20 Chicagoans Accused of Being Top Mobsters Indicted : Mafia: The charges include murder, extortion and bribery. The case is believed to be the first round in a massive probe of organized crime.

CHICAGO —  Twenty men whom the Justice Department alleges are among Chicago’s top mob figures were charged with crimes ranging from murder to extortion and from loan sharking to bribery in a 42-count grand jury indictment made public Wednesday.

The indictment, coming after eight years of investigation, is believed to be the first round in a massive federal investigation of organized crime and its influence in the Chicago government and the Illinois courts. During the investigation at least one undercover IRS agent infiltrated crime syndicate operations in Chicago and several alleged syndicate insiders cooperated with government investigators.

In an unusual appearance outside Washington, Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh announced the indictment, which was returned by a Chicago federal grand jury Tuesday.

The indicted 20, Thornburgh said, are “alleged to be major participants in the Chicago crime syndicate, which has historically posed a threat to the integrity of government and community.” All 20 have either been arrested or have surrendered to authorities.

Sometimes reading like a paperback thriller, the 102-page indictment provides an unusual picture of an alleged crime syndicate faction identified by the government as the “Joseph Ferriola Street Crew.” Ferriola was an alleged mob boss who died last year.

With details that sometimes include portions of conversations, the indictment claims that the group engaged in a widespread conspiracy to collect “street taxes,” or protection money, from the operators of illegal establishments; to run gambling establishments ranging from sports books to casinos, and to collect the interest on usurious loans.

“This is obviously a powerful group of individuals,” said Ira H. Raphaelson, the acting U.S. attorney in northern Illinois. “This faction of the Chicago outfit protected themselves by obstructing justice, bribery and murder.”

Thornburgh and other federal officials refused to discuss details of the indictment or to identify which Illinois government agencies or officials were bribed. They did say, however, that while the indictment alleges attempts to bribe Wisconsin officials, no Wisconsin officials were ever approached.

The indictment, a laundry list of alleged crimes, is filled with intriguing bits and pieces that Justice Department officials refused to elaborate on.

Perhaps the most chilling reading are portions of the indictment which deal with the 1985 murder of bookie Hal Smith, who allegedly refused to pay a street tax to the “crew.” Among those allegedly involved in the murder are Rocco Ernest Infelise, head of the “Ferriola Street Crew” and Salvatore (Pizza Guy) DeLaurentis, the second in command.

The indictment alleges that DeLaurentis demanded a street tax from Smith in the fall of 1984 and when he refused, DeLaurentis “angrily told Smith he was ‘trunk music.’ ” Smith’s body later was found stuffed in the trunk of a car. The indictment says he was tortured and strangled.

Another section of the indictment outlines how Infelise and William (Slim) Jahoda allegedly made a $50,000 “juice” loan to an “undercover IRS agent known to Infelise only as Larry Weeks in connection with a plan to pay bribe money to individuals Infelise believed to be Wisconsin public officials.”

The indictment also alleges that Infelise was paying “$35,000 a month to various public officials, including law enforcement officials and to members of the enterprise who are incarcerated.”

In addition to the charges, the government is seeking the forfeiture of homes owned by both Infelise and DeLaurentis and $3.7 million in alleged proceeds of the racketeering activity.

While the prosecutors tout the indictments as a major blow to organized crime, they are but another chapter in a fat ledger of government attempts to put the mob out of business.