Las Vegas and the Mob is the history of organized crime's ties to Las Vegas; and specifically the Sin City reign of Chicago Outfit enforcer Tony Spilotro. In the 1995 movie Casino, actor Joe Pesci's character was based on Spilotro.
The Early Years
Tony Spilotro was an organized crime kingpin in Las Vegas from 1971 until his murder in 1986. He acted as a troubleshooter for the Outfit's casino interests, which were overseen by by Outfit associate Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, whom was headquartered at the Stardust. During that era the Midwest crime bosses - with Chicago being the dominant group - were receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars per month in unreported casino revenues. This operation was referred to as the skim. Tony's role was to use his fearsome reputation to discourage outsiders from trying to muscle in, internal theft of the skim money, or any one else considering causing trouble. But if intimidation wasn't enough, Tony was prepared to do whatever it took to resolve the problem.
Tony was an ambitious guy, and recognized there were other criminal opportunities in Vegas besides the skim. Soon after his arrival he got involved in street crimes. He started out doing some loan sharking; and then expanded to burglary, robbery, arson; and, allegedly, murder. As Tony's power and influence grew he imported other heavies from Chicago to give him a hand. Among them were his brother John and Herb "fat Herbie" Blitzstein.
The law was aware that Spilotro was in town. But there were problems at both of the major agencies responsible for dealing with Tony and his boys. The local FBI office was under fire for agents accepting comps from the very establishments and individuals they were supposed to be investigating. And Las Vegas Metro was rocked by a major scandal when two of its detetectives were caught on FBI wiretaps providing information to the mobsters. Rather than cooperating, the two agencies didn't trust each other and information sharing or joint investigative efforts were virtually nonexistent. Tony Spilotro and his lawyer - now mayor -Oscar Goodman beat back any attempts that were made to put Tony out of business.
By 1979 the law's problems in Las Vegas were straightened out. The FBI had conducted an internal house-cleaning, resulting in some agents taking early retirement or being transferred and new personnel brought in. And the voters of Clark County elected a new top lawman in November 1978. John McCarthy won office as a reform candidate and had vowed to declare war on organized crime. One of his first acts after being sworn in was to install a new commander of the department's Intelligence Bureau. Kent Clifford was tasked with reorganizing the unit and developing and implementing a strategy that would land Spilotro and his boys in jail or run them out of town. It wasn't long before the feds and Metro resumed cooperating and launched a full court press against the bad guys.
But Tony Spilotro wasn't sitting idly by while the law beefed up its forces and prepared for war. Also in 1979, he brought in his boyhood friend from Chicago Frank Cullotta. The ex-con was a master thief, arsonist, killer; and all-around tough guy. Tony told Cullotta that he wanted him to watch his back and provide muscle as necessary to deal with trouble makers and shake down drug dealers and illegal bookmakers that were not paying Tony a "street tax," a financial tribute for being allowed to run their illegal businesses. Frank was to put together a top notch crew capable of handling any situation. Frank and his boys would also carry out burglaries or robberies of lucrative targets at Tony's behest. The proceeds of these scores would be shared with Tony. And if the take was big enough, some of the money would be sent to the bosses in Chicago. When not doing Tony's bidding the gang would be allowed to plan and carry out their own burglaries and robberies. Tony would receive a cut of the action if the score was big enough.
Cullotta assembled his crew, which would later be dubbed the Hole in the Wall Gang because of their method of breaking into a building by making a hole in the wall or roof. To avoid wasting ther time on unprofitable capers, Spilotro and Cullotta developed a network of tipsters that included valets, desk clerks, pit bosses and insurance agents.
So in early 1979, both sides were fully manned and ready; and the battle was joined.
The Battle
Over the next three years the struggle between the law and the mobsters was at its height. Former lawmen that were in the fight cite three major events that swung the conflict in their favor:
October 10, 1979 - Frank Cullotta murdered Sherwin "Jerry" Lisner. Lisner was a con artist and mobster wannabe. He hung around some of the same places as Spilotro and Cullotta; and had asked Cullotta to assist him in a money laundering scam earlier in the year. The scam was attempted, but proved unsuccessful. That summer Lisner was arrested by the feds for interstate transportation of stolen property, aiding and abetting, grand larceny, and conspiracy. He was scheduled to go on trial in Washington, D.C. on October 29. Frank and Tony received word that Lisner was attempting to make a deal with prosecutors and was testifying in front of a federal grand jury. He was providing information about Spilotro and Cullotta. Spilotro told Cullotta he'd received permission from Chicago to deal with Lisner. Cullotta brought the matter to a conclusion the night of October 10th. This killing was particularly important because Lisner was a government witness at the time of his death, giving the FBI an investigative role in the case;
July 4, 1981 - Cullotta and the Hole in the Wall Gang burglarized Bertha's Gifts & Home Furnishings located at 896 East Sahara. This was an upscale shop and the thieves were estimating there would be a million dollars worth of cash and jewelry in the vault over the holiday weekend. The crew that night was to consist of Cullotta and five others. Spilotro would not be on site, but was to be included in splitting the take. The burglary was planned down to the last detail. Three men would break in through the roof and drop down on top of the vault. The other three would be cruising the streets doing counter-surveillance, while monitoring police scanners and communicating with each other by CB radios. The loot would be taken to Chicago immediately where the jewelry would be fenced; and the burglars would be back in Vegas before the store opened and the theft was discovered.
But shortly before the job a seventh man was added to the team without Cullotta's permission. Sal Romano - a thief and alarm expert - was invited in by one of the burglars. Cullotta was livid. He knew Romano and didn't trust him. He had a strong suspicion Romano was an informant. Cullotta took his concerns to Spilotro. He wanted Romano excluded or the burglary to be scrubbed. Spilotro thought Cullotta was just being paranoid. And it was too close to cancel the job anyway, he said. Plans would go forward as scheduled.
It turned out Cullotta was right. Romano was an FBI informant and had been wearing a wire during all the planning sessions. The gang walked into an ambush of about 40 FBI agents and cops at Bertha's. The original six burglars were arrested while Romano was whisked off to Witness Protection.
Following the arrests Cullotta realized something was going on with Spilotro. Protocol required that Spilotro contribute bail money and help pay the lawyer fees. But Tony didn't help. Cullotta had to bail everybody out. And Spilotro wasn't kicking in toward Cullotta's mounting legal bills the way he should. And then Cullotta heard more bad news: Tony hadn't gotten Chicago's okay to hit Lisner; a definite Mob no-no. Cullotta had been around long enough to know there was a big problem developing; and
April 30, 1982 - Frank Cullotta was back in jail following a conviction for possession of stolen property. That Friday afternoon FBI agent Charlie Parsons stopped at the jail to meet with Cullotta and his lawyer. Parsons had an announcement to make: “We’ve received credible information that the Chicago Outfit has authorized a contract on Frank.” He left immediately afterward. His matter-of-fact delivery was intentional, designed to get Cullotta’s attention. And it did.
Frank spent the weekend thinking over what Parsons had said. He became convinced that he was being set up to take the fall for all of Spilotro's mistakes. Particularly the unauthorized killing of Lisner and the botched Bertha's caper. He could just hear Tony telling the bosses, "Cullotta's out of control. He's whacking guys without talking with me first. And then he brings that rat Romano in on the Bertha's thing. I hate to say this because he's my friend, but Frankie's gotta go."
Facing life behind bars as a persistent felon, or a bullet in the head from a Mob assassin, Cullotta made his decision. On Monday morning he called Charlie Parsons. Within hours Cullotta was in the Witness Protection Program.
The End
For Tony Spilotro, time was running out. He was in serious trouble with Chicago. His much-publicized affair with Lefty Rosenthal's wife Geri had been frowned upon; and he was getting more TV exposure and newspaper ink than most Las Vegas entertainment celebrities. To people who thought it was best to fly below the radar, Spilotro was becoming a liability. And the law was closing in on him besides. With his legal and health problems increasing, would Spilotro join Cullotta as a government witness?
The bosses decided not to take a chance. In June 1986 Tony and his brother Michael went to the basement of a home in a Chicago suburb. They were lured there with the promise that Michael was going to become a made man and that Tony was going to be promoted. Instead, they were beaten and their battered bodies driven to an Indiana cornfield for burial.
Details of the murders didn't come to light until nearly 19 years later. During what was known as the Operation Family Secrets trial, 14 Outfit leaders were charged under RICO in connection with multiple crimes, including 18 previously unsolved gangland killings, the Spilotros among them. All defendants pled guilty or were convicted at trial.
References
The Battle for Las Vegas: The Law Vs. the Mob by Dennis N Griffin (Huntington Press: 2006. ISBN 0929712374)
CULLOTTA - The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster, and Government Witness by Dennis N. Griffin (Huntington Press: 2007. ISBN 0929712455)