Gaming Commission rejects pleas from 2 to stay out of Black Book

A former Chicago police officer and a six-time convicted slot cheat became the 32nd and 33rd current members of Nevada's "Black Book" Thursday.

Fred Pascente and Michael Balsamo were both included in the book by unanimous vote by the Nevada Gaming Commission. The appointments are effective immediately.

Pascente, who has visited Las Vegas casinos at least three times since his nomination to the book in November 1998, was officially entered into the book for his 1995 conviction on one count of federal mail fraud and his alleged ties to the Chicago mob.

Pascente was not present at Thursday's hearing, but was represented by attorney John Momot. In a letter to the commission, Pascente pleaded with the commission to keep him off of the list, saying, "I am not a mobster."

"I got involved (in an insurance fraud scheme) because of greed, and this was my own doing, and my own fault," Pascente wrote. "I apologized to the court, the FBI and to my family for this disgrace.

"Upon my being released (from prison), I have worked six to seven days each week at my job. And, I know that I am in the right direction and have been a law-abiding citizen."

Pascente admitted to participating in at least five separate insurance fraud scams while on the Chicago police force, netting an estimated $253,000 in ill-gotten gains. He paid $3,000 in restitution.

"Maybe it's the fact that he only had to pay $3,000 in restitution, but he is quite a presence in the casinos," said Deputy Attorney General Keith Kizer.

Momot acknowledged that Nevada gaming regulations gave the commission the right to exclude anyone convicted of a felony, but warned commissioners they would be setting a dangerous precedent by adding someone to the Black Book for a non-gaming crime.

"Every felon that comes into this town and registers (as a felon) could be eligible for the Black Book," Momot said. "That's a very broad brush."

But commissioners felt that Pascente's criminal activities were severe enough to warrant exclusion, particularly because Pascente was such a frequent guest at Las Vegas casinos. The commission also noted that the heavy news coverage that Pascente's case received in Chicago gave him the "notorious and unsavory reputation" that qualifies as grounds for entry into the Black Book.

"He abused his position of trust as a detective of the Chicago Police Department," said Chairman Brian Sandoval. "Apparently he got himself assigned to two cases specifically to participate in this scheme."

The commission also ruled that there was sufficient evidence to believe that Pascente is an associate of "The Outfit," a Chicago organized crime family. Pascente was linked to the mob in a 1997 report by the Chicago Crime Commission, which listed him as an "additional member or associate" of the Chicago mob. The control board also presented an affidavit by a Chicago FBI agent that presented further evidence of Pascente's mob ties.

Momot had tried to get this evidence excluded, saying it was an attempt by FBI officials to further punish Pascente by getting him nominated to the Black Book.

"We are not here to punish Mr. Pascente for what he's done in Chicago," said Commissioner Arthur Marshall. "We are here to protect the interests of Nevada."

Also added to the Book Thursday was Balsamo, who is being held in the North Las Vegas Jail awaiting trial on federal charges for his alleged participation in a scheme with nine other people to rig slot machines across the country.

Since 1980, Balsamo has been convicted on three counts of cheating at gaming, two counts of unlawful use of a cheating device and one count of unlawful possession of a cheating device. After a conviction in Atlantic City in 1984, Balsamo was added to New Jersey's equivalent of the Black Book.

"He's exactly the kind of candidate we need to include in the list of excluded persons," Sandoval said.

Balsamo's addition was expected to be uncontested. But in a surprise move, Balsamo challenged the nomination through his attorney, Gus Flangas.

Initially, Flangas attempted to get the hearing postponed, arguing that Balsamo had only been formally served with notice of the meeting Nov. 2 and that moving forward with the hearing would violate Balsamo's right to due process. However, since notice of the hearing was placed in newspapers in Las Vegas and Reno three months prior to the meeting, the commission ruled that Balsamo had been given the notice required by Nevada law.

Flangas did not challenge that Balsamo had six cheating convictions on his record, but noted that all but one -- a 1995 conviction for possession of a cheating device -- occurred more than 15 years ago.

"For 15 years, those convictions never posed a threat to the state of Nevada or gaming," Flangas said. "For the past four years (since the 1995 conviction), he's never posed a threat.

"Mr. Balsamo's being singled out. I would venture a guess that there are thousands of Nevadans with felony convictions ... whose crimes are far greater than Mr. Balsamo's. But they are not being dragged before the commission today."

This argument held little water with commissioners, who noted that all of Balsamo's crimes dealt specifically with the gaming industry.

"He should be grateful he's had all this time before this hearing," said Commissioner Augie Gurrola. "Yes, there are lots of worse people out there, but we can't judge the world. We can only judge this case before us."

In other actions Thursday, the commission:

As a condition to the license, Young must now disqualify himself from all gaming-related cases and will not hear any cases involving members of the Nevada Gaming Commission and the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Chief Justice Bob Rose, as a note-holder to a gaming operation in Henderson, is also subject to similar conditions.

A restricted license was also awarded to the station for five machines. Young owns 30 percent of the station as part of a consortium of relatives.

Young was not present at Thursday's commission meeting. The matter was not discussed or voted on separately.

Hail was the target of a Control Board complaint for allegedly violating a condition of her license that prevented the involvement of her ex-husband in the business. During an on-site inspection, control board agents found him involved in company operations in violation of the license condition.

The commission also approved a restricted gaming license for seven machines for the new owners of the property, KWT Enterprises Inc. Licenses were also approved for Wade Myers, president, and Cheryl Myers, secretary.

The overpayments occurred because the Frontier incorrectly included marker credits in its table revenue during the 11-month period.

The commission granted a request by Albano's attorney to refer the matter back to the board to allow the gathering of further evidence that could be used to support Albano's application.

Commissioners expressed some concerns that the system, which can be accessed both by telephone and computer, could be accessed from outside of Nevada or by underage gamblers. The company said its system made it virtually impossible to access the system outside of the state and expressed confidence that a number of security checks made it very difficult for anyone other than the registered party to access the system.

The commission added an additional condition that all games that had play-by-play wagering be taped without interruptions.

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