Store owners were raking in as much as $150,000 weekly, investigators said. The tribute system was relatively dormant in Detroit while other groups ran the numbers games in the 1980s, but it was revived in 1991 with the advent of the party store games. Historically, organized crime has muscled sports bookies and other gam bling operators into pay ing a “tribute” or “street tax” to ensure protection of their illegal enterpris es. The investigation, con ducted by the FBI and the Organized Crime Strike Force, centers in part on some Detroit party store owners who recently entered the numbers racket. Attorney’s Organized Crime Strike Force in downtown Detroit, where they submitted to photos and voice samples to aid witnesses testifying be fore the grand jury. Earlier this year, dozens of suspected orga nized crime figures and associates were sum moned to the U.S. As part of the ongoing probe, a prospective grand jury witness was jailed last week when he refused to testify after being granted immunity from prosecution. Jack) Giacalone, another target of the probe, declined to comment. Attorney David DuMouchel, who represents Vito (Billy Federal officials say that Jack Tocco, above, of Grosse Pointe Park is a key subject of the probe. “If it’s organized crime-related, he’s always the target,” said a federal law enforcement official who spoke on con dition of anonymity Tocco could not be reached and his Grosse Pointe lawyer did not return calls seeking comment. But Tocco has never been convicted of a crime. Tocco - who is either 64 or 69 years old, depending on which birth date he uses - has been investi gated and under surveil lance for years. Tocco is a college-edu cated businessman and former owner of the Hazel Park racetrack who has long been considered by federal officials to be the head of the Detroit mob. One key target, law enforcement officials say, is the Tocco organization headed by Jack Tocco of Grosse Pointe Park. With these indictments, federal au thorities hope to bring down the top echelon of the Detroit mob. In the coming months, investigators expect a fed eral grand jury in Detroit to issue more than 20 indictments in the three- year probe. INDEX Books Business Classifieds Crossword Editorials Sports Susan Watson FBI builds a case against Detroit mob Indictments sought in gambling extortion ring By Norman Sinclair and Allan Lengel Journal Staff Writers In its most ambitious assault on local organized crime in decades, the FBI is going after a suspected multimillion-dollar gam bling extortion ring inves tigators say is directed by Detroit’s top Mafia bosses.
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4 60 CENTS <^ 8 ^® ♦ ♦ ♦ SundayIournal A PUBLICATION BY STRIKING ETROIT NEWSPAPER WORKERS ©TDSJ INSIDE CITY & STATE Judge Raymond Cashen says day care wasn’t the issue when he refused to award Jennifer Ireland custody of Maranda, above.