Judge chastises ex-cop for mixing with mob

April 30, 2002

BY STEVE WARMBIR FEDERAL COURTS REPORTER

Federal prosecutors have called former Chicago chief of detectives William Hanhardt everything from a corrupt cop to a master jewel thief, and on Monday they suggested a new black mark: middleman to a mob hit.

A federal judge didn't buy it at the sentencing hearing for the legendary 73-year-old former police officer, once better known for his extreme bravery than his ties to the mob. But that didn't get Hanhardt completely off the hook.

U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle said that when sentencing Hanhardt, he would take into account the veteran cop should have called police to let them know about apparently deadly mob dealings in which someone could have wound up dead.

"He was counseling and assisting members of organized crime with their nefarious problems," Norgle said, adding that there was "the potential for someone to die."

The allegation arose as prosecutors try to ratchet up the prison sentence of Hanhardt, who pleaded guilty last year to running a mob-linked jewelry theft ring that stole millions of dollars in gems from jewelry salesmen whom ring members stalked.

For now, Hanhardt, who used a cane to get around in court, faces at least 12 years behind bars. Prosecutors and Hanhardt's defense team began sparring in court on Monday and will continue today before the judge hands down the sentence.

Prosecutors John Podliska, John Scully and Eric Sussman are working to link Hanhardt to other crimes, even ones he hasn't been formally charged with, so he could face more than 20 years behind bars.

Hanhardt allegedly was drawn into a dispute between two bookmakers whose partnership had dissolved into threats. In a prosecution court filing, it's suggested Hanhardt acted as a middleman to set up a hit on one bookmaker--on behalf of the other--with the help of a high-ranking member of the Elmwood Park street crew.

Prosecutors also tried to link Hanhardt to the 1995 armed robbery of a New York City jewelry salesman who was mugged when he entered his hotel room in Brookfield, Wis., and had about $1 million in diamonds and other gems stolen. While Hanhardt pleaded guilty to a 1993 robbery of the same man, his defense team denies he had anything to do with what happened in 1995.

Hanhardt attorney Jeff Cole on Monday pounced on numerous apparent inconsistencies in the testimony of salesman Eshagh Kashimallak.

Cole also pointed out police didn't believe Kashimallak was robbed at the time, that his descriptions of the two robbers don't match Hanhardt and his right-hand man, and that the salesman failed an FBI lie detector test on the robbery. The judge has not ruled on whether Hanhardt will be held responsible for the robbery.

Hanhardt did get hammered during another phase of the sentencing, when the judge ruled he tried to obstruct justice when he didn't appear for court last year after trying to kill himself.

Hanhardt attorney Jeff Steinback called the ruling "unprecedented." He argued Hanhardt wasn't interested in trying to obstruct justice. He was interested only in killing himself.