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Anthony Spilotro
Anthony John Spilotro (May 19, 1938 – June 14, 1986), nicknamed "Tony the Ant", was an American mobster and high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit who operated in Las Vegas during the 1970s and '80s. Spilotro managed the Outfit's illegal casino profits (the "skim") when four of the casinos, the Stardust, the Fremont, the Hacienda and the Marina, were managed by Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, replacing Outfit member John Roselli. He was also the leader of the "Hole in the Wall Gang", a burglary crew he formed when he moved to Las Vegas in 1971.
Spilotro eventually ran afoul of his superiors in Chicago over his handling of their Las Vegas concerns, and they arranged his murder on June 14, 1986. Spilotro's criminal career was detailed in Nicholas Pileggi's true crime book Casino and served as the basis for the character Nicky Santoro in Martin Scorsese's adaptation of that book by the same title in 1995.
Anthony Spilotro was born on May 19, 1938, in Chicago, Illinois, the fourth of six children to Pasquale "Patsy" Spilotro Sr. and Antoinette Spilotro. He attended Burbank Elementary School in his childhood and entered Steinmetz High School in 1953. Spilotro's father had emigrated from Triggiano, Province of Bari, Italy, and had arrived at Ellis Island in 1914. Both parents ran Patsy's Restaurant, which was frequented by mobsters such as Sam Giancana, Jackie "The Lackey" Cerone, Gus Alex and Francesco "Frank the Enforcer" Nitti.
Spilotro and four of his brothers (John, Vincent, Victor and Michael) became involved in criminal activity starting at an early age; after the deaths of Spilotro and Michael, Victor would be inducted into the Chicago Outfit a year later in 1987. The remaining brother, "Patrick" Pasquale Jr., became a dentist. Spilotro started his criminal career alongside his boyhood friend Frank Cullotta, engaging in theft, burglary, and murder.
Spilotro was nicknamed "Tony the Ant" by the media after FBI Special Agent William Roemer publicly referred to him as "that little pissant." Since the media could not use "pissant", they changed it to "the Ant". For a short while around 1962 or 1963, Spilotro worked for Irwin Weiner's bail bonds company.
In 1971, Spilotro moved to Las Vegas to help oversee the local concerns of the Chicago Outfit, which controlled four casinos on the Las Vegas Strip: the Stardust, the Fremont, the Hacienda and the Marina. Bored with his new assignment, Spilotro formed a burglary crew later dubbed the "Hole in the Wall Gang." The crew got its name from its penchant for drilling through the exterior walls and ceilings of the locations they burgled. In early 1979, Cullotta moved to Las Vegas to join Spilotro.
On July 4, 1981, the Hole in the Wall Gang robbed Bertha's Gifts & Home Furnishings on East Sahara Avenue. The robbery was a bust as much of the gang was arrested, including Cullotta, Joe Blasko, Leo Guardino, Ernest Davino, Lawrence Neumann and Wayne Matecki—each charged with burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, attempted grand larceny and possession of burglary tools. Around this time, Spilotro had an affair with Geri McGee, the wife of Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, whose casinos Spilotro had been sent to oversee.
In 1982, Cullotta was imprisoned and approached by the FBI with a wiretap of Spilotro talking with someone about "having to clean our dirty laundry", which Cullotta took as an insinuated contract on his life. Due to this, in July 1982, Cullotta finalized an agreement with the prosecutors. In September 1983, Spilotro was indicted for conspiracy and obstruction of justice in the Sherwin "Jerry" Lisner murder and released on $100,000 bail.
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Anthony Spilotro
Anthony John Spilotro (May 19, 1938 – June 14, 1986), nicknamed "Tony the Ant", was an American mobster and high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit who operated in Las Vegas during the 1970s and '80s. Spilotro managed the Outfit's illegal casino profits (the "skim") when four of the casinos, the Stardust, the Fremont, the Hacienda and the Marina, were managed by Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, replacing Outfit member John Roselli. He was also the leader of the "Hole in the Wall Gang", a burglary crew he formed when he moved to Las Vegas in 1971.
Spilotro eventually ran afoul of his superiors in Chicago over his handling of their Las Vegas concerns, and they arranged his murder on June 14, 1986. Spilotro's criminal career was detailed in Nicholas Pileggi's true crime book Casino and served as the basis for the character Nicky Santoro in Martin Scorsese's adaptation of that book by the same title in 1995.
Anthony Spilotro was born on May 19, 1938, in Chicago, Illinois, the fourth of six children to Pasquale "Patsy" Spilotro Sr. and Antoinette Spilotro. He attended Burbank Elementary School in his childhood and entered Steinmetz High School in 1953. Spilotro's father had emigrated from Triggiano, Province of Bari, Italy, and had arrived at Ellis Island in 1914. Both parents ran Patsy's Restaurant, which was frequented by mobsters such as Sam Giancana, Jackie "The Lackey" Cerone, Gus Alex and Francesco "Frank the Enforcer" Nitti.
Spilotro and four of his brothers (John, Vincent, Victor and Michael) became involved in criminal activity starting at an early age; after the deaths of Spilotro and Michael, Victor would be inducted into the Chicago Outfit a year later in 1987. The remaining brother, "Patrick" Pasquale Jr., became a dentist. Spilotro started his criminal career alongside his boyhood friend Frank Cullotta, engaging in theft, burglary, and murder.
Spilotro was nicknamed "Tony the Ant" by the media after FBI Special Agent William Roemer publicly referred to him as "that little pissant." Since the media could not use "pissant", they changed it to "the Ant". For a short while around 1962 or 1963, Spilotro worked for Irwin Weiner's bail bonds company.
In 1971, Spilotro moved to Las Vegas to help oversee the local concerns of the Chicago Outfit, which controlled four casinos on the Las Vegas Strip: the Stardust, the Fremont, the Hacienda and the Marina. Bored with his new assignment, Spilotro formed a burglary crew later dubbed the "Hole in the Wall Gang." The crew got its name from its penchant for drilling through the exterior walls and ceilings of the locations they burgled. In early 1979, Cullotta moved to Las Vegas to join Spilotro.
On July 4, 1981, the Hole in the Wall Gang robbed Bertha's Gifts & Home Furnishings on East Sahara Avenue. The robbery was a bust as much of the gang was arrested, including Cullotta, Joe Blasko, Leo Guardino, Ernest Davino, Lawrence Neumann and Wayne Matecki—each charged with burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, attempted grand larceny and possession of burglary tools. Around this time, Spilotro had an affair with Geri McGee, the wife of Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, whose casinos Spilotro had been sent to oversee.
In 1982, Cullotta was imprisoned and approached by the FBI with a wiretap of Spilotro talking with someone about "having to clean our dirty laundry", which Cullotta took as an insinuated contract on his life. Due to this, in July 1982, Cullotta finalized an agreement with the prosecutors. In September 1983, Spilotro was indicted for conspiracy and obstruction of justice in the Sherwin "Jerry" Lisner murder and released on $100,000 bail.