Guys, I used to be in the newspaper business years ago. I can tell you this; mob stories sell papers. Period. Especially Outfit stuff in the city - No matter how minor the details. Calabrese to Chicago is like what Gotti is to NY media.

If you look at all this from a media perspective, there has been quite a dry spell regarding Outfit stories in Chicago since the final sentencing phase of the Family Secrets Trial. Sure, there were the minor followup things regarding Calabrese, Lombardo, etc. But for the most part, Chuck Goudie and John Kass haven't had much to report these days.

So, when a story involving The Outfit, a priest, a mobster, secret messages and a violin worth a fortune make news, you will see the local papers salivate and write the hell out of it. Remember, newspapers are fighting for their livelihoods and relevance these days. The Sun-Times is currently whacking employees faster than Jimmy Burke after the Lufthansa heist.

I didn't post the Trib story to cause any problems here and I understand that it wasn't exactly earth shaking news. Apologies for any agita.

Tribune's John Kass was talking about this on WLS yesterday and was telling a story about him and another newspaper guy who walked into an Italian-American Club in Little Italy a few years ago. They engaged in some small talk pleasantries with one of the "senior members" when the other reporter asked him about a specific news event regarding Outfit business. Kass said the "senior member" clammed up and wouldn't answer several other questions that followed. The other reporter then asked the alleged mobster, "You aren't going to answer me about any of this, are you?" To which the older fella replied, "You can't catch a fish if he don't open his mouth."