A small yet interesting moment in the case
Sometimes in the Family Secrets trial, amid the sweeping narrative of the Chicago Outfit, the small details stand out.
Take the testimony of Ronald Seifert, a Cook County government employee and the older brother of the late Donald Seifert, slain in 1974 after he decided he would be a federal witness against Joseph “Joey the Clown” Lombardo.
The prosecutor called Seifert, in part, to back up the testimony of Daniel Seifert’s widow, Emma Seifert. Emma Seifert said she told Ronald Seifert the day her husband was killed that she believed Lombardo was one of the killers – a statement Ronald Seifert backed up.
Defense attorneys for Lombardo had tried to undermine Emma Seifert’s testimony by pointing out she did not tell police about her belief right away. Emma Seifert she feared for her family’s safety.
But an interesting side note came out during Ronald Seifert’s testimony. He and Lombardo were employed at Daniel’s Seifert’s fiberglass factory for about six months together in the late 1960s.
One day, Daniel Seifert came out of his office with Lombardo to take a photo of Lombardo working in the factory.
Lombardo hadn’t been doing any work before.
“It was kind of funny,” Ronald Seifert testified under questioning by Assistant U.S. Attorney Markus Funk, the youngest prosecutor on the three-man government team and a rising star in the office.
“My brother came up with the comment, ‘This is Joey’s excuse that he’s working hard.’”
Indeed, Lombardo would later use the photo in a court proceeding to show he worked a regular job.
Ronald Seifert described the miserable working conditions in the fiberglass factory, including how the dust from the process would get all over skin.
Seifert said the only way he could work in the factory, even though it wasn’t air conditioned, was in a long-sleeve shirt.
And then came that small detail.
In the picture showing him working, Lombardo was wearing short sleeves.
Sorry Steve, I sort of don't get it. So, because Lombardo was claiming that he had a real job backed by the photo, a testimony by Seifert's brother dispels a funny notion that Lombardo took a picture of himself?
This line is confusing: "One day, Daniel Seifert came out of his office with Lombardo to take a photo of Lombardo working in the factory."
I'm just a little confused because some of the wording is kind of misleading or repititive?
WARMBIR RESPONDS:
Let me clarify.
Daniel Seifert's brother testified that while he saw Lombardo hang out at the Seifert factory, he didn't see him actually do any work there.
The witness thought it was unusual one day to see his brother and Lombardo come out and essentially stage a photo of Lombardo doing some work there.
Seifert's wife also testified that Lombardo hung around the factory but didn't do work.
The prosecution brought this detail out, I suspect, because they anticipate Lombardo will use that photo in his defense to suggest he actually worked a real job at the Seifert factory and wasn't some nefarious player there milking money out of the operation.
Make sense?