Bally’s Chicago Back on Track After Mob-Tainted Delay

• Bally’s resumes work following state review and vendor cleanup.
• Construction was paused after possible Mob-linked contractor appeared on-site.
• Regulators aim to keep organized crime out of casinos.

Illinois regulators have given the green light for construction to resume on Bally’s Chicago casino. That’s two weeks after proceedings were halted over concerns about the reputed prior Mob connections of one of the companies involved.

D&P Construction is a waste-hauling company once controlled by the late John “No Nose” DiFronzo, a former boss of the Chicago Mob, and his late brother, Peter DiFronzo, a reputed Outfit capo.

The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) ordered construction work to stop after a reporter at The Chicago Sun-Times noticed the on-site dumpsters were emblazoned with the D&P Construction logo and informed the agency.

The IGB halted the work “pending … investigation into the use of undisclosed and unapproved vendors at the construction site.”

Bally’s had cooperated with the investigation, “addressed the disclosure failures,” and had assured ongoing disclosure of all future vendors, the agency said.

“With IGB direction and oversight, Bally’s is implementing required improvements to its vendor and contractor compliance processes and protocols, along with additional steps to enhance monitoring, supervision, and surveillance at the construction site,” read an IGB statement.

D&P’s Checkered Past

D&P was also involved in the construction a quarter century ago of the failed Emerald Casino in Rosemont, Ill. The proposed casino would have been a stone’s throw from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, one of the world’s biggest. Developers and politicians were drooling at the prospect of billions in profits and taxes.

Work began on the project in 1999, but in 2001, the IGB revoked Emerald’s license citing multiple violations. These included misrepresentations of the company’s ownership structure and hidden associations with individuals linked to organized crime. D&P’s involvement was also cited.  

Rosemont’s then mayor, the late Donald E. Stephens, was dogged by accusations that he had connections to the Chicago Outfit for much of his political career.

It is unclear whether D&P still has a relationship with the DiFronzo family. John DiFronzo suffered from Alzheimer’s disease late in life, dying in 2018 age 89. Peter DiFronzo died from COVID-19 complications in 2020 at 87.

Ownership Obscured

For many years, Peter’s widow, Josephine DiFronzo, was listed as the owner of the company, despite a once-secret 2003 FBI memo stating that D&P was “controlled by Peter and John DiFronzo.

Law enforcement and federal prosecutors have noted that companies tied to organized crime families often list female relatives as nominal owners to skirt scrutiny.

D&P is registered with the Illinois Secretary of State under a legal agent, a common practice among privately held firms that do not publicly list their ownership.

Illinois’ long and complex history with organized crime means that one of the IGB’s primary objectives is keeping the Mob out of the gambling industry.