Mario Rainone is asking for an early release from his federal supervision sentence so he can attend dog shows with a grandson
Rainone spent about half of his life behind bars, not unlike the caged dogs he's now asking to visit at out-of-town canine shows. But to do so, Rainone needs a federal judge to sign off on early termination of his court supervision, a restriction that keeps him on a short leash until the summer of 2025, prohibiting free travel outside of the area.
At 69 years old, Rainone's Outfit pedigree is lengthy and rich with experience as a burglar and enforcer. He was labeled an "urban terrorist" by the last judge to sentence him, who gave him 15 years on a federal gun charge.
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His mob nickname is "The Arm" in recognition of his negotiating skills.
"He's out of the game. He's old, and he's out of the game," said legendary Chicago attorney Joe "The Shark" Lopez about his longtime client.
During the COVID pandemic, Rainone won compassionate early release and returned to Chicago on a lengthy court supervision.
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The I-Team obtained a federal motion asking for Rainone's early release from that supervision, which is currently set to end in late June 2025.
According to the court motion, "should Mr. Rainone's supervised release be terminated, and he be allowed to travel, he would be assigned Dog Show duties such as caring for the animals backstage, feeding them, and cleaning up their waste."
The once tough as nails mobster, seen in a picture with his personal dog Leo, wants to travel with his adult grandson and family dogs to shows in Illinois and across the U.S.
"Mr. Rainone helps him with the animals. I mean, he has to shovel the poop sometimes. For instance, if he wanted to go to Springfield this weekend for the dog show, we would have to file a motion before the court and get a court order for him to leave the Northern District of Illinois. And we think that that would be overly burdened if I would have to file a motion every week to make a request for movement to go to a dog show," Lopez said. "ell, he hasn't been arrested, he hasn't violated any conditions of his supervised release. So, he's been a model person on supervised release."
Lopez is bargaining that a yet-to-be named judge will terminate Rainone's probation under a law that allows for early full release if a person has completed half their sentence, which he has.