Friday, April 11, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Psychiatrists say Joseph Canterino suffers from panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Canterino's attorney, Marty Keach, told jurors that problems arising from the April 1992 beating make Canterino a prisoner in his own home, with the 40-year-old man unable to attend events such as his father's funeral or his daughter's wedding. Doctors said Canterino sustained brain damage and hearing loss in the beating
Mirage attorney Carolyn Ellsworth disagreed, saying Canterino was perfectly able to function in society. She said she saw the plaintiff walk several blocks from the state courthouse to a downtown hotel.
Canterino sued the Mirage, claiming he was beaten in an elevator lobby. He blamed lax hotel security for the beating, and said he was robbed of $75,000. The theft was never verified, according to testimony.
Ellsworth suggested Canterino was traveling with another person in Las Vegas and that person, if found, would tell a different story of who beat up the man and where.
"The entire picture here can't be seen because he is holding back the pieces," Ellsworth said.
"Mr. Canterino doesn't want us to know who he was with because that person knows how it really happened," Ellsworth said.
One of Canterino's doctors testified Canterino claimed his father had been a captain in a New York Mafia family.
Canterino's key witness was a former Mirage housekeeper who testified she saw two suspicious men loitering in the tower lobby for hours before the beating. The men she described matched the description of the men Canterino blamed for the beating. No one has been charged with the crime.
In not reporting her suspicions to security guards the housekeeper was negligent and therefore her employer was liable, Keach argued.
Ellsworth said there were inconsistencies in the housekeeper's story.
Six of the eight jurors voted for the judgment while two sided with The Mirage.
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