The List Nobody Wanted to Be On and the First Fifty Names
Nevada has always had a complicated relationship with the people who built its casinos. The state wanted the tax revenue, the jobs, the tourism, and the bright lights, but it didn’t want the men who made those lights possible. At least, not in any official way.
Certainly, the gruesome photo from 1947 of Bugsy Siegel, the Flamingo Hotel’s owner, shown gunned down, bloody, and missing one eye, wasn’t great publicity for Las Vegas. Or was it? The photo was heart-stopping, but so was gambling!
Still, by the mid-1950s, the state was tired of pretending the Mob wasn’t involved. The hidden ownership, the Teamsters loans, and the backroom deals were all too obvious. Whether there was real knowledge about skimming is debatable, but Nevada needed a way to say, “We know who you are, and you’re not welcome here,” without risking the entire industry.
So in 1960, the state created something no other jurisdiction had ever tried:
The List of Excluded Persons.
The Black Book wasn’t a suggestion, and it wasn’t a warning. It was a legal exile from the state’s casinos and the Mob’s cash boxes.
The men who ended up in it — the mobsters, the enforcers, the skimmers, the cheats — tell the story of how Nevada and gaming dragged itself out of the shadows and into legitimacy as a safe, financially regulated industry.
This is that story, told through the dates, the figures, and the turning points that formed the most feared list in casino history: The Gaming Control Board’s List of Excluded Persons.
1955 — The Spark: Nevada Passes the Gaming Control Act
The Black Book didn’t appear out of thin air. It was the product of a slow boil that began in 1955, when Nevada passed the Gaming Control Act. The state had legalized gambling in 1931, but for nearly 25 years, it had almost no regulatory backbone. Casinos were run by whoever had the money, the muscle, or the connections.
By the mid‑50s, the FBI was openly calling Las Vegas a “mob playground,” which made a mockery of the gaming industry that Nevada’s politicians were fighting to prove was “fair and legal.”
So the state created:
* The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB)
* The Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC)
Their job sounded easy on paper: Clean up the state’s cash cow without succumbing to Mad Cow Disease.
But they needed a tool — something with teeth. Something like Regulation 28 – which stated: Pursuant to NRS 463.151 through 463.155, the Commission hereby provides for the establishment of a list of persons who are to be excluded or ejected from licensed gaming establishments that conduct
pari-mutuel wagering or operate any race book, sports pool, or games, other than slot machines only.
1960 — The First Black Book: Eleven Names Who Defined an Era
On March 29, 1960, Nevada released the first edition of the Black Book with eleven names, and every one of them was a message. Instead of a list of small-time cheats and robbers, the state actually blacklisted known mobsters with national connections. Names that politicians and tourists alike knew. These weren’t small‑time cheats.
Hank Greenspun at the Las Vegas Sun was amazed that real progress against organized crime, which his newspaper had highlighted over a decade earlier, was finally happening. The listed names were mobsters with national connections. Most had at least local media accounts of their illegal exploits splashed across their pages.
Originally, the only way to get off the Black Book list was to die. The first dozen rotten eggs were:
John Louis Battaglia was a Los Angeles-based organized crime figure with ties to the Desert Inn.
Marshall Caifano (above) successfully lobbied for the job as Las Vegas’s Chicago Outfit casino enforcer by gifting his girlfriend to Sam Giancana. Extortion, loan‑sharking, and a reputation for violence were his repertoire, but that’s too simplistic. He was a ruthless thug with sadistic tendencies. When possible, he liked to beat, torture, and burn victims.
He was the Outfit’s man in Vegas before Spilotro. To spruce up his image, he changed from tough-guy street clothes to wildly garish suits featuring yellow and white pants. It didn’t help.
Carl James Civella was the Kansas City Mob Boss, with a share of the skim from four Chicago Outfit casinos, as well as the Tropicana.
Nicholas Civella was the Kansas City mob boss who had a piece of the Tropicana and handled the skim after it arrived in Missouri.
Michael Coppola was a New York crime family associate and enforcer, and a Las Vegas casino bagman who handled cash deliveries from New York to Miami for Meyer Lansky.
Louis Tom Dragna, son of Gaetano Tom Draga and acting boss of the Los Angeles Crime Family. He and Caifano challenged the constitutionality of the Black Book and demanded they be removed. They failed.
Robert L. Garcia was a mob associate who lived in Southern California.
Sam Giancana rose in gangland murder style to become the head of the Chicago Outfit. He also took a piece of the skim personally at the Flamingo, and owned the Cal-Neva Lodge with Frank Sinatra in the early ‘60s.
Motel Grzebienacy (Max Jaben) was an associate of the Kansas City Mob Family who handled political connections, ran showgirls and cabarets, and illegal casinos.
Murray Llewellyn Humphreys was a political fixer and financial manager, serving as a lieutenant to Al Capone and later to Sam Giancana.
Joseph Sica was a member of the Los Angeles crime family, specializing in narcotics and bookmaking.
Ruby Kolod – 1965 entry, was an executive at the Desert Inn, accused of stealing money from the resort while making a side deal to finance an oil exploration and drilling project.
The message was clear: Nevada wasn’t banning gamblers, and it was banning organized crime.
Casinos were required to remove these men on sight. If they didn’t, they risked losing their license — the nuclear option.
Sam Giancana (below) gets special notice for being the first known mob boss (Chicago Outfit) with direct ties to a Nevada casino; an actual working relationship with the listed owner (Frank Sinatra), and his own cabin on the premises that he used at his leisure without any fear of reprisal. Unfortunately for Giancaca, he overestimated his invincibility. Sinatra was forced to sell, and the casino closed later in the sixties, changing hands three times.
1960s — The Mob Adjusts, Nevada Tightens the Screws
The Black Book didn’t scare the Mob out of Nevada. It just forced them to get smarter. Hidden ownership became the game of the decade, although there had been front men dating back heartily to Wilbur Clark and others. Now, silent partners used straw buyers, noted legally in long lists of Los Angeles law firm legers. In many ways, it was the same, just different.
The Teamsters Central States Pension Fund became the unofficial bank of Las Vegas, but Nevada kept pushing back.
Next in the Black Book (late 1965) were:
Felix Alderisio, who worked as a lieutenant to Sam Giancana. He was involved in Kolod’s failed oil deal, but was eventually removed from the book and became a Chicago Boss.
William Alderman worked for the Chicago Outfit and had a piece of the El Cortez, which became a double share at the Flamingo. He earned an equal share at the Riviera, working for Gus Greenbaum. His ties to the Kolod oil deal put him in the book, but he was later removed.
When millionaire Howard Hughes bought the Desert Inn from Moe Dalitz and his Cleveland partners, it marked a turning point and brought a sigh of relief from state officials. “Now, can we be seen as legit?” they asked.
And soon, publicly traded companies owned casinos. With those changes came rigorous background checks, SEC oversight, and accountability. The paper trails could no longer be halted with a match. They weren’t fireproof, and the debacle at the Stardust proved it over a decade later, but they were improving.
And it meant the Mob’s days were numbered — even if they didn’t know it yet.
1971 — Enter Tony Spilotro: The Outfit’s New Enforcer
If the Black Book had a golden age, it was the 1980s, and no figure defined that era more than Anthony “Tony the Ant” Spilotro, but his gig was up way back in the ’70s; he just refused to accept his fate.
Sent by the Chicago Outfit in 1971, Spilotro’s job was to protect the skim, and to protect the skim, while protecting the skim. Along those lines, he needed to control the streets, keep Vegas wise guys in line, and watch over Lefty Rosenthal. He did all those things, loudly. But he wanted more, so this brawler of a street guy who solved problems with fists, not finesse, designated himself the king of Vegas burglaries and formed a crew of his own. It didn’t go perfectly like Chicago wanted.
1978 — Spilotro is added to the Black Book
Tony “The Ant” became one of the most famous names ever placed on the list, although it took years of suspicion, robberies, in-casino exploits, and a continuing skim of millions of dollars to bring him down.
In the end, his entry wasn’t just about him. It constituted a declaration that the state of Nevada knew the Outfit was in its casinos, running day-to-day operations, and stealing at unprecedented rates. And, Nevada was finally willing to admit that hard truth to the public.
1970s — The Rosenthal Years: Stardust, Skimming, and the Breaking Point
Spilotro was the muscle, and his exploits included home burglaries, robberies, and several murders. Behind what became known as the Hole in the Wall Gang (locally named after Butch and Sundance’s gang of the 1890s) was The Ant’s real job – to keep a close eye and muscled arm around the Chicago Outfit’s four casinos in Vegas: the Stardust, Fremont, Hacienda, and Marina. And behind those casinos, in full control and view of the FBI and the Nevada Gaming Commission, was Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal.
Although Rosenthal and the Outfit arranged for Allen Glick to run casinos, it was Lefty who called the shots – all without a gaming license. Nevada enforcement hated the arrangement, but couldn’t prove enough to stop him.
1976 — Rosenthal Denied a Gaming License
Over the course of multiple years, Rosenthal was denied a gaming license, then a license to run the food and beverage department, and finally a license as the entertainment director. His hearings had a circus atmosphere, with him pontificating, making demands, and going straight to the press. He had his own local television show. It was all good publicity, but eventually it was, “I fought the law and the law won.”
Finally, in 1979, Rosenthal was added to the Black Book. And that marked a change. He was the first suit-wearing, non-violent figure added. The book wasn’t just for enforcers and cheats anymore; it was for anyone tied to organized crime.
Added to the book in the 1970s were two Hawaii crime bosses:
Wilford Kalaauala Pulawa, from Kauai, HI. He was alleged to be the head of organized crime in Hawaii with ties to the growing casino junkets to what Hawaiians often call “The Ninth Island” – Las Vegas.
Alvin George Kaohu, from Honolulu, HI, was Pulawa’s partner/associate.
1980s — The Federal Government Joins the Fight
The 1980s were, at least on paper and in the press, a time when the state was free of ties to organized crime.
1981 — The Strawman Trials
Federal prosecutors exposed the entire skim operation at the Stardust and Fremont. Millions had been siphoned off to Chicago, Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Cleveland. The trials did what Nevada alone couldn’t:
They broke the Mob’s financial pipeline.
1983 — Spilotro Indicted
Tony Spilotro’s burglary ring suspects were finally on trial, and he was charged with racketeering, loan-sharking, and then there were those pesky murder investigations. All of which proved he should have been put in the Black Book years earlier.
1986 — Spilotro Murdered
Continued coverage of Spilotro and his ties to the Chicago Outfit, California murders, and the off-chance that he might turn into an informant helped the Outfit decide he was too hot to handle or leave on his own.
He and his brother Michael disappeared, but even in the crime field, good help is hard to find. After being beaten at least half to death, he and his brother were buried in an Indiana cornfield. A local farmer noticed the fresh dirt six days later. Authorities were happy with the find. Crime bosses were not.
Tony’s death symbolized the end of the Mob’s open presence in Las Vegas, but the lure of easy money was too much for many casino cheats. Added to the Black Book were:
In 1986, John Joseph Vaccaro Jr., of Las Vegas, NV, was convicted of heading a multi-million dollar slot cheating operation.
In 1986, Sandra Kay Vaccaro, Las Vegas, NV, became the first woman in the Black Book, as part of her husband’s slot cheating operation.
1986 Carl Wesley Thomas, Las Vegas, NV. Well-traveled casino executive and once owner of the Bingo Palace and Slots-A-Fun next to Circus Circus, was convicted of skimming and having a hidden interest in the Tropicana.
1987 Chris George Petti, 72, San Diego, CA. Organized crime figure convicted of illegal bookmaking.
1988 Michael Anthony Rizzitello, 72, Reseda, CA. Convicted of attempted extortion against Benny Binion and Moe Dalitz.
1988 William Gene Land, 63, Las Vegas, NV, was convicted of marking cards at blackjack.
1988 James Tamer, 87, Mt. Clemens, MI, was convicted of concealed ownership of the Aladdin hotel-casino.
1988 Frank Joseph Masterana, Las Vegas, NV, was convicted of gaming-related crimes and added for his association with mob figures.
1988 Frank Larry Rosenthal. Lefty finally made the list while moving to Boca Raton, FL. His association with mob figures and the skimming of the Stardust, Fremont, Marina, and Hacienda while he managed the properties earned him a special listing in the Black Book. However, he was never convicted of skimming in Nevada.
1988 Gaspare Anedetto Speciale, Las Vegas, NV, was convicted of interstate transmission of sports betting information, as well as loan-sharking and racketeering. Speciale owned the Tower of Pizza, where you could make a friendly wager, borrow money for the wager, or just enjoy a pie. It was a slice of Las Vegas, old and new.
1989 Harold Travis Lyons, Las Vegas, NV, was convicted of slot machine tampering as well as burglary and grand theft.
1990s — The Black Book Evolves: From Mobsters to Cheaters
By the end of the eighties, the Mob was mostly gone from the Strip. Corporate ownership had taken over, the Teamsters were out, and Federal oversight was in.
With those changes, the Black Book evolved, and instead of mobsters, the list began to fill with professional cheats, like slot machine crime boss John Vacarro, who entered in 1986. The ‘90s saw more dice sliders, slot manipulators, card mechanics, and high-tech scammers.
Most of the Gaming Control Commission’s jobs shifted from “organized crime” to “protecting game integrity.”
But the legacy of the mob era remained.
The list still carried weight — and fear. 1990s inductees included:
1990 – Joseph Vincent Cusumano, Las Vegas, NV. Included for loan sharking and convictions of theft for skimming from a Culinary Union life insurance plan.
1990 – Douglas Joseph Barr, Sparks, NV. Included for slot cheating with electric devices.
1991 – Timothy John Childs, Reno, NV. Included for slot cheating with manual manipulation of the reels via the handle.
1991 – Francis Citro, Las Vegas, NV. Included for alleged ties to the Los Angeles mob as well as convictions for using counterfeit credit cards, extortion, and racketeering.
1992 – Richard Mark Perry, Las Vegas, NV. Included for bookmaking for the New York mob and fixing horse races and sporting events.
1993 – Anthony Michael St. Laurent, Johnston, RI. Included as a made member of the New England mob convicted of racketeering.
1993 – Albert Anthony Corbo, Las Vegas, NV. Added for convictions including illegal bookmaking and illegal gaming business operations in Atlantic City, Philadelphia, and Miami Beach.
1993 – Edward Lawrence DeLeo, Boston, MA. Added as a Boston mob associate with a bookmaking conviction.
1994 – Dominic Anthony Spinale, Las Vegas, NV. Added as a New England mob associate convicted of relaying betting information from Las Vegas to Boston.
1994 – Brent Eli Morris, Bridgeton, NJ. Added for past posting wagers after the dice totaled at craps, as well as after cards were dealt at baccarat and blackjack.
1994 – Douglas William Barr Sr., Las Vegas, NV. Included for slot cheating.
1997 — William Dominick Cammisano Jr., Harrisonville, MO. Reputed Kansas City mob underboss convicted of witness tampering in a gangland-style killing grand jury investigation.
1997 – Ronald Dale Harris, Las Vegas, NV. Convicted of slot cheating by programming machines to pay out after specific sequences of coin play while employed by the state Gaming Control Board.
1997 – Jerry Dale Criner, Claremore, OK. Convicted slot cheat added for casino crimes as well as burglary, theft, and racketeering.
1997 – Anthony Thomas Civella, Kansas City, MO. Kansas City mobster convicted of illegal bookmaking and added for holding hidden interests in the Tropicana and involvement in skimming.
1997 – Louis John Olejack, Las Vegas, NV. Added for cheating at blackjack by bending cards.
1997 – Stephen Anthony Cino, Henderson, NV. Convicted in an extortion scheme to move in on an existing loan-sharking operation run by Herbie Blitzstein in Los Angeles.
1997 – John Joseph Conti, from Las Vegas, NV. Added for filing false credit applications at the Maxim hotel-casino.
1997 – Charles Joseph Panarella, Las Vegas, NV. Added for attempted money laundering through the Maxim hotel-casino.
1998 – Michael DiBari, Las Vegas, NV. Included for money laundering at the Continental hotel-casino.
1999 – Peter Joseph Ribaste, Kansas City, MO. Kansas City mobster convicted of mail and wire fraud involving a scheme to buy a Kansas City car dealership, he also ran illegal gambling operations nearby.
Why the Black Book Still Matters
Even though the Mob is long gone from the Strip, the Black Book remains one of the most potent tools in Nevada gaming regulation.
It matters because it protects the industry’s reputation as a safe, legal gaming state, deters organized crime, establishes a clear legal boundary, and reinforces Nevada’s pledge to clean gaming.
And it matters because it tells a story — a story of how a frontier industry grew up, fought its demons, and became legitimate.
Conclusion — The List That Built Modern Las Vegas
The Black Book isn’t just a list of names.
It’s a timeline of Nevada’s struggle to control the same forces that built its casinos.
From Caifano to Spilotro, from Rosenthal to the modern cheaters, the list reflects the evolution of Las Vegas itself from its wild and unregulated beginnings to Mob infiltration, regulatory pushback, corporate takeover, and modern oversight.
It’s the story of a state learning to balance freedom with control, opportunity with risk, and glamour with grit.
And it’s a story worth telling — because without the Black Book, Las Vegas wouldn’t be the city it is today.
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