High Praise for "Better Off Dead: In Paradise"

John Paul Carinci’s new thriller, Better Off Dead: In Paradise, surpasses Robert Ludlum and Robert Parker and does it with a flair for turning a Caribbean phrase that Jimmy Buffet would envy! A rich and realistic description of the Cayman Islands is the back drop for this page-turning tour de force.

In the original Better Off Dead, we meet Frank Granstino. Frank is a colorful, likable and very believable insurance salesman from Brooklyn, New York that becomes ensnared with the mafia. In the end Frank and his girlfriend Alicia become part of the witness protection program and are sent to heaven on Earth, the Cayman Islands.

In this new thriller, their cover is blown to smithereens and their world is turned upside down. The Mob will stop at nothing for vengeance. Readers will feel their gut reactions to the world of violence that is the mafia. Better Off Dead: In Paradise is not for the faint of heart. The violence is realistic and vivid. The reader will feel the terror right along with Frank and Alicia.

The terrorized couple is forced to flee through the islands, take a trip to New York, and then travel back to the Caribbean. All the while the bad guys are killing and blowing things up in their relentless hunt for revenge. It is only through Frank’s clever nature with the help of Alicia’s FBI experience that they are able to stay a step ahead.

Better Off Dead: In Paradise, is so richly described and the characters and their dialogue is so realistic that the author must have lived through similar action himself, that or done painstaking research. The book has enough twists and turns to satisfy the most ardent thriller fan. It also has more than enough action to attract any reader. The audience is left to guess breathlessly at the ending and almost any reader will guess wrong!

Thanks to Brien Jones.

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Mob Jury Chased After Delivering Verdict

Several members of the jury that took a sledgehammer to the Chicago “Outfit” left federal court Thursday through an underground tunnel to escape the media. They surfaced inside the Kluczynski building across the street, and spilled out onto Jackson Boulevard through glass doors.

When a reporter approached with questions, one man whose vote helped put away some of Chicago’s top mobsters put his arm around a female juror and raised his voice a bit. “Just get away,” he said, before disappearing in the city bustle.

Two female jurors walked away quickly, heading west toward the river, not saying a word to a trailing reporter.

When no comment didn’t stop the chase, one woman relented on the condition she wouldn’t be identified.

“We did the best we could. We thought we did a very fair job. And we were very reasonable with each other so we could do a good job,” she said.

The woman wouldn’t comment on trial details or the mood inside the jury room during deliberations. When asked if she feared the men she’d convicted of racketeering and murder, the woman spoke in a calm, easy voice.

“I don’t have any fear because I’m just a person that’s picked to do this,” she said. “I did my job. I think everybody thought they were (were) very fair.”

Thanks to Mark Konkol

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Family Secrets Mob Trial Murder Charge Verdicts

The jury deliberated on 18 murders and one attempted murder but couldn’t agree on every case. Here’s how they split: “Responsible” means they found the accused responsible; “No Verdict” means they did not.

1. Victim: Michael “Hambone” Albergo
Accused: Frank Calabrese Sr. (Responsible)

2. Victim: Daniel Seifert
Accused: Joseph Lombardo (Responsible)

3. Victim: Paul Haggerty
Accused: Frank Calabrese Sr. (No Verdict)

4. Victim: Henry Cosentino
Accused: Frank Calabrese Sr. (No Verdict)

5. Victim: John Mendell
Accused: Frank Calabrese Sr. (No Verdict)

6. and 7. Victims: Donald Renno and Vincent Moretti
Accused: Frank Calabrese Sr. (No Verdict)

8. and 9. Victims: William and Charlotte Dauber
Accused: Frank Calabrese Sr. (Responsible)

10. Victim: William Petrocelli
Accused: Frank Calabrese Sr. (No Verdict)

11. Victim: Michael Cagnoni
Accused: Frank Calabrese Sr. (Responsible)

12. Victim: Nicholas D’Andrea
Accused: James Marcello (No Verdict)

13. Attempted murder victim: Nicholas Sarillo
Accused: Frank Calabrese Sr., James Marcello (Blank)

14. and 15. Victims: Richard Ortiz and Arthur Morawski
Accused: Frank Calabrese Sr. (Responsible)

16. Victim: Emil Vaci
Accused: Paul Schiro (No Verdict)

17. and 18. Victims: Michael and Anthony Spilotro
Accused: James Marcello (Responsible)

19. Victim: John Fecarotta
Accused: Frank Calabrese Sr. (Responsible)

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10 Mob Hits Committed by 3 of the Mobsters at Family Secrets Trial

A federal jury in Chicago today found three Outfit figures committed 10 gangland slayings at the heart of the Family Secrets mob conspiracy trial.

The jury deadlocked on one murder blamed on a fourth defendant as well as seven other homicides. Earlier this month, the same jury convicted the four defendants as well as a former Chicago police officer of racketeering conspiracy.

In a second round of deliberations decided today, the jury found Frank Calabrese Sr. committed seven murders, James Marcello two murders and Joey "the Clown" Lombardo one murder. As a result, the men face up to life in prison because the slayings were committed in the course of the racketeering conspiracy.

The jury, however, was unable to reach a decision on the one murder attributed to defendant Paul "the Indian" Schiro.

In its decision today, the jury held Marcello–identified by authorities as Chicago's top mob boss when the indictment was announced–-- responsible for the most notorious murders, the 1986 deaths of Las Vegas mob chieftain Anthony Spilotro and his brother Michael whose bodies were found buried in an Indiana cornfield.

The Spilotros' brother, Patrick, grabbed his wife, Kathy, as the verdict was read. "It was a sense of justice being served," he said later of his reaction. "We're just thankful the verdict came down as it did."

The jury also found that Calabrese, portrayed by prosecutors as a ruthless hit man, took part in the 1980 shotgun slayings of William Dauber and wife Charlotte and the 1981 car-bombing of trucking executive Michael Cagnoni.

Lombardo, a legendary mob figure for decades, was held responsible for gunning down Daniel Seifert in front of his wife and young son shortly before Seifert was to testify in court against Lombardo, a former business partner.

The jury deadlocked on whether Schiro, the Outfit's representative in Phoenix who is serving a prison sentence for his role in a mob-connected jewelry theft ring, committed the 1986 murder of grand jury witness Emil Vaci.

The jury was also unable to reach a verdict on six murders attributed to Calabrese and one blamed on Marcello.

The jury convicted the Outfit figures as well as Anthony "Twan" Doyle, a former Chicago police officer, of racketeering conspiracy on Sept. 10 for extorting "street taxes" from businesses, running illegal gambling operations, making high-interest "juice" loans and protecting the mob's interests through violence and murder.

The 18 gangland slayings date back decades.

The prosecution case hinged on the testimony of Calabrese's brother, Nicholas, one of the highest-ranking mob turncoats in Chicago history who linked his brother to many of the murders. Calabrese's son, Frank Jr., also secretly tape-recorded conversations with his imprisoned father. The unprecedented cooperation by relatives of a mob target prompted federal authorities to code-name the probe Operation Family Secrets.

Doyle was convicted of passing on confidential information about the federal probe to a mob friend but wasn't charged in the murders.

The riveting trial, which played out over 10 weeks this summer before overflow crowds in the largest courtroom in the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, marks the most significant prosecution of the Chicago mob in decades.

Thanks to Jeff Coen

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Prosecutors Want FBI Agent's Defense Attorney Booted

Rogue FBI agent Lindley DeVecchio could be forced to find another lawyer on the eve of his blockbuster murder trial if Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes gets his way.

Prosecutors yesterday asked a judge to boot defense lawyer Douglas Grover from the case so they could call him as a witness against his own client.

"I want to put Mr. Grover on the stand," lead prosecutor Michael Vecchione told state Supreme Court Justice Gustin Reichbach. Vecchione said he wanted Grover out because of a meeting the defense lawyer had years ago with a star prosecution witness.

DeVecchio, 66, was indicted last year for allegedly helping mobster Gregory Scarpa Sr. carry out four murders in the 1980s and '90s.

Scarpa, who has since died, was an FBI informer. His ex-girlfriend Linda Schiro is the star witness who met with Grover 15 years ago during a Justice Department probe that cleared DeVecchio.

"Their point is that Schiro is a blatant liar," said Vecchione, adding that Grover met with Schiro and helped influence her.

Grover scoffed at the allegation. He called it tit-for-tat because he had successfully forced two prosecutors off the case.

"Removal of counsel on the eve of trial ... the prejudice would be extreme," said Reichbach, who reserved decision.

The trial is scheduled to get underway next month.

Thanks to Scott Shifrel

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