Cullotta: The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster and Government Witness (31 page)

The Witness Protection Program was good for Frank and his family in many respects, but it was far from a panacea. Charlie Parsons had told Frank that they probably wouldn’t like it, and they didn’t. They were given birth certificates and Social Security numbers to establish new identities, but other than that they were pretty much on their own. Under their new identities, they had no history, so it was tough to establish credit. They had to put down extra deposits for rent and utilities and pay higher interest rates on anything they financed. They had to take their paperwork to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get driver’s licenses and make up stories about where they had come from.

For Frank, who was used to having several new cars each year, it was particularly tough having to drive an old jalopy. He found a way around that embarrassment in short order, however. Using money he’d stashed during better times, he bought a Mercedes that he kept in a rented garage. His neighbors or passing marshals saw an unimpressive used car in the driveway, but he was able to travel in luxury when the situation warranted or the mood struck.

Frank felt the Chicago incident was a fluke and continued to believe that the Outfit probably wouldn’t actively pursue him or his family. But with a new baby on the scene, his wife and stepdaughter didn’t share his confidence in their safety.

In spring 1986, Eileen told Frank they needed to talk. She said, “I’m afraid for our safety; we need to break up. I love you and I hope you understand. Maybe somewhere down the road we can get back together. But for now it’s the best thing.” Shortly thereafter, Eileen, her two kids, and her granddaughter departed for parts unknown.

Before she left, Frank told her he understood, but it put him through another major change. After Eileen and Frank agreed to split, Frank, still in Witness Protection, made arrangements to be relocated. He was flown to a remote location and housed in a cabin for three or four weeks. Then he was moved to another temporary location where he stayed in a motel. He had only a little money with him, just his monthly funding from the feds. He’d given everything else to Eileen. It was there that he first became aware he wasn’t the only Las Vegan in trouble with the Outfit.

Frank’s life was in turmoil, but Tony Spilotro was experiencing much more serious problems. He was under tremendous pressure from the law and the Chicago bosses were disenchanted with him. The only question was which side would get to him first.

As Frank Cullotta was doing his duty as a government witness, his testimony placed additional pressure on Tony Spilotro. But he wasn’t the only thorn in his former friend’s skin; Tony was under assault from other quarters as well. Tony and Oscar Goodman fought back, but it was an uphill battle.

By June 1986, Tony Spilotro had three open cases hanging over his head, all of them federal. Two of the cases were being tried in Las Vegas. In those, Tony was being prosecuted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). He stood accused of being the mastermind behind the Hole in the Wall Gang. Many of the crimes committed by the HITWG, including the burglary of Bertha’s and the robbery of the Rose Bowl sports book, served as the predicate offenses upon which the RICO case was based. Lawmen and government lawyers referred to that prosecution as the “Bertha’s trial.” The other pending Las Vegas case alleged that Tony had ordered the murder of federal defendant and witness Jerry Lisner. He’d also been indicted in the casino-skimming investigations and those charges remained unresolved.

The first Bertha’s trial ended in a mistrial. Frank overheard prosecutors say that prior to the start of that trial, Spilotro was offered a sentence of 10 years in return for a guilty plea. Tony and Oscar Goodman rejected the offer. A retrial was scheduled to begin on June 16, 1986. Most experts thought the evidence against Tony was overwhelming. They believed the second trial would result in a conviction. The prosecution seemed to have a strong case in the Lisner matter, too.

Those in the know also thought Tony was in dire trouble in the casino-skimming case. Thanks to agent Lynn Ferrin in Las Vegas and his colleagues in other offices, on September 30, 1983, a federal grand jury in Kansas City returned an eight-count indictment against 15 defendants, including Tony Spilotro. Tony got his case severed from the other defendants and didn’t stand trial with them. But their court cases, which ended in early 1986, resulted in convictions against mob bosses in several Midwest cities. A couple of the big names found guilty were Joe “Doves” Aiuppa of Chicago and Frank “Frankie Bal” Balistrieri of Milwaukee. Kansas City’s Nick Civella was spared the ordeal of a trial and likely conviction only when it was learned he was suffering from terminal cancer. Based on those results, Tony’s chances at trial didn’t look too good.

In early June 1986, Tony’s 41-year-old brother Michael, who lived and owned a restaurant in Chicago, was contacted by an underling of Outfit boss Joe Ferriola and asked to get in touch with Tony. Michael was to ask Tony to come to Chicago for a meeting. The get-together was scheduled for June 14, two days before the start of the second Bertha’s trial in Las Vegas. Tony responded to the invitation. He and Michael left for their meeting on that day, then failed to return home when they were expected.

In his motel room, Frank received a message to call the FBI. Dennis Arnoldy wanted to talk with him. Arnoldy said, “Tony and Michael Spilotro have disappeared. Have you got any idea where they would have run to?”

“They ain’t run nowhere,” Frank said with certainty. “Tony would never run. He fucked up and he’s dead. If his brother is with him, he’s dead too.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Tony’s caused the Outfit a lot of problems and he’d stopped generating money. Michael is cocky and has caused problems, too. They aren’t needed anymore. If you whack one, you gotta whack them both. I guarantee you they’re both dead.”

On Tuesday June 24, the
Las Vegas Review
-
Journal
ran the story on its front page. According to the Associated Press article, the Spilotro brothers were reported missing June 16 by Michael’s wife Anne, who said she last saw them June 14 at her suburban Oak Park home. Several days later a farmer discovered the two badly beaten bodies in a shallow grave on his Indiana cornfield. The bodies were identified as those of Anthony and Michael Spilotro.

An Indiana State Police spokesman said the bodies, clad only in underwear, were buried one on top of the other in a five-foot grave. An examination of the bodies by a forensic pathologist indicated blunt-force injuries, probably caused by hands or feet, resulted in the deaths. They’d been beaten senseless and there was some evidence that they may have been put in the ground while they were still breathing.

The grave was about five miles from a farm owned by mobster Joseph Aiuppa, who’d been convicted earlier that year on racketeering charges of skimming from a Las Vegas casino. Law-enforcement sources said there was no way to know if there was any connection between Aiuppa and the murders.

The news from Indiana wasn’t totally unexpected in Las Vegas law-enforcement circles. In fact, some lawmen were surprised it hadn’t happened earlier. Gene Smith expressed his feelings this way: “The department had been receiving intelligence that Tony’s days were numbered. He’d been falling out of favor with the bosses for quite a while, because he wouldn’t give up his street rackets and keep a low profile. But he was real tight with Joe Lombardo and that probably extended his life. When Lombardo and the others went to prison on [racketeering] convictions, Tony lost his protection. He wasn’t liked or trusted by the new regime and that sealed his fate. It was just a matter of when.

“As for Michael, the word was that he was running a protection racket without the approval of the Outfit and not cutting them in on the profits. There was also the possibility that if they only hit Tony, Michael might want revenge. The best solution for the boys in Chicago was to get rid of both of them at the same time.”

Kent Clifford believed Tony himself, and law-enforcement’s efforts against him, led to the murders. “Tony’s ego and his ambitions caused most of his problems with the mob. By us [Metro] and the FBI keeping him in the news, he became too much of a liability. Either the law was going to put him away or the mob would take care of him. For Spilotro, those were the only two possible outcomes.”

When Frank learned officially that Tony and Michael had been killed, he was troubled by the method of execution. During another phone conversation with Dennis Arnoldy, he expressed his opinion. “The way Tony and Michael were killed was terrible. They were beaten to death! Not shot, no cut throats. They were beaten, beaten to death. That’s a hell of a way to die. Nobody should go like that. That was the Outfit’s way of showing Tony wasn’t that tough a guy.”

“Have you got any idea why they were buried the way they were?” Arnoldy asked.

“The Outfit didn’t intend for the bodies to be discovered so soon; they weren’t looking for any more heat. The bodies were buried okay; no mistakes were made there. It was just that the farmer knew his land too well and spotted the fresh dig.”

In the years that followed the killings, Nancy Spilotro and Oscar Goodman expressed the opinion that the FBI wasn’t exerting much effort to find the murderers. However, records show that the FBI did do a lengthy investigation in an attempt to identify and prosecute the killers. In a redacted report dated May 19, 1993, the FBI summarized the results of their investigation:

“For information of the Bureau, in June of 1986, Anthony Spilotro, a known Chicago LCN (La Cosa Nostra) member and his brother, Michael Spilotro, a known LCN associate and suspected LCN member, were murdered and buried in an Indiana cornfield located at the outskirts of Enos, Indiana. Autopsies conducted showed that both Spilotros were beaten. The cause of death was listed for each as asphyxia, due to blunt forced trauma about the head, neck and chest. The bodies of the Spilotros were positively identified through dental records supplied by Patrick Spilotro, DDS, and brother of the two deceased.

“As in most gangland slayings, cooperation with law enforcement officials by associates and members of the Chicago LCN is virtually non-existent. Several cooperating witnesses and sources were developed in this matter and have provided the following information concerning the time and period just prior to the Spilotros disappearance and subsequent murders and events that followed the murders.

“Approximately 10 days before the murders, Anthony Spilotro arrived in Chicago, Illinois, with a female companion identified as (redacted), of (redacted), currently residing in (redacted). Information from (redacted) indicates that a meeting was scheduled between Anthony Spilotro and (redacted) on the date the Spilotros were last seen alive, June 14, 1986. On June 13, 1986, Michael Spilotro received two important phone calls from (redacted). After the second of these calls, Michael Spilotro was heard telling (redacted) that he had a meeting the next day. It is known from interviews conducted with (redacted) that (redacted) contacted Michael Spilotro at Hoagie’s Restaurant during the evening of June 13, 1986. Hoagie’s Restaurant was owned by Michael Spilotro. During the same evening, Michael Spilotro informed (redacted) that he had a meeting the next day with (redacted). Michael Spilotro said that if he didn’t come back from that meeting, ‘It’s no good.’

“On June 14, 1986, Anthony and Michael Spilotro departed Michael’s residence at approximately 4:00 p.m. and were never seen alive again. Prior to leaving the residence both Spilotros removed all valuables and identifying papers from their persons.

“It is speculated that the brothers met with associates they trusted implicitly and proceeded to the meeting place. Upon arrival at the meeting the Spilotros were beaten and strangled.

“Comments by (redacted) as well as (redacted) and confidential informants seem to indicate the following information regarding the murder of the Spilotro brothers:

Spilotro brothers.

“The Spilotro brothers may have been picked up at a motel in

Schiller Park on the afternoon of June 14, 1986, by (redacted) and

possibly (redacted). The last sighting of the brothers by witnesses

was in the bar of the motel at approximately 3:00 p.m. Tony Spilotro’s vehicle was later recovered at the motel parking lot. Because

of the close relationship of (redacted) and Tony Spilotro, it is believed that the brothers may have voluntarily entered (redacted). “It is believed that the six subjects beat the Spilotro brothers

to death at a location believed to be near the burial site, located in

Enos, Indiana. At least part of the reason for the killings was to get

money from Tony Spilotro.

“Redacted paragraph.

“Redacted paragraph.

“Albert Tocco is currently serving a 200-year sentence on a conviction out of the Northern District of Illinois (NDI). An attempt was made to indict Tocco by a Newton County, Indiana, grand jury to enable the state prosecution of Tocco in a Newton County Superior Court, located in Kentland, Indiana. An Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) from the NDI was to be cross-designated to handle the state prosecution of Tocco. The purpose behind the state prosecution of Tocco was to enable Tocco to receive a death penalty sentence, should he be convicted at the state level. It was hoped that this possibility for the death sentence would convince Tocco to cooperate in the Spilotro murder investigation. However, to date, there has been an inability to make arrangements for the payment of the anticipated high cost of this prosecution to be cov