Recent burglary at Schaumburg's Woodfield Mall recalls Chicago's infamous 'Hole in the Wall Gang'
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A bizarre burglary at a Woodfield Mall jewelry store Monday, in which thieves cut their way into the store through a hole in the wall, may have taken a page from a nearly identical string of thefts by the Chicago Outfit decades ago.
The Hole in the Wall Gang was one of the most infamous burglary crews in mob history, and involved Chicago Outfit-connected hoodlums that hit up numerous jewelry stores in Las Vegas from 1979 to 1981 by busting through walls and ceilings and carrying out millions in gemstone jewelry.
READ MORE: Burglars tunnel through stores to steal $1.5M in jewelry from Marquise Jewelry in Schaumburg
The six-man crew was so proficient at disabling alarm systems and swiping millions in jewelry that their sledgehammer handiwork was featured in the 1995 hit Hollywood movie "Casino."
Schaumburg police said the same number of suspects are also believed to have pulled off the jewel heist at Woodfield Mall late last week. Photos and videos show a large hole in the shop's wall from an adjacent, vacant store.
Police said burglars covered one of the security cameras to avoid being recorded, cleaning out $1.5 million worth of diamond inventory.
That's also the average value that the original Hole in the Wall Gang stole from each store 45 years ago.
The old-timer who founded the Hole in the Wall Gang was Chicago mobster Frank Cullotta, who was eventually arrested, along with the rest of the crew.
Years later he spoke to the I-Team after he flipped on his associates and went into witness protection.
"I only had a few legitimate friends. They were like my best friends but everybody I hung with I stole with, I robbed with, I killed with," he said.
Cullotta has since died, as has his mentor Anthony "Ant" Spilotro, who ran Vegas for the Outfit.
Law enforcement has not suggested any of the original Hole in the Wall Gang did Woodfield, but between the "Casino" movie, countless TV news stories and a book by Cullotta that precisely lays out how to access jewelry stores by breaking through walls, the M.O. is out there.
"You know, history tends to repeat itself. I'm sure there's a group out there that decided it worked once, it'll work twice, it'll work three times," said former suburban police chief, CPD commander and ABC7 police affairs consultant Bill Kushner.
He surmised this new gang came prepared and appears to have mapped out where Marquise Jewelry was and how to get in. Sources also told the I-Team that the burglars were dressed as construction workers.
"This is definitely not a couple of kids or young people that decided to do this just because they wanted to break into the store and steal something," Kushner said. "This is part of an organized ring. The planning is definitely there. It takes a lot of time, and it makes a lot of noise, but they obviously had scoped this out. They had cased this job."
While the original Hole in the Wall Gang was caught. Not all the diamonds and gold jewelry were recovered.
Schaumburg police and Woodfield store owners hope for a faster resolution.
