Reputed mobster targeted

Thursday, Dec. 5, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Reputed Las Vegas mob figure Herbie Blitzstein faces nomination next week to Nevada's Black Book of undesirables banned from casinos.

The State Gaming Control Board will take up Blitzstein's case at its meeting Tuesday in Carson City.

If nominated, the Nevada Gaming Commission will set a hearing to consider adding Blitzstein to the notorious exclusionary list, created in 1960 to protect the integrity of the casino industry.

A total of 27 underworld figures and gaming cheats, all convicted of felonies, are listed in the Black Book.

Blitzstein, once reportedly a top lieutenant of the late Chicago mobster Anthony Spilotro, attracted the Control Board's interest earlier this year when suspended Horseshoe Club executive Ted Binion acknowledged palling around with him.

Deputy Attorney General Charlotte Mantanane, who is handling the Black Book case, said today that Blitzstein's felony convictions, mob ties and relationship with Binion have given the state grounds to ban Blitzstein from setting foot in casinos.

She said the Control Board's investigation of Binion showed Blitzstein was involved with "some casino interests."

Binion, whose late father Benny Binion founded the Horseshoe Club, acknowledged being in Blitzstein's company about 25 times within the past year.

Gaming agents later uncovered records that showed Binion, though under suspension, had helped Blitzstein cash $11,000 worth of insurance checks at the Horseshoe New Year's Day.

The Control Board has been contemplating filing a new complaint against Binion in part because of his ties to Blitzstein.

In May, following a lengthy hearing, the Gaming Commission suspended Binion's license for another year because of alleged drug use and gaming violations.

Blitzstein, paroled from federal prison in 1991, refused to testify during the hearing, asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 21 times. He also refused to cooperate with the Control Board's probe of Binion.

His lawyer, John Momot, said Wednesday that Blitzstein planned to challenge his Black Book nomination.

"We're going to fight it," Momot said. "He's been legitimate since he was paroled. He's just a struggling, small-business man."

Momot would not explain Blitzstein's business, but he insisted his client's conduct the past five years has not risen to the level of being named to the Black Book.

"He doesn't frequent casinos, and he's not betting on sports," Momot said. "He's paid his dues to society."

Over the years, Black book inductees, including Spilotro, have gone to court to challenge the procedures, but the book's constitutionality has been upheld.

Spilotro's name was removed only after his brutal gangland murder outside Chicago in 1986.

During the time Spilotro ran the street rackets in Las Vegas for the Chicago mob, Blitzstein was regarded by lawmen as his right-hand man.

He was indicted twice on federal racketeering charges with Spilotro.

Blitzstein spent several years in prison following his conviction on federal fraud charges after Spilotro's death until his release in 1991.

In recent years, he has encountered health problems related to diabetes and a heart ailment.

Since Spilotro's death, the Chicago mob's presence in Las Vegas has diminished, and a 1995 Control Board study concluded that organized crime's presence on the Strip has all but been eliminated.

Several other Spilotro associates, including Frank Rosenthal, Joey Cusumano and Dominick Spinale, are in the Black Book.