Frank Cullotta, the former Mafia hitman who begged and made a cameo appearance in Martin Scorsese’s 1995 film “Casino”, died Thursday. He’s 81 years old.
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 statesman and the last survivor of those involved in the Las Vegas Mafia era,” Schumacher told USA TODAY about Cullotta’s ancient legacy. “Everyone is dead or in jail. There’s no one to occupy those shoes. He spoke well abruptly, with a Chicago accent, and was 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 an ex-friend and grand jury witness suspected of reporting a coin scam he was involved in.
Cullotta formed a break-in organization known as the Hole in the Wall gang that entered houses and buildings through the drilling of walls and external ceilings.
In July 1981, Cullotto and five other people were arrested after a splash 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 mob boss, Anthony “Tony the Ant” Spilotro, who was charged with conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
Cullotta was granted immunity for his past uncovered crimes, but was sentenced to 8 years in prison before being released on probation from the Witness Protection Program when Spilotro was acquitted in 1984. Spilotro died in an alleged mafia in 1986.
Cullotta was interviewed through writer Nick Pileggi for “Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas,” about the Chicago crowd at the Stardust hotel-casino in Las Vegas. Cullotta was hired through director Scorsese to act 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”.
Las Vegas Journal Review interviewed Cullotta in 2015 while hiking outstanding Las Vegas crowds: five-hour bus trips that charge $180 and include a champagne toast and a dinner with pizza. The tour included Piero’s Italian restaurant, which appears in “Casino”, and the site that once housed Bertha’s gifts and furniture, where Cullotta was arrested in 1981.
Cullotta spoke of his crowds in the past, saying that his epitaph read, “I’m blank today.” He was asked if he ever had any idea of his dark past.
“Honestly, he never wakes me up, ” said Cullotta. “If you think about it, it will put you in madness (swear). When I do those tours, everything comes to mind; other people need to know if it bothers me. 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