U.S. In Case Featuring Mobster and Violin, a Priest Pleads Guilty

[Valin]

ABC/AP
CHICAGO — Feb 11, 2015, 5:55 PM ET
MICHAEL TARM Associated Press

A plot twist in a legal drama featuring a mobster and a violin played out Wednesday when a prison chaplain announced in court minutes before his trial was to start that he was guilty of trying to help an imprisoned mob hit man recover a hidden Stradivarius.

Eugene Klein, a Roman Catholic priest, was accused of scheming with Chicago Outfit enforcer Frank Calabrese Sr. to find a rare, 250-year-old violin Calabrese hid years earlier in his Wisconsin summer home to keep authorities from selling it. They believed it might be worth $26 million.

Klein, 66, of Mesa, Arizona, wore a clerical collar and gripped a cane as he walked into court, where half a dozen witnesses sat on a back bench ready to testify in the long-planned trial. But the clergyman surprised the courtroom by saying he wanted to forgo the trial and plead guilty.

Several minutes later, he did just that. He answered calmly when U.S. District Judge John Darrah asked him if he did what prosecutors accused him of doing. He leaned forward and responded, "I'm guilty of the offense."

(Snip)