More denials by Calabrese
Talk of gang hits, ceremony blamed on brother's boasts

By Jeff Coen | Tribune staff reporter
August 21, 2007


During a frustrating day on the witness stand that left him shaking his head at times, Frank Calabrese Sr. testified Monday about one of the last times he saw his brother, the same brother who took the witness stand against him in the Family Secrets trial last month.

"I remember it like it was yesterday," Calabrese told jurors of the occasion on Christmas Day in 1996. "I opened up a bottle of Napoleon brandy for him."

And his brother kissed him on the lips when he left that night, Calabrese said.

A month after his brother, Nicholas, implicated him from the same witness chair in 13 gangland slayings, Calabrese spent the day trying to explain his way out of responsibility for the murders. Calabrese contended he was a mob money-maker, putting out loans on the street, and not a hit man. His brother was largely a screw-up who was boasting about things he never did, he said.

During a week on the witness stand in July, Nicholas Calabrese told jurors that fear of his brother and others in the mob led him to join in numerous murders. He said he had witnessed his brother on a number of occasions strangle a victim with a rope and slash his throat.

Frank Calabrese Sr.'s attorney, Joseph Lopez, walked his client through a series of recordings Monday that were secretly taped by Calabrese's son, Frank Calabrese Jr., in 1999 when he and his father were both imprisoned in another case. The son also testified against the father earlier in the trial.

Prosecutors are expected to use the recordings against Calabrese when he is cross-examined as soon as Tuesday.

On the tapes, the son asked Calabrese about the mob, Outfit killings and a secret making ceremony.

On the witness stand, Calabrese said he sometimes played along with his son, and at other times told him things to scare him from further Outfit involvement.

On Monday Calabrese was animated on the stand, holding onto the wooden rail or scrunching up his face.

He continued to contend that his brother was the one who took Outfit money to work for higher-ups. Calabrese likened his brother to the character Fredo Corleone, from "The Godfather" movies.

"If he wasn't running things and screwing things up, he wasn't happy," Calabrese said of his brother, the government's star witness.

Calabrese denied his brother's claim that the two had become made mob members in the same ceremony, saying he had too much respect for himself to do that.

But on his son's tapes, Calabrese described the ceremony, saying he regretted burning a holy card in his hand during the induction.

"I was trying to let him know that I couldn't do that," Calabrese testified Monday, telling jurors he was trying to convince his son to avoid Outfit life. He said his knowledge of the ceremony's details came from "The Godfather" movies and the mob book "The Valachi Papers."

Calabrese also attempted to explain himself talking on the tapes about some specific murders, including an apparent reference to the slaying of Michael "Hambone" Albergo. His brother told jurors Albergo was killed and put in a hole at a construction site near old Comiskey Park that is now a parking lot.

"He did one of those things with me, which was an OKd one," Calabrese said in one taped conversation. He also said the body was placed in an area that was replaced by a parking lot.

"Oh, that's not true," Calabrese said Monday. On the tape he can be heard to say "they dug deep" when they put in the parking lot.

"I don't remember if I said that, Joe," Calabrese told Lopez. "I could've said it. I'm not denying it.

"They dug deep, what does that mean?" Calabrese asked.

Lopez reminded him that on the tape he told his son that he went back to remove the victim's clothes.

"I told him that to humor him," Calabrese said.

Earlier Monday, Calabrese's frustration about a prosecutor's objections during his testimony boiled over.

Calabrese was attempting to tell jurors that his brother and son stole from him and that their testimony has been a conspiracy to keep him behind bars while they spend his money.

Assistant U.S. Atty. John Scully objected loudly.

"They stole $2 million from me," Calabrese said as Scully continued to object and stepped toward the witness stand.

"How am I supposed to defend myself?" answered Calabrese, raising his voice.

U.S. District Judge James Zagel removed the jury from the courtroom and chastised Calabrese for his outburst.

"If you complain to the jury about my rulings, then I will find you in contempt of court," the judge warned.

Zagel told Calabrese that some of what he wanted to present was irrelevant and some could not be proven.

When testimony resumed before the jury, Calabrese was allowed to talk about how his son took at least $1 million from him, investing the money in restaurants. In testifying last month, the son admitted to the thievery.

Calabrese acknowledged that his brother had tremendous influence over both his sons, Frank Jr. and Kurt.

Calabrese said he knew when he was in prison that his brother was talking to his sons, though he never imagined that one of his children would wear a wire for the government against him.

He said he believes his brother was just trying to cover his own tracks and save his own skin by shifting responsibility to others. He noted how his brother avoided looking his way during his testimony last month.

"Joe, I love my kids and my brother yet. It's just that they've gotta grow up," Calabrese, with a slight quiver in his voice, told his lawyer.

Calabrese said his brother's cooperation has left him with the unmistakable belief that his brother hates him.

"It made me realize that kiss he gave me for Christmas was a Judas kiss," Calabrese testified.

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jcoen@tribune.com

Calabrese: Plea for sons
Defendant says loan-shark deal made to help family

By Jeff Coen | Tribune staff reporter
August 22, 2007



Frank Calabrese Sr. was never a part of the Chicago Outfit, he told a prosecutor Tuesday, and he only pleaded guilty to mob-related loan-sharking in the 1990s to get two of his sons better deals in the same case.

Anyone who didn't believe him should ask one of the sons, who was sitting in court, Calabrese testified, suddenly pointing over the shoulder of Assistant U.S. Atty. John Scully at his son Kurt, who was sitting in the third row of the gallery at the Family Secrets trial.

"There's my son," Calabrese said loudly, rising out of his chair slightly. "Ask him, he'd be glad to tell you."

With that remark, Kurt Calabrese stood up and left the courtroom, waving his hand over his head back toward his father as he went through the doors.

With lawyers in the case preparing to make closing arguments as soon as next week, the landmark trial has increasingly become a showcase for how the Calabrese family splintered and what those divisions allegedly meant for Chicago organized crime. Frank Calabrese Sr. has seen his brother, Nicholas Calabrese, a made member of the mob, testify against him, and another of his sons, Frank Calabrese Jr., has done the same.

On Tuesday, Scully cross-examined Frank Calabrese Sr. using tapes Frank Calabrese Jr. secretly made of their conversations when the two were imprisoned together beginning in 1999.

For hours, Scully and the elder Calabrese argued and talked past each other, with Scully asserting that Calabrese was talking with his son about specific murders that are part of the case, and Calabrese insisting either that he was not, or that he was just trying to impress his son.

Prosecutors contend Calabrese mentions three of his four co-defendants in the case, including James Marcello, Joey "the Clown" Lombardo and former Chicago Police Officer Anthony Doyle. They, along with Paul "the Indian" Schiro, are alleged to have been a part of the broad conspiracy to further Outfit interests.

An intense Calabrese seemed to be trying his best to explain what he contends he was talking about Tuesday, answering questions in an earnest tone as if begging those in the courtroom to believe him. He leaned on the witness stand, shifted in his seat and at times sneered at Scully.

He wore a gray jacket and a dark shirt buttoned all the way up to his neck, looking like he might pop one of those buttons as he grew animated on the stand. Calabrese his said brother lied "like a pig" when he accused him of taking part in 13 murders for the mob.

"I never killed anybody," Calabrese said. He added that if he had killed someone, he would have killed the man who he believes shot his former partner, Larry Stubich.

If he were a made member, "How come I don't get paid?" Calabrese said, arguing that no one has helped him financially since he has been incarcerated. "How come I don't get things like that? You know that."

Calabrese said he was jealous that his brother had better relationships with his sons than he did, so he tried to impress Frank Calabrese Jr. by talking about murders and a mob making ceremony with candles and burning of religious cards. But he said he got his knowledge from books, magazines and movies.

In the tape-recorded conversations, heavy with code, Calabrese allegedly can be heard talking about some of the high-profile murders in the case. Scully asked about the killings of Anthony and Michael Spilotro, William and Charlotte Dauber, William "Butch" Petrocelli, Hinsdale businessman Michael Cagnoni, Richard Ortiz and Arthur Morawski.

In a recording made in February 1999, Calabrese can be heard telling his son that the Spilotros were killed because Joseph "Doves" Aiuppa, the reputed head of the mob at the time, was angered that Anthony Spilotro was growing boastful.

"It was on the street," Calabrese said Tuesday. "Everybody knew about that."

Calabrese denied helping to plan the bombing of Cagnoni, whose Mercedes was blown up on a ramp to the Tri-State Tollway. He said he was moved when Cagnoni's widow testified earlier in the trial.

In a March 1999 recording, Calabrese could be heard telling his son about placing a person under a spot near Comiskey Park that is now a parking lot, which prosecutors contend was the murder of Michael "Hambone" Albergo.

Calabrese first told Scully he was actually talking about burning a garage, but then said he was just impressing his son with a story when confronted with the portion of the transcript where he said he threw lime on the person's body.

"Did you find a person there?" Calabrese asked Scully. A search of the spot in 2002 did not turn up human remains.

Calabrese also said he was not being truthful when he bragged in a recording to his son that Ortiz and Morawski had been torn up by "double-ought buckshot."

"I wanted to win my son over," he said.

Calabrese's other son, Kurt, is not expected to be called as a witness in the case, even after Calabrese's outburst.

But the government may call Calabrese's former attorney, Jeffrey Steinback, after Calabrese testified earlier Tuesday that his 1997 guilty plea in the loan-sharking case was not fully explained to him. Calabrese said he didn't read the document and understand that he was pleading guilty to leading an Outfit crew that collected on juice loans by making threats.

Scully asked if he had admitted to making "multiple extortionate extensions of credit."

Calabrese said he didn't understand and had never looked at the allegation word for word.

"I probably would've looked cross-eyed at myself," he said.

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jcoen@tribune.com

Ex-cop calls mob suspect's code 'mumbo jumbo'
By Jeff Coen | Tribune staff reporter
1:48 PM CDT, August 23, 2007

In a second day on the witness stand at the Family Secrets trial, former Chicago police officer Anthony Doyle continued to deny that he had any clue what reputed mobster Frank Calabrese Sr. was talking about when the two were secretly recorded conferring at a federal prison in 1999.

Doyle said he and Michael Ricci, another former police officer charged in the case, visited Calabrese just to be nice to an old friend. When Calabrese talked in code, Doyle said he became "totally lost."

He said he didn't want to be rude and interrupt Calabrese.

"Basically, out of respect, I didn't want to come out and say, 'Speak to me. What are you talking about — English,' " Doyle testified, calling what Calabrese said "mumbo jumbo."

Prosecutors contend Doyle was passing information about evidence that turned out to be a bloody glove left at the scene of the 1986 murder of mobster John Fecarotta. Chicago Outfit leaders were allegedly worried that the evidence, along with the testimony of an informant, could be harmful.

Prosecutors contend Doyle, who worked in a police evidence area in 1999, looked up the information on the item and passed it to Calabrese. DNA on the glove eventually was found to match Calabrese's brother, Nicholas, who testified against his brother in the trial's highlight last month. The government contends that Doyle and Frank Calabrese Sr. talked in code about whether Nicholas Calabrese might be helping the FBI. Instead of referring to his "brother," prosecutors argue, Calabrese used "sister."

"Ah, but somebody, somebody has to watch, because if not that one sister can hurt the whole family," Frank Calabrese Sr. can be heard to say in the February 1999 tape. "The sister should be watched real strong."

Doyle denied agreeing to help Calabrese, telling jurors he was a police officer and not a "messenger boy."

In his questioning of his client, attorney Ralph Meczyk led Doyle to a section of the transcript when Calabrese had left Ricci and Doyle in a visiting room.

"I have to ask you a few things when we get out of this place as to who is who that he's talking about," Doyle told Ricci.

Ricci died before the trial began.

As the morning session drew to a close, Meczyk told Doyle that he would be cross-examined Thursday afternoon by Assistant U.S. Atty. Markus Funk, calling Funk a fine interrogator.

"Good luck," Meczyk said.

jcoen@tribune.com

Bosses of the Chicago Outfit
1910–1920 — James "Big Jim" Colosimo (1877–1920)
1920–1925 — John "Johnny The Fox" Torrio (1882–1957)
1925–1932 — Alphonse "Scarface" Capone (1899–1947)
1932–1943 — Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti (1886?–1943)
1943–1945 — Paul "The Waiter" Ricca (1897–1972)
1945–1956 — Antonino "The Big Tuna" Accardo (1906–1992)
1957–1966 — Salvatore "Momo" Giancana (1908–1975)
1966–1967 — Samuel "Teets" Battaglia (1908–1973)
1967–1969 — John "Jackie the Lackey" Cerone (1914–1996)
1969–1971 — Felix "Milwaukee Phil" Alderisio (1912–1971)
1971–1986 — Joseph "Joey Doves" Aiuppa (1907–1997)
1986–1989 — Joseph "Joe Nagall" Ferriola (1948–1989)
1989–1993 — Samuel "Wings" Carlisi (1914–1997)
1994–2003 — John "No Nose" DiFronzo (1928–)
2003–2007 — James "Little Jimmy" Marcello, (recongnized as front boss in 2007)
2007–present — Triumvirate of Bosses, John "No Nose" DiFronzo (Boss), Joseph "The Clown" Lombardo (Boss), Joseph "The Builder" Andriacchi (Boss), and James "Little Jimmy" Marcello (Front Boss) (Present Regime of The Chicago Outfit

Joey "The Clown" Lombardo (born as Joseph Lombardi[1] on January 1, 1929), also known as Joe Padula, Lumbo, and Lumpy, is an American mafioso and high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit during the 1970s and 1980s. He is currently alleged to either be the Boss of the Outfit, or its consigliere.

Lombardo joined the Chicago Outfit in the 1950s. In 1963, he was arrested and charged with kidnapping; however, he was later acquitted. Lombardo was again on trial in 1974 with Allen Dorfman, an insurance agent, and charged with embezzling $1.4 million from pension funds of the Teamsters Union. The charges were later dropped after the main witness, Daniel Siefert, was killed two days before his scheduled appearance.

In 1982, Lombardo and Dorfman were again charged, this time with extortion of $800,000 from construction owner Robert Kendler as well as, with Teamsters President Roy L. Williams, attempted bribery of Nevada Senator Howard W. Cannon.

Lombardo was later implicated, by government informant Alva Johnson Rodgers, in the deaths of Daniel Siefert and Robert Harder in 1974, Sam Annerino and Raymond Ryan in 1977, and Allen Dorfman in 1983. Lombardo was also accused of personally murdering ex-police officer Richard Cain. Interestingly, Cain was believed to be a CIA agent as well. Cain was also a CI to Bill Roemer an FBI agent.

Lombardo and Williams were finally convicted of attempted bribery in August 1985 and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. Williams, who received 10 years imprisonment, later agreed to testify against Lombardo and several top members of the Chicago Outfit later charged with concealing Mafiosi ownership of the Las Vegas Stardust Resort & Casino of which over $2 million unreported income was skimmed from 1974-1978. By January 1986, five mobsters had been convicted, including Lombardo, who was sentenced to an additional 10 years, as well as Chicago syndicate leaders Joey Aiuppa and John Phillip Cerone, sentenced to 28 years imprisonment, Angelo Lapeer, and Milton Rockman.

On April 27, 2005, indictments were handed up in which 14 people, including Lombardo and Frank "The German" Schweihs, were named in the murders of 18 people. Despite being in his late 70s, Lombardo avoided capture. During his time as a fugitive, he wrote two letters to his lawyer, one claiming innocence in the charges brought against him, the other not yet made public. He was finally captured by FBI agents in Elmwood Park, Illinois on January 13, 2006, after being harbored on the 2300 block of N 74th Ave. At his arraignment, he pleaded not guilty and also revealed to have medical problems with his arteries hardening. He told the court he had not been to a doctor during the time he was "unavailable."


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Lombardo

Case is about power, jury told
By Jeff Coen | Tribune staff reporter
11:57 PM CDT, August 27, 2007


There are five defendants, 18 murders, a 43-page indictment, dozens of witnesses and decades of events involved in the Family Secrets mob conspiracy trial, but jurors should have no problem sorting it all out, a prosecutor told them Monday.

"It's actually a fairly easy job," Assistant U.S. Atty. Markus Funk said as closing arguments got under way. "The evidence makes it very clear that these defendants are guilty many times over," he said.

Funk said prosecutors have proven the role of each defendant in the sweeping conspiracy laid out in the trial now in its 10th week. Witnesses led by Outfit turncoat Nicholas Calabrese have given the jury a firsthand look inside the mob, he said, and the testimony of three defendants who took the stand in their own defense was so ludicrous it backfired against them.

"These men are about making money," Funk said. "They are about accruing power for themselves and about accruing power for the Chicago Outfit."

Closing arguments began after testimony ended in the landmark trial earlier Monday. Once Funk concludes his remarks on Tuesday, lawyers for the five defendants go next before a government rebuttal. Deliberations by the jury could begin late this week.

On Monday Funk spoke for about three hours, outlining the evidence against each defendant and in 14 of the murders. At one point Funk abruptly stopped talking as he apparently spotted a smirk on the face of defendant Frank Calabrese Sr. "There's nothing to smile about in this case," he announced.

Funk identified Calabrese as a "made" Outfit member who was involved in juice loans, street taxes, gambling and violence.

"This man right there was involved in the murders of 13 human beings," said Funk, pointing at Calabrese, who sat back in his chair and chuckled.

James Marcello is another made member of the mob who profited from illegal gambling, paid hush money when he feared Calabrese's brother, Nicholas, might cooperate and personally took part in murders, including those of mob figures Anthony and Michael Spilotro, Funk said.

Joey "the Clown" Lombardo is a made member who extorted victims and businesses for the Outfit and participated in the killing of federal witness Daniel Seifert, he said.

Paul "the Indian" Schiro was the mob's man in Phoenix who helped kill his friend, witness Emil Vaci, the prosecutor said.

And the final defendant, Anthony "Twan" Doyle, was a corrupt Chicago police officer who passed investigative data from the Family Secrets case to imprisoned mob leaders, Funk told the jury.

Nicholas Calabrese told the truth when he testified about being a part of Outfit hit squads that carried out many of the murders, Funk said, and four of the five defendants were captured on audio and video tapes that pointed to their guilt.

Funk dismissed the testimony of Lombardo and his portrayal as being a "sort of an affable, funny guy who liked to play act." In his testimony earlier this month, Lombardo had said he was just acting like a mobster in a recorded conversation in which he can be heard threatening the life of a lawyer who owed money to the Outfit.

Frank Calabrese Sr.'s testimony was also unbelievable, the prosecutor said. Calabrese had testified that he was just trying to impress his son when he was heard on tape bragging about being involved in some of the killings.

"He's another play actor, just like Lombardo, who unfortunately got caught on tape," Funk said.

Doyle testified as well, claiming he passed no messages to Calabrese while he was imprisoned and couldn't even understand the code captured on tape in conversations between the men.

"He was indicted for buying a ham sandwich for Frank Calabrese Sr.," Funk said dismissively.

What the jury should take from the evidence was the underlying thread that connected all the alleged activities in the case, Funk said. He urged jurors to ask themselves who the defendants are and what gave them the right to do things like walk into legitimate businesses and demand street tax payments.

The answer, he said, was fear.

The Outfit is an organization that thrived on its ability to instill fear, and the men on trial were a big part of it, Funk contended.

As the day ended Monday, Funk began to walk witnesses through most of the 18 murders at the center of the case.

As he did, Funk apologized for some of the witnesses the government called to the stand. Many were career criminals, bookies, thugs and porn-peddlers, and one, Nicholas Calabrese, admitted he killed 14 people for the mob.

"It's pretty hard to come up with someone who's more cold-hearted than that," Funk said of Calabrese. "We didn't hold a casting call for witnesses."

jcoen@tribune.com

Chopper -- what is the source for that list?

Also, I don't know anyone (other than the media) that ever referred to Accardo as "Big Tuna." It was always "JB" or "Joe," short for "Joe Batters."

tony b.

Targeting the words of a killer
Defense focuses on key witness as it begins closing arguments

By Jeff Coen | Tribune staff reporter
August 29, 2007


At times almost whispering to jurors and at other moments bellowing near the top of their lungs, defense lawyers at the Family Secrets trial on Tuesday began what promises to be a relentless assault on the character of the government's star witness.

The attorneys described Nicholas Calabrese as a mob serial killer desperate to save his own life by taking down the five defendants in the case. His testimony on many of the 18 murders at the heart of the prosecution's case simply can't be trusted, the defense said.

Attorney Marc Martin, representing reputed mob boss James Marcello, said Calabrese has spent his adult life "lying, cheating, conniving, committing crimes and getting away with it."

Martin attacked Calabrese's weeklong testimony last month by concentrating on the most infamous of the murders, the 1986 slayings of Anthony and Michael Spilotro. Calabrese had testified that Marcello drove him and an associate to the murder scene at a residence in suburban Bensenville.

But none of Calabrese's testimony about how the murders unfolded made sense, Martin argued. It would be reasonable for jurors to infer that Calabrese simply made up his account in order to sweeten his own deal by solving for prosecutors one of Chicago's greatest mob murder mysteries, he said. Otherwise, Calabrese was only giving up his brother, defendant Frank Calabrese Sr., "and a bunch of dead guys," Martin said.

Each of the five defendants, who have often seemed distracted during the trial while talking to lawyers or sorting through papers, watched intently as Martin delivered the first of the defense's closing arguments.

Nicholas Calabrese had testified that the Spilotros were lured to the house by a promise of mob promotions and were attacked in a basement. But, Martin pointed out, he also testified that those who greeted the brothers wore gloves the entire time.

The gloves would have given the plot away, Martin argued. He contended that Calabrese had been tripped up on small details.

"[The brothers] would've been running for the back door. Michael would have been going for his gun," Martin said.

Calabrese also was contradicted by physical evidence in the case, Martin said. Calabrese had said at least one of the brothers was strangled and that after the murders, he wiped up a spot of blood from the floor with a tissue.

But a forensic pathologist testified that the most likely cause of death was massive blunt-force trauma and that both victims essentially drowned in their own blood, Martin said.

And Marcello's defense pointed to Calabrese's past contention that Ernest Rocco Infelice participated in the murders. Government wiretaps showed Infelice was on the phone at home in the afternoon and evening on the day the brothers were killed.

Rick Halprin, the lawyer for defendant Joey "the Clown" Lombardo, also took a swipe at Calabrese for his testimony that mobster John Fecarotta confided to him that Lombardo was involved in the killing of federal witness Daniel Seifert. Calabrese, who has admitted his own guilt in 14 of the murders, later fatally shot Fecarotta in a mob dispute.

"Nobody can be indicted or prosecuted for repeating a rumor, especially if you're the person who killed him," Halprin said.

But Halprin conceded that his own client wasn't completely honest from the witness stand earlier this month in testimony that packed the courtroom at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse.

"He doesn't trust you," Halprin said, calling his client a worried 78-year-old man. "He's frightened to death of you. He doesn't believe any 12 of you will give him a fair shake."

Some of the testimony that was off the mark included Lombardo's refusal to identify men such as Joseph "Doves" Aiuppa as mob bosses, the attorney said.

Halprin said that's because of Lombardo's past, which includes two major convictions, one in a celebrated case of mob-related casino skimming. The attorney has argued that Lombardo merely is a businessman whose mob associations have gotten him in trouble.

Halprin said the case against his client actually is nearly all "rumors, half-assed suspicion and innuendo," except for transcripts of recorded conversations from 1979 that Lombardo had with corrupt insurance executive Allen Dorfman and a St. Louis lawyer who owed Dorfman money.

In a recording played repeatedly by the government, Lombardo can he heard promising the 72-year-old lawyer that he won't reach 73 unless he pays Dorfman.

In his testimony, Lombardo said he was just acting "like James Cagney" to scare the attorney and help Dorfman. That part of Lombardo's testimony was truthful, Halprin said, calling Lombardo a "rent-a-mobster."

Halprin yelled that it was, "Dead wrong!" to even suggest that the conversation dealt with mob business. The money involved pension fund loans, he said.

It's proven that Lombardo was not a well-known mob figure, Halprin contended, because he can be heard on the tape telling the lawyer, "You don't know me." And while other victims in the Family Secrets case faced violence for hundreds of dollars, the lawyer was allowed to walk out of Dorfman's office owing millions, "and he doesn't even get a touch on the cheek," Halprin said.

Family members of some of the victims were unhappy with attacks on them by the defense. The Spilotros' brother, Patrick, who testified that Lombardo once told him he had the power to stop the killings, was painted as a man with an obsessive agenda who went overboard trying to help authorities solve the murders.

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jcoen@tribune.com

'He would shoot you in the head over a cold ravioli'
Defense lawyer rips star witness in 'Family Secrets' summation

By Jeff Coen | Tribune staff reporter
11:17 PM CDT, August 29, 2007

For jurors who have sat through a summer in Courtroom 2525 listening to testimony from more than 100 witnesses, the contrast couldn't have been starker on Wednesday.

The defense attorney, wearing a hypnotic pink-and-black checkered tie, reveled in his role as the mob lawyer, talking loudly about constitutional rights and the American Revolution. He blasted the government's case, contending the FBI could stand for "Forever Bothering Italians" and calling the prosecution's star witness a bald-faced liar who "would shoot you in the head over a cold ravioli."

And then there was the federal prosecutor, standing at the lectern in a dark, conservative suit as he spoke with barely controlled anger. He told the jury that the 18 gangland slayings at the heart of the case stretched over 40 years and illustrated the cruelty of a ruthless Outfit that "survived and prospered at the expense of who knows how many victims."



The defense lawyer, Joseph Lopez, ripped star witness Nicholas Calabrese as a crybaby and "a walking piece of deception." Not so, said the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Atty. Mitchell Mars, who defended Calabrese as a product of the city's underworld, an Outfit soldier who had been forthright about "a very horrible life."

The dueling closing arguments in the Family Secrets conspiracy trial came as the jury is set to begin deliberations as soon as Thursday.

Mars, the longtime chief of the organized-crime unit in the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago, will wrap up his closing argument Thursday, and U.S. District Judge James Zagel, presiding over the landmark trial, will then instruct the jury.

Lopez represents Frank Calabrese Sr., an accused mob hit man alleged to have taken part in 13 of the murders. His brother, the star witness, and his son both cooperated against Calabrese, giving the case its Operation Family Secrets code name.

As he delivered his remarks, Lopez circled in front of the jury, looking up at his slick PowerPoint presentation, replete with cartoon characters, including a bawling infant. He urged the jury to remember that his client was cloaked in innocence "like Casper the Friendly Ghost" and that the jury system was the product of "bloodshed on American soil."

"Don't forget Valley Forge, where George Washington marched his troops on bleeding feet," he said.

The case amounts to a family feud, Lopez said, featuring Nicholas "the grim reaper" Calabrese and "I cannot do time" Frank Calabrese Jr., his client's wayward son. Jurors can keep or throw out whatever evidence they want, he said, piecing information together "just like putting something together from IKEA."

Lopez reminded jurors that from the witness stand, Nicholas Calabrese never looked them or his brother in the face, instead he stared straight ahead. Lopez assailed Nicholas Calabrese, saying he hated his brother and refused to take real responsibility for the 14 murders to which he admitted by trying to claim he was under his brother's thumb.

When times got tough, Lopez said, Calabrese cried to "Mommy FBI."

On his turn, Mars credited Nicholas Calabrese for lifting the veil on many of the 18 murders, giving closure to victims' families and defended his credibility. "The issue is not whether you like Nicholas Calabrese," the prosecutor said. "That's not why we're here. The issue is whether you believe him."

Mars told jurors to remember Calabrese's demeanor on the witness stand, saying he wasn't reading off a prepared script.

Calabrese provided his best memory, Mars said, unlike Frank Calabrese Sr. or Joey "the Clown" Lombardo, who took the stand in their own defense and told jurors that they only acted like mobsters.

Frank Calabrese Sr. "told nothing but lies," Mars said, citing testimony in which he claimed he admitted to some murders to impress his son, who, unbeknownst to him, wore a wire for the government as the two talked in prison.

When he testified in July, Nicholas Calabrese was subjected to rigorous questioning by "some of the best cross-examiners in town," Mars said. "They did not catch him in a lie, much to their chagrin."

Frank Calabrese Sr. was captured on hours of recordings discussing seven of the murders in the case and describing events that were unknown to the public, Mars said. That should be a truth-detector when it comes to Nicholas Calabrese's account and whether he was just building a story around things he had heard, he said.

In fact, Mars said, Nicholas Calabrese has never heard the undercover tapes to this day. It would have to be "by the purest of coincidences that [each brother] lied in exactly the same way," he said.

Lopez attacked the government case for presenting no physical evidence, no DNA evidence linking his client to any murder and no fibers, hairs or fingerprints.

Both brothers are simply boasting for their own reasons, Lopez said.

Frank Calabrese Sr. told the truth when he testified that he was just in the business of street loans and had a mobbed-up partner, Lopez said. Calabrese had a job that put money into the hands of those involved in organized crime, he said, and they would not risk involving him in violence.

"You don't put the earner out on the street to catch the arrow," he said.



The jury should blame Frank Calabrese Jr. for dragging his father into damaging conversations, Lopez maintained. The son asked the father questions about life in the Outfit, Lopez said, and Frank Calabrese Sr. didn't want to look like a chump by denying it. The tapes are simply two men trying to "out B.S." each other, he said.

Two other defense closing arguments also took place Wednesday.

Attorney Paul Wagner, who represents reputed mob figure Paul "the Indian" Schiro, said a lying Nicholas Calabrese provided the main evidence against his client, too, fingering him for killing witness Emil Vaci in Phoenix in 1986. Ralph Meczyk the lawyer for former Chicago police officer Anthony "Twan" Doyle, said his client was only helping a friend when he gave police information to Frank Calabrese Sr.

But Lopez and Mars couldn't even agree on whether the criminal enterprise known as the Outfit, the basis for the key racketeering charge, existed in many of the years outlined in the case.

Mars said Nicholas Calabrese acted—and killed—on behalf of that enterprise. Lopez called it a myth and said the only enterprise he is aware of was "the Starship Enterprise."

Even the infamous "Last Supper photo" of reputed mob leaders sitting around a table in an Italian restaurant depicted just a bunch of "grumpy old men drinking Corvo," Lopez said.

"The enterprise died with them on the last clam," he said.

jcoen@tribune.com

Outfit case in jurors' hands
Arguments end; deliberations set to begin Tuesday

By Jeff Coen | Tribune staff reporter
10:42 PM CDT, August 30, 2007


A decision on whether five men charged in the sweeping Family Secrets case were involved in a long-standing mob conspiracy responsible for 18 murders now rests in the hands of a jury.

Late Thursday, U.S. District Judge James Zagel instructed jurors on the law and sent them from the ceremonial courtroom at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse to choose a foreman. Minutes later, the judge announced that the jury had decided to begin its deliberations on a verdict Tuesday morning.

Earlier in the afternoon, the prosecution completed closing arguments after the proceedings had been delayed for several hours after a juror passed a note to the judge.

The note indicated that at least one juror had already made up his or her mind about the defendants' guilt or innocence and essentially asked about the possible speed of deliberations, sources said.

A notice from Zagel's staff late Thursday said a hearing on the matter had been conducted with lawyers in the case behind closed doors.

Sources with knowledge of the development said jurors were questioned by the judge, and it is expected that two of them will be dismissed. That would still leave 15 jurors, three of them alternates.

The judge made no public statement on the matter.

In wrapping up the last of the closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Atty. Mitchell Mars spoke for about two hours, his voice sometimes shaking with emotion.

He said the case was about "the history of organized crime in Chicago" and urged the jury to hold the defendants accountable for murder, racketeering and extortion.

The four reputed Outfit figures—James Marcello, Joey "the Clown" Lombardo, Frank Calabrese Sr. and Paul "the Indian" Schiro—have "gotten away with murder for far too long," Mars said. The fifth defendant, former Chicago Police Officer Anthony "Twan" Doyle, betrayed his badge by leaking details of the federal probe to mobster pals, he said.

The prosecutor reviewed evidence against each defendant and responded to some of the arguments posed by defense attorneys.

Marcello's lawyer, Marc Martin, had argued that the government's key witness, Nicholas Calabrese, should not be trusted, in part because details in his accounts of murders sometimes made no sense.

Calabrese had testified that when mobsters Anthony and Michael Spilotro were beaten and strangled to death, all the killers wore gloves. That would have tipped off the brothers, Martin said.

Mars said it was too late for the Spilotros to escape their fate after the brothers were lured to a Bensenville basement and found themselves confronted by a hit squad.

"They could've worn T-shirts that said, 'We're here to kill the Spilotros,' " Mars said.

Marcello tilted his head back as he watched Mars, gazing at the ceiling.

Mars listed a series of reasons for why the jury should find that Lombardo was responsible for the murder of federal witness Daniel Seifert, including a fingerprint left on a title application for one of the cars used in the getaway from the fatal shooting.

Lombardo lied on the stand, Mars said, denying he knew anything about the Outfit. That should be a signal that he didn't withdraw from the conspiracy, as his defense suggested, Mars said.

Lombardo is committed to the Outfit to this very day, Mars said.

Frank Calabrese Sr. is heard on tape admitting to his son his role in seven murders, Mars said, and his brother, Nicholas Calabrese, testified in detail about them.

Frank Calabrese Sr. is a killer, Mars said, and a "master manipulator" who should be convicted. As Mars spoke, Calabrese sometimes leaned over and spoke to his lawyer while covering his mouth with his hand.

jcoen@tribune.com

Jurors set to sift testimony
Case may hinge on panel's view of key witness

By Jeff Coen | Tribune staff reporter
September 4, 2007



Deliberations are set to get under way Tuesday morning in the Family Secrets trial, as jurors begin to sift through more than two months of testimony on whether the five defendants played roles in a conspiracy to further the goals of the Chicago Outfit.

Before leaving the courtroom in the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse last week for the Labor Day weekend, jurors determined they would work from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily as they try to reach a verdict.

Federal prosecutors contend that reputed Outfit figures James Marcello, Joey "the Clown" Lombardo, Frank Calabrese Sr. and Paul "the Indian" Schiro as well as former Chicago Police Officer Anthony "Twan" Doyle should be convicted in a racketeering conspiracy spanning four decades.

All are charged in Count 1, the racketeering conspiracy charge, which takes up 18 pages of the indictment and alleges that an enterprise known as the Outfit collected street tax, operated illegal gambling businesses, made juice loans, obstructed justice and protected itself with violence and murder.

During the trial, Marcello and Lombardo were accused of being mob bosses, while Calabrese, accused in 13 of the 18 slayings in the case, was alleged to have been a leader of the mob's 26th Street, or Chinatown, crew.

Much of the case could depend on how jurors view the testimony of the government's key witness, Calabrese's brother, Nicholas, whose accusations implicated each defendant. Prosecutors urged jurors to believe the account of a man they described as an Outfit soldier who admitted to taking part in 14 murders.

Defense lawyers urged the panel to reject Nicholas Calabrese's testimony, calling him a liar and a killer who invented information against their clients in a bid to one day win his freedom. Much of his testimony detailed murders he allegedly committed with his brother.

Jurors also heard hours of secretly made recordings of four of the five defendants allegedly discussing Outfit business.

A pool of 17 jurors—nine women and eight men—heard the closing arguments last week.. But two of them are expected to be dismissed after having given the court a note indicating they had made up their minds already about the case, a no-no for jurors.

U.S. District Judge James Zagel ordered that the identities of the jurors be kept secret even from the lawyers and prosecutors, who know them only by number. Court officials have not yet disclosed which 12 jurors will be involved in the deliberations and which are alternates.

If jurors convict the men of racketeering conspiracy, their deliberations would not be over.

At that point, lawyers would make another round of arguments, and the jury would then decide which defendant can be held accountable for which murder in the case.



jcoen@tribune.com

Family Secrets jury begins work
Tribune staff report
September 5, 2007


CHICAGO - In their first day of deliberations, jurors in the Family Secrets mob conspiracy trial conferred privately for more than four hours Tuesday before wrapping up their work early because one member of the panel was ill, court officials said.

Deliberations are scheduled to resume Wednesday morning.

The jury began its work at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, officials said, but quit at about 2 p.m. Jurors in the case last week notified the court that their normal work day will end at 4 p.m. as they weigh 10 weeks of evidence and argument in the landmark case against the Chicago Outfit.

The panel was instructed on the law by U.S. District Judge James Zagel on Thursday and chose a foreman before taking off for the long holiday weekend.

Reputed Outfit figures James Marcello, Joey "the Clown" Lombardo, Frank Calabrese Sr. and Paul "the Indian" Schiro as well as former Chicago Police Officer Anthony "Twan" Doyle are accused in a conspiracy of furthering the often-violent goals of the Chicago mob.

Jury wonders about 'usurious' in Chicago mob trial
The Associated Press
1:50 PM CDT, September 5, 2007


A federal court jury considering the biggest Chicago mob trial in years wanted a dictionary today to look up the definition of usurious.

The word is usually used in connection with lending money at exorbitant interest rates.

When the jury asked for a dictionary, federal Judge James Zagel asked them instead what words they wanted defined.

The jury responded with a note saying they found an explanation of usurious in the criminal indictment.

In the indictment, the Chicago Outfit is accused of making loans to individuals at "usurious rates of interest" constituting "extortionate extensions of credit."

The five defendants are accused of engaging in a racketeering conspiracy included 18 murders dating back to 1970, illegal gambling, loan sharking and extortion.

Required reading: Closing argument
John Kass
August 31, 2007


As the Family Secrets trial was put into the hands of the jury, City Hall offered up poetic symmetry in choosing a book for all Chicagoans to read as part of its One-Book-One-Chicago program:

"The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, a social commentary about witch hunts and innocent people caught up by the mob.

No, not the mob on trial in Family Secrets, the other mob, the mob as in the commoners, the ignorant, uninformed, superstitious peasants easily manipulated into burning the innocent politicians -- um, ah, I meant those innocent witches -- at the stake.



If city fathers truly want something Chicago should read, how about the transcript of Assistant U.S. Atty. Mitchell Mars' closing argument in the Family Secrets trial on Thursday?

It has been a trial of Outfit history, 18 unsolved murders, fear and betrayal, with hit man Nick Calabrese testifying about the murders he committed with three of the five defendants.

Think of a pitcher tossing a perfect game and you'll see Mars delivering that closing argument, throwing heat, following through with near-perfect mechanics, fitting all the defendants into the conspiracy.

Mars doesn't look like a Major League ballplayer. He's a bit below average in height, a graying guy in a gray suit, like a million other guys you see on the train. He doesn't seek publicity, and doesn't go out of his way to schmooze reporters. But he's clearly big league.

And after what he accomplished, if the jury acquits any of the federal primates, we might as well change the name of this city to something more fitting, like Andriachiville or Tootsie-Town.

"Our system works only when those who should be held accountable are held accountable," Mars told the jury.

He named those charged with racketeering and murder conspiracy: Joseph "The Clown" Lombardo, Frank Calabrese Sr., James Marcello and Paul "the Indian" Schiro.

For weeks, Schiro was the scariest man in the courtroom, hardly moving an eyelid, still as a lizard, the iceman. Schiro is serving another federal prison term, having pleaded guilty for being part of the Outfit-sanctioned jewelry heist crew led by former Chicago Police Chief of Detectives William Hanhardt.

Mars had special contempt for the fifth defendant, accused Outfit debt collector and former Chicago Police Officer Anthony "Twan" (Passafiume) Doyle.

Doyle is not accused of murdering gangsters, but of leaking police secrets about key murder evidence to his Chinatown confederate, Frank Calabrese Sr., in taped prison visits in which electric shocks, cattle prods and physical examinations for Calabrese's brother Nick were discussed.

That famous tape involved Outfit code, talk of "purses," defined by the feds as evidence, and a "doctor," defined by the feds as reputed Outfit street boss Frank "Toots" Caruso, who is not charged in this case.

"And one corrupt cop who tried to help the organization and be the inside man. He knows exactly what the purse is. He knows exactly who the doctor is. ... Let's give the guy a physical, let's give him a prod," Mars mocked, reminding the jury of what Doyle said on that tape.

The others on trial put on a defense because they had no choice. But Doyle could have taken a plea deal and served five years or so. He didn't take the deal, though I presume his lawyer will still receive a nice fee and Doyle will have time to ponder what it means to be, in his words, a chumbalone.

A few days ago, Marcello's lawyer, Marc Martin, joined the other defense lawyers in ripping into Nicholas Calabrese, calling him a liar and questioning his testimony, particularly about Marcello's involvement in the sensational 1986 murders of Outfit brothers Anthony and Michael Spilotro. Nick testified that the men waiting for the Spilotros in a suburban home wore gloves. Martin argued the Spilotros would have fled after seeing one gloved hand.

"They weren't going to get out of the house no matter what they thought," said Mars, adding that Marcello and his accomplices "could have worn T-shirts that said, 'We're Here To Kill the Spilotros.' It didn't matter. They weren't getting out of there."

Marcello sat without expression, offering his profile to the jury, looking at himself on the courtroom screen. It was an FBI surveillance photo taken at a Venture parking lot, Marcello with Outfit bosses Joe Ferriola, Sam Carlisi and Rocky Infelice next to some shopping carts.

They weren't in a restaurant with checkered tablecloths. And I thought of those who say there is no Chicago Outfit; and of inside men placed in inside spots, in the police evidence storage section or as lords of the detective squads, while honest cops get passed over for promotions, or are squashed like bugs for the slightest infractions.

I'm still waiting for City Hall to choose an appropriate book for official city reading, perhaps "Captive City" by Ovid DeMaris, "The Outfit" by Gus Russo or "City on the Make" by Nelson Algren.

Or, better yet, that closing argument by Mitch Mars in a crucible of a case, in which the Chicago Way was boiled down, reduced to its base elements.

-----------

jskass@tribune.com

Family Secrets jury wants definition of 'intimidation'
By Jeff Coen | Tribune staff reporter
1:00 PM CDT, September 6, 2007


For the second time in two days, jurors deliberating in the Family Secrets mob conspiracy trial have asked for the definition of a word that appears early in the sweeping indictment against the five defendants.

U.S. District Court Judge James Zagel called lawyers in the case to his courtroom after 10:30 a.m. Thursday to read the note from the anonymous panel. The jury asked for a legal definition of "intimidation."

Zagel asked the lawyers to submit written definitions to him -- if they so choose -- by 1:30 p.m. The judge said he would then decide how to define the word for the jury.

On Wednesday the jury asked for a dictionary before telling the judge they were looking for a definition of "usurious."

The word is defined in most dictionaries as "of or constituting usury," which is defined as the practice of lending money at excessively or illegally high interest rates. Before the court had supplied an answer, jurors told the judge that they were able to glean the definition from the indictment itself.

Both words appear on the second page of the Family Secrets indictment in the context of using intimidation to collect on high-interest "juice" loans.

Jurors also asked the judge Thursday for help in operating some of the electronic equipment they have been given to review evidence in the case.

Reputed Outfit figures James Marcello, Joey "the Clown" Lombardo, Frank Calabrese Sr. and Paul "the Indian" Schiro as well as former Chicago police officer Anthony "Twan" Doyle are charged in a racketeering conspiracy that stretches back 40 years.

The jury has been deliberating since Tuesday morning. Their identities have been kept confidential because of safety concerns raised by prosecutors.

jcoen@tribune.com

The Sun Times ran a story about Kurt Calabrese the other day...

Chicago's family 'Secrets' map

September 7, 2007
BY MARK KONKOL
Al "Scarface" Capone and Sam "Mo Mo" Giancana, fuhgetaboutem.

Joey "The Clown" Lombardo, James "Little Jimmy" Marcello, Paul "The Indian" Schiro, Frank "The German" Schweihs and Frank Calabrese Sr. - are Chicago's new mob stars.

The feds' case - which spells out how these Outfit guys supposedly collected street taxes and, like the famous mobsters who came before them, murdered associates - has captivated regular folks who liked to think that by the '70s and '80s organized crime was the stuff of urban legend.

The feds' case - which spells out how these Outfit guys supposedly collected street taxes and, like the famous mobsters who came before them, murdered associates - has captivated regular folks who liked to think that by the '70s and '80s organized crime was the stuff of urban legend.

The Family Secrets trial makes you wonder where these guys spent time in when they weren't making hits or strong-arming bookies. Sadly, many of their haunts - Hoagie's, Aunt Sally's, Horwath's and the Sicilian Restaurant - where the "Last Supper" photograph was taken - have closed.

But a few Outfit-friendly joints are still around providing some perspective on where wise guys said prayers, shared a cocktail or gobbled a pepper-and-egg. With Sun-Times' mob know-it-alls Steve Warmbir and Tim Novak, I put together a handy little "Family Secrets" map. Go ahead, take a tour.



Old Neighborhood Italian American Club, 3031 S. Shields, Chinatown
This corner social club was a hangout and meeting place for the Outfit's 26th Street Crew. The current president is reputed mobster and bookie Dominic "Captain D" DiFazio.


Jos. Cacciatore & Co., 527 S. Wells, South Loop
Just take a drive past this South Loop monument to one of Chicago's oldest and most successful real estate companies. The firm's president, Victor Cacciatore, testified that the Outfit was extorting him for $5 million in the '80s. He wound up paying $200,000 to the people -- who exactly? He couldn't remember -- threatening his family. (They put the head of a dog on Cacciatore's son's car and shot out the elder Cacciatore's back windshield.)

Connie's Pizza, 2373 S. Archer, Chinatown
Captain D is a long-time Connie's employee, currently the pizza chain's director of special events. He had to skip a day at the Taste of Chicago to testify at the trial. The co-founder of the place, James Stolfe testified a couple of Outfit guys told him that if he didn't pay out $300,000 he would get hurt. Ultimately, Stolfe said he paid the Outfit $270,000 in street taxes. Frank Calabrese Sr. was a ghost on Connie's payroll, collecting $1,000 a month to do nothing.

St. Theresa Chinese Catholic Mission, 218 W. Alexander, Chinatown
This church is home to the St. Rocco Society, who's president, Bruno Caruso, is reputed mobster and former laborers union president. Society membership is restricted to men with ancestors from Simbario, Italy or who marry into a family from Simbario. Past members include Caruso's late uncle, Ald Fred B. Roti, a made member of the mob who went to prison for taking bribes. Every August, society members and their family carry a giant statue of St. Rocco, patron saint of Simbario, through the streets of Chinatown

Gene's Deli & Catering, 2202 N. Harlem, Elmwood Park
This corner deli in Elmwood Park was a lunch and lounge spot for Outfit guys, Joey the Clown among them. You can get meat by the pound, tasty sandwiches and even a 6-foot sub. I recommend the Minestrone. Very tasty.

Rosebud on Taylor, 1500 W. Taylor, Little Italy
People who know these things say this white-tablecloth place in Little Italy is a mob hangout. On some nights you might catch a glimpse of reputed mobster Joe "The Builder" Andriachi spooling pasta there. But don't go asking for a table near the The Builder. That's just rude.

Armand's, 7400 W. Grand, Elmwood Park
Mobster Frank Calabrese Jr. testified that he learned to make pizza here. And in 1999, an FBI agent said The Clown, John "No Nose" DiFronzo, Rudy Fratto and The Builder had a meal with the former Mayor of Rosemont, the late Donald Stephens at this little Italian joint. The Clown, however, denied it saying he'd take "truth serum or lie detector test."

LaScarola, 712 W. Grand, River West
Mob sources say this is where The Clown really liked to chow down. Before getting picked up by the feds, he was a regular at this River West gem. Try the Risotto Primavera, and be sure to stay for the tiramisu and a cappuccino.

The alley behind 2329 N. 74th Ave., Elmwood Park.
This is where the feds finally caught up with the Clown, who was on the lam for 9 months in 2005. They found the Clown in a car behind his friend Dominic Calarco's house, a block from the Elmwood Park police station.

Mt. Carmel and Queen of Heaven cemeteries, Wolf and Roosevelt Road, Hillside
This is where a lot of the Outfit eventually end up. There's massive mausoleums with the mob family names like Capone, Giancana, Roti, Nitti and Accardo engraved in them. Try taking a stroll there with "The Godfather" theme song playing on your iPod.

Armand's, 7400 W. Grand, Elmwood Park
Mobster Frank Calabrese Jr. testified that he learned to make pizza here. And in 1999, an FBI agent said The Clown, John "No Nose" DiFronzo, Rudy Fratto and Joe "The Builder" Andriachi had a meal with the former mayor of Rosemont, the late Donald Stephens, at this little Italian joint. The Clown, however, denied it, saying he'd take "truth serum or lie detector test."

Hit list

Aug. 1970
1. Michael "Hambone" Albergo is killed at what was then a warehouse at 3300 S. Shields. Now, it's part of the parking lot at U.S. Cellular Field.

Sept. 27, 1974
2. Daniel Seifert is killed outside his factory in northwest suburban Bensenville.

June 24, 1976
3. Paul Haggerty is murdered in a garage in the 2800 block of South Lowe.

March 15, 1977
Henry Cosentino. No testimony as to where he was murdered.

January 16, 1978
4. John Mendell is killed in the same garage in the 2800 block of South Lowe.

January 31, 1978
5. Donald Renno and Vincent Moretti are murdered in a Cicero restaurant.

July 2, 1980
6. Mob enforcer William Dauber and his wife, Charlotte, are gunned down in rural Will County on a road that's roughly halfway between Manhattan and Crete and east of 45.

December 30, 1980
7. Mobster William "Butch" Petrocelli is murdered at an empty building near 14th Street and Laramie.

June 24, 1981
8. Trucking executive Michael Cagnoni dies in a car bomb blast as his car enters the Hinsdale onramp onto I-294.

September 13, 1981
9. Nicholas D'Andrea is murdered in Chicago Heights.

April 24, 1982
Mobsters blow up the van of Nicholas Sarillo Sr. as he is driving along on a road in Wauconda. He survives.

July 23, 1983
10. Richard Ortiz and Arthur Morawski are killed in Cicero.

June 6, 1986
Emil Vaci is murdered in Phoenix, Ariz.

June 14, 1986
11. The mob's man in Las Vegas, Anthony Spilotro, and his brother Michael are lured to a Bensenville area where they are strangled to death.Staff ReporterSept. 14, 198612. John Fecarotta is killed outside a bingo hall at 6050 W. Belmont.

Donatello, I just saw that on the Sun Times web site and you beat me to the post! Very amusing.

Try the thin crust with cheese and sausage at Armand's...


Sandwiches at Gene's Deli are fantastic. About ten years ago, I sent a co-worker there to pick-up lunch. He said he walked in the door, and a group of older men seated at a back table immediately ceased all conversation and proceeded to stare at him while he stood at the counter. A gentleman got up from the table, walked behind the counter, smiled and asked my friend, "What can I get for you?" My friend runs through the order (for 10 people!) and the guy behind the counter starts putting together the sandwiches. It takes about 15 minutes, and the entire time my friend was there, he said he could feel everyone's eyes burning a hole through him. Guy behind the counter goes about his business like he's been waiting for my buddy all day, finishes the order, takes his money, smiles and tells him, "Thanks! Come back again!" My friend leaves to the stares of the people still seated at the table, and he says he was maybe two feet away from the door when they started talking again. He said he has no idea who was seated at the table, but he would like to have been a fly on the wall for that conversation!

John Kass, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune, has written a few entertaining pieces about tracking down people while dining at La Scarola.

tony b.

Great posts guys! Interesting stuff! Thanks for sharing!

PLEASE keep us posted as to the verdict once it is reached!

Verdict will be read in about two minutes... I'll be back to report.

All 5 in mob trial found guilty of all counts
By Jeff Coen | Tribune staff reporter
2:38 PM CDT, September 10, 2007

In a verdict announced this afternoon, a federal jury in Chicago convicted four reputed Outfit figures and a former Chicago police officer on all counts in the landmark Family Secrets mob conspiracy case.

Convicted on the most serious charge--racketeering conspiracy--were:



James Marcello, 65, identified by authorities as Chicago's top mob boss two years ago when the indictment was handed down.



Joey "the Clown" Lombardo, 78, a legendary reputed mob figure for decades who was convicted in the 1980s of bribing a U.S. senator.



Frank Calabrese Sr., 70, whose brother and son provided crucial testimony for the prosecution.


Paul "the Indian" Schiro, 69, the reputed Outfit member from Phoenix who is already serving a prison sentence for his role in a mob-connected jewelry theft ring.


Anthony "Twan" Doyle, 62, the former Chicago cop accused of passing on confidential information about the federal probe to a mob friend.

Marcello also was convicted of conducting an illegal video gambling business, bribing Calabrese's brother in hopes of discouraging him from cooperating with authorities and obstructing the Internal Revenue Service.

Calabrese also was convicted of running a sports bookmaking operation and extorting "street taxes" from the Connie's Pizza restaurant chain.

Lombardo also was convicted of obstructing justice by fleeing from authorities after his indictment in the case. The jury deliberated four days last week and an hour this morning before reaching its verdict.

The riveting trial, which played out over 10 weeks this summer before overflow crowds in the largest courtroom in Chicago's federal courthouse, marks the most significant prosecution of the Chicago mob in decades.

According to the racketeering conspiracy charge, the defendants extorted protection payoffs from businesses, made high-interest "juice" loans and protected its interests through violence and murder.

The heart of the charges involved 18 gangland slayings dating back decades. Among them was the infamous 1986 murders of Anthony and Michael Spilotro, whose bodies were found buried in an Indiana cornfield.

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 target prompted federal authorities to code-name the probe Operation Family Secrets.

Even with the guilty verdicts, the jury's duties are not yet concluded. After hearing another round of argument by lawyers and prosecutors that could take part of a day, jurors will have to decide if any of the reputed Outfit figures are guilty of any of the 18 murders. If found guilty in this second round, the defendants could face sentences of life in prison.

Frank Calabrese Sr. has been accused of taking part in 13 murders, Marcello three and Lombardo and Schiro one each. Doyle was not charged with a murder.

jcoen@tribune.com

This isn't the end. With the racketeering charges including murder there's a special thing with proving the murder cases or something.

what about johnnys red hots or river road hot dogs or biancalana's boy o boy johnnys used to have the best beef sandwiches i sure miss them . i would kill for a few river road hot dogs with those huge orders of fries

Mobster 'Didn't get away with it again'
'A REALLY GOOD FEELING' FOR VICTIMS' FAMILIES | Jury convicts aging crew of mobsters on all counts, will now decide if men are responsible for 18 unsolved murders

September 11, 2007
BY STEVE WARMBIR, CHRIS FUSCO, FRANK MAIN, ABDON PALLASCH AND LISA DONOVAN Staff Reporters
The Chicago Outfit got whacked.

The bloody past of the mob came roaring back Monday to engulf an aging crew of gangsters: top mobsters Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo and James "Little Jimmy" Marcello, along with reputed Outfit hit man Frank Calabrese Sr. and the mob's man in Phoenix, Paul Schiro.

All four men were convicted in federal court of racketeering conspiracy and could face life in prison after a 10-week trial in which prosecutors drew back the veil on the secret history of the Chicago mob with hundreds of pieces of evidence, including surveillance photographs and audio and videotapes of several defendants.

A fifth man, crooked retired Chicago cop Anthony "Twan" Doyle, 62, was ordered held without bond after he too was convicted of racketeering for helping the Outfit track down an informant. Doyle is not accused of any of the murders.

The men on trial showed little reaction as the verdicts were read in a packed courtroom in Chicago after the jury of seven women and five men deliberated less than 20 hours to reach a decision.

Marcello, 65, scoffed as one of his guilty verdicts was read.

Calabrese Sr., 70, accused of 13 Outfit hits, hid behind a manila folder that his attorney Joseph R. Lopez put up to shield his face.

Lombardo, at 78 the oldest defendant, found no humor in the jury's decision, cocking his head to the left as the first verdict against him was read, then to the right.

Family members of the murder victims packed a row and a half in the courtroom and praised the jury's decision on the racketeering charges.

"It's a really good feeling to know that [Lombardo] was convicted this time around, that he didn't get away with it again," said Nicholas Seifert, a son of Daniel Seifert, who was gunned down in 1974 after Seifert decided to testify against Lombardo in a federal criminal trial.

Lombardo walked because Seifert was the main witness against him. When Seifert died, so did the case against Lombardo.

Friends and family members of the mobsters shook their heads or teared up at the outcome.

James Marcello's son, James Jr., wiped his eyes after the verdict and declined to comment.

One longtime friend of Doyle, Lombardo and Marcello, Rocco LaMantia, the son of the late mobster Joseph "Shorty" LaMantia, blasted the jury's decision.

"I personally don't think the jury was intelligent enough to decipher all the evidence the government put on," LaMantia said. "It's another slap in the face to Italians who are 'alleged' gangsters, and I emphasize 'alleged.' "

While Lombardo may have been the headline defendant, the case resulted from the turmoil within the family of Frank Calabrese Sr., who had not one but two family members testify against him -- unheard of in a mob case.

Outfit killer Nicholas Calabrese, a star government witness, told jurors how he and his brother Frank Sr. did mob hits together.

Frank Calabrese Sr.'s son, Frank Jr., secretly recorded his father when they were both in prison in 1999, and jurors heard Frank Calabrese Sr. speak in often horrifying detail of seven Outfit murders.

"Frank Calabrese was convicted on his own big mouth," LaMantia said.

Murder cases laid out for mob jury
By Jeff Coen | Tribune staff reporter
4:44 PM CDT, September 11, 2007


Jurors in the Family Secrets mob conspiracy trial began a second round of deliberations late this afternoon to decide if four Outfit figures are guilty of 18 murders at the heart of the prosecution, but they recessed until tomorrow after conferring privately for less than half an hour.

The deliberations are scheduled to resume tomorrow.

For much of Tuesday, jurors heard arguments from the prosecution and defense about the murders.



The arguments come a day after the jury convicted the four Outfit figures—Joey "the Clown" Lombardo, Frank Calabrese Sr., James Marcello and Paul "the Indian" Schiro—as well as former Chicago police officer Anthony "Twan" Doyle of racketeering conspiracy. Doyle was not charged with murder.

In delivering the prosecution argument, Assistant U.S. Atty. Mitchell Mars asked jurors to hold the defendants accountable for the mob hits.

"Murder is a staple of the Outfit," he said. "It is a tool."

Lawyers for two of the defendants asked jurors to find their clients not guilty. In delivering the prosecution argument, Mars walked jurors through each homicide, reminding them of the evidence that implicated the four Outfit figures.

Lombardo killed federal witness Daniel Seifert, he said."He murdered Daniel Seifert in front of his wife and son so he could walk away from a federal prosecution," he said.

Calabrese is to blame for 13 murders, he said, asking jurors to remember how Calabrese detailed what he knew about the killings in prison recordings made by his son. Among them was the killing of Hinsdale trucking executive Michael Cagnoni, which Mars called "shockingly evil."

Cagnoni was killed in a car bombing on the Tri-State Tollway.

As Mars described what happened, his voice cracked. He recalled how Cagnoni's wife and son used the bomb-rigged car the morning of the bombing but did not drive within range of a transmitter that would have set off the device."But for pure happenstance, it may well have been Mrs. Cagnoni and her son who were blown to pieces," he said. Marcello killed three people, Las Vegas mob chieftain Anthony Spilotro and his brother, Michael, Mars said..

The brothers, lured to their deaths by Marcello, were shown no mercy, the prosecutor said.

"It was 12 men or more, jumping two brothers who were going to be killed, whatever happened," he said.

Schiro was responsible for the killing of Emil Vaci in Arizona, Mars said. At first, he was to lure the victims but ended up acting as a lookout.

Jurors then heard from lawyers for Marcello and Lombardo, who argued that the government had not proven its case. Marcello's lawyer, Thomas Breen, said the government's key witness, Nicholas Calabrese, cannot be trusted.

"You don't do any favors for these families by convicting somebody that doesn't close the case," Breen said of the relatives of the murder victims.

Nicholas Calabrese had testified that the Spilotro brothers were strangled but physical evidence shows they were beaten to death, Breen said.

He said it also made no sense that the men would be killed in Bensenville, as Calabrese said, and then driven to Indiana and dumped in a cornfield.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Breen said in a mocking tone. "I thought your whole point was they're organized–they did this and they did that."

"And now they're just stupid criminals?"

Lombardo's attorney, Rick Halprin, urged the jury to re-read its notes from the trial and see that Seifert could have been killed because he could have put mob-connected businessman Irwin Weiner behind bars.

Lombardo had an alibi that went unchallenged, Halprin said, adding that Lombardo was not at the murder scene.

Lombardo had testified that he was reporting a stolen wallet to police when Seifert was gunned down.

"If he wasn't there, it doesn't matter if he was eating green cheese on the moon," Halprin told jurors.

jcoen@tribune.com

It's a "Kill 'em all let God sort 'em out" type of thing. They're all guilty of the crimes in which they have been charged. (the "Kill 'em all" part) Now the jury (playing the part of "God") has to sort out who's guilty of which murders. Anthony "Twan" Doyle is the only one who is not up for murder charges in this case.

So at this point, they remain in the MCC on Clark and Van Buren waiting to see where they go from here and for how long.

Former police officer lied at Chicago mob trial, judge says

September 12, 2007 (CHICAGO) - The judge who presided over Chicago's biggest mob trial in years expressed doubts Wednesday about setting bond for a retired policeman convicted in the case, saying his testimony was unbelievable.

Defendant Anthony Doyle's testimony on the witness stand was so hard to believe that it brought his sound judgment into question, U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel said.
"What he was saying was profoundly unimpressive," Zagel said.

He said Doyle might flee to avoid prison if he were released, mistakenly assuming that his daughter and several former police officers would not forfeit the homes they have offered as security for any bond.

But Zagel agreed to take the bail request under consideration.

Doyle claims that his sick wife needs him to be with her. The decorated former police officer appeared in court Wednesday in the bright orange jumpsuit of a federal prisoner for the first time as his attorney, Ralph E. Meczyk, pleaded with the judge to free him on bond.

Doyle, 62, of was among five defendants convicted Monday of a racketeering conspiracy involving illegal gambling, extortion, loan sharking and 18 long-unsolved mob murders.

He was the only defendant not accused of involvement in a murder and the only one free on bond; the others have been in federal custody for more than a year. Doyle was taken into custody only after the jury deliberated for less than 20 hours over evidence presented by the government at the 10-week Operation Family Secrets mob trial.

A major part of the prosecution's case were tapes secretly made by the FBI at a federal prison in Milan, Mich., where Doyle visited Frank Calabrese Sr., a convicted loan shark who also was found guilty Monday. On the tapes, Calabrese allegedly discussed mob business.

Prosecutors maintain that the tall, broad-shouldered Doyle was a loan collector for Calabrese while also working as a Chicago police officer.

Doyle testified that he went to the prison not to discuss business but merely to visit a friend. He said he didn't understand much of what Calabrese was telling him and considered it "mind-boggling gibberish."

No date has been set for sentencing. A jury was deliberating Wednesday whether the four other defendants should be held responsible for specific murders outlined in the indictment, which would qualify them for life sentences.

Racketeering conspiracy carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, although prosecutors estimated that the recommended sentence for Doyle under federal sentencing guidelines would be 12 to 15 years.

Family Secrets jurors ready to get back to work
Tribune staff report
September 20, 2007


CHICAGO - The jury in the Family Secrets trial will resume its deliberations Thursday morning after a break of nearly a week.

While meeting with lawyers in the case Monday evening, U.S. District Court Judge James Zagel, who is presiding over the landmark trial, said he hadn't picked up any clues on how long the jury deliberations might last.

Last week the jury convicted the five defendants of racketeering conspiracy after deliberating for parts of four days. In a second round of deliberations, jurors have so far spent two days discussing whether four of the men can be held responsible for 18 gangland killings at the heart of the case. If convicted in this phase, Outfit figures James Marcello, Joey "the Clown" Lombardo, Frank Calabrese Sr. and Paul "the Indian" Schiro could face up to life in prison.

What a great trial this has turned out to be,i have enjoyed reading about it everyday.

Jury takes week off, gives defense 'great concern'
FAMILY SECRETS | Vacationing judge may be reason

September 14, 2007
BY STEVE WARMBIR Staff Reporter/swarmbir@suntimes.com
In a move generating concern among the defense, the federal jury in the Family Secrets mob case went home Thursday without reaching a verdict in the second phase of its deliberations -- and decided to wait a week to begin again.
The jury of five men and seven women usually does not work on Fridays, but court officials offered no explanation for the jury's decision not to resume work until next Thursday. Speculation centered on a theory that the jury, having bonded with the judge in the case, wants to wait for him to return from vacation to take the verdict.

But any federal judge can accept the verdict. The jury is assigning responsibility for 18 mob murders, and its decision will greatly affect the possible penalties faced by four defendants.

The jury's lengthy time off could spark the defense to request a mistrial.

"I do not consider this appropriate," said Rick Halprin, the attorney for Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo. "This is a matter of great concern to me. I will take whatever measures I deem appropriate to protect the interests of my client."