The murder trial of reputed mob hit man Harry Aleman took a new twist Monday when defense lawyers suggested that it was another hit man–William “Butch” Petrocelli–who actually gunned down Teamsters union shop steward William Logan in 1972.
The defense, in its final day before the case moves to closing arguments, called Phyllis Napoles, Logan’s ex-wife, who told the jury that six months before he was murdered, Logan was involved in a fist fight with Petrocelli during which Petrocelli threatened to kill Logan.
Petrocelli, a longtime friend of Aleman’s, disappeared on Dec. 30, 1980; his body was found in March 1981 in the trunk of his car parked on a Southwest Side street.
Logan, 36, was slain outside his home in the 5900 block of West Walton Street on Sept. 27, 1972. Aleman was indicted for Logan’s murder in 1976 and was acquitted the next year following a bench trial before Criminal Courts Judge Frank Wilson.
Aleman, 58, is being tried a second time because Judge Michael Toomin, who is hearing the second trial, ruled that double jeopardy does not apply since prosecutors alleged the first trial was fixed by a $10,000 bribe to Wilson.
In March 1972, six months before Logan was cut down by two shotgun blasts, Napoles said Petrocelli came to her home to pay his respects because her mother had died several weeks earlier.
While they were drinking coffee, Logan arrived and when he was refused entrance, Logan became abusive and attempted to kick the door in, Napoles said.
“He had been drinking heavily and he started to kick in the door,” she recalled. “Butchie (Petrocelli) asked him to leave and they went to the alley. They struck each other physically and there was a lot of profanity.”
Defense attorneys and witnesses never directly said that Petrocelli killed Logan, but they portrayed him as a feared man who had clashed with Logan and might have nurtured a grudge.
Under cross-examination, Napoles conceded that she did not see what went on in the alley, but added, “You could hear them. They were fighting. . . . They threatened to kill each other.”
Assistant Cook County State’s Atty. Scott Cassidy attempted to suggest that Napoles testified because she is Aleman’s second cousin, noting that she had never come forward before to offer testimony about the incident.
“I had a great deal of fear for Mr. Petrocelli,” she replied. “That’s why I didn’t marry him.”
She conceded, however, that as recently as last July 31 she and one of her daughters by her third marriage had visited Aleman in prison.
Asked if she had a close relationship with Aleman, Napoles replied, “We were as close as cousins could be.”
The trial is being conducted in an almost surreal atmosphere because Toomin barred any references to organized crime. As a result, the jury is unaware of Aleman’s reputation as a hit man and that he is suspected by authorities of being involved in as many as 15 unsolved murders.
And jurors only know Petrocelli as an associate of Aleman’s. While they learned that Petrocelli is now dead, jurors know nothing of the violent manner in which he died. At the time of his disappearance, Petrocelli, 43, was suspected as the triggerman in the murder of a Villa Park restaurateur who was to testify in federal court in Chicago against three other mob figures.
Instead of using terms such as “mob” or “organized crime,” prosecutors Cassidy and Neil Linehan have referred to individuals as being connected to Chicago’s 1st Ward. In testimony last week, Robert Cooley, a former lawyer who represented mob figures and later became a federal informant, testified he delivered the $10,000 bribe to Wilson at the behest of officials in the 1st Ward.
Napoles was called by the defense to counter testimony last week from Betty Romo, the victim’s sister, who said that at the time of her brother’s death, he was locked in a bitter court fight over custody and visitation rights to the couple’s two sons.
Napoles calmly walked through the courtroom and took the witness stand.
“It was a very sad marriage,” said Napoles, who now owns a White Hen Pantry outlet in Chicago. “He (Logan) drank a lot. He was abusive to me and the children.”
Her marriage to Logan in 1964 was her second, after she divorced her first husband, Napoles said.
After divorcing Logan in 1967, she said she became intimate with Petrocelli.
Under questioning by Aleman defense lawyer Kevin McNally, Napoles said that Petrocelli asked her to marry him. At the time, Petrocelli was still married but was estranged from his wife.
“Did you agree to marry him?” McNally asked.
“I did not,” she replied. “I had a great deal of respect for his dark side. He had a very violent nature in him.”
When Petrocelli’s body was found in 1981 in his automobile, his face had been burned beyond recognition and he had been stabbed twice in the throat. His death, however, was caused by suffocation due to tape covering his nose and mouth, authorities said at the time.
Although she spurned Petrocelli’s marriage proposal, Napoles said she and Petrocelli remained close friends. She told the jury that she believed her relationship with Petrocelli had been secret, unknown even to Aleman.
To back up Napoles’ testimony, the defense called Logan’s son, William Logan Jr., who recalled seeing the fight. Several jurors took notes as Logan, who was 7 years old at the time, testified that he saw Petrocelli and his father shouting profanities on the back porch and walking toward the alley. He said he peeked around the corner of the garage to see Petrocelli slam into his father’s chest and then punch his father.
Through the testimony of the younger Logan, Napoles and others, McNally and co-defense lawyers Alex Salerno and Margaret O’Donnell launched an assault on the credibility of the prosecution’s case. Among the witnesses they sought to undermine was Louis Almeida, who said he drove the car for Aleman on the night of the killing.
Defense witness Guido Calcagno said he grew up with Almeida. “He’s not very truthful,” Calcagno said. “He has a tendency to lie about everything.”
