" /> The Outfit on trial: March 2008 Archives
Your local news source ::
      Select a community or newspaper »


tv listings blogs video centerstage entertainment yellow pages jobs media kit advertising info restaurant reviews eating in roger ebert sudoku crossword lottery obits commentary Letters to the editor horoscopes

« February 2008 | Main | May 2008 »

March 20, 2008

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.

March 11, 2008

More than a messenger boy

Michael Marcello wasn't just a messenger boy for his half-brother, mob boss James Marcello, a federal prosecutor argued Tuesday.

But Michael "Mickey" Marcello did run his share of errands.

Like going to pay off the family of mob killer Nick Calabrese to buy his silence. Unfortunately for James Marcello, Calabrese flipped to help the feds.

Or providing payments to his brother's mistress.

But Michael Marcello had more important duties as well.

While federal prosecutor T. Markus Funk did not mention it Tuesday at Marcello's sentencing hearing, Marcello took part in a fascinating meeting with two mobsters in early November 2001, Anthony "The Hatch" Chiaramonti and Frank "The German" Schweihs.

FBI agents witnessed the meeting at a suburban pancake between the men, in which they argued.

There was a dispute over lucrative video poker machines in the suburbs.

A little more than a week later, Chiaramonti was gunned down in south suburban Lyons.

On the body of the mobster was a list of stops where Marcello's company had video poker machines.

Chiaramonti also had a pager number for Mickey Marcello.

At least he's not Frank Calabrese Sr.

FrankCalabreseSr..jpg
Frank Calabrese Sr.

Defense attorneys for Michael Marcello introduced an innovative way to praise their client during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday.

At least he's not mob killer Frank Calabrese Sr.

Attorney Catharine O'Daniel noted that Calabrese Sr., convicted in the Family Secrets trial, tried to bring his two sons into Outfit business.

Michael Marcello wanted his son as far away as possible from that life, O'Daniel argued.

Marcello's son, Sam, made a heartfelt plea for father before U.S. District Judge James Zagel.

"My greatest memories are my times with him," Sam Marcello said.

He said his father rarely missed any of his athletic events and helped turn his life around when he was having a tough time in his teens.

"I don't know many people who have shown that resolute dedication to their children," Sam Marcello said.

"He's a decent man. He's remorseful. Family is everything to this man."

6 more than he bargained for

When Michael “Mickey” Marcello visited his half-brother, Chicago mob boss James Marcello, in prison in 2003, the men talked about the possibility that Michael Marcello would get locked up too.
Michael Marcello told his brother he wasn’t worried.

“What are they going to do, give me two f------ years?” he asked, in a secret recording the FBI made of the visit.

Michael Marcello was off — by more than 6 years, he learned Tuesday.

Marcello, 57 was sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison as part of the Family Secrets mob case, just moments after he wiped away tears while hearing his son and stepson tell the judge how much they loved him.

Michael Marcello ran a lucrative video poker machine operation in the western suburbs and carried out his half-brother’s orders while James Marcello was in prison, authorities say.

“Jimmy is the kind of guy who puts targets of the backs of people,” the late federal prosecutor Mitch Mars said of James Marcello in 2005.

“Mickey is dangerous because he communicates Jimmy’s wishes.”

James Marcello was convicted at trial in September in the Family Secrets case. Michael Marcello pleaded guilty in June but did not cooperate against his brother.

Federal prosecutor T. Markus Funk conceded that Michael Marcello was not the worst of the worst Outfit members, but noted the comparison is relative.

“When you’re talking about the Chicago Outfit, you’re talking about a pretty grim and evil bunch,” Funk said.

Michael Marcello, who worked for the Chicago Sun-Times as a truck driver from 1986 to 1995, apologized for his crimes and said he had nobody to blame but himself.

“I embarrassed myself and my family,” he said.

U.S. District Judge James Zagel sentenced him to nearly the maximum under the advisory sentencing
guidelines.

Zagel suggested that Michael Marcello was maybe “too good of a brother” to James Marcello.

“I think the lesson that you can derive from this . . . is that even when you talk about friends and family, limits have to be drawn,” Zagel said.

Mickey Marcello sentenced

Michael "Mickey" Marcello, the half-brother of mob boss James Marcello, was sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison Tuesday afternoon.

More details to come.

March 10, 2008

Ambrose hearing update

John Ambrose
John Ambrose

Deputy U.S. Marshal John Ambrose has lost his bid to get his admissions to investigators kept out of his upcoming trial on charges he leaked secrets about a star federal witness to the Chicago Outfit.

Ambrose was arguing that any statements he made during a September 2006 interview with U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Grant were coerced and shouldn't be used against him.

Ambrose is accused of leaking details of the witness statement of a man he was supposed to be guarding as part of the witness protection program - mob killer Nicholas Calabrese. Calabrese was the star witness in the Family Secrets trial last year.

U.S. District Judge John Grady found that Ambrose's attorney, Francis Lipuma, raised several good points but rule that prosecutors Markus Funk and Diane MacArthur offered rational explanations for each of Ambrose's complaints.


The interview took place in Grant's large conference room at FBI headquarters. One of Ambrose's bosses lured him there on a ruse. Investigators wanted to talk to Ambrose in a location where he wouldn't be armed, and all visitors to the FBI offices had to leave their weapons at a guard shack.

During the interview with Grant and Fitzgerald, Ambrose asked to go to the bathroom a few times. He was allowed to go, but was accompanied by several agents. The agents even came into the bathroom with him, but not into the stall.

Ambrose pointed to this as an example of over-the-top intimidation tactics. Law enforcement witnesses said they were worried Ambrose could harm himself after just being confronted with evidence of his alleged wrongdoing. And they argued that no visitor to the FBI office goes anywhere unaccompanied, even to the bathroom.

The judge suggested the FBI might have gone a little overboard but found the government's explanation plausible.

Despite losing his motion, Ambrose is still going to trial, his attorney said.

The government has three key pieces of evidence against Ambrose.

They have secret tape recordings of mob boss James Marcello talking with his half-brother, Michael, about "The Babysitter," a secret source the mobsters had inside the Family Secrets investigation. The Marcellos don't mention Ambrose by name, but reveal enough details about Ambrose to identify him, according to the feds.

The feds also have Ambrose's thumb print inside the witness protection folder for Nicholas Calabrese, showing Ambrose looked inside. There was information in the file discussing what Calabrese told investigators about who was involved in various mob hits.

And after winning the court hearing last week, the feds still have Ambrose's statements to them, in which he allegedly admits to many of the allegations.


March 04, 2008

Always follow directions

Deputy U.S. Marshal John Ambrose is in federal court, fighting for his freedom as his attorney tries to convince a judge to throw out incriminating statements Ambrose allegedly made to federal investigators as they told him they had him dead to rights leaking secrets about a star mob witness.

The hearing is in its third day and continues Thursday. (There is no hearing scheduled for Wednesday.)

Plenty of newsworthy nuggets have emerged over the course of the court hearing.

Ambrose, for instance, wore a wire against the man he thought of as a father, according to the hearing.

In September 2006, Ambrose was lured to the FBI offices in Chicago on the ruse that he was going to help in an investigation.

In fact, the feds wanted to talk to him, without Ambrose being armed.

So they set up a meeting at the new FBI offices, where he had to give up his gun before he could pass through security.

Ambrose is accused of leaking information about a man he was guarding who was in the witness protection program - mob killer Nick Calabrese.

Calabrese had been in Chicago to literally show FBI agents where some of the bodies were buried. He would go on to be the star witness in the Family Secrets case.

Ambrose was allegedly paging through Calabrese's file to see who he was squealing on.

That information wound up in the hands of Chicago mob boss James Marcello, who was in prison at the time. Marcello was particularly interested in this because he and Nick Calabrese had taken part in some murders together.

The feds wanted to know how the information went from Ambrose to Marcello. There wasn't a direct connection because Ambrose hadn't visited Marcello in prison.

At first, Ambrose denied leaking the information, then admitted to some of the allegations but stressed he never took money.

Ambrose answered questions but didn't want to wear a wire, especially against the man the feds had in mind.

Ambrose allegedly shared his intelligence on Nick Calabrese with William Guide. Guide was a former Chicago police officer, who had gone to prison along with Ambrose's cop father in the Marquette 10 scandal.

Ambrose's father died of a heart attack in prison, and Guide became like a second father to Ambrose and was exceedingly kind to his family.

Guide also has connections to the mob, according to court testimony, having spent time in prison with mob boss John "No Nose" DiFronzo. Guide has denied any wrongdoing.

Ambrose eventually agreed to wire up on Guide, but he didn't exactly follow directions.

FBI Agent Ted McNamara testified at the hearing on Tuesday that he told Ambrose not to mention the FBI as he was talking to Guide.

McNamara noted, though, that one of the first things that Ambrose did when he was wired up was mention that the FBI was asking him questions about Calabrese.

So either Ambrose, under terrific strain and pressure, simply goofed up.

Or he was tipping his good friend Guide to what was going on.

Either way, his undercover career appeared to produce little of value.

Ambrose was eventually charged, but Guide never has been.

The judge is expected to make a ruling in the case as early as Friday regarding what will be allowed in at Ambrose's trial.