Thursday, Jan. 25, 2001 | 9:49 a.m.
The death of Natale Richichi, a reputed "capo" in New York's Gambino crime family, has not gone unnoticed in Las Vegas.
Richichi, 84, who died Saturday at a federal prison medical center in Springfield, Mo., was long a target of Las Vegas law enforcement authorities, who considered him a confidante of jailed Gambino boss John Gotti and a force in street rackets here and elsewhere in the country.
A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Richichi died while serving a six-year prison term for racketeering and extortion that was handed out in Florida in 1996. He also had served a concurrent 41-month sentence on a 1997 conviction in Las Vegas for defrauding the government.
His longtime lawyer, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, said Wednesday that he was "saddened" by his death.
"I think it's a shame he had to die in prison with his health problems," Goodman said. "I express my condolences to his friends and family."
Goodman described Richichi as a "very soft-spoken, old man."
But lawmen who followed Richichi's career on the streets offered a different opinion.
"He was high profile in the eyes of some federal investigators," said George Togliatti, who as chief of the FBI's organized crime squad in Las Vegas pursued Richichi in the 1990s. "Much of that was a result of his closeness to John Gotti. At the time, Gotti was a hot ticket."
In a January 1997 sentencing memorandum in Las Vegas, federal prosecutors described Richichi's high standing within the underworld.
"Natale Richichi is a capo in the Gambino crime family of La Cosa Nostra," the memorandum said. "Unlike most capos who can only deal with the boss of their family through an advisor and who would not be in a position to advise higher ranking members of other LCN families, Richichi has dealt directly with John Gotti ... and has been intercepted providing extensive advice to Frank Salemme Sr., the boss of the New England LCN family.
"Richichi is also known to be highly respected by other LCN families, and capos of various LCN families who reside in the Las Vegas area appear to give Richichi deference, as well."
Richichi's Las Vegas case drew national publicity when Goodman fought a grand jury subpoena to turn over records of legal fees Richichi had paid to him.
U.S. District Judge Philip Pro held Goodman in contempt of court and ordered him jailed for withholding the records. But the judge later withdrew the order and instead fined Goodman.
After paying $50,000, Goodman produced the records.
Richichi, who went by the nickname "Chris," is survived by his son, Salvatore Richichi of Las Vegas; his daughter, Nancy Alba of Scotch Plains, N.J., and a brother, Carl Richichi of Las Vegas.
Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday at Palm Mortuary, 7600 S. Eastern Ave.
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