Board delays Black Book ruling

John Wilen

Friday, May 28, 1999 | 11:34 a.m.

The state Gaming Commission granted former Chicago police officer Fred Pascente a reprieve from what had seemed his inevitable inclusion in the "Black Book" of people excluded from Nevada casinos Thursday.

Pascente's attorney, John Momot, convinced the Commission to delay Pacente's hearing for several months so that he could submit additional evidence.

Some of the commissioners seemed uncertain whether Pascente's crimes and alleged associations with members of organized crime warranted his inclusion in the Black Book at all.

"Why is this guy worse than probably 100 other people we could find at the Clark County courthouse just this year?" asked Commissioner Bill Curran.

Pascente is an Army veteran and 26-year Chicago police officer who pleaded guilty to one count of felony mail fraud in 1995. According to his plea documents, Pascente participated in a scheme to steal 32 checks from an insurance office and in two separate incidents in which false insurance claims were filed.

The plea documents put the monetary value of Pascente's crimes at $235,400. Five other charges of fraud were dropped when Pascente pleaded guilty.

Pascente served 16 months in prison, and three months in a halfway house. A fine of $235,400 was reduced to $4,000.

In November, the Gaming Control Board nominated Pascente for inclusion in the Black Book, citing the felony conviction and alleging that he associates with people involved in organized crime. To support their allegations of mob associations, Board attorneys produced a 1997 Chicago Crime Commission report, "The New Faces of Organized Crime." The report lists Pascente as an "additional member or associate" of the mob.

"Fred Pascente is a person of notorious and unsavory reputation," said Deputy Attorney General Vicky Thimmesch.

Momot argued there was little hard evidence that Pascente associates with mob figures. He noted that documents from Pascente's criminal case make no mention of mob associations.

Thimmesch countered that Pascente's crimes alone make him worthy of Black Book inclusion.

"They went on for four years ... while Fred Pascente was a member of the Chicago Police Department, holding a position of public trust," said Thimmesch.

But Curran noted that Pascente's crime was not gaming-related, and that it was not severely punished.

Curran argued that Momot should have a chance to submit additional evidence, that commissioners should get more detailed information about the Chicago Crime Commission and that prosecutors should present more direct evidence of Pascente's alleged mob associations.

Pascente did not attend Thursday's hearing. Commissioner Sue Wagner was also absent. She participated via telephone from Northern Nevada for most of the Commission's meeting, but decided she could not vote on Pascente's nomination because she was not on hand to review evidence.