Frank Cullotta

Frank Cullotta (December 14, 1938) is an American former mobster for the Chicago Outfit, and member of the "Hole in the Wall Gang" in Las Vegas with friend and mobster Tony Spilotro. After his arrest in 1982, he became a government witness, and entered the witness protection program. Cullotta later became an author and a tour guide.

Frank Cullotta
Born (1938-12-14) December 14, 1938
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
OccupationMobster, tour guide, writer
AllegianceChicago Outfit

Early years

Cullotta was born on December 14, 1938, in Chicago, Illinois.[1] He entered Steinmetz High School in 1953. Cullotta's father, Joe Cullotta, was also a criminal, although not connected with the Chicago Outfit. Cullotta was a boyhood friend of Tony Spilotro, and started a criminal career together as teenagers, engaging in theft, burglary, and murder.[1]

In 1962, Cullotta killed William McCarthy and James Miraglia, murders he later admitted, who were found dead in the trunk of a car on May 14, 1962.[2] McCarthy's head had been placed in a vise and his throat slashed, while Miraglia was strangled.[2]

In 1968, Cullotta was convicted of burglary and sentenced to eight years in prison.[1] In 1972, was paroled by the state, but was transferred to Federal Correctional Complex, Terre Haute to serve the federal portion of his sentence.[1] After six months, he was transferred to a halfway house, ultimately being released in 1974.[1]

Hole in the Wall Gang

In early 1979, Cullotta moved to Las Vegas to join Spilotro, who had already been there since 1971,[3] and his group of experienced thieves, safecrackers, and killers.[1] The crew became known in the media as the "Hole in the Wall Gang" because of its penchant for gaining entry to homes and buildings by drilling through the exterior walls and ceilings of the locations they burglarized.

On October 10, 1979, Cullotta killed his former friend and grand jury witness Sherwin "Jerry" Lisner in Las Vegas, who was suspected of informing on a money exchange scam he was working on with Cullotta. When he became an informant, Cullotta admitted he had killed Lisner, on orders from Tony Spilotro.[1][4]

On July 4, 1981, the Hole in the Wall Gang robbed Bertha's Gifts & Home Furnishings on East Sahara Avenue in Las Vegas. The robbery was a bust, as much of the gang was arrested, including Cullotta, Joe Blasko, Leo Guardino, Ernest Davino, Lawrence Neumann, and Wayne Matecki—each charged with burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, attempted grand larceny, and possession of burglary tools.[1]

In 1982, Cullotta was imprisoned again, and was approached by the FBI with a wiretap of Spilotro talking with someone about "having to clean our dirty laundry", which Cullotta took as an insinuated contract on his life.[2] Due to this, in July 1982, Cullotta finalized an agreement with the prosecutors.[1]

In September 1983, Spilotro was indicted for conspiracy and obstruction of justice in the Lisner murder, and released on $100,000 bail.[5] At a trial in October 1983, Cullotta admitted that he was involved in over 300 crimes, including four murders, perjury, robberies and burglaries.[5] He also testified that Spilotro, his boss in Las Vegas, ordered him to make a telephone call that lured one of the 1962 murder victims, William McCarthy, to a fast food restaurant.[5] Spilotro was acquitted later that year.[6]

Cullotta was given immunity for his previously uncharged crimes, but was sentenced to 10 years in prison, reduced to eight years after an outburst from Cullotta.[1] He served two years at Metropolitan Correctional Center, San Diego, until he paroled to the witness protection program in 1984, and placed on two years' probation.[1] He spent two years under an assumed name in the program, moving around from time to time, including in Texas; Estes Park, Colorado; Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi; and Mobile, Alabama.[7][4]

Life after crime

Martin Scorsese's 1995 film Casino is based on the lives of Spilotro and Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal as portrayed in Nicholas Pileggi's 1995 book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas.[7][8] Cullotta—renamed "Frank Marino" in the film and portrayed by actor Frank Vincent[9]—was a technical advisor for the film,[4] while also making a cameo appearance.[7] Cullota plays the role of a hitman who carries out several murders, one of which is similar to the 1979 murder of Sherwin Lisner.

Cullotta co-authored two books with Dennis N. Griffin, Cullotta: The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster, Government Witness (also with Dennis Arnoldy, 2007), and The Rise and Fall of a 'Casino' Mobster: The Tony Spilotro Story Through A Hitman's Eyes (2017), and has been involved in making several documentaries. Cullotta has worked as a tour guide and a speaker for The Mob Museum in Las Vegas.[4] In 2013, he told his story in an episode of Locked Up Abroad.

Cullotta appeared in the season 5 premiere of Bar Rescue where he gave commentary to the Las Vegas bar he visits, Champagne's (formerly Champagne's Cafe). He also appeared during the bar's grand re-opening.

References
  1. Dennis N. Griffin; Frank Cullotta; Dennis Arnoldy (2007). Cullotta: The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster and Government Witness. Huntington Press In. p. 196. ISBN 9780929712451. Bertha's Gifts and Jewelry robbery 1981.
  2. "A judge refused Wednesday to dismiss murder charges against..." upi.com. October 26, 1983.
  3. Nicholas Pileggi (1995). Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas. Simon & Schuster.
  4. "Old mobster is at peace with his past". lasvegassun.com. November 23, 2015.
  5. "Indicted in murder, Spilotro free on bond". upi.com. September 15, 1983.
  6. "Spilotro Killings Not Typical of Mob's Pattern". latimes.com. June 25, 1986.
  7. Tanner, Adam. "How An Infamous Mafia Hitman Rebuilt His Identity From Scratch". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
  8. Nicholas Pileggi; Martin Scorsese (1996). Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas. Faber & Faber. ISBN 9780571179923.
  9. "Casino (1995)". Retrieved 19 October 2012.
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