Columnist Jeff German: Prosecutors expecting deals in mob probe

JEFF GERMAN is a senior investigative reporter. His column also appears in the Las Vegas SUN on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He can be reached at 259-4067 or on the Internet at [email protected]

MEMO to those awaiting trial in the FBI's racketeering case against the Los Angeles and Buffalo mob families:

This would be a good time to make a deal.

Federal prosecutors looking to tighten up their case are standing by with open arms.

But get down to the Organized Crime Strike Force in a hurry, or you might find yourself waiting in line.

Sixteen defendants have been charged in the investigation, which has given us a rare look inside the two ruthless crime families and their bungled attempts to dominate Las Vegas street rackets.

Prosecutors are expecting a rush of deals now that Attorney General Janet Reno has decided not to pursue the death penalty against the six defendants facing murder charges in the death of mob associate Herbie Blitzstein.

Some of those defendants may be the most likely to "roll over" on their underworld pals in the coming weeks. The possibility now exists for those who cooperate to be free men some day.

All six -- Stephen Cino, Robert Panaro, Peter Vincent Caruso, Alfred Mauriello, Richard Friedman and Antone Davi -- are charged with killing Blitzstein at his home in January 1997 to help the Los Angeles and Buffalo crime families muscle in on his illicit enterprises.

Reno's decision also seems to have increased the chances of the racketeering case going to trial by the end of the year.

Had the murder defendants been forced to fight a push for the death penalty, the trial would have been delayed for months.

Blitzstein's accused killers now might look to the cozy agreement struck by former co-defendant Joe DeLuca for guidance.

DeLuca's decision to cooperate was first reported here last August, when he pleaded guilty to a racketeering charge involving the murder of his onetime friend.

But details were kept secret until last week, when it was learned that U.S. District Judge Philip Pro had unsealed the government's plea memorandum with DeLuca.

In the 18-page document, DeLuca, a former auto repairman, admits to his role in Blitzstein's slaying.

But more importantly, DeLuca corroborates evidence against three of his co-conspirators -- including Panaro and Cino, both reputed "made members" of the mob.

By no small surprise, DeLuca is being protected by federal agents outside Nevada. Keeping him healthy, it seems, has become a government priority.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, have agreed to recommend a lighter sentence for DeLuca in return for his testimony. The government is considering recommending a sentence far less than life in prison if he fulfills his end of the bargain.

Though he has yet to testify, DeLuca has been debriefed extensively by FBI agents in the last 10 months. And word is he has had a lot to say.

DeLuca, you see, worked closely with Blitzstein for six years before his murder. Blitzstein, a lieutenant of slain Chicago mob kingpin Anthony Spilotro, probably knew more about the underside of Las Vegas than anyone.

Logic tells us that DeLuca had to know just about everything Blitzstein did.

But not everyone is as impressed with DeLuca as the government.

"If all I have to worry about is DeLuca's testimony, I win because DeLuca's credibility is less than zero," Panaro's lawyer, Steve Stein, says. "I can prove he's a liar, and I intend to do that at trial."

Stein says his client has no intention of striking a deal with the government and is not worried about others doing it.

"Everyone else rolling over would help Bobby because he had nothing to do with (the murder)," Stein says.

DeLuca, however, tells a different story.

In the plea memorandum, he indicates Panaro summoned him to a meeting at a local restaurant on Jan. 4, 1997, two days before Blitzstein was killed, to discuss taking over Blitzstein's lucrative loan-sharking operations.

Also present at the meeting were Caruso, Cino and John Branco, a street hood who had become an informant in the rackets probe.

The murder was committed in the middle of the investigation, which had been making use of electronic surveillance, informants and undercover FBI agents.

Before the Jan. 4 meeting, the memorandum says, Panaro told DeLuca that he had gotten permission from his bosses in Buffalo to have Blitzstein killed.

At the gathering, according to DeLuca, Branco (while working under cover) insisted that it would not be necessary to murder Blitzstein. Branco left believing the murder had been called off.

But afterwards, the memorandum says, Panaro and Cino indicated otherwise. Both men promised DeLuca that he would not be harmed after the killing was carried out.

DeLuca now acknowledges that he provided Caruso, who hired the killers, with Blitzstein's garage door opener and front door key.

On the night of Jan. 6, DeLuca says, Caruso telephoned him to report "that thing is done."

DeLuca then went over to Blitzstein's home with Blitzstein's lawyer, John Momot, and found his body slumped over a chair. The murdered underworld figure had been shot gangland style in the back of the head.

Ironically, it was DeLuca who telephoned police to report the slaying, the memorandum says.

DeLuca played the part of Blitzstein's friend, even attending his funeral in Chicago, all the while working with Panaro and others to divide up Blitzstein's illicit enterprises.

But DeLuca's conscience started bothering him, and he took advantage of the government's early-bird special.

Never fear, however. There's still time for others to start singing.

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