Jury gets Mob 101 lesson
By Jeff Coen
Tribune staff reporter
Published June 25, 2007, 3:53 PM CDT
The jury in the Family Secrets mob conspiracy case began hearing evidence today, with the government calling its first witness: James Wagner, president of the Chicago Crime Commission.
Wagner walked jurors through the history of organized crime in the city, from the time Al Capone unified the criminal underworld into a force that he controlled. Since then, the Chicago Outfit has held control of vice here, making money through prostitution, gambling, loan sharking and extortion, Wagner explained.
The mob took the money it made and used it to corrupt politicians and law enforcement, Wagner said. Eventually, the Chicago mob wormed its way into labor unions and Las Vegas casinos, he said.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Mitchell Mars asked whether the organization has survived and prospered to this day. "It certainly has," Wagner said.
Wagner was expected to be back on the stand this afternoon.
His testimony followed the final opening statements in the case by lawyers for defendants Paul Schiro and ex-Chicago police officer Anthony Doyle.
Doyle's lawyer, Ralph Meczyk, raised eyebrows in court by wheeling in an old pushcart once used by the city's Department of Streets and Sanitation. He pointed to the yellow cart and told jurors that Doyle once worked as a street sweeper and has always earned money through legitimate means. He said Doyle is involved in the case because he had friends who were connected and stayed committed to them.
When he was finished with his statement, Meczyk tossed a copy of the indictment against Doyle into the cart and told jurors that eventually they would decide that's where the document belongs.
Besides Doyle and Schiro, the accused are reputed mob boss Frank Calabrese Sr., Joey "the Clown" Lombardo and James Marcello. Lombardo, Marcello and Calabrese are in federal custody.
Schiro was convicted five years ago of taking part in a jewel theft ring run by the Chicago Police Department's former chief of detectives, William Hanhardt. All five have pleaded not guilty.
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
