Mobster Discussed Role In Highland Park Man's Fiery Death: Report

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — A former Chicago cop currently serving a life sentence for a conviction in a kidnapping plot admitted having a role in the death of a Highland Park restaurant owner five years ago, according to a new report. On Sept. 25, 2012, Giacomo Ruggirello was found dead from smoke inhalation after firefighters extinguished a ferocious fire at his home in the 1700 block of Midland Avenue.

Earlier that day, the Italian restaurant owned by the Sicilian-born 61-year-old, Trattoria Giacomo in Highwood, had its safe stolen in what authorities described as a sophisticated burglary.

Several sources now tell the Chicago Tribune that the FBI made undercover recordings of a notorious former Chicago cop and Buffalo Grove resident in which he discusses responsibility for the deadly blaze. The imprisoned ex-cop Steven Mandell, previously known as Steven Manning, has been implicated but never convicted in a series of other murders.

"Do you think they respect my work now?" Mandell asked, according to FBI informant George Michael's account of the covert recording. Two other sources confirmed to the Tribune that Mandell was taped discussing the fire.

In 2014, Mandell was convicted of a conspiracy to kidnap, rob and possibly murder a wealthy Riverside businessman. He is currently serving a sentence of life in prison. His associate and fellow former cop Gary Engel later hung himself in prison.

After getting kicked out of the Chicago Police Department following allegations he ran an insurance fraud racket, Mandell began working as an informant with the FBI in the 1980s. But the feds stopped working with him after one of the targets of their investigations was found dead, the Tribune reported.

In 1993, Mandell was convicted in the drug-related 1990 murder of a trucking company owner. However, a judge overturned it on appeal, and in 2005 a federal jury awarded him $6.5 million in damages. (A judge later threw out the entire award, according to the Tribune.)

The Tribune reports the FBI also recorded him plotting to kill a different businessman in order to take control of his Bridgeview strip club.

Mandell's name was first linked to the investigation into the death of the Sicilian-board Ruggirello when his defense attorneys attempted to subpoena records from the Highland Park Police probe of the deadly fire in 2013.

The Tribune reports the case file and discussions between the judge and attorneys about the issue remain sealed more than four years later.

Ruggirello's death remains a mystery. Police say there is an ongoing criminal probe into his death, which has not been classified as a homicide.

"Five years is too long to wait for answers," Ruggirello's daughter told the Tribune.

Neither the FBI or Highland Park police have commented on the new report.

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_{Top photo: The September 2012 fire that killed Giacomo Ruggirello in Highland Park | Patch archive, 2012}