U.S. marshal goes on trial for mob ties
FEDERAL COURT | Accused of leaking witness security info
Once known as a tireless bloodhound who tracked down fugitive gang leaders, Deputy U.S. Marshal John T. Ambrose now faces years behind bars if he is convicted of betraying his oath and leaking secrets to the mob.
Ambrose, 50, is due to go on trial today for tipping off organized crime figures seven years ago that a so-called made member of the Chicago mob had switched sides and was now providing detailed information to federal prosecutors. Ambrose denies he ever broke the law.
(John H. White/Sun-Times)
"The feds are guaranteed to see this as the worst sort of treachery," says mob expert John Binder, author of The Chicago Outfit. "I don't think I'm overblowing it. They're going to see him the way the military sees a Benedict Arnold."
U.S. District Judge John F. Grady has ordered extraordinary security, including screens in the courtroom, to conceal the faces of key witnesses from spectators.
Inspectors in the government's supersecret Witness Security Program operated by the U.S. Marshals Service will testify behind the screens and also use pseudonyms. Ambrose defense attorney Francis C. Lipuma objected to the screens and testimony under false names.
"This is going to sensationalize the trial," Lipuma told a recent hearing.
Ambrose is accused of leaking information to the mob about an admitted former hit man, Nicholas Calabrese, who was the government's star witness at the landmark 2007 Family Secrets trial that targeted top members of the Chicago mob.
Ambrose was assigned to guard Calabrese on two occasions. Ambrose is charged with stealing information out of the Witness Security Program and passing it to a go-between, believing it would go to reputed mob boss John "No Nose" DiFronzo.
AP