U.S. marshal guilty of leaking information

CHICAGO, April 28 (UPI) -- A high-ranking U.S. marshal in Chicago was convicted Tuesday of leaking information about a mobster in the federal witness protection program.

The guilty verdict ends John Ambrose's career, which included serving as one of the top members in a regional fugitive task force and being decorated for his work as a deputy marshal, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Jurors deliberated for three days before acquitting Ambrose of lying to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and Rob Grant, head of the FBI in Chicago, and convicting him of one count each of theft of information and illegally disclosing information.

Ambrose's father, who died in prison, was one of the "Marquette 10," a group of Chicago police officers convicted in the 1980s of robbing drug dealers.

Prosecutors said Ambrose leaked information on Nicholas Calabrese, an admitted mob killer who testified for the prosecution in the "Family Secrets" trial, to William Guide, who also had been in the "Marquette 10," and that the information was then passed to the Chicago Outfit.

Frank Lipuma, Ambrose's lawyer, said his client made an honest mistake, boasting to a man he regarded as a surrogate father.