The Hulking Figure Called "Twan"

"Twan" -that is the nickname for Anthony Doyle, a retired Chicago police officer who was convicted this week in the operation Family Secrets mob trial. He's the only one of the five defendants not accused of murder.

One of the Chicago mob's worst-kept secrets is corruption, greasing politicians and police to keep organized crime rackets in operation. Among the five men convicted this week of racketeering: Anthony Doyle, a Chicago cop for 21 years. The man they call Twan was the outfit's man in blue.

Sixty-two-year old Doyle is a hulking figure, whose rigid jaw line helps carve an imposing presence. Doyle is a longtime friend and associate of Chicago Outfit boss Frank Calabrese, who was responsible for at least 13 gangland murders, according to federal prosecutors.

Numerous times in 1999, Calabrese paid for Doyle to come to a federal prison in southeastern Michigan. Doyle discussed Chicago mob business with Calabrese, who is known as Frank "the Breeze." Neither man knew the FBI was secretly taping the meetings.

The visits alone violated Chicago police rules that prohibit associating with felons. And when Doyle gave Calabrese information he'd requested about a police murder investigation, straight from a department evidence computer, that was also criminal.

Investigators believe that Doyle sensed Chicago police were on to his relationship with Calabrese and that Doyle tendered his resignation from the police department in 2001 before a federal grand jury could indict him. That way, Doyle was able to receive his Chicago police pension of $2,800 a month, or $34,000 a year.

Since retiring, Doyle has collected nearly $200,000 in pension payments from the city. The director of the police pension board wrote in a letter to ABC7 that they are aware of Doyle's conviction and plan to address the forfeiture of his pension once he is sentenced. A sentencing date has not been set.

Doyle began his defense last June with a trash bin, his lawyers demonstrating for the jury that he started as a city sanitation worker and made it to the police force.

His birth name is actually Passafume, which is Italian. But when he decided to join the Chicago police force, which is historically Irish, he became Anthony Doyle. His police records list him as "Irish/Italian." But through the ethnic transformation, his nickname stayed the same: Twan.

A twan is a popular Chinese doughnut. Literally translated, it means "rice glog." Of course, police are known to be fond of their doughnuts, and Officer Doyle grew up in a section of Chinatown where twans are sold.

On Wednesday in federal court, Doyle asked to be freed on bond until sentencing, offering to post his home in Arizona; his daughter's home and the homes of two retired Chicago policemen as bond.

Judge James Zagel is considering bond but in court questioned Doyle's judgment and did not seem inclined to let him out until sentencing.

Doyle is the only mob defendant not accused of murder.

Thanks to Chuck Goudie

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Criminal Defense Attorney Not Happy with Jury's Vacation

A defense lawyer at Chicago's biggest mob trial in years says he's unhappy about a delay in jury deliberations.

Attorney Rick Halprin represents alleged mob capo Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, and he says he doesn't like surprises. Lombardo and his four co-defendants have already been convicted of taking part in a long-running racketeering conspiracy that included 18 mob murders.

Jurors are now trying to decide if individual defendants are directly responsible for specific murders listed in the indictment. That could boost the maximum sentence to life in federal prison.

After jurors went home last night, U.S. District Judge James Zagel announced that further deliberations would be put off for a week. He didn't give a reason.

Experts suggest the delay's impact on the case is likely to be minimal.

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Whitey Bulger Spotted in Italy?

On April 10, 2007, in Taormina, an Italian city on the island of Sicily, an individual observed a couple they believed to be FBI Top Ten fugitive James J. "Whitey" Bulger and his girlfriend Catherine Elizabeth Greig. The individual was able to take a brief video recording of the Bulger look-a-like and his companion.

To date, the coordinated efforts of the FBI, Massachusetts State Police, Massachusetts Department of Correction, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Italian law enforcement authorities have not been able to exclude the two people photographed in Italy as James J. Bulger and Catherine Elizabeth Greig. A facial recognition analysis was conducted and proved to be inconclusive. Additionally, interviews of associates of Bulger and Greig did not resolve the question for law enforcement that these two individuals were "look-a-likes" or are in fact are Bulger and Greig. Therefore, law enforcement is interested in speaking with anyone who was visiting this area of Italy during the months of March, April, and May of 2007 and may have observed or had contact with the two individuals in the photograph and video.

James J. Bulger was indicted for twenty-one (21) counts of RICO-MURDER and has been a fugitive since January of 1995. Bulger, along with Greig, is known to have traveled throughout the United States and Europe since his indictment and flight. Bulger planned for his life on the run by placing large sums of cash in safe deposit boxes domestically and internationally. Safe deposit boxes have been discovered in Clearwater, Florida (2001), Ireland and England (2002), and Montreal, Canada (2003). It is believed that other safe deposit boxes exist in other locations.

A reward of up to $1,000,000 is being offered for any information leading directly to the arrest of James J. Bulger. Individuals with information concerning Bulger should take no action themselves, but instead immediately contact the nearest office of the FBI or local law enforcement agency. Bulger is considered armed and extremely dangerous. For any possible sighting outside the United States, contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Tips may be directed to 800-CALL-FBI or FBI Tips.

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The Latest on America's Most Wanted

New York/Florida Serial Rapist Capture: AMW has repeatedly profiled the story of a courageous homeless woman who fought off a man who was raping her and in the process, grabbed the chain that dangled around his neck. The New York Police Department's Manhattan Special Victim's Unit has been just as vigilant - working with the victim and trying to find out who that chain belonged to. Nearly two years later, that chain, and the DNA on it has led to the arrest of 43-year-old Louis Alfonso. Cops have charged him with rape and attempted murder in the New York case, and believe he's responsible for a number of other vicious attacks. This Saturday night, we’ll give you all the details on Alfonzo’s arrest.

William Greer: When America 's Most Wanted aired William Greer's story in July, tips flowed in like the Mississippi River . Tip after tip said the fugitive was in New Orleans , so cops are pounding the pavement in the French Quarter right now -- along with the AMW team.

Helen Hill Killer: In New Orleans , young filmmaker Helen Hill and her physician husband Paul were awakened by an intruder -- cops say the next thing they knew, he opened fire. According to police, Paul did the only thing he could, and acted as a human shield to protect his young son.

Pauley Perrette Update: This Saturday night, we’ll give you an update on AMW’s crime fighting partnership with NCIS star Pauley Perrette. Perrette teamed up with AMW to help investigators solve the murder of two young girls: Shannon Paulk in Prattville , Ala. and Raven Jeffries in Detroit . Perrette was touched by Shannon's story because of her own family ties to the Prattville area, so she donated a $10,000 reward to help catch Shannon 's killer.

School Safety: For many youths, going away to college brings about new responsibilities in their lives. Living away from home allows certain freedoms, but also exposes young adults to harsh new realities. This is particularly true when students begin living on their own away from campus. Students for the first time in their lives have to deal with things like paying the phone bill and making sure that rent is in on time. But it also means that they need to be much more aware of the potential dangers that exist once they leave the comfort and security of on-campus living.

Jennifer Birge: Jessica Birge is described as a sweet girl without an enemy in the world. But now, she's nowhere to be found. Police in Texas are looking for new clues in hopes of finding 25-year-old Birge, who went missing on Aug. 11, 2007. This week, join us in the search.

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Mob Trial Jurors Decide to Join Judge on Vacation

Jurors at the racketeering conspiracy trial of five alleged Chicago mobsters broke off deliberations after two days Thursday and the judge said they would not return to finish their work for a week.

U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel, who is presiding over Chicago's biggest mob trial in years, issued a brief written statement through the court clerk's office Thursday afternoon saying the deliberations had ended for the day and would resume again at 9 a.m. next Thursday.

The jury has already convicted the defendants of taking part in a racketeering conspiracy that involved illegal gambling, extortion, loan sharking and 18 long unsolved mob murders.

For the last two days, the jurors have been deciding whether to hold four of the defendants responsible for specific murders listed in the indictment -- something that would boost their maximum sentences for the racketeering conspiracy conviction to life in prison.

In his statement, Zagel did not explain the unusual move of sending the jurors home for a week after they had already started deliberations. He was not at the courthouse on Thursday -- the first day of the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashana. Chief Judge James F. Holderman declined to comment and referred a reporter to Zagel's two-sentence written statement.

Those convicted at the 10-week trial were James Marcello, 65; Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, 78; Frank Calabrese Sr., 70; Paul Schiro, 70, and Anthony Doyle, 62.

All but Doyle are accused in the racketeering conspiracy indictment of responsibility for specific murders -- Calabrese for 13, Marcello for three and Lombardo and Schiro for one each. But they are not charged with murder.

If the jury finds any or all of them responsible for specific murders as charged in the indictment the maximum sentence on the racketeering conspiracy charge will be boosted to life in federal prison.

Otherwise, the maximum for racketeering conspiracy alone is 20 years.

Thanks to Mike Robinson

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