Frank Calabrese, hitman for Chicago mafia, dies in prison
Notorious hitman liked to strangle victims, then slash their throats to make sure they were dead
Hitman Frank Calabrese, jailed for life after a long career of murder and extortion in the Chicago mob, has died in prison.
His son, Frank Jnr, said he died on Christmas Day, which was "one of the few days out of the year he was a good person".
Calabrese Jnr added: "I've never been comfortable he was locked up the way he was - but he needed to be. I am comfortable with the fact he's not suffering in there any more and that no one else has to suffer on the street."
Calabrese, 75 - known as "Frankie Breeze" - was an inmate at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in the US state of North Carolina.
Calabrese's lawyer, Joseph Lopez, said he had been in poor health. "He was a sick man," he said. "He was on about 17 different medications, but was always a strong-willed individual."
At his trial in 2007, Calabrese was found responsible for seven gangland slayings, racketeering, extortion and illegal gambling.
Witnesses said Calabrese preferred to strangle his victims, then cut their throats to make sure they were dead.