MIKE ROBINSON
Associated Press
CHICAGO – A reputed mob boss, a police officer and five other men were charged Thursday in a sweeping racketeering indictment that alleges eight years of armed robberies, burglaries, jewel thefts and arson based in the western suburbs of Chicago.
Michael “The Large Guy” Sarno, 51, of Westchester allegedly masterminded much of the group’s illegal activity, including a February 2003 pipe-bomb explosion that wrecked the storefront offices of a company distributing video poker machines.
Prosecutors say the bombing was a message from organized crime to stop intruding on its $13-million-a-year video poker gambling business.
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