Prosectors Begin Closing Argument in Family Secrets Mob Trial

To acquit the men on trial in the "Family Secrets" mob case, prosecutor Markus Funk told the jury Monday, jurors have to believe that three of the defendants caught on tape talking about their crimes were simply unlucky enough to be recorded while they were "play acting."

"The evidence tells you that these men are guilty," said Funk, referring to defendants Frank Calabrese Sr. of Oak Brook, Joseph Lombardo of Chicago, Michael Marcello of Lombard, Paul Schiro of Phoenix and Anthony Doyle of Wickenburg, Ariz.

It would be enough, Funk said, to convict the men on racketeering charges if they simply knew of mob activities and helped plan them. But each defendant, Funk alleged, personally committed the crimes as well.

For four of them, that means murder. And with that, Funk began to recite the circumstances of each of the 18 murders alleged in the case.

One of those was the 1974 killing of Daniel Seifert in Bensenville. He was gunned down at his factory after signing up to testify against Lombardo for stealing from Teamster funds.

Lombardo testified he didn't know Seifert was going to testify against him, but Funk noted that as part of the case, Lombardo would have had papers delivered to him notifying him of Seifert's testimony. Seifert was killed and the government dropped the case because their key witness was dead.

"So it (the murder) paid off, in a perverse way, for Mr. Lombardo," Funk said.

In that case, the evidence against Lombardo includes two store clerks testifying it was Lombardo who bought the police scanner recovered from a car used in Seifert's murder. Seifert's brother also testified that Lombardo, a few weeks before the killing, called him and warned him to "straighten out" Danny.

"What additional proof could one want?" asked Funk. "How 'bout a fingerprint?"

Lombardo's fingerprint was found on the title application for the car used in the murder, he said.

He also took time to debunk Lombardo's alibi, that he was filling out a police report on a stolen wallet that day. He noted that when Lombardo was asked immediately after the killing where he had been, he never mentioned the stolen wallet or police report. And the report, noted Funk, was taken at a police station where another mobster reported cops were being paid off by the mob.

Funk also hammered home the case against Frank Calabrese Sr. in the 1970 murder of Michael Albergo, a juice loan collector and partner to Calabrese. Authorities were issuing subpoenas in the juice loan business at that time, and Albergo had received one, Funk said. "Albergo said, 'I'm not going to jail by myself.' That's a mistake to say something like that to these men," Funk said.

Nick Calabrese, the brother of Frank Calabrese Sr., testified that he, Calabrese Sr., and Ronald Jarrett picked up Albergo near Sox Park and Frank Calabrese Sr. strangled him. "He (Calabrese Sr.) cut Mr. Albergo's throat as well, just to make sure," Funk said.

Nick Calabrese said the body was buried at a warehouse on the 3300 block of South Shields in Chicago. At the time, it was under construction. Now, it's a parking lot for U.S. Cellular Field.

That, Funk said, explains why the body was never recovered. The building was razed and the earth on the spot -- about 5 feet deep -- was hauled away, Funk said. "Mr. Albergo's remains were removed over 20 years ago in the back of a pickup truck somewhere," Funk said.

Then he predicted, "I suspect you're going to hear (from defense attorneys) that Nick Calabrese invented all of this."

But besides Nick Calabrese's testimony, Funk told jurors, are tape recordings of Frank Calabrese Sr. and his son, Frank Calabrese Jr., who cooperated with prosecutors. In the recording, Calabrese Sr. discusses with Calabrese Jr. what Nick Calabrese could testify to, and he apparently talks about multiple murders, describing some in gruesome detail, including the shotgun slaying of Richard Ortiz and Arthur Morawski in Cicero. Ortiz, Calabrese tells his son, was the target and Morawski just happened to be there.

"The Polish guy (Morawski) that was there happened to be a nice guy," said Calabrese Sr. on the recording. "Wrong place at the wrong time."

Calabrese Sr. said that to call off a hit because an innocent person was in the way couldn't be done because other Outfit leaders might think you were weak for "freezing."

Funk encouraged jurors not to simply believe or disbelieve the testimony of Nick Calabrese, who he conceded was a "cold-blooded" killer. But additional forensic evidence, he said, corroborates Nick Calabrese's testimony and makes it believable, which means jurors should convict, Funk said.

"Who gives them the right to take the lives of other human beings?" asked Funk. "How is it that they can just walk into a business and demand money? "Because they know how to instill fear in other human beings," said Funk, answering his own question. "Kill another human being if he gets in your way."

Funk will continue his closing argument Tuesday and defense attorneys will then respond, after which prosecutors will get another chance to speak. Closing arguments are expected to continue through Thursday.

Thanks to Rob Olmstead

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Family Secrets Closing Arguments This Week

With the presentation of evidence expected to wrap up Monday, the Family Secrets trial has been among the most riveting and eye-opening in Chicago history, putting the violent realities of Outfit life and death on display for nine weeks.

Among the trial's highlights, three reputed "made" members of the Chicago Outfit each testified -- one, the star government witness, and two key defendants.

Nicholas Calabrese, confronted with DNA evidence tying him to a 1986 murder, turned on the mob, betraying his brother and providing an insider's view on many of the 18 gangland slayings at the heart of the prosecution's case.

In a rare move for accused mobsters, Calabrese's brother, Frank Calabrese Sr., who is implicated in 13 of the murders, and Joey "the Clown" Lombardo, perhaps Chicago's best-known reputed Outfit figure of the past three decades, took the witness stand in their own defense.

In closing arguments this week, lawyers will guide jurors through the testimony of dozens of witnesses and hours of secretly made recordings.

Calabrese, Lombardo and three co-defendants -- James Marcello, Paul "the Indian" Schiro and former Chicago police officer Anthony "Twan" Doyle -- are charged in a conspiracy that allegedly involved murder, racketeering, extortion and threats.

The first count of the indictment charged that the Chicago mob killed its "members, associates and others to advance the interests of the Chicago Outfit's illegal activities." If any of the defendants are convicted of the first count, U.S. District Judge James Zagel decided last week, jurors will be asked to deliberate separately on whether any defendants committed specific murders. That finding could trigger a stiffer sentence -- up to life in prison.

The most damning evidence against Frank Calabrese Sr. came from his brother, and his son, Frank Calabrese Jr. Nicholas Calabrese spent a week on the stand, calmly testifying in vivid detail about how his brother slowly lured him into Outfit life. By the time he committed his first murder with his brother in 1970, he testified he believed it was a test of his manhood. "We gotta put somebody in a hole," he quoted his brother as announcing. Nick Calabrese testified that his brother's preferred method of murder was to strangle his victims with a rope and then cut their throats.

In hours of conversations secretly taped by the FBI and played for jurors while he was imprisoned, Frank Calabrese Sr. could be heard discussing some of the murders with his son. He also talked about participating in a mob-making ceremony, complaining that holy pictures had been burned in his hand. "That bothers me," Frank Calabrese Sr. said on the tape.

In his closing argument, Calabrese's lawyer, Joseph Lopez, is expected to contend that Calabrese's brother and son testified for the government as part of a plot to steal some $2 million from him.

In testifying, Frank Calabrese Sr. flatly denied killing any of the victims with an emphatic "No way," sometimes as he thumped his fingers down on the witness stand.

He said he ran a loan business with Outfit connections, but he never used threats to collect debts. Telling jurors he was jealous of his brother's relationship with his sons, Frank Calabrese Sr. said he boasted to impress his son when he appeared to be discussing mob activity.

Prosecutors contend Marcello is another longtime Outfit figure, trumpeting him as its then-current leader when he was arrested in 2005.

Nicholas Calabrese implicated Marcello in perhaps the case's most notorious slayings, those of brothers Anthony and Michael Spilotro. He allegedly lured them to their deaths, driving them to the Bensenville residence where they were beaten to death, Calabrese testified.

Prosecutors have tried to strengthen their case with tapes of Marcello talking in prison with his brother, Michael, who previously pleaded guilty in the Family Secrets case. The Marcellos can be heard talking in code and speculating about whether the government was building a case against them.

Prosecutors also presented the testimony of Spilotro family members, including Michael Spilotro's daughter, who said it was James Marcello who called her family's home the day her dad vanished.

Marcello's defense team likely will argue to the jury that the government's case is too speculative, that Nicholas Calabrese, an admitted serial killer, can't be trusted and that no physical evidence connects Marcello to any of the slayings.

Prosecutors alleged that Lombardo, the reputed boss of the mob's Grand Avenue street crew, was behind the murder of Daniel Seifert, his onetime business partner, though the evidence is largely circumstantial. Seifert was due to testify against Lombardo in a fraud case when he was ambushed by gunmen outside his Bensenville office and killed.

Lombardo's fingerprint was found on the title application of one of two getaway cars found about two miles from the scene of the murder.

Lombardo's lawyer, Rick Halprin, has argued that his client was a hustler but not a gangster, a legitimate businessman with mob connections.

Lombardo testified earlier this month, drawing dozens to the courtroom to watch the notorious reputed Outfit leader. He was asked by a prosecutor whether he is a capo in the Chicago Outfit. "That is positively no, sir," Lombardo said.

Prosecutors alleged that Schiro, a reputed Spilotro associate who was part of the Chicago mob's western operations, helped stalk federal witness Emil Vaci in Phoenix in 1986.

Nicholas Calabrese told how Schiro allegedly helped a mob hit squad locate and target Vaci before Calabrese shot him in the head. Schiro and his lawyer, Paul Wagner, have chosen to put on no witnesses. Wagner has argued that Nicholas Calabrese was the real killer and cannot be trusted.

The case against Doyle centers mostly on the bloody glove that linked Nicholas Calabrese through DNA to a 1986 murder. In 1999, when the Outfit had gotten wind of the federal mob investigation and began to fear that Calabrese would cooperate, Doyle allegedly passed information about the glove to Frank Calabrese Sr.

In testifying last week, Doyle said he visited Calabrese in prison out of loyalty to a lifelong friend and tried to shift blame to a former police officer who also had been charged in the case, but died before trial.

Closing arguments by the attorneys could begin as soon as late Monday. Jury deliberations likely will begin later in the week.

Thanks to Jeff Coen

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Paris Hilton - A Mafia Princess?

Now this is what we call casting news. You 'll never guess who was hand-picked by mafia princess Antoinette Giancana to play her in an upcoming cable TV movie: Paris Hilton!

Yes, you read right. PARIS HILTON! What's THAT about? A TV movie was made in 1986 based on Antoinette's book Mafia Princess and Antoinette wasn't thrilled with Susan Lucci's performance. (Tony Curtis played her father Sam Giancana.) The mobster's daughter decided the actress made her look like a "weakling." Apparently she's hoping for some spunk from Paris Hilton in this new untitled movie.

Back in the 80's, Antoinette was featured in Playboy but the only photo we could find of her was this one advertising her pasta sauce. She looks more like a reformed nun than a princess.

Thanks to Janet Charlton

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The Sopranos Season 6 to be Released 10-23-07.

Last year, Tony Soprano cheated death when he was shot by his now institutionalized Uncle Junior. While Tony continues to muse about his second chance at life, he faces a myriad of immediate, stress-inducing crises at home, at work and from the law. Tony's wife Carmela plans for a future she's not sure will arrive, and son AJ and daughter Meadow find that adulthood holds its own surprises. Meanwhile, at work, Tony comes to doubt the allegiances of many of those closest to him - no one, not Paulie, Bobby, Silvio or even Christopher is above suspicion. The clock is ticking. Time is running out. But on who?

Features:

* Making "Cleaver": Behind the scenes of Christopher's horror film
* The Music of The Sopranos: Creator David Chase, cast and crew discuss the songs from the show
* Four audio commentaries with cast members Dominic Chainese, Robert Iler, Arthur Nascarella, Steven R. Schirripa and Stevie Van Zandt

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The Chicago Mob Still Influential

Jurors have heard testimony about a Judas kiss like the one Michael Corleone gave his brother Fredo in "The Godfather."

They're heard about mobsters initiated as "made guys" by getting their fingers cut and having holy pictures burned in their bare hands in secret ceremonies. And they've heard about how those who crossed the "Chicago Outfit" sometimes ended up in the trunk of a car.

The city's biggest mob trial in years, involving five men in their 60s and 70s accused of crimes ranging from loan sharking to 18 long-unsolved murders, has lifted the curtain on the secrets of the mob - as it was decades ago. Most of the allegations date to the 1970s and '80s. But what about today? Experts say the mob is alive and well in the town that was once Al Capone's.

"People say, 'Look at how old these guys are on trial, it's a geriatric organization,' " said John Binder, author of "The Chicago Outfit (IL) (Images of America)."

"What you're seeing is just part of the organization," he said. "They're still doing gambling, they've still got some labour racketeering, they've got their hooks into some unions (and) they're still doing juice lending."

A few years ago, plans for a casino in the suburb of Rosemont were derailed amid concerns about mob ties in the village. And in the late 1990s, one of the largest unions in the United States, the Laborers International, publicly launched an effort to drive organized crime out of its Chicago District Council.

Jurors in the latest trial heard a secretly recorded tape of one of the defendants, Frank Calabrese Sr., talking about collecting "recipes," code for payoffs, in the late 1990s - while he was behind bars.

"What the trial has made clear is even when they are in prison they continue to exert influence and control," said James Wagner, the head of the Chicago Crime Commission, who investigated the mob for years when he was an FBI agent. And although the current trial's defendants are aging, others point out that the Outfit still has people ready to step in and take over for the old mobsters, known as "Mustache Petes."

"They're still there, there's still young guys coming up," said Jack O'Rourke, a retired FBI agent who also spent years investigating the Chicago mob. "And they're still powerful enough to kill guys."

Binder compared the mob to a corporation. "It's important in management to groom people," he said. "The Outfit is good at it; they've shown the ability to bring people up."

Still, the Chicago Outfit is showing its age, say some who have studied it.

"The Chicago mob used to be big time, and now it's just local thugs like Tony Soprano," said Gus Russo, author of a best-selling book about the Chicago mob titled simply "The Outfit."

"There's no doubt they still have some cops on the take, some lawyers, a judge here and there and labour unions. But now they are just a local mob," he said.

Chicago's mob probably lost some of its power because many of the illegal activities it once made money from are now legal, like casinos and state-run lotteries.

In addition, Russo said: "They had pornography, and now that's big business."

The Outfit has other opportunities, however.

"They've still got the sports betting," O'Rourke said. "They've controlled that forever and it is illegal."

But even that business has changed, O'Rourke said, because they way they collect the money has got a bit more genteel than in the old days.

"Now with the gamblers, they don't get tough any more and extort them," he said. "Instead, they're saying, 'You can't play any more.' To the gamblers, that's worse than getting beat up."

Even though some of its influence may be waning, the trial suggests the mob can still pull off the kind of tricks that made it infamous.

After rumours that he would testify at the trial, reputed mobster Anthony Zizzo vanished last year.

Then in January, a deputy U.S. marshal was charged with leaking information to reputed mob boss John (No Nose) DiFronzo about the co-operation and travel plans of Nicholas Calabrese, a key government witness and the brother of defendant Frank Calabrese Sr.

"Now they are more surreptitious than ever before, more cunning and intelligent in the way they operate," Wagner said. "They're not less dangerous or influential."

Thanks to Don Babwin

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