"Family Secrets" May Be the Last Mafia-Related Trial in Chicago History

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Joseph Seifert's only memory of his father, Daniel, is the day he was killed.

The hit was ordered, prosecutors allege, by one of his closest friends, Joseph Lombardo, also known as "Joey the Clown." The memory of that fateful day, Sept. 27, 1974, is seared into his mind, even though he was only 4 at the time.

Joseph was not feeling well that day, and he and his mother decided to spend the day at his dad's fiberglass factory located in Bensenville, Ill. As they entered the factory, they were followed by his father Daniel, who just removed a vacuum cleaner from the trunk of his car. There isn't many details that Joseph can recall except that he saw his father struggling with masked men, and he and his mother being pushed into a restroom. He then says that he and his mother were put into a car and being driven away, and as they left he remembers seeing blood and his father's body laying in the grass.

Although Joseph doesn't remember seeing his dad shot, it was reported that Daniel was chased through his factory and into and out of the factory next door, before he ran outside where he was shot in the head by the gunman after he fell to the ground.

Daniel's sons say that although he wasn't a bad guy, he had contacts with the Chicago mob, but had tried to cut his ties with them when he had gotten his business up and running. At the time of his murder, Daniel was cooperating with Federal officials in a case against Lombardo, officials say that is when it was decided by the mob that he had to be eliminated.

Ironically, the Seifert family was not afraid of Lombardo. He was Joseph's godfather -- Joseph Seifert had been named after him -- and had often baby-sat them, taking them to the circus, restaurants, and baseball games. They recall that Lombardo had often threatened Daniel, tried to intimidate him, but Daniel never appeared worried or concerned for his life. They believe that their father's comfort level led to his demise.

The killers were masked, and Lombardo had an alibi. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the day after Daniel Seifert's murder, Lombardo allegedly said "that S.O.B. won't testify against anybody now, will he?" No one was charged in Daniel Seifert's murder. The family didn't talk about it often and hoped that their questions and pain would be put to rest, but over time, instead of putting the incident behind them, Daniel's sons wanted more information, and they wanted closure.

The Seifert brothers have broken their silence as the Family Secrets trial approaches; it is thought to be the last major mafia case in Chicago history. They hope that they will get some understanding as to the events that led up to the murder of their father and who was involved. The trial is set to begin June 19.

Chicago Sun-Times, Steve Warmbir, Staff Reporter, Sons want justice in dad's '74 death ,http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/422465,CST-NWS-seifert11.article