Virtual Book Tour Guest Blog: Dennis N Griffin on Cullotta

It's a crime is pleased to welcome and host author Dennis N Griffin with a guest blog during his November virtual book tour for his book Cullotta: The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster and Government Witness.

It's A Crime

Written by Dennis N Griffin

The subject of organized crime in the United States enjoys a world-wide fan base. There have been many best selling books, both fiction and non-fiction, written about it, and hit movies such as the Godfather series, Casino and Good Fellas, have fascinated audiences around the globe. For a lot of us, nothing gets the blood pumping like a good mob story. I admit to being one of those people.

Possibly because of my previous life as a law-enforcement officer and investigator, my preference lies in reading, and now writing, true crime. I love to dig into the history of crimes and criminals. For me, researching the topic I’m writing about and talking in person with the people who actually lived the events, is an enjoyable experience, not drudgery. For those reasons, the past five years have been the best times of my 12-year writing career.

It began for me in 2002, when I made the decision to switch from writing mystery/thriller fiction to police-related non-fiction. My first effort was Policing Las Vegas, the history of police forces in Las Vegas and Clark County from 1905 through 2005. Knowing that no Sin City police history book would be complete without addressing organized crime, I wrote a section called "The Mob’s Man." This served as my introduction to Tony Spilotro, the Chicago Outfit enforcer who served as the basis for actor Joe Pesci’s character in the movie Casino. While doing that research I became fascinated with the Spilotro era in Vegas. After submitting Policing to the publisher, I began to explore the possibility of writing a book about the Spilotro reign. Could I come up with fresh information and not just a rehash of what had already been written and filmed?

It turned out that my timing for a Spilotro-era book was perfect. Many of the detectives and agents who had investigated Spilotro during the 1970s and 1980s had recently retired and could now speak openly about their experiences. The first source I developed was Dennis Arnoldy, the former Las Vegas FBI case agent for the Spilotro investigations. He had also handled Frank Cullotta, Spilotro’s chief lieutenant, after the gangster rolled and became a government witness. With Dennis’ assistance I was able to meet a number of the other retired agents and police detectives who had played major roles in the law’s war against Spilotro and organized crime. When I completed The Battle for Las Vegas – The Law vs. the Mob, my only regret was that I hadn’t been able to talk with an associate of Spilotro, someone who could have provided the mob’s perspective. I had tried, but it seemed that all were dead, in jail, or their whereabouts were unknown.

While waiting for Battle to be released I continued to think how nice it would be if I could talk with one of the former Spilotro gang. Not for a book, but for my own curiosity. I thought again about Frank Cullotta. He knew Spilotro’s operation from the inside and had put together the crew of thieves, arsonists and killers that had been known as the Hole in the Wall Gang. After leaving the federal Witness Protection Program he’d served as a technical consultant for Casino and appeared in several scenes as a hit man. Although Dennis Arnoldy had previously made it clear to me that Cullotta — now with a new identity and living "somewhere in America" — was off limits to me, I decided to try again. I asked Dennis if he’d consider contacting Cullotta and see if he’d be willing to speak with me, at least by phone, to clear up a couple of questions I had. Dennis agreed and promised to get back to me within a few days.

When I heard from Dennis a couple of weeks later, he said that Cullotta was not only willing to speak with me. He was contemplating writing his biography and wanted to meet in person to discuss a possible book. Wow!

After my initial excitement over the news faded, doubts began to surface. Cullotta had been a thug, thief, arsonist and murderer. All things I’d been against my entire adult life. If we reached an agreement about doing a book, would I be able to bring myself to work closely with him? I pushed those thoughts from my mind as I awaited my chance to meet the confessed killer in the flesh.

I learned almost immediately that when working with Frank, security was first and foremost. For our initial meeting, Dennis Arnoldy told me the day Frank would be in Vegas, but not the time or place we’d get together. I got those details one hour before we met in a hotel room of a major casino. Dennis also informed me that I wouldn’t be able to learn Frank’s new identity, business, location or phone number. Any communication between Frank and me would have to go through Dennis.

Once inside the hotel room, Dennis introduced me to Frank Cullotta. He wasn’t a particularly imposing figure physically, although he looked like he could still take care of himself in a tussle. As we talked, what impressed me most about him was his demeanor. He talked about crimes he had committed, including murder, with no more emotion than a couple of co-workers standing around the office water cooler discussing the weather. I thought of the line from The Godfather: This is nothing personal. It’s strictly business.

After two hours, Frank and I reached an agreement. He’d provide the details of his career as a criminal and I’d do the writing. The story would begin on the streets of Chicago, and go through his days in Las Vegas, life as a government witness, and his involvement in the production of the movie Casino. All the criminal activity he would admit to would be that for which he had been granted immunity or the statute of limitations had long since run. We were in agreement that candor was key. His account had to provide information previously unknown to the general public and be as accurate as humanly possible. As the meeting wore on I became ever more confident that Frank was being up front with me and would fulfill his end of the bargain. We ironed out the financial arrangements and sealed our deal with a handshake.

The project wasn’t very far along before it became clear that our method of communication wasn’t adequate. I needed to be in touch with Frank frequently, sometimes several times a day. Routing everything through Dennis Arnoldy was simply too cumbersome, resulting in delays and frustration for all of us. I was given a special phone number to contact Frank directly. That simplified the process, but also provided a clue as to Frank’s location. That meant I now had a role in Frank’s security, a fact that Dennis made sure I understood.

My easier access to Frank certainly helped, but on occasion using the phone or mail wasn’t sufficient. There were times when getting together in person was the only way to go. We decided that the best place to have our meetings would be at my place. My wife, nicknamed Bear, wasn’t particularly enthused about me getting involved with Frank in the first place. When I announced his initial visit she was not a happy camper. The day Frank showed up, he came in one door and Bear went out the other. Eventually though, they’ve become buddies and she now looks forward to his calls and trips to town.

Our book, CULLOTTA – The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster, and Government Witness, was released in July 2007.

Frank often dons his promo hat, giving radio and sometimes TV interviews. An Australian production company interviewed him for an organized crime documentary, and Wall to Wall TV in the UK filmed him for The Vegas Mafia, produced for the National Geographic Channel.

In summary, although there have been a few bumps along the way, co-authoring CULLOTTA has been an experience I wouldn’t trade, regardless of how the book sells.

Comments

[Friend of Vince Spilotro]

Denny,

You may know some of the stories from the FBI and informant's point of view but you need to dig a little deeper to know the "real" Spilotro family...they were genuine like you will NEVER know, so please let it die already with all these books....I can't believe you are making $$ from this.....God Bless Tony and may he rest in peace.

[Amy]

Is there a way I can get a hold of Dennis Arnoldy. I would love for you and Frank to sign my Book. I think its wonderful that you wrote this book letting people know what kind of guy Frank truly was, A stand- up guy who I have total respect for. I would come to Vegas just for this.

[crimeficreader]

Dennis, thanks for revisiting to answer the question in the comments.

Any further comments will not be released until Friday evening as I will be away from the PC. Sorry for the delay.

[Denny Griffin]

Sheila,

I was a little uncomfortable for a while when Vincent Spilotro - Tony's son - first learned I was trying to get in touch with his mother.

He contacted me and, in a voice right out of "The Godfather," wanted to know who I was and what I was up to.

Eventually he was satisfied of my motives, and I did limited interviews with both Vincent and his mother Nancy.

Denny

[crimeficreader]

Thanks to all for your comments here, on this post. It was my pleasure to host Denny Griffin's article on why he found his subject so fascinating and how he came to write the book.

I've been honoured to be the host for this article and I thank Dennis and his publicist Dorothy for that opportunity. I hope that many will read his book as a result.

My thanks also to Cheryl. I do hope you bookmark and come back in the future. I hope you've found something new to you and enticing.

Best regards to all,

CFR

[Dorothy]

Wow, Denny, I'll have to go check out that podcast pronto! Thanks for hosting Denny, Laura! ;o)

[Maureen Fisher]

Good interview, very informative. Good luck with Cullotta.

[Sheila]

Love the subject. I'm sure this will be a big seller. Isn't it interesting how fascinating the average law-abiding citizen is with criminals?!

[Dyan Garris]

Hi Dennis. This is a fascinating subject. Did you ever feel threatened or in danger in any way during the writing of this book?

[Cheryl C. Malandrinos]

Nice post Dennis. You've done a great job promoting your tour, as well.

This is a neat blog. I think I'm going to have to bookmark it.

Great job everyone!

Cheryl

[Denny Griffin]

Thanks so much for having me as a guest!

I invite any of your readers with questions about me, the Tony Spilotro era in Vegas, the movie "Casino," or Frank, to post them here. I'll check back several times over the next few days and answer any inquiries.

Also, a podcast interview I did with The Vegas Tourist can now be accessed on my new site at: http://www.dennisngriffin.com/

Thanks again.

Denny