Judge rules tapes OK to be heard in outcall trial

Kim Smith

Friday, Aug. 20, 1999 | 4:05 a.m.

Jurors sitting on next week's trial of four reputed mobsters could hear up to 33 incriminating taped conversations, including those extolling the qualifications of Vinnie "Aspirin" Cogiusti, a mob hitman who has already pleaded guilty in the case.

U.S. District Judge Philip Pro rejected defense attorneys' arguments Thursday that the tapes involving Congiusti, a k a Vinnie Aspirin, would be "unreasonably prejudicial."

Congiusti and five other men were arrested in October 1998 and accused of plotting the takeover of local outcall service businesses through threats and violence.

According to court testimony, Mario Stefano, 65, arranged for Congiusti and Anton Nelsen to come to Las Vegas to get rid of Anthony Nastasi's competition in the outcall service business.

Congiusti had earned the reputation of being able to get rid of the mob's headaches and being an expert at torture. According to court testimony, there were rumors he had once used a cordless drill on someone's head.

Unbeknownst to Stefano, Nastasti was helping the FBI in their investigation of another outcall service business owner. Shortly after Congiusti and Nelsen arrived in Las Vegas last October they and Stefano, Kenneth Byrnes, Christiano DeCarlo and Joshua Snellings were arrested.

Stefano and Congiusti have since entered plea agreements and are awaiting sentencing. The other four are scheduled for trial Monday.

On Thursday, defense attorneys attempted to persuade Pro that it would be unfair for jurors to hear conversations in which Congiusti and the drill were discussed.

Pro disagreed.

Additional defense motions, many pertaining to the admissibility of the other tapes, will be argued today at 1:30 p.m. Pro asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Johnson to bring the relevant tapes to court with him.