No bail for cop who helped mob
FAMILY SECRETS | Judge calls retired officer 'a danger' who may harm witnesses
The crooked cop in the "Family Secrets" mob trial will have to stay in prison because a federal judge fears he might go after witnesses in the case if released on bail.
Anthony Doyle was convicted of losing evidence against mobsters when he was a Chicago cop. In a ruling Wednesday, U.S. District Judge James Zagel noted that Doyle is close to convicted mob killer Frank Calabrese Sr., who might want action taken against people who testified against him. Doyle might be willing to oblige, Zagel wrote.
(AP file)
"I believe that the evidence at trial has shown that he is a danger to the community," Zagel wrote.
"We respectfully disagree with the court," said Doyle's attorney Ralph Meczyk. "I'm very dismayed, disappointed. We're going to ask the judge to revisit it."
Doyle, whose original last name was Passafiume, was convicted of racketeering conspiracy along with Calabrese and three other mobsters. While Doyle's was the least severe conviction of the five, Zagel rejected Meczyk's argument that he was not convicted of a crime of violence.
Jurors heard tape recordings of Doyle talking with Calabrese in code that, according to prosecutors, meant Doyle agreed that certain people need to be killed.
"The crucial question [jurors had to decide] was whether Doyle was just 'playing along' with Frank Calabrese Sr. or whether he was willing [and agreeing] to engage in acts of violence," Zagel wrote. "The jury found that Doyle was part and parcel of a racketeering conspiracy that used violence to achieve its goals. . . . I would not grant bail for this crime of violence."
Now that Calabrese is convicted and facing a life sentence, "I have no doubt that Frank Calabrese Sr. would be willing to take steps against those who testified against him," Zagel wrote. "The risk that defendant Doyle would attempt to assist Frank Calabrese Sr. is too high to be disregarded."
The fact that Doyle's wife is in poor health in Arizona and that Doyle will likely lose his police pension only strengthen the argument to keep him behind bars, Zagel wrote.
"Doyle is in a fairly desperate state," Zagel wrote. "A desperate man in his position represents a risk to the community".