LV man sentenced in outcall takeover

Kim Smith

Friday, Feb. 25, 2000 | 10:32 a.m.

One month after threatening to back out of a plea agreement, a Las Vegas resident accused in an outcall-business takeover scheme was sentenced to more than four years in prison.

Christiano DeCarlo, 27, was given 54 months in prison Thursday by U.S. District Judge Philip Pro. Two of his co-defendants in the plot, Kenneth Byrnes, 38, and Anton Nelsen, each received three years and four months. A third co-defendant, DeCarlo's half-brother, Joshua Snellings, 20, was given 319 days but received credit for time already served.

Authorities allege that the men were part of a group that wanted to rid outcall-business owner Anthony Nastasi of any competitors, going so far as to hire two alleged hitmen.

According to court documents, New York resident Mario Stefano sent Nelsen and Vinnie Conguisti to Las Vegas in the summer of 1998, not knowing that Nastasi was helping the FBI in its investigation of DeCarlo.

Conguisti had a reputation for being able to take care of the mob's headaches, thus earning him the nickname Vinnie Aspirin. One of his tools in the trade was reported to be a cordless drill.

The men were arrested Oct. 9, 1998, and found during subsequent police searches were a cordless drill, weapons, ammunition, walkie-talkies and bulletproof vests.

Conguisti, 49, pleaded guilty in July and faces between four and five years in prison. Stefano also pleaded guilty and faces between six and seven years.

During his change-of-plea hearing, Stefano said he sent Conguisti and Nelsen to Las Vegas to "bang heads" but said it was merely an expression.

DeCarlo, Snellings, Byrnes and Nelsen pleaded guilty Aug. 20 to one count each of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce through threats and violence, thus avoiding trial and the possibility of 20 year sentences.