Bally’s Chicago Construction Halted Due to Waste Hauler Tied to Organized Crime

^{This spot is supposed to be the new home of Bally’s Chicago casino, but construction won’t resume until gaming authorities investigate stereotypical mob connections. (Image: Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)}

Construction has been temporarily halted on the Bally’s Chicago casino complex after it was discovered that a company with alleged organized crime ties was hauling waste at the River West site where the resort is being build.

The Chicago Sun-Times first reported that D&P Construction Co. Inc. was among the vendors working at the construction site.

D&P Construction Previously Sunk Rosemont Casino

According to the Sun-Times, the newspaper then asked the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) about D&P’s involvement in the project, after which the regulator put a hold on the project.

“The Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) issued an order to cease construction work on the Bally’s Chicago permanent casino in connection with a pending IGB investigation into the use of undisclosed and unapproved vendors at the construction site,” read a statement issued by the IGB on May 1. “IGB staff learned earlier this week that D&P is providing or provided waste removal services at the permanent construction site. However, D&P was not disclosed to the IGB and the IGB did not approve D&P.

“This raises several serious concerns as the IGB does not know who is associated with D&P and if any of those associations could potentially violate the Act or rules. This matter is under investigation and the IGB has no further comment at this time.”

The issue with D&P Construction dates back more than two decades. In 2001, a licensed was issued to build a proposed casino in Rosemont, Illinois. In 2005, the IGB revoked that license after an investigation found that the project had tie to organized crime. 

The IGB had found that D&P owner Josephine DiFronzo was closely related to two individuals that were “known members of organized crime,” including her husband, Peter DiFronzo, and her brother-in-law, John DiFronzo. A board member cited a memo from the FBI that said that D&P “obtained contracts through illegal payoffs or intimidation,” and that the company was controlled by the DiFronzo brothers. 

Both Peter and John DiFronzo have died in the years since. It’s unclear who currently owns and operates D&P.

Bally’s ‘Working as Fast as Possible’ to Resume Construction

According to Bally’s, the company is working to resume construction as quickly as possible.

“We are redefining our process alongside the IGB to make sure everything that needs to be vetted in the future is handed correctly and that this doesn’t happen again,” Bally’s spokesperson Lauren Westerfield said. “We are working as fast as possible and have a good working relationship with the IGB.”

Construction on the site is being led by the Chicago Community Builders Collective, a team of minority-led firms that is acting as the project’s general contractor.

“We brought together the Chicago Community Builders Collective to give smaller city contractors a chance to participate in this amazing project,” Bally’s said in a statement. “We will work with the CCBC to better achieve our shared objectives.” 

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also weighed in on the issue, sharing his concern about interruptions to the construction process of the permanent Bally’s Chicago casino.

“Whatever vetting process that was utilized that somehow allowed this type of discovery to escape, let’s just hope that it’s rectified,” Johnson told reporters on Friday. “It becomes problematic when we slow down, stop, because of steps or measures that Bally’s, in and of itself, should have been a little bit more careful about.”

While construction may have been halted, Bally’s is still operating a temporary casino at the Medinah Temple in downtown Chicago.