Federal jurors will likely begin deliberating Wednesday the case against accused Four Corner Hustlers chief Labar “Bro Man” Spann after listening to another day of closing arguments, this time from Spann’s defense attorney.
Steven Shobat said Tuesday that Spann is “not a federal racketeer.”
Pointing to Spann’s testimony last week, Shobat said Spann “told you he didn’t do it” and denied involvement in six killings prosecutors linked him to.
“I saw his demeanor,” Shobat said. “You saw his demeanor. You can judge whether he looked you in the eye and whether he was truthful.”
Spann’s trial began in mid-September but is on track to finish weeks early.
On Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Storino argued that Spann committed crimes with “reckless abandon” and in “spectacular fashion” to bolster his reputation on Chicago’s West Side.
The six murders at issue in the case include the June 2003 slaying of Latin Kings boss Rudy “Kato” Rangel Jr.
During his testimony last week, Spann said he joined the Four Corner Hustlers around age 13 but later became his “own man.” Shobat told jurors Tuesday that Spann did what he wanted to do — and not always with the same people.
The defense attorney also challenged whether the Four Corner Hustlers exist as a single racketeering enterprise. He told jurors the gang has broken down into warring factions over the years.
“So what you have in this case is the Hatfields and the McCoys,” Shobat said. “You have the Capulets and the Montagues.”
Which leaves “a giant chasm” in the middle of the alleged enterprise, according to the defense attorney.
Shobat also insisted that key witnesses who testified against Spann cannot be trusted — and without them, prosecutors have no case.
“People are what they are,” Shobat said. “They do what they do.”
“These witnesses in particular have a major problem with telling the truth,” he said.
