Not all Italians are in the mafia. Really.


Matt wanted me to post this and reassure everyone I'm not in the mafia. - V

From the Chicago Tribune:
A Roman Catholic priest who ministered to convicted mob hit man Frank Calabrese Sr. in federal prison allegedly passed secret messages and agreed to try to recover a hidden violin -- supposedly an expensive Stradivarius -- from one of the mobster’s homes, according to court documents.

Eugene Klein met the mobster while working in a federal prison medical center in Springfield, Mo. where Calabrese is serving a life sentence in connection with 13 murders.

Calabrese wanted to get the violin out of his Wisconsin home to prevent the government from selling the instrument and using the proceeds toward $4.4. million in restitution ordered by a judge. A search of Calabrese’s residence in west suburban Oak Brook in March 2010 uncovered a certificate for a violin made in 1764 by Giuseppe Antonio Artalli, not Antonius Stradivarius, according to the indictment.
Update, priest is a member of the Diocese of Winona, MN.
A spokeswoman with the Springfield Diocese says Klein served in the diocese from 2004-2005, but now is a priest of the Diocese of Winona in Minnesota and is under contract with the federal prison system as a chaplain in Springfield.

7 comments:

Badger Catholic said...

Remind me to move if I get a fish in the mail.

Anonymous said...

wait is this like an Oak Brook IL or do they mean Oak Creek WI? Or Brookfield? I have never heard of Oak Brook.

Dad29 said...

There IS an Oak Brook, IL. (I used to work for a company headquartered there, run by a Chicago Italian. It's not a co-incidence.)

As to The Mob's neighborhoods--it's not all bad!

A close friend of ours grew up in a Chicago 'burb in an area where a large number of Mob figures lived.

It was a crime-free neighborhood. NOBODY so much as spit on a sidewalk. There were no break-ins, no vandalism incidents, cars with keys in them were left alone all night...

Kinda idyllic, no?

Virginia Zignego said...

Matt, I've given up on subtlety in regards to men. I would go right for the horse head, like the Godfather.

Badger Catholic said...

Dad29, you got friends in low places I see! I'll stay on your good side in case you call in a favor from an old friend. Funny about the crime-free neighborhoods.

Virginia.... respeeeeect.

Dad29 said...

Followup:

The violin belonged to Liberace at one time and was stashed in his summer house in Door County.

That house was sold, but no one has found the violin.

Dad29 said...

And, BTW, the woman who grew up in the Mob neighborhood is NOT a member, nor related to anyone who IS a member.

But yes, I did know 2 or 3 of the fellas here in Milwaukee.