Jewels from reputed Chicago mobster's home up for auction - Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News

An upcoming auction features pieces of Chicago mob history.

About 250 loose diamonds, earrings, engagement rings, luxury watches and gold jewelry will be auctioned off next month in Texas, which are valued at more than $500,000.

"He's got lots of diamonds," Bob Sheehan, owner of the Gaston & Sheehan said. The auction house will hold the online public auction July 10-24.

They were all taken from the home of Frank Calabrese Sr. in Oak Brook two years ago, after he was convicted in the Family Secrets mob trial.

Federal agents raided Calabrese's home in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook two years ago and found a hoard of jewelry, guns and cash in a secret compartment behind a family portrait.

Proceeds from the auction will go toward the debt Calabrese owes the government.

Calabrese is currently behind bars. He was one of several reputed mobsters convicted in 2009 in a racketeering conspiracy that included 18 decades-old murders. He was blamed for 13, sentenced to life in prison and ordered to pay more than $24 million. The auction proceeds will go toward that restitution.

During his trial, Calabrese bragged that he made millions on the street and was known among his family for stashing valuables. It isn't clear where Calabrese got all of the jewelry. Defense attorney Joseph Lopez described Calabrese - who accepted items in lieu of cash while doing business as a loan shark - as "a collector."

Next month's auction is the second sale of items from Calabrese's home. Last year, Gaston & Sheehan sold more than 100 rare $500 and $1,000 bills from Calabrese's stash. According to court records, that sale brought in $245,860.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.