Thursday, June 23, 2011
Did Jerry Scalise Target Oscar D'Angelo?
Mobbed-up thief Joseph Jerry “The Monk” Scalise allegedly targeted Daley mayoral pal and controversial lobbyist Oscar D’Angelo for a robbery and corresponded with imprisoned Chicago cop William Hanhardt, writing that “Oft times, defendants forget that they DID do the crime,” according to a federal court document filed Tuesday.
Scalise, who is in his early 70s, has a storied criminal career that most recently found him charged last year with two alleged accomplices with conspiring to knock off an armored car at a La Grange bank and rob the home of the late, brutal Chicago mob boss Angelo “The Hook” LaPietra.
The court document, filed by federal prosecutors, lays out the case against Scalise and two other senior citizens, Arthur “The Genius” Rachel and Robert Pullia. The men go to trial next month.
Scalise stole the 45-carat Marlborough diamond in London in 1980, was a reputed member of an Outfit crew of killers called “The Wild Bunch” and more recently was a consultant to famed Hollywood director Michael Mann on his film “Public Enemies.”
The court document is heavily redacted in parts and does not reveal any detail about the men allegedly conspiring to rob D’Angelo, but the criminal deed was never done. D’Angelo, who was involved in scandals in the Richard M. Daley administration, is expected to be called as a prosecution witness at trial against the three men.
The court document does quote at length a letter that Scalise allegedly sent to Hanhardt after Scalise was arrested last year. Federal prosecutor Amarjeet Bhachu contends in the government filing that Scalise admits his guilt in the letter.
Hanhardt, a former Chicago chief of detectives, was sentenced to nearly 12 years behind bars after pleading guilty in 2001 to running a sophisticated theft ring that stole more than $5 million in diamonds and gems from jewelry salesmen across the country. The FBI has contended that Hanhardt was on the take from the mob early in his police career.
“Since I am soon to be out of time (but with, maybe a lot of ‘time’) I am getting as much done . . . while I am out (on bond),” Scalise writes in one letter to Hanhardt, according to the court filing.
“I am finally going through everything with a fine tooth comb and conferring with Eddie G. on a plan of attack,” Scalise wrote, apparently referring to his legendary defense attorney, Edward Genson.
“Oft times, defendants forget that they DID do the crime. So, what do we do to mitigate the charges? The only approach I can see is to attempt to move the goal posts — to make something else the issue. My contention is that the ‘evidence’ is just not good enough. Yes, these culprits were up to something, but the ‘problem’ is in the technological evidence.”
Hanhardt is listed as a prosecution witness. Genson could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.
Thanks to Steve Warmbir
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Father Eugene Klein Pleads Not Guilty
Former prison chaplain Eugene Klein has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he plotted with convicted Chicago mobster Frank Calabrese Sr. to recover a violin reportedly hidden in a hit man's Wisconsin house.
Authorities say Klein, 62, of Springfield, Mo., was released on $20,000 bond after he appeared in a federal courtroom in Chicago on Wednesday.
Klein administered daily communion to Calabrese at the Missouri prison where he's serving a life sentence for 13 murders. He's accused of passing messages with Calabrese and conspiring with two others to try to steal the violin the mobster believed was a Stradivarius worth millions of dollars.
Defense attorney Thomas Anthony Durkin says the case against his client is "preposterous."
Monday, June 20, 2011
Chicago's Violent Crime Task Force - Partnerships Key to Success
As a chilly spring drizzle fell in one of Chicago’s most dangerous neighborhoods, FBI agents and Chicago Police Department officers on the joint Violent Crimes Task Force gathered on a rooftop parking garage for a last-minute briefing before executing a search warrant nearby involving a recently paroled felon.
Members of the task force donned bullet-proof vests and finalized their operational plan. The felon in question was believed to be violating his parole by carrying a sawed-off shotgun, and every safety precaution needed to be taken.
Established in 1989, Chicago’s Violent Crimes Task Force is one of the oldest continuing task force operations in the FBI. The squad, known as VC1, consists of agents and members of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and Cook County Sheriff’s Office who work side by side and are on call around the clock.
“If something happens,” said Special Agent Mark Quinn, who joined the squad in 1994 and has supervised it since 2006, “we respond. Our first priority is public safety.”
The task force handles a variety of violent crimes such as extortion and murder for hire, but the “big three” offenses it investigates are kidnappings, bank robberies, and fugitive matters.
VC1 is staffed by seasoned investigators like Quinn and CPD’s Sgt. Warren Richards—who was leading the search warrant operation—and young agents learning the ropes and getting valuable street experience.
Special Agent Joe Raschke, an 11-year veteran of the squad, remembers that when he first came to the Chicago Field Office, “VC1 was the squad to be on."
"As a young agent you get great experience,” Raschke said, “not just making arrests but interviewing subjects and victims and learning how to deal with a variety of people and situations.”
Sgt. Richards, CPD’s commanding officer on the task force, added, “I like bringing fugitives to justice and locking up bad guys. On this squad I get to do that almost every day.”
On this particular day, however, there would be no arrest. The team moved into place in unmarked vehicles, setting up to cover the front and back of the house where the felon was living. But when the search warrant was executed, the only people in the residence were a woman and her young daughter. The search did turn up the shotgun, under the felon’s mattress. He was now a fugitive, and would eventually be arrested.
Quinn noted that despite the different law enforcement organizations they belong to, there is a strong bond among VC1 members. “The task force setting breaks down barriers between agencies,” he said. “Everyone works together as a team.”
That teamwork pays dividends beyond the task force, too. Relationships have expanded over time so that agents and detectives working all kinds of cases can pick up the phone and get help from their local and federal partners. “Agents and detectives all over the city have each other on speed dial,” Sgt. Richards said.
And members of the task force are always ready to respond, Quinn said. “Whenever there is a murder, kidnapping, or multiple bank robberies and a call goes out for volunteers, even on weekends and evenings, we always get more people than we need.” He added, “If someone is looking for a 9-to-5 type of job in law enforcement, VC1 is definitely not for them.”
Sunday, June 19, 2011
America's Most Wanted Signs Off Due to Cost Cutting by Fox, John Walsh Vows to be Backing Fighting Injustice
John Walsh has said goodbye and thanked viewers of "America's Most Wanted"
for helping bring almost 1,200 fugitives to justice over more than two decades.Walsh told his audience in brief farewell remarks: "You've saved lives and gotten people justice."
The series aired its last weekly episode on Fox on Saturday. Fox has cited high production costs for pulling the plug on the series, which premiered in 1988. But Walsh vows he'll return to television.
He said earlier this week he has heard from other networks, including Fox News Channel. A decision on a new TV home could be announced within two weeks, he said.
Walsh, 65, launched his crime-busting crusade in the aftermath of the abduction and murder of his 6-year-old son Adam in 1981.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
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