Friday, Sept. 13, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
As expected, the State Gaming Control Board voted to bar reputed Kansas City mobster William Cammisano Jr. from entering Nevada casinos.
"His conviction for tampering with a witness through threats and intimidation in a grand jury investigation of a gangland-style killing is enough to convince me," said Control Board Member Steve DuCharme.
"If we want to keep people of this ilk out of Nevada casinos, we have to notify the gaming industry by putting them on the list of excluded persons."
Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rodefer said Cammisano qualified for inclusion in the Black Book because he is a convicted felon who associated with known criminal associates and was barred from entering riverboat casinos by Missouri state authorities.
Rodefer said the action was necessary to avoid a repeat of six instances in which Cammisano gambled at and received "comps" -- generally, free room, food and beverages -- from The Mirage, Maxim and Horseshoe casinos in 1995 and 1996.
In July 1995, Cammisano booked seven rooms at the Maxim, won $600 and got more than $5,000 in comps, then gambled at The Mirage, where he won $6,000 and received about $200 in comps.
In subsequent stays at The Mirage, Rodefer said, Cammisano posted one $11,400 win and lost about $10,500, while receiving comps totaling $6,500. Cammisano also got about $600 in comps from the Horseshoe, though his gambling activity wasn't recorded, Rodefer said.
The state prosecutor said Cammisano was convicted in 1989 of witness tampering during a grand jury investigation into a mob-style murder. He was ultimately sentenced to three years in prison and fined $5,000.
Rodefer said the FBI has identified the 47-year-old felon as a "capo," or underboss, in the crime family allegedly headed by Nick Civella. Civella was nominated for inclusion in Nevada's Black Book earlier this year.
The board's nominations are subject to approval by the Nevada Gaming Commission. Civella's attorney, Oscar Goodman, has indicated his client will fight the nomination. The plans of Cammisano, who didn't attend Thursday's hearing, aren't known.
archive
