Hollywood's Hannibal Lector, a serial killer who would then devour his victims, was entombed in a subterranean prison from homicidally insane. Famously portrayed in 1991 by actor Anthony Hopkins, Lector was restrained in a straight-jacket and a muzzle, intended to prevent him from sinking his teeth into anyone else.
Lopez tells the I-Team that the only restraint not yet used on Calabrese is the protective face-mask. "I am sure it is coming," stated Lopez "and I think he will never leave (solitary confinement.) This is unheard of for a U.S. citizen. It's reserved for terrorists."
Calabrese, known in Outfit circles as "the Breeze," is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 28. The motion, which will be heard in court next Thursday, is aimed at gaining permission for Calabrese to meet with a private investigator hired by Mr. Lopez.
As the I-Team reported in December, Calabrese has been held in solitary confinement after authorities say they determined he was a violent security threat.
"The Defendant does not know which information the Attorney General was provided; but, it is his position that it is false" Calabrese contends in the court motion. "Accordingly, he is ready to submit to a lie detector test along with the persons who may have made false statements to representatives of the United States."
Lopez maintains that it is impossible for Calabrese to prepare for his defense while being held like Hannibal Lecter. "The Defendant's calls are restricted; and, as of today's date, he has not seen his children. He has seen his wife with whom he was allowed a visit through a glass window and shackled" states the motion.
Among the children Calabrese has not seen, is his Frank Jr. who testified against him during the Operation Family Secrets mob murder trial in 2007. Calabrese believes that government prosecutors do not want him investigating what may have motivated his son to become a witness."Namely, the real reason he began to cooperate and the fact he recruited individual "A" to put the spin of the lousy father before the public eye rather than the real reason of avarice and greed," according to the filing.
A spokesman for United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald on Friday declined to comment on the Hannibal Lecter motion.
DOWNLOAD: Calabrese motion (PDF document)
Mob murder victims' lives now worth $7.4 million
In a separate court filing today, the lives of 14 mob murder victims have gone up in value.
Federal prosecutors originally filed court motions last fall citing the earnings potential of victims and the monetary loss to their relatives. At that time, restitution to be paid by top Chicago mobsters convicted in Operation Family Secrets was put at $3.9 million.
Updated figures filed in federal court on Friday put the restitution at $7,450,686.00. Prosecutors say the increased value is based on new information provided to experts who figured the restitution. Government lawyers are asking the court to force lead mob defendants to split that figure five ways and be made to pay survivors of those who were rubbed out by assassins.
The convicted hoodlums who are being asked to pay up are: Frank Calabrese Sr., James "Jimmy the Man" Marcello, Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, Paul "The Indian" Schiro and Anthony "Twan" Doyle.
All of the men are due to be sentenced by the end of February, at which time Judge James Zagel is expected to impose restitution and also $20 million in fines that the government has requested.
