In the four-page letter, riddled with misspellings and grammatical errors, Lombardo said he would not surrender to authorities until he was granted a separate trial from the other defendants. He also demanded a $50,000 recognizance bond.

Lombardo, 76, was declared a fugitive after being named in a federal indictment with 11 alleged organized crime figures and two former police officers.

"I am not hiding to avoid the charges leveled against me," he wrote to attorney Rick Halprin. The letter -- postmarked Chicago -- proclaimed his innocence in 18 unsolved murders and to charges of gambling and extortion.

Lombardo said he wanted a separate trial so he could "suppeana them" as witnesses.

The letter was signed: "Joe Lombardo A Innocent Man."

Lombardo, nicknamed for his jokes, ran newspaper ads after his release from prison in 1992 proclaiming he was not a mobster.