A real Gangster Al " Scar Face " Capone

A historic hotel in Fox Lake that once served as mobster Al Capone's weekend retreat is up for sale on eBay.

The owners of the Mineola Lounge and Marina listed the property in Fox Lake on eBay Monday with a starting bid of $2 million.

Owner Pete Jakstas says the property includes the hotel, 17 acres of lake-front land, the marina and his former home. He says he's been trying to sell the Mineola for a couple of years and he decided to try eBay so he'd reach a national market.

The president of the Grant Township Historical Society says the Mineola has fallen into disrepair in recent years but has the potential to be beautiful.

Up Date: Wildebeast gets owned by store owner

The robber fired two shots inside the small jewelry shop in West Rogers Park as he threatened Georgi Layous and terrorized Layous' wife and two young grandchildren, even snatching a butterfly necklace and a purse from the 4-year-old granddaughter.

Before leaving, the robber turned his back and began fiddling with a computer to get at surveillance video. The 66-year-old Layous -- paralyzed on his right side from a stroke years ago -- said he saw his chance.

Turning to his wife, he told her in Arabic, "Give me the gun." As his grandchildren cried on a couch behind him, Layous said he took the .380-caliber pistol in his left hand and shot the robber in the leg.

When police arrived, they found Musa Thomas, 19, lying on the ground next to a backpack filled with jewelry taken from the store, including the necklace and the purse, officials said. He was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston to be treated for a gunshot wound to the left hip.

“I am very, very sorry for him,’’ Layous said.

Layous said he has known Thomas for five years because the teen would sometimes come into the Starlight Jewelry store in the 2700 block of West Devon Avenue and try to sell some gold jewelry.

When Thomas announced a robbery Monday afternoon, Layous said he thought he was joking.

“He came in with luggage, a schoolbag, and said, 'Hi, how are you,' ’’ said Layous. “He opened his bag and took the gun out right away. He said, 'I’ll kill you.' And he told me to put the money in the bag right away.’’

But Layous said he told him, "You’re my friend, how could you do this to me?"

Thomas became angry when he found only $11 in the register, so he jumped onto the counter and pushed Layous to the ground, Layous said. “I told him I don’t have any money and he pushed me,’’ he said.

Layous said Thomas also pushed his wife to the ground, telling her he would kill her if she moved. After walking back and forth several times from one room to another, Layous said Thomas took jewelry from some cases and even robbed his little granddaughter Sophia, taking a purse and a jewel box and grabbing the necklace from around her neck.

“He took the jewelry from my granddaughter,’’ Layous said. “He snatched it from her neck.’’ When the robber turned away, the little girl grabbed up some of her toys and stuffed them into her pockets so "the jewelry bandit" wouldn't get them, he said.

Layous said he opened two safes for Thomas as the robber screamed and fired twice, missing him and his family.

While Thomas was at a computer, trying to remove surveillance video tapes, Layous said his wife handed him the gun he keeps in the store for protection. “I asked my wife to give me the gun and I shot him in the leg,’’ Layous said.

“If he didn’t get to the gun I don’t even know what would have happened,’’ said the children’s father, Joseph Layous.

He is trying to help his children understand the robbery and he hopes they will forget about it and not worry too much.

“Not all guns are bad,’’ Joseph Layous said he told his children.

Thomas, of the 1300 block of South Union Avenue, was charged with armed robbery. Georgi Layous said police took his gun but did not cite him with anything.

Georgi Layous said he has operated other jewelry shops on Devon Avenue for more than 20 years. His daughter Caroline Layous said her father has a kind heart. "He's always trying to help people.’’

Wildebeast shoots up the city and kills a inocent bystandard

One man was shot dead following a family disagreement and another was hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds in separate shootings, Chicago police said this morning.

The slaying, which occurred at about 11:50 p.m. Wednesday in an alley in the 1700 block of North Monitor Avenue in the North Austin neighborhood, is believed to be connected to a quarrel between the 29-year-old victim and the boyfriend of a female cousin, authorities said.

As the victim, Maurice Mathews, and the boyfriend exchanged words regarding the relationship, the second man pulled a handgun and shot Mathews in the chest, police said.

Mathews, of the first block of North Latrobe Avenue, was dead at the scene, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Police quickly received a description of the gunman's getaway vehicle and pursued it on the Eisenhower Expressway, authorities said. The man was eventually arrested and was being held by police in west suburban Maywood.

The gunman, who has not yet been charged, had an active order of protection against him, filed by the victim's cousin, a source said.

An autopsy on Mathews was scheduled for later today.
Prior to that shooting, a 23-year-old man was wounded at about 10:20 p.m. in the 6500 block of South Drexel Avenue on the South Side, police said,
Police said the victim, a member of the Gangster Disciples street gang, was sitting in a vehicle when the gunman approached, pulled a handgun and opened fire. The victim was hit multiple times in the torso and was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition.

Authorities were calling the shooting gang related, but didn't have a description of the shooter.

Since March, the Woodlawn community has had seven homicides, including the shooting death of a 24-year-old man on the same block as Wednesday's shooting.

Chicago Police need to go back to the range

Chicago police fired shots at a robbery suspect they said pointed a handgun at officers following a street robbery in the West Chatham neighborhood on the city's South Side, police said today.

No injuries were reported in the incident that occurred just before 10:30 p.m. Wednesday -- directly east of the Dan Ryan Expressway -- on East 87th Street between Indiana and State streets, police said.

Gresham District officers were flagged down near 87th Street and Wabash Avenue by a man who said he was robbed at gunpoint by two males who fled in a white van, police said.

Officers drove through the area looking for the van, until the victim, driving his own vehicle, signaled to the officers that he was following the robbers' vehicle, police said.

As the officers approached the van on foot, one of the occupants got out holding a handgun. One of the officers fired, but no one was struck, police said.

The officers, aided by an off-duty officer, took both males into custody after a foot chase. Police also recovered weapons and several items that were taken from the robbery victim, authorities said.

The Independent Police Review Authority was investigating the incident. No charges had been filed.

CIA chief to lead city's Memorial Day parade

                                

CIA director David Petraeus will be the grand marshal for Chicago's Memorial Day Parade.

Petraeus is a retired four-star U.S. Army general and former top commander in Afghanistan. He will lead this year's Memorial Day parade and participate in the wreath laying ceremony before the May 26 parade. The city made the announcement Wednesday.

This year the parade will commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the song "Taps" with a special tribute. The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events reports this year's events are dedicated to all soldiers who have fought and died in recent conflicts.

Update: Chicago Police Sergeant hurt in crash

Authorities hit a Southwest Side man with felonies and numerous traffic citations following a crash that seriously injured a Chicago police sergeant, police said.

Rolando Robledo, of the 6000 block of South Mozart Avenue, faces both felony aggravated DUI and misdemeanor DUI charges in connection to the Wednesday morning crash near the intersection of 59th Street and California Avenue, police said.

The officer's vehicle collided with a green Ford at about 2:22 a.m. at the Chicago Lawn intersection, police said.

The officer was admitted to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in serious-to-critical condition, though authorities said he was improving.

                                 

Authorities initially believed that the sergeant suffered only minor injuries, but later found more extensive injuries internally, authorities said.

Robledo was treated at Holy Cross Hospital. Robledo was issued several tickets, including criminal damage to government property, failing to reduce his speed, driving on a suspended license and disobeying a traffic signal.

Judge steps down from case

A stalled animal cruelty trial involving the owner of southwest suburban animal rescue facility was delayed again Wednesday when a Cook County judge recused himself, sending the case back to pre-trial status.
Judge Christopher J. Donnelly last month granted a mistrial for Dawn Hamill, 42, owner of Dazzle’s Painted Pasture’s Animal Rescue and Sanctuary near Tinley Park after learning that the lead investigator and state witness had been arrested on federal extortion charges in an unrelated matter.
At the same hearing April 9, Donnelly read aloud to the court an anonymous letter he received asking him not to dismiss the case in light of the investigator’s arrest. The letter also suggested that a surprise inspection be made of Hamill’s facility, which is still licensed and operating.
At the time, Donnelly called the letter “ridiculous” and said he read it to notify all parties of its existence and to tell the letter’s writer that such communication is inappropriate and that it should be stopped immediately.
In the Markham Courthouse Wednesday, when Hamill’s new trial was set to begin, Donnelly said after additional consideration, he felt the letter should be handled in a more serious manner.
“I thought it was most appropriate for me to recues myself,” he said.
Hamill’s attorney, Purav Bhatt, said Donnelly had notified him of his intent to remove himself from the trial proceedings because of the letter.
“He’s supposed to make his decisions based on the evidence that he hears and not any outside influence,” Bhatt said.
The case was reassigned to Judge Anna Helen Demacopoulos, who set a pre-trial motion hearing for May 29. “I’d like to move this along as quickly as possible,” she told both parties.
Bhatt said he plans to file a motion requesting the option of a jury trial. The previous trial, which had only progressed one day before the mistrial, was a bench trial.
He said Wednesday that he is unsure if his client will request a bench or jury trial going forward, but it is a strategic decision worth revisiting because of the anonymous letter and because of the arrest of the state’s lead witness.
Less than a week after testifying March 7 about the conditions he found at Hamill’s animal rescue facility during last year’s raid, Cook County Sheriff’s investigator Lawrence A. “Larry” Draus was arrested as part of a two-year federal undercover investigation that also involved his son, Lawrence E. “Eric” Draus.
A 35-year veteran of the department, Larry Draus was charged in a federal complaint with accepting a $10,000 cash payoff in exchange for agreeing to protect an illegal cigarette operation.
It’s still unclear whether information about Draus’ arrest will be allowed in the new trial.
“That is going to be up to the judge to decide,” Bhatt said. “I’m certainly going to try.”
Hamill is charged with misdemeanor neglect of owner’s duties and cruel treatment resulting from the February 2011 raid of her facility. During the raid, the sheriff’s office and animal control removed more than 100 animals from the property because of poor living conditions, officials said. A dead miniature horse and dead Himalayan cat were found at the rescue facility.
Bhatt said he is undecided if he would file any additional motions. Hamill’s attorneys have previously attempted have a search warrant used to raid her facility in February 2011 thrown out.