Rolodex of clout: Contacts convicted patronage chief kept

ROBERT SORICH | Here's whose numbers convicted patronage chief kept handy

In the age of the BlackBerry, a Rolodex is an awfully old-fashioned way of keeping track of phone numbers.

But then, Mayor Daley's former patronage director, Robert Sorich, is an old-fashioned guy.

Sorich kept an extensive Rolodex filled with 300 names and telephone numbers -- until his Rolodex was seized by FBI agent John Hauser on April 29, 2005, in a raid on Sorich's fourth-floor office at City Hall.

That Rolodex, and all of its index cards, became part of the criminal case against Sorich, 45, who was convicted last year of illegally doling out City Hall jobs and promotions to those who helped Daley and other politicians win elections.

Still packed in its plastic evidence bag, Sorich's Rolodex was among the exhibits examined by the U.S. Court of Appeals in rejecting his appeal Tuesday -- a ruling that means he must start serving his four-year prison sentence.

So who's in his Rolodex?

Scores of political operatives, mostly from the Daley family's 11th Ward Regular Democratic Organization. A few guys who were involved in the city's Hired Truck Program, including three who went to prison. Several members of the once-powerful Hispanic Democratic Organization. A few members of the Daley family. Some flower shops. And a few Soriches, too.

Here's a glimpse at some of the names in Sorich's Rolodex:

•     •     State Rep. Edward Acevedo (D-Chicago), a longtime HDO member and Chicago cop who once got arrested in a scuffle at a police auto pound.

•     •     Al Boumenot, former city budget director under Mayor Jane Byrne. He now works for the company that financed the renovation of Soldier Field.

•     •     John Briatta, a brother-in-law of mayoral brother/Cook County Commissioner John Daley. Briatta went to prison for taking bribes in the Hired Truck Program.

•     •     Michael Broderick, a former campaign manager for the mayor who's now a lobbyist at City Hall.

•     •     Ron Calicchio, a top official in the city Revenue Department who runs the Coalition for Better Government, a Northwest Side patronage army.

•     •     John Cannatello, a Bridgeport native who paid bribes so city officials in the Hired Truck Program would hire the company he ran under his wife's name.

•     •     Angelo "Packy" Ciaravino, an assistant commissioner in the city's General Services Department and voter registrar for the 11th Ward Democratic Organization.

•     •     John Daley, who also runs the 11th Ward Democratic Organization.

•     •     Timothy Degnan, the mayor's longtime friend and political adviser.

•     •     Thomas DiPiazza, a Bridgeport developer and Degnan business partner. Reached on his cell phone Wednesday, DiPiazza called Sorich "a great person'' and declined to comment further.

•     •     Joe Feldman, the Bridgeport News publisher who also had a company in the Hired Truck Program.

•     •     Tony Fratto, who was city comptroller under Byrne and now works for the company that financed the renovation of Soldier Field.

•     •     Hamburg Club, a Bridgeport institution and popular hangout.

•     •     Flo Hooker, a city transportation official who testified about the illegal hiring scheme.

•     •     Former Ald. Patrick Huels (11th), who resigned after the Chicago Sun-Times disclosed that he took a million-dollar loan from Michael Tadin, the trucking magnate who got a city loan with Huels' help. Huels runs SDI Security, whose clients include U.S. Cellular Field.

•     •     Thomas Hynes, former Cook County assessor.

•     •     State Rep. Kevin Joyce (D-Chicago), whose father, Jeremiah Joyce, is one of the mayor's closest political advisers.

•     •     Former city Clerk Jim Laski, who recently finished a stint in prison for taking bribes from friends who got work in the Hired Truck Program.

•     •     Christopher Kozicki, a recently resigned city official who rigged test scores allowing a union boss' teenage son to land a job as a building inspector. He's also a registrar for the 11th Ward Democratic Organization.

•     •     Ronald Marasso, a son-in-law of the late Ald. Fred Roti who works at McCormick Place.

•     •     Tim McCarthy, a former official in the mayor's patronage office convicted of rigging city hiring tests, now wrapping up his sentence.

•     •     Tim Mitchell, superintendent of the Chicago Park District who formerly ran a lakefront patronage army.

•     •     John Molloy, the mayor's economic development coordinator and a voter registrar for the 11th Ward Democratic Organization.

•     •     David Ochal, the first deputy city aviation commissioner who once caught heat for installing a pool that flooded his neighbors' yards. He also ran a patronage army.

•     •     Victor Reyes, former head of the mayor's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, founder of HDO, and City Hall lobbyist.

•     •     Shinnick's Tavern, a popular Bridgeport hangout.

•     •     Mike Shine, a top deputy to Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas.

•     •     Pat Slattery, a former city Streets and Sanitation official convicted of rigging city hiring tests.

•     •     James Stroden, the city's sewer superintendent, who drew a 60-day suspension for using city equipment on a construction project at his Bridgeport home 10 years ago.

•     •     John Whirity, a city Water Management Department foreman from Bridgeport who was fired last year for having someone swipe him in and out of work. Whirity -- also an 11th Ward voter registrar -- appealed and got his job back.

•     •     Alexander Vroustouris, the mayor's former inspector general, who was forced out amid the Hired Truck scandal.