Marathon Pundit: Brother vs. brother in Chicago mob trial

In what is clearly the biggest trial involving "The Outfit," that is, the Chicago mob in decades, Nicholas Calebrese is testifying against his brother Frank.

The testimony is quite graphic, as you'll read from this excerpt from the Chicago "free registration required" Tribune:

The men watched (Paul) Haggerty's movements for patterns, Calabrese said, following him to the bus and work. Eventually, they snatched him and drove him to (fellow mobster Ronnie) Jarrett's mother-in-law's garage, he said.

After Haggerty was questioned, Calabrese said, he was left alone with him for a time, his hands cuffed and his eyes and mouth taped. He said he gave Haggerty some water and helped him use the bathroom, but the rest of the men soon returned with a stolen car to finish the job.

"I held him and Ronnie held him and my brother strangled him with a rope," he said.

Calabrese also testified about the murder of burglar John Mendell, who was killed in 1978 as an example for burglarizing mob boss Tony Accardo's home. Mendell was lured to the same garage where Haggerty was killed and then he was jumped, Nicholas Calabrese said. His brother strangled Mendell with a rope, but this time there was a twist, he said. "My brother handed me the knife, and he said 'You do it,' " Calabrese said.