Powered by Blogger.

rss

Friday 14 March 2008

Guilty verdict came crashing down Monday on the Chicago Outfit


Guilty verdict came crashing down Monday on the Chicago Outfit, the five defendants in the Family Secrets conspiracy trial sat still, their faces fixed in emotionless stares.James Marcello, the reputed boss of the mob, didn't appear to blink. Joey "the Clown" Lombardo, a reputed legendary gangland figure, and Anthony "Twan" Doyle, a former Chicago police officer, sat frozen. Paul "the Indian" Schiro's jaw moved, but he was chewing gum.Frank Calabrese Sr., a reputed mob hit man, didn't appear to flinch either as his lawyer held up a folder to hide his client's face from rows of reporters in the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse.The guilty verdicts represent a body-blow to the mob's aging leadership, a determination by the jury that what prosecutors described as a broad conspiracy started by Al Capone had indeed carried through the modern era.But the jury isn't done yet. On Tuesday, jurors are scheduled to begin deliberations anew on the 18 mob slayings at the heart of the case after first hearing argument from prosecutors and defense lawyers. If found responsible for the murders, the four reputed Outfit figures face possible life sentences.
In the end, these reputed mobsters proved not to be untouchable. The jury convicted all five defendants of racketeering conspiracy, finding them guilty of extorting "street taxes," collecting high-interest "juice" loans, running illegal gambling operations and using violence and murder to protect the mob's interests.
The jury also convicted Marcello of bribing Calabrese's brother to try to discourage him from cooperating, Calabrese for extorting "street taxes" from the Connie's Pizza restaurant chain, and Lombardo for obstructing justice by fleeing from authorities after his indictment.
Doyle, the former Chicago cop, was accused of leaking sensitive information about the federal probe to a mobster friend but wasn't implicated in any of the slayings. The lone defendant free on bail, Doyle was taken into custody after the verdict pending a bond hearing Wednesday.
The jurors, their names kept secret even from lawyers in the case, deliberated three days last week and another hour Monday before reaching their verdict.

The verdict appeared to vindicate 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 18 killings. Calabrese's son, Frank Jr., also secretly tape-recorded conversations with his imprisoned father. The unprecedented cooperation by a mob target's relatives prompted federal authorities to code-name the probe Operation Family Secrets.

Another Calabrese son, Kurt, who arrived at the courtroom too late to hear the verdict, said he had mixed emotions about his father's conviction. "I feel bad for all of the victims who are here," said Kurt Calabrese, who was convicted with his father and brother in the 1990s in a loan-sharking scheme. "I hope they're able to move forward, as torn up as they've been, and I hope my family can go on, as torn up as they've been.
"I don't hate him," he said of his father, who was accused during the trial of being abusive toward his family. "I'm not a hateful person."
The judge delayed announcing the verdict more than three hours, allowing some 20 relatives of slaying victims to get to the courtroom.
Ron Seifert, whose brother, Daniel, was gunned down shortly before he was to testify against Lombardo in 1974, said the family's long wait for justice has been difficult.
"I didn't know if this day would ever come," he said. "It's a good, good feeling."
Prosecutors and defense lawyers had no comment on the verdict because of a gag order imposed by U.S. District Judge James Zagel.
In the next round of deliberations, the seven-woman, five-man jury must decide if prosecutors have proven Frank Calabrese Sr. guilty in 13 of the gangland slayings. Marcello has been accused in three killings, including the case's most notorious: the 1986 deaths of Las Vegas mob chieftain Anthony Spilotro and his brother, Michael, whose bodies were found buried in an Indiana cornfield. Lombardo and Schiro, the reputed Outfit representative from Phoenix, are alleged to have taken part in one killing each.
The judge limited the arguments by prosecutors and lawyers in the case to about a combined 2 1/2 hours.

0 comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

van

Pageviews from the past week

van

Drug Enforcement automatically monitors news articles and blog posts tracking breaking news of arrests and drug incidents as they happen worldwide .These inter-active News Reports are followed as they develop. Giving you the chance to comment on breaking stories as they happen. Drug Enforcement alerts you to topics that are frequently linked to and commented upon in the world press. Someone is arrested every 20 seconds for a drug related offense !Readers are solely responsible for the content of the comments they post here. Comments are subject to the Blogspots terms and conditions of use and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or approval of the Drug Enforcement site. Readers whose comments violate the terms of use may have their comments removed or all of their content blocked from viewing by other users without notification.

Popular Posts

Latest Templates

FEEDJIT Live Traffic Map

Friend's Link

Blog Archive

 

Privacy Policy (site specific)

Privacy Policy (site specific)
Privacy Policy :This blog may from time to time collect names and/or details of website visitors. This may include the mailing list, blog comments sections and in various sections of the Connected Internet site.These details will not be passed onto any other third party or other organisation unless we are required to by government or other law enforcement authority.If you contribute content, such as discussion comments, to the site, your contribution may be publicly displayed including personally identifiable information.Subscribers to the mailing list can unsubscribe at any time by writing to info (at) copsandbloggers@googlemail.com. This site links to independently run web sites outside of this domain. We take no responsibility for the privacy practices or content of such web sites.This site uses cookies to save login details and to collect statistical information about the numbers of visitors to the site.We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and would like to know your options in relation to·not having this information used by these companies, click hereThis site is suitable for all ages, but not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 years old.This policy will be updated from time to time. If we make significant changes to this policy after that time a notice will be posted on the main pages of the website.

Latest News

Add to Technorati Favorites
Site Specific Privacy Policy run in accordance with http://www.google.com/privacy.html
We can be reached via e-mail at
copsandbloggers@googlemail.com
For each visitor to our Web page, our Web server automatically recognizes information of your browser, IP address, City/State/Country.
We collect only the domain name, but not the e-mail address of visitors to our Web page, the e-mail addresses of those who communicate with us via e-mail.
The information we collect is used for internal review and is then discarded, used to improve the content of our Web page, used to customize the content and/or layout of our page for each individual visitor.
With respect to cookies: We use cookies to store visitors preferences, record user-specific information on what pages users access or visit, customize Web page content based on visitors' browser type or other information that the visitor sends.
With respect to Ad Servers: To try and bring you offers that are of interest to you, we have relationships with other companies like Google (www.google.com/adsense) that we allow to place ads on our Web pages. As a result of your visit to our site, ad server companies may collect information such as your domain type, your IP address and clickstream information. For further information, consult the privacy policy of:
http://www.google.com/privacy.html
copsandbloggers@googlemail.com
If you feel that this site is not following its stated information policy, you may contact us at the above email address.