[1] Hillel Levin of Chicago magazine assessed Carlisi as a "weak leader" who led the Outfit only due to a lack of alternative candidates for the position.

[4] Carlisi started his criminal career with the Outfit as a driver for mobster Joseph "Joey Doves" Aiuppa when he was boss of the Cicero, Illinois crew.

[1] On January 10, 1992, Carlisi was arrested by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Broward County Sheriff's Office Organized Crime Division at his home in Weston.

[1] He was one of ten men named in a 15-count federal indictment alleging that he had approved a failed attempt by the Outfit to take over the management of a legal Rincon Indian gambling hall near San Diego, California.

[1][3] On December 15, 1992, Carlisi was arrested by the FBI on various charges at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago as he boarded a flight to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

[4] Following a lengthy trial, Carlisi and several underlings were convicted in December 1993 of mob racketeering, loansharking, and arson in connection with an illegal gambling business in the Chicago area and the West suburbs.

[8] He also ordered another associate, Lenny Patrick, to the carry out an attempted bombing on the Lake Theater, a movie theatre in Oak Park, Illinois during a union dispute.