Harry Aleman Dies in Prison

Much-feared Chicago mob hit man Harry Aleman has died in prison of cancer, prison officials said. (In-depth Harry Aleman Profile)

Aleman was convicted of killing Teamster steward William Logan in 1972, but was a suspect in more than 20 other killings, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Sunday.

He was serving a 100- to 300-year sentence, having been convicted in 1997 in his second trial for the killing -- a trial conducted 20 years after his first trial for the murder, which ended with an acquittal.

The second trial was granted for the same crime as prosecutors argued the "double jeopardy" rule -- barring a second trial for the same crime -- did not apply because the judge in the first trial was found to have been bribed, which implied that trial did not put the defendant in any jeopardy.

"He was the hammer of the Chicago mob," the Chicago Tribune quoted former FBI agent Lee Flosi as saying about Aleman. "You never want him sitting in the back seat of your car."

Aleman died in the Hill Correctional Center in Galesburg, Ill. He was 71.

Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Sharyn Elman said "there was no foul play" in the mobster's death.