Secret's out: Verdict is guilty

A federal jury of seven women and five men Monday found every mob defendant in the Family Secrets trial guilty of racketeering, a move likely to send several of the defendants to die in prison.

With no hesitation or fear in their voices, the jury members one by one stood to answer "yes" or "yes it is" when polled by the court clerk whether guilty was their verdict.

The defendants -- James Marcello, 65, of Lombard; Frank Calabrese Sr., 70, of Oak Brook; Joseph "The Clown" Lombardo, 78, of Chicago; Paul Schiro, 69, of Phoenix; and Anthony "Twan" Doyle, 62, of Wickenburg, Ariz. -- showed little emotion as the verdicts were read. Joe Lopez, the lawyer for Calabrese, held a manila folder in front of his client's face as the verdict was read so reporters could not see his reaction.

The verdict was a clean sweep for prosecutors Mitchell Mars, John Scully and Markus Funk. Besides finding all guilty of racketeering, the jury also found Marcello -- the man prosecutors said two years ago is the boss of the entire Chicago mob -- guilty of running an illegal gambling operation, guilty of obstructing justice by paying witness Nicholas Calabrese hush money, and guilty of conspiring to defraud the government of taxes by not reporting his gambling income.

Calabrese Sr. was also found guilty of extortion for demanding and collecting "street tax" from Connie's Pizza and guilty of conducting an illegal bookmaking operation.

Lombardo was also found guilty of obstruction of justice for remaining on the run several months after a warrant was issued for his arrest in the present case.

"It's great news for the prosecutors and, I think, … for society," said Jim Wagner, head of The Chicago Crime Commission and the first witness for the prosecution in the case.

While the mob continues, Wagner said, "it's a significant blow because it was a vehicle for the public to see how they (mob members) operate."

Jurors today will be asked to decide which of the 18 murders alleged in the case were committed by which defendants, if any. Calabrese is accused of the most murders, 13. The murder accusations are not separate charges but part of the racketeering allegation.

Only Doyle, a former Chicago police officer who gave Calabrese Sr. inside information on the status of the investigation into a mob murder, is not accused of murder. But if the jurors rule the defendants participated -- either by planning or committing -- any murders, it could result in an enhanced sentence of life in prison.

Doyle walked into the courthouse Monday a free man but didn't leave that way. Mars requested that he be taken into custody immediately, a request U.S. District Judge James Zagel granted.

"I am not satisfied that there is clear and convincing evidence that he is unlikely to flee," Zagel said. But he offered Doyle a chance to change the judge's mind on Wednesday, when he will hold a custody hearing.

As lawyers argued over how the jury will be instructed to rule on the murders, Doyle attorney Ralph Meczyk put a hand on Doyle's hand in support. Doyle returned the gesture, patting Meczyk -- who seemed more upset at the conviction than Doyle -- comfortingly on the shoulder.

Marcello, too, seemed to hold no ill will toward his attorney, Marc Martin, kissing him on the cheek before heading back to the Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he is being held.

Relatives of victims of the 18 murders turned out in force Monday to witness the verdict reading, but by and large declined to comment, saying they had been asked by the government to remain silent until the jury finishes its work.

A woman who was a member of one victim's family wept and shook visibly at the verdicts.

One of those present was Dr. Patrick Spilotro, brother of murdered mobsters Anthony and Michael Spilotro. The two, testified star government witness Nicholas Calabrese, were lured to a home in the Bensenville or Wood Dale area on the pretense of being promoted, only to be beaten to death once they entered.

Also present were members of the Seifert family. Daniel Seifert was gunned down in Bensenville in 1974 shortly before he was scheduled to testify against Lombardo in a pension fraud case.

During the trial, witnesses told of clandestine mob rituals where those initiated as "made guys" had their fingers cut, held burning holy pictures and vowed never to divulge the innermost secrets of the Chicago Outfit.

Organized crime experts said the trial was unusual in that it focused on murders that are ordinarily among the deepest and most closely held secrets of the mob.

From the start, prosecutors asked the jurors to forget what they learned from "The Godfather" movies, but the testimony that followed was fit for a Hollywood script.

Jurors heard tales of beatings, shotgun slayings and a chest full of thousands of dollars in cash -- the alleged proceeds of gambling and loan sharking. The chest was buried underground in rural Wisconsin, and when the owners dug it up a year later the bills were putrid and covered with mold.

The mobsters doused the money in cologne to take away the smell, according to testimony in the trial.

The government's star witness was Nicholas Calabrese, brother of Frank Calabrese. He said his brother, when not running his loan sharking business, specialized in strangling victims with a rope and then cutting their throats to make certain that they were dead.

Nicholas Calabrese has pleaded guilty, acknowledges that he was a hit man for the mob and is now cooperating with the government in hopes of avoiding the execution chamber on murder charges.

While the Chicago Crime Commission's Wagner hailed the verdict, he cautioned the public against believing the mob is dead.

The younger mobsters "are out there running things, and the beat goes on for them," Wagner said.

But he was hopeful that the testimony of the owner of Connie's Pizza, James Stolfe, would serve to embolden other business owners still paying extortion money to the mob. Testimony at the trial showed that the mob had "put the arm on" businesses as varied as Drury Lane Theater and the Cellozi-Ettleson Chevrolet dealership in the Western suburbs.

"People can see that they don't have to put up with that, hopefully," Wagner said.

But, again, he said, it was clear much more work needed to be done.

"Once again, you have a Chicago police officer who sold his badge. That, to me, is extremely irritating," Wagner said.

Wagner said Doyle's conviction, along with the recent conviction of former chief of detectives William Hanhardt, shows that an investigation at the department is needed to ferret out who may still be around with loyalties to the mob. While simply being friends with Doyle or Hanhardt doesn't immediately implicate someone, "you can't close your eyes to that," Wagner said.

As recently as last year, a U.S. marshal who was assigned to guard star witness Nicholas Calabrese was charged with passing information to the mob. A mob member who was rumored to be a potential subpoena target for the trial disappeared without a trace last August and is presumed dead.

The Verdict

Ct. 1: Racketeering 0 cellpadding=0> James
Marcello Frank
Calabrese Joseph
Lombardo Paul
Schiro Anthony
Doyle Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty

Ct. 2: Operating illegal gambling business (Marcello only defendant charged): Guilty

Ct. 3: Obstructing investigation by paying hush money to Nick Calabrese (Marcello only defendant charged): Guilty

Ct 4: Extortion of Connie's Pizza: (Frank Calabrese only defendant charged): Guilty

Ct. 5: Operating illegal bookmaking business (Calabrese only defendant charged): Guilty

Ct. 8: Conspiracy to defraud U.S. of taxes (Marcello only defendant charged): Guilty

Ct. 9: Obstructing investigation by fleeing: (Lombardo only defendant charged): Guilty