Don Rose was upset.
Esposito, who had been the chef at the restaurant at 508 N. Clark for about a year, was known to his employees as Giovanni and spoke little English, though he told FBI agents he was John Michael Phelan (of Irish descent) and a native of Milwaukee, though he could barely pronounce “Milwaukee.” A federal magistrate at an identity hearing March 13 ruled he was in fact the fugitive Esposito, who fled Italy in 1984 to avoid a three-year prison sentence following an extortion conviction. Esposito and Josephine Laventura, reportedly his wife, are co-owners of the restaurant, federal officials believe. She makes all the pastries. Agostino Siciliano, who told an employee that he raises racehorses, is said to hold the liquor license. When Siciliano visited the restaurant, Esposito cooked him special meals.
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The Kelsons, Allen and Carla of Chicago magazine, could not be reached for comment.
Chef Esposito is now in the Metropolitan Correctional Center awaiting his extradition hearing April 22. So, as of this writing, is former alderman Wallace Davis; maybe Esposito is teaching him how to cook.
