Dad once stuck gun 'in my face'
FAMILY SECRETS | Calabrese Jr. testifies he stole from father who taught him mob business
Frank Calabrese Jr. had stolen more than $600,000 from his father, Frank Sr. -- a loan shark and reputed Outfit killer -- when the father took the son to a garage in Elmwood Park.
Frank Calabrese Sr. "pulled out a gun, and he stuck it in my face and told me, 'I'd rather have you dead than disobey me,' " Frank Calabrese Jr. told jurors Tuesday in the Family Secrets mob trial.
Frank Calabrese Jr., 47, said he cried, hugged and kissed his father, and begged him for help. His life had been in a downward spiral.
Calabrese Sr. didn't pull the trigger. But as they left in his truck, the father backhanded his son in the face several times, Calabrese Jr. said.
The son took the stand Tuesday afternoon as the first star witness in the Family Secrets case. Frank Calabrese Jr. was allegedly being groomed to take over his father's street crew. But instead of preserving Frank Calabrese Sr.'s legacy, Calabrese Jr. may prove to be his father's undoing.
On the witness stand Tuesday, Calabrese Jr. described how his father at first had him go on weekly rounds with his uncle Nick Calabrese, an Outfit hit man, and collect the quarters from peep shows at six adult bookstores in the Chicago area. Calabrese Jr. was in high school.
Calabrese Sr. later took Calabrese Jr. with him when he had to rough people up. Later, Calabrese Sr. had his son torch a garage, according to court testimony.
Throughout his son's testimony Tuesday, Frank Calabrese Sr. wore a smirk and occasionally appeared to scoff at his son's allegations.
Calabrese Sr.'s attorney, Joseph Lopez, said his client "always smiles. He's a happy-go-lucky fellow."
At the start of his testimony, Calabrese Jr. described how he pleaded guilty to being part of his father's crew and eventually was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison.
Calabrese Jr. has been off drugs since being released from prison in 2000 and has been running a pizzeria with his family in Scottsdale, Ariz., before having to close it temporarily before he testified for safety reasons, Calabrese Jr. said.
Earlier in court on Tuesday, a co-founder of Connie's Pizza testified how he gave about $270,000 in street tax money over 20 years to Calabrese Sr. James Stolfe said Calabrese Sr. never threatened him and admitted he never complained about the street tax. Stolfe said he also lied for Calabrese Sr. before a grand jury.
Even though Stolfe played handball with Calabrese Sr., went on a vacation with him and had dinner with him, he was still "very intimidated" by him.
"Just his demeanor and who he was involved with," Stolfe explained.