09.13.07 5:00 AM CDT
• Here at Playboy
• David Pfister
Yesterday Five Chicago mobsters and collaboraters were found guilty in a murderous racketeering conspiracy. Playboy writer Hillel Levin investigated the story behind the trial for our April issue’s Boosting the Big Tuna. We followed up with him for a response to the verdict:I think too many people look at the defendants in this case and wonder why the government has invested so much effort in their prosecution for crimes that were committed three decades ago. However, with a little history, you realize that in their prime these were not comic figures, despite nicknames like “Clown.” They were ruthless, coldblooded murderers who did not just kill, but often tortured their victims. They also had no reservations about hitting innocents who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The key to the outfit’s power in Chicago was their ability to kill with impunity. This enabled them to enforce their dominance and extract “street tax” from virtually all the criminal activity they knew about in their ever-expanding territory. Back in the early ‘90s, the Gambat trials, which centered on the testimony and tapes of informant Robert Cooley, removed the mob’s influence on Chicago judges who were all too willing to throw out cases against hit men. Now the Family Secrets trial shows how long the law’s memory can be. There is no doubt this will give pause to any thug or mob boss who is about to take out a “contract.” Some remnants of the Outfit will always remain in Chicago, but without the virtual license to kill, it will only be a shadow of what it once was.
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