Mar 9, 2007 8:47 pm US/Central
Reputed Mob Boss Charged With Obstruction
CHICAGO (AP) ―
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Joey "The Clown" Lombardo
CBS
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Wisecracking reputed mob boss Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo and another alleged organized crime figure have been charged with going on the lam to avoid arrest, federal prosecutors announced Friday.
The obstruction of justice charges were approved by a federal grand jury Thursday and tacked onto a sweeping indictment of 14 defendants in a federal investigation of long-unsolved mob murders and other crimes.
Lombardo, 78, and Frank "The German" Schweihs, 77, allegedly went on the lam to avoid FBI agents after prosecutors unveiled the first version of the Operation Family Secrets racketeering indictment in April 2005.
Schweihs was captured deep in the Kentucky hill country in December 2005 and Lombardo was cornered in an Elmwood Park alley in January 2006.
Lombardo lived up to his nickname when brought before U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel, who will preside over the trial set to start in May.
Zagel wanted to know why Lombardo hadn't seen a doctor lately.
"I was supposed to see him nine months ago, but I was -- what do they call it? -- I was unavailable," Lombardo rasped.
Lombardo and Schweihs are being held in the federal government's skyscraper Metropolitan Correctional Center a block from the courthouse in Chicago's south Loop pending trial.
Schweihs attorney Paul Brayman was not reached immediately for comment. A message was left at his office.
Lombardo attorney Rick Halprin said the government could not charge Lombardo with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution because it could not prove that he had crossed state lines -- a key provision of the law.
He said the second choice was charging Lombardo with attempting to "impede and obstruct" efforts to arrest him. But Halprin said that at no time did Lombardo's absence from court impede and obstruct the case.
"I think this time Joey's going to get the last laugh," he said.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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