Mobster’s stash is discovered

Behind family photos in the basement of a notorious Chicago mobster, federal agents made a stunning discovery: a secret compartment containing almost three-quarters of a million dollars, 1,000 pieces of stolen jewelry and seven firearms.

Authorities also found that convicted mob hit man Frank Calabrese Sr. had secretly taped conversations with other gangsters. Agents found recording devices and about a dozen microcassettes.

Handwritten notes and ledgers detailing suspected extortion and gambling activities were in the cubbyhole too, authorities said.

“I have no idea what those recordings are,” said Calabrese’s lawyer, Joseph Lopez. “For all I know, it’s Frank Sinatra singing.”

A 2007 trial riveted Chicago with lurid testimony about some of the most notorious gangland slayings in the last four decades. A mob turncoat -- Calabrese’s brother -- gave chilling inside details of 14 killings.

In sentencing Calabrese to life in prison in January 2009, U.S. District Judge James Zagel ordered him and codefendants to pay $27.7 million in forfeiture and restitution.

Deputy U.S. marshals and FBI agents showed up at Calabrese’s Oak Brook, Ill., home with a search warrant Tuesday morning, but his wife, Diane, voluntarily let them in, according to court papers.

When agents lifted a frame containing a collection of family photos off the basement wall, they noticed several screws in the wood paneling. They removed the screws and discovered the hidden compartment, authorities said.

Agents found about 15 Manila envelopes stuffed with $728,481 in bills. The approximately 1,000 pieces of jewelry were in display boxes, authorities said, and bags of loose diamonds and other jewelry contained store tags.

The seven loaded firearms were wrapped in clothing and towels, suggesting to authorities they may have been used in crimes. The wrappings would keep those who handled the guns from leaving fingerprints.

Calabrese’s wife and his son, Frank Jr., denied any knowledge of the cash or weapons, authorities said. But in court papers, authorities noted that Diane Calabrese paid for her two children’s private schooling with cashier’s checks, although she has no known legitimate source of income.

Another $26,000 in cash was discovered in a locked desk drawer in her bedroom.

Calabrese’s trial was highlighted by testimony from his brother, Nicholas, and son, who had secretly recorded prison conversations with his father. The code name for the federal investigation, Operation Family Secrets, came from their cooperation.

At his 2009 sentencing, Calabrese, 71, denied he was a feared mob hit man.

“I’m not no big shot,” said Calabrese, dressed in an orange jumpsuit with a strap holding his glasses on his mostly bald head. “I’m not nothing but a human being, and when you cut my hand, I bleed like everybody else.”

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