Mark Hay Gets Six Years in Prison

A burglar who was a key government informant against reputed Chicago mobsters has been sentenced to six years in prison for his crimes.

Prosecutors sought leniency for 56-year-old Mark Hay, noting that he'll likely be in the witness protection program for the rest of his life.

Hay was in a criminal group overseen by Michael "The Large Guy" Sarno, a mob boss recently sentenced to 25 years in prison for racketeering and other charges.

Hay wore a wire during meetings with group members and helped the government get others to become witnesses.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu says the so-called Chicago Outfit "does not look kindly on individuals who cooperate against it."

Hay allegedly continued to commit burglaries after promising the government he wouldn't commit crimes while cooperating.

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Whitey Bulger's Defense Team Objects to Trial Date

James “Whitey” Bulger, the reputed Boston mobster and former FBI informant who was captured last year after 16 years on the run, will face trial Nov. 5, a federal judge said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler in Boston set the trial date today over the objection of Bulger’s court-appointed attorney, J.W. Carney Jr. Prosecutors have inundated him with 580,000 pages of documents and 921 tapes of secret wiretaps related to the 48-count racketeering indictment, Carney said.

“We can’t possibly be ready,” he told the judge. His client didn’t attend today’s hearing.

Bulger, 82, and his girlfriend, Catherine Greig, were arrested in June after the Federal Bureau of Investigation, working on a tip, lured the fugitive out of an apartment building in Santa Monica, California. Bulger was wanted in connection with at least 19 murders committed from 1973 to 1985 and crimes including extortion, bookmaking and drug trafficking.

“I think it’s best I give you a strict timeline,” Bowler told Carney and federal prosecutors. “I urge you to work in a cooperative fashion. This is a monumental task.” She said Carney could request funding to hire more lawyers.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Kelly told the judge that Bulger is trying to delay trial by raising issues prosecutors have already litigated.

“Mr. Bulger is trying to run out the clock,” Kelly said. He said Bulger’s attorney has suggested in court papers that he may argue his client had immunity to commit crimes while working as an informant under corrupt FBI agents.

The federal courts threw out an attempt by Bulger’s partner, Stephen Flemmi, to claim immunity as an informant.

“FBI agents don’t have the authority to grant immunity,” Kelly said.

Bulger’s and Flemmi’s former FBI handler, John J. Connolly Jr., served a 10-year federal sentence for racketeering and is now serving 40 years in state prison in Florida for his role in the murder of a former Bulger associate in Miami.

The case is U.S. v. Bulger, 99-10371, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts (Boston).

Thanks to Janelle Lawrence

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Appellate Judge Raises Concerns Over Family Secrets Mob Trial Judge

A federal appellate judge has expressed misgivings about a lower court judge's contact with jurors during Chicago's highest profile mob trial in decades — one credited with helping to weaken organized crime.

The judge commented Monday as attorneys for convicted reputed mobsters argued for a do-over of the 2007 Family Secrets trial before the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Jurors five years ago convicted reputed mob boss James Marcello and others of racketeering conspiracy that included 18 murders.

Appellate Judge Diane Wood told Monday's hearing she's concerned by accounts that trial Judge James Zagel seemed to have "private chats" with jurors that didn't become part of the official trial record.

Defense attorney Francis Lipuma singled out how Zagel dismissed one juror without consulting the trial lawyers.

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