Joseph "Joey The Clown" Lombardo

Joseph "Joey The Clown" Lombardo is an American mafioso and high ranking member of the Chicago Outfit.

Born in 1929 Lombardo joined the Chicago Outfit in the 1950s. In 1963 Lombardo was arrested and charged with kidnapping however he was later acquitted. Lombardo was again on trial in 1974 with Allen Dorfman, an insurance agent, and charged with embezzling of $1.4 million from pension funds of the Teamsters Union. The charges were later dropped after the main witness, Daniel Siefert, was killed two days before his scheduled appearance.

In 1982 Lombardo and Dorfman were again charged with extortion of $800,000 from construction owner Robert Kendler as well as, with Teamsters President Roy L. Williams, attempted bribery of Nevada Senator Howard W. Cannon.

Lombardo was later implicated, by government informant Alva Johnson Rodgers, in the deaths of Daniel Siefert and Robert Harder in 1974, Sam Annerino and Raymond Ryan in 1977, and Allen Dorfman in 1983. Lombardo was also accused of personally murdering ex-police officer Richard Cain. Interestingly, Cain was believed to be a CIA agent as well.

Lombardo and Williams were finally convicted of attempted bribery in August 1985 and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. Williams, who received 10 years imprisonment, later agreed to testify against Lombardo and several top members of the Chicago Outfit later charged with concealing Mafiosi ownership of the Las Vegas Stardust Resort & Casino of which over $2 million unreported income was skimmed from 1974-1978. By January 1986 five mobsters had been convicted, including Lombardo who was sentenced to an additional 10 years, as well as Chicago syndicate leaders Joey Aiuppa and John Phillip Cerone, sentenced to 28 years imprisonment, and Angelo Lapeer, and Milton Rockman.

When he was paroled from prison in 1992, Lombardo ran an ad in the Chicago Tribue that said:

I am Joe Lombardo, I have been released on parole from federal prison. I never took a secret oath with guns and daggars, pricked my finger, drew blood, or burned paper to join a criminal organization. If anyone hears my name used in conjuction with any criminal activity, please notify the FBI and my parole officer, Ron Kumke

On April 27, 2005 indictments were handed down in which 14 people including Lombardo and Frank "The German" Schweihs were named in the murders of 18 people. Despite being in his late 70s, Lombardo avoided capture. During his time as a fugitive, he wrote two letters to his lawyer, one claiming innocence in the charges brought against him, the other not yet made public. He was finally captured by FBI agents in Elmwood Park, Illinois on January 13, 2006.

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Lombardo Clowns around in Court

Friends of ours: Joey "the Clown" Lombardo, Frank "The German" Schweihs, Tony "The Ant" Spilotro, Frank Calabrese Sr., James "Little Jimmy" Marcello

After nine months in hiding, a clean-shaven Joey "the Clown" Lombardo appeared in federal court Tuesday wearing leg irons and offering wisecracks about his time on the lam. The reputed mob boss, who was captured Friday in Elmwood Park, pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy that includes accusations of murder and extortion.

Asked if he had seen a physician recently, Lombardo's response to the judge to U.S. District Judge James Zagel was true to his nickname. "I didn't see my doctor since nine months ago. I was - what do they call it? I was unavailable," he said. Meanwhile, Lombardo's attorney, Rick Halprin, requested, meanwhile, that the court appoint him to represent Lombardo because the reputed Outfit kingpin doesn't have the means to pay for his own attorney, he said. "He's been living off Social Security for years," Halprin said in an interview.

A former federal agent who investigated Lombardo expressed doubt about that. "That's another ruse - that's Joey the Clown. The guy was definitely making big-time bucks when he was still active," said Lee Flosi, a former FBI agent who supervised the organized crime task force in the early 1990s. Lombardo was part of the "ruling group" of Chicago's mob, Flosi said. "As far as being the boss, I don't think that was ever settled," he said.

Halprin said that during Lombardo's many years on parole for previous convictions, he has filed financial affidavits swearing he is on a fixed income. "He lived in a basement," Halprin said, referring to Lombardo's West Ohio Street home, not his location while on the lam.

Lombardo, 77, was dressed in the a standard orange jumpsuit of issued to federal jail inmates, Lombardo, 77, and had shaved a the thick beard he had grown while on the run. He joked in the courtroom lockup that the his fresh look was meant to impress a female deputy U.S. marshal assigned to guard him.

In court, Lombardo initially appeared confused, glancing around at lawyers for his 11 co-defendants, the packed gallery in the benches behind him, and the jury box filled with reporters. But despite some difficulty hearing questions put to him by U.S. District Judge James Zagel, Lombardo answered lucidly. (Does every reputed mobster lose their hearing?)

Lombardo is one of 14 men charged in a racketeering conspiracy that prosecutors allege involved 18 unsolved Outfit murders. Two of Lombardo's co-defendants have died, leaving 12 to face the charges. Along with Frank "the German" Schweihs, Lombardo is charged specifically with the 1974 slaying of Daniel Seifert, a Bensenville businessman who had been scheduled to testify against him and others in a Teamsters pension fraud case. Halprin has said that Lombardo was in a police station, reporting stolen property, when Seifert was killed.

Schweihs, who was captured in December after 8 months as being a fugitive for eight months, refused to appear in court Tuesday after pleading not guilty January 7. Zagel said he will force Schweihs to appear and a hearing is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. For his part, Lombardo seemed in good spirits during the Tuesday's hearing. He raised his right hand and promised to tell "nothin' but the truth."

He told Zagel he is under care for hardening of the arteries but didn't offer a long list of health woes like some of his co-defendants. Apart from telling Zagel that he was a high school graduate, the rest of Lombardo's statements were limited to yes and or no answers responses.

A federal investigation dubbed "Operation Family Secrets" led to the arrests of Lombardo and other Outfit figures, including Frank Calabrese Sr. and James Marcello. Included among the murders allegedly connected to the defendants are the famed 1986 beating deaths of Tony and Michael Spilotro. Federal agents believe Tony Spilotro, a mob enforcer who ran the Outfit's operations in Las Vegas, was slain for drawing too much heat. (This is one of the few articles that does not mention that Joe Pesci played this role in the movie Casino. I thought I would add it so youse do not go into shock from not seeing that comment.)

In a letter Lombardo penned to Zagel while he was in hiding, the alleged mob boss denied any knowledge of about any of the 18 killings. "I was not privy before the murders, during the murders, and after the murders, and to this present writing to you," the letter stated.

The Chicago Crime Commission says the crimes are nothing to laugh about. "These are brutal people. They resort to killing, and especially the murder that Joe Lombardo is accused of doing in this indictment, was extremely brutal, inasmuch as the man was killed in front of his own family. He was going to be a witness against several defendants, including Joe Lombardo," said Jim Wagner, Chicago Crime Commission.

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Lombardo May Still Head Chicago Mob

Friends of ours: Joey "the Clown" Lombardo

Joey Lombardo apparently was not clowning around while on the lam over the last several months. The feds picked up the mobster nicknamed ''the Clown'' over the weekend in west suburban Elmwood Park. As CBS 2's Mike Parker reports, Lombardo still appears to be calling the shots for the mob here.

CBS 2 News has learned that Lombardo is now being held at Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center, in what authorities call "segregation." Lombardo is in a cell of his own and unable to mingle with the rest of the inmate population.

"It’s a constant fight between good and evil," said Jim McGough, organized crime expert. A veteran mob watcher and an expert in the outfit's infiltration of labor unions, McGough says he believes the feds want to protect Lombardo from his own kind. "To make sure he's not assassinated, killed because he does have secrets, which I don't expect him to reveal, but a dead witness for organized crime is a good witness," McGough said.

McGough says potential witnesses against Lombardo in his upcoming trial for more than a dozen unsolved mob murders are in more danger than "the Clown" himself. "One of the reasons Lombardo is going to be tried is for the murder of Daniel Seifert, who was going to be a witness against him in the teamsters’ pension scandal, and he was killed two days before his testimony," McGough said.

Crime experts believe Lombardo did not flee the country after his indictment because he is still a top man - perhaps the top man in the Chicago mob - and was making decisions while he was in hiding. "He knows who all the corrupt attorneys are or the corrupt judges or the corrupt politicians, where the money is, how to do this or that," McGough said.

Also Monday, the head of the Chicago crime commission said that for too long, TV and the movies have romanticized the mob. Former FBI Special Agent James Wagner believes that once Lombardo and his co-defendants go on trial, the public will be stunned by the brutal nature of their murders.

Lombardo’s lawyer said Tuesday’s bond hearing may be the shortest on record. He knows his client won't be released.

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FBI gets last laugh on 'The Clown'

He put on considerable weight, grew a full white beard, let his hair grow long and likely never left the Chicago area. Joey "The Clown" Lombardo, a fugitive for nine months, looked more like Saddam Hussein than a reputed mob boss when FBI agents found him. But it wasn't just Lombardo's change in appearance that kept him hidden in the feds' own backyard.

Joey "The Clown" Lombardo after his arrest.

Lombardo, 77, moved around the Chicago area often and likely used underworld connections to hide in so-called mob "spider holes" before he was arrested in Elmwood Park, FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Grant said Saturday.

To hide his appearance, Joey "The Clown" Lombardo grew a full beard and longer hair. The 77-year-old reputed mob boss managed to skirt the feds for nine months in the Chicago area by continually moving from one so-called mob “spider hole” to the next, FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Grant said Saturday. Lombardo told his prominent lawyer Rick Halprin he usually got around on foot. But the end of his run came Friday the 13th.

Lombardo was in the passenger seat of a 1994 silver Lincoln beside an elderly friend in an alley behind the friend's Elmwood Park home. About a dozen FBI agents descended on the two men as agents' cars blocked off the alley from all directions. "Both gentlemen were stunned," Grant said.

The FBI has been keeping known Lombardo associates under surveillance for the last nine months, Grant said. They began watching the man in Elmwood Park hoping to catch him with Lombardo - and they did, he said. Lombardo was carrying $3,000 cash, his attorney said. The feds said they also found business cards - they wouldn't say whose - and a suitcase stuffed with clothes. Lombardo was unarmed. Lombardo also carried his own driver's license, which listed him at his old Ohio Street address, Grant said.

The FBI did not arrest the other man, who is in his mid-80s and lives in the 2300 block of North 74th Avenue. Lombardo didn't resist arrest, but he wasn't compliant, either - refusing to exit the car at first, Grant said. Agents had to walk up to the car, open the door and ask him to get out. Then he did.

Grant said there are two schools of thought on fugitive lifestyles. One is to keep a distance from known associates. The other is to stick with people you trust. Lombardo took the second approach, Grant said. "Without a doubt, I think people assisted Mr. Lombardo in his efforts," Grant said. The investigation continues into who may have been "aiding and abetting" him, he said. The FBI has long believed Lombardo didn't stray far. In his time on the lam, he wrote letters to his attorney, and they carried local postmarks.

Lombardo was one of 14 people charged in a sweeping mob indictment last year, a result of the federal Operation Family Secrets investigation. Two of the charged have since died. The massive indictment ties 18 previously unsolved murders to the Chicago Outfit. But Lombardo and Frank "The German" Schweihs both fled before the government announced its charges April 25, 2005. Schweihs was found last month in Kentucky.

Lombardo's capture brings closure to questions that arose over how both managed to escape arrest last April, particularly Lombardo, who is considered the big fish in the case. Grant said Saturday the two knew the indictment was coming for some time. Lombardo had already been swabbed for DNA in 2003. The two prepared for their departure and left well before the charges were unsealed.

In a superseding indictment, Lombardo was specifically tied to the 1974 murder of Daniel Seifert in Bensenville. Seifert was preparing to testify against Lombardo and others in a pension fraud case when he was gunned down.

One reputed mob associate who has been following the news about Lombardo said Saturday that it's the end of an era with his arrest. "All of the old war horses are either dead or in jail or are pretty well close to being dead," said the man, who did not want to be identified. "In my opinion, organized crime is done." But Grant said anyone who believes that thinking is mistaken.

Halprin met with Lombardo for several hours early Saturday.He said Lombardo gained "considerable weight" since going into hiding. Lombardo was moved Saturday from the Chicago Police lockup at 17th and State into the downtown Metropolitan Correctional Center. The delay in getting Lombardo into a federal lockup was likely due to complications getting Lombardo into a segregated unit, Halprin said.

Halprin said Lombardo, who has heart problems and other health issues, was given his medication while in custody Saturday, raising questions as to whether he was taking the same medicine for the last nine months, and if so, how he got it. Halprin didn't specify the type of medication.

Lombardo was very talkative, Halprin said. He joked with him and was in good spirits. Halprin said Lombardo didn't consider himself a fugitive and always expected to go to trial. He is expected to appear in court Tuesday. Halprin said he won't bother to ask for a bond hearing. "His chances of getting out are about the same as Pat Robertson conducting a gay marriage," Halprin joked.

The area where Lombardo was found is one street over from the Elmwood Park police station. Neighbors couldn't believe Lombardo was hiding in their community. Guillermo Rocha, who lives near where Lombardo was arrested, wondered if he and the reputed mob boss ever crossed paths. "If I saw him, I never knew it was him," he said. "Elmwood Park is notorious for mob activity, but I never thought he'd be so close," said Kathy Kukovec, another neighbor. "I didn't think he'd be that stupid."

There was a $20,000 reward offered for Lombardo's arrest. But Grant said it was good-old-fashioned agent work that helped nab the fugitive after continuing to watch Lombardo's known associates for nine months. "I wouldn't say we were lucky last night," Grant said in lauding his organized-crime team who tracked down Lombardo. "I would say we were good."

Thanks to Natasha Korecki.

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Soprano's Teach Life Lesson to Boss

Friends of ours: Soprano Crime Family

Tony Soprano can be tough on James Gandolfini, too. "It's a dark, dark world and you're in it a lot," the star of "The Sopranos" said of his career-defining character. "However, if you're in a dark world, I can't think of any other to be in. There are a lot of pluses. It just takes a heavy toll sometimes."

Gandolfini was reflective on Friday talking about "The Sopranos," which returns to HBO on March 12 after a hiatus three months shy of two years. Fans are eager for something new, yet Gandolfini is in the midst of filming the last several episodes.

Seated on a stage with co-stars Edie Falco, Lorraine Bracco and Michael Imperioli, Gandolfini noted that only Bracco had much success prior to the series and many of the show's actors went through the whirlwind of sudden fame. "It's been an incredible life lesson that a lot of us wouldn't have had without this opportunity," he said. "It teaches you about what's important."

The actors, and series creator David Chase, did a delicate dance with reporters in trying to say something but ultimately reveal nothing about the final season. Twelve new episodes will start in March, and a final eight in January 2007.

Repercussions from the jailing of New York mob boss and rival Johnny Sack will define the new season, along with Tony's reconciliation with Carmella. Julianna Margulies, who plays a real estate agent; Hal Holbrook, who plays a businessman ensnared by the mob; and Ben Kingsley, who plays himself, are among this season's guest stars.

Although there have been false alarms about "The Sopranos" ending in the past, "it does feel like the end this time," Gandolfini said. "It's made me think of how I approach work and make sure that you work just as hard now as you did in the beginning," he said.

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