After a judge sentenced Rudy Fratto to a year in prison for the white collar crime of tax evasion, the widely suspected Chicago mobster showed off his healthy sense of humor when he said the following outside the courtroom (Sun-Times):
"I'm a reputed good guy."
Not that avoiding taxes on an estimated $800,000 over seven years is the mark of a "good guy," but Fratto tried to explain that he was living beyond his means as he made an honest effort to take care of his family.
He certainly knows how to hide money, though, as prosecutors were able to prove that Fratto had several firms pay him through the bank account of a defunct company he controlled.
US District Judge Matthew Kennelly even agreed with Fratto's positive self-assesment, at least partially, when he said Fratto "has done an outstanding job of raising a family." Darien-based Fratto, 66, had pushed for home confinement but the judge decided his tax evasion was too serious to avoid prison.
He could be released as early as 10 months into his 12-month sentence if he becomes eligible for good conduct time, the article reports. His family was in tears at the sentencing hearing, pleading with the judge not to send him to prison because he's the family's "role model."
Mob allegations aside, tax evasion on nearly $1 million doesn't strike me as role model behavior.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has listed him as the main threat to a former hitman who became a witness. Also, he was allegedly involved in a 2001 meeting to expand the video gambling holdings of widely suspected mobsters James and Michael Marcello.
As he walked down the hall after the hearing, the role model was heard shouting, "What a f---ing joke!"
No joke, Mr. Fratto, the only sure things in life are death and taxes.
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