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CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman, John Drummond, and Mike Parker, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (CBS) ― Jury selection resumed on Wednesday in the "Family Secrets" mob trial, as investigators try to find out if a suspicious package found on the Calabrese family's property is connected to the case.

U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel questioned the anonymous potential jurors on answers they had given in a written questionnaire. As he did on Tuesday, Zagel is asking the jurors about how much they know about the case and whether they could be fair.

As CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman reports, U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel on Tuesday questioned 49 potential jurors -- who sat in open court in plain view of the defendants, attorneys and court observers -- but did not ask their names, ages or where they live.

The target number of jurors that will likely be impaneled is 18, including 12 sitting jurors and six alternates.

On Tuesday, some defense attorneys objected to Zagel's decision to seat an anonymous jury. Defense attorney Rick Halprin said it gives jurors the impression that the defendants are particularly dangerous.

"It certainly will not be adverse to the government as far as any assumptions people draw and can only have an adverse impact on the defendants," Halperin said.

"In the interests of the public, we believe the public has a right to know who the jurors were," said Frank Calabrese Sr.'s attorney, Joe Lopez.

But Zagel disagreed and ordered Chicago's first anonymous federal jury in 15 years.

Prospective jurors were asked about family members, their previous knowledge of the case, whether they worked in law enforcement or had been arrested for crimes, and if they thought they could be fair.

They also were asked whether the fact that most of the defendants are of Italian descent and that they would have to listen to profanity on tape recordings would influence how they considered the case.

Potential jurors questioned Wednesday morning included a general manager for a large janitorial firm who answered "I suppose" when Zagel asked if he could set aside what he had already read about the case. When the judge pressed for a more direct answer, the man said he "probably" could be impartial.

Also, a retired candy store owner told the judge she felt her nephew had been treated unfairly by the criminal justice system when he was accused of date rape.

Chicago's biggest mob trial ever could start as early as Thursday.

Once seated, jurors -- to be identified only by court-issued numbers -- will hear allegations against aging defendants accused of a racketeering conspiracy that included at least 18 murders.

Accused are reputed mob boss Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, 78, James Marcello, 65, Frank Calabrese Sr., 70, Paul Schiro, 69, and Anthony Doyle, 62.

Lombardo, Marcello and Calabrese are alleged to be in the hierarchy of the city's organized crime family -- known as The Chicago Outfit -- and are in federal custody. Schiro was convicted five years ago of taking part in a jewel theft ring run by the Chicago police department's former chief of detectives, William Hanhardt. Doyle is a former Chicago police officer.

The most sensational of those was the 1986 beating deaths of Anthony and Michael "Mickey" Spilotro, buried in an Indiana cornfield.


Relatives Turn On Alleged Mobsters
A key witness is mob turncoat Nick Calabrese, brother of Frank Calabrese, Sr., who's expected to name names after taking a guilty plea. Also among the key witnesses is Frank Calabrese Jr., who risked his life to wear a wire against his father while in federal prison.

In an exclusive interview with CBS 2's John Drummond, Calabrese Jr.'s friend., Frank Coconate, said the alleged mobster's son never wanted to get into organized crime.

Frank Jr., wore a wire concealed in headphones when he was in a federal prison in Michigan with his father. Father and son were serving time for loan sharking.

Coconate says Frank Jr., wanted to go straight but his father drafted him as a syndicate soldier.

"Frank had no life," he said. "The father wanted him back on the street collecting juice. Frank said, 'I'm done with that. I'm going to do something to stop all this.'"

Coconate says the son had nothing to gain but keeping an abusive father in jail.

"He's a guy that wasn't made to be an outfit guy. He was a guy that liked sports," Coconate said. "He's just a moral guy that just got dragged into this by his father and it's... sad."


Suspicious Package Found At Calabrese Relative's Home
Meanwhile, there was a scary moment for some Calabrese relatives, and on Wednesday authorities were trying to figure out if it was related to the trial.

A suspicious package was found Tuesday on the North Shore property of the Calabrese family, and investigators are trying to find out if there's a connection to the mob trial that is just getting underway.

The package turned out to be harmless. A defense lawyer in the trial said he believes it was "a hoax bomb."

But sources say this is not the first time troubling items have turned up at the house.

A source told CBS 2 Tuesday night that ominous messages have been left in recent weeks on a car belonging to Kurt Calabrese, the nephew of Nick Calabrese. The source also says that dead rats have been found on Calabrese's doorstep.

For two hours authorities dealt cautiously with the device and the neighborhood was evacuated.

Those dead rats left on Calabrese's car would appear to be a message from a very interested party with the message, "Don't rat out your friends."

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