Nicholas Calabrese
Encyclopedia
Nicholas W. Calabrese is the first made man
ever to testify against the Chicago Outfit
. His testimony and cooperation with federal prosecutors helped result in the 2007 murder convictions of mobsters Joseph Lombardo
, James Marcello
and Frank Calabrese, Sr.
and Ogden Avenue
s on Chicago's Near West Side
. As a boy, Calabrese worked at a newsstand at the corner of Grand Avenue and State Street
, in downtown Chicago, where some of his brothers had worked as well. Calabrese graduated from Steinmetz High School
in Chicago.
Calabrese served in Vietnam
in the United States Navy
from 1965 until 1967, working as a radioman and having top-secret clearance on the USS Bainbridge
. Calabrese also had worked as an ironworker on the John Hancock Center
construction project in Chicago, as a Teamster
working for trade show contractor United Exposition at Chicago's McCormick Place
and as a Cook County
security officer at the courthouse in Maywood, Illinois
from 1977 until 1989.
In the 1970s, Calabrese and two partners operated a restaurant and lounge in Hoffman Estates, Illinois
for a couple of years, and also worked for a private detective agency.
boss Frank Calabrese, Sr.
, run a lucrative loan-sharking racket, serving as his brother's top assistant. Calabrese also has admitted to taking part in 14 murders from 1970 until 1986 as part of his time in the mob. The "juice loan" business charged interest rates on loans of as much as 10 percent per week.
On July 28, 1995, the federal government indicted Nicholas Calabrese and nine other organized crime figures with using threats, violence and intimidation to enforce the loan sharking racket from 1978 until 1992. The other defendants were Frank Calabrese, Sr.
, Frank Calabrese, Jr., Kurt Calabrese, Robert Dinella, Philip J. Fiore, Terry Scalise, Kevin Kudulis, Louis Bombacino and Philip Tolomeo.
Calabrese eventually was found guilty of racketeering. On August 27, 1997, Calabrese, who at that time was residing in Norridge, Illinois
, was sentenced by United States District Judge James F. Holderman
to 70 months in federal prison. At his sentencing, Nicholas Calabrese apologized to Holderman, saying, "I caused a lot of problems for a lot of people."
columnist John Kass
broke the story that Calabrese was talking to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
, and noted that Calabrese had disappeared from the federal prison in Milan, Michigan
, and that Calabrese's federal prison records had disappeared altogether, leading Kass to believe that Calabrese had entered the United States Federal Witness Protection Program
. FBI agents also had spread out across the country with search warrants, collecting DNA evidence, hair cuttings and oral swabs from many reputed Chicago Outfit
members.
On April 25, 2005, federal prosecutors indicted 12 Chicago Outfit
figures—including Calabrese—and two former police officers on charges of murder, illegal gambling and loan sharking. Dubbed, "Operation Family Secrets," the probe that led up to the indictments had relied heavily on Calabrese's cooperation. Newspapers reported that Calabrese had been confronted with DNA evidence implicating him in the 1986 mob hit of mob enforcer
John Fecarotta, prompting Calabrese to cooperate with law enforcement in the probe.
After various plea agreements and the deaths of two defendants, ultimately five other defendants -- Joseph Lombardo
, James Marcello
, Frank Calabrese, Sr.
, Paul Schiro and Anthony Doyle—went to trial. Calabrese formally entered a plea of guilty to murder and racketeering on May 18, 2007. On July 16, 2007, Nicholas Calabrese took the witness stand and admitted to committing murders with Marcello, Schiro and his brother Frank Calabrese, Sr. Nicholas Calabrese admitted to having committed a total of 14 murders, and as part of his deal for cooperating, federal prosecutors agreed not to prosecute him for any of the 14 murders, thus sparing him the sentence of life in prison that he could have received had he been convicted of even one murder. Prosecutors also agreed to recommend a sentence of less than life in prison.
While on the stand, Calabrese stated that his association with the Chicago Outfit
dated to May 1970, and that he began cooperating with the government in January 2002, after federal investigators confronted him with a bloody glove containing his DNA
that he had inadvertently dropped at the scene of the Fecarotta slaying. Calabrese also acknowledged that he had been joined in the Fecarotta murder by his brother Frank Calabrese, Sr., and now-deceased mobster John Monteleone.
Calabrese also provided details on the infamous slayings of Chicago Outfit
member Anthony Spilotro
and Outfit associate Michael Spilotro
, in 1986, in which Calabrese said he was one of a large number of mobsters who participated. The murders were depicted—with some details changed—in the 1995 movie Casino
.
Calabrese admitted that he initially had lied to the FBI after he began cooperating, initially concealing Marcello's role in the Spilotros' killing because Marcello had been paying Calabrese's wife $4,000 a month while Calabrese was in prison.
In 2007, Lombardo, Marcello, Schiro and Frank Calabrese, Sr., all were convicted on murder and racketeering charges, while Doyle was convicted on racketeering charges. In February 2009, Lombardo, Marcello and Frank Calabrese, Sr. all were sentenced to life in prison. During Marcello's sentencing hearing on February 5, 2009, Dr. Patrick Spilotro, an oral surgeon who is the brother of the murdered Spilotro brothers, told the courtroom during his victim impact statement that he had encouraged Nicholas Calabrese to begin cooperating with the government.
to 12 years and four months in prison. Prior to sentencing Calabrese, Zagel told some of Calabrese's victims' family members who were in the courtroom, "the law provides for leniency, undeserved leniency, for those who can testify truthfully about what has happened to those missing loved ones...Few in prisons will ever come forward to confess if leniency is not possible." Upon sentencing Calabrese, Zagel told the turncoat, "I think what you did does make amends by allowing penalties to be paid for the murders of others and for allowing families to know how and why their (loved ones) died." Zagel also noted that Calabrese never will fully live as a free man. "The organization whose existence you testified to will not forgive or relent in their pursuit of you," Zagel told Calabrese.
Calabrese likely will be released from federal prison in 2013, although he is expected to live the rest of his life in the United States Federal Witness Protection Program
.
Made man
A made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...
ever to testify against the Chicago Outfit
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
. His testimony and cooperation with federal prosecutors helped result in the 2007 murder convictions of mobsters Joseph Lombardo
Joseph Lombardo
Joseph Patrick “Joey the Clown” Lombardo Sr. , also known as "Joe Padula," "Lumbo," and "Lumpy", is an imprisoned American mafioso and a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit crime organization...
, James Marcello
James Marcello
James J. “Little Jimmy, Jimmy Light” Marcello , also known as Jimmy "the Man" Marcello, is an imprisoned crime boss who was a front boss for the Chicago Outfit criminal organization in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s...
and Frank Calabrese, Sr.
Frank Calabrese, Sr.
Frank Calabrese, Sr. , also known as "Frankie Breeze," is a made man and a caporegime who ran major loansharking and illegal gambling operations for the Chicago Outfit. He is best known as a central figure in Operation Family Secrets and the subsequent Federal trial.-Early life:Frank Calabrese, Sr...
Early life and work outside of the Chicago Outfit
Calabrese was born the son of James and Sophie Calabrese, growing up near the intersection of GrandGrand Avenue (Chicago)
Grand Avenue is a major east-west arterial surface street in the city of Chicago and nearby DuPage County, although it deviates somewhat from Chicago's grid system, as it is diagonal west of Western Avenue. The street runs from the Kingery Highway Grand Avenue is a major east-west arterial surface...
and Ogden Avenue
Ogden Avenue (Chicago)
Ogden Avenue is an arterial street extending from the Near West Side of Chicago to Aurora, Illinois.The street follows the route of the Southwestern Plank Road, which opened in 1848 across swampy terrain between Chicago and Riverside, Illinois, and was extended to Naperville by 1851.The 1909 Plan...
s on Chicago's Near West Side
Near West Side, Chicago
The Near West Side, one of the 77 defined community areas of Chicago, is located , adjacent to the downtown central business district . The rich history of the Near West Side of Chicago has its genesis in the Hull House phenomenon...
. As a boy, Calabrese worked at a newsstand at the corner of Grand Avenue and State Street
State Street (Chicago)
State Street is a large south-north street in Chicago, Illinois, USA and its south suburbs. It begins on the Near North Side at North Avenue. For much of its course, it lies between Wabash Avenue on the east and Dearborn Street/Lafayette Avenue on the west...
, in downtown Chicago, where some of his brothers had worked as well. Calabrese graduated from Steinmetz High School
Charles P. Steinmetz Academic Centre
Charles P. Steinmetz Academic Centre, formely known as Steinmetz High School, is a public 4-year high school located in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is a part of the Chicago Public Schools District 299...
in Chicago.
Calabrese served in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
from 1965 until 1967, working as a radioman and having top-secret clearance on the USS Bainbridge
USS Bainbridge (CGN-25)
USS Bainbridge was the only ship of her class. Initially a guided missile destroyer leader in the United States Navy, she was re-designated as a guided missile cruiser in 1975. This ship was nuclear-powered.-Construction:...
. Calabrese also had worked as an ironworker on the John Hancock Center
John Hancock Center
John Hancock Center at 875 North Michigan Avenue in the Streeterville area of Chicago, Illinois, is a 100-story, 1,127-foot tall skyscraper, constructed under the supervision of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, with chief designer Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Khan...
construction project in Chicago, as a Teamster
Teamster
A teamster, in modern American English, is a truck driver. The trade union named after them is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters , one of the largest unions in the United States....
working for trade show contractor United Exposition at Chicago's McCormick Place
McCormick Place
McCormick Place is the largest convention center in the United States. It is made up of four interconnected buildings sited on and near the shore of Lake Michigan, about 4 km south of downtown Chicago, Illinois, USA. McCormick Place hosts numerous trade shows, including the Chicago Auto Show,...
and as a Cook County
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
security officer at the courthouse in Maywood, Illinois
Maywood, Illinois
Maywood is a village in Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. It was founded on April 6, 1869 and organized October 22, 1881. The population was 26,987 at the 2000 census.-Overview:...
from 1977 until 1989.
In the 1970s, Calabrese and two partners operated a restaurant and lounge in Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Hoffman Estates is a northwestern suburb of Chicago in Illinois. The village is located primarily in Cook County with a small section in Kane County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 49,495 and estimated to be 52,520 in 2003...
for a couple of years, and also worked for a private detective agency.
Chicago Outfit career
From 1978 until 1992, Calabrese helped his brother, noted Chicago OutfitChicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
boss Frank Calabrese, Sr.
Frank Calabrese, Sr.
Frank Calabrese, Sr. , also known as "Frankie Breeze," is a made man and a caporegime who ran major loansharking and illegal gambling operations for the Chicago Outfit. He is best known as a central figure in Operation Family Secrets and the subsequent Federal trial.-Early life:Frank Calabrese, Sr...
, run a lucrative loan-sharking racket, serving as his brother's top assistant. Calabrese also has admitted to taking part in 14 murders from 1970 until 1986 as part of his time in the mob. The "juice loan" business charged interest rates on loans of as much as 10 percent per week.
On July 28, 1995, the federal government indicted Nicholas Calabrese and nine other organized crime figures with using threats, violence and intimidation to enforce the loan sharking racket from 1978 until 1992. The other defendants were Frank Calabrese, Sr.
Frank Calabrese, Sr.
Frank Calabrese, Sr. , also known as "Frankie Breeze," is a made man and a caporegime who ran major loansharking and illegal gambling operations for the Chicago Outfit. He is best known as a central figure in Operation Family Secrets and the subsequent Federal trial.-Early life:Frank Calabrese, Sr...
, Frank Calabrese, Jr., Kurt Calabrese, Robert Dinella, Philip J. Fiore, Terry Scalise, Kevin Kudulis, Louis Bombacino and Philip Tolomeo.
Calabrese eventually was found guilty of racketeering. On August 27, 1997, Calabrese, who at that time was residing in Norridge, Illinois
Norridge, Illinois
Norridge is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14,582 at the 2000 census. The current Mayor of Norridge is Ronald A. Oppedisano.The village is completely surrounded by Chicago and Harwood Heights.-Name origin:...
, was sentenced by United States District Judge James F. Holderman
James F. Holderman
James F. Holderman is a United States federal judge. He was born in Joliet, Illinois in 1946.-Education:* He received a B.S. degree from the University of Illinois in 1968....
to 70 months in federal prison. At his sentencing, Nicholas Calabrese apologized to Holderman, saying, "I caused a lot of problems for a lot of people."
Family Secrets investigation and conviction
On February 21, 2003, Chicago TribuneChicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
columnist John Kass
John Kass
John Kass is a Chicago Tribune columnist.The son of a Greek immigrant grocer, Kass was born June 25, 1956, on the South Side of Chicago and grew up there and in Oak Lawn, IL. He held many jobs - retailer, ditch digger, waiter - before becoming a student of film at Columbia College in Chicago...
broke the story that Calabrese was talking to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
, and noted that Calabrese had disappeared from the federal prison in Milan, Michigan
Milan, Michigan
Milan is a city in Monroe and Washtenaw counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,775 at the 2000 census. About 60% of the city's area and 75% of its residents are located on the Washtenaw County side adjacent to York Township in Washtenaw County; while 40% percent of the...
, and that Calabrese's federal prison records had disappeared altogether, leading Kass to believe that Calabrese had entered the United States Federal Witness Protection Program
United States Federal Witness Protection Program
The United States Federal Witness Protection Program is a witness protection program administered by the United States Department of Justice and operated by the United States Marshals Service that is designed to protect threatened witnesses before, during, and after a trial.A few states, including...
. FBI agents also had spread out across the country with search warrants, collecting DNA evidence, hair cuttings and oral swabs from many reputed Chicago Outfit
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
members.
On April 25, 2005, federal prosecutors indicted 12 Chicago Outfit
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
figures—including Calabrese—and two former police officers on charges of murder, illegal gambling and loan sharking. Dubbed, "Operation Family Secrets," the probe that led up to the indictments had relied heavily on Calabrese's cooperation. Newspapers reported that Calabrese had been confronted with DNA evidence implicating him in the 1986 mob hit of mob enforcer
Mob Enforcer
Mob Enforcer is a Mafia related PC game. It was released on the Xbox with multiplayer capabilities under the title Chicago Enforcer.-Description:...
John Fecarotta, prompting Calabrese to cooperate with law enforcement in the probe.
After various plea agreements and the deaths of two defendants, ultimately five other defendants -- Joseph Lombardo
Joseph Lombardo
Joseph Patrick “Joey the Clown” Lombardo Sr. , also known as "Joe Padula," "Lumbo," and "Lumpy", is an imprisoned American mafioso and a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit crime organization...
, James Marcello
James Marcello
James J. “Little Jimmy, Jimmy Light” Marcello , also known as Jimmy "the Man" Marcello, is an imprisoned crime boss who was a front boss for the Chicago Outfit criminal organization in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s...
, Frank Calabrese, Sr.
Frank Calabrese, Sr.
Frank Calabrese, Sr. , also known as "Frankie Breeze," is a made man and a caporegime who ran major loansharking and illegal gambling operations for the Chicago Outfit. He is best known as a central figure in Operation Family Secrets and the subsequent Federal trial.-Early life:Frank Calabrese, Sr...
, Paul Schiro and Anthony Doyle—went to trial. Calabrese formally entered a plea of guilty to murder and racketeering on May 18, 2007. On July 16, 2007, Nicholas Calabrese took the witness stand and admitted to committing murders with Marcello, Schiro and his brother Frank Calabrese, Sr. Nicholas Calabrese admitted to having committed a total of 14 murders, and as part of his deal for cooperating, federal prosecutors agreed not to prosecute him for any of the 14 murders, thus sparing him the sentence of life in prison that he could have received had he been convicted of even one murder. Prosecutors also agreed to recommend a sentence of less than life in prison.
While on the stand, Calabrese stated that his association with the Chicago Outfit
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
dated to May 1970, and that he began cooperating with the government in January 2002, after federal investigators confronted him with a bloody glove containing his DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
that he had inadvertently dropped at the scene of the Fecarotta slaying. Calabrese also acknowledged that he had been joined in the Fecarotta murder by his brother Frank Calabrese, Sr., and now-deceased mobster John Monteleone.
Calabrese also provided details on the infamous slayings of Chicago Outfit
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
member Anthony Spilotro
Anthony Spilotro
Anthony "The Ant" Spilotro was an Italian-American mobster and enforcer for the Chicago Outfit in Las Vegas during the 1970s and 1980s. His job was to protect and oversee the Outfit's illegal casino profits...
and Outfit associate Michael Spilotro
Michael Spilotro
Michael Peter "Micky" Spilotro was the brother of Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro and was an associate of the Chicago La Cosa Nostra organized crime organization referred to as "The Outfit".-Family background:...
, in 1986, in which Calabrese said he was one of a large number of mobsters who participated. The murders were depicted—with some details changed—in the 1995 movie Casino
Casino (film)
Casino is a 1995 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese...
.
Calabrese admitted that he initially had lied to the FBI after he began cooperating, initially concealing Marcello's role in the Spilotros' killing because Marcello had been paying Calabrese's wife $4,000 a month while Calabrese was in prison.
In 2007, Lombardo, Marcello, Schiro and Frank Calabrese, Sr., all were convicted on murder and racketeering charges, while Doyle was convicted on racketeering charges. In February 2009, Lombardo, Marcello and Frank Calabrese, Sr. all were sentenced to life in prison. During Marcello's sentencing hearing on February 5, 2009, Dr. Patrick Spilotro, an oral surgeon who is the brother of the murdered Spilotro brothers, told the courtroom during his victim impact statement that he had encouraged Nicholas Calabrese to begin cooperating with the government.
Sentencing
On March 26, 2009, Nick Calabrese was sentenced by United States District Judge James ZagelJames Zagel
James Block Zagel is a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and a novelist.- Early life and education :...
to 12 years and four months in prison. Prior to sentencing Calabrese, Zagel told some of Calabrese's victims' family members who were in the courtroom, "the law provides for leniency, undeserved leniency, for those who can testify truthfully about what has happened to those missing loved ones...Few in prisons will ever come forward to confess if leniency is not possible." Upon sentencing Calabrese, Zagel told the turncoat, "I think what you did does make amends by allowing penalties to be paid for the murders of others and for allowing families to know how and why their (loved ones) died." Zagel also noted that Calabrese never will fully live as a free man. "The organization whose existence you testified to will not forgive or relent in their pursuit of you," Zagel told Calabrese.
Calabrese likely will be released from federal prison in 2013, although he is expected to live the rest of his life in the United States Federal Witness Protection Program
United States Federal Witness Protection Program
The United States Federal Witness Protection Program is a witness protection program administered by the United States Department of Justice and operated by the United States Marshals Service that is designed to protect threatened witnesses before, during, and after a trial.A few states, including...
.