Anthony John Spilotro (May 19, 1938 – June 14, 1986), nicknamed "Tony the Ant", was an American

mobster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

and high ranking member for the

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

during the 1970s and '80s. Spilotro managed the Outfit's illegal

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live enterta ...

profits (the " skim") when four of the casinos, The

Stardust Stardust may refer to: * A type of cosmic dust, composed of particles in space Entertainment Songs * “Stardust” (1927 song), by Hoagy Carmichael * “Stardust” (David Essex song), 1974 * “Stardust” (Lena Meyer-Landrut song), 2012 * ...

, The Fremont, The

Hacienda An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or '' finca''), similar to a Roman '' latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchard ...

, and The

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or ...

, were managed by Frank Rosenthal, replacing Outfit member

John Roselli John "Handsome Johnny" Roselli (born Filippo Sacco; July 4, 1905 – August 7, 1976), sometimes spelled Rosselli, was an influential mobster for the Chicago Outfit who helped that organization control Hollywood and the Las Vegas Strip. In the ear ...

in Las Vegas. He was the leader of the "Hole in the Wall Gang", which he formed in Las Vegas when he moved there in 1971. Spilotro eventually ran afoul of his organized crime overseers who disapproved of his handling of their Las Vegas affairs, and who then arranged his murder on June 14, 1986. Spilotro served as the basis for the character Nicky Santoro in

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

's 1995 film ''

Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live enterta ...

''.

Early life

Spilotro was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

, the fourth of six children to Pasquale "Patsy" Spilotro Sr. and Antoinette Spilotro. He attended Burbank Elementary School, and entered

Steinmetz High School Steinmetz College Prep (also known as Steinmetz High School or Steinmetz Academic Centre) is a public 4–year high school located in the Belmont Cragin community area on the Northwest Side of Chicago, Illinois. Steinmetz is a part of the Chicag ...

in 1953. His father had emigrated from Triggiano,

Province of Bari The Province of Bari ( it, provincia di Bari, nap, pruvincia 'e Bari, nap, label= Barese, provinge de Bare) was a province in the region of Apulia, Italy. Its capital was the city of Bari. It has an area of , and a total population of 1,594,1 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, and had arrived at

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mil ...

in 1914. He and his mother ran Patsy's Restaurant, which was frequented by mobsters such as

Sam Giancana Salvatore Mooney Giancana (; born Gilormo Giangana; ; May 24, 1908 – June 19, 1975) was an American mobster who was boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1957 to 1966. Giancana was born in Chicago to Italian immigrant parents. He joined the 4 ...

, Jackie "The Lackey" Cerone, Gus Alex, and Francesco "Frank the Enforcer" Nitti. Tony and four of his brothers, (John, Vincent, Victor, and

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

) became involved in criminal activity starting at an early age. The remaining brother, "Patrick" Pasquale Jr., became a dentist. Spilotro was a boyhood friend of

Frank Cullotta Frank John Cullotta (December 14, 1938 – August 20, 2020) was an American mobster in the Chicago Outfit and a member of the Hole in the Wall Gang burglary ring in Las Vegas with friend and mobster Tony Spilotro. After his arrest in 1982, he ...

, and started a criminal career together as teenagers, engaging in theft, burglary, and murder. He was nicknamed "Tony the Ant" by the media after FBI Special Agent

William Roemer William F. Roemer Jr. (June 16, 1926 – June 14, 1996) was an FBI agent for 30 years. He is known for his battle against organized crime and being the most highly decorated agent in FBI history. After retirement he became a private attorney ...

referred to Spilotro as "that little

pissant A pissant, also seen as piss ant or piss-ant, refers to a specific type of ant. The word is also used as a pejorative noun or adjective, indicating insignificance. The original ''pissant'' is any of a certain group of large ant species, commonl ...

." Since the media couldn't use "pissant", they shortened it to the "Ant".

The Hole in the Wall Gang

In 1971, Spilotro moved to Las Vegas to manage the affairs of the Chicago Outfit there. He formed the "Hole in the Wall" Gang, a group of experienced thieves, safecrackers and killers. 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. In early 1979,

moved to Las Vegas to join Spilotro. 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 Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Engl ...

and possession of burglary tools. Around this time, Spilotro had an affair with Frank Rosenthal's wife, Geri McGee. In 1982, Cullotta was imprisoned and approached by the FBI with a

wiretap Telephone tapping (also wire tapping or wiretapping in American English) is the monitoring of telephone and Internet-based conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitorin ...

of Spilotro talking with someone about "having to clean our dirty laundry", which Cullotta took as an insinuated contract on his life. Due to this, in July 1982, Cullotta finalized an agreement with the prosecutors. In September 1983, Spilotro was indicted for conspiracy and obstruction of justice in the Sherwin "Jerry" Lisner murder and released on $100,000 bail. At a trial in October 1983, Cullotta admitted that he was involved in over 300 crimes, including four murders, perjury, robberies and burglaries. 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. In 1962, Cullotta had killed William McCarthy and James Miraglia, who were found dead in the trunk of a car on May 14, 1962. McCarthy's head had been placed in a

vise A vise or vice (British English) is a mechanical apparatus used to secure an object to allow work to be performed on it. Vises have two parallel jaws, one fixed and the other movable, threaded in and out by a screw and lever. A vise grip is n ...

and his throat slashed, while Miraglia strangled. Spilotro was acquitted later that year. Spilotro's defense attorney was future Las Vegas mayor

Oscar Goodman Oscar Baylin Goodman (born July 26, 1939) is an American attorney and politician. A Democrat-turned-independent, Goodman was the mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada from 1999 to 2011. His wife, Carolyn Goodman, succeeded him as mayor in 2011. Early li ...

Members of Hole in the Wall Gang

Michael Spilotro Michael Peter "Micky" Spilotro (September 12, 1944 – June 14, 1986) was the younger brother of Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro and was an associate of the Chicago organized crime organization referred to as " The Outfit". Family background M ...

Herbie Blitzstein Herbert "Fat Herbie" Blitzstein (November 2, 1934 – January 6, 1997) was a loanshark, bookmaker, racketeer and lieutenant to Tony "The Ant" Spilotro and the Chicago Outfit in Las Vegas, Nevada. Biography Born in a Jewish family in Chicago, B ...

*Peter Basile *Sherwin (Jerry) Lisner *

*Joseph Cusumano *Samuel Cusumano *John Spilotro *Joseph D'Argento *Ernesto "Ernie" Davino *Leonardo "Leo" Guardino *Frank DeLegge *Michael LaJoy *Ernest Lehnigg *Wayne Matecki *"Crazy Larry" Neumann *Butch Pancsko *Leonard (Congo) Brooks *Paul (Peanuts) Pancsko *John (Pops) Pancsko *Edward (Butch) Pancsko *Salvatore "Sonny" Romano *Gerald Tomasczek *Carl Urbanotti *Joseph Blasko *Salvatore Romano *Paul "The Indian" Schiro *Joseph "Joe Blow" Schembri *Luca "Jimmy" Domingo

Death and aftermath

Spilotro and his brother Michael disappeared on June 14, 1986, after they drove away together from Michael's Oak Park home. Michael's wife, Anne, reported both brothers missing on June 16. Michael's car, a 1986 Lincoln, was recovered several days later in a motel parking lot near

O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop busines ...

. On June 22, their bodies were found, one on top of the other and stripped down to their undershorts, buried in a cornfield in the Willow Slough preserve near

Enos, Indiana Enos is an unincorporated community in McClellan Township, Newton County, in the U.S. state of Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 Sta ...

. The freshly turned earth had been noticed by a farmer who thought that the remains of a deer killed out of season had been buried there by a poacher, and notified authorities. An

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any d ...

completed on June 24 identified their cause of death as

blunt force trauma Blunt trauma, also known as blunt force trauma or non-penetrating trauma, is physical traumas, and particularly in the elderly who fall. It is contrasted with penetrating trauma which occurs when an object pierces the skin and enters a tissue ...

, and ascertained that they had been dead since June 14. They were identified by dental charts supplied by their dentist brother, Patrick Spilotro. The two were buried in a family plot at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in

Hillside, Illinois Hillside is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 8,320. Geography Hillside is located at (41.874797, −87.900372). According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Hillside has a total a ...

, on June 27. In January 1986, in the wake of the imprisonment of Joseph Aiuppa and John Cerone for skimming Las Vegas casino profits, a meeting was held at the Czech Lodge in North Riverside, Illinois. Most of the 'upper echelon' were there, including Outfit boss Tony "Joe Batters" Accardo. Accardo decided to appoint

Samuel Carlisi Samuel A. Carlisi also known as "Black Sam" and "Sam Wings" (December 15, 1914 – January 2, 1997), was an American gangster who was the boss of the Chicago Outfit criminal organization Between 1989 – 1996. Sam Carlisi's brother Roy was a cap ...

as the "Street Boss" in charge of Outfit operations to replace Aiuppa. Carlisi told the group that Accardo would stay on as ''

consigliere Consigliere ( , ; plural ) is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel '' The Godfather'' (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a ...

'' and would have final say, as well as Gus Alex staying head of the connection guys. He then went on to the first problem: Spilotro, and how things had gone down since he took over Vegas. Mobster and mob enforcer Rocco Infelice said, "Hit him." Everyone else at the meeting agreed. Spilotro was replaced in Las Vegas by Donald "The Wizard of Odds" Angelini. Although the original reports stated the Spilotros were beaten and buried in the Enos, Indiana, cornfield, mobster

Nicholas Calabrese Nicholas W. Calabrese (born November 30, 1942) is an American former mob hitman, best known for being the second made man ever to testify against the Chicago Outfit. His testimony and cooperation with federal prosecutors helped result in the 20 ...

testified at the " Operation Family Secrets" in 2007 that the brothers were killed in a

Bensenville, Illinois Bensenville is a village located near O'Hare International Airport in DuPage County, Illinois, with a portion of the town in Cook County. As of the 2020 census, the village population was 18,813. First known as Tioga, it was formally established ...

basement first, where the Spilotros believed Michael would be inducted into The Outfit, then their bodies were transported to the cornfield. According to court testimony, when Tony entered the basement and realized what was about to occur, he asked if he could "say a prayer". No arrests were made until April 25, 2005, when 14 members of the Chicago Outfit (including reputed boss James Marcello) were indicted for 18 murders, including the Spilotros'. The suspected murderers included ''capo''

Albert Tocco Albert "Caesar" Tocco (August 9, 1929 – September 21, 2005), was a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit during the 1970s and 1980s. He was the mob boss of Chicago Heights, the south suburbs, and parts of Northern Indiana. Tocco was describ ...

from

Chicago Heights, Illinois Chicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,480 at the 2020 census. In earlier years, Chicago Heights was nicknamed "The Crossroads of the Nation". Currently, it is nicknamed "The Heights". Geogra ...

, who was sentenced to 200 years in prison in 1990, after his wife testified against him. She testified that, in 1986, she drove her husband from an Indiana cornfield where he told her he had just buried Spilotro. On May 18, 2007, the star witness in the government's case against 14 Chicago mob figures, Nicholas Calabrese, pleaded guilty to taking part in a conspiracy that included 18 murders. Under heavy security, Calabrese admitted that he took part in planning or carrying out 14 of the murders including the Spilotro killings. He became the key witness against his brother,

Frank Calabrese, Sr. Frank James Calabrese Sr. (March 17, 1937 – December 25, 2012), also known as "Frankie Breeze", was a made man who ran major loansharking and illegal gambling operations for the Chicago Outfit. He is best known as a central figure in Operation ...

, and other major mob figures charged in the government's Family Secrets Trial. Calabrese agreed to testify after the FBI showed him DNA evidence linking him to the murder of fellow hit-man John Fecarotta who was also allegedly involved in the Spilotro slayings. In September 2007 Frank Calabrese, Sr. and four other men—Marcello, Joseph Lombardo, Paul "The Indian" Schiro, and former Chicago police officer Anthony "Twan" Doyle—were convicted of mob-related crimes. On September 27, 2007 Marcello was found guilty by a federal jury in the murders of both Spilotro brothers. On February 5, 2009 Marcello was sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes fo ...

for the Spilotro murders and United States District Judge

James Zagel James Block Zagel (born March 4, 1941) is an inactive Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and a novelist. Early life and education Born in Chicago, Illinois, to Jewish ...

, agreeing with the presentation made by federal prosecutor Markus Funk, also found Marcello responsible for the D'Andrea murder as well even though the jury had deadlocked on that count. On March 26, 2009 Nicholas Calabrese was sentenced to 12 years and four months imprisonment. In a 2010 interview with ''

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...

'' magazine, while promoting the opening of the Las Vegas Mob Experience at the Tropicana Hotel, Tony Spilotro's son Vincent claimed that the real target of those who killed the Spilotro brothers was Michael Spilotro and that Tony was killed to prevent any revenge.

Suspect in gangland slayings

By the time of his death in 1986, the FBI suspected Spilotro was involved in 22 or 25 murders including: * The murder of

Sam DeStefano Samuel "Mad Sam" DeStefano (September 13, 1909 − April 14, 1973) was a Mobster who was associated with the Chicago Outfit. He was one of the organization's most notorious loan sharks and sociopathic killers. Chicago-based Federal Bureau of I ...

on April 14, 1973. * The murder of former Chicago Outfit boss

on June 19, 1975.

In popular culture

*In the 1980s

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

series '' Crime Story,'' the character of mobster Ray Luca is based on Anthony Spilotro. *

's film ''

'' (1995) is based on the Las Vegas careers of Spilotro and Rosenthal, on whom the characters Nicholas "Nicky" Santoro (played by

Joe Pesci Joseph Frank Pesci ( , ; born February 9, 1943) is an American actor and musician. He is known for portraying tough, volatile characters in a variety of genres and for his collaborations with Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese in the films ''Rag ...

) and Ace Rothstein (played by

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...

) were based. Nearing the end of the film, Nicky and his brother Dominick ( Philip Suriano), based on Tony's brother

, are shown being beaten with metal baseball bats and buried alive in an Indiana cornfield by their associate Frank Marino (

Frank Vincent Frank Vincent Gattuso Jr. (April 15, 1937 – September 13, 2017) was an American actor. During a five-decade career, Vincent often portrayed mobsters. He was a frequent collaborator of filmmaker Martin Scorsese, appearing as Salvy in ''Raging B ...

), based on Frank Cullotta, and the rest of Nicky's crew.

References

External links

Anthony "Tony" Spilotro Archives

by Robert C. Herguth
Anthony "Tony The Ant" Spilotoro's FBI File

The Free Information Society – Biography

Anthony Spilotro
at

Find-A-Grave Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present fin ...

FBI file on Anthony Spilotro
on the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spilotro, Anthony 1938 births 1980s missing person cases 1986 deaths 1986 murders in the United States American burglars Burials in Illinois Burials in Indiana Chicago Outfit mobsters Deaths by beating in the United States Formerly missing people Missing person cases in Illinois Male murder victims Murdered American gangsters of Italian descent People acquitted of murder People from Oak Park, Illinois People murdered by the Chicago Outfit People murdered in Illinois People of Apulian descent