| Harry Aleman | |
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Mugshot of Harry Aleman |
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| Born | January 19, 1939 Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | May 15, 2010 (aged 71) Galesburg, Illinois |
| Cause | lung cancer |
| Alias(es) | The Hook |
Harry "The Hook" Aleman (January 19, 1939 – May 15, 2010) was a Chicago mobster who was one of most feared enforcers for the Chicago Outfit during the 1970s. Aleman got the nickname "Hook" from his boxing career in high school.[1]
==Early life== Born in the Taylor Street area of Chicago,[2] Aleman was the first of three sons of Louis Aleman and Mary Virginia Baratta. The Legendary Taylor Street was the port-of-call for Chicago's Italian Americans. Aleman was a nephew of future Chicago Outfit acting mob boss Nicholas Ferriola and uncle to Joseph Aleman.
Aleman's mother was Italian, his father a native of Durango, Durango Mexico was involved in narcotics trafficking. In a 1997 interview, Aleman said that his father beat him every day. The only relief Aleman got was from ages seven to eleven, when Louis was in prison.[1] (The two weeks of each summer, which Harry spent at the Bowen Country Club, must have, by definition, also provided a reprieve of sorts.)
In 1956, Aleman graduated from Crane Technical High School and enrolled in the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts to study commercial art. In 1958, he graduated with a two year degree in that field. Aleman went to work selling race track program sheets and produce from the South Water Street Market.[1]
In 1964, Aleman married Ruth Felper Mustari, a widow with four children.[1] Due to an accident as a teenager, Aleman wasn't able to produce children of his own. However, according to Ruth and his stepchildren, he was a loving and kind husband and father.[3]
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In 1962, Aleman was charged with assaulting Howard Pierson, the 23-year-old son of a Chicago police commander. The incident started when Aleman, at a bar with his brother and friends, pushed a woman through a large window. Pierson chased Aleman out of the bar, then flagged down a police car. Police soon stopped Aleman and started questioning him. When Pierson arrived at the scene, the enraged Aleman punched Pierson, breaking his jaw. Aleman was convicted, but received only two years' probation.[1]
During the 1960s, Aleman was also arrested for malicious mischief, illegal gambling, possession of burglary tools, assault, aggravated assault, grand theft auto, armed robbery, and aggravated kidnapping.[3]
In the early 1970s, Aleman decided to force independent bookmakers in Chicago to pay extortion payments, or "street tax", to the Outfit. If the bookmakers refused, Aleman was willing to use force on them.[1]
According to law enforcement and the Chicago Crime Commission, Aleman committed 13 murders in Chicago between 1971 and 1976. His victims allegedly included Richard Cain, a top aide to boss Sam Giancana, along with counterfeiters, mob informants, a former police officer, and another mob enforcer.[1] Aleman was prosecuted for only one murder: the 1972 Logan killing. FBI detectives were reported to have said that Aleman "oozed menace" and his mere presence was usually enough to enforce the will of the Mafia.[4]
On September 27, 1972, Aleman murdered Teamster Billy Logan in his Chicago neighborhood. One report was that Logan, married to Aleman's cousin, was mistreating his wife, and had called Aleman a guinea. Another story is that Logan refused to help Aleman steal goods from some trucks. In any case, two witnesses saw Aleman commit the murder and prosecutors thought they had a strong case. However, just before the trial started in 1977, defense attorney Robert Cooley offered a $10,000 bribe to Cook County Circuit Court Judge Frank Wilson to find Aleman innocent. Wilson agreed, but later demanded more money to compensate for the risk. As a result, Aleman was acquitted in a bench trial.[5]
In 1978, Aleman was convicted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act of organizing a series of home invasion robberies. Sentenced to thirty years imprisonment, Aleman spent time at federal correctional facilities in Marion, Illinois, Atlanta, Georgia, Oxford, Wisconsin, and Milan, Michigan. During this time in federal prison, Aleman took some college courses and started painting as a hobby.[1] On April 28, 1989, after serving 11 years in prison, Aleman was released on parole.[6]
During the late 1980s, investigators started Operation GamBat, an extensive investigation into decades of corruption and mob ties inside the Chicago court system. In February 1990, fearing prosecution from his actions during the 1977 Logan trial, retired judge Frank Wilson shot himself to death at his Arizona retirement home.[5]
In 1991, Aleman pleaded guilty to extorting money from bookmakers Anthony Reitinger and Vince Rizza in 1972. Aleman was convicted and was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. In 1993, based on Robert Cooley's testimony, Aleman was re-indicted for the 1972 Logan slaying.[6] In 1997, Aleman was convicted of the Logan murder and sentenced to 300 years in state prison. Aleman's re-trial and subsequent conviction are historic as he is the first American to be retried for murder following a fraudulent first trial. The retrial, however, does not constitute double jeopardy.[7]
Aleman died from complications of lung cancer, which he had been battling for many years, on May 15, 2010 at Hill Correctional Center in Galesburg, Illinois.[2] He is buried in Waldheim Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois.[8]
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