Robert Cooley testifies
In this 4th and final episode chronicling the life and times of feared Chicago outfit enforcer Harry “The Hook” Aleman, Gary, and David Byrne of the Facebook page The Chicago Outfit Old and Current news and articles, discuss the witness Robert Cooley who will testify that the judge in Aleman’s first trial took a bribe. This revelation destroys Aleman’s double jeopardy protection and how the government was able to force Aleman to stand trial a second time after being found not guilty for the same murder.
Operation Greylord, exposed corruption and bribery in the Cook County courts.
Because of Robert Cooley and his exposing corruption in Chicago, FBI agents exposed many clerks, judges, and police officers as corrupt. We hope to get the FBI agent Terence Hake in soon to talk about this investigation. In 1986, 3 years after Operation Greylord was concluded a Cook County criminal defense attorney named Robert J. Cooley walked into the FBI office and offered to work. He knew where a lot more bodies were buried. He had seen the success of Operation Greylord and felt guilty about his past use of bribery for the Outfit but felt powerless. The final straw was when he was forced by his mob contacts to bribe a judge to find for a defendant who had severely beaten a Chicago policewoman, he had enough. Cooley had started his career as a young Chicago cop before law school and came from a long line of Chicago cops who were not corrupt, and he had seen enough.
Robert Cooley testifies
Robert Cooley was not innocent in all this and had been a go-between for bribes. He was a heavy gambler and confident of many Outfit guys. Cooley’s main contact in the outfit was Marco D`Amico, who was in the Elmwood Park crew and ran a major bookmaking organization and juice loan business. He even intimidated a bookie to forgive a $50,000 gambling debt owed by the lawyer Cooley. Of course, no good deed goes unpunished, and later Cooley will wear a wire on him after he and his FBI friends set up D’Amico on a robbery, gambling, and extortion conspiracy which became the predicate acts for a racketeering charge. He was close personal friends with Aleman’s old partner, Butch Petrocelli.
Robert Cooley told many stories during his debriefing and named many court officials who were involved in bribery. These were men who had escaped the dragnet of Operation Greylord. The FBI realized they should mount another long-term undercover investigation and they named this Operation Gambat short for Gambling Attorney. Because Cooley had also been acting as a bookmaker and held high-stakes poker games in his office, he was close to the Outfit’s gambling enterprise. So in addition to exposing more Cook County court corruption, the FBI also used him to gather information on Outfit gambling.
During his debriefing he told the agents that back in 1977, he had delivered a $10,000 bribe to Judge Frank Wilson at the Outfit’s request, to deliver the not guilty verdict in the Billy Logan murder case. Cooley described exactly how this happened. He was called to a meeting with Cook County Outfit fixer Pat Marcy at a downtown restaurant called Counselors Row. Cooley reported that march and another outfit fixer named John D’Arco always sat at this same table to meet and discuss court cases, gambling business, and other Outfit business. The FBI will place a hidden mike here only to have it found by a busboy. It was at this table that Pat Marcy told him that Aleman’s case must be fixed and asked his advice. Cooley told Marcy that this was very sensitive and must be handled delicately because Aleman drew a lot of attention. He knew that for a judge to find a murder defendant not guilty, he must have some disputing fact or facts to enable him to say the state had not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Cooley was a close personal friend to Judge Frank Wilson and often visited him in his chambers. He knew that Wilson had heavy expenses maintaining a country club...
In this 4th and final episode chronicling the life and times of feared Chicago outfit enforcer Harry “The Hook” Aleman, Gary, and David Byrne of the Facebook page The Chicago Outfit Old and Current news and articles, discuss the witness Robert Cooley who will testify that the judge in Aleman’s first trial took a bribe. This revelation destroys Aleman’s double jeopardy protection and how the government was able to force Aleman to stand trial a second time after being found not guilty for the same murder.
Operation Greylord, exposed corruption and bribery in the Cook County courts.
Because of Robert Cooley and his exposing corruption in Chicago, FBI agents exposed many clerks, judges, and police officers as corrupt. We hope to get the FBI agent Terence Hake in soon to talk about this investigation. In 1986, 3 years after Operation Greylord was concluded a Cook County criminal defense attorney named Robert J. Cooley walked into the FBI office and offered to work. He knew where a lot more bodies were buried. He had seen the success of Operation Greylord and felt guilty about his past use of bribery for the Outfit but felt powerless. The final straw was when he was forced by his mob contacts to bribe a judge to find for a defendant who had severely beaten a Chicago policewoman, he had enough. Cooley had started his career as a young Chicago cop before law school and came from a long line of Chicago cops who were not corrupt, and he had seen enough.
Robert Cooley testifies
Robert Cooley was not innocent in all this and had been a go-between for bribes. He was a heavy gambler and confident of many Outfit guys. Cooley’s main contact in the outfit was Marco D`Amico, who was in the Elmwood Park crew and ran a major bookmaking organization and juice loan business. He even intimidated a bookie to forgive a $50,000 gambling debt owed by the lawyer Cooley. Of course, no good deed goes unpunished, and later Cooley will wear a wire on him after he and his FBI friends set up D’Amico on a robbery, gambling, and extortion conspiracy which became the predicate acts for a racketeering charge. He was close personal friends with Aleman’s old partner, Butch Petrocelli.
Robert Cooley told many stories during his debriefing and named many court officials who were involved in bribery. These were men who had escaped the dragnet of Operation Greylord. The FBI realized they should mount another long-term undercover investigation and they named this Operation Gambat short for Gambling Attorney. Because Cooley had also been acting as a bookmaker and held high-stakes poker games in his office, he was close to the Outfit’s gambling enterprise. So in addition to exposing more Cook County court corruption, the FBI also used him to gather information on Outfit gambling.
During his debriefing he told the agents that back in 1977, he had delivered a $10,000 bribe to Judge Frank Wilson at the Outfit’s request, to deliver the not guilty verdict in the Billy Logan murder case. Cooley described exactly how this happened. He was called to a meeting with Cook County Outfit fixer Pat Marcy at a downtown restaurant called Counselors Row. Cooley reported that march and another outfit fixer named John D’Arco always sat at this same table to meet and discuss court cases, gambling business, and other Outfit business. The FBI will place a hidden mike here only to have it found by a busboy. It was at this table that Pat Marcy told him that Aleman’s case must be fixed and asked his advice. Cooley told Marcy that this was very sensitive and must be handled delicately because Aleman drew a lot of attention. He knew that for a judge to find a murder defendant not guilty, he must have some disputing fact or facts to enable him to say the state had not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Cooley was a close personal friend to Judge Frank Wilson and often visited him in his chambers. He knew that Wilson had heavy expenses maintaining a country club...
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