Life without parole handed to Strip sports book killer

Kim Smith

Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2002 | 9:14 a.m.

Anthony Cuccia Jr. told District Judge Jeffrey Sobel Tuesday he didn't care if he got life with or without the possibility of parole. The letter he wrote to the judge proved it.

In it, the convicted murderer told Sobel, his attorney and prosecutors exactly what he thinks of them in graphic terms with a couple of sexually explicit suggestions thrown in as well.

The letter, Sobel remarked, shows Cuccia, 61, is not the sort of person who deserves any kind of a break from him.

In fact, Sobel said, the letter confirms that Cuccia is a sociopath "who is proud of the fact he is a career criminal."

Sobel gave Cuccia two consecutive no-parole life terms for shooting Philip Greenspan, 59, to death in the Stardust sports book on Feb. 7, 2000.

During his two-day trial, Cuccia told jurors he was forced to shoot Greenspan because Greenspan had been sent by members of the mob to kill him.

He said members of the Gambino crime family had put a contract on his life nearly 20 years ago after a vindictive DEA agent falsely identified him as a snitch.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Chris Owens told jurors that there is no evidence Greenspan had any connection to organized crime. He was eating a bowl of soup when he was shot to death.

Sobel had the option of sentencing Cuccia to two no-parole life terms or giving him a chance at parole at the age of 101.

Deputy District Attorney Taleen Pandukht told Sobel she wanted Cuccia behind bars for the rest of his life because of the egregious nature of the crime and Cuccia's "horrendous" criminal record.

If Cuccia were parole-eligible, his sentence could one day be commuted, Pandukht said.

"He's a career criminal, and the only way to truly protect anyone else from getting killed is the no-parole life sentence," Pandukht said.

Cuccia said that although he didn't care what sentence he received, he wanted to make sure the record reflects his displeasure with court-appointed attorney Jay "Chip" Siegel."

"I gave him 14 witnesses and he didn't call a one," Cuccia said.

Each one could have confirmed a contract had been put out on his life, Cuccia said.

When asked if he minded if Siegel spoke, Cuccia snapped, "He can do what he wants. He got me 40 years, what else can he do?"

Siegel argued that sentencing Cuccia to a no-parole life sentence would serve no purpose given his age. He also lamented the fact the Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that attorneys cannot put on defenses that are contrary to their client's wishes.

The parties in the case have long said that Cuccia, while competent, is delusional.

In Johnson v. Nevada, the state's higher court overturned a defendant's murder conviction when his attorney told jurors his client was insane -- over the defendant's objections.

The defendant, Richard Johnson, killed his victim, believing him to be a member of a voodoo gang.

"This case screamed out for a different type of defense," Siegel said of the Cuccia case.