Kurt Calabrese had nothing to do with the Family Secrets case.
He didn't testify for the prosecution. He didn't testify for the defense.
But he had one last shot to confront his father, who had beaten him since he was little.
One last shot before mob hitman Frank Calabrese Sr. went away for life, and would be under such a lockdown that Kurt Calabrese would never be able to visit him, not that he would want to.
On Wednesday, Kurt Calabrese took his chance.
He told of the beatings he endured.
How his father threatened to bite the nose off his face, how he threatened to make him disappear.
How Calabrese Sr. would throw things at him, heavy things, like ashtrays, phones, shoes, tools.
And of course, punches.
How his father would get him down on the ground, then keep him down, kicking him.
How his father wouldn't leave him alone, even after the years of abuse, when Kurt Calabrese had nothing to do, wanted nothing to do, with the Family Secrets trial.
How his father had someone put dead rats on his doorstep and a fake bomb on his porch.
Kurt Calabrese stopped the litany of abuse then said something surprising.
"In spite of all this, I forgive you dad," Kurt Calabrese said.
He said he prayed for his father's soul and asked him to apologize.
Frank Calabrese Sr. had only bile for his boy.
"You better apologize for all the lies you told," he said.
He claimed his son stole millions of dollars from him.
"I never took a penny," Kurt Calabrese said.
"To apologzie for something I didn't do would be wrong," Frank Calabrese Sr. said.
"You, Kurt, were treated like a king," he said.
"You never hurt me?" Kurt Calabrese asked his father. "You never beat me? You never threw me down?"
His father denied it all, saying he used a paddle and strap to hit his son on his backside when he was a kid, but that was all.
The prosecution objected to Calabrese Sr. interrupting his son, and the judge brought the last dialogue between the father and son to an end.
Steve, I was there Yesterday to witness the Sentencing of Frank Calabrese,And I must say, That I Never Would of expected his Son Kurt to address his Father in Court.At that moment you could see the rage in Frank`s Face,and know if he wasn`t chained up he would of attack his son.When he said he was sorry to Markus Funk, you know he only said that so he could get out of solitary confinement.
Frank Calabrese was trying his hardest to be nice and Polite in court,But it was to little to late.
John Kaas was on Fox News today talking about the Outfit in the context of the whole Blagojevich circus. He made it sound like the Outfit is as influential as ever, and that the State of Illinois won't be able to clean itself up until it the Outfit is kaput...among other things. This runs contrary to most of the stuff people have been writing in the comments box on this blog; i.e., that the Outfit is dead. Which is it? Is it on its last legs, or are they as powerful, influential, and invisible as ever? Is there anyway to tell, and is there any reason that Kass may have just been sensationalizing the whole thing?
STEVE WARMBIR RESPONDS: I didn't hear John Kass's comments, so I can't respond to them. I think anyone would be hard pressed to make an argument that the Outfit was as powerful as it once was, even in the 1980s.
You can look, over time, at the number of members and associates in the Outfit, as identified by the FBI. Those numbers have dropped significantly over the years.
So, in short, the Outfit isn't dead, but it's certainly nowhere near the peak of its power.
da breeze is done, but the thing to remember is the sons&brother will walk free, to do their thing like sammy da bull, look these guys are no angels ,the sons are just as dangerous as their dad,in a couple of years from now they will be behind bars , or someone wanting a name will clip them, there dad is the stuff of da streets,
we the dad said he would not stop them from being clipped,its over for those guys,
STEVE WARMBIR NOTES: Just for the record, while Nick Calabrese Sr. is a mob hitmen, the sons have never been accused of violent crimes. They've both been out of prison for quite a while and have not returned, so you're prediction already appears not to have come true.
these guy belong in prison, these are some very bad men steve,please write the book i will buy the first copy, if i were wanted by the law i would call you first, you seem fair in your reporting,luv the sun times,
how was the crowd in the courtroom for this sentencing? how far in advance did you have to arrive to get a spot in the courtroom?
STEVE WARMBIR RESPONDS: The courtroom was pretty packed. People got there about 30 minutes early to get a seat.