Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Feds call for $3.9 million from convicted mobsters

Five convicted Chicago mobsters owe $3.9 million in restitution to the families of their murder victims, federal prosecutors insist. The prosecutors say Frank Calabrese Sr., James Marcello, Joseph Lombardo, Paul Schiro and Anthony Doyle should be held jointly and severally liable for the restitution amount, according to a report by Chuck Goudie and Ann Pistone of ABC-7 in Chicago. The amount took into consideration an accountant's estimate of the lost earning capacity of 14 victims.

The five men were convicted in the Family Secrets case last year. They are waiting to be sentenced. After the initial racketeering verdict, Calabrese, Marcello and Lombardo also were found guilty of participating in 10 racketeering murders. A jury deadlocked on Schiro's involvement. Doyle was not charged with racketeering murder.

Lombardo (right) has challenged the restitution and called for a forfeiture hearing in front of a jury. The Family Secrets defendants had waived the right to a hearing. But Lombardo argued that his bad ears kept him from learning that his defense attorney had waived the right. Defense attorney Rick Halprin has acknowledged that he never discussed the matter with Lombardo before or during the trial.

Prosecutors answered the challenge by pointing out that recent Supreme Court opinion has viewed forfeiture as an element of sentence, beyond the scope of the jury's responsibility.

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Writer, editor, researcher, web publisher, specializing in organized crime history. (Available to assist with historical/genealogical research, writing, editing. Email at tphunt@gmail.com.)
Editor/publisher of crime history journal, Informer; publisher of American Mafia history website Mafiahistory.us; moderator of online forums; author of Wrongly Executed?; coauthor of Deep Water: Joseph P. Macheca and the Birth of the American Mafia and DiCarlo: Buffalo's First Family of Crime; contributor of U.S. Mafia history to Australian-published Mafia: The Necessary Reference to Organized Crime; writer/co-writer of crime history articles for several publications.
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