Cullotta in 2012 | |
| Born | December 14, 1938 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Died | August 20, 2020 (aged 81) |
| Occupation | Mobster, tour guide, writer |
| Allegiance | Chicago Outfit |
| Conviction(s) | Burglary (1968) |
| Criminal penalty | Eight years' imprisonment (1968) Eight years' imprisonment (1982) |
After two days of interrogating a guy over a botched robbery attempt at his casino, Nicky ends up putting his head in a vise in a last ditch effort to get results. But even then, Nicky remains. Casino – Vice Grip. There’s nothing as thrilling as losing money. At least that’s what the casino sells you. Everyone who has been to the casino, knows that sinking feeling of comin’ in with a stack of Benjamins and leavin’ with their ghosts. But even so, there is something so mysteriously gravitating about the place. It has an energy. The infamous head in a vice scene was based on an actual incident where mob enforcers Charles Nicoletti and Anthony Spilotro tortured Billy McCarthy for info about his accomplices. It just didn't sink into his head about the Black Book and what it meant. Not being able to go into a casino is just one thing, but being in this book etched your name into the brains of every cop and FBI agent in the state. I mean, you're listed in there with Al Capone. But Nicky didn't care. Nicky Santoro: I gotta do somethin'.
Frank John Cullotta (December 14, 1938 – August 20, 2020) was an American mobster for the Chicago Outfit and a member of the Hole in the Wall Gang burglary ring in Las Vegas with friend and mobster Tony Spilotro. After his arrest in 1982, he became a government witness and entered the witness protection program. Cullotta later became an author and a tour guide. He died on August 20, 2020, from complications related to COVID-19.
Early years[edit]
Cullotta was born on December 14, 1938, in Chicago, Illinois to Josephine Montedore and Joseph Raymond Cullotta.[1][2] Cullotta's father was also a criminal, although not connected with the Chicago Outfit.[2] Cullotta dropped out of Steinmetz High School in the ninth grade, and started a criminal career together with boyhood friend Tony Spilotro, engaging in theft, burglary, and murder.[2][1]
In 1962, Cullotta killed William McCarthy and James Miraglia, murders he later admitted, who were found dead in the trunk of a car on May 14, 1962.[3] McCarthy's head had been placed in a vise and his throat slashed, while Miraglia was strangled.[3]
In 1968, Cullotta was convicted of burglary and sentenced to eight years in prison.[2] In 1972, he was paroled by the state, but was transferred to Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute to serve the federal portion of his sentence.[2] After six months, he was transferred to a halfway house, ultimately being released in 1974.[2][1]
Hole in the Wall Gang[edit]
In early 1979, Cullotta moved to Las Vegas, Nevada to join Spilotro, who had already been there since 1971,[4] and his group of experienced thieves, safecrackers, and killers.[2] The crew became known in the media as the Hole in the Wall Gang because of its penchant for gaining entry to homes and buildings by drilling through the exterior walls and ceilings of the locations they burgled.[citation needed]
On October 10, 1979, Cullotta killed his former friend and grand jury witness Sherwin 'Jerry' Lisner in Las Vegas, who was suspected of informing on a money exchange scam he was working on with Cullotta. When he became a witness, Cullotta admitted he had killed Lisner, on orders from Tony Spilotro.[2][5]
On July 4, 1981, the Hole in the Wall Gang robbed Bertha's Gifts & Home Furnishings on East Sahara Avenue in Las Vegas. 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.[2]
In 1982, Cullotta was imprisoned again, and was 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.[3] Due to this, in July 1982, Cullotta finalized an agreement with the prosecutors.[2]
In September 1983, Spilotro was indicted for conspiracy and obstruction of justice in the Lisner murder, and released on $100,000 bail.[6] At a trial in October 1983, Cullotta admitted that he was involved in over 300 crimes, including four murders, perjury, robberies and burglaries.[6] He also testified that Spilotro, his boss in Las Vegas, ordered him to make a telephone call that lured one of the 1962 murder victims, William McCarthy, to a fast food restaurant.[6] Spilotro was acquitted later that year.[7]
Cullotta was given immunity for his previously uncharged crimes, but was sentenced to 10 years in prison, reduced to eight years after an outburst from Cullotta.[2] He served two years at Metropolitan Correctional Center, San Diego, until he was paroled to the witness protection program in 1984, and placed on two years' probation.[2] He spent two years under an assumed name in the program, moving around from time to time, including in Texas; Estes Park, Colorado; Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi; and Mobile, Alabama.[5][8]
Life after crime[edit]
Cullotta provided information for Nicholas Pileggi's 1995 book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas, which Martin Scorsese adapted into the 1995 film Casino.[8][9] Cullotta inspired the character Frank Marino (played by Frank Vincent),[10] served as a technical advisor for the film,[5] and also played an on-screen role as a hitman.[8][1]
Cullotta co-authored two books with Dennis N. Griffin, Cullotta: The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster, Government Witness (also with Dennis Arnoldy, 2007), and The Rise and Fall of a 'Casino' Mobster: The Tony Spilotro Story Through a Hitman's Eyes (2017), and was involved in the making of several documentaries. Cullotta worked as a tour guide and a speaker for The Mob Museum in Las Vegas.[5]
In January 2020, Cullotta started a YouTube channel called 'Coffee with Cullotta'.[1]
Death[edit]
On August 20, 2020, Cullotta died at the age of 81 in a Las Vegas hospital from complications related to COVID-19 and other medical issues, amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[11][1] His death was also announced on his YouTube channel, 'Coffee with Cullotta'.[12]
References[edit]
- ^ abcdef'Frank Cullotta, Mobster Turned Memoirist and YouTuber, Dies at 81'. nytimes.com. August 24, 2020. Archived from the original on August 24, 2020.
- ^ abcdefghijklDennis N. Griffin; Frank Cullotta; Dennis Arnoldy (2007). Cullotta: The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster and Government Witness. Huntington Press In. ISBN9780929712451.
- ^ abc'A judge refused Wednesday to dismiss murder charges against...' upi.com. October 26, 1983.
- ^Nicholas Pileggi (1995). Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas. Simon & Schuster. ISBN9781504041621.
- ^ abcd'Old mobster is at peace with his past'. lasvegassun.com. November 23, 2015.
- ^ abc'Indicted in murder, Spilotro free on bond'. upi.com. September 15, 1983.
- ^'Spilotro Killings Not Typical of Mob's Pattern'. latimes.com. June 25, 1986.
- ^ abcTanner, Adam. 'How An Infamous Mafia Hitman Rebuilt His Identity From Scratch'. Forbes. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ^Nicholas Pileggi; Martin Scorsese (1996). Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas. Faber & Faber. ISBN9780571179923.
- ^'Casino (1995)'. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
- ^'Ex-mobster Frank Cullotta, crony of Tony Spilotro, dies in Las Vegas'. reviewjournal.com. August 20, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
- ^'Former Chicago and Las Vegas mobster Frank Cullotta has died'. ktnv.com. August 20, 2020.