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Calabrese Sr., Takes Stand In His Own Defense

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Calabrese Sr., Takes Stand In His Own Defense

By CBS 2's John Drummond
CHICAGO (CBS) ― In an historic move in the Mob Family Secrets trial – for the second time this week a reputed mobster testified to defend himself.

Prosecutors say Frank Calabrese Sr., was involved in the more than a dozen murders, a charge he denied on the stand Thursday.

As CBS 2's John "Bulldog" Drummond reports, Calabrese Sr. told the tale of his tough childhood, saying he dropped out of the fourth grade to go to work on a coal truck; then he sold newspapers and joined the Army as an underage teenager.

He was questioned Thursday by his lawyer, Joe Lopez, the epitome of sartorial splendor, in a yellow tie and pink shirt.

The government has portrayed Calabrese Sr., as no milquetoast-type. Among the murders Calabrese was allegedly involved in were the 1980 deaths of mob enforcer William Dauber and his wife, Charlotte, who were gunned down on a Will County road.

The government contends that the killing of mob hit man William "Butch" Petrocelli was another slaying that Calabrese had a hand in.

Frank Calabrese told tales out of school in the late 1990s, when he was secretly recorded by his son Frank Calabrese Jr., when the two men were incarcerated together in Milan Michigan Federal Prison.

Then Nick Calabrese, Frank Calabrese Sr.'s younger brother, began playing ball with federal investigators and has been a key witness against his brother.

Frank Calabrese Sr., told the court Thursday he went off the straight and narrow in the 1960s.

"I was lending money out," he said in court.

Lopez asked, "Were you stealing?"

"Whatever I could get my hands on," Calabrese answered.

Soon Calabrese met Chinatown mob boss Angelo "The Hook" La Pietra. Calabrese said "The Hook" gave him $60,000 to put on the street. That meant loan sharking in a big way, and Calabrese became involved in the juice loan racket.

"Did you ever cause physical injury to a borrower?" Lopez asked?

"Never," Calabrese answered.

About the murders, Lopez asked, "Did you kill Michael Albergo?"

"I definitely did not," Calabrese said. "Why would I want to kill him?"

Calabrese also denied involvement in the 12 other murders.

When asked what his M.O. is, he said, "Earning money."

Court will resume Monday morning when the government will have a chance to cross-examine Calabrese.

(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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