CHICAGO (MCT) — Their violent crimes started in the early 1960s and continued well into their senior years when, in their 70s, they plotted a burglary at the family home of a deceased Chicago mobster.
So on Wednesday reputed Chicago mob figure Joseph “Jerry” Scalise and associate Bobby Pullia returned to a familiar place, before a judge’s bench — except this time with white hair and labored, slow shuffles.
“It certainly was a wasted life. Here’s a guy who was taught by the Jesuits and even made the dean’s list,” U.S. District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber said of Scalise’s education at Chicago’s prestigous St. Ignatius College Prep.
A reflective Leinenweber then noted his own advancing years and offered Scalise, 74, a small mercy, sentencing him to just shy of nine years in prison. He faced up to 10 years.
“When you get to be in your 70s, a year is more valuable,” the veteran judge said.
Minutes later Leinenweber gave the same sentence to Pullia, 71.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu had argued strongly for the full sentence, detailing a “stunning array” of crimes and their lack of positive contribution to society throughout their long lives.
Bhachu singled Scalise out for his reputed membership in the so-called “Wild Bunch,” a notorious group of Chicago mob hit men.
“This is a man who commits crimes because he gets a thrill out of hurting other people and taking things,” the prosecutor said.
Scalise and Pullia pleaded guilty in January to plotting the home invasion at the residence of deceased mob leader Angelo “The Hook” LaPietra as well as an armored car break-in at a suburban bank.
A third accomplice, Arthur Rachel, 74, went to trial and was found guilty. He was sentenced in June to an 8 1/2-year prison term.
More than 30 years ago, Scalise and Rachel, also a reputed figure in Chicago’s Outfit, partnered up for one of the more intriguing chapters of Chicago mob history, robbing the 45-carat Marlborough Diamond from a London jewelry store. The gem is still missing, but the two served 13-year prison terms for the heist.
Then in April 2010, federal agents arrested the two with Pullia outside LaPietra’s home under the cover of night in dark clothing and armed with a police scanner, drilling tools, a ladder, and a toolbox containing Mace. Weapons were found at a separate location.
Secret government recordings revealed they hoped to find a secret stash of jewels and valuables at the LaPietra home like those found inside the home of imprisoned mob hit man Frank Calabrese Sr.
Neither of the men chose to address the court Wednesday.
“I got nothin’ to say,” Pullia told the judge.
But their attorneys spoke of their older ages and health problems.
Scalise’s attorney, Edward Genson, called his client eloquent and learned but said he had “wasted his life.”
“I am asking for one favor for a man who doesn’t deserve it,” Genson said.