Saturday coffee.
The late First Ward Alderman Fred “Peanuts” Roti.I came to Chicago in 1973.
In those days you could go anywhere in the world and if you said you were from Chicago people would open their eyes wide, form their hand into a pretend pistol and say, “Bang, bang! Al Capone!”
Richard Daley, the elder, had been Da Mayor for two decades. The city’s reputation for Mob violence and corruption were even then still well-earned.
When I arrived in the city the First Ward alderman was a guy named Fred Roti.
Fred Roti was the son of Bruno Roti, Sr., the first capo of the 26th Street crew of the Chicago Outfit. Bruno “the Bomber” Roti was known for his work alongside Al Capone. Fred Roti was also the brother-in-law of Frank
