Thursday, November 28, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Former detective fired for Mafia link dies at 67

Family says Blasko went straight after serving time for ties to Spilotro

Joe Blasko, a former Las Vegas police detective who was supposed to crack down on the Mafia but went to prison for his close ties to it, died Tuesday at his home in New Harmony, Utah, of a heart attack. He was 67.

The former professional baseball pitcher was born in Pittsburgh but spent most of his life in Las Vegas. He served as a police officer for 18 years and was trusted to gather intelligence about organized crime in Las Vegas.

But Blasko was fired from the Las Vegas police force in June 1978 after his bosses discovered evidence of his cozy association with mobster Anthony Spilotro.

Federal prosecutors accused Blasko of being one of the members of the "Hole-in-the-Wall Gang," which was suspected of murder, arson and dozens of burglaries and extortions.

Blasko and other members were arrested on July 4, 1981, during the foiled burglary of Bertha's Gifts and Home Furnishings on East Sahara Avenue. Blasko faced criminal charges that he, while a police detective, had fed Spilotro confidential information that helped him avoid detection by law enforcement.

Blasko was convicted of burglary and racketeering.

"I wonder if you had ever wondered what impact you might have had on the community if you had done your duty with dignity and honor?" U.S. District Judge Lloyd George asked Blasko during a sentencing hearing.

Blasko served four years in a state prison and helped pass his time behind bars by weight lifting. He was released in December 1987.

Once a free man, the 52-year-old Blasko landed a job bartending at the Crazy Horse Too topless club on Industrial Road, then left two months ago to move to Utah, said son Michael Blasko.

Family members said Blasko was a man of extraordinary benevolence and generosity who reformed himself.

"He's been clean since the day he got out of prison," Michael Blasko said. "He's been a model citizen. He was a great guy. I could talk for an hour about all the good things."

Before becoming a police officer, Joe Blasko played professional baseball for several seasons in the San Francisco Giants and the Boston Red Sox organizations. He was an outdoorsman, fisherman and skier. His two sons, Keith and Michael, are Las Vegas police officers, and a daughter, Jennifer, trains police dispatchers.

Blasko is survived also by his wife, Diana, of New Harmony; three grandchildren; his mother in Pittsburgh; and a sister, Joanne Krebs of Pittsburgh.

Private memorial services will be held Nov. 30 at the Southern Utah Mortuary in Cedar City, Utah.

Family members have requested donations be made to the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude's Place, Memphis, Tenn. 38105, or by phone at 1-800-822-6344.