Here's something definitely worth checking out.

Juror No. 264, who was selected for the Family Secrets jury, is writing for the first time about his experience as a juror on his own family's blog that you can find here.

It's a fascinating and suprisingly funny series of anecdotes about what it's like to go through such an intense experience of sitting on a jury in judgment of some of the worst mob killers in Chicago history, under intense media scrutiny.

The juror's wife also explores what it's like for a spouse to be under great pressure too.

The juror is just getting started blogging on his experiences, so it's well worth plunging into.

Chicago FBI agents on Wednesday morning were searching the home of the
late feared mob leader Angelo "The Hook" LaPietra, which had been the
recent target of burglars who believed a fortune had been stashed
there, including possibly, the 45-carat Marlborough Diamond.

The search began Wednesday morning at the fortress-like home at 30th
and Princeton in the Bridgeport neighborhood, the Chicago Sun-Times
has learned. Agents were apparently interested in seeing if they could
recover any stolen items.

Last month, three men, including Joseph "Jerry" "The Monk" Scalise,
were arrested as they were allegedly casing out the home for a
burglary.

Scalise and one of his partners, Arthur "The Genius" Rachel, were
arrested in 1980 after stealing the Marlborough Diamond from a London
jewelry store. While the men were sentenced to prison for their crime,
the diamond was never recovered, and its fate has been the subject of
decades of speculation.

It was unclear if federal agents were executing a search warrant or if
they were searching the home with the consent of the owner. LaPietra's
daughter still lives in the home and has not been accused of any
wrongdoing.

The search comes after federal agents recently went through the home
of another mobster, Frank Calabrese Sr. FBI agents found more than $1
million in cash and jewelry in that search last month, much of it
hidden in a secret storage area behind a family portrait.

Frank Calabrese Sr.
A federal jury laid seven mob murders on Frank Calabrese Sr.

But that doesn't mean he can't have Christ in his life — at least according to Calabrese Sr.

Calabrese Sr. talks about Jesus Christ a lot in newly released transcripts of secretly recorded conversations between him and his protege, Nicholas Ferriola, the son of late mob boss Joseph Ferriola.

Unlike Calabrese Sr., Ferriola did not go to trial. Instead, Ferriola pleaded guilty in June last year in the Family Secrets case to collecting street tax for Calabrese Sr. while Calabrese Sr. was in prison, as well as running a bookmaking operation with one of Calabrese Sr.'s closest friends, the late mob killer Ronald Jarrett.

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.

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.

Former top Chicago cop William Hanhardt is making a last ditch to get out of prison early.

On Dec. 15, he will turn 79.

By then, he may learn his fate.

While the Hanhardt case isn't the usual focus of this blog, recent filings in the case of the mobbed-up former Chicago chief of detectives provide some fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpses in the days before Hanhardt pleaded guilty to taking part in a multimillion-dollar jewelry theft ring.

A federal judge has rejected a request by crooked cop Anthony Doyle to reconsider his decision to keep Doyle locked up until his sentencing next year.

U.S. District Judge James Zagel decided Doyle was a danger to the community.

And a recent plea by Doyle's legal team, led by Ralph Meczyk, didn't change his mind.

The argument centered on Doyle's loyalty to Frank Calabrese Sr.