Cullotta: The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster, and Government Witness by Griffin Dennis N. & Cullotta Frank & Pileggi Nicholas & Nicholas Pileggi

Author:Griffin, Dennis N. & Cullotta, Frank & Pileggi, Nicholas & Nicholas Pileggi [Griffin, Dennis N.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Huntington Press
Published: 2007-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

9 The Law

While Tony Spilotro and Frank Cullotta were running the street rackets in Las Vegas, two law-enforcement agencies were gearing up to take them down.

The task of catching the lawbreakers fell primarily on the shoulders of the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, commonly referred to as Metro. Each agency had its own investigative responsibilities and both had recently suffered from scandal. Some FBI agents had been on the dole, taking complimentary meals and shows from the casinos they were supposed to be keeping an eye on. And Metro detectives had been caught passing information to the mobsters. But by the time Frank Cullotta got to Sin City, the law-enforcement ship was being righted.

The Spilotro gang counted a number of skilled and tough criminals among its members. These were men capable of doing whatever it took to protect their interests and expand their illegal enterprises. But even though they had to play by different rules, the lawmen who opposed them were no slouches when it came to dedication and toughness.

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The feds were interested in Las Vegas organized crime from two perspectives: the skimming of money from casinos, and street crimes that violated federal laws. Several FBI offices across the country were involved in the skim investigations. The street crimes were more of an effort by the local office.

Starting in the late 1970s, the Las Vegas FBI office underwent a major reorganization as a result of allegations of improper or unethical practices. One of the first new agents to arrive in Vegas was Emmett Michaels in 1977. He was appointed supervisor of the Surveillance Squad, a part of the Special Operations Group. His unit was responsible for conducting surveillance, including the installation and monitoring of authorized wiretaps and electronic eavesdropping equipment. Early on, Michaels found the working relationship between the FBI and its local counterparts to be unproductive. This lack of trust was obvious on a night in 1978 when Michaels and a team of agents bugged Spilotro’s Gold Rush store.

About 10 agents were involved. Because Metro had a reputation for being corrupt, the FBI didn’t tell them they were planning to place bugs in Spilotro’s store and tap the phones. Michaels and three other agents were up on the telephone poles when the store’s alarm system activated. A Metro car showed up and the officer got out to investigate. The four G-men dangled from those poles, holding their breath and hoping the cop didn’t look up. He didn’t; he left a few minutes later without detecting any of the agents. Had Metro caught them in the act, Michaels believed the incident would have been embarrassing at best. At worst, word may have gotten back to Spilotro.

In 1979, Charlie Parsons came on the scene as the supervisor of the Organized Crime Squad. He was subsequently transferred to the Los Angeles field office and became the special agent in charge (SAC) of that office.

Two more major players were assigned to Las Vegas in 1980: Dennis Arnoldy in August and Lynn Ferrin in September.

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