Columnist Jeff German: Jail time proves to be hard on the health of mob figures

Tuesday, Feb. 10, 1998 | 10:20 a.m.

IT'S AMAZING how a wise guy's health deteriorates after spending a little time in jail.

Peter Vincent Caruso, 58, and Stephen Cino, 60, both allegedly tied to the Los Angeles mob, led robust lives on the street until the government got wise to their dealings and indicted them.

The two men have developed serious heart conditions since being jailed last April following the first wave of indictments in a two-year FBI probe into Las Vegas street rackets.

Caruso is the guy the FBI believes pressed hard for the murder of Herbie Blitzstein last January, while the Los Angeles and Buffalo crime families schemed to take over the rackets here. If Caruso had a heart condition at the time, he sure didn't let it interfere with the family's business.

Sedentary prison life, however, seems to have been a strain on Caruso's ticker.

His attorney recently filed federal court papers indicating Caruso may need a heart transplant. He was said to be so sick on Friday that he couldn't attend his arraignment in person.

Cino's heart condition, meanwhile, apparently worsened after he was charged in last week's 50-count racketeering indictment with participating in the plot to kill Blitzstein, once a top confidante of the late Chicago mob kingpin Anthony Spilotro.

Following Caruso's lead, Cino was a no-show at his arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Robert Johnston on Monday.

His lawyer, Louis Palazzo, told Johnston that Cino, under medical supervision at a federal prison in Missouri, needs bypass surgery on three blocked arteries to his heart.

Another suspect in Blitzstein's slaying, 56-year-old Richard Friedman, the alleged shooter, has developed (by no small coincidence) a hearing problem.

Friedman's lawyer, Patricia Erickson, asked Johnston to speak up in court to accommodate her client's hearing disability.

Last week, the ill-health of reputed Buffalo mobster Robert Panaro, another defendant charged in Blitzstein's murder, surfaced during Panaro's initial appearance before Johnston.

Panaro's lawyer, Steve Stein, told the magistrate his client has had serious physical problems as a result of being hit in the head with a baseball bat two years ago.

Federal prosectors have alleged that Panaro, as a "made member" of the Buffalo mob, gave the final authority to execute Blitzstein.

On Monday, when Johnston asked Panaro, who's jailed without bond, if he was in good health, he replied yes.

But some think Panaro might be headed for a relapse once he gets a chance to examine the 1,700 secretly recorded audio and video tapes the government will submit as evidence in this case.

That alone could give a wise guy a few heart palpitations.

Hollywood film producer Aaron Russo is stepping up the heat on front-runner Kenny Guinn in the Republican primary for governor.

Russo, a fringe candidate who has money to burn, has been airing television ads attacking Guinn for opposing a GOP ballot initiative intended to make politics difficult for organized labor.

Guinn and other mainstream Republican and Democratic officeholders, including Gov. Bob Miller, oppose the initiative, saying it would be too intrusive on unions.

Russo says in the ads he supports the Republican campaign, and he accuses Guinn of lining up with "liberal Democrats" like Miller and Nevada's two Democratic U.S. Sens. Harry Reid and Richard Bryan, who also oppose the initiative.

Undaunted by the Russo attacks, Guinn on Monday began airing radio ads in Reno and Las Vegas introducing himself to the voters.

The National Jewish Medical and Research Center has begun to hype its March 21 fund-raising dinner at The Mirage honoring international Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer John Wilhelm.

Tickets sales are said to be brisk despite earlier efforts by Las Vegas Sands Inc. Chairman Sheldon Adelson to scuttle the benefit.

Adelson, a strong supporter of the Denver-based medical center, which specializes in respiratory illnesses, is locked in a bitter labor dispute with the Culinary Union and Wilhelm, one of the heroes of the just-ended Frontier strike.

The hospital, however, has many other strong supporters who want to make the Wilhelm dinner a success.

Among those serving as honorary chairs are:

Sahara hotel-casino owner William Bennett, New Frontier hotel-casino owner Phil Ruffin, Hilton Gaming President Arthur Goldberg, Mirage Resorts Chairman Steve Wynn and his wife Elaine, Boyd Group Chairman William Boyd, Nevada Resort Association President Richard Bunker, MGM Grand Inc. Chairman Terry Lanni, International Culinary Union President Ed Hanley, Nevada AFL-CIO boss Blackie Evans and Las Vegas SUN Executive Editor Mike O'Callaghan.

An impressive list, indeed.