Sports book shooting trial delayed

Kim Smith

Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2001 | 10:37 a.m.

The murder trial of a man who claims his victim was a mob enforcer out to kill him has been postponed because of concerns about the defendant's mental health.

District Judge Jeffrey Sobel, who recently took over the Anthony Cuccia Jr. case, said he wants Cuccia to be re-evaluated by mental health experts at a state facility in Sparks.

Cuccia, 60, is accused of gunning down Philip Greenspan, 59, inside the sports book at the Stardust hotel on Feb. 7, 2000.

According to court records, witnesses said Cuccia walked up to Greenspan and shot him after saying "take this to Nikki."

Cuccia, in a 52-page voluntary statement, told police that Greenspan was a mob enforcer who was planning to carry out a longstanding hit on him. The "Nikki" he referred to is Nick Corazzo, an alleged associate of mob boss John Gotti.

Cuccia was scheduled to go on trial Monday before District Judge Donald Mosley, but because of a scheduling conflict Sobel agreed to take the case late last week.

Until Monday morning Cuccia had insisted on representing himself because his public defenders wanted to tell jurors he is delusional.

Sobel said he plans to appoint an attorney who is willing to put on a self-defense claim. In looking at the file, Sobel said that at one time at least one psychologist had documentation verifying Cuccia's claims of a contract on his life.

That documentation, however, isn't part of Cuccia's file and needs to be tracked down.

What is part of Cuccia's file is documentation that shows Cuccia has believed since at least the early 1980s that Gotti wants him dead.

Cuccia told Sobel Monday that he knows his behavior has bordered on bizarre at times.

"When you don't have a gun and people are chasing you with guns, you've got to do things that are out of the way," Cuccia said.

Last week Cuccia told Mosley he believes the prosecutors are on the payrolls of the Gotti and Gambino families.