Two more plead guilty in Blitzstein case

Monday, April 26, 1999 | 11:25 a.m.

Less than an hour before jury selection was to begin this morning, two of four men facing a federal court trial in connection with the murder of Las Vegas mobster Herbie Blitzstein pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering.

Louis Caruso and Anthony DeLulio pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in racketeering, mail fraud and selling and receiving stolen property in connection with a 1986 car insurance scam and the 1997 burglary of Blitzstein's home.

Court documents show the men pleaded guilty to breaking into Blitzstein's home shortly after his Jan. 6, 1997, murder and stole many items including jewelry valued at more than $5,000. The men planned to sell the jewelry, court records say.

Sentencing is scheduled Aug. 6 before Judge Philip Pro, who accepted the men's pleas today. Each could face up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

Caruso and DeLulio are not going to testify as prosecution witnesses as part of their deals, Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Johnson said.

Last week Antone Davi pleaded guilty to being one of two participants in Blitzstein's murder. He will face a prison term of not less than 20 years but may avoid a life term in exchange for his testimony against Richard Friedman, whom prosecutors say shot Blitzstein with the gun Davi provided.

A week before Davi's plea, 72-year-old Alfred Mauriello, another key defendant in the case, pleaded guilty to a single count of murder in aid of racketeering and will also testify for the prosecution.

Mauriello admitted he was paid $10,000 to arrange Blitzstein's murder and hired Davi and Friedman to carry it out.

All of the charges stem from a 50-count, February 1998 indictment that named 16 suspected associates of crime families from Los Angeles and Buffalo who were trying to take over the Las Vegas street rackets.

Blitzstein -- once the right-hand man of the Chicago mob's Las Vegas overseer, Anthony Spilotro, who also was murdered -- was shot in his home in the takeover scheme that undercover federal agents have unraveled.

Jury selection continued today for the trial of the two remaining defendants, reported Buffalo mobsters Stephen Cino and Robert Panaro.