Family Secrets The Case That Crippled the Chicago Mob

by Coen, Jeff

• ISBN13: 9781556527814
• ISBN10: 1556527810
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-04-01
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press

Summary

Painting a vivid picture of the scenes both inside and outside the courtroom and re-creating events from court transcripts, police records, interviews, and notes taken day after day as the story unfolded in court in 2007, this narrative accurately portrays cold-bloodedand sometimes incompetentkillers and their crimes. In 1998 Frank Calabrese Jr. offered to wear a wire to help the FBI build a case against his father, Frank Sr., and his uncle Nick. A top Mob boss, a reputed consigliore, and other high-profile members of the Chicago Outfit were eventually accused in a total of 18 gangland killings, revealing organized crime's ruthless grip on the city throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. After a series of other defendants pled guilty, those left to face off in court alongside Frank Sr. were James "Little Jimmy" Marcello, the acting head of the Chicago mob; Joey "the Clown" Lombardo, one of Chicago's most colorful mobsters; and Paul "the Indian" Schiro. A former Chicago police officer who worked in evidence, Anthony "Twan" Doyle, rounded out the list. The riveting testimony and wide-angle view provide one of the best accounts on record of the inner workings of the Chicago syndicate and its control over the city's streets.

Author Biography

Jeff Coen is a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, covering federal trials and investigations from the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in downtown Chicago. He was present in the courtroom throughout the Family Secrets trial, and his pieces on the case were featured in a popular series in the Chicago Tribune. He lives in Oak Park, Illinois.

Table of Contents

Author's Note	p. vii
A Killing Between Friends	p. 1
The Surprise Letter	p. 13
"We gotta put somebody in a hole"	p. 33
Witness of a Lifetime	p. 39
"Don't make any plans"	p. 55
United States vs. the Chicago Outfit	p. 59
"You do it"	p. 83
This Is Not The Sopranos	p. 87
Testimony and Tapes	p. 103
"This is a robbery"	p. 121
Alva and Emma	p. 125
"Strangers in the Night"	p. 141
A Son Against His Father	p. 145
Nick	p. 167
A Killer Tells His Tale	p. 185
Explosion on the Tollway	p. 203
"If I give up my brothers"	p. 219
From Cicero to Las Vegas	p. 223
One and Two	p. 241
The Beak, the Oven, and the Dentist	p. 265
Joey	p. 289
Cross-examination	p. 311
Frank Sr.	p. 323
Twan	p. 349
Closing Arguments	p. 365
End of a Trial, End of an Era	p. 389
Acknowledgments	p. 405
Key Figures	p. 407
Chronology	p. 413
Map	p. 418
Index	p. 421
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