Derrion Albert, 16, was beaten to death in the midst of violent brawl yesterday afternoon. The brawl occurred yesterday afternoon around 3 p.m. near 111th and Wallace in Roseland. According to the Tribune: more ›

By day, Jeff Coen is the federal court reporter for the Chicago Tribune. But by night over the last year and a half, he's been putting together a historical account of one of the biggest mob trials in this city's - and nation's - history. Family Secrets: The Case That Crippled the Chicago Mob gives the reader an inside look into the trial that brought down the Chicago Outfit, a wide-reaching mob that controlled not only the Chicago area, but reached all the way to Las Vegas (and was the inspiration for the Martin Scorsese movie Casino). Using source material like police reports, interviews, and court transcripts, as well as his own notes from covering the trial, Coen recreates not only the trial of mobsters Frank Calabrese, Sr., Joey "The Clown" Lombardo, James Marcello, Paul Schiro, and Anthony "Twan" Doyle, but he gives us a significant look at Nick Calabrese, Frank Sr.'s brother and Outfit hitman, whose turning states evidence gave us incredible testimony and an unprecedented look into the inner-workings of the Outfit. more ›

The John Ambrose trial - the case of a former deputy U.S. Marshal who was accused of leaking information to the Chicago Outfit - has come to an end and Ambrose has been found guilty of one count of theft of information and one count of illegal disclosure of information; he was also acquitted on two charges of lying to federal authorities. more ›

Another day, another sentencing in the Family Secrets Trial. Today was James "Little Jimmy" Marcello's turn to be be sentenced to life. Marcello had been convicted of racketeering and the 1986 murders of brothers Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro and Michael Spilotro. Marcello also chose not to testify in his own defense unlike the other defendants in the trial. He was acquitted of the 1981 murder of Nicholas D'Andrea. more ›

Frank "The German" Schweihs, reputed mobster and courtroom shenaniganeer,died last night at Thorek Hospital and Medical Center. He was 78. more ›

Yeesh. According to documents filed in federal court today, a "conservative" estimate of the profits made by the mobsters involved in Operation Family Secrets totals over $20 million, all of which the defendants are expected to pay back to the feds. The government forfeiture motion is part of the Anthony 'Twan' Doyle case, a former Chicago police officer who was convicted last year. Doyle is set to be sentenced on October 1. [ABC 7] more ›

Bella’s Pizza owner Michael Cosmano was arrested Wednesday for a murder that took place in 1981. The impetus was a phone call to police by a former pizza delivery driver who had witnessed the crime and kept silent all this time from fear that Cosmano had connections with the mob. more ›

Another day, another sentencing in the Family Secrets Trial. Today was James "Little Jimmy" Marcello's turn to be be sentenced to life. Marcello had been convicted of racketeering and the 1986 murders of brothers Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro and Michael Spilotro. Marcello also chose not to testify in his own defense unlike the other defendants in the trial. He was acquitted of the 1981 murder of Nicholas D'Andrea. more ›

Another day, another sentencing in the Family Secrets Trial. Today was James "Little Jimmy" Marcello's turn to be be sentenced to life. Marcello had been convicted of racketeering and the 1986 murders of brothers Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro and Michael Spilotro. Marcello also chose not to testify in his own defense unlike the other defendants in the trial. He was acquitted of the 1981 murder of Nicholas D'Andrea. more ›