Frank Cullotta, the former Mafia hitman who pleaded and played a role in Martin Scorsese’s 1995 film “Casino,” died Thursday.
Geoff Schumacher, vice president of exhibits and systems at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, said at the museum that Cullotta died Thursday of COVID-19 headaches at a Las Vegas hospital.
In Scorsese’s 1995 classic “Casino,” the former gangster played a hitman who committed several murders.
“He is the oldest seedist and the last survivor of those involved in the Las Vegas Mafia era,” Schumacher told USA TODAY about Cullotta’s ancient legacy.”They’re all dead or in prison. There’s no one to fill those shoes.He spoke”.well in a rough way, with a Chicago accent, and able to tell a story effectively.
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In real life, Cullotta moved from his hometown of Chicago to Las Vegas in 1979 and then admitted killing a former friend and grand jury witness who suspected he was offering data on a currency exchange scam he was involved in.
Cullotta formed a housebreaking organization known as the hollow band in the wall that entered houses and buildings through the perforation of external walls and roofs.
In July 1981, Cullotto and five others were arrested after a sloppy and charged with trespassing and other crimes.
In criminal a year later, Cullotta approached through the FBI and agreed to testify against his former Las Vegas Mafia boss, Anthony “Tony the Ant” Spilotro, who was charged with conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
Cullotta was granted immunity for his past unredicted crimes, however, he was sentenced to 8 years in prison before being released on parole from the Witness Protection Program when Spilotro was acquitted in 1984.Pilotro died in an alleged mafia in 1986.
Cullotta was interviewed through writer Nick Pileggi for “Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas,” about Chicago Mob’s stardust casino hotel in Las Vegas.Cullotta was hired through director Scorsese to serve as a representative in the film edition of Pileggi’s book..
Cullotta co-wrote two books about his life as a gangster and had a YouTube screen called “Coffee With Cullotta”.
The Las Vegas Journal Review interviewed Cullotta in 2015 while hiking las Vegas’ most notable crowds: five-hour bus trips that charge $180 and include a champagne toast and a pizza dinner.The tour included the Italian restaurant Piero, which appears in ‘Casino’, and the site that once housed Bertha’s gifts and furniture, where Cullotta arrested in 1981.
Cullotta referred to his time in the crowd in time beyond, saying that his epitaph said, “Today I am blank.”He was asked if he ever had any idea of his dark beyond.
“Honestly, he never wakes me up, ” said Cullotta.” If you think about it, it’ll put you in the madman (swear).When I do those tours, everything comes to mind; other people need to know if it bothers them.”I.Of course. But if I imagine it 24 hours a day, I’d end up in my car with a gun in my mouth.”
Contributor: Associated Press