Trial of reputed mobster, ex-diamond thief begins

The racketeering trial has started in Chicago for a lone reputed mobster convicted three decades ago of helping to steal the 45-carat Marlborough Diamond from a London jewelry store.

The prosecution and a lawyer for the 73-year-old Arthur Rachel delivered opening statements Thursday. Two other co-defendants have already pleaded guilty.

The case drew attention in part because of the men’s ages when they allegedly planned several robberies they apparently botched.

The bald, bespectacled Rachel sat in court Thursday wearing a multicolored, knitted sweater. He used special earphones to help him hear.

Among the evidence prosecutors hauled into court was a bagged-up stepladder the would-be robbers allegedly planned to use in the 2010 burglary of a mob boss’s home. Authorities arrested the senior citizens, all dressed in black, outside the house.