Frank Schweihs

Who was Frank Schweihs?

Francis John Schweihs, aka "Frank the German", was an alleged hitman who had been known to work for The Outfit, the organized crime family in Chicago. He was under indictment in the Operation Family Secrets case for the crimes of racketeering and extortion. It is believed he had participated in, or had knowledge of, many murders going back decades, including brothers Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro and Michael Spilotro, Allen Dorfman of the Teamsters Union, a disgraced Chicago cop, Outfit associate and informant Dick Cain, Outfit boss Salvatore "Sam," "Mooney" Giancana, loanshark Sam "Mad Sam" DeStefano, Outfit hitman Charles "Chuckie" Nicoletti and others.

Journalist Thomas Burdick, from his own investigation of the case, concluded that Schweihs, not the man who was actually convicted, was the likely killer of cigarette boat designer Donald Aronow, in 1987.

Schweihs had been convicted of extortion in 1989 and was sentenced to 13-years-and-one-month in prison and was ordered to pay $42,900 in fines and restitution.

Schweihs ran with several crews, one of them the "Chinatown Crew" also known as the "26th Street Crew."