'Mob' trial goes to jury
Quick verdict not expected
Post-Tribune (IN)
August 16, 1991
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A jury of nine women and three men spent most of the day and all of the evening Thursday deliberating the fate of six men charged with mob-related gambling activities.
The jurors began their deliberations at 10:30 a.m. after hearing the government's final summation given by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Thill and 67 pages of instructions read by U.S. District Court Judge James Moody.
A foreshadowing of lengthy deliberations came at 11:45 a.m. when the jury foreman sent out a written request for the jury to be provided a tape recorder. The government had entered into evidence hundreds of secretly tape- recorded conversations between the defendants from wire taps and bugs.
As of 9:55 p.m., when the judge sent jurors home, they had not reached a verdict. Deliberations will resume at 8:30 a.m. today.
All six defendants are charged with racketeering, in that all allegedly aided an extortion scheme in which local gamblers whose operations were not part of the syndicate paid "street taxes" on their gambling revenues to the syndicate.
All six are charged with conspiracy to commit such acts of racketeering.
Five defendants are accused of operating their own professional gambling enterprises in Northwest Indiana - specifically, either a sports betting- football parlay card ring or a high-stakes Greek dice game known as barbotte.
All told, there are 58 separate counts - or specific charges - against the defendants.
The accused and their alleged crimes - aside from the racketeering and conspiracy charges they all face - are:
* Dominick K. "Tootsie" Palermo, 73, Orland Park, Ill., two counts of gambling, four counts of interstate travel to promote racketeering.
* Nicholas "Jumbo" Guzzino, 49, Chicago Heights, Ill., two counts of gambling, one count of extortion, 10 counts of interstate travel to promote racketeering.
* Bernard J. "Snooky" Morgano, 54, Valparaiso, two counts of gambling, three counts of extortion, nine counts of interstate travel to promote racketeering.
* Sam "Frog" Glorioso, 48, of Gary, one count of gambling, five counts of extortion.
* Peter "Cadillac Pete" Petros, 56, formerly of Gary, now of Cicero, Ill., four counts of extortion.
* Sam Nuzzo Jr., 45, of Merrillville, one count of gambling, two counts of extortion.
Thill, the lead federal prosecutor throughout the trial, which began July 22, gave a 50-minute oration early Thursday morning recapping the government's case and taking shots at arguments made by defense counsel Wednesday.
All that day defense lawyers pounded star government witness Anthony Leone, 49, of Porter Township, attacking is character and credibility. Thill responded Thursday by saying he would have called "nuns and priests and schoolteachers and impeccable businessmen" but they don't know about extortion and racketeering.
Thill said Leone's role was to corroborate the evidence gathered by the government, whose case could stand alone.
"It all fits together, ladies and gentlemen, without Mr. Leone," Thill said. "Then bring him in and see why you can believe in his testimony.
"Mr. Leone is just one piece of the puzzle down in the corner," Thill said, gesturing, making a small circle with his hands.
In answering the question posed Wednesday by defense attorney Kevin Milner, Palermo's lawyer, about who are the victims of gambling, Thill answered: "Society is the victim."
Thill recited what the government alleges are Morgano's words on tape: "I got to take out for the coppers."
"Corruption affects all society," Thill said.
"Justice demands that you bring back a verdict of guilty against all defendants on all counts."
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