Tropicana Casino Skimming

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

Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal
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

Joseph Agosto -Tropicana
Joseph Agosto -Tropicana

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
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.

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.

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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