Red Wemette

William "Red" Wemette is known as an FBI informant who testified against organized crime figures in the Chicago, Illinois, area. Wemette stated in court that he had been an informant from 1971 to 1989.[1]

Red Wemette
Born
William Wemette
NationalityAmerican
Other namesRed from Chicago
Known forFBI informant, author

He is the author the 2016 release book entitled Nobody Cares and What I Did About It! The Red Wemette Story of the Chicago Outfit.[2]

Wemette and his partner operated a pornography shop in Chicago. They paid the "street tax" exacted from them by a group of criminals. Wemette made arrangements with the FBI to have his discussions with the mobsters recorded.[3][4][5][6]

He met with FBI agents in 1971 at the Lion House in the Lincoln Park Zoo and agreed to become an informant for them in exchange for their payments to him for the information he would provide them on Mob activity and figures. Wemette had video cameras concealed in his apartment that captured his regular meetings with organized crime figures.[7]

Wemette has been a key witness in a number of federal trials of mobsters and other Chicago area crime figures and has associated with many organized crime law enforcement officers including John J. Flood. He provided details that led to the conviction of Frank Schweihs, the 1995 trial of Kenneth Hansen for the 1955 Peterson-Schuessler triple homicide, and most recently in Operation Family Secrets that helped close several chapters of Chicago Mafia activity and history.[8][9][10][11][12]

References
  1. "People v. Hansen, No. 1-02-3190., August 25, 2004 - IL Court of Appeals". Caselaw.findlaw.com. Retrieved 2013-03-16. Wemette admitted that he had been a rat for the Federal Bureau of Investigations [sic] from 1971 through 1989.   He testified that he provided information to the government in the defendant's case, and stated that he was reimbursed for expenses and was also given a reward, but could not remember the exact amount.
  2. "Home". redwemette.com.
  3. Jay S. Albanese (1996). Organized Crime in Our Times. Anderson Publishing Company. p. 22. ISBN 0870840282. William Wemette was the owner of an adult video store in Chicago. Wemette and his partner paid a 'street tax' to members of the Chicago 'Outfit,' an organized crime group, for 15 years. [...] Wemette ultimately contacted the FBI [...] and agreed to record his conversations [...]
  4. West's federal reporter: cases argued and determined in the United States courts of appeals and Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals. West's federal reporter: cases argued and determined in the United States courts of appeals and Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals. 1992. William Wemette was the owner of an adult video store in Chicago. He had a business assistant and friend by the name of Leonard Cross who lived with him. From about 1974 to 1988, Wemette and Cross paid 'street tax'
  5. West's federal supplement. First Series. 1996. In September 1989, a federal jury found plaintiff guilty of conspiracy involving the extortion of 'street taxes' from William Wemette and Leonard Cross, two Chicago business owners. United States v. Schweihs, 733 F.Supp. 1174 (N.D.IU. 1990).
  6. John Drummond (1998). Thirty Years in the Trenches Covering Crooks, Characters, and Capers. Chicago Spectrum Press. p. 110. ISBN 9781886094772. LCCN 99179141. For seventeen years William 'Red' Wemette led a double life. To the Chicago Mob he was a peddler of pornography, vulnerable to extortion. But to the FBI he was a valuable informant on the Chicago Outfit.
  7. John Drummond (1998). Thirty Years in the Trenches Covering Crooks, Characters, and Capers. Chicago Spectrum Press. pp. 110–111. ISBN 9781886094772. LCCN 99179141.
  8. John Drummond (2008). It Ain't Pretty But It's Real. Chicago Spectrum Press. p. 212. ISBN 9781583741757.
  9. John Drummond (1998). Thirty Years in the Trenches Covering Crooks, Characters, and Capers. Chicago Spectrum Press. p. 113. ISBN 9781886094772. LCCN 99179141.
  10. John O`Brien (1990-02-17). "Mob Enforcer Gets 13 Years For Threatening Shop Owner". Articles.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  11. John Kass (2007-06-27). "Feds' informant kept stable of secrets". Articles.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
  12. HighBeam
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