Reputed Four Corner Hustlers boss Labar “Bro Man” Spann is once again facing life in prison after being convicted in a retrial of racketeering conspiracy involving four gangland murders, including the infamous contract killing of Latin Kings boss Rudy “Kato” Rangel.

After a six-week trial, the jury deliberated for only about four hours before convicting Spann, 47, on all counts, including the main conspiracy charge, murder in aid of racketeering, and extortion. In addition to Rangel’s 2003 slaying, Spann was found responsible for the murders of Willie Woods, Max McDaniel and George King.

Four Corner Hustlers boss Labar Spann (Obtained by the Tribune)

The conviction comes more than four years after a different jury had reached a similar conclusion. That November 2021 verdict was thrown out by U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin, however, after a surprise disclosure showed a prosecutor had promised a star witness less time in prison than what was told to the jury.

The counts carry mandatory life in prison. Durkin set sentencing for April 20.

Prosecutors alleged Spann took over the reins of the West Side gang after he was shot and paralyzed in 1999, using murder to elevate the gang’s reputation for ruthlessness as well as his own street cred.

By far the most high-profile slaying was that of Rangel, an aspiring rapper and then-leader of the Latin Kings who was gunned down in a pop-up barber shop on the West Side in June 2003.

Key witnesses in the government’s case included several of Spann’s top henchmen who cooperated with prosecutors in hopes for leniency.

At Spann’s first trial, Sammie Booker, a Four Corner Hustlers hitman who began cooperating in 2012, testified about numerous crimes, including several of the murders at the center of the trial as well as attempted murders, extortion, robbery and drug dealing.

Booker told the jury his deal with the U.S. attorney’s office called for them to recommend a prison sentence of 25 to 35 years. After the trial was over, however, it was revealed that then-Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Salib had assured Booker he’d recommend a sentence of just 25 years, without the potential higher range.

The alleged promise was revealed in post-trial filings in 2024, prompting Durkin to eventually rule that the conviction could not stand.

Booker did not testify in Spann’s retrial.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/15/gang-boss-labar-spann-convicted-retrial/