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Defense Presents Closing Arguments In Mob Trial

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Aug 28, 2007 7:34 pm US/Central

Defense Presents Closing Arguments In Mob Trial

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CBS 2's John Drummond and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (CBS) ― Defense attorneys in a Chicago mob trial began closing arguments Tuesday, their last shot at swaying jurors who will decide the guilt or innocence of five men accused in a racketeering conspiracy that allegedly included 18 murders.

According to the FBI, James Marcello, known in some circles as "The Little Guy, was the boss of the Chicago Outfit when he was indicted two years ago.

As CBS 2's John "Bulldog" Drummond reports, to buttress their case prosecutors have played secretly recorded conversations between Marcello and his brother Mickey at a federal prison in Michigan.

James Marcello faces a number of charges; the most significant are three murders, two involving the 1986 slayings of brothers Tony and Michael Spilotro.

Marcello's lawyer Marc Martin cut to the chase quickly, hammering away at Nick Calabrese's credibility.

"Nicholas Calabrese is a liar," Martin said. "The physical evidence contradicts what he said."

Martin said Calabrese glommed on to the Spilotro murders as his passport to get out of jail.

"He felt he had to solve the marquee event to get his deal," Martin said.

Martin said the Spilotros would have fled the scene if Nick Calabrese's story was accurate. Nick claimed the Spilotros were greeted by men wearing gloves.

"If this had gone down the way he said, the Spilotros would have been running for the back door, Michael grabbing his gun and saying let's get out of here," Martin said.

Martin said there were too many holes in Calabrese's story.

"It makes no sense because Nick wasn't there," he said.

Prosecutors wrapped up their arguments earlier in the day, reminding jurors what happens to people who cross the Chicago Outfit, as Chicago's organized crime family is known.

"You end up dead," assistant U.S. Attorney Markus Funk said in a 280-minute closing argument that stretched over two days.

Those on trial are reputed mobster Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, 78, convicted loan shark Frank Calabrese Sr., 70, convicted jewel thief Paul Schiro, 70, reputed mob boss James Marcello, 65, and retired Chicago policeman Anthony Doyle, 62. They're charged with a conspiracy that allegedly includes murders, illegal gambling, loan sharking and extortion.

The trial began in June, and Funk recapped highlights for jurors.

He detailed gruesome killings, including that of Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, who was beaten to death along with his brother, Michael, in 1986 and buried in an Indiana cornfield.

Tony Spilotro, known as the mob's man in Las Vegas, was the inspiration for the Joe Pesci character in the 1995 movie "Casino." In the film, Pesci's character was beaten with bats and buried alive.

Funk told jurors the Spilotro brothers were lured to their deaths.

"There's no doubt the Spilotro brothers were murdered by the Chicago Outfit," Funk said.

Funk laid out a road map for jurors that traced the evolution of the case back to a bloody glove -- a key piece of evidence that he said started the chain of investigations that ultimately culminated with the case jurors are set to decide.

That bloody glove, he said, was dropped at the scene of the 1986 murder of Chicago mobster John Fecarotta by Nicholas Calabrese, the government's star witness and defendant Frank Calabrese Sr.'s brother.

Nicholas Calabrese agreed to testify for the government in exchange for avoiding the death penalty for murder, after his DNA was matched to blood on the glove. Nicholas Calabrese testified he shot and killed Fecarotta but accidentally shot himself in the process and dropped the glove at the scene as his fled.

"They always have gloves on, you've got to be careful in this work," Funk quipped.

Nicholas Calabrese has testified that his brother Frank led a campaign to silence government witnesses and rebels within the Outfit.

Frank Calabrese Sr., along with other defendants, took the stand in their own defense. Calabrese said he never joined the mob but admitted doing business with Outfit members and hanging around with them.

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

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