Federal prosecutor Mitchell Mars was telling the jury about a litany of 18 Outfit murders -- solved by federal investigators, not locals -- and he put several corpses at the feet of convicted mobster Frank Calabrese Sr.
"He has left a trail of bodies, literally ..." Mars said Tuesday, as Calabrese began shouting, interrupting him.
"THEM ARE LIES!!" Calabrese shrieked, startling the jury.
It was the real Frank coming out after weeks of suppression in federal court, with that tight little smile of his. It was Chinatown Frank, the scary Frank with the famous thumbs, and federal marshals inched closer lest Frank pop for good.
Mars didn't flinch, and he continued speaking.
" ... during his career with the Outfit."
Then the jury retired to deliberate on the second phase of the landmark Family Secrets trial -- deciding which Outfit figures committed previously unsolved murders -- and my guess is that the jury is ready to be done with this.
What must bother Calabrese, and his co-defendants Joseph "The Clown" Lombardo, Paul "The Indian" Schiro, and James "Little Shamrock" Marcello, is what Mars told that jury.
"This is not a case of guilt by association. It is guilt by participation in a criminal organization that protected itself and its members by homicide," Mars said. "They lived to kill. They lived to have money, and they lived to kill."
The "Them are lies" shriek was the dramatic highlight of the day, but here's one thing that isn't a lie:
Since the Chicago Outfit began controlling select politicians at City Hall, and select businesses and select cops and county judges, there have been hundreds of Outfit hits. And local law enforcement hasn't solved one for more than 40 years. They've only solved a scant few Outfit killings since Paul "The Waiter" Ricca let Al Capone pretend to be boss of Chicago.
I might be wrong. There might be one, or two, solved in the last four decades by local law enforcement, perhaps the real police in blue uniforms, the men and women who don't get promoted because they don't know the secret political passwords. And if I'm wrong, I'm sure that interim Chicago Police Supt. Dana Starks will invite me to Cafe Bionda for lunch and lecture me on my heresy, as legendary Bionda chef and Reserve nightclub fixture Joe Farina whips us up something tasty. But according to a Chicago Tribune investigation in 1989, no Outfit murder had been solved in Cook County in 20 years.
That was 18 years ago.
The report focused on the Cook County sheriff's office, and how high-ranking sheriff's officials "sabotaged investigations of brutal, execution-style murders and covered up evidence of possible crimes of other law enforcement officials, and judges."
Back then, sheriff's officers, the Tribune said, systematically concealed evidence, blocked efforts by other law enforcement agencies to interview witnesses, and hid their own relationships with organized crime suspects in murder investigations.
One of the murders was the 1976 slaying of Michael Curtin, a chemical company executive found facedown in the back of his tan Cadillac in Maywood, strangled, Chinatown-style, and shot twice in the head for good measure.
Curtin's murder was not one of the 18 homicides in the Family Secrets trial.
A tiny black notebook was discovered in Curtin's pocket. In that notebook, the Tribune reported, were the names of Cook County judges and lawyers, with dollar amounts written alongside.
Lt. James Keating seized the evidence, including Curtin's precious little black book, which vanished forever, as did the bullets that were mysteriously removed from Curtin's cold skull. Keating was convicted in 1986 for taking payoffs to protect Outfit vice operations in the suburbs. And in 1989, he was convicted in federal court for racketeering and murder conspiracy.
Since then, he's been in prison. Some literary muse must have whispered to him in the federal pen, because he's written a novel, "All on the Same Side," about the friendships between politicians, local cops and the Outfit.
One of the characters in the book is a so-called Chief William Murphy -- who vaguely resembles former Chicago Police Chief of Detectives William Hanhardt, himself in federal prison for running an Outfit jewelry heist ring with Schiro.
Murphy's buddy is a mob boss named Dominic, who answers to another mob boss named Johnny, who may or may not have been shot in the nose years ago in real life, ruining his looks. And Murphy promises to kill investigations.
The book is fiction, sort of. But here are two facts:
If it weren't for the feds, the Chicago Outfit wouldn't worry about murder cases. And Frank Calabrese wouldn't have to scream "Them are lies" to the jury deciding the rest of his life.
Thanks to John Kass
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Judge Profoundly Unimpressed with Retired Cop at Mob Trial
The judge who presided over Chicago's biggest mob trial in years expressed doubts today about setting bail for a retired police officer convicted in the case, saying his testimony was unbelievable.
Defendant Anthony Doyle's testimony on the witness stand was so hard to believe 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 was released, mistakenly assuming 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 his sick wife needs him to be with her. The decorated former police officer appeared in court today 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, 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's verdict was announced.
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 the tall, broad-shouldered Doyle was a loan collector for Calabrese while also working as a Chicago police officer.
Doyle testified 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.
Thanks to Mike Robinson
Defendant Anthony Doyle's testimony on the witness stand was so hard to believe 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 was released, mistakenly assuming 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 his sick wife needs him to be with her. The decorated former police officer appeared in court today 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, 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's verdict was announced.
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 the tall, broad-shouldered Doyle was a loan collector for Calabrese while also working as a Chicago police officer.
Doyle testified 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.
Thanks to Mike Robinson
Chicago Mob's Family Secrets Told in Rockford
Jurors began deliberating the fate of five defendants Aug. 31 in the 10-week Family Secrets trial in Chicago, and continued Sept. 4. Four of the men are alleged members of the organized crime syndicate known as the Outfit. The defendants are alleged to have been involved in 18 mob murders, according to the federal indictment.
The Chicago Tribune reports: “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.”
If convicted, each man is likely to spend the rest of his life behind bars. The defendants are in their 60s and 70s.
While this real-life spectacle has captivated fans of crime drama all summer, Chicago is not the extent of the Outfit’s reach. Although outshined by a trial epitomizing Chicago’s rich history of organized crime, nine men were sentenced this summer, between May and June, on federal charges of operating an illegal gambling business in Rockford since the 1980s.
The lead prosecutor in the case, U.S. Attorney John Scully, said the ring netted in excess of $500,000.
Indictments were handed down last year, and federal warrants were executed for the arrests of eight local men, all of whom later entered guilty pleas after surrendering peacefully.
Rockford Police and the FBI conducted a joint investigation into the bookmaking business, starting in August 2000, including wire taps and surveillance of the ring’s hub of operations in a 17th Avenue apartment building. Bettors were not charged.
U.S. District Court Judge Philip G. Reinhard sentenced Joseph F. “Pep” Fiorenza to three years probation, eight months of which to be served under home confinement while wearing an electronic monitoring device. In addition, Fiorenza was sentenced to 150 hours of community service, and his passport was ordered to be held by Fiorenza’s probation officer. Fiorenza was fined $10,000 and ordered to forfeit an additional $46,000. Feds initially hoped to seize Fiorenza’s Rockford home, but simply held onto it until the forfeiture was made.
Fiorenza’s sons, Nicolas T. and Rick J., were sentenced to 36 months probation, six months of electronic monitoring under home confinement, 100 hours of community service and ordered to forfeit $15,000 each. Nicolas, of Machesney Park, and Rick were fined $2,000 and $350, respectively. Nicolas’ passport was also ordered to be held for the duration of his probationary period.
John P. “Tiger” Frisella, rumored to be the ringleader, was sentenced to three years probation and six months of electronic monitoring under house arrest. Frisella was also ordered to perform 150 hours of community service, pay a $250 fine and forfeit $20,000. Prosecutors originally sought $500,000 from Frisella from funds they said were associated with illegal gambling activities.
Frank C. Giardono, of Loves Park, was ordered to part with $7,500 in illegal gambling proceeds and ordered to pay a $500 fine in addition to his sentence of three years probation and three months of home confinement with electronic monitoring. Giardono will also perform 75 hours of community service.
Nick Provenzano, also of Loves Park, was ordered to surrender $5,000 and pay a $1,000 fine. He will serve two years of probation and 75 hours of community service. Provenzano is not related to the Rockford Provenzanos of Supplycore fame, according to the local daily.
Judge Reinhard sentenced Charles A. Purin to three years probation, three months under house arrest with electronic monitoring and 75 hours of community service. He also agreed to forfeit $5,000 and pay a $1,000 fine.
John F. Salamone will serve three years probation, pay a $100 fine and forfeit $5,000. Salamone’s aliases include Don Finooch, John Finooch and John Franks.
The ninth man, Joseph W. Saladino, was already in federal custody on weapons charges. He was sentenced to an additional six months in prison and three years of supervised release. In addition, Saladino was ordered to part with $20,000 for his role.
As reported in our May 4-10, 2005, issue with regard to Saladino: “According to court records, after a state trooper searched the trunk of Saladino’s vehicle, police found ‘a loaded 0.380 caliber handgun, an unloaded 0.357 magnum handgun, an unloaded 9 mm fully automatic machine pistol with no serial number, and in excess of 400 rounds of ammunition.’
“’In addition, defendant [Saladino] had two books on how to make silencers, a book on machine lathes, a billy club, two ‘slim jims,’ two bolt cutters, a tree trimming saw, one butcher knife, a pipe wrench, a stocking cap, and two face masks.”
Saladino is the cousin of alleged mob enforcer Frank G. “Gumba” Saladino, who was found dead of natural causes April 25, 2005, when federal agents raided his Hampshire, Ill., hotel room as Operation Family Secrets culminated in the simultaneous arrests of numerous reputed Chicago mobsters.
Saladino, formerly of Rockford, was posthumously named a co-conspirator in the Rockford gambling ring.
“Frank ‘Gumba’ Saladino was allegedly a very busy Outfit killer,” explained Steve Warmbir, a Chicago Sun-Times reporter who has been covering the Family Secrets trial. “He’s been tied to several murders.”
According to Warmbir, Family Secrets prosecutors say Saladino was involved in the murders of John Mendell, Vincent Moretti, Donald Renno, Paul Haggerty and Henry Cosentino—five of the 18 Family Secrets “hits.”
Frank “Gumba” Saladino was long considered Rockford’s liaison to the Outfit, responsible for, among other things, delivering “tributes” to Chicago bosses from operations in Rockford.
The Chicago Tribune reported April 26, 2005, Saladino’s body was found with $25,000 in cash and $70,000 in checks in his room.
As reported in our Feb. 8-14, 2006, issue: “The Rockford Register Star reported that in the early 1960s, Frank ‘often partnered with his cousin Joe.’ Joseph Saladino’s past includes the following:
u “Rape conviction with his cousin Frank G. Saladino of a Winnebago County woman on Oct. 22, 1964.
“Pled guilty in Winnebago County to battery charges on Jan. 18, 1983, and was sentenced to one year of court supervision and a $90 fine.
“Sentenced to two years probation, 200 hours of community service and $3,500 fine for unlawful use of a weapon by a felon on April 8, 1998.”
Joe was recently seen in Rockford looking very well groomed and healthy.
A former Rockford-area bookie familiar with the illegal sports gambling ring alleged one of the key organizers was a prominent business leader. That leader was not among the individuals indicted.
Thanks to Stuart R. Wahlin
The Chicago Tribune reports: “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.”
If convicted, each man is likely to spend the rest of his life behind bars. The defendants are in their 60s and 70s.
While this real-life spectacle has captivated fans of crime drama all summer, Chicago is not the extent of the Outfit’s reach. Although outshined by a trial epitomizing Chicago’s rich history of organized crime, nine men were sentenced this summer, between May and June, on federal charges of operating an illegal gambling business in Rockford since the 1980s.
The lead prosecutor in the case, U.S. Attorney John Scully, said the ring netted in excess of $500,000.
Indictments were handed down last year, and federal warrants were executed for the arrests of eight local men, all of whom later entered guilty pleas after surrendering peacefully.
Rockford Police and the FBI conducted a joint investigation into the bookmaking business, starting in August 2000, including wire taps and surveillance of the ring’s hub of operations in a 17th Avenue apartment building. Bettors were not charged.
U.S. District Court Judge Philip G. Reinhard sentenced Joseph F. “Pep” Fiorenza to three years probation, eight months of which to be served under home confinement while wearing an electronic monitoring device. In addition, Fiorenza was sentenced to 150 hours of community service, and his passport was ordered to be held by Fiorenza’s probation officer. Fiorenza was fined $10,000 and ordered to forfeit an additional $46,000. Feds initially hoped to seize Fiorenza’s Rockford home, but simply held onto it until the forfeiture was made.
Fiorenza’s sons, Nicolas T. and Rick J., were sentenced to 36 months probation, six months of electronic monitoring under home confinement, 100 hours of community service and ordered to forfeit $15,000 each. Nicolas, of Machesney Park, and Rick were fined $2,000 and $350, respectively. Nicolas’ passport was also ordered to be held for the duration of his probationary period.
John P. “Tiger” Frisella, rumored to be the ringleader, was sentenced to three years probation and six months of electronic monitoring under house arrest. Frisella was also ordered to perform 150 hours of community service, pay a $250 fine and forfeit $20,000. Prosecutors originally sought $500,000 from Frisella from funds they said were associated with illegal gambling activities.
Frank C. Giardono, of Loves Park, was ordered to part with $7,500 in illegal gambling proceeds and ordered to pay a $500 fine in addition to his sentence of three years probation and three months of home confinement with electronic monitoring. Giardono will also perform 75 hours of community service.
Nick Provenzano, also of Loves Park, was ordered to surrender $5,000 and pay a $1,000 fine. He will serve two years of probation and 75 hours of community service. Provenzano is not related to the Rockford Provenzanos of Supplycore fame, according to the local daily.
Judge Reinhard sentenced Charles A. Purin to three years probation, three months under house arrest with electronic monitoring and 75 hours of community service. He also agreed to forfeit $5,000 and pay a $1,000 fine.
John F. Salamone will serve three years probation, pay a $100 fine and forfeit $5,000. Salamone’s aliases include Don Finooch, John Finooch and John Franks.
The ninth man, Joseph W. Saladino, was already in federal custody on weapons charges. He was sentenced to an additional six months in prison and three years of supervised release. In addition, Saladino was ordered to part with $20,000 for his role.
As reported in our May 4-10, 2005, issue with regard to Saladino: “According to court records, after a state trooper searched the trunk of Saladino’s vehicle, police found ‘a loaded 0.380 caliber handgun, an unloaded 0.357 magnum handgun, an unloaded 9 mm fully automatic machine pistol with no serial number, and in excess of 400 rounds of ammunition.’
“’In addition, defendant [Saladino] had two books on how to make silencers, a book on machine lathes, a billy club, two ‘slim jims,’ two bolt cutters, a tree trimming saw, one butcher knife, a pipe wrench, a stocking cap, and two face masks.”
Saladino is the cousin of alleged mob enforcer Frank G. “Gumba” Saladino, who was found dead of natural causes April 25, 2005, when federal agents raided his Hampshire, Ill., hotel room as Operation Family Secrets culminated in the simultaneous arrests of numerous reputed Chicago mobsters.
Saladino, formerly of Rockford, was posthumously named a co-conspirator in the Rockford gambling ring.
“Frank ‘Gumba’ Saladino was allegedly a very busy Outfit killer,” explained Steve Warmbir, a Chicago Sun-Times reporter who has been covering the Family Secrets trial. “He’s been tied to several murders.”
According to Warmbir, Family Secrets prosecutors say Saladino was involved in the murders of John Mendell, Vincent Moretti, Donald Renno, Paul Haggerty and Henry Cosentino—five of the 18 Family Secrets “hits.”
Frank “Gumba” Saladino was long considered Rockford’s liaison to the Outfit, responsible for, among other things, delivering “tributes” to Chicago bosses from operations in Rockford.
The Chicago Tribune reported April 26, 2005, Saladino’s body was found with $25,000 in cash and $70,000 in checks in his room.
As reported in our Feb. 8-14, 2006, issue: “The Rockford Register Star reported that in the early 1960s, Frank ‘often partnered with his cousin Joe.’ Joseph Saladino’s past includes the following:
u “Rape conviction with his cousin Frank G. Saladino of a Winnebago County woman on Oct. 22, 1964.
“Pled guilty in Winnebago County to battery charges on Jan. 18, 1983, and was sentenced to one year of court supervision and a $90 fine.
“Sentenced to two years probation, 200 hours of community service and $3,500 fine for unlawful use of a weapon by a felon on April 8, 1998.”
Joe was recently seen in Rockford looking very well groomed and healthy.
A former Rockford-area bookie familiar with the illegal sports gambling ring alleged one of the key organizers was a prominent business leader. That leader was not among the individuals indicted.
Thanks to Stuart R. Wahlin
Dem Are Lies!
The day after a jury of seven women and five men found him guilty of racketeering, bookmaking and extortion, Oak Brook mobster Frank Calabrese Sr. hit his boiling point in court Tuesday, shouting out "Dem are lies!" as a prosecutor detailed his alleged murders.
Assistant U.S. attorney Mitchell Mars was making his closing argument before the second phase of jury deliberations, during which jurors will specify which murders, if any, the now-convicted mobsters committed during the course of their racketeering activities.
Calabrese Sr. had managed to remain silent during the first portion of Mars' presentation, when he recounted how Calabrese Sr. was caught on tape apparently telling his son, Frank Calabrese Jr. about the murder of William and Charlotte Dauber in Will County in 1980. The two were cut off in traffic and then shot to death because the mob thought William Dauber was an informant.
When Calabrese Jr. questioned why Charlotte Dauber was killed too, Calabrese Sr. replied, "Well, what was I supposed to do? Tell her to move over?" Mars said. And Mars' voiced cracked when he recalled another tape showing Calabrese Sr. "talking to his son, almost with glee, about how you can cut a man in half with double-ought shotgun shells. That's as cold as it gets."
Through those accusations, Calabrese Sr. remained silent, as he did through his attorney's attempt to persuade jurors not to find he had committed murder. But only when Mars, in his final rebuttal, remarked on how Calabrese Sr. was, even then, sitting "with a very chilling smile on his face" after "he has left a trail of bodies -- literally" did Calabrese erupt.
"Dem are lies," he barked out, sitting up in his seat.
Two U.S. Marshals moved in, prepared to restrain Calabrese, but Mars continued, ignoring the comment as if Calabrese wasn't even in the room.
District Judge James Zagel glanced at Calabrese, but said nothing, apparently unwilling to interrupt Mars any further.
Jurors, for their part, looked unimpressed by Calabrese's attorney's pleas to not believe the testimony of Nick Calabrese -- the hit man and brother of Frank Calabrese Sr. who testified and linked Calabrese Sr. to 13 murders. One woman yawned repeatedly. Another stared at the floor, his head held in both hands. Still another juror's eyes fluttered almost closed.
If the 12 jurors find unanimously that Calabrese Sr., James Marcello of Lombard, Joseph Lombardo of Chicago and Paul Schiro of Phoenix committed murders as part of their racketeering conspiracy, they face sentences of life in prison.
The jury went home Tuesday without reaching a decision. Deliberations continue today.
Thanks to Rob Olmstead
Assistant U.S. attorney Mitchell Mars was making his closing argument before the second phase of jury deliberations, during which jurors will specify which murders, if any, the now-convicted mobsters committed during the course of their racketeering activities.
Calabrese Sr. had managed to remain silent during the first portion of Mars' presentation, when he recounted how Calabrese Sr. was caught on tape apparently telling his son, Frank Calabrese Jr. about the murder of William and Charlotte Dauber in Will County in 1980. The two were cut off in traffic and then shot to death because the mob thought William Dauber was an informant.
When Calabrese Jr. questioned why Charlotte Dauber was killed too, Calabrese Sr. replied, "Well, what was I supposed to do? Tell her to move over?" Mars said. And Mars' voiced cracked when he recalled another tape showing Calabrese Sr. "talking to his son, almost with glee, about how you can cut a man in half with double-ought shotgun shells. That's as cold as it gets."
Through those accusations, Calabrese Sr. remained silent, as he did through his attorney's attempt to persuade jurors not to find he had committed murder. But only when Mars, in his final rebuttal, remarked on how Calabrese Sr. was, even then, sitting "with a very chilling smile on his face" after "he has left a trail of bodies -- literally" did Calabrese erupt.
"Dem are lies," he barked out, sitting up in his seat.
Two U.S. Marshals moved in, prepared to restrain Calabrese, but Mars continued, ignoring the comment as if Calabrese wasn't even in the room.
District Judge James Zagel glanced at Calabrese, but said nothing, apparently unwilling to interrupt Mars any further.
Jurors, for their part, looked unimpressed by Calabrese's attorney's pleas to not believe the testimony of Nick Calabrese -- the hit man and brother of Frank Calabrese Sr. who testified and linked Calabrese Sr. to 13 murders. One woman yawned repeatedly. Another stared at the floor, his head held in both hands. Still another juror's eyes fluttered almost closed.
If the 12 jurors find unanimously that Calabrese Sr., James Marcello of Lombard, Joseph Lombardo of Chicago and Paul Schiro of Phoenix committed murders as part of their racketeering conspiracy, they face sentences of life in prison.
The jury went home Tuesday without reaching a decision. Deliberations continue today.
Thanks to Rob Olmstead
Mob Killings Outlined for Jury
A day after jurors handed down guilty verdicts in Chicago's biggest mob trial in years, a prosecutor asked them yesterday to take the next step toward sending four defendants to prison for life for a series of "brutal and heinous" gangland killings.
"There was no mercy with regard to these murders — they were cruel, they were ruthless," prosecutor Mitchell A. Mars told jurors as he described the slayings of mobsters Tony "The Ant" Spilotro and his brother Michael Spilotro.
The same jury on Monday convicted five men of racketeering conspiracy and other charges involving decades of loan sharking, gambling extortion and 18 unsolved organized crime killings tied to the Chicago mob.
Prosecutors now want the jury to hold four of the defendants responsible for specific killings, qualifying them for life sentences. U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel will make the final decision on each defendant's sentence.
Mr. Mars described the 18 killings outlined in the indictment and what prosecutors see as the role of each defendant.
His voice cracked with emotion as he recalled how a bomb planted in businessman Michael Cagnoni's car almost killed Mr. Cagnoni's wife and child. "I can't think of anything more shockingly evil than the homicide of Michael Cagnoni," Mr. Mars said.
Facing life sentences are purported mob boss James Marcello, 65, purported capo Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, 78, convicted loan shark Frank Calabrese Sr., 70, and convicted jewel thief Paul Schiro, 70. The fifth defendant convicted Monday, retired Chicago policeman Anthony Doyle, 62, is not accused of taking part in a killing.
Calabrese is accused of the most killings: 13. During the trial, he denied being a mob member and said he did not kill anyone.
Marcello is blamed for the June 1986 killings of Tony Spilotro, long the Chicago mob's man in Las Vegas and the inspiration for Joe Pesci's character in the movie "Casino." He and his brother were fatally beaten and buried in an Indiana cornfield.
The government's star witness, Nicholas Calabrese, brother of Frank Calabrese Sr., testified that he helped kill Michael Spilotro while other mobsters killed Tony Spilotro in the basement of a suburban home. He testified that Marcello lured the Spilotros to their death.
Marcello defense attorney Thomas Breen appealed to jurors to disregard the testimony of Nicholas Calabrese, saying he was an admitted hit man who would say anything to get a deal from prosecutors that would keep him from the execution chamber.
Mr. Breen said Nicholas Calabrese thought that to cut a plea deal, "the marquee, the five-star case that has to be cleared, is the Spilotro case."
"There was no mercy with regard to these murders — they were cruel, they were ruthless," prosecutor Mitchell A. Mars told jurors as he described the slayings of mobsters Tony "The Ant" Spilotro and his brother Michael Spilotro.
The same jury on Monday convicted five men of racketeering conspiracy and other charges involving decades of loan sharking, gambling extortion and 18 unsolved organized crime killings tied to the Chicago mob.Prosecutors now want the jury to hold four of the defendants responsible for specific killings, qualifying them for life sentences. U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel will make the final decision on each defendant's sentence.
Mr. Mars described the 18 killings outlined in the indictment and what prosecutors see as the role of each defendant.
His voice cracked with emotion as he recalled how a bomb planted in businessman Michael Cagnoni's car almost killed Mr. Cagnoni's wife and child. "I can't think of anything more shockingly evil than the homicide of Michael Cagnoni," Mr. Mars said.
Facing life sentences are purported mob boss James Marcello, 65, purported capo Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, 78, convicted loan shark Frank Calabrese Sr., 70, and convicted jewel thief Paul Schiro, 70. The fifth defendant convicted Monday, retired Chicago policeman Anthony Doyle, 62, is not accused of taking part in a killing.
Calabrese is accused of the most killings: 13. During the trial, he denied being a mob member and said he did not kill anyone.
Marcello is blamed for the June 1986 killings of Tony Spilotro, long the Chicago mob's man in Las Vegas and the inspiration for Joe Pesci's character in the movie "Casino." He and his brother were fatally beaten and buried in an Indiana cornfield.
The government's star witness, Nicholas Calabrese, brother of Frank Calabrese Sr., testified that he helped kill Michael Spilotro while other mobsters killed Tony Spilotro in the basement of a suburban home. He testified that Marcello lured the Spilotros to their death.
Marcello defense attorney Thomas Breen appealed to jurors to disregard the testimony of Nicholas Calabrese, saying he was an admitted hit man who would say anything to get a deal from prosecutors that would keep him from the execution chamber.
Mr. Breen said Nicholas Calabrese thought that to cut a plea deal, "the marquee, the five-star case that has to be cleared, is the Spilotro case."
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