Mob mystery as secret stash found
Source: Agencies |
March 27, 2010, Saturday
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NEARLY US$730,000 in cash, about 1,000 pieces of jewelry and loaded handguns found hidden alongside recording devices in a mobster's suburban home show there are still plenty of mysteries to unravel about the notorious Chicago Outfit.
The discovery in a secret compartment behind a family portrait in Frank Calabrese Sr's home -- a year after the massive Operation Family Secrets trial sent Calabrese and several others to prison -- may trigger a fresh look at everything from unsolved shootings to a jewel theft ring once run by the former Chicago Police chief of detectives.
"I would say it's a treasure trove, really," said James Wagner, one-time head of the FBI's organized crime unit in Chicago and the Chicago Crime Commission.
FBI spokesman Ross Ross would not comment extensively on the investigation or search of Calabrese's home in Oak Brook, which was revealed in documents filed on Wednesday in US District Court. He said investigators would run ballistics tests on the weapons and attempt to trace the jewelry.
Calabrese, 71, was one of several reputed mobsters convicted last year in a racketeering conspiracy that included 18 decades-old murders. He was blamed for 13, sentenced to life in prison and was one of four defendants ordered to pay more than US$24 million, including millions in restitution to the families of murder victims. Tuesday's search was tied to that order.
But the discovery could mean learning even more about the inner workings of the Chicago Outfit.
Wagner said investigators will try to determine ownership of the seven loaded guns by tracking serial numbers and testing for ballistics matches on homicides and shootings nationwide.
As for the jewelry, some pieces still in display boxes or bearing store tags, Wagner suggested several likely investigative avenues. The first could be the Outfit-connected jewelry-heist ring run by William Hanhardt, the former Chicago Police chief of detectives.
Hanhardt is in prison after pleading guilty to leading a band of thieves that stole US$5 million in jewelry and fine watches in the 1980s and 90s. One of Calabrese's co-defendants, Paul Schiro, was sentenced to prison in 2002 for being part of Hanhardt's ring. And a witness at the Family Secrets trial testified that Hanhardt collected US$1,000 a week and a new car every two years in return for making sure mobsters were not caught.
Wagner also said that before the murdered body of Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro was found buried in a shallow grave in an Indiana cornfield, he was not only the Chicago mob's man in Las Vegas but also operated a jewelry store there.
The discovery in a secret compartment behind a family portrait in Frank Calabrese Sr's home -- a year after the massive Operation Family Secrets trial sent Calabrese and several others to prison -- may trigger a fresh look at everything from unsolved shootings to a jewel theft ring once run by the former Chicago Police chief of detectives.
"I would say it's a treasure trove, really," said James Wagner, one-time head of the FBI's organized crime unit in Chicago and the Chicago Crime Commission.
FBI spokesman Ross Ross would not comment extensively on the investigation or search of Calabrese's home in Oak Brook, which was revealed in documents filed on Wednesday in US District Court. He said investigators would run ballistics tests on the weapons and attempt to trace the jewelry.
Calabrese, 71, was one of several reputed mobsters convicted last year in a racketeering conspiracy that included 18 decades-old murders. He was blamed for 13, sentenced to life in prison and was one of four defendants ordered to pay more than US$24 million, including millions in restitution to the families of murder victims. Tuesday's search was tied to that order.
But the discovery could mean learning even more about the inner workings of the Chicago Outfit.
Wagner said investigators will try to determine ownership of the seven loaded guns by tracking serial numbers and testing for ballistics matches on homicides and shootings nationwide.
As for the jewelry, some pieces still in display boxes or bearing store tags, Wagner suggested several likely investigative avenues. The first could be the Outfit-connected jewelry-heist ring run by William Hanhardt, the former Chicago Police chief of detectives.
Hanhardt is in prison after pleading guilty to leading a band of thieves that stole US$5 million in jewelry and fine watches in the 1980s and 90s. One of Calabrese's co-defendants, Paul Schiro, was sentenced to prison in 2002 for being part of Hanhardt's ring. And a witness at the Family Secrets trial testified that Hanhardt collected US$1,000 a week and a new car every two years in return for making sure mobsters were not caught.
Wagner also said that before the murdered body of Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro was found buried in a shallow grave in an Indiana cornfield, he was not only the Chicago mob's man in Las Vegas but also operated a jewelry store there.
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