Oops, wrong guy: Casino's fine rescinded in case of mistaken identity - Saturday 12th of March 2005
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- It was a simple case of mistaken
identity, and it nearly cost a casino $25,000.
New Jersey casino regulators, who had fined the Borgata
Hotel Casino & Spa for letting a banned gambler stay
overnight, rescinded the penalty Wednesday, admitting
that it was the son of reputed mobster Anthony "Gaspipe"
Casso, not Casso himself, who checked in and played
table games at the casino one night in 2003.
It couldn't have been Casso, regulators learned after
imposing the fine two months ago: He's doing life in a
federal prison.
"We all make mistakes," said Casino Control Commission
member Michael Fedorko.
The incident stemmed from Casso's status on the
commission's "exclusion list," a blacklist of 171 people
deemed to be bad influences on Atlantic City casinos and
banned from entering them.
Casso, 64, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was a suspected street
boss in the Lucchese family organization who was added
to the list in 1990. He was captured in 1993 and pleaded
guilty to murder and racketeering charges in 1994 after
turning government witness and is currently serving a
life sentence at the Administrative Maximum Facility in
Florence, Colo.
On Nov. 22, 2003, Casso's son, also named Anthony Casso,
called ahead and got a $349-a-night room at the casino.
It was "comped," or paid for by the casino, where he
spent three hours playing table games.
Eventually, Borgata employees performing a routine check
of its computer system found two entries for "Anthony
Casso," both with the same address; one had Casso's date
of birth and other personal information, the other
reflected the casino activity on Nov. 22, 2003.
The two accounts were merged into one by someone at
Borgata, and the casino _ believing it had allowed the
blacklisted Anthony Casso to gamble _ reported the
violation to the state, according to Deputy Attorney
General Charles F. Kimmel, a lawyer representing the
Division of Gaming Enforcement.
The Division of Gaming Enforcement negotiated a
settlement with Borgata officials and recommended the
$25,000 penalty to the Casino Control Commission, which
approved it Jan. 19.
But someone at the Division of Gaming Enforcement who
was familiar with Casso's background questioned whether
it was the same Casso.
That led regulators to uncover the error and recommend
rescinding the fine, which was never paid to begin with.
"The system worked," said Larry Mullin, executive vice
president of the Borgata.
The younger Casso could not be reached for comment
Wednesday on the mistake. His telephone number is
unlisted.
The elder Casso, who once testified before Congress
while sitting behind a screen to shield him from news
cameras, made news last week with the arrest of retired
New York Police Department detectives Louis Eppolito and
Stephen Caracappa.
Prosecutors say the two moonlighted as hit men who
kidnapped, killed and engineered the murders of at least
eight rivals at Casso's behest.
