Anthony Spilotro

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Anthony Spilotro (May 19, 1938 - June 14, 1986) was a mafia enforcer for the Chicago Outfit who worked in Las Vegas in the 1970s and 1980s. It is generally thought his job was to protect the "skim", the mafia's illegal casino profits, and to keep local criminals from upsetting the status quo within Las Vegas.

File:Spilotr2.jpg
"Tony the Ant"

Early career

Anthony John Spilotro (pronounced Spil-oh-tro) was known as "Tony the Ant" by the press. This name was given to him by F.B.I. agent William Roemer who refered to Spilotro as ``that little piss-ant``. He was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and was the son of restaurant owner Pasquale Spilotro (1899-1954) and his wife Antoinette. He had five brothers, Vincent, Victor, Pasquale Jr., John, and Michael. Pasquale Jr. became a respected oral surgeon and dentist in the Chicago area and Vincent lived a law-abiding life. John, Victor and Michael followed Tony into a life of crime. He dropped out of Chicago's Steinmetz High School in his sophomore year after being the school's bully. He was well known for mopery and being a Top Jewel Thief. He was mentored by "Mad" Sam DeStefano, then later Felix "Milwaukee Phil" Alderisio and Charles "Chuckie" Nicoletti. Tony became a "made member" of the Chicago Mafia family in 1963.

Las Vegas

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Spilotro with lawyer Oscar Goodman and mobster "Fat Herbie" Blitztein.

In Las Vegas, suceeding Marshall Caifano as the mob's "man," Spilotro became good friends with Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, who ran several casinos with mob backing including the Stardust. Unfortunately, their relationship collapsed when Spilotro started an affair with Frank's wife Geri, becoming her "sponsor," or her boyfriend and breaking the oath taken when you become made. While they were friends, Spilotro helped Frank protect the casinos from scammers and mobsters looking to rob the place. When he was blacklisted by the Nevada gaming board in December 1979, he started the "Hole in the Wall" gang that had a reputation for making holes in walls to rob jewelry stores. Led by his friend and partner Frank Cullotta, Spilotro allowed his crew to deal drugs, which Tony Accardo, the Outfit boss, was against. Most of what he did in Las Vegas was never consulted with the Outfit back in Chicago.

Spilotro allegedly tried to become a mob boss in his own right, but was brutally murdered along with brother Michael and buried in a cornfield near St. Anne, Indiana, supposedly by the Chicago mob. Spilotro and his brother were pistol-whipped and buried half naked. On April 27, 2005, 14 members of the Chicago Outfit including reputed head of the Chicago mob James Marcello were indicted for 18 murders including that of Spilotro.

Spilotro is known for his murders of "Mad" Sam DeStefano, who at one time was Spilotro's mentor, and his involvement in the murders of Bill McCarthy and James Miraglia, known to the public as the "M & M Murders." Spilotro put McCarthy's head in a vise and popped out his eye. It is also speculated that Spilotro may or may not have been involved in Rosenthal's car bombing on October 4, 1982, near Marie Callender's restaurant on 600 East Sahara Avenue.

Joe Pesci's character in the film Casino and Anthony Denison's character on the TV series Crime Story are both based on Spilotro.

References

  • Pileggi, Nicholas. Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas, ISBN 0684808323
  • Roemer Jr., William F. The Enforcer: Spilotro-The Chicago Mob's Man in Las Vegas, ISBN 0804113106
  • Nash, Jay Robert. World Encyclopedia of Organized Crime, ISBN 1-55778-508-2