The Outfit on trial

This is a eulogy Anthony Ortiz wrote for his father and gave to the Sun-Times.

Richard Ortiz was slain in 1983 in Cicero after he ran afoul of the mob.

On Thursday, a jury held Frank Calabrese Sr. accountable for the murder.

Here is the eulogy in full.

Dad, so many years have passed but the memories have never faded. I’m here today to finally say goodbye and that I will always love you. Although I will never forget you I must let you go. Dad I am ready to let you rest in peace and I am ready to live my life.

For 23 years I was unable to do that.

I remember when they told me you were killed, I didn’t believe them, you were to tough to smart to let that happen to you I ran to the tavern I saw all the broken glass, I found your cigar on the ground. I thought that’s all I had left of you. I picked it up and at that moment I thought I became a man. And as a man I thought I new what I had to do .

I battled with the demons inside me. I felt I had to avenge your death. But now, dad, now that I looked into the eyes of the men that took you from us I see men that crave Evil, evil that’s shows no mercy to his neighbor nor his family. I wont become that. Dad I am going to be the father that you couldn’t be, and the father those men chose not to be.

I know you couldn’t be their the times I needed you, but I always felt you were with me.

The times I screwed up and bit off more than I could chew. You were with me. You told me to eat it up and spit it out. Sometimes I choked, Dad.

After my car accident when I was in a coma, You were with me, I felt you, you’re the reason I survived, you told me I had a life to live. I am ready to live it now, Dad.

When my first son was born, you were with me. You told me to treasure every minute with him as if it was my last. If I had only known, Dad.

When son died as an infant, You were with me, You told me he was in a better place. I believe you now. So are you, Dad.

The day of my wedding, You were with me, you told me to Hang in their kid, it’ll be worth it. – it is, Dad.

When each of the children were born, You were with me. You told me to believe in myself and try to be a good role model in how I live my life. I try, Dad.

The things you and I couldn’t do together dad, I will do with my children, and you will be with me. I will feel you there.

And I know you are here now with me, I can feel you. Even though I have to say goodbye, I know you will still be with me.

And I remember the last time I ever saw you, you were not yourself, I knew something was wrong, I wanted to give you a hug and never let go, and I remember telling you that I loved you. Dad, I still do.

Today I will walk away from this trial a better man. For I have learned things.

I have learned from this trial that it’s not the amount of time you share with someone that counts is what you make of that time. I have learned that from Frank Calabrese Jr.

And from his Nick Calabrese I have learned to understand what Martin Luther King meant when he said
“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”

From Mr. Lopez I have learned what Quote Marcus Tullius Cicero meant when he said
"When you have no basis for argument, abuse the plaintiff."

There is a passage in the bible that says –
When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers."
Justice won’t bring my father back, it wont bring us joy,
Justice will however give me peace to let go and the freedom to live my life
After all these years my family and I deserver that much

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No smiles for Frank Calabrese Sr.

Before the verdict in the Family Secrets case, the mobsters put on a good face.

Frank Calabrese Sr. chatted with his attorney, Joseph R. Lopez, a skilled cook, about how to cook lobster tail.

Ever the flirt, Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo flashed a wink and a smile at two female attorneys.

James Marcello gave a wave and a smile to his son, James Jr., a faithful attendee of his father's trial.

Paul Schiro showed the same poker face he did through trial and sat huddled with his attorney.

Then the verdicts came.

Calabrese Sr. was found responsible for 7 of 13 murders.

He licked his lips repeatedly, a quick flick of the tongue, lizardlike, as the findings were read. His eyebrows arched. He leaned slightly forward. When he turned around to look at the gallery, his eyes were red. The killer was slightly teary eyed.

Joseph Lombardo slouched in his chair, his head tilted to the right, held up by his palm. When he was found liable for the Daniel Seifert murder, his head tilted sideways a little bit more. Then he straightened up and stared into space, expressionless.

James Marcello clasped his hands together but otherwise showed no emotion.

And Schiro, the only man out of the four mobsters not found liable for a mob hit, still sat stonefaced, not even a glint of relief of his face.

--Thanks to the crack Sun-Times staff of Abdon Pallasch and Art Golab for their observations from the gallery.

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The jury found Joseph Lombardo, James Marcello and Frank Calabrese liable for a total of 10 murders.

Jurors deadlocked on the remaining eight, including one involving Paul "The Indian" Schiro.

There's been no sentencing date set.

Did all the families get justice?

Did the men get a fair trial?

What's the appropriate punishment?

Let's hear your verdict.

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The jury in the Family Secrets mob trial has reached a verdict on some of the 18 mob murders before them but appear deadlocked on others after eight days of deliberation, the judge in case said Thursday afternoon.

U.S. District Judge James Zagel appeared likely to take what verdicts the jury had reached a decision on and announce them publicly and then poll the jurors on the remaining counts as to whether further deliberation would do any good.

Last Friday, the jury sent the judge a note, asking if it could complete deliberations if it were unanimous on some counts but not on others, the judge revealed for the first time in court.

The judge replied that they could, but only if they had exhausted all reasonable efforts.

The jury is deliberating on which of four defendants — Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, Frank Calabrese Sr., James "Little Jimmy" Marcello and Paul "The Indian" Schiro - are accountable for 18 previously unsolved murders.
All four men and a fifth defendant, crooked retired Chicago cop Anthony "Twan" Doyle, not accused of the murders, were previously convicted of racketeering for their roles in the Chicago Outfit.

If any of the four men are found to have committed a single Outfit murder by the jury, it will likely result in a life sentence for that defendant.

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The jury continues to deliberate today, while attorneys for the Chicago Tribune have asked for the judge to disclose their names after the trial.

Tribune attorneys appeared before U.S. District Judge James Zagel on Wednesday on an emergency motion to ask him to reveal the anonymous jurors' names after their render their verdict.

But the Tribune is going to have to answer several tough questions from Zagel first.

Zagel asked the Tribune if there was any significant 1st Amendment issue if the jurors' names were released immediately after they handed down their verdict - or if the judge waited 48 hours before releasing the names.

He asked them to address the fact that the jury has been promised anonymity - with no mention of ever revoking that anonymity.

He questioned whether the jury should be appointed counsel to address this issue.

Zagel also noted that jurors will be given the opportunity to speak to the media after the verdict in a conference room near the courtroom.

Zagel questioned if there was any significant difference between a juror being given the opportunity to speak to a reporter and a reporter being given the opportunity to ask a juror to talk.

And he asked the Tribune attorneys to address how the news media has covered jurors in high profile trials much more aggressively in recent years.

Lots of tough questions, and the smart money says the judge likely won't be granting the Tribune's request.

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The jury in the Family Secrets case will be getting a transcript of testimony involving defendant Paul "The Indian" Schiro.

The move comes after the jury sent as note to the judge Thursday afternoon regarding the matter.

The judge, in a hearing Friday morning, didn't specify which testimony the jurors wanted but said he would send it back in its entirety sometime today.

Jurors are considering whether Schiro killed his friend and ocassional business partner Emil Vaci in 1986 in
Phoenix.

Vaci was slain because mobsters in Chicago learned that he had been called before a federal grand jury investigating the disappearance of a casino slot machine skim artist. Those mobsters believed Vaci's testimony could hurt them, the prosecution argued.

The prosecution's evidence against Schiro consisted of the testimony of Nicholas Calabrese, who admitted on the witness stand to shooting Vaci several times in the head after grabbing him and throwing him a van.

Calabrese said Schiro took part in the planning of Vaci's murder.

Several other prosecution witnesses confirmed details of Calabrese's testimony, and speculation centered on the jury wanting the transcript of the testimony of one of those witnesses.

The prosecution's evidence against Schiro was probably the thinnest out of the four defendants accused of the mob murders.

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Even though it's half a country away, the Phil Spector trial became an issue briefly Thursday in the Family Secrets trial.

Spector is the famous record producer charged with killing a restaurant hostess in his home. The jury in his case earlier this week informed the judge they were unable to come to a decision, sparking a firestorm of public criticism.

So how would that affect the Family Secrets jury?

That's what defense attorneys in the case wanted to know.

Joseph R. Lopez, the defense attorney for reputed Outfit killer Frank Calabrese Sr., noted that even Jay Leno made a joke about the hung Spector jury last night on his show.

Lopez wanted to find out if the jury felt pressure to reach a decision on the sentencing findings that are before them. Jurors have to decide which out of the four defendants, if any, comitted 18 mob murders.

Calabrese Sr. alone is accused of 13 of them.

But U.S. District Judge James Zagel wasn't buying it.

Zagel said ever since the O.J. Simpson case, people called to serve on juries are well aware that their decisions, in prominent cases, can attract criticism.

"I don't think there's any reason to voir dire the jury because Jay Leno made a joke," Zagel said.

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U.S. District Judge James Zagel denied a defense request to quiz jurors in the Family Secrets case after they took a week off from deliberations.

And Zagel shed some light on why they jury took that time in the first place.

The jurors were given the court's schedule for this month back in August. And the schedule noted the days the judge wouldn't be sitting.

So Zagel suggested that the jurors did not meet for the past four days because they saw the court was not sitting then.

Zagel previously speculated that the issue could be work-related. In other words, jurors saw a month in advance that the court wouldn't be sitting for a few days in September and told their respective employers that they would be in to work those days.

Zagel also praised the jury as hard-working.

Defense attorneys wanted the jury polled in private to find out if jurors had been affected by any of the media coverage of the case in the last few days.

But the judge said he reviewed the coverage and found nothing extraordinary that would have influenced them.

The judge also noted that he has to rely on the jury that it will obey his instruction to ignore media converage. And he has to take action when he has some evidence or indication that it hasn't listened to him.

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The jury in the Family Secrets case took a week off from deliberations.

They will return on Thursday.

No official reason why, but their return coincides with the judge's return from vacation.

But any federal judge could have taken their findings on the 18 murders.

What's your take on the jury's decision to take time off?

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The jury in the Family Secrets case has taken a week off.

In an unusual case that keeps on getting more and more unusual, the jury left Thursday without reaching a decision in the second phase of its deliberations.

And then decided to come back Thursday of next week.

Court officials weren't providing any explanation, other than a one-sentence press release.
One theory centered on the jury, having bonded with U.S. District Judge James Zagel, wanting to wait until the judge returns next week from vacation.

But any federal judge can take the verdict.

Jurors have already found five defendants in the case guilty of racketeering.

Now, they have to decide which of four defendants are responsible for 18 mob murders listed in the indictment.

It's an important decision because it will affect the potential penalties those four men face.

So the jury's delay will likely drive the defendants up a wall.

It also clearly adds to the stress of the families of the murder victims, who want a final answer on the slayings of their loved ones.

And it will likely give defense attorneys in the case ammunition to ask for a mistrial.

Stay tuned.

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A federal judge not only suggested on Wednesday that retired Chicago cop Anthony “Twan” Doyle lied when he took the stand in his own defense in the Family Secrets mob trial.

U.S. District Judge James Zagel also questioned Doyle’s overall judgment because he actually expected a jury would believe him.

Given Doyle’s poor judgment, Zagel declined to release Doyle on bond, two days after he was convicted in the Family Secrets case of racketeering and taken into custody.

Doyle helped the Outfit to track down a mob snitch and kept reputed mob killer Frank Calabrese Sr. posted on evidence linked to an Outfit murder.

Three retired Chicago police officers and Doyle’s daughter have offered to put up their homes for Doyle’s bond — with a total equity of about $500,000.

Doyle’s attorney, Ralph Meczyk, argued Doyle would never take off and leave his friends and family in the lurch.

But Zagel suggested Doyle’s judgment was so bad that Doyle could believe the judge would not have the homes seized if Doyle took off.

The judge said he would have the homes seized.

“The issue is not what I would do,” Zagel said. “But what he thinks he can get away with.”

Still, Zagel asked for more information on the homes that could be posted for Doyle’s bond and said he would then issue a ruling on whether to give Doyle a bond.

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The end is near.

But it's not over yet.

The jury will continue deliberations Wednesday, on whether four defendants committed any of the 18 murders in the indictment.

If any of the men are convicted, it likely means a life sentence for them.

The jury met only a few minutes after both sides gave their arguments on Tuesday. Then they went home.

You told me what you thought of the first set of verdicts.

Keep those opinions coming as the jury renders its verdict on 18 murders.

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The attorney for Frank Calabrese Sr., Joseph "The Shark" Lopez, is a lawyer known in the press world as media friendly.

He's also quick with a quote, eager with a quip.

He's a flashy dresser, from the bottom of his pink socks to the top of the knot in his pink tie.

Like many folks, he enjoys the glare of the media spotlight.

And he appeared to be dying to talk Monday after the guilty verdict.

There was just one problem

The gag order against attorneys in the case hadn't been lifted yet.

The jury still has more to deliberate on.

Lopez happened to leave with Rick Halprin, the attorney for Joseph Lombardo.

Halprin declined to comment to the media horde downstairs in the lobby of the federal building as he was leaving.

Lopez lingered, checking out the courtroom sketch artist drawings.

Halprin reminded him of the gag order.

Lopez still lingered, temptation etched in his face.

Halprin threw out a few choice words.

Seeing no real movement on The Shark's part, Halprin walked back to him and dragged out of the courtroom lobby.

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As the court clerk read out one guilty verdict against him after another, Frank Calabrese Sr. hid.

His lawyer, Joseph "The Shark" Lopez, had lifted a manilla folder in front of Calabrese Sr.'s face, so the people sitting in the gallery couldn't see the look on his face as the verdict was announced.

So what was his facial expression?

Not much, according to intrepid Sun-Times reporter Frank Main, who happened to be sitting in the gallery where he could get a look behind the folder.

Frank Calabrese didn't show much reaction before his lawyer covered his face.

And he wasn't showing much after.

He showed more emotion after the verdict was read, during a court hearing that followed it.

He mouthed words to his son, Nick, who was sitting in the courtroom.

Nick Calabrese responded to his father then left.

Frank Calabrese Sr. appeared distraught to see his son leave.

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Anthony "Twan" Doyle had his bond revoked after the jury found him guilty of racketeering conspiracy in the Famly Secrets case.

Federal prosecutor Mitch Mars argued that Doyle was convicted of a crime of violence.

Namely, Doyle was a juice loan collector for Frank Calabrese Sr. and discussed dealing with a snitch violently.

Doyle's attorney, Ralph Meczyk, protested, saying there was no evidence Doyle ever engaged in any violence at all.

U.S. District Judge James Zagel wasn't buying it and revoked Doyle's bond.

But Zagel held out a strand of hope.

Doyle's wife is seriously ill, and Doyle is the one who takes care of her, Meczyk argued.

Zagel decided to hold a hearing Wednesday to find out more about this and hear some evidence about the issue.

Plus, he wanted to see if any of Doyle's friends or family were willing to post their homes to add to his bond and make it less likely he would flee.

If he fled, of course, the people who posted their homes would lose them.

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Robert Cooley, one of the most important federal witnesses against the mob in Chicago, praised the jury's verdict on Monday in the Family Secrets case.

"It’s a good thing," Cooley said. "Just as well to get those guys off the street. These guys hadn’t been the main guys for 20 years. These guys in their days were bad guys."

Cooley was instrumental in helping the feds shred the mob's political in the 1st Ward.

"You’ll always have mobsters but hopefully they’ll never have that kind of power again. Their power really ended when they got rid of the 1st Ward. That was their power base."

And Cooley, an attorney himself, was puzzled why three defendants took the stand, Joseph Lombardo, Frank Calabrese Sr. and Anthony "Twan" Doyle.

"These guys were their own worst enemy when they got up