May 4, 2005 SEE
PDF IMAGE of letter
on ww.ipsn.org
BY
CAROL MARIN,
STEVE WARMBIR
AND
ROBERT C. HERGUTH
Staff Reporters
Reputed mob boss Joey "The Clown"
Lombardo, missing
since a major
federal indictment
was unleashed last
week, is believed to
be the author of an
impassioned letter
that surfaced
Tuesday declaring
his innocence and
stating: "I am not
hiding to avoid the
charges against me."
The letter -- hand-printed in capital
letters and filled
with grammatical and
spelling errors --
arrived by mail at
the Chicago office
of Lombardo's
attorney, Rick
Halprin. Postmarked
in Chicago, the
letter was directed
at U.S. District
Court Judge James B.
Zagel, who is
handling the case
targeting unsolved
mob murders,
gambling and
extortion. It's
signed "Joe Lombardo
A Innocent Man."
"I am no part of a enterprise or
racketering . . .
have no part in the
poker machines,
extorcinate loans,
gambling and what
ever else the
indictment says,"
the letter reads.
"About the 18
murders in the
indictment, I want
you to know that I
was not privy before
the murders, during
the murders, and
after the murders,
and to this present
writing to you."
The author wrote, "I anticipate there
will be no bond,"
but later demands a
$50,000 recognizance
bond -- as well as a
separate trial from
the dozen other
defendants,
including Frank
Schweihs, also on
the lam -- before he
turns himself in to
his attorney.
His rationale for the separate trial:
"If I go to trial
with them they do
not have to take the
stand." He said he
wants to "suppeana
them" to be
witnesses.
'I am not a violent
man'
The author told the judge, "I am not
a violent man in
anyway shape or
form. I do not own
or have any weapons
of any kind. if the
F.B.I. should find
me I will come
peacefully and no
resistence at all."
The author says he is 76, with a bad
heart.
Investigators believe the letter,
which comes with an
apology for the "mispelt
words and also my
grammar," is from
Lombardo but need to
do more work to
authenticate it.
It could be the latest quirky move by
Lombardo, who gets
his nickname "The
Clown" from his
joking nature.
He once took out a newspaper ad
proclaiming he was
not a mobster, and
another time cut out
an eyehole in a
Sun-Times newspaper
and used it to cover
his face while
passing
photographers. The
image was
immortalized in a
famous photograph.
'Reach me by the
media'
FBI agents are expected to process
the letter for
fingerprints and
other evidence,
while IRS agents are
expected to compare
the signature on the
letter to ones they
have for Lombardo.
Investigators also will try to
determine whether
Lombardo had the
letter remailed. If
Lombardo is outside
the Chicago area, he
could have mailed
the letter to a
friend or family
member in the city
and had that person
remail it to
Lombardo's attorney.
Some investigators, though, believe
Lombardo still is in
the Chicago area,
and noted that the
letter, and the
subsequent media
attention, will make
it harder for him to
flee.
Prosecutors were expected to ask for
Lombardo to be
detained even before
they realized he had
fled.
Now, with Lombardo on the lam, they
will simply have
another argument for
his detention.
Law enforcement sources described as
highly unlikely that
Lombardo would ever
get the conditions
he requested from
the judge, including
a $50,000 bond.
Last week, Zagel decided to keep
reputed Chicago mob
chief James Marcello
in prison, even
though Marcello
offered to post
about $12.5 million
in property as bond.
The U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago
had no comment on
the letter.
Halprin opened the letter around noon
and by about 3 p.m.
was in court in
front of Zagel,
along with
prosecutors and an
FBI agent for a
brief hearing.
Rips justice system
The letter asks Zagel for "any ideas
or suggestion of
what I should do,"
and said the judge
can "notify my
lawyer" who can
"reach me by the
media."
"P.SS Judge," the letter says later,
"with the pre
publicity I do not
have a chance. The
media made me a 10
headed monster. How
does a innocent
person defend
himself?" the author
asks.
He also railed against the justice
system in one of his
parting shots in the
letter.
"P.SS. Like they say they could
indict a hamburger
for murder + get a
conviction," the
writer gripes.