Double-jeopardy claim for Jussie Smollett could hark back to landmark case against mob hit man

At first blush, the criminal cases against Jussie Smollett and Harry “The Hook” Aleman would seem to have little in common.

One involves a minor celebrity who gained international notoriety for allegedly staging a hoax hate crime on himself. The other was a shadowy Outfit enforcer who twice stood trial for the 1972 gangland slaying of a union steward.

But even though Aleman’s decidedly more serious case unfolded decades — and worlds — apart from Smollett’s, it now provides an intriguing look at the legal pathway prosecutors might use to...