Jun 20, 2007 12:03 am US/Central
Suspicious Package Found At Calabrese Family Home
Nephew Of Mob Witness Apparently Targeted In Weeks Leading Up To Much-Anticipated Trial
by Mike Parker
KENILWORTH, Ill. (CBS) ―
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The Calabrese family left their home in an apparent hurry - the backyard was half mowed and the mower left out.
CBS
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 was found Tuesday afternoon at the home in Kenilworth. But as CBS 2's Mike Parker reports, this isn't the first time an incident was investigated there.
As his uncle prepares to testify against the Chicago Outfit, a source told CBS 2 Tuesday night that ominous messages have been left in recent weeks on Kurt Calabrese's automobile. The source also says that dead rats have been found on Calabrese's doorstep.
It was quiet Tuesday night, but earlier in the day police and FBI agents were all over the tony suburb where Kurt Calabrese lives. He is the nephew of one of the 'Family Secrets' prosecutors' key witnesses, Nick Calabrese.
The package turned out to be harmless. A defense lawyer in the trial said he believes it was "a hoax bomb."
For two hours authorities dealt cautiously with the device and the neighborhood was evacuated.
"It's a little frightening," said Kenilworth resident Sean Curry. "You certainly want a fair trial to go down and happen down in Chicago, but certainly when it touches you at home, with your kids, it's a surprise."
There are signs the Calabrese family left in a hurry. The backyard lawn is only half mowed, the mower seemingly abandoned.
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."
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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