Two More Charged In Operation Crew Cut Racketeering Case
CHICAGO (STMW) -- Two felons have joined five other defendants in a major racketeering case targeting an Outfit-connected crew accused of home invasions, armed robberies, burglaries, insurance fraud, prostitution, arson and a plot to murder a witness.
Jeffrey Hollinghead and Willie Feliciano, both 48, were ordered held without bond Thursday.
They've been charged in Operation Crew Cut, which was unveiled in July when longtime convicted burglars Robert Panozzo and Paul Koroluk were charged along with Maher "Max" Abuhabsah; Koroluk's wife, Maria Koroluk; and Panozzo's son, Robert.
Panozzo and Koroluk are allegedly tied to Albert "Little Guy" Vena, the reputed head of the Grand Avenue mob. Abuhabsah was the technological mastermind of the group, prosecutors said.
Hollinghead was arrested in 2009 for his role in kidnapping a wheelchair-bound gang member to obtain a ransom. He was sentenced last year to 15 years in prison for that crime.
He and Panozzo discussed arranging the murder of the victim of the kidnapping case, prosecutors said.
Hollinghead started cooperating with investigators against Panozzo and the rest of the crew in November, just before he pleaded guilty in the kidnapping case, sources said.
Feliciano, a convicted burglar and thief, is accused of setting fire to a stolen vehicle with at least one other member of the conspiracy.
Feliciano was already in the Cook County Jail on separate stolen-vehicle charges.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)