• Tropicana Casino Skim
• Skin Casing Material Boiler System
• Skin Casing
• Skin Carcinogenesis
• Skin Carcinoma Types
• Skim The Skim Casino

1. When this scam was exposed by the FBI, this skimming operation was the largest skim ever exposed. A number of organized crime figures were convicted as a result of the skimming. The story of the casino operations and the cash skimming was featured in the Martin Scorsese movie and best selling book Casino by Nicholas Pileggi.
2. A skim is where a casino would make, say, two hundred thousand dollars in a night, but only report that they made a hundred and fifty thousand. That fifty thousand disappears, maybe into a bag, or suitcase, or the trunk of someone’s car.
3. As Nicholas Pilleggi wrote in “Casino: Life and Death in Las Vegas,” in 1978 “(Carl) Thomas had recently been put in charge of the skim at the Tropicana Hotel, and now there was a problem.

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In this episode, Tropicana Casino Skimming, Aaron and I talk about how KC boss Nick Civella used Joe Agosto to

The money rooms are where the cash from the betting floor is counted and recorded on the casino's books. Skimming by diverting pre-tax profits is just one of many possible methods. In casinos the patron is betting against the house, so the house has an incentive to fix the games ( cards, roulette, slots, etc.).

Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal

infiltrate the Tropicana casino. I use the below actual wiretap audio to help tell the story. Nick Civella is concerned with the skimmers stealing and Civella wants a moratorium on all Tropicana skimming.

The code names are:

Carl DeLuna is Deluna

Nick Civella is Zio or uncle

Joe Agosto (Tropicana employee) is Caesar

Carl Thomas (Tropicana employee )is Mr. C

Don Shepard (Tropicana employee) is Pecoradu (Sicilian for Shepherd)

Lefty Rosenthal is Crazy

Joe Cusamano (Stardust emplyee)is Car Dealer

Tony Spilotro (Chicago Outfit member) is Little T

Diel Gustafason (Tropicana investor) is Hunter

Jack Urich (Tropicana investor) is Transmission

DELUNA: So we talked for, they talked for quite a long time, you know I’m not sticking my mouth in there too much but once in a while and in the final end, Zio (uncle) asked him what do you think happens to “C”? He says well, I think that maybe you should go ahead
and declare this moratorium, go ahead and do it, uh, for whatever period of time. And Mr. Zio says well, I would be hard put if Little Joe re-, Caesar’s requesting this, to tell him not to, you know we’ll rely on Mr. “C” to tell us.

AGOSTO: Right.

DELUNA: We asked him another question. We asked him if Tu Pecoradu (The Shepard) was capable of spotting any bad leakage.

AGOSTO: Yeah.

DELUNA: He says he positively thinks so because if we used ‘im, this guy was cu noi-altri (with us) down at the big place with Crazy.

AGOSTO: (unintelligible).

DELUNA: He said we used him down there, he did a wonderful job, had him in both joints. The other one downtown.

AGOSTO: right

DELUNA: — You know had him in bo-, he said he did a good job. Yes, he is capable.

DELUNA: Uh, we pushed on him that when he gets with you, when youse two gets together, that he should try to push you, we know how busy you are in and outta town —

AGOSTO: Yeah.

DELUNA: But to try to get, to meet you once a week like we been talking about, you know?

AGOSTO: Right.

DELUNA: Someplace away, not his joint or your joint.

AGOSTO: Right.

DELUNA: Some little coffee, someplace else. All right. Also we’ll put it in his head to put in your head

Carl “Tuffy” DeLuna

that, look forward to, let’s see if we could work out the mechanics of a safe, discreet way that Caesar and Mr. DC” could sometime in the next couple of months have a nose to nose meeting with Mr. Zio (Mr. Uncle or Nick Civella).

AGOSTO: I see.

DELUNA: Let’s start thinking about it now. Let’s say the moratorium is going to last two, three months, whatever it last us, you know?

AGOSTO: Umph.

DELUNA: Four or whatever it is. Before the end of the mor-, moratorium a month or so before the end.

AGOSTO: Umph.

DELUNA: See if we could start thinking about it right now for a safe, discreet way for Mr. “C” and Mr. Caesar to meet with uh, Zio.

AGOSTO: All right. (overlapping

DELUNA: Okay. So he’s supposed to tell you these things

AGOSTO: I like the arrangements. Tell Zio (Uncle) I wanna thank you urn, to have ah, make such decision because I think it’s a proper decision.

DELUNA: here’s another thing that he said. He said that Caesar and Pecoradu (Shepard)

AGOSTO: Yeah.

DELUNA: — get along real well together. They have a nice relationship with each other and he knew, that you two guys were together.

AGOSTO: Yeah.

DELUNA: Uh, that is uh, Caesar and uh, Pecoradu (Shepard).

AGOSTO: Right.

DELUNA: And he knew of some exchange of, of dialogue between you two —

AGOSTO: Right.

DELUNA: And one of you said that this is uh, should be uh, a fifty million dollar joint or something like that. I forgot the words.

AGOSTO: Right.

DELUNA: And the Pecoradu (Shepard) answered yeah, but it’s got a thirty million dollar management. They’re not happy, truly happy with the management.

AGOSTO: Yeah.

DELUNA: So Mr. “C” put the bum on Zio —

AGOSTO: Yeah.

DELUNA: — is it possible that Caesar could see his way clear to give uh, Pecoradu (Shepard) a little bit more say so. He says, you know with uh Newspaper, crazy ma–, you turn a guy loose, if you got faith in him, you turn him loose. Do what you wanta do.

AGOSTO: Yeah.

DELUNA: So Mr., so Zio says, what are you talking about, Carl?

DELUNA: Here’s what we oughta do. I don’t care if it’s the “Car Dealer”, I don’t care if it’s “Little T”, the guy you told me about the black book,

AGOSTO: Right.

DELUNA: I don’t give a fuck who they are, Joe,

AGOSTO: Yes.

DELUNA: If you want to delegate the power to ah, to’ Pecoradu (Shepard) or you wanna see to it it get’s done some other way. If he knows that some friend of “Little T’S” say for instance, he, he knows for sure he’s stealing. Fuck ’em. Let him go.

AGOSTO: Fuck ’em. I told him that.

Tropicana Casino Skim

DELUNA: Okay. You and him have that down.

AGOSTO: I told ‘im that, I told him that anybody that he has, he don’t have to have proof, anybody has a fifty fifty suspicions, let him go because in this type of business, you cannot, you cannot uh, take the, you know the chances. If you’ve gotta fifty percent suspicion letta go but not to put a jacket, you know on those basis to people only because they are the friend of Doumani, “Little T” whatever hell, the Cusumano, whatever it is.

DELUNA: Okay.

AGOSTO: You have gotten long way.

DELUNA: Jay.

AGOSTO: Administration, you see, he has uh, he has uh, he has now, because never, you never know, though. Those, some of those uh, fucking people, they could be vani (hollow, empty shells) you know what I mean? They could, could be stool pigeon too, you know what
I mean?

DELUNA: Right, “J”, and for, and for lot of reasons.

DELUNA: Okay. Ah, something I had on my mind. I, I, I believe that I know what you’re going through and a, I know it probably even more than you think I do and I wanted to tell you I wonder if you regret having told Mr. Transmission and Mr. Hunter, remember when you told me that you —

AGOSTO: Yeah.

DELUNA: — told them your intentions of the sutta (underneath) stuff?

AGOSTO: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

DELUNA: I wonder if that wasn’t kicking back in your face now?

AGOSTO: No.

DELUNA: Well.

AGOSTO: I mean those, those guys, they don’t even a, they forgot about it. They’re so fuckin’

DELUNA: Well, I hope so. You can see what’s going through my mind can’t you?

AGOSTO: No.

DELUNA: When you had that small dialogue with them, whenever you had it a few months ago.

AGOSTO: Yeah.

Skin Casing Material Boiler System

DELUNA: They could be thinking, Jesus Christ, Caesar’s doing this already. You know, ’cause the bookkeepers are probably, got them bugged to death too. You know?

AGOSTO: Well, I think a they, they, they might say that but I assure them there was nothing involved underneath. No, I, I don’t be concerned about it.
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Much has been written and there have been several documentaries about various organized-crime families taking cash — “skimming” — from Las Vegas casinos. The skim money was removed from the casino prior to it officially being entered into the books as revenue. Taxes weren’t paid on this unreported income, a fact on which the Internal Revenue Service frowned. The casinos involved in these illegal operations became the equivalent of piggy banks for the Midwest crime bosses.

Prior to delving into the skim while writing The Battle for Las Vegas, I considered it as being relatively dry and boring financial crimes. I didn’t realize the amount of violence and intimidation involved to launch and maintain the scams. And I had no idea of the immense investigative effort it took to bring the perpetrators before the bar of justice. However, it wasn’t long before I understood that if it weren’t for the mob’s hidden ownership of and control over the casinos, and the need to protect the status quo, there may never have been a Tony Spilotro and his gang in Las Vegas. So, although Tony wasn’t one of the inside men in the casinos, the skim operations were part and parcel of the Spilotro era.

My research focused on the skims run in the casinos owned by the Argent Corporation and the Tropicana. These facilities were the subject of two major investigations, called Strawman 1 and 2. Many of the same players were involved with skimming from both the Argent properties and the Trop, but the courts ruled that these were separate conspiracies. There were separate indictments, trials, and convictions. Some of the participants entered into plea deals and testified against their colleagues. Others gave testimony as unindicted co-conspirators. Several top mobsters from the Midwest went to prison.

A continuation of the Strawman investigations was called Strawman-Trans Sterling. This operation zeroed in on the Trans Sterling Corporation, another mob-controlled company that purchased Argent’s casino holdings, and resulted in more gangsters going to prison.

From a law enforcement standpoint, these investigations and subsequent convictions marked the end of organized crime’s influence over the Las Vegas casinos.

Skin Casing

I believe you will find the story of the Vegas skim to be as interesting as I did. However, due to the volume of information it’s necessary that I break my presentation into three segments. I’ll begin by explaining how the skim was structured and why it was necessary for multiple crime families to work together to loot the casinos. I’ll also introduce the main criminal players and explaining the involvement of the Teamster Central States Pension Fund. In the subsequent articles I’ll address the specific method of skimming the Trop and the FBI’s investigative efforts, both nationally and by the Las Vegas field office.

The Families

Four Midwest organized-crime families were involved in the hidden ownership and skimming of the Argent-controlled casinos and the Tropicana: Chicago, Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Cleveland. They each had ownership and control of, and/or participated in the illegal removal of cash from, the involved gaming establishments. Although all four shared in the money taken from the Tropicana, the courts ruled that it was a Kansas City operation and that the other three families weren’t involved in the covert ownership of that casino.

Allen Glick’s Argent Corporation was a different story than the Tropicana. Glick had a clean criminal record and could withstand the background check conducted by Nevada gaming regulators. So being the owner of record of multiple casinos wouldn’t be a problem. But he needed a large amount of money in order to purchase the Stardust, Fremont, Hacienda, and Marina. And at a time when not many reputable financial institutions were willing to invest in Vegas, the best source of that funding was the Teamster Central States Pension Fund (CSPF). Three of the four families — Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Cleveland — held influence over one or more of the CSPF trustees or union officials. Since any one trustee could veto the loans, cooperation among the families was necessary to assure the trustees and officials were all on board and that Glick got the money he needed. In return for their assistance in obtaining the funding, the families had effective control of Argent, with Glick serving as their front man. Shortly after the skim began a dispute developed between Kansa City and Milwaukee. Chicago intervened and resolved the matter, then joined the conspiracy, taking a 25% cut of the action.

For the mobsters, it began as a marriage made in heaven. For gaming authorities and law enforcement, it was a nightmare. The lawmen came to realize that like a malignant tumor, the influence of organized crime in the Las Vegas casinos had to be cut out and destroyed. However, once the malignancy had taken root, removing it was easier said than done.

The Main Mob Players

The Chicago Outfit was the dominant family operating in Las Vegas. The two most powerful mobsters in Chicago at that time were Joe Aiuppa and Tony Accardo, the same men who had sent Tony Spilotro to Vegas. In addition, other members involved in the family’s Las Vegas business dealings were underboss John Cerone, West Side boss Joseph “Joey the Clown” Lombardo, Angelo LaPietra, and Allen Dorfman.

Kansas City, under the leadership of Nick Civella and his brother Carl, contributed underboss Carl “Tuffy” DeLuna, Anthony Chiavola, Sr., and Joe Agosto to the conspiracies. Although Chiavola resided in Chicago, he was a nephew of the Civella brothers and was more closely associated with their group.

Nick Civella was born Guiseppe Civello in Kansas City in 1927. At the age of 10 he was brought before juvenile authorities for “incorrigibility.” By the time he was 20, Nick had dropped out of school and had a lengthy arrest record for crimes such as car theft, gambling, and robbery. In 1957 he attended the infamous “gangland convention” in Apalachin, New York.

Due to his criminal history, Nick Civella was among the first people to be placed in Nevada’s “black book,” barring him from entering Nevada’s casinos. Undeterred by his exclusion, Civella frequently visited Las Vegas wearing wigs and fake beards to fool state gaming officials. During these forays, he usually stayed at the Tropicana or Dunes.

In Milwaukee, boss Frank “Frankie Bal” Balistrieri was the first mobster to be contacted by Allen Glick regarding the Teamster loans for Argent. Balistrieri’s mob had control of the loan sharking, bookmaking, and vending-machine businesses in their city. Balistrieri himself had been convicted of income-tax evasion in 1967 and served two years in federal prison. During Frank’s absence, Peter Balistrieri, his brother and underboss, ran the show.

Milton Rockman represented Cleveland. He served as a bagman for the delivery of the purloined money, and as a liaison person for Kansas City’s Carl DeLuna.

These talented criminals and their minions put together a plan that took millions of dollars from Las Vegas and put the money into their own pockets.

Nick and Roy

In addition to his clout in Kansas City and with other mobsters around the country, Nick Civella had something else working for him: He was able to influence the decisions of the Teamster Central States Pension Fund through his control of Roy Williams, a Teamster official and its eventual president.

Williams, a decorated World War II combat veteran, returned to Kansas City after the war and resumed his job as a truck driver. He also became heavily involved in the Teamsters and rose through the leadership ranks with the backing of another rising star, Jimmy Hoffa.

Hoffa picked Williams to take over a troubled local in Wichita, and later Kansas City’s Local 41. It was then that he met Nick Civella and they became close personal friends. In 1952, Williams attended a secret meeting of Midwest mob leaders in Chicago, where Williams agreed to run the Kansas City Teamsters and in turn cooperate with his organized-crime friends. Williams discussed all major union problems with Civella before making a decision. If the two men couldn’t agree on a subject, Hoffa ordered Williams to “do what Nick wants.”

Hoffa was pleased with the way Williams worked with Civella and followed instructions. He rewarded his underling by appointing him as a trustee of the Central States Pension Fund. It was a powerful position, and Nick Civella certainly approved of his lackey occupying it.

When Frank Balistrieri needed help in assuring Argent got the Teamster money it needed, he knew Nick Civella would be able to deliver.

Argent

Allen R. Glick was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1942. He served in the military as a helicopter pilot during the war in Vietnam and later turned up in the San Diego area as a land developer. In early 1974, Glick contacted Frank Balistrieri in Milwaukee, seeking assistance in obtaining loans from the Central States Pension Fund to finance Argent’s purchase of several Las Vegas casinos. Balistrieri brought Kansas City and Cleveland into the deal, with Chicago joining a short time later, in order to assure that the CSPF trustees whom they controlled would vote the right way. The loan was approved. Between the initial loan of $62 million and subsequent loans, Argent received approximately $146 million in Teamster money.

The financing came with strings attached, of course. After Glick purchased the casinos, he was required to install Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal in a management position at Argent. From that post Rosenthal ran casino operations and facilitated the skim. The Stardust and Fremont were the casinos from which the thefts took place.

Carl DeLuna (Kansas City), an efficient overseer, was assigned to monitor the Vegas action and make sure each family received its fair share of the proceeds. In that role, he was one of the most trusted men in American organized crime. He also maintained regular contact with the other groups through Angelo LaPietra (Chicago) and Milton Rockman (Cleveland). To assure everything was done on the up and up, at least as far as the gangsters were concerned, DeLuna kept records — detailed written records.

The skimmed cash was removed from casino count rooms by couriers with full access to those sensitive areas. These men weren’t challenged, or even acknowledged, by other employees as they entered, made their withdrawals, and departed. The currency they took was never logged in and there was no official record of it. For all practical purposes, it was as though the money never existed. The loot was then delivered to LaPietra in Chicago. He kept a portion for the Outfit and passed the balance along to Anthony Chiavola, Sr. and Milton Rockman for delivery to their respective families.

The scheme was relatively simple and went smoothly, at least at the start. But after a while it became apparent that Allen Glick didn’t completely realize that he was only a powerless figurehead. He actually believed he could make major decisions regarding casino operations. He tried, and when he and Rosenthal clashed, Glick attempted to fire him. Lefty responded with a threat, prompting the naïve tycoon to complain to Frank Balistrieri. Bad move.

In March 1975, Glick was summoned to Kansas City to meet with Nick Civella. There, the boss explained the facts of life to him. The two men met in a hotel room where Civella announced that Glick owed the Kansas City family $1.2 million for its assistance in getting the CSPF loan approved. If Glick didn’t know it before, he quickly became aware that the mobsters considered the pension fund to be their private bank.

Glick later recalled what Civella told him. “Cling to every word I say … if it would be my choice you wouldn’t leave this room alive. You owe us $1.2 million. I want that paid. In addition, we own part of your corporation and you are not to interfere with it. We will let Mr. Rosenthal continue with the casinos and you are not to interfere.”

The following year, Rosenthal started causing problems. His battles with Nevada gaming regulators were not only problematic, they were high-profile. The bosses had a good thing going in Vegas and wanted to stay below the radar screen. The unwanted publicity made some of the higher-ups nervous.

Skin Carcinogenesis

But as the months passed, Lefty’s difficulties and the related media coverage only intensified. The bosses held conversations to discuss whether Rosenthal should be replaced and, if so, should the removal be on a permanent basis. Although some favored that resolution, Lefty was allowed to stay on and continue his struggle with the licensing officials.

By March 1978, Allen Glick was getting on everyone’s nerves. He was particularly unpopular with Nick Civella. The Kansas City chief decided that Glick needed to go, but was willing to let him get out while still breathing. A buyout proposal in the amount of $10 million was delivered to Glick through Frank Rosenthal. Glick turned down the offer, another ill-advised decision.

On April 25, Carl DeLuna flew to Las Vegas to give Glick a message from Nick Civella. The Civella family frequently used its attorney’s office in Kansas City — without the lawyer himself present — to hold sensitive meetings. They knew there was little chance that the locale would be bugged and they could talk freely. Following that practice, DeLuna, Glick, and Rosenthal got together in Oscar Goodman’s office, sans Goodman. Allen Glick later testified about that meeting.

“I entered Mr. Goodman’s office and behind Mr. Goodman’s desk with his feet up was Mr. DeLuna. Mr. DeLuna, in a gruff voice, using graphic terms, told me to sit down. With that he pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket … and he looked down at the paper for a few seconds. Then he informed me he was sent to deliver one final message from his partners. And then he began reading the paper. He said he and his partners were finally sick of having to deal with me and having me around and that I could no longer be tolerated. He informed me it was their desire to have me sell Argent Corporation immediately and I was to announce that sale as soon as I left Mr. Goodman’s office that day. He said he realized that the threats I received perhaps may not have been taken by me as serious as they were given to me. And he said that since perhaps I find my life expendable, he was certain I wouldn’t find my children’s lives expendable. With that he looked down on his paper and gave me the names and ages of each of my sons.”

Less than two months after that meeting, Glick publicly announced his intention to sell Argent. In December 1979, the corporation was sold to the Trans Sterling Corporation, another company with mob ties. Although Argent was no longer the licensee, it did remain an entity, thanks to the mortgage it held on the casinos. Kansas City continued to share in the skimmed proceeds without interference from the new owners. This arrangement continued until around 1983, when indictments were issued against the Argent conspirators. Allen Glick was out of the gambling business, but he and his sons were still alive.

Skin Carcinoma Types

Next: Skimming the Trop and the FBI goes on the offensive.

Skim The Skim Casino

Tags: casino skim, chicago outfit, frank cullotta, joe aiuppa, joey lombardo, las vegas casino skim, lefty rosenthal, organized crime, tony spilotro