Mob Connected to Multi-State Theft Ring?

There were new details Wednesday about possible mob connections to a multi-state theft ring broken up by Pennsylvania State Police.

Fox 29's Dave Schratwieser reports one of the defendants offered to wear a wire against the local mob and name names -- some very familiar names.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett mentioned possible mob connections to the theft ring. But now court documents and mob experts gave Fox 29 News an inside look at what those connections might be and where they might lead.

Authorities were tight-lipped about possible mob connections during Tuesday's takedown of an interstate theft ring that victimized area golfers, but they didn't deny a potential link. "There's a potential organized crime component, but we can't go into any great detail at this point on that," Corbett said.

The ring allegedly stole credit cards from golfers' cars at local country clubs to finance a $100,000 high-end shopping spree. Troopers wouldn't get specific, but court documents obtained by Fox 29 say accused ringleader Michael Pacitti offered to take troopers on a guided tour of the local mob.

"You've got an individual who was willing to give up some information, wear a wire, talk about organized crime, talk about drug dealing, talk about robberies," Inquirer mob reporter George Anastasia said.

Pacitti told troopers he would "do whatever's necessary" to stay out of jail. He promised to name names, but sources said he never mentioned mob boss Joe Ligambi or his top lieutenants. "It's intriguing because it's just another part of a big pot that's bubbling here," Anastasia said.

According to the court documents, after Pacitti offered to wear a wire against the mob in Philadelphia, he changed his mind, but then offered to give troopers information about one of his co-defendants and his ties to a well-known mobster under investigation across the bridge, in New Jersey.

That mobster was Nicky Scarfo Jr., the target of a wide-sweeping FBI probe. Pacitti said he could connect theft ring suspect Todd Stark to Scarfo. Starks' name already surfaced in that case and sources said he could face federal charges.

"This is all part of an ongoing investigation, an ongoing game, and these guys are caught in the middle of it," Anastasia said.

Sources said Pacitti's documented, but unsuccessful offer to help troopers paints him into a corner with both the mob and investigators. It's still unclear how much he really knows.

Stark on the other hand could be feeling the heat. State police said he and his co-defendants remain behind bars on $50,000 bail.

Thanks to Fox 29

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Are the Mafia and the CIA Conspiring to Silence an American in Canda?

An American man claiming the Mafia and the CIA are conspiring to silence him -- just as they killed his father and grandfather -- was denied refugee protection in Canada because he could not prove the conspiracy in court.

The complicated tale of Michael Ellero, 44, of Phoenix, is told in some 700 pages of self-penned prose, a treatise he claims documents his work for the U. S. Department of Justice, payments by the Mafia to relatives of Hillary Clinton, and a nefarious campaign to destroy him after reporting office misdeeds to his boss -- including the involvement of a lawyer in the death of a colleague.

He claims the CIA used psychological tricks against him and the FBI was investigating his mysterious uncle, who had multiple identities. "My grandfather was killed, my father was killed, and [then] I learned that there was an attempt against me," Mr. Ellero wrote in documents presented in the Federal Court of Canada, seeking emergency permission to stay in Canada.

Family members were coerced to co-operate with the Mafia, his phone calls were intercepted, documents were stolen from his bedroom and his job applications were inexplicably ignored, he said.

He did not get a chance to make his full case, however, because of another alleged conspiracy, this one by Canadian officials, he claimed: He was not permitted to enter his treatise into evidence and portions of the audio recording of his refugee hearing were erased.

Further, he is indignant that a Canadian immigration official suggested he might have a mental problem.

Mr. Ellero came to Canada in 2005 and a month later made a claim for refugee protection.

"Allegedly, his opponents are fearful that the book he has written will be published in due course, thereby exposing the corruption 'in the federal government and elsewhere in the United States,' " Justice Michel Shore wrote in his 17-page ruling. "[He] claims he did not seek state protection from the U. S. authorities because he believes that the police cannot provide physical protection for him against 'the evil and perils of the world.' "

The Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) rejected his claim two years ago because he was found not to be credible. He appealed to the Federal Court to overturn that decision but was denied; he then made an unsuccessful motion for that decision to be reconsidered.

He next claimed that returning him to the United States would place his life in danger. Officials found "no substantial grounds to believe" such a fate awaited him. Mr. Ellero once again took his case to the Federal Court, asking that his pending deportation be halted.

After a hearing in Ottawa last month at which Mr. Ellero represented himself, Judge Shore denied his appeal. "An applicant's subjective fear of returning to his/her country does not constitute irreparable harm. Objective evidence of harm related to danger must be demonstrated," he ruled. "The applicant has not shown that he would be subject to a serious likelihood of jeopardy to his life, liberty or security as a result of the removal."

On Dec. 19,Mr. Ellero was turned over to U. S. officials south of Ottawa. He was inspected by U. S. border guards and released, said Kevin Cosaro, a spokesman for U. S. Customs and Border Protection.

Giovanna Gatti, a spokeswoman for the IRB, declined to comment on the specifics of Mr. Ellero's complaints, but said the Federal Court is the appropriate venue for anyone disputing the handling of their case.

Mr. Ellero could not be reached for comment.

Thanks to Adrian Humphreys

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U.S. Marshal Teaches Students About Witness Protection Program

Taking a page out of a realistic fiction book, some eighth-grade students at St. Patrick’s School on Friday learned that a federal program aimed at toppling crime is literally a life-changing event.

Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Tom Cassels has been in the federal agency since June 1992. He told about 30 students at the Terre Haute private school of his service as a federal marshal in the Witness Security Program, where he worked for about 21/2 years, starting in 1996.

That witness protection program was authorized by the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970 and amended by the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984. Since its inception, more than 7,500 witnesses and more than 9,500 family members have entered the program, according to the U.S. Marshal Service’s Web site.

The program provides for the health and safety of government witnesses, along with their families, whose lives are in danger as a result of testimony against drug traffickers, organized crime members, terrorists or other major criminals. It involves relocating a person to a new community.

“We basically try to remove [witnesses] from an area that is threatening and put them in an area that is not threatening. It is basically a new identity,” Cassels said.

“The vast majority of these people were participants in a criminal activity or organization. The chance that someone is an innocent lamb that just happens to be there does happen, but not in most cases. These are people who weigh the options of going to prison for 30 years or testifying to help bring down people in the upper levels” of an organization, he said.

“No one has ever been killed or injured as long as they abide by the protocols of the program,” Cassels said.

Protocols, Cassels told students, include not contacting family members, friends or former boyfriends or girlfriends. “You have to severe all ties, period,” he said. “If it is grandma’s birthday, you don’t call her. If grandma dies, you don’t go to the funeral. That is one of the most dangerous times. That is when people say, ‘hey, this relative died, let’s see if anyone shows up.’”

“That is one of the main things than can get somebody terminated from the program, as you have to comply with all the restrictions and protocols,” he said.

Another violation is getting arrested, such as for drunk driving. A police department, using a person’s fingerprints, could discover a person’s previous identity. “We can’t lie to another [police] department,” Cassels said.

The students have been reading “Zach’s Lie,” a book published in 2001 by author Roland Smith. The book follows fictional 13-year-old Jack Osborne, whose father flies a small airplane that actually is a front for illegal drug trafficking. After his father’s arrest, his father’s former “business associates” don’t want him to talk. His family is placed into the federal Witness Security Program. Jack Osborne has to change his name to Zach Granger and moves from Texas to Elko, Nev., along with his mother and sister.

To bring the book to life, school librarian Tammy Kikta had students eat lunch family style, much like was done at the Nevada Hotel in the book. In addition, a room was decorated much like a custodian’s work room under a high school stage, where the book’s character gets away from criminals who had discovered the family in Nevada.

Cassels said relocating is “very, very hard, especially on a kid.” He said in some cases, worried parents have not let children “out to play in a year, fearing they would say a name or say where they used to live.”

Still, once placed into a safe environment, which includes a new job, witnesses are generally on their own security-wise, Cassels said. He said witnesses have to get a job and work to support their families. Most of the effort is on their part. If they are willing to work for themselves, the program will work to assist them,” he said.

Christopher Schenck, a 13-year-old eighth-grader at St. Pat’s, said the book and the visit from Cassels taught him the Witness Security Program “is a life-changing program. You really have to leave your life behind.”

Prior to hearing Cassels, students used a computer program to change hair color or eye color, as if in the program. Cassels said he could not comment if that was common practice, but said generally it is enough to geographically move a person to where someone would not recognize him. “It is really enough to hide in plain sight,” he said.

Thanks to Howard Greninger

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More Future Presidential Candidates from Chicago?

The Weather Channel reported record low temperatures across the Midwest Friday, setting new records in Chicago. The wind chill index was fifty degrees below zero at O'Hare Airport. Now everyone wants to run for president just to get out of Chicago.

Thanks to Argus Hamilton

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Is Mob Killer Confined Like Hannibal Lecter?

He may not have been a cannibal like movie madman Hannibal Lecter, but a lawyer for prolific mob killer Frank Calabrese Sr. says the Chicago Outfit boss is confined in jail just like the fictional psychopath in "Silence of the Lambs."

Calabrese attorney Joe "The Shark" Lopez filed a pre-sentencing motion in federal court alleging that "the Defendant (Calabrese, Sr.) is shackled like Hannibal Lecter in the movie 'Silence of the Lambs'. As a result, the Defendant cannot shake his attorney's hand which is a civilized way to greet another person. The Defendant also cannot read a document on his own since his hands are shackled."

Hollywood's Hannibal Lector, a serial killer who would then devour his victims, was entombed in a subterranean prison from homicidally insane. Famously portrayed in 1991 by actor Anthony Hopkins, Lector was restrained in a straight-jacket and a muzzle, intended to prevent him from sinking his teeth into anyone else.

Lopez tells the I-Team that the only restraint not yet used on Calabrese is the protective face-mask. "I am sure it is coming," stated Lopez "and I think he will never leave (solitary confinement.) This is unheard of for a U.S. citizen. It's reserved for terrorists."

Calabrese, known in Outfit circles as "the Breeze," is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 28. The motion, which will be heard in court next Thursday, is aimed at gaining permission for Calabrese to meet with a private investigator hired by Mr. Lopez.

As the I-Team reported in December, Calabrese has been held in solitary confinement after authorities say they determined he was a violent security threat.

"The Defendant does not know which information the Attorney General was provided; but, it is his position that it is false" Calabrese contends in the court motion. "Accordingly, he is ready to submit to a lie detector test along with the persons who may have made false statements to representatives of the United States."

Lopez maintains that it is impossible for Calabrese to prepare for his defense while being held like Hannibal Lecter. "The Defendant's calls are restricted; and, as of today's date, he has not seen his children. He has seen his wife with whom he was allowed a visit through a glass window and shackled" states the motion.

Among the children Calabrese has not seen, is his Frank Jr. who testified against him during the Operation Family Secrets mob murder trial in 2007. Calabrese believes that government prosecutors do not want him investigating what may have motivated his son to become a witness."Namely, the real reason he began to cooperate and the fact he recruited individual "A" to put the spin of the lousy father before the public eye rather than the real reason of avarice and greed," according to the filing.

A spokesman for United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald on Friday declined to comment on the Hannibal Lecter motion.

Thanks to Chuck Goudie

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