Rick Halprin, defense lawyer for Chicago mob's Joey 'The Clown' Lombardo dies in apparent suicide
Criminal lawyer who defended infamous Chicago mobster 'commits suicide before he is served with eviction notice'
- Attorney Rick Halprin, 73, found dead at his Chicago apartment on Tuesday
- Defended Joey 'the Clown' Lombardo, member of the Chicago Outfit
- Halprin's ex-wife said he 'loved the courtroom' and with Halprin: 'They knew it was going to be a professional fight with no shenanigans'
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Apparent suicide: Rick Halprin, a criminal lawyer who defended the Chicago mob, was found dead at his apartment
A criminal lawyer who defended an infamous leader of the Chicago mob has been found dead at his apartment after apparently committing suicide.
Rick Halprin, 73, died on Tuesday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head or neck, according to a preliminary report from the medical examiner.
Halprin, 73, is famous for defending mob chief Joey 'The Clown' Lombardo, the suspected boss of crime organization, the Chicago Outfit.
In 2009, Lombardo was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of murder, racketeering, extortion, and loan sharking.
Halprin was found at his condo in Hyde Park, Chicago at 10am on Tuesday by police officers who had gone to the home to serve an eviction notice.
The Vietnam veteran and former professional hockey player had 'loved the courtroom' one of his three ex-wives, Robyn Douglass, told the Chicago Tribune.
Ms Douglass, a retired actress, had tried to get Mr Halprin to retire but he refused and she moved to California.
She told the paper: 'The thing about Rick was he was so well-respected. He was a guy who was committed to the Constitution.
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Share'He was good at it and he knew he was good at it. They knew it was going to be a professional fight with no shenanigans.'
Career criminal: Joseph 'Joey the Clown' Lombardo (pictured in a police mugshot several decades ago and more recently, right) was Mr Halprin's most infamous client
Mr Halprin is survived by his daughter. No details for funeral services were immediately available.
MailOnline was awaiting a call from the Cook County Coroner's Office.
The seasoned defense lawyer defended Joseph Lombardo during his 2007 trial for racketeering, extortion, and loan sharking.
FROM PROHIBITION TO THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF VEGAS: THE NOTORIOUS LEGACY OF THE CHICAGO OUTFIT
The Chicago Outfit - also known as the Chicago Mob and Capone family - is a notorious crime organization stretching back to the 1910s.
At its height, the syndicate reached from Los Angeles to D.C., Florida and across the Midwest.
During Prohibition, the group was lead by Al Capone who made money from bootlegging. A deadly rivalry sprung up with other gangs, in particular the outfit run by George 'Bugs' Moran.
The conflict blew up in the St Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929 in a drive-by battle with Tommy guns which led to a number of deaths on both sides.
The mob suffered a heavy crackdown on its activities during the Kennedy era in the 1960s and subsequently has long been subject to conspiracy theories over JFK and his brother Senator Robert Kennedy's assassinations.
The Outfit was prolific in the control of Las Vegas casinos, skimming millions of dollars in profits. It is believed some of these millions were funneled into the Old Neighborhood Italian American Club in Chicago, still a suspected hang-out for aging mobsters.
The government's Operation Family Secrets broke the back of the Chicago Outfit, leading to several life terms for senior members including Joseph Lombardo.
The Chicago outfit has been portrayed in a number of movies including Martin Scorcese's Casino starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone.
Lombardo, a career criminal with the notorious gang the Chicago Outfit, was a high-ranking member of the crime family.
After being released from prison in 1992 after serving a decade for extortion and attempted bribery, federal investigators once again turned their attention to Lombardo.
He was indicted in 2005 for his role in one of 18 murders along with other members of the Chicago Outfit as part of Operation Family Secrets.
The indictment charged 14 mobsters and 11 mob associates with racketeering conspiracy involving the murders.
The murders include the June 1986 hit on Tony 'The Ant' Spilotro, the mob’s man in Las Vegas for two decades.
He and his brother, Michael, were beaten to death and buried in a cornfield.
The Spilotro case became the focus of the 1995 Martin Scorsese movie Casino, in which Joe Pesci played a character based on Tony Spilotro.
As the FBI closed in on Lombardo, he went on the run.
During this time, he sent letters to his lawyer Rick Halprin, in which Lombardo said he would surrender if he got a separate trial from other mobsters.
Halprin said at the time that he had recognized the signature but had no clue to his client's whereabouts.
The letter professed Lombardo’s innocence: 'I am no part of a enterprise or racketering (sic). About the 18 murders in the indictment, I want you to know that I was not privy before the murders, during the murders, and after the murders.'
It also included an apology for the bad grammar and spelling.
District Judge James Zagel said he could not guarantee the conditions asked for in the letter and issued a warrant for the 76-year-old Lombardo’s arrest.
After Lombardo sent more letters commenting on newspaper coverage about him, Halprin offered the remark: 'I doubt that he has a home subscription.'
Lombardo was sentenced to life in prison for his crimes in 2009.
Facing eviction: Lawyer Rick Halprin was found dead in his home in the Hyde Park area of Chicago
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