JUDGE UNLEASHES WRATH AT GANG LEADER

"I'm not going to be the ringmaster of some circus here," federal Judge George
Marovich said Wednesday as he tossed out the testimony of imprisoned Gangster
Disciples leader Larry Hoover at the drug conspiracy trial of five other gang
members.

Marovich had reluctantly allowed Hoover to be brought here from the federal
prison in Marion, where he is serving multiple sentences on murder, drug and
other convictions, to testify on behalf of one of the defendants, Jeffrey
Hatcher.

To do so, Marovich said he had to persuade "the U.S. Marshals Service, who
didn't want to bring him here (and) the warden of the Metropolitan
Correctional
Center, who did not want to be responsible for him when he got here."

Hatcher, acting as his own lawyer in his trial, had told Marovich he wanted
Hoover to testify to back up his contention that the Gangster Disciples had
evolved from a gang into a community development organization--an argument
that
the jury had rejected in Hoover's latest trial last year.

Marovich agreed to Hatcher's request after receiving numerous assurances from
Hatcher, Hoover's attorney and Hoover himself that Hoover would not refuse to
be cross-examined by prosecutors after answering the friendly questions from
Hatcher.

But Hoover reneged after spending an hour on the witness stand in his orange
prison uniform, cataloging his version of the gang's virtues in response to
Hatcher's questions.

After fielding a few preliminary questions from prosecutor Jonathan King on
cross-examination, he dismissed a question about the gang's hierarchical
structure, saying, "I came here to testify for Mr. Hatcher."

And that touched off the wrath of the judge, who had brushed aside the
marshals
office and correction center reservations by letting the gang leader come to
the courtroom.

"No, no, no no no," Marovich interjected, "you came here to answer all the
questions."

King asked Hoover a second time to confirm the gang's hierarchical structure,
and again Hoover began to explain that he would only answer questions about
his
fellow gang member.

"Mr. Hoover," Marovich interrupted him.

"I came here . . . ," Hoover started up again.

"Mr. Hoover!" Marovich shouted, stood up, pointed his finger at Hoover and
said, "I'm conducting this trial."

When Hoover continued to balk at answering, Marovich told the witness, "You
cannot be confused as to who is in charge here. It is me," and ordered U.S.
marshals to take Hoover from the courtroom.

Outside the presence of the jury, he then said to Hatcher, "That dog and pony
show is not going to happen in any courtroom that I'm presiding over.

"You don't seem to have any semblance of control over him, do you, Mr.
Hatcher,
given all the days you have had to prepare him?

"He seems to think he is chairman of the board or the king, which he may be
somewhere else but not here," the judge continued.

When Hoover was returned to the courtroom and again said he would refuse to
answer prosecution questions, the judge told the marshals, "Take him back to
wherever you got him from because he's done here."

Afterward, Marovich brought the jury back to the courtroom and told them to
disregard Hoover's testimony in response to Hatcher's questions earlier
Wednesday morning.

Checked-by: Ghamal de la Guardia