Aug 29, 2007 11:28 pm US/Central
Major Chicago Mob Trial In Its Final Hours
Defense Attorneys Hammer Away At Credibility Of Government Witnesses
CBS 2's John Drummond, Kristyn Hartman and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Prosecutors say the case against the reputed mobsters was launched by a bloody glove dropped here 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 bro
CBS
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Joey "The Clown" Lombardo
CBS 2
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After 10 weeks of testimony the Family Secrets mob case is in its final hours.
As CBS 2's John "Bulldog" Drummond reports, the fate of five reputed mobsters hinges on the credibility of a turncoat mob assassin and his loan shark nephew.
For suburban dentist Patrick Spilotro the 21-year wait for justice is almost over. He's the brother of Tony and Michael Spilotro, who were murdered by the mob.
But in court Wednesday Joe Lopez, the lawyer for Frank Calabrese Sr. took potshots at both the government and its witnesses.
"Down in my neighborhood people say the F.B.I. stands for 'Forever Bothering Italians,'" Lopez said.
Lopez on Wednesday called the government's star witness the "grim reaper."
Lopez delivered closing arguments for Frank Calabrese Sr. He is one of five reputed Chicago Outfit dons and hit men accused of taking part in a conspiracy that included 18 long-unsolved murders.
Both Calabrese's brother, Nicholas, and son, Frank Jr., testified against him.
Lopez called them "rats" who would say whatever necessary because they've made a deal to help prosecutors.
Frank Calabrese Sr., 70, is a convicted loan shark, but Lopez says he is not a killer -- just a guy who was good at making money.
As CBS 2's John "Bulldog" Drummond reports, Lopez looked like he stepped out of the pages of men's magazine "GQ" Wednesday as he continued his tough battle facing a mountain of evidence against his client Frank Calabrese Sr.
Lopez went to work in a hurry. "A Swiss cheese has a lot of holes," he said. "This case has a lot of holes."
"It's a family feud; the two biggest liars were Nick 'The Grim Reaper' and his nephew 'I can't do time' Frank Jr.," Lopez said.
Lopez contended that the sole reason Nick Calabrese implicated Frank Calabrese Sr. was to avoid death.
"Nick's deal with the government got him a pass to the 13 murders he confessed to in this courtroom," Lopez argued.
Lopez told the jury not to feel sorry for Nick Calabrese.
"He would shoot you in the head over a cold ravioli. That's the kind of guy he is," he said.
And Lopez took his shot at Frank Jr. whom he said stole a million dollars from his dad. Lopez said young Frank's actions were impaired by a cocaine addiction.
"Frankie 'The Thief'
(his) brain is fried from the blow
mounds of blow," Lopez said.
Former Chicago police detective Jimmy Jack, though, doesn't have warm memories of Frank Sr. Jack said he was on duty back in 1958 when Calabrese hit him without provocation.
"'What the f are you looking at?'" Jack said Calabrese Sr. asked him. "I said nothing much. He hit me. I began to bleed."
On Tuesday, for 78-year-old Joey "The Clown" Lombardo worked to chip away at evidence federal prosecutors say linked their client to the 1974 slaying of Daniel Seifert, who had been preparing to testify against Lombardo and others.
Also in court on Tuesday, counsel for James Marcello, 65, the man whom the FBI said was the boss of the Chicago Outfit at the time of his indictment, went after government witness Nick Calabrese.
Marcello faces a number of charges; the most significant are three murders, two involving the 1986 slayings of brothers Tony "The Ant" and Michael Spilotro. Calabrese, an admitted hit man, among other things went into detail about the Spilotro murders on the witness stand.
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.
Those on trial are Lombardo, Marcello, Calabrese Sr., convicted jewel thief Paul Schiro, 70, and retired Chicago policeman Anthony Doyle, 62. They're charged with a conspiracy that allegedly includes murders, illegal gambling, loan sharking and extortion.
Lawyers for Doyle said he was never involved in any outfit conspiracy.
Doyle is the only defendant free on bond and not charged with murder.
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.
Prosecutor Mitch Marson Thursday will put the finishing touches on the government's case. And then it'll be up to the jury.
The trial began in June, and Funk recapped highlights for jurors.
He detailed gruesome killings, including those of the Spilotro brothers, who were beaten to death 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.
He also 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.
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