The Battle for Las Vegas: The Law vs. The Mob (14 page)

Metro denied its officers were involved, stating that records showed Smith and Gillispie were two miles away from the Spilotro neighborhood at the time of the incident, and were being interviewed by a Metro patrol officer regarding a traffic accident their unmarked car had been involved in.

The DA entered into the case, launching an investigation into the shotgun blasts. That started a three-way war that was fought in the press. Metro Undersheriff Don Denison suggested that by stepping into the case, Miller had placed himself in the position of having to “either call for arrest warrants or grand jury indictments, or give the two officers an apology.”

Miller shot back, “I don’t owe an apology to the police department for doing my job. I’m doing what I was elected to do.”

Metro officials then contended that Miller’s decision to get involved had been the result of pressure by Spilotro’s attorney, Oscar Goodman. The DA flatly denied that allegation. “I haven’t talked to Oscar Goodman for months,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Spilotro side continued to express the opinion that the Bluestein shooting and the shotgun incidents were related events in an ongoing police plot. The shotgunning was a message sent by the cops to intimidate them.

After a six-week investigation, the DA declared that there was insufficient evidence to warrant charges against the police. Miller explained, “To the very best of our abilities, based on all the evidence presented, the two Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officers cannot be held responsible for the shotgun incident.” He declined to provide specifics about the evidence, except to say that the witness who supposedly saw Gene Smith loading a shotgun failed to identify the officer from a photo lineup.

Smith scoffs at the story told by the alleged witness. “He said I was near a convenience store when he saw me. What in the hell would I be doing out there with an empty shotgun? His story didn’t make any sense.”

According to Smith, if the shootings were meant as a message to the Spilotros, the lawmen weren’t the authors. “That happened right after Kent Clifford went to Chicago and blew the whistle on Tony. Maybe his bosses were getting fed up with him and wanted to get his attention.”

The additional violence and war of words didn’t sit well with Kent Clifford. Having had enough, he called Oscar Goodman and asked to have a meeting with the Spilotro brothers. The session was held soon afterward in the lawyer’s office with the Spilotros, Goodman, and Clifford present.

As the four men took seats around Goodman’s desk, Clifford sensed that the meeting was being taped. He suggested that they move to a couch and chairs about 10 feet away. The Spilotros agreed, but Goodman said no, they should stay where they were. That convinced Clifford they were being recorded. On the record or not, the conversation got pretty heated. Clifford remembers the dialogue this way:

“Commander, you went to Chicago and told them you have forty men. I have four hundred men,” Tony Spilotro snarled.

“That makes us even, doesn’t it?”

Spilotro stared at the cop questioningly for a few seconds. “How do you figure?”

“My people are Vietnam combat veterans, and they’re each worth ten of your street punks,” Clifford explained.

“I next told him that my men hadn’t done the shooting at John’s or his place and that we were not out to kill him or anybody else. He accused me of making a statement on TV that I intended to kill him. He was talking about something I told a reporter after the incident at the Sahara where we mistakenly arrested his brother Patrick. I said then that there would be another day. To a guy like Tony, that indicated a death threat, because that’s the way his mind worked. I clarified that my statement meant that I intended to put him in jail for the rest of his life. That would be better justice than killing him. When I left that meeting, it was understood that the personal stuff was over and things would be back to normal.”

Arrests

While all that was going on, Metro continued its efforts to put pressure on Tony Spilotro and his boys. Ernest Davino, one of the Hole in the Wall Gang regulars, was arrested on January 22. During a search of his residence at 2:45 that morning, a lock pick and a vial containing 26 black and orange pills were discovered; the pills were determined to be illegal drugs. Davino was charged with possession of burglary tools and possession of a controlled substance. Out on bail, he was arrested again on October 15, pursuant to a grand-jury indictment charging him with burglary and possession of stolen property.

On May 26, Lawrence Neumann—burglar, robber, and convicted killer—was observed seated in a parked vehicle in the vicinity of the Upper Crust. Interviewed by detectives, they determined that Neumann was an ex-felon who had failed to register with the police department upon his arrival in Las Vegas. After Neumann was taken into custody on that charge, his car was searched. Found in the glove box was a .380 Mauser semi-automatic pistol. A check of the weapon revealed it had been stolen in a burglary on April 9. As a result, Neumann was additionally charged with receiving stolen property and as an ex-felon in possession of a concealed weapon.

On July 28, police investigating a burglary-in-progress call at an auto-parts store located near the Upper Crust nabbed Leo Guardino. Guardino attempted to flee the area in his car, but was apprehended by the officers. He was arrested again in October pursuant to a grand-jury indictment charging him with burglary and possession of stolen property. The cops didn’t have to chase Guardino to arrest him this time; he was already in jail on yet another burglary charge.

All three of these men, and a few of their associates, were busted on another burglary-related charge during the year. But that caper had repercussions that would rock the world of organized crime.

Deconsolidation Attempt Fails

The issue of dissolving Metro was still unsettled. In April, a special three-member state Senate panel held a hearing in Carson City to attempt to resolve the matter. In often heated debate, Las Vegas officials proposed that a Chief of Police position be created to run Metro effective January 1983. That would have relegated Sheriff McCarthy to the relatively minor role of running the jail and serving civil papers. Metro and Clark County were spirited in their opposition. McCarthy argued that the top law-enforcement officer in the county should be someone elected by the voters, not a political appointee.

The panel subsequently submitted recommendations that were incorporated in a bill intended to clean up the 1973 law that had created Metro and was later ruled unconstitutional. The city’s argument to change the leadership of Metro failed and wasn’t included in the panel’s suggestions. But the city politicians vowed to fight on.

A few weeks later, the same representatives who’d been at each other’s throats for months met again in Carson City. This time the atmosphere was much friendlier after reaching a compromise that more of Metro’s funding would be shouldered by Clark County. The shift amounted to an additional burden of $4 million for county taxpayers and an equal savings for Las Vegas residents. In return, the city dropped its effort to have a Chief of Police oversee Metro. The department was saved, and John McCarthy wouldn’t have to confront the matter again.

Challenge

Sheriff McCarthy had very little time to celebrate his victory over the deconsolidation proponents before another headache emerged. John Moran told a
Las Vegas Sun
reporter that although he hadn’t officially declared his candidacy, he was organizing a campaign to run against McCarthy in the next election. Moran said he had a lot of workers already on board and they were passing the word that he intended to be in the race.

That announcement must have made the news media salivate. A race between John McCarthy and John Moran had the ingredients to generate a lot of ink. The former number-two man in the department would be trying to unseat the man who had once fired him. They apparently weren’t very fond of each other and neither man was likely to back down if things got nasty. In fact, they’d be more apt to counterattack. For those interested in local politics, the entire scenario promised to be exciting.

Bertha’s

It was the Fourth of July and it was hot. It was always hot in Las Vegas in July, but to many of the 40 or so FBI agents and Metro officers working a special assignment, it seemed even hotter than normal. And that was only the temperature. If things worked out as planned, the heat would get even more intense for Spilotro’s Hole in the Wall Gang.

The center of the law’s focus that day was Bertha’s Gifts & Home Furnishings, located at 896 East Sahara. The store was in an upscale single-story building and included a jewelry shop on the premises. The lawmen believed a burglary was scheduled to take place there in the evening, with the thieves expecting a take of around $1 million in cash and jewelry. That kind of haul was a big score, especially in 1981 money, and the HITWG crew assembled to carry out the burglary reflected that. Criminal stars Frank Cullotta, Wayne Matecki, the homicidal Larry Neumann, Leo Guardino, Ernie Davino, and former cop Joe Blasko were poised to hit Bertha’s.

Their opposition was headed on-scene by the FBI’s Charlie Parsons and Joe Gersky and Metro’s Gene Smith, now a lieutenant. Their bosses—Joe Yablonsky and Kent Clifford—were nearby, available if needed to make any necessary command decisions.

Although the actual crime wouldn’t take place until after dark, the lawmen were at work much earlier in the day. After weeks of preparation, the final plans had to be made and a command post and necessary equipment needed to be set up. Surveillance teams were active around Bertha’s all day, monitoring activity and making sure they were thoroughly familiar with the area. They had to keep an eye on the bad guys as well, looking for any indication of a change in their plans or other potential problems.

With two different agencies participating in the operation, communications were particularly important. Their radios had to have a common frequency, but one that wasn’t known to the burglars. A secret frequency was obtained and divulged only to those with a need to know. At the same time they continued to use the regular frequencies, those likely to be monitored by the thieves, to disseminate bogus information as to the location and status of personnel. In the late afternoon, the balance of the agents and officers deployed to the field.

The main observation point to observe the roof of Bertha’s was from the top of a nearby five-story building. Charlie Parsons and Joe Gersky took up positions there, along with the equipment and personnel to videotape the scene. Gene Smith worked with the surveillance detail, riding with an FBI agent. The burglars were not to be arrested until they actually entered the building, making it a burglary rather than the lesser charge of an attempted crime.

The cops believed that at least four vehicles would be used by the crooks, three of them to conduct counter-surveillance activities and one to transport the three men who would go on the roof and do the break-in. Frank Cullotta, driving a 1981 Buick, Larry Neumann in a late-model Cadillac, and an unknown individual—possibly Joe Blasko—in a white commercial van with the name of a cleaning business and a “Superman” logo on the side would represent the gang’s forces on the ground. The occupants of all three vehicles would be equipped with two-way radios and police scanners. The burglars, Matecki, Guardino, and Davino, would arrive by station wagon and go on the roof to gain entry to the store. They would also have radios to keep in contact with the lookouts on the ground.

At around 7 p.m., the HITWG counter-surveillance units began to appear. Cullotta and Neumann repeatedly drove around the area, apparently checking for a police presence or anything that seemed suspicious. In turn, they were being tailed by cops and agents. The white van took up a position in the driveway to the Commercial Center shopping plaza, across the street from Bertha’s. From this vantage point, the operator—believed to be Joe Blasko—had an unimpeded view of the store. As the man in the van watched, he was under constant surveillance himself.

While this game of cat-and-mouse continued, the whole operation almost came to an abrupt end. Gene Smith and the FBI agent were stopped at a traffic light when a car pulled up next to them. Out of the corner of his eye, Smith saw the driver of the other car was none other than Frank Cullotta. The cop—very well known to Cullotta—went to the floor of the vehicle as fast as he could. The light changed and Cullotta pulled away. It’s almost a certainty that had Smith been spotted in the area, the burglars would have scrubbed their plans.

At approximately 9 p.m., a station wagon bearing Matecki, Guardino, and Davino arrived and parked behind a Chinese restaurant located at 1000 East Sahara. A police surveillance vehicle was parked nearby, but went unnoticed by the burglars. The three men exited their vehicle and unloaded tools and equipment, including a ladder. They next proceeded to the east side of Bertha’s and gained access to the roof, hauling their gear up with them.

From the roof a few buildings away, the videotape was rolling. The burglars were obviously unaware they were walking into an ambush. Plugging into electric outlets located in the air-conditioning units, they went about their business, using power and hand tools to penetrate the store’s roof. Everything was going smoothly for both sides. Other than Lt. Smith’s close call with Cullotta, the only thing that had gone wrong for the law so far was that a member of one of the surveillance teams had to be treated for dehydration.

Agent Dennis Arnoldy was in charge of a four-man team, two FBI and two Metro, responsible for arresting the thieves on the roof. They relaxed as best they could in the back of a pickup truck in the parking lot of the Sahara Hotel & Casino, located a few blocks from Bertha’s.

Arnoldy and his team weren’t expecting their prey or the lookouts to be armed. These were veteran criminals. They knew that if they were caught with guns, the charges against them would be more serious and the potential penalties would be greatly increased. The lawmen certainly hoped that would be the case and that the arrests would be made without bloodshed.