The Perils of Doing Your Duty

On the night of Sept. 27, 1972, Bobby Lowe was walking his German shepherd named Ginger in front of his home on Chicago's west side. Lowe noticed William Logan, a neighbor who was a Teamster steward, strolling to his car at the curb. As Lowe vividly recalled the scene in courtroom testimony, an auto suddenly pulled up. Shots rang out, and "Mr. Logan flew back ... into some bushes." Next, said Lowe, a man sprang out of the car, apparently carrying a handgun, and walked up to Logan. Just then, Ginger lunged at the stranger. Lowe said that he grabbed his dog--and came face to face with the murderer.

For Bobby Lowe, now 28, those stark moments of recognition in 1972 had led to a five-year tale of personal distress, fear of Mafia reprisals, and courage that came to a dramatic climax last week in the Cook County criminal court in Chicago. Lowe was the star witness in a case brought by county prosecutors against Harry ("the Hook") Aleman, 38, one of the most feared hit men in the Chicago Mafia. Police suspect that Aleman was involved in 22 murders, including one in which the victim was ripped three times through the neck with a broomstick. But none of Aleman's 20 previous arrests were for murder, and the stiffest sentence he had ever received was a three-year probation in 1971 for falsifying a mortgage application.

From the start, Lowe did not want to be a witness in the murder case. Right after he saw the shooting, he says, his father told him it was possibly a Syndicate killing and "to shut up and get inside" the house. When the police interviewed him that night, Lowe never volunteered that he saw the murderer. But Lowe kept worrying about what he knew and felt that he had a responsibility to speak up. "I didn't feel it was safe for my kids on the street. Did you ever watch a horror movie? You'd be sleeping, and then parts of that movie would come back and scare you? Well, this was the same way. I'd be trying to sleep, and I would see that face. I was always looking behind me, looking for a car to pull up alongside me."

Three months after the murder, claims Lowe, he went to the local police headquarters and, after examining photos, picked out the killer. At that time, says Lowe, he did not learn the name of the man. The police, however, can find no records that Lowe did show up. No case was brought against Aleman.

Then, in March 1975, a gangster named Louis Almeida was arrested for carrying weapons equipped with silencers and received a ten-year sentence. In exchange for the chance of getting an early parole, judicial immunity and protection, Almeida agreed to testify about past crimes. One was the murder of William Logan. Almeida told the police he had driven Aleman to Logan's home. Officials surmised that Aleman was after Logan because the Teamster had refused to help steal truck cargoes.

'Safe Houses.' After hearing about Almeida's statement, Assistant State's Attorney Nicholas lavarone sought out Bobby Lowe and got him to cooperate on the case. But when Lowe learned the reputation of the accused man, he started to back out. His parents and his wife urged him not to testify. Then his brother, who had been shot in a gas station holdup and later was helped by a witness who agreed to testify for him, told Lowe to "think for yourself, be your own man." Lowe finally agreed to be a prosecution witness.

Illinois bureau of investigation agents placed Lowe and his family in protective custody. Despite his stringent objections, Lowe had to leave his apartment and quit his job as a $300-a-week gas station manager. The Lowes were put under 24-hour guard at several "safe houses" in nearby states. During the four months before the trial, he and his family lived on an allowance of $250 a month. The strain began to tell on Lowe. He had trouble eating and sleeping, he fought with his wife. For his safety, the state financed a $1,600, three-week trip through the South for the Lowes and their bodyguards, whom the four children were beginning to call "uncles."

When the trial began, Almeida testified how he had been the "wheelman" for Harry the Hook. While the defendant stared at him stonily, Almeida told how he had driven him down Logan's block and intercepted the victim. "I pulled up so the back door was where he was," said Almeida. "He was stepping off the curb when Harry hollered out, 'Hey, Billy, come here." " Almeida heard the shotgun blast and Logan cry out, "Oh, my God!"There was another shot, said Almeida, then Aleman got out and fired a third time. When Aleman got back into car, Almeida testified, he said, Drive slow. He's gone."

During his turn on the stand, Lowe testified about his confrontation with the killer: "Me and that man just stared at each other." How far apart had they been? "Four feet." How long did look? "Four seconds." Did he call the man? "Yes, sir," said raising his arm and pointing at Harry Aleman.

In deciding the case, Judge Wilson noted the discrepancies between police records and what Lowe said in court. Declared Wilson: "The fact Lowe lied on the witness stand must cast a pallor over the testimony of this witness." Shortly thereafter, Wilson pronounced Aleman not guilty.

Permanent Hiding. The caused a furor in Chicago. In an editorial, the Sun Times cited legal organizations that had called Wilson "unqualified" for the bench. The Tribune viewed the whole affair as a "tragedy." So heated was the criticism that Wilson called a press conference to defend his decision and reiterate that the state had not proved its case "beyond a reasonable doubt."

The state of Illinois will now give Lowe and his family new identities and move them to another undisclosed location. As he prepared to go into hiding permanently, Lowe talked last week to TIME Correspondent Madeline Nash. He admitted that he was nervous about the prospect of losing his bodyguards. Did he think he had done the wrong thing in testifying? "No," Lowe shrugged. "If there would be a new trial, I would testify again. I stood up for what I believe."

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