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by CBS 2's John Drummond
CHICAGO (CBS) ― A modern-day Cain and Abel story unfolded Tuesday in federal court, with brother against brother spilling mob secrets in the Family Secrets mob trial.

Grisly details about nine mob murders were finally revealed by star witness Nick Calabrese in Chicago's Family Secrets trial.

CBS 2's John Drummond has been covering the mob for decades, and was there when Nick Calabrese broke the code of silence.

When a group of burglars had the audacity to invade a River Forest home looking for loot they picked the wrong house. The home belonged to the mob's top boss Tony "Big Tuna" Accardo and the score the burglars were looking for was stashed in Accardo's basement.

It was a million dollars in furs and jewelry Accardo had snatched back from the burglars who didn't get the outfit OK when they cracked the safe at Loop jeweler Harry Levinson's store. Levinson, it turned out, was an Accardo pal.

Accardo demanded revenge, and soon the bodies of the burglars began filling up car trunks.

Tuesday Nick Calabrese lifted the veil of mob secrecy relating to the jury how a gang of 10 assassins, including his brother – defendant Frank Calabrese – waited in a Cicero restaurant for two of the unsuspecting victims.

Calabrese said the two men, Donald Renno and Vincent Moretti, "walked toward the kitchen. Everybody jumped on them and they went to the ground."

"My brother had a rope around (Moretti's) neck," Nick Calabrese continued. "The bodies were taken out one at a time and placed in the back seat of a Cadillac.

"Tony Borsellino went out to the car and cut their throats."

When asked why the two men and burglar John Mendell were ordered slain, Calabrese explained, "Don't rob people's homes."

One of the assassins himself became one of the nine victims mentioned Tuesday. Butch Petrocelli, a feared hit man, was tortured and killed because "he was doing things he wasn't supposed to do."

The court was riveted as Nick Calabrese detailed a terror bombing campaign designed to scare and squeeze extortion from suburban businesses.

Among those targeted were Tom's Steakhouse, a popular Melrose Park dining establishment catering to businessmen; Horwath's, a one-time Elmwood Park white-table spot frequented by local politicians; and the Drury Lane Theater in Oakbrook Terrace, operated by the late theater impresario Tony de Santis.

Trucking firms didn't go unscathed, including City Hall-connected Marina Cartage, a South Side facility which has received millions from the Daley administration.

An un-named South Side trucking firm was hit, and porn shops also faced the wrath of the LaPietra street crew. A Near West side store was a recipient of a pineapple.

Chinatown crew chief Angelo "The Hook" LaPietra not only ordered the bombings but was on the job to make sure his minions cut the mustard.

LaPietra's bombing crew included Nick Calabrese; his big brother, defendant Frank Calabrese Sr.; "Big John" Fecarotta; and James di Forti, alias "Poker."

Nick Calabrese told the packed court the bombings were meant to "Send a message...to extort money."

Drury Lane was under construction at the time of the bombing.

"Me and my brother built (the) bomb together," Nick Calabrese said. "I lit the fuse, got out of the car and set it against the building."

The two stuck around long enough to witness the explosion.

"We talked about how loud it was," he said.

Nick Calabrese offered a word of mob advice in dealing with disputes: "It's like the military. You go through the chain of command."

Even outfit honchos have money trouble. Nick Calabrese drew laughs relating how his brother's command to bury $250,000 near Lake Geneva backfired. A year later the dough was wet and stinky. They tried to mask the stench with cologne but that smelled worse.

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