"Made" The Chicago Way - Mob Induction & A Son Turning on His Father

In one of the first undercover tapes played at the Family Secrets trial, a speaker identified as reputed mob boss Frank Calabrese Sr. recounted for his son the ceremony at which Outfit members become "made."

The underboss, the Outfit's second-in-command, and capos, who led the street crews, initiated new members one by one, cutting their fingers and then burning a holy picture in their hands, the elder Calabrese said in the 1999 conversation. The bosses checked out if anyone flinched in pain, according to the tape played Monday in court. Candidates had to have a murder under their belt.

"You know what I regret more than anything?" said Calabrese, accused by prosecutors in 13 gangland slayings. "Burning the holy pictures in my hand. That bothers me."

In his first full day on the witness stand, Calabrese's son, Frank Jr., who identified his father on the tape, testified about murder and intimidation as his father glowered at him from under furrowed brows, his chin jutting forward in defiance at times and amusement at other times.

The younger Calabrese, dressed in an unbuttoned blue, red and white polo shirt, largely avoided his father's gaze, looking straight ahead as he responded to the questions of a federal prosecutor, often pushing out his lower lip and knitting together his eyebrows in the same manner as his father.

For the first time, Calabrese told why he had turned his back on his father and wore a hidden recorder for the feds as the two talked in a federal prison.

When the younger Calabrese was about to go to prison in the loan-sharking case, he said, he had a meeting at his attorney's office that his father unexpectedly attended. Calabrese had violated his bond by taking drugs, and his father made him promise to go clean, he said. "Promise me you'll never do drugs again" and be "a good person," the older Calabrese told him, the son testified

At the same time, Calabrese asked his father to "semiretire" from the Outfit, and "he said he would," the son testified.

After he went to prison, the younger Calabrese said he felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, leading him to decide to indeed change his criminal ways. But Calabrese said he realized his father never intended to reform.

The younger Calabrese said he contacted federal authorities from prison and offered to cooperate. Now he is one of the government's star witnesses at the trial of the senior Calabrese, 70, reputed mob figures Joey "the Clown" Lombardo, James Marcello and Paul "the Indian" Schiro as well as Anthony Doyle, a former Chicago police officer. At the heart of the prosecution are 18 long-unsolved murders.

In an undercover tape played in court Monday, the elder Calabrese expressed some regrets at being made a full-fledged member of the Outfit in the secret ceremony years earlier. On the tape, the elder Calabrese said he told his sponsor, Angelo LaPietra, boss of the 26th Street crew in the early to mid-1980s, that "I didn't want it."

"I would be strapped down and if I wanted to do something else, I couldn't," Calabrese was heard on the tape telling his son.

The elder Calabrese told his son that to qualify, a made member had to have committed at least one murder, though the initiation could take place years later, the son said. But the elder Calabrese gave plaudits to Mario Puzo, author of the "Godfather," saying the book's depiction of the making ceremony was "very close" to the real thing, his son said.

Calabrese told jurors that his father and his uncle, Nicholas Calabrese, had confided to him years earlier the details of how brothers Anthony and Michael Spilotro had been killed in one of the Outfit's most infamous murders.

Nicholas Calabrese is expected to testify for the government, implicating his brother, Frank Sr. in as many as 13 murders. The cooperation of the elder Calabrese's brother and son led to the code name for the federal investigation, Operation Family Secrets.

In the mid-1980s, the Outfit was unhappy with Anthony Spilotro's handling of its interests in Nevada, and Nicholas Calabrese and John Fecarotta went out to Las Vegas to kill Anthony Spilotro and someone else, the younger Calabrese testified.

They were unsuccessful, but while they were there, Fecarotta won a lot of money while gambling. Casino records placed Nicholas Calabrese there for the Las Vegas trip. The two older Calabreses were furious when they learned of the records because Nicholas Calabrese and Fecarotta had killed another Outfit associate - - whose name Calabrese Jr. said he could not remember - - while they were in Las Vegas.

When the first attempt to kill Anthony Spilotro failed, members of the Outfit decided to bring the Spilotro brothers to Chicago, under the pretense of initiating Michael Spilotro as a "made" member, Calabrese Jr. said. The Spilotros were led to a Chicago-area home and to the basement, where "a whole bunch of guys" surrounded them, he testified.

The brothers were strangled, and beaten to death as some of the Outfit members held their legs, he said. The older Calabreses told him that "Michael didn't put up much of a struggle," but Anthony Spilotro struggled and warned those who were killing him, "You guys are going to get in trouble!" Calabrese Jr. testified.

Nicholas Calabrese later shot Fecarotta to death because Fecarotta was assigned to bury the Spilotros' bodies, which were discovered in an Indiana cornfield, but Nicholas himself was wounded in the hit, Calabrese Jr. testified. When his uncle recovered, he asked Calabrese Jr., at the time a supervisor at the Chicago Department of Sewers, to retrieve the gun used in the shooting from a sewer where Nicholas Calabrese had dumped it. The younger Calabrese said he arranged it so his work crew carried out repairs in the area where the gun was dumped. Under the pretense of cleaning the sewer, Calabrese found the gun and returned it to his uncle, he testified.

Jurors and defendants alike paid rapt attention to much of the testimony Monday, even when Calabrese Jr. detailed high-interest juice loans, street taxes on businesses and other Outfit operations.

The serious atmosphere of the courtroom was broken only a few times, including once when Calabrese Sr. decided to get up to leave the courtroom for a restroom in the middle of his son's testimony. The elder Calabrese, who is in custody, went to a bathroom in a lockup hidden from the view of jurors.

A few minutes later, outside the jury's presence, Judge James Zagel admonished the defendants that they were allowed to leave for a restroom break during testimony, but by doing so they waived their constitutional right to be present for testimony.

Lombardo, whose nickname of "the Clown" has long matched his history of colorful antics, piped up: "I go pretty often, judge!" drawing laughter from the packed courtroom.

Much of Calabrese's testimony Monday dealt with the minutiae of Outfit life, such as how he spoke in code with his father, how juice loans were calculated and his work with his uncle in enforcing bans on illegal activity in parts of the Chicago area without Outfit approval.

Calabrese Sr. also told his son, in one of their taped conversations played Monday, that federal authorities did not always know who were actual members of the Outfit. Asked by Assistant U.S. Atty. John Scully whether that meant that the Outfit had "sleepers" who worked almost exclusively behind the scenes, Calabrese said, "Yes."

The only other testimony Monday came from Joel Glickman, a former mob-connected sports bookmaker who previously had refused to testify, despite being given immunity from prosecution, and had been jailed for contempt. After a week in jail, Glickman decided to testify after all. He said he took out a juice loan for his boss at an insurance company from Calabrese Sr.

Thanks to Liam Ford

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The Outfit Family, Your Blood Family, and God, in that Order

Friends of ours: Frank Calabrese Sr.,
Friends of mine: Frank Calabrese Jr., Joel Glickman

The eldest son of reputed mob boss Frank Calabrese Sr. testified today that his dad schooled him in the ways of the Outfit, making it understood that the Chicago crime syndicate was meant to be more important to its members than anything—even family and God.

Frank Calabrese Jr., 47, took the stand again today for a little more than an hour, before a break gave prosecutors the opportunity to call witness Joel Glickman, a former mob-connected sports bookmaker who went to jail a week ago rather than testify against Calabrese Sr.

Much of Calabrese's testimony this morning dealt with the minutiae of Outfit life, such as how he spoke in code with his father, how juice loans were calculated and his work with his uncle Nicholas Calabrese in enforcing bans on illegal activity in parts of the Chicago area without Outfit approval.

"We would use brothers, code them as sisters," Calabrese Jr. said.

His father, himself was known as "Frankie Breeze," would give nicknames to people, Calabrese Jr. said.

Sometimes, if they were around someone from whom they wanted to mask the true nature of their conversation, they would change how they referred to someone two or three times, so it would appear to an outsider that they were having conversations about three different people, he said.

Calabrese Jr. is one of the government's two star witnesses in the trial—code named Family Secrets because defendant Frank Calabrese Sr.'s son and brother had done the unthinkable, squealing on a reputed mob brother and blood relative.

The elder Calabrese, 70, and four other men are charged with running the Chicago Outfit for decades as a racketeering conspiracy.

Calabrese Jr. testified today that there were many rules of the Outfit that his father explained over the years—"dos and don'ts, mostly don'ts."

Chief among them was where members' loyalty should lie—to the Outfit above mother, father or other relatives. "He told me . . . your family, the Outfit family, came before your blood family. . . It also came before God," Calabrese Jr. said.

Members of the Outfit were expected to be members for life, and although they could withdraw from active duty, they were expected to respond if any bosses called on them, Calabrese Jr. said.

Members could, however, be frozen out of the Outfit if they engaged in illegal activity without prior approval from an Outfit leader, stole money from an Outfit crew or started taking drugs, he said.

Calabrese Jr. testified about how he, his father and his uncle spent a few hours a week, usually each Saturday, keeping the books for their street tax, juice loan and gambling operations. He was involved in the work from the late 1970s through the early 1990s, he said.

He also demonstrated how he and others kept track of bookmakers, gamblers and others who owed his father's 26th Street crew, using cards and notes with coded names—but real dollar amounts—regarding weekly debts and payments.

Thanks to Liam Ford

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Mobster, Tony Spilotro, Fought Killers to Death

Friends of ours: Tony "the Ant" Spilotro, Frank Calabrese Sr., Nick Calabrese, James Marcello, Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, Paul "The Indian" Schiro, Anthony Doyle
Friends of mine: Michael Spilotro, Frank Calabrese Jr.

A mobster who inspired a movie character warned his attackers before they beat him to death that they would get in trouble, an organized crime insider testified Monday.

Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, and his brother, Michael, had been lured to a basement on the pretext that Michael would be initiated as a "made guy" into the mob, Frank Calabrese Jr. said.

"He came into the basement and there were a whole bunch of guys who grabbed him and strangled him and beat him to death," Calabrese said at Chicago's biggest mob trial in years. "Tony put up a fight. He kept saying, 'You guys are going to get in trouble, you guys are going to get in trouble,'" the prosecution witness said.

Five defendants, including Calabrese's father, reputed mob boss Frank Calabrese Sr., are charged with taking part in a racketeering conspiracy that included 18 killings, gambling, loan sharking and extortion. The slayings of the Spilotro brothers - Michael was killed the same night - were among the murder charges.

Despite his graphic narrative, Calabrese was not a witness to the June 1986 death of Tony Spilotro, known as the Chicago Outfit's man in Las Vegas and inspiration for the Joe Pesci character in "Casino."

Calabrese testified that he heard what happened from his uncle, Nicholas Calabrese, who has pleaded guilty and also is expected to testify at the trial. The younger Calabrese testified he was told Tony Spilotro would be killed because he was engaging in unauthorized activities in Las Vegas.

Calabrese Sr., 69, is on trial along with James Marcello, 65; Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, 78; convicted jewel thief Paul Schiro, 70; and former police officer Anthony Doyle, 62.

Prosecutors on Monday began playing tapes made secretly by Calabrese Jr. in talks with his father when they both were imprisoned for loan sharking. Calabrese Jr. said he wrote to an FBI agent volunteering to make the tapes because he wanted to change his life and get away from his father, whom he described as manipulative and unwilling to give up crime. The father sat expressionless as his son, who now runs a carry-out near Phoenix, said he wanted to "expose my father for what he was."

Also Monday, convicted bookie Joel Glickman, who went to jail rather than testify against Calabrese Sr., told jurors he paid thousands in "street tax" to the mob and once got a "juice loan" from Calabrese.

Glickman, looking haggard after spending a week behind bars for contempt because of his earlier refusal to testify, said he paid as much as $400,000 in "street tax" over 25 years of working as a bookmaker.

If he hadn't paid the mob for permission to do business, he would have lived in a state of fear, he said.

"Fear of what?" asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Markus Funk. "Fear of getting hurt," Glickman said.

Glickman said that he stopped working as a bookie for six years in the 1970s and went into the insurance business, but that while doing so he got a $20,000 loan for his boss from Calabrese.

"A juice loan?" Funk asked, using a mob term for usury.

"I'd say so," said Glickman, testifying under immunity from prosecution.

Calabrese attorney Joseph Lopez tried to soften the impact of that testimony, asking Glickman whether "Calabrese ever threatened you."

"Never," Glickman said. He agreed with Lopez that Calabrese had always been polite and diplomatic with him.

Thanks to Mike Robinson

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Analyzing Crime Scene Clues

Imagine the heartbreak of having your young child mysteriously disappear from a holiday party…as happened to a northern Virginia family some years ago.

Now imagine you’re the FBI agent trying desperately to solve the case, but with no sign of the missing 5-year-old and little evidence to go on. Your prime suspect is the maintenance man at the apartment complex where the child lived. In his car you find tiny bits of hair and clothing fibers. Will this evidence be your link to the missing child, the break you need to solve the investigation?

In this case…as in many cases like it before and since…the answer was yes—thanks to the work of forensic experts in our FBI Laboratory. After careful analysis, our scientists found that the hairs were highly similar to the missing girl’s and that the fibers were no different from those on a rabbit hair coat worn by the child’s mother. Even though the 5-year-old was never found, this trace evidence—as we call it because it’s small and easily transferred—played a key role in putting the killer behind bars.

Each year, some 10,000 bits of this kind of evidence—shards of glass, strands of hair and fur, paint chips, soil clods, feathers, rocks and minerals, building materials of all kinds, you name it—come pouring into what we call our Trace Evidence Unit on the third floor of our FBI Lab in rural Virginia, courtesy of not just FBI investigators but also any law enforcement agency nationwide looking for help in a case.

There, it is compared, contrasted, and analyzed every which way for whatever clues may lie hidden, usually invisible to the naked eye. A lot can be learned in the process.

Just a few examples: We can tell if a strand of hair is dyed or burned; whether it’s from an animal or human being; what part of the body it’s from; and whether it was shed or pulled out. When glass is fractured, we can determine the direction of the blow and what did the damage. We can take the smallest pieces of building materials and figure out if they are insulation, fiber glass, building tile, bricks, cement blocks, etc.

“It’s amazing how the smallest clues can end up yielding so much information and making such a big difference in cases,” says Cary Oien, chief of the unit.

Here are some more details about the work of the unit:

The people. Highly professional and well-schooled. Along with Oien, the 18-person staff includes: forensic examiners who do the evidence comparisons, write reports, and testify in court … physical scientists who prepare and process the evidence … and a geologist who specializes in mineralogy and soil comparisons.

Tools and techniques. For soil, a technique called “x-ray diffraction” is used. For glass, it’s the glass refractive index measurement (yes, “GRIM” for short). For fiber, we use tools like the microspectrophotometer and infrared spectrophotometer to discriminate between colors and types of polymers (polyester vs. wool, for example). And of course, there are plenty of powerful microscopes on hand.

Cases. More than we can name. But including: 9/11, the D.C. snipers, the ’01 anthrax attacks, O.J. Simpson, and plenty of violent crimes and kidnappings.

Final words. “We’re all about using science to solve crimes,” says Oien. “But there is a very personal side to what we do. Some of the cases we’re involved in—whether it’s a missing child or a brutal murder—are heart wrenching. It’s a great feeling when our analysis helps take a dangerous criminal off the streets. That’s what makes every day here interesting and worthwhile.”

Thanks to the FBI

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Searching for Carmie Guido

I had a reader ask me for some information on a relative of theirs that has passed on that they thought might have a mob association. The terms of the association are unclear. The gentleman's name in question is Carmie Guido. Carmie ran a restaurant on Taylor Street called Guido's. Apparently, you had to place your order through an intercom system.

If anybody has any information that they can share, please pass it along.

Thanks!

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