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Knappster: New leads in Spilotro murder mystery?

By George Knapp

A team of FBI agents spent this past weekend digging holes near a Chicago baseball stadium, hoping to find the remains of an obscure mob figure believed to have been murdered 30 years ago. While that might seem to be of little relevence to Las Vegas, the dig eventually could shed considerable light on one of the darkest, bloodiest chapters in the Mafia history of our town. Finally, lawmen may get a few solid leads about who murdered Las Vegas rackets boss Tony "The Ant" Spilotro.

Spilotro, a.k.a. Tough Tony, was the undisputed honcho of local street rackets. He and his boys, dubbed "The Hole in the Wall Gang," reportedly ran loansharking, fencing, arson-for-hire and burglary operations. The feds always believed Spilotro's top priority was the protection of the skim, the millions of dollars in cash being stolen from local casinos, money that was then funneled back to Midwestern mob bosses. Spilotro's fearsome reputation and high profile eventually attracted considerable law enforcement attention, bringing indictments and heat.

In 1986, Spilotro returned to his native Chicago to meet with the bosses. Some even thought at the time that he was in line to take the reins of the Chicago mob. It didn't work out that way. Tony and his brother Michael left for a meeting and never came back. Their battered bodies were found days later in a shallow grave in an Indiana cornfield. Everyone assumed the murders were authorized by the Chicago hierarchy. Friends and relatives of Spilotro (including former Spilotro attorney Oscar Goodman) have long grumbled that the feds have done very little to find out who killed the brothers.

The digging this weekend may help to change that perception. See, the FBI didn't find the dig spot by accident. It has a new informant, a high-ranking Mafia figure named Nick Calabrese. It's believed that Calabrese has entered the Witness Protection Program and is telling plenty about his former associates in the Outfit, including his own brother, Frank Calabrese, a mob insider now serving time. Calabrese has reportedly told the feds about some two dozen mob murders dating back 30 years or more. Although many of the old-time bosses are gone, this information, if shown to be reliable, could allow the FBI to go after Joey "The Clown" Lombardo, long regarded as the titular head of the Chicago operation and the one-time boss of Tony Spilotro.

Calabrese has been telling a lot of stories, but can he be trusted? This weekend's dig was a test of his credibility. Chicago mob watchers say Calabrese informed the FBI of an old mob hit that reportedly occurred in a cleaning supply warehouse that once sat at the dig site. The feds were told they would find the remains of (ironically enough) Frank "Bones" Albergo, an enforcer for a Mafia loansharking operation who disappeared three decades ago after being named in an indictment.

Officially, there has been no confirmation of what the FBI found in the eight-foot hole it dug near Cellular Field. But law enforcement sources say that human remains, including a spinal column, were removed from the hole. Unless agents find the skull and teeth of the corpse, it may be tough to make a positive identification. But based on what's been found already, it would seem that Nick Calabrese has cemented his credentials with his new protectors.

What might he know about the Spilotro murders? He likely would know who ordered the hits, or at least who signed off on them. That short list likely would include the name Joey Lombardo. Calabrese might even know the names of the hitmen themselves. (Spilotro family members have their own list of suspects, although they would never say so out loud.) What's more, Calabrese has reportedly told the government that he also knows plenty about the murder of Alan Dorfman, the man who served as a conduit between the Teamsters Pension Fund and the mob-tainted Las Vegas casinos that were mostly built with Teamster money. Dorfman was gunned down in a Midwestern parking lot to keep him from talking. (There are those who think Tough Tony might have had something to do with that hit, although such a connection has never been proven.)

In the days ahead, we are likely to hear more about the bones of Bones Albergo, and whether his long-buried remains might help to put other ghosts to rest.

Names and faces

Prison inmate Jessica Williams has told her lawyers that reports of her engagement are exaggerated. Williams is serving up to 48 years for her role in the deaths of six teenagers, killed while picking up trash along I-15. Knappster was told that Williams had struck up a relationship with a young Christian man she met through the mail. (She gets a lot of mail from church groups.) There is no room for any kind of relationship in her current situation, Williams told her lawyers, although that could change if she prevails in a possible re-trial. ... So, city officials now say the "Hunting for Bambi" operation was really a front for an escort operation. Since escort services are among the most popular, most prolific enterprises in our city, that's almost like giving "Bambi" a great big civic bear hug. Hunting bimbos with paintballs may be hard to grasp, but Las Vegas, of all places, is more than comfortable with a good old-fashioned escort setup. ... The ABC News program "PrimeTime Live" is planning an hour-long special about sex, gambling and politics in Las Vegas. We probably can expect to hear plenty about Operation G-Sting in the program, slated to air in mid-September. ... Don't know if any of the gossip columnists have reported this yet, but the cable show "Lucky" has been canceled after a short run. It simply failed to pull the numbers the network had expected. Another show set in our town, NBC's "Las Vegas," will debut in September. On that same night, NBC will also air the Las Vegas edition of "Fear Factor." Both of those season premieres were shot mostly at Mandalay Bay, although, in the drama program, Mandalay Bay will be known as "The Montecito." ... Law professor Jonathan Turley of George Washington University Law School says he expects to file another lawsuit on behalf of workers from the Area 51 military base. Turley has been fighting the Pentagon for the past seven years, alleging that managers of Area 51 have routinely poisoned base employees by exposing them to clouds of toxic fumes, generated by the open-pit burning of top-secret composite materials used in classified aircraft projects. Turley has already taken the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court and hints that he may try to return to that same venue. ... FBI special agent Daron Borst, the media spokesman for the local office, has been missing in action of late, but has an explanation. Borst spent the past week as a volunteer at Camp Cartwheel, a special camp for kids who have cancer. ... Anyone who works in the local TV biz will know the name of Rich Travis. Travis is the owner of CoverEdge, which provides broadcasting services, personnel, and equipment to all sorts of folks, from major league baseball to the convention authority. Well, Travis, a lifelong bachelor, is finally tying the knot on Aug. 17, marrying Liz Cowan, who also works in the television business. ... Las Vegas has more than its share of world-class restaurants, but a small, unknown cafe inside the Royal Resorts (formerly the Royal Hotel) on Convention Center Drive is getting some impressive reviews. A visiting critic from the San Diego Union Tribune, for one, accidentally stumbled into the Table Talk restaurant and gave it one hell of a plug in the big-town paper, calling the food superb and the service excellent. Knappster would have to agree. ... Anyone interested in owning a piece of Las Vegas mob history might want to pony up for Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal's old house. The 3,266-square-foot domicile is located on the golf course at the Las Vegas Country Club. It features three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a two-car garage and "an awesome floorplan, incredible upgrades and a huge pool." This is the house where Lefty lived with wife, Geri, during the troubled years detailed in the hit film Casino. (Lefty survived a car bombing incident and moved to Florida several years ago. Geri died of a drug overdose in California.) The place is a steal at only $499,000. Local real estate agent Tracey Donley is handling the property.