Regulators to consider two men for Black Book

Wednesday, Nov. 17, 1999 | 10:12 a.m.

One of the nominees, Fred Pascente, 57, a former Chicago police detective who did time for his ties to an Illinois mail-fraud ring, has requested a commission hearing. He's not likely to attend the session but will be represented by Las Vegas lawyer John Momot.

The other nominee, six-time convicted slot cheat Michael Joseph Balsamo, 40, is currently locked up in the North Las Vegas Jail in connection with a suspected nationwide slot cheating ring. He hasn't requested a hearing.

Deputy Attorney General Keith Kizer will argue that Pascente's addition to the book is needed because of past convictions and his listing in a 1997 Chicago Crime Commission Report as an associate in the Chicago-based crime family known as The Outfit.

State law allows regulators to list convicted felons or anyone with a "notorious or unsavory reputation."

"The problem is that's a broad brush," Momot argued. "Any number of people could qualify to be excluded."

According to court records, Pascente was convicted of getting a $20,000 payout from Allstate Insurance Co. with an associate, Anthony Ziga, who filed a false injury claim, as the result of a staged accident.

Pascente, who lives in Chicago, periodically visited Nevada casinos between 1994 and 1998, according to casino regulators.

"He meets the criteria. This isn't just the fact that he's a convicted felon," Kizer said, noting Pascente's appearance on the Chicago Crime Commission report.

Balsamo has been convicted of six felony gaming cheating charges since 1980 - four in Clark County, one in Douglas County and one in Atlantic City.

"He meets the criteria (for entry into the black book)," Kizer said. "He is a threat to our state and to the gaming industry."