Over the years, the court testimony of former Chicago mob lawyerRobert Cooley has put away mobsters, lawyers and judges.
But the prized federal informant won't be testifying at whatcould be the biggest mob trial in Chicago history -- the OperationFamily Secrets trial.
A host of informants, "stool pigeons" and ex-mobsters will betaking the stand starting in mid-May to tell jurors about theOutfit's structure and deadly doings.
Some of Chicago's top mobsters are standing trial, includingreputed mob leader James "Little Jimmy" Marcello and Joseph "Joeythe Clown" Lombardo.
Cooley has testified in several previous mob trials, and hisability on the stand has met with praise. But this time, he won't bepart of the trial.
In an interview late last week, Cooley, who these days lives outof state under a different name, said he clashed with federalprosecutors when he was debriefed more than a year ago.
'A FLUNKY'
Cooley said he disagrees with the prosecution's theory over howthe Chicago mob was structured since the 1970s, and he isdisappointed that another top mobster wasn't charged in the case fortwo murders that Cooley said he has told the feds about.
Cooley calls Marcello -- who the feds says is the top mob leader -- "a flunky."
"He was never more of a mob boss than I was," Cooley scoffs.
In his years as an informant, Cooley was never known to bereluctant to tell federal agents and prosecutors where he believedthey were falling short or screwing up.
While Cooley says he won't be helping the feds this time around,he won't be helping the defense team, either.
"I would not do anything to hurt the case," Cooley said. "I wouldnever do anything to help the bad guys."
Cooley is best known for his seminal work in taking apart theOutfit's political power structure in the 1st Ward, which he saw asmarking the true end of the Chicago mob.
"They're just cleaning up our scraps," Cooley said of the currentcase.
Federal prosecutors had no comment on Cooley's statements.
swarmbir@suntimes.com
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