A secret hearing
Under tight security and a blanket of secrecy, the former foreman of the Family Secrets jury took the witness stand Thursday to testify how he heard a mob killer allegedly utter a threat under his breath to a federal prosecutor during the prosecutor’s closing argument.
The alleged threat is at the center of an effort by defense attorneys to get new trials for the five defendants convicted in the biggest Outfit case in recent memory.
The lawyers contend up to four jurors heard the threat, and it biased their deliberations. Prosecutors contend the verdicts should stand.
The jury foreman testified in a courtroom that had been cleared of anyone not directly involved in the case. The courtroom doors were locked. Court officials taped manila envelopes over two courtroom windows and even the crack between the two courtroom doors, so no one could peer in, in an apparent attempt at increasing security.
The foreman testified under questioning from U.S. District Judge James Zagel. Prosecutors and defense attorneys weren’t allowed to ask the man anything.
The juror testified that he was sitting in the middle of the first row of the jury box when he saw mob killer Frank Calabrese Sr. mutter under his breath that prosecutor Markus Funk was “a f------ dead man,” as Funk delivered his closing argument, according to sources familiar with his testimony.
The foreman later contacted prosecutors and told them over a roughly two hour lunch about the threat.
The foreman believed prosecutors had known of the threat, but they hadn’t.
It was clear from the foreman’s testimony Thursday that he discussed the threat with three other jurors, who also saw the threat, during their jury deliberations, but the judge declined to follow up on his questioning, severely limiting any defense attempt at getting a new trial. In general, a judge is prohibited from questioning a juror about deliberations, unless there are extraordinary circumstances, which defense attorneys argued existed here.
“It’s an incomplete record,” said defense attorney, Joseph “The Shark” Lopez. After the foreman testified and left, the courtroom was reopened to the public for the rest of the hearing.
As the hearing appeared to be going poorly for the defense, convicted mob killer Joseph “Joey the Clown” Lombardo expressed his displeasure during a break.
“I’ve never seen such dumb lawyers as these defense lawyers in my life,” Lombardo griped loudly. “Every motion they file, they lose.”
His attorney, Rick Halprin, whose performance at trial received high marks, downplayed the remark.
“Nobody took that personally. It’s just a complaint,” Halprin said. “It’s just his way of saying that we never seem to win a motion.
“It was intended for an audience,” Halprin said, noting Lombardo saw reporters who had entered the re-opened courtroom.
