Mob Hitman on Witness Stand

Friends of ours: Nick Calabrese, Frank Calabrese Sr., John Fecarotta, James "Litte Jimmy" Marcello

An admitted hitman for the Chicago mob is being let off the hook for several gangland murders in exchange for his testimony in the Operation Family Secrets trial. Nick Calabrese, the former hitman and now star witness in the case, began his testimony Monday.

Outfit killer Nick Calabrese says he and his brother Frank Senior killed mob enforcer John Fecarotta back in 1986. Fecarotta, a hitman himself, had botched a gangland assignment and was given the ultimate demotion.

Homicide detectives found a bloody glove near Fecarotta's corpse. It wasn't until new DNA technology, in 2002, that investigators matched the bloody glove to Nick Calabrese. Faced with that evidence, Nick Calabrese violated his outfit oath of allegiance and betrayed his own brother, Frank Senior, working undercover against La Cosa Nostra, the organization in which they both were blood-made members.

Monday, for the first time, brother Nick was on the witness stand testifying against brother Frank. "We're not expecting to see anything other than what he's gonna tell us. We don't know what he's gonna tell us," said Joe Lopez, Frank Calabrese Senior's lawyer.

Nick's first hour of testimony implicated his brother in murders, juice loan rackets and outfit decision making. Said Nick Calabrese: "If you got an order to go kill somebody, you'd have to do it." He also testified that committed mob murders with defendant James "Little Jimmy" Marcello and is expected to provide details when retaking the stand Tuesday.

In exchange for his testimony, Nick Calabrese will not be prosecuted in state court for the Fecarotta murder or any other killings. Nick is off the hook. According to letters introduced Monday in court from state's attorneys in Cook, DuPage and Will counties, all have agreed not to prosecute Nick Calabrese.

He is still eligible for life in prison after pleading guilty to racketeering in Operation Family Secrets, but federal authorities will recommend a sentence far less than that for Nick Calabrese. That made this a deal Calabrese was unable to refuse.

Thanks to Chuck Goudie

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Mafia Scam Profits from US War on Terror

Friends of mine: Mario Figueroa

More than a dozen Ulster business people have been caught up in a multi-million pound scam that targeted British and Irish investors hoping to make money from the US war on terror, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal today.

The head of the scheme, New Jersey fraudster Mario Figueroa, declared bankruptcy this month after living it up at the best Belfast hotels, where he boasted about his mansions and luxury yachts while luring people into the scheme.

Victims include the managing director of a Lisburn engineering company, a director of a Londonderry property company, the owner of a Strabane garden centre and the owner of a Belfast electrical shop.

The FBI suspects Mafia involvement in the scheme, which employed 30 salesmen working from central New Jersey and took in over $50m.

Figueroa admitted travelling many times to London, Dublin and Belfast to entice investors and based his business solely on UK and Irish investors. The defence companies he invested in were supposed to be major suppliers of Tomahawk cruise missiles and armament parts to be used in Afghanistan and Iraq. In reality, some were little more than shell companies designed to lure investors.

Figueroa led a lavish lifestyle, buying a $2m house, a Mercedes Benz sports car and a 62-foot yacht called Private Enterprise, all of which have now been seized by the New Jersey Attorney General's office.

One investor from the province, Frank Sumner, owner of the Strabane Garden Centre, was one of the few investors to get off lightly, losing about £6,000 to the scheme. Mr Sumner said that the Clover group had phoned him at work and promised he could make vast sums from their investment scheme. He recalled that Figueroa told him that he was coming to Belfast to meet businessmen who were prepared to put large sums of money into the scheme. "He didn't bother coming to see me, I was just small fry compared to some of the people he was looking for," Sumner said. Mr Sumner said he had invested in a defence contractor called Invatech, which the federal prosecutors in New Jersey have identified as one of three " poorly performing" companies into which victims' money was placed.

In a criminal complaint lodged in court, prosecutors say that investment money from one defence company, JCM, was used to pay off irate Invatech investors, while telling them that this money was "profit" from their investment. Many Invatech investors were so impressed they poured hundreds of thousands of dollars more into the scheme.

Sumner said that he hoped that a "slimeball" like Mario Figueroa be brought to justice "for the sake of people that have lost a lot" .

"I don't care if I don't get anything back," he said.

Figueroa has already pleaded guilty to racketeering and money laundering and is due for sentencing in September. He is currently working as a Manhattan mortgage broker, earning $16,000 a month.

According to court records, there are at least 13 Northern Ireland investors so far identified, many of them directors of companies involved in property, engineering and electronics.

They include Edward Nicell, director of Cara Development Ltd, a property investment company in Derleen Park in Derry; David Neil of Express Distribution Services in Craigavon, and Leslie Millar, the managing director of Rocklyn Engineering in Lisburn.

Other investors include Rufus McClelland of Calverts Tavern in Armagh city; Russell Kelly of Beechfield Court in Coleraine; Brian Caldwell of Kingsgate Street, Coleraine; Robert McClurg of Saintfield Road, Ballynahinch; Trevor Calderwood, with an address listed as "Unit 5" in Ballymena and Michael Loughran of Churchtown Road in Cookstown.

At least three UK investors lost over $1m each and have hired a New Jersey attorney to win their money back. Scotland Yard believes that there may be other UK and Irish investors who have not come forward because of fear of tax implications.

One London investment company which is listed as a Figueroa creditor at least five times because of various investment schemes, was fined in 2005 for failure to prevent money laundering, the first company to be fined under UK anti-money laundering laws.

UK investors included a senior civil servant, Grant Ballantine, a consultant on state pension policy at the Government Actuary's Department. Mr Ballantine, who lost over $100,000, said that any money that is returned to investors would be a "drop in the bucket" compared to the amount invested.

Thanks to Sean O'Driscoll

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The Darkness Descends on a Mobster

It’s not often that I come across a game that’s a must have.

I play a lot of games and many of them only generate interest for a short amount of time. You pick up a shiny new game, play it like there’s no tomorrow, and then quickly become bored with it and move on to another game.

With the exception of World of Warcraft, most of the games that I review go back to the shelf once my review has been written. The Darkness, by publisher 2K Games, is definitely not going back to the shelf.

The game is based upon Marc Silvestri’s comic book of the same name. You play a member of the mob who is double-crossed by the Mafia boss. You shoot your way through many goons in your attempt to escape but are eventually cornered in a situation that you will not escape from.

Just when it seems that there is no way out. you are “selected” by a demonic force that chooses to use you as its host. With the demonic powers at your disposal, you are quickly able to dispatch your enemies and survive. Now, you have to see how long you can live with this demonic force within you.

The game is graphically gorgeous and the character models are extremely detailed. The dialogue is superb and seems like it’s lifted right out of a Tarantino script or an episode of The Sopranos. Voice actors must have had a blast recording this game; they certainly did their jobs and they deliver a terrific performance.

This game is rated “M” for mature and there’s definitely a reason for that. First of all, the game’s dialogue is heavily influenced by mob-style movies, so the dialogue is littered with swearing. Secondly, your use of your demonic powers can be quite grotesque.

When manifesting The Darkness, you have two shadow tendrils that resemble demonic snakes at your disposal. Other than just looking cool, their other function is to allow you to feed on the hearts of your enemies. The tendrils tear the hearts out of fallen enemies and consume the heart right before your eyes. Gross? You betcha. Awesome? Definitely.

I have so many games to review that I don’t tend to fixate on one game for too long at a time. However, The Darkness is definitely being added to my collection. This game is just too damn good to not have available at the house.

Thanks to Rob Michael

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Judge Imposes Gag Order at Family Secrets Mob Trial

The federal judge at the trial of five alleged members of Chicago's organized crime family on Friday imposed a gag order, saying it would "enhance my ability to conduct a fair trial."

Judge James B. Zagel's order bars attorneys "from making extrajudicial statements regarding the merits of this case that a reasonable person would believe could be publicly disseminated."

He said the order would help him to conduct a fair trial because it was likely any commentary on the merits would prejudice the jurors. Zagel said barring parties from making comments to the news media may limit coverage and "prevent these proceedings from taking on a carnival atmosphere."

The indictment in the case outlines a racketeering conspiracy by the mob that includes 18 murders, gambling, extortion and loan sharking. Charged are Frank Calabrese Sr., 69; Joseph (Joey the Clown) Lombardo, 78; James Marcello, 65; jewel thief Paul Schiro, 70, and retired Chicago police officer Anthony Doyle, 62.

Zagel said his order would apply only to commentary or opinions on the merits of the case and would not block lawyers from providing reporters with information about scheduling and other such matters.

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Former Judge Faces 20 Years In Prison For Mafia Dealings

Friends of ours: Genovese Crime Family, Nicholas Gruttadauria
Friends of mind: David Gross

A former Nassau County judge pleaded guilty Friday to trying to launder more than $400,000 for members of the Genovese crime family.

David Gross, 45, admitted he agreed to try to launder the cash he knew was the result of a jewelry heist. What Gross did not know is that one of the men he was making the deal with was an undercover FBI agent.

Federal prosecutors said Gross planned to keep up to 20 percent of all cash he agreed to launder. He also agreed to try to sell more than $280,000 worth of stolen diamonds. "Sworn to do justice, a sitting judge violated his oath as well as the law when he partnered with a member of organized crime to launder proceeds of criminal activity," U.S. attorney Roslynn Mauskopf said.

Gross was first elected as a Nassau County judge in 1999. He was arrested in 2005 and suspended pending the outcome of the criminal case against him. The investigation began after the FBI developed leads stemming from raids on several mafia-run gambling houses on Long Island.

New York FBI Director Mark Mershon described Gross' criminal conduct as "the most egregious betrayals of the public trust."

Investigators said the former judge had teamed up with Nicholas Gruttadauria who they said is a member of the Genovese crime family. Gruttadauria has also pleaded guilty. FBI officials said the two men tried to use invoices from Freeport restaurant Cafe By The Sea to launder the money.

Gross faces 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Thanks to WNBC

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