CSI Chicago
James "Little Jimmy" Marcello's attorney, Marc Martin, took the tactic of hammering one point repeatedly:
There was no physical evidence linking Marcello to the three murders and one attempted murder he is accused of in the indictment.
Martin reiterated the point again and again.
"You can make the charts as big as you want, it won't hide the hole in the case: no physical evidence," Martin said at one point.
Call it the CSI defense.
The television show has, in general, raised the expectations for some jurors that every crime will have damning physical evidence that's discovered by a crack team of specialists with state-of-the-art equipment.
Martin also worked on the jury not to hold it against Marcello that he's already been in prison for Outfit crimes.
"He did his time. He did it like a man. Just because he was in jail, doesn't make him guilty in this case," Martin said, acknowleding indirectly the hill he's got to climb.
"There's no crime being a mobster," Martin later said. "This is not the Salem witch-hunts."
This may likely be the first time a reputed top mob boss has been compared to the women of Salem, but Martin gets credit for originality.
Thoughts?
"there's no crime in being a mobster". --Marc Martin
actually, there is. it's called the RICO laws. you don't have to actually be caught doing something illegal. all you have to do is be a member of an organization that does something illegal, you're busted.
So, let's see if I've got this right.
According to the RICO laws Cardinal Francis George shares culpability with the Rev. Mark Sorvillo in the skimming fo 200 grand from St. Margaret Marys' parish?
Will Francis be serving his 4 years at a separate facility or will they be going in together?
WARMBIR RESPONDS:
I'm far from an expert on RICO laws. But I think you've got to show a conspiracy first before the cardinal shares culpability.