One of the largest mafia trials in United States history, dubbed Family Secrets because it hinged on the betrayal of a defendant by his brother and son who turned prosecution witnesses, ended on Monday with the conviction of four elderly mobsters and a former Chicago police officer.
After four days the jury, who had been granted anonymity for fear of reprisals, found the five men guilty on all charges. The gang, based in Chicago’s Chinatown, terrorised surrounding neighbourhoods for decades, extracting ”street taxes” and ”juice loans” from local businesses through threats that ranged from harassment to the planting of bombs.
At the centre of the trial was Frank Calabrese senior (70) whose brother and son agreed to testify against him. Nicholas Calabrese gave details of 14 murders that he told the jury he and his brother had been involved in.
They included the killing of Tony ”the Ant” Spilotro, the gang’s head mobster in Las Vegas, who was considered to have become a liability. He was beaten to death and then buried in a field, depicted in the 1995 film Casino.
Detectives found Nicholas Calabrese’s glove, stained with blood, nearby and used it to force him into giving evidence against his brother in exchange for a lesser sentence.
The other defendants included Joey ”the Clown” Lombardo (78) who, true to his nickname, entertained the jury with tales of how he went on the run for 18 months before being arrested. A well-known figure for mob-watchers, he was convicted in the 1980s of bribing a United States senator.
Also now facing life in prison and millions of dollars in fines are James Marcello, said to be Chicago’s most senior mob boss, and Paul ”the Indian” Schiro (69) who was alleged to head the gang’s Phoenix branch.
A former police officer, Anthony ”Twan” Doyle (62) was accused of passing on information about the investigation into the gang to a friend in the mob.
After the guilty verdict was handed down, Ron Seifert, whose brother Daniel was one of the gang’s victims in a 1974 killing, said: ”They proved justice. Knowing it was one thing, proving it was another.”
During the course of the trial the jury heard conversations between Frank Calabrese and his son, which had been secretly recorded by the latter. The father was heard to lament the passing of the heyday of the Chicago mob — there were fewer and fewer members of the family you could trust, he complained. – Guardian Unlimited Â