No new trial for reputed Chicago mobster

A reputed Chicago mobster's threat in front of the jury that one of the prosecutors was a "dead man" did not disrupt the court enough to warrant granting a new trial, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel, who presided over last year's landmark Family Secrets mob trial, said the remark did not equal the disruption of alleged gang leader Aaron Patterson at his trial.

An appeals court granted a new trial to Patterson's co-defendant, alleged small-time gang member Mark Mannie, because of concern that Patterson's antics in court might have prejudiced the jury. Among other things, Patterson shouted obscenities, knocked one of his attorneys to the ground and grabbed his other lawyer by the necktie.

At the Family Secrets trial, five reputed mobsters were convicted in September 2007 of taking part in a crime network whose activities included gambling, loan sharking and extortion as well as the murder of witnesses.

Afterward, one of the jurors told the government that while Assistant U.S. Attorney Markus Funk delivered his closing argument, alleged loan shark and hit man Frank Calabrese Sr. called him a "dead man."

The phrase was allegedly prefaced with an obscenity.

The remark had not been generally heard in the courtroom. But the juror said he heard part of it and read Calabrese's lips for the rest.

Zagel said in court papers filed Wednesday that didn't add up to a new trial.

"While not excusing Mr. Calabrese Sr.'s conduct, there is a stark asymmetry between what went on in Mannie and what transpired during the proceedings here," Zagel said.

"There was a litany of outrageous incidents in Mannie," he said. "By contrast there is really one remark at issue here."

The incidents in the Mannie trial "took over" those proceedings, but neither the judge nor any of the attorneys observed Calabrese's remark, Zagel said.

Calabrese's action -- which received wide attention when the issue became public -- was just one of several reasons the five defendants cited in seeking a new trial. Zagel turned down all their requests.

The five currently await sentencing.

Mannie later pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing. Patterson is serving a 30-year sentence in federal prison.