Federal prosecutor Mitchell A. Mars who sent Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo and other big-name mobsters to prison has died following a battle with lung cancer.
He was 55 years old.
Mars had been battling lung cancer since shortly after last year's Operation Family Secrets trial. That ended in the conviction of Lombardo and other top organized crime figures.
Officials say he died last night.
Mars headed the organized crime unit in the U.S. attorney's office for 15 years and won convictions against mobsters Albert Tocco and Rocky Infelice as well as Cicero town president Betty Loren-Maltese among others.
The Family Secrets trial was based on an FBI investigation of 18 long unsolved mob murders. It represented a major victory for the government.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Veteran organized crime prosecutor Mitchell Mars dies
The AP reports:
