw the arrogance and brutishness of the Chicago Outfit and wanted to help stop them. Red recently released a biography of his exploits in a book titled “Nobody Cares and What I did About It! The Red Wemette Story of the Chicago Outfit” through Joshua Tree Publishing in Chicago, IL. Red operated a pornography shop in Chicago and in Chicago if you are involved in any grey area business like a porn shop, you must pay a “street tax” to the outfit. Red was so angry about this interference with his business that he contacted the FBI and agreed to wear a wire and allow a hidden video camera to be installed in his office have his discussions with the mobsters recorded. Red reveals the Outfit Capo who was to receive his street tax money was the notorious  Joseph “Lumpy or Joey the Clown” Lombardo. He met with FBI agents in 1971 at the Lion House in the Lincoln Park Zoo and agreed to become a contract agent and provide information on Chicago Mob activity and figures. Wemette had video cameras concealed in his apartment that captured his regular meetings with organized crime figures. One of the most dangerous killer ever produced in Chicago was Frank “The German” Schweihs. “The German” took a liking to Red and often showed up at his office telling stories into the hidden recording equipment. Click here to see a news story that contains some of that hidden video footage. Wemette has been a key witness in a number of federal trials of mobsters and other Chicago area crime figures ending with the well known and important Family Secrets trials. If you have ever wanted to see what it is like to live on the wild side—all from the safety and security of your own armchair, listen to this interview and then read Nobody Cares and What I Did About It! The Red Wemette Story of The Chicago Outfit.  To purchase premium podcast click here. To rent Gangland Wire, the documentary, click here. To subscribe on iTunes click, give me a review and I will send you a link to see the film for free.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Well, folks, we have an interesting show tonight. We're going to have on the telephone

0:05.7

a man named Red Wemette. Red Wemette was, you might, some people would call him an informant.

0:11.4

Really, basically, he was a contract undercover agent for the FBI. He wasn't a sworn agent,

0:17.3

but he would be more like a contract undercover agent for the FBI in Chicago.

0:22.0

And he's, you ever, you Google the name Redwood Matt and Frank Swiss, S-C-H-W-E-I-S-H, I think.

0:31.8

And there's some fantastic YouTube videos out there of him recording this Frank the German Swiss as a Chicago outfit guy

0:44.0

who was shaking down all the hornstop horn shops in the area

0:48.0

three-hundred quaker probably a lot of what you do they know they're

0:52.7

okay on the Northbound actor it's right as a light probably what do you're getting up again if you like if you like if you like what you

1:02.2

get up again if you like what you hear go to ganglandwired.com we need you to put a hit out on a donate button.

1:12.9

Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com slash gangland wire.

1:17.3

Follow true crime storyteller Gary Jenkins on Twitter at Jenks Law.

1:22.6

Buy the DVD Gangland Wire or download the Kansas City Mob Tour app and now here's Gary Jenkins

1:30.8

good evening folks it's nice to be back here in the deep dark confines of the ice house and

1:37.8

fabulous studios of the big dumb fun show studio four i'm here with my good friend and co-host

1:43.4

aaron say hello Aaron hello Aaron this is this is quite a story he's got to fun show, Studio 4. I'm here with my good friend and co-host, Aaron. Say hello, Aaron. Hello, Aaron.

1:45.8

This is quite a story. He's got a book, nobody cares and what I did about it. And if you know

1:52.1

anything about the Chicago outfit and their relationship with governmental agencies and the Chicago

1:59.8

Police Department and even more more the Cook County Sheriff's

2:02.3

Department, then if the FBI wasn't doing anything about it, nobody was doing anything about it.

2:09.9

So we're going to talk to Red tonight, and you want to look for his book.

2:14.1

Nobody cares and what I did about it.

...

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