Attorney John Spilotro speaks with client Rocco "Rocky" Lombardo before Judge James Mahan on Wednesday. Lombardo, who received probation in the Crazy Horse Too case, is the brother of a mobster indicted in connection with the long-ago slaying of Spilotro's uncle. Illustration by Jim Day.
Rocco "Rocky" Lombardo, left, former doorman at the Crazy Horse Too topless club, and lawyer John Spilotro arrive Wednesday for sentencing at the Lloyd George U.S. Courthouse. Photo by Gary Thompson.
Las Vegas has established itself as a prime destination for 20-somethings and celebrities to gather and party at hip nightclubs. But every so often, the mobster ties that are part of the city's legend bubble to the surface, as they did Wednesday in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge James Mahan.
Rocco "Rocky" Lombardo, a 67-year-old ravaged by various illnesses, and his attorney, John Spilotro, appeared before Mahan for Lombardo's sentencing. The former doorman for Crazy Horse Too received 60 months of probation for defrauding the United States by failing to report taxes.
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Perhaps overshadowing the sentencing and Lombardo's minor role in a federal indictment that targeted 16 Crazy Horse associates are the ties between Lombardo and Spilotro, nephew of notorious mobster Tony "The Ant" Spilotro.
Lombardo's brother, Joey "The Clown" Lombardo, was indicted in 2005 in connection with the murder of John Spilotro's uncle. The Lombardos and Anthony Spilotro were all members of the Chicago mob.
On Wednesday, John Spilotro worked to keep Rocky Lombardo out of jail. He told Mahan that despite the government's claim that Lombardo maintained close ties with La Cosa Nostra, his client did not lead the same lifestyle as his brother.
Spilotro said stigmas are often unfairly attached to family members of known mobsters.
"I have personally known him since I was a child," Spilotro said. "Mr. Lombardo was never anything but a gentleman."
Lombardo cited his illnesses that forced him to resign from the Crazy Horse Too. He has an enlarged liver, ulcers and diabetes.
"I'm really sorry for what I did," he said.
Tony Spilotro, 48, and his brother Michael Spilotro, 41, vanished June 14, 1986, while the elder Spilotro was facing three criminal indictments in Las Vegas.
Their badly beaten bodies were found buried in an Indiana cornfield eight years later. It is believed they were buried alive.
In 2005, an indictment was unsealed in Chicago, charging 14 reputed organized crime figures with plotting at least 18 murders dating to 1970, including the hit on the Spilotros.
Joey Lombardo, 77, was named as a defendant in the indictment, which did not accuse specific defendants of killing the Spilotro brothers.
