FBI recordings caught brothers James and Michael Marcello anxiously discussing information in 2003 that their Chicago Outfit associate Nicholas Calabrese might testify against them and others.
On Thursday, Michael "Mickey" Marcello was on the witness stand in Chicago's federal courthouse, reluctantly reliving those undercover recordings in the trial of Deputy U.S. Marshal John Ambrose.
Wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and thick glasses, Marcello, 58, squinted at transcripts of several recorded conversations with his brother and deciphered the vague codes and signals they used to furtively discuss Calabrese's enrollment in the witness protection program.
Marcello testified that he learned of Calabrese's cooperation with law enforcement from reputed mob figure John "Pudgy" Matassa Jr.
Ambrose is on trial on charges that while twice guarding Calabrese, he leaked Calabrese's cooperation to a family friend with alleged mob links, knowing the sensitive information would end up in the Outfit's hands.
Marcello denied directly knowing Ambrose or knowing that Ambrose was allegedly the source to the mob of Calabrese's cooperation.
When asked who he was referring to on one undercover recording when he identified the source as Calabrese's "baby-sitter," Marcello said, "The guy that watches him."
Marcello testified that Matassa indicated that the original source was in law enforcement. But Matassa said he himself was receiving information from another man named "Billy," Marcello said.
Marcello said that he presumed that referred to William Guide, a former Chicago police officer convicted in the Marquette 10 police corruption trial in the 1980s. Guide was a close friend of Ambrose's father, Thomas, who was also convicted in that prosecution and died in prison. But a key 2003 video recording in which the Marcello brothers discuss the source's ties to the Marquette 10 defendants, the initial clue that led authorities to investigate Ambrose, was belatedly removed from evidence Thursday by U.S. District Judge John Grady.
Grady reversed his earlier decision to allow the videotape as evidence even though the jury had already viewed it twice during the trial. "I apologize for making a mistake," said Grady, ordering the jury to ignore that particular videotape and hand in transcripts of that tape.
Prosecutors have argued that Ambrose leaked details of Calabrese's cooperation to Guide with the knowledge that it would reach organized-crime figures. Ambrose's attorneys have admitted that Ambrose talked to Guide about protecting Calabrese but contend he had no criminal intent.
Marcello, serving an 8 1/2-year sentence on racketeering and conspiracy convictions, spent more than five hours on the stand, responding to most questions with clipped, one-word answers. When questioned about his own organized-crime ties or the rank or status of other Outfit figures, including his brother James, he became visibly uncomfortable, stammering answers and pleading ignorance.
Outside the courtroom, Marcello's lawyer, Catharine O'Daniel, said that her client had testified only because he was granted immunity and threatened with an additional sentence for contempt if he did not appear. "He is not here willingly," O'Daniel said. "He's as willing as I am whenever I go to get a root canal."
Thanks to Robert Mitchum
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Robert Cooley Has Advice for Rod Blagojevich
This past week, top FBI informant Robert Cooley e-mailed Newsalert in regards to an ABC TV Chicago story by Chuck Goudie. Blago was rather upset with Chuck Goudie over Cooley's allegation that Blago was a Chicago Mob bookmaker years ago. Here's what Blagojevich told Chuck Goudie:
Cooley e-mailed Newsalert with a suggestion on legal counsel for Blago's lawsuit against Cooley, here's the quote:
Alderman Burke is a powerful Chicago Alderman and tax appeals attorney
. Cooley has accused Alderman Burke in a published book of trying to fix a murder trial for the Chicago Mob, but Alderman Burke didn't sue. Ed Genson and Pat Tuite are also attorneys mentioned in Cooley's book (concerning legal allegations) but they didn't sue either. Cooley also had this bit of advice for Blago:
Dan Stefanski is the former Teamster official who's been accused of ties to the Chicago Mob. The AP reported this story on March 9, 2006:
Blago was willing to give Stefanski a $105,000 a year job.
"That Cooley is a liar," he said. "I am going to sue that (bleepin') Cooley," Blagojevich stated, his face red at this point with apparent anger. He repeated: "I'm going to sue him."
Cooley e-mailed Newsalert with a suggestion on legal counsel for Blago's lawsuit against Cooley, here's the quote:
"If Blago wants to sue me he can hire Ed Burke, or Ed Genson,or Pat Tuite, to represent him."
Alderman Burke is a powerful Chicago Alderman and tax appeals attorney
. Cooley has accused Alderman Burke in a published book of trying to fix a murder trial for the Chicago Mob, but Alderman Burke didn't sue. Ed Genson and Pat Tuite are also attorneys mentioned in Cooley's book (concerning legal allegations) but they didn't sue either. Cooley also had this bit of advice for Blago:"Rod can call Dan Stefanski as a witness."
Dan Stefanski is the former Teamster official who's been accused of ties to the Chicago Mob. The AP reported this story on March 9, 2006:
A top-ranking official in the state Department of Transportation and childhood friend of Gov. Rod Blagojevich is out of a job less than a month after he was arrested for drunken driving, officials said Thursday.
Dan Stefanski was ``informed his services were no longer needed'' in his role as a special assistant to Transportation Secretary Tim Martin last week, department spokesman Matt Vanover said.
Blago was willing to give Stefanski a $105,000 a year job.
Blagojevich Threatens to Sue Cooley Over Bookmaking Allegations
Elevator pitch is the common business term for that short presentation you would make if you had to sell a product or idea to someone in the time span of an elevator ride.
When I (Chuck Goudie) was the only reporter with Rod Blagojevich on an elevator on Tuesday, as soon as the doors closed the ex-governor began his pitch.
It was inside an elevator at the Dirksen Federal Building that Mr. Blagojevich began his pitch, as he and I rode to the 25th floor with only his lawyer and a deputy U.S. Marshal.
The ousted governor had already made his public points on the way in. But once we were behind closed elevator doors, away from the cameras, Blagojevich launched into a pitched tirade about something else: illegal gambling and allegations that he worked as a bookmaker, taking action from sports gamblers before he got into politics.
"That bookmaking story was (bleep)," said Illinois' former leader. "I did not do that. I deny it. It's a (bleepin') lie," he said in what would become an uninterrupted diatribe.
Pointing to me, he said, "This man is a (bleepin') liar. He puts lies on TV."
The target of Blagojevich's elevator pitch: an I-Team report four months ago, shortly after the governor was arrested on corruption charges.
"When I was working with government wearing wire, I reported, I observed Rod, the present governor, who was running a gambling operation out in the western suburbs. He was paying street tax to the mob out there," said Robert Cooley, federal informant.
Cooley made those comments on a Web based interview show. I also spoke to him at length on the phone about his allegations against Blagojevich.
The senior FBI agent who supervised Cooley's undercover work confirmed that Cooley gave officials information about Blagojevich's alleged bookmaking back in 1986. Current federal officials declined to comment. But back in the elevator on Tuesday, Blagojevich was still on a roll.
"That Cooley is a liar," he said. "I am going to sue that (bleepin') Cooley," Blagojevich stated, his face red at this point with apparent anger. He repeated: "I'm going to sue him."
When the doors opened to the 25th floor where Blagojevich was about to be arraigned in court, he adjusted his necktie, composed himself and walked off. A few minutes later pleading not guilty to corruption charges.
The only other words said during Blagojevich's elevator pitch came when I reminded him that the I-Team had offered numerous opportunities to respond to the bookmaking allegations.
In the elevator Blagojevich said he wanted to respond on camera and will and on Wednesday his public relations agent said the ex-governor will talk to the I-Team on camera about this at some point, but not today.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie
When I (Chuck Goudie) was the only reporter with Rod Blagojevich on an elevator on Tuesday, as soon as the doors closed the ex-governor began his pitch.
It was inside an elevator at the Dirksen Federal Building that Mr. Blagojevich began his pitch, as he and I rode to the 25th floor with only his lawyer and a deputy U.S. Marshal.
The ousted governor had already made his public points on the way in. But once we were behind closed elevator doors, away from the cameras, Blagojevich launched into a pitched tirade about something else: illegal gambling and allegations that he worked as a bookmaker, taking action from sports gamblers before he got into politics.
"That bookmaking story was (bleep)," said Illinois' former leader. "I did not do that. I deny it. It's a (bleepin') lie," he said in what would become an uninterrupted diatribe.
Pointing to me, he said, "This man is a (bleepin') liar. He puts lies on TV."
The target of Blagojevich's elevator pitch: an I-Team report four months ago, shortly after the governor was arrested on corruption charges.
"When I was working with government wearing wire, I reported, I observed Rod, the present governor, who was running a gambling operation out in the western suburbs. He was paying street tax to the mob out there," said Robert Cooley, federal informant.
Cooley made those comments on a Web based interview show. I also spoke to him at length on the phone about his allegations against Blagojevich.
The senior FBI agent who supervised Cooley's undercover work confirmed that Cooley gave officials information about Blagojevich's alleged bookmaking back in 1986. Current federal officials declined to comment. But back in the elevator on Tuesday, Blagojevich was still on a roll.
"That Cooley is a liar," he said. "I am going to sue that (bleepin') Cooley," Blagojevich stated, his face red at this point with apparent anger. He repeated: "I'm going to sue him."
When the doors opened to the 25th floor where Blagojevich was about to be arraigned in court, he adjusted his necktie, composed himself and walked off. A few minutes later pleading not guilty to corruption charges.
The only other words said during Blagojevich's elevator pitch came when I reminded him that the I-Team had offered numerous opportunities to respond to the bookmaking allegations.
In the elevator Blagojevich said he wanted to respond on camera and will and on Wednesday his public relations agent said the ex-governor will talk to the I-Team on camera about this at some point, but not today.
Thanks to Chuck Goudie
Youngest Boss of Any of the Five New York Mafia Families to Be Deported to Canada
When Salvatore Montagna, named as the boss of one of the notorious five Mafia families of New York City, was given a choice of where he wished to be deported -- Canada, where he was born, or Italy, where he is a citizen -- he quickly made plans for a return to Montreal.
That decision now leaves Canadian officials scrambling with what to do about a man they know little about. He returns to Canada free of any legal obligation and faces no charges.
Nicknamed "Sal the Ironworker" because of his trade in metal work, Mr. Montagna made headlines in New York when he was named as the acting boss of the Bonanno crime family at the improbably young age of 35. Mr. Montagna's youth led the tabloids to dub him the "bambino boss."
In the United States, officials are not shy about what they think Mr. Montagna has been up to. "He is a made member of the La Cosa Nostra, more specifically the Bonanno Italian organized crime family. Montagna is accused of making violent threats against a U. S. attorney from the Eastern District of New York," said Brandon A. Montgomery, spokesman for U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Mr. Montagna's New York lawyer, George Stavropoulos, said the allegations are "absolutely, categorically denied."
"He is not involved in the Mafia, he is not the boss of the Bonanno crime family or the acting boss of the Bonanno crime family. This is something that the FBI manufactured."
Mr. Stavropoulos said he was unaware of the threat allegation until told by the National Post. "If they had anything to prove what they are alleging they would be indicting him, not deporting him," he said.
Mr. Montagna was born on May 11, 1971, in Montreal, one of three sons born to Italian immigrants. When he was still an infant, the family moved to Sicily, and over the years shuttled back and forth. At the age of 15, Mr. Montagna moved with his family from Montreal to New York, driving through the Lacolle-Champlain border crossing.
Mr. Montagna followed in his father's footsteps, becoming an ironworker and starting his own company after high school. His company, Matrix Steel Co., of Brooklyn, has grown over 10 years into a multi-million dollar enterprise, according to Mr. Stavropoulos.
In New York, he married an American-born Italian woman and the couple has three daughters, all under the age of 10. His marriage also allowed him to become a legal permanent resident of the United States.
In 2001, just as he was thinking of applying for U. S. citizenship, he was subpoenaed to testify in a state gambling case. The prosecutor was unsatisfied with Mr. Montagna's testimony and charged him with criminal contempt.
On October 28, 2003, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years probation. "He plead as opposed to putting up a fight. He thought that was the easy way out," said Mr. Stavropoulos.
It was a decision he regrets. The conviction ended his citizenship plans and last week came back to haunt him.
In 2006, the New York Daily News named him as the acting boss. Several grand juries had been convened; colleagues and metal work competitors were subpoenaed to testify. As many as 30 federal cars were assigned to monitor him, Mr. Stavropoulos said.
No charges came.
Despite the tough talk from officials, the media attention and the investigations -- even at a time when the Bonanno organization was hard hit by senior members becoming police informants, including the long-time boss -- no indictment was filed against Mr. Montagna.
Instead, last week U. S. immigration officials scooped him up and placed him in detention.
Based on his conviction for contempt, deemed a civil violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act, he faced an immigration hearing on Tuesday.
He agreed to be removed to Canada.
"He will remain in ICE custody until his actual departure from the United States to Canada," said Mr. Montgomery of ICE. "Montagna is relinquishing his permanent residency and will be inadmissible if he attempts to request a visa in Canada."
He will not be alone here when he arrives next week. While one brother remains in New York, Mr. Montagna has a brother in Montreal and his parents still frequent the city. "As soon as his children finish school, his wife fully intends to move to Canada to join him," said Mr. Stavropoulos.
"He feels confident coming to Canada. He loves Canada. He said he was happy to be coming to Canada." He will likely sell his home and business and start fresh if he cannot win a reprieve.
Montreal is a city that also has long ties to the Bonanno crime family.
Montreal's Mafia boss, Vito Rizzuto, is currently in a U. S. prison for a gangland murder on behalf of the Bonanno leadership; and several New York gangsters alleged to have associated with Mr. Montagna also have strong links to the city, including Patrick "Patty From the Bronx" DeFillipo and Baldassare "Baldo" Amato.
In 2006, the FBI secretly recorded a conversation between gangsters in which Michael Cassese said that Mr. Montagna is the family's acting boss, according to court documents. "There's nobody in between. That's it," the gangster said of Mr. Montagna's position.
The RCMP is aware of Mr. Montagna's impending trip, said Sergeant Marc LaPorte, but declined to comment on whether there will be any special attention paid to him.
Said Patrizia Giolti, spokeswoman for CBSA: "While I will not comment on the specifics of a case, I can tell you that any Canadian citizen has the right to enter Canada."
Mr. Stavropoulos said Canadians have nothing to fear. "He fully intends to lead a lawful life there and raise his young family."
Thanks to Adrian Humphreys
That decision now leaves Canadian officials scrambling with what to do about a man they know little about. He returns to Canada free of any legal obligation and faces no charges.
Nicknamed "Sal the Ironworker" because of his trade in metal work, Mr. Montagna made headlines in New York when he was named as the acting boss of the Bonanno crime family at the improbably young age of 35. Mr. Montagna's youth led the tabloids to dub him the "bambino boss."
In the United States, officials are not shy about what they think Mr. Montagna has been up to. "He is a made member of the La Cosa Nostra, more specifically the Bonanno Italian organized crime family. Montagna is accused of making violent threats against a U. S. attorney from the Eastern District of New York," said Brandon A. Montgomery, spokesman for U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Mr. Montagna's New York lawyer, George Stavropoulos, said the allegations are "absolutely, categorically denied."
"He is not involved in the Mafia, he is not the boss of the Bonanno crime family or the acting boss of the Bonanno crime family. This is something that the FBI manufactured."
Mr. Stavropoulos said he was unaware of the threat allegation until told by the National Post. "If they had anything to prove what they are alleging they would be indicting him, not deporting him," he said.
Mr. Montagna was born on May 11, 1971, in Montreal, one of three sons born to Italian immigrants. When he was still an infant, the family moved to Sicily, and over the years shuttled back and forth. At the age of 15, Mr. Montagna moved with his family from Montreal to New York, driving through the Lacolle-Champlain border crossing.
Mr. Montagna followed in his father's footsteps, becoming an ironworker and starting his own company after high school. His company, Matrix Steel Co., of Brooklyn, has grown over 10 years into a multi-million dollar enterprise, according to Mr. Stavropoulos.
In New York, he married an American-born Italian woman and the couple has three daughters, all under the age of 10. His marriage also allowed him to become a legal permanent resident of the United States.
In 2001, just as he was thinking of applying for U. S. citizenship, he was subpoenaed to testify in a state gambling case. The prosecutor was unsatisfied with Mr. Montagna's testimony and charged him with criminal contempt.
On October 28, 2003, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years probation. "He plead as opposed to putting up a fight. He thought that was the easy way out," said Mr. Stavropoulos.
It was a decision he regrets. The conviction ended his citizenship plans and last week came back to haunt him.
In 2006, the New York Daily News named him as the acting boss. Several grand juries had been convened; colleagues and metal work competitors were subpoenaed to testify. As many as 30 federal cars were assigned to monitor him, Mr. Stavropoulos said.
No charges came.
Despite the tough talk from officials, the media attention and the investigations -- even at a time when the Bonanno organization was hard hit by senior members becoming police informants, including the long-time boss -- no indictment was filed against Mr. Montagna.
Instead, last week U. S. immigration officials scooped him up and placed him in detention.
Based on his conviction for contempt, deemed a civil violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act, he faced an immigration hearing on Tuesday.
He agreed to be removed to Canada.
"He will remain in ICE custody until his actual departure from the United States to Canada," said Mr. Montgomery of ICE. "Montagna is relinquishing his permanent residency and will be inadmissible if he attempts to request a visa in Canada."
He will not be alone here when he arrives next week. While one brother remains in New York, Mr. Montagna has a brother in Montreal and his parents still frequent the city. "As soon as his children finish school, his wife fully intends to move to Canada to join him," said Mr. Stavropoulos.
"He feels confident coming to Canada. He loves Canada. He said he was happy to be coming to Canada." He will likely sell his home and business and start fresh if he cannot win a reprieve.
Montreal is a city that also has long ties to the Bonanno crime family.
Montreal's Mafia boss, Vito Rizzuto, is currently in a U. S. prison for a gangland murder on behalf of the Bonanno leadership; and several New York gangsters alleged to have associated with Mr. Montagna also have strong links to the city, including Patrick "Patty From the Bronx" DeFillipo and Baldassare "Baldo" Amato.
In 2006, the FBI secretly recorded a conversation between gangsters in which Michael Cassese said that Mr. Montagna is the family's acting boss, according to court documents. "There's nobody in between. That's it," the gangster said of Mr. Montagna's position.
The RCMP is aware of Mr. Montagna's impending trip, said Sergeant Marc LaPorte, but declined to comment on whether there will be any special attention paid to him.
Said Patrizia Giolti, spokeswoman for CBSA: "While I will not comment on the specifics of a case, I can tell you that any Canadian citizen has the right to enter Canada."
Mr. Stavropoulos said Canadians have nothing to fear. "He fully intends to lead a lawful life there and raise his young family."
Thanks to Adrian Humphreys
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The Soprano's Last Supper
The 
Soprano's Last Supper is an interactive dinner show that will have you laughing, dancing and singing. Fast paced entertainment complete with a special scene where you are part of the fun!
Opening: Friday, April 24, 2009 at the Tropicana in Las Vegas
Show Times: 7:00pm Tuesday - Saturday. Doors Open at 6:30pm. Dark on Sunday and Monday.
Ticket Prices: Starting at $55 plus tax
Soprano's Last Supper is an interactive dinner show that will have you laughing, dancing and singing. Fast paced entertainment complete with a special scene where you are part of the fun!Opening: Friday, April 24, 2009 at the Tropicana in Las Vegas
Show Times: 7:00pm Tuesday - Saturday. Doors Open at 6:30pm. Dark on Sunday and Monday.
Ticket Prices: Starting at $55 plus tax
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