Family Secrets jurors to get witness transcript
By Jeff Coen Tribune staff reporter
12:10 PM CDT, September 21, 2007


U.S. District Judge James Zagel is granting a jury request for the transcript of a witness against Family Secrets trial defendant Paul "the Indian" Schiro.

Jurors are deliberating for a fourth day on whether four Outfit figures can be held responsible for 18 slayings at the center of the case. Schiro, the Outfit's representative in Phoenix, has been accused of taking part in the 1986 slaying of grand jury witness Emil Vaci in Arizona.

Last week the same jury convicted the four—Schiro, James Marcello, Joey "The Clown" Lombardo and Frank Calabrese Sr.—as well as former Chicago police officer Anthony "Twan" Doyle of racketeering conspiracy charges. Doyle is not charged in connection with the murders.



Zagel did not say which witness transcript the jury wanted, but he suspected that jurors have contradictions in their own notes that they wish to clarify.

Prosecutors told Zagel they supported giving the transcript to the jury. Schiro's attorney, Paul Wagner, said it was unwise to hand it over at this late point in the proceedings.

Only a few witnesses testified against Schiro during the 10-week trial. The prosecution's key witness, mob turncoat Nicholas Calabrese, testified that Schiro was part of a hit squad that targeted Vaci.

Career burglars Richard Cleary and Sal Romano testified about doing jobs with Schiro and his connections to organized crime.

Cleary told the jury that he once mentioned publicity surrounding Calabrese's cooperation to Schiro and asked if that was a problem.

"[Schiro] said, 'Yes, he could put me away forever,' " Cleary told jurors.

L.J. O'Neale, a deputy district attorney in Nevada, testified that Vaci had been called to testify before a grand jury about a mob-connected Las Vegas slot manager who vanished after he was caught skimming at the Stardust casino.

Vaci was believed to have been among the last people to see the slot manager, who, it turned out, was cheating the mob on its take from his crooked work.

Zagel said jurors will receive the transcript after he reviews it and prepares an instruction telling them that it is only to be used to refresh their memory.

jcoen@tribune.com

Family Secrets jury to resume deliberations Monday
By Jeff Coen Tribune staff reporter
7:39 PM CDT, September 21, 2007


The jury in the Family Secrets trial ended a fourth day of deliberations Friday without reaching a decision on whether four Outfit figures can be held responsible for 18 gangland slayingsat the heart of the case.

Last week the same jury convicted James Marcello, Joey "The Clown" Lombardo, Frank Calabrese Sr., Paul "the Indian" Schiro and a fifth defendant of racketeering conspiracy. If the four are found by the jury to have participated in the slayings, they could face sentences of up to life in prison.

The jury worked for six hours Friday. Earlier in the day, U.S. District Judge James Zagel, responding to a request from jurors, gave them a copy of the transcript of trial testimony regarding Schiro.

Schiro has been accused of taking part in a 1986 slaying in Arizona.

The jury is scheduled to resume its deliberations at 9 a.m. Monday.

jcoen@tribune.com

Partial verdict in Chicago mob trial
Associated PressPublished: 9/27/2007 4:17 PM | Updated: 9/27/2007 4:24 PM


A federal court jury has reached a decision on some but not all of the murder allegations at Chicago's biggest mob trial in years, the judge announced Thursday.

U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel said that he would bring in the jurors to deliver the verdicts they have reached late Thursday and then question them as to whether they might be able to finish their work.

"I intend to take the verdicts that they have," Zagel told attorneys.

"From what I can tell from the demeanor of the jurors they have done their best," Zagel said, suggesting the jury may be hopelessly deadlocked on some of the 18 murder allegations.

Four men already have been convicted by the jury of racketeering conspiracy and other charges involving illegal gambling, extortion, loan sharking and 18 long unsolved murders.

For the last 10 days, the jury has tried to determine which murders if any are the individual responsibility of each defendant. If the jurors find that any defendant is individually responsible for a specific murder, that defendant faces a maximum life sentence.

Those convicted of racketeering conspiracy are James Marcello, 65, Frank Calabrese Sr., 70, Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, 78, Paul Schiro, 70, and retired police officer Anthony Doyle, 62.

All but Doyle are accused in the indictment of having committed specific murders. Doyle is not accused of direct involvement in a murder.

The so-called Operation Family Secrets trial is the biggest organized crime case in Chicago in many years. The defendants were convicted of operating the Chicago Outfit, as the city's organized crime family is called, as a racketeering enterprise.

They allegedly squeezed "street tax," similar to protection money, out of businesses, ran sports bookmaking and video poker businesses as well as engaged in loan sharking. And they allegedly killed many of those who might have spilled their secrets to the government.

The oldest murder listed in the indictment, that of Michael "Hambone" Albergo, himself a loan shark, goes back to 1970.

Mob jury reaches partial verdict on slayings
By Jeff Coen | Tribune staff reporter
4:56 PM CDT, September 27, 2007


The federal jury in the landmark Family Secrets mob trial has reached a partial verdict this afternoon but told the court that it is deadlocked on some of the 18 gangland slayings at the heart of the prosecution, court officials said.

U.S. District Judge James Zagel said he hasn't been told how many or which of the murders the jury has reached a unanimous decision on.

Zagel asked that the four defendants—Outfit figures James Marcello, Joey "the Clown" Lombardo, Frank Calabrese Sr. and Paul "the Indian" Schiro—be brought to court this afternoon to confer with their attorneys.

The judge said he intends to accept whatever partial verdict the jury reached and will ask them if they are deadlocked on the other counts.

On Sept. 10, the jury convicted the four as well as former Chicago police officer Anthony "Twan" Doyle of racketeering conspiracy.

In this second round of deliberations, the jury was deciding whether to hold Marcello, Lombardo, Calabrese and Schiro responsible for any of the 18 mob murders that date back decades. If found accountable in this phase, the defendants could face life in prison. Doyle is not charged with murder.

The judge told those gathered in the courtroom that he had received a note from the jury that read: "The jury has come to a unanimous decision on a number of counts," the judge said, and while the jury said it had deliberated earnestly and with open minds, "We find ourselves deadlocked on the remainder."

Zagel said the jury's note said the panel was prepared to "provide details" on where it had ended its work.

The judge said he intended to take at least a partial verdict and find out whether there would be value in them returning to talk further.

"I intend to accept whatever partial verdicts, and by number ask if they are fully deadlocked on the counts on which they have not reached a verdict," he said.

This was the eighth day of jury deliberations on the murders in the case. Since Sept. 12, the panel had begun discussing assigning blame for the slayings and had taken a few days off during the deliberation period.

Lawyers in the case were waiting on the 25th floor of the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse for the four defendants to be brought to court from the federal lockup in downtown Chicago.

It was unclear whether the jury would be dismissed or if the panel would be held to consider forfeiture proceedings against defendant Frank Calabrese Sr.

It also was not clear whether prosecutors would be addressing the media.

"Whether or not government officials will speak after any verdict is received will depend on whether or not this jury is dismissed or continues to serve for further proceedings," Randall Samborn, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, said in a statement.

jcoen@tribune.com

3 mobsters responsible for 10 murders, jury says
By Jeff Coen | Tribune staff reporter
6:50 PM CDT, September 27, 2007


A federal jury in Chicago today found three Outfit figures committed 10 gangland slayings at the heart of the Family Secrets mob conspiracy trial.

The jury deadlocked on one murder blamed on a fourth defendant as well as seven other homicides.

Earlier this month, the same jury convicted the four defendants as well as a former Chicago police officer of racketeering conspiracy.

In a second round of deliberations decided today, the jury found Frank Calabrese Sr. committed seven murders, James Marcello two murders and Joey "the Clown" Lombardo one murder. As a result, the men face up to life in prison because the slayings were committed in the course of the racketeering conspiracy.

The jury, however, was unable to reach a decision on the one murder attributed to defendant Paul "the Indian" Schiro.

In its decision today, the jury held Marcello–identified by authorities as Chicago's top mob boss when the indictment was announced–-- responsible for the most notorious murders, the 1986 deaths of Las Vegas mob chieftain Anthony Spilotro and his brother Michael whose bodies were found buried in an Indiana cornfield.

The Spilotros' brother, Patrick, grabbed his wife, Kathy, as the verdict was read.

"It was a sense of justice being served," he said later of his reaction. "We're just thankful the verdict came down as it did."

The jury also found that Calabrese, portrayed by prosecutors as a ruthless hit man, took part in the 1980 shotgun slayings of William Dauber and wife Charlotte and the 1981 car-bombing of trucking executive Michael Cagnoni.

Lombardo, a legendary mob figure for decades, was held responsible for gunning down Daniel Seifert in front of his wife and young son shortly before Seifert was to testify in court against Lombardo, a former business partner.

The jury deadlocked on whether Schiro, the Outfit's representative in Phoenix who is serving a prison sentence for his role in a mob-connected jewelry theft ring, committed the 1986 murder of grand jury witness Emil Vaci.

The jury was also unable to reach a verdict on six murders attributed to Calabrese and one blamed on Marcello.

The jury convicted the Outfit figures as well as Anthony "Twan" Doyle, a former Chicago police officer, of racketeering conspiracy on Sept. 10 for extorting "street taxes" from businesses, running illegal gambling operations, making high-interest "juice" loans and protecting the mob's interests through violence and murder.

The 18 gangland slayings date back decades.

The prosecution case hinged on the testimony of Calabrese's brother, Nicholas, one of the highest-ranking mob turncoats in Chicago history who linked his brother to many of the murders. Calabrese's son, Frank Jr., also secretly tape-recorded conversations with his imprisoned father. The unprecedented cooperation by relatives of a mob target prompted federal authorities to code-name the probe Operation Family Secrets.

Doyle was convicted of passing on confidential information about the federal probe to a mob friend but wasn't charged in the murders.

The riveting trial, which played out over 10 weeks this summer before overflow crowds in the largest courtroom in the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, marks the most significant prosecution of the Chicago mob in decades.

jcoen@tribune.com

They found Calabrese Sr guilty of 7, Lombardo of 1, and Marcello of 2. The other 8 they couldn't agree on, including the one for Schiro.

10 murders laid at feet of 3 in mob
Some families wish verdict went further
By Jeff Coen, Liam Ford and Michael Higgins, Tribune staff reporters | Tribune staff reporter Emma Fitzsimmons also contributed to this report
September 28, 2007


Jurors assigned blame in some of the most infamous gangland killings in the city's history Thursday, agreeing with prosecutors that the Chicago Outfit used fists, ropes, knives, guns and a bomb to conduct its dark business.

In Chicago's biggest mob trial in decades, jurors found that three of the Outfit figures on trial committed 10 of the 18 murders in the case, a verdict that could mean life sentences for them.

But in the remaining eight homicides, they found themselves deadlocked and unable to reach a verdict, a finding that means a fourth defendant was not found accountable for the one murder he faced.

James Marcello, the reputed head of the Chicago Outfit, sat perfectly still as a court deputy read that the anonymous panel found that he took part in the 1986 murders of Anthony Spilotro, the mob's Las Vegas chieftain, and his brother Michael. His lawyer, Thomas Breen, pressed his hand to his forehead on word of the verdict.

In the crowded courtroom gallery, Patrick Spilotro, the brother of the victims, grabbed hold of his wife's hand.

Joey "the Clown" Lombardo leaned over on the defense table and rested his chin on his hand, remaining motionless as the deputy read that the jury found he committed the 1974 murder of federal witness Daniel Seifert, shot and killed exactly 33 years ago on Thursday.

In the gallery, Seifert's son, Joseph, present as a child when his father was gunned down at work, smiled.

After court, Seifert said he was looking directly at Lombardo as the verdict was read.

"But for some reason, he didn't look my way," Seifert said with a wry laugh.

Frank Calabrese Sr., who appeared to be praying before the decision was announced, steadied himself on the defense table and shook his head side-to-side as the verdicts were read. The jury found he committed seven murders: the 1980 shotgun slayings of informant William Dauber and his wife, Charlotte; the 1981 car-bombing of trucking executive Michael Cagnoni; and the killings of hit man John Fecarotta, bookie Michael Albergo, bar owner Richard Ortiz and his friend Arthur Morawski.

"Now he can rest in peace after 24 years," said Ellen Ortiz, widow of Richard Ortiz. "The Lord punishes in many, many ways."

But not every relative of a victim walked away satisfied with the outcome. Among the killings the jury deadlocked on was whether Marcello murdered Nicholas D'Andrea, who was found bludgeoned in the back of a burning car in 1981.

In the hallway outside the courtroom after the verdicts were announced, D'Andrea's son Bob's eyes were slightly reddened as he expressed frustration over the verdict.

"The whole world knows he did it," D'Andrea said. "I didn't wait 26 years to hear this."

Walking hand-in-hand with her victims' services case worker, Charlene Moraveck started to sob as she left the courthouse. The jury had been unable to find Calabrese responsible for the 1976 murder of her husband, Paul Haggerty.

"I waited 31 years," she said. "That bastard ruined my life. They couldn't come to a decision. I could have made a decision in five minutes. Everything was taken from me. It's never in the past. I'm disappointed with the jury."

The jury couldn't decide whether the fourth defendant, Paul "the Indian" Schiro, was to blame for killing grand jury witness Emil Vaci.

The lawyers involved in the landmark trial over the summer said it appeared that the jury deadlocked on killings in which the only evidence came from Calabrese's brother, Nicholas, the government's key witness.

But the jury appeared to find the defendants committed a murder when evidence corroborated Nicholas Calabrese's account, such as undercover recordings of Frank Calabrese Sr.

"It seems that they, as in probably most homicide cases, wanted to have some solid corroboration for our main witness, Nicholas Calabrese," Assistant U.S. Atty. Mitchell Mars said. "So it seems they're broken down along the lines of Calabrese's testimony along with tape-recorded evidence of his brother Frank or forensic evidence such as the fingerprint associated with Joseph Lombardo's participation in the Seifert homicide."

Prosecutors claimed an overarching victory, calling the case perhaps the government's most significant against the Outfit in Chicago history. The four Outfit figures as well as former Chicago police officer Anthony "Twan" Doyle were convicted of racketeering conspiracy earlier this month. Doyle, who wasn't implicated in any murders, and Schiro each face up to 20 years.

But Joseph Lopez, Frank Calabrese Sr.'s attorney, said that the jury's deadlocking on six of the killings was "absolutely, without question," a victory for his client.

Lopez, who at one point Thursday told reporters he didn't even know if the Outfit existed, said he did not think it was a fair trial.

"I don't think anybody charged with a case like this could get a fair trial anywhere, because of the publicity prior to trial, because of shows that they make in Hollywood, and because of scripts that they write in Hollywood," Lopez said.

"Al Capone is probably the most famous Chicagoan we have," Lopez added. "You go to Paris and ask who John Gotti is, they won't know, but if you ask them about Al Capone, they're certainly going to know who he is."

Rick Halprin, Lombardo's attorney, disagreed, saying he felt it was a fair trial, but he noted that an appeals court will have to make that decision.

Halprin said that if the killings had been tried in state criminal court, the defense would have had a better chance to attack the evidence.

Halprin, a veteran criminal-defense lawyer, praised the prosecution.

"The government did a remarkable job organizing this case," Halprin said.

First Assistant U.S. Atty. Gary Shapiro, who has spent decades supervising organized-crime cases such as Family Secrets, called the outcome a remarkable achievement.

"To take more than 30 years of evidence of murders that were never solved, and put them together and convict the leadership of organized crime is something I never thought I would see," Shapiro said, "and I'm sure the people in Chicago, particularly the people who have been preyed upon by organized crime, never expected to see, and I'm sure the families of many of the victims never expected to see."

Among those was Patrick Spilotro, who explained what he felt as he had grabbed his wife's hand.

"It was a sense of justice being served," he said.

- - -

Family Secrets trial

James Marcello Responsible in 1986 murders of Spilotro brothers.

Joey 'the Clown' Lombardo Committed 1974 murder of a federal witness.

Frank Calabrese Sr. Committed seven murders, including a 1981 car bombing.

Outfit's hit, but not KO'd
Officials say much remains to be done
By Jeff Coen | Tribune staff reporter
7:53 PM CDT, September 29, 2007


While under investigation in 2001, mob boss Frank Calabrese Sr. was captured on tape predicting what the Chicago Outfit's future might look like, describing the crime syndicate in coded language as, of all things, a Christmas tree.

"It's gonna be a smaller Christmas tree that's gonna have the loyalty that once was there," Calabrese, then in prison for loan-sharking, said on the undercover recording.

"And the, the big Christmas tree . . . it'll never hold up. It's gonna fall. Watch it," he said.

Thanks in part to Calabrese's own recorded words, the Christmas tree tumbled last week as the Family Secrets jury found three Outfit figures responsible for 10 of 18 gangland slayings. Earlier this month, the same jury convicted the three as well as two others on racketeering conspiracy charges.

As a result, Calabrese, 70, a feared hit man blamed by the jury for seven of the murders; James Marcello, 65, identified by the FBI in 2005 as the head of the Chicago Outfit; and legendary mob boss Joey "the Clown" Lombardo, 78, face the prospect of spending the rest of their lives in prison.

But as sweeping as the case was—resolving some of the most notorious mob murders in modern Chicago history—organized-crime experts say the Family Secrets prosecution won't derail an entrenched Outfit that dates to Al Capone.

After the trial Thursday, Robert Grant, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Chicago office, said the Outfit remains a priority because of its propensity for violence and corruption.

"They're much like a cancer," Grant said. "Organized crime, if not monitored and prosecuted, can grow, can corrupt police departments, can corrupt public officials."

"We have dozens of open investigations," John Mallul, supervisor of the FBI's organized crime unit in Chicago, said in an interview.

Calabrese's prison musings about a slimmer but more focused mob appear to be on the mark, the experts said.

Law enforcement officials and the Chicago Crime Commission say the mob is now run in northern and southern sections, with street crews consolidated from six geographical areas to four: Elmwood Park, 26th Street, Cicero and Grand Avenue.

Mallul estimates the Outfit has about 30 "made" members and a little more than 100 associates.

Although the mob may be smaller and more tightly controlled, it remains a force with an ability to deliver its trademark illicit services as always, the FBI and experts said.

The mob continues to push its way into legitimate businesses and infiltrate labor unions, offer gambling and high-interest "juice loans," as well as extort "street taxes" from businesses, Mallul said.

"In a lot of ways, it's still the same rackets—50 years ago, 25 years ago and today," Mallul said.

The Outfit still controls dozens of bookies who rake in millions of dollars a year in the Chicago area, he said, giving the mob its working capital for juice loans and other ventures.

"Sports bookmaking is still a huge moneymaker for them," Mallul said. "On the low end, that can include parlay cards in a tavern all the way up to players betting $5,000 or $10,000 or more a game across the board on a weekend."

James Wagner, head of Chicago Crime Commission, said his organization's intelligence from law enforcement sources indicates Joseph "the Builder" Andriacchi controls the north while Al "the Pizza Man" Tornabene runs the south.

Wagner, a former longtime FBI organized crime supervisor, said the Caruso family runs the 26th Street crew, Andriacchi leads the Elmwood Park crew, Tony Zizzo controlled the Cicero crew until he disappeared a year ago and Lombardo still held influence over the Grand Avenue crew before his arrest.

Authorities believe John "No Nose" DiFronzo also continues to play a prominent role for the mob. His name came up repeatedly in the Family Secrets trial as an Outfit leader, sometimes under another nickname, "Johnny Bananas."

Neither Andriacchi, Tornabene nor DiFronzo has been charged in connection with the Family Secrets investigation. None returned calls seeking comment. An attorney who has represented DiFronzo in the past declined to comment.

Wagner said all three reputedly rose in the ranks of the Outfit through cartage theft and juice-loan operations and have since moved into legitimate businesses.

Authorities have said Andriacchi earned his nickname through his connections in the construction business. In the undercover prison recordings, Calabrese identified Andriacchi as the boss of the Elmwood Park crew.

DiFronzo has long had a reputation as a car expert who attended auctions and worked at dealerships, Wagner said. He was convicted of racketeering in the early 1990s for trying to infiltrate an Indian casino in California. He also had connections to waste hauling, Wagner said.

Tornabene, believed by some to be the Outfit's current elder boss, earned his nickname from his family's ownership of a suburban pizza restaurant, authorities said.

Law enforcement has recently observed Tornabene, who is well into his 80s, being taken to "business" meetings at his doctor's office, Wagner said.

"Many of these guys are obviously trying to stay out of the limelight as much as they can," he said.

The Family Secrets convictions could further embolden prosecutors in their assault on the Outfit. The verdicts appear to vindicate Calabrese's brother, Nicholas, one of the most significant mob turncoats in Chicago history, who provided crucial testimony on many of the gangland slayings.

His testimony could still spell trouble for DiFronzo and others he named in wrongdoing but who were not indicted, said John Binder, a finance professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and mob researcher who wrote the 2003 book, "The Chicago Outfit."

Calabrese testified that DiFronzo was among the dozen men or more who fatally beat Anthony Spilotro, the mob's Las Vegas chieftain, and his brother Michael in 1986.

"This trial showed how many of these guys had jobs where they worked for the city or at McCormick Place," Wagner said. "When you look at the number that have been connected to the Department of Streets and Sanitation, the Water Department, it's hard to explain without the idea of clout being a factor."

In addition, a former Chicago police officer, Anthony "Twan" Doyle, was convicted of leaking inside information to the mob about the then-covert Family Secrets investigation.

"It's a problem Chicago has preferred to ignore," Wagner said.

jcoen@tribune.com

Juror says Calabrese threatened prosecutor
By Jeff Coen | Tribune staff reporter
October 20, 2007


Federal prosecutors have alerted a lawyer for convicted mobster Frank Calabrese Sr. that Calabrese may have threatened Assistant U.S. Atty. Markus Funk during the Family Secrets trial last summer.

Calabrese's attorney, Joseph Lopez, said he received a letter from the U.S. attorney's office Friday that said a juror had heard Calabrese make a threat and read his lips.

The letter indicates that U.S. attorneys met with the anonymous juror at a neutral location on Oct. 10 and were told the juror had heard and seen Calabrese say, "You are a [expletive] dead man" in Funk's direction during his closing argument in the case Aug. 27.

"The juror noted that three other jurors confirmed the juror's observations and heard Mr. Calabrese say the same thing," the letter states. "The juror said she/he brought this matter to the government's attention because she/he was unsure whether the government was aware of this episode."

Prosecutors declined to comment on the communication Friday. The letter, written by Assistant U.S. Atty. Mitchell Mars, ends with notice that the threat was being taken seriously, "as we do with all threats against the public."

Lopez said he does not believe Calabrese made any threats during the trial, but added he expects a hearing on the matter in court next week.

Calabrese and his four co-defendants were convicted of racketeering conspiracy, and Calabrese ultimately was blamed for seven murders by the jury.

Just when you thought it was over...

Marshal jeopardized star mob witness, FBI boss says
FAMILY SECRETS CASE | 'This leak was no small leak'

March 4, 2008
BY STEVE WARMBIR Staff Reporter
In a brief but loud confrontation, the top FBI agent in Chicago, Robert Grant, underscored the deadly potential of a deputy U.S. marshal leaking information to the Chicago mob about a star government witness, as Grant verbally battled with the deputy marshal's attorney during a court hearing on Monday.

"This leak put at risk the most important witness in the Family Secrets case. It put at risk the agents guarding him. It put at risk his wife," Grant said, during questioning by Francis C. Lipuma, the lawyer for U.S. Deputy Marshal John Ambrose. "This leak was no small leak."

Ambrose is accused of leaking information about mob hit man Nicholas Calabrese, the star witness in the Family Secrets trial, which ended in September with the convictions of five defendants, including Calabrese's brother, mob killer Frank Calabrese Sr.

Chicago mobsters "protect their own because it's assumed they won't cooperate. Once that cooperation becomes known, it's fair game," Grant said.

A federal judge is holding a hearing to determine what statements by Ambrose, if any, should be allowed at his trial.

Ambrose contends when he was lured to FBI offices in September 2006 on a ruse, he was in custody but not initially read his Miranda rights.

Both Grant and U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who paired up to talk with Ambrose initially, testified at the hearing that they told Ambrose he wasn't under arrest.

Ambrose's name came to light during secret FBI recordings of Chicago mob boss James Marcello while in prison.

Grant said that Ambrose admitted he knew two of his friends had connections to mob bosses Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo and John "No Nose" DiFronzo.

Michael Marcello sentenced to 8 1/2 years in Family Secrets probe
By Azam Ahmed | Tribune reporter
March 12, 2008


The half-brother of a reputed top Chicago mobster and admitted member of the Outfit's Melrose Park crew was sentenced Tuesday to 8 1/2 years in prison for crimes related to the sweeping Family Secrets investigation.

U.S. District Judge James Zagel handed down the sentence for Michael "Mickey" Marcello, 58, who has been jailed at the Metropolitan Correctional Center since his arrest nearly three years ago.

Marcello was given credit for time already served, leaving 67 months on his prison sentence, after which he will be placed on 3 years of supervised release. The sentence was at the high range of federal guidelines.

Before being sentenced, Marcello expressed remorse for his crimes and said he looked forward to rejoining his family after his release. He said he's already missed many family milestones, including the death of his mother.

Marcello's son and stepson also gave tearful statements, telling the judge of their love for their father and saying he was a decent man.

Zagel said even though he was moved by the statements, a long sentence was prudent.

"The most important lesson to be drawn . . . is that even when you're talking about friends and family, limits have to be drawn," Zagel said.

Defense attorneys Arthur Nasser and Catharine O'Daniel expressed disappointment in the length of the sentence.

As one of the first defendants to plead guilty in the Family Secrets indictment, Marcello admitted he passed information to his incarcerated half-brother, James Marcello, the reputed head of the Chicago Outfit.

He also admitted relaying payments of $4,000 a month to mobster Nicholas Calabrese in a bid to buy his silence. Calabrese became the star witness for the prosecution.

James Marcello—along with two other Outfit members—was convicted in September in the Family Secrets trial of some of the most infamous gangland slayings in Chicago history.

An anonymous federal jury ruled James Marcello took part in the 1986 murders of Anthony Spilotro, the mob's Las Vegas chieftain, and his brother Michael.

Also convicted of doing mob dirty work were Joey "the Clown" Lombardo and Frank Calabrese Sr. A fourth defendant, Paul "the Indian" Schiro, was acquitted but faces prison on another conviction.

After the trial, prosecutors claimed an overarching victory, calling the case perhaps the government's most significant against the Outfit in Chicago history. The four Outfit figures and former Chicago Police Officer Anthony "Twan" Doyle were convicted of racketeering conspiracy.

Tribune reporter Jason Meisner contributed to this report.

aahmed@tribune.com