Opening soon: ‘Pesci’s Pizza’

Actor Joe Pesci, who won an Oscar for his supporting role in the mob classic "Goodfellas," is going into business in Las Vegas with convicted racketeer Rick Rizzolo.

They'll be slicing up the profit from a string of pizza joints called "Pesci's Pizza."

"They're doing the paperwork" and could be in business in four or five months, said longtime Pesci associate Tommy DeVito of Las Vegas.

Pesci, who has played criminal figures in some of his biggest movies, including Las Vegas-set "Casino," was pulled into the 2003-2006 "G-Sting" investigation into Rizzolo's alleged underworld connections.

Pesci, George Clooney and Robert De Niro were interviewed by prosecutors during the investigation of Rizzolo's Crazy Horse Too strip club.

Pesci "has been pitched for years with offers to do something in Las Vegas," said DeVito, who was Pesci's Las Vegas-based personal assistant for 12 years until last year.

DeVito, 80, and Pesci, 66, have been guitar-playing pals since their New Jersey days. "I met him when he was 11," said DeVito, who founded the group that became the Frankie Valli-led Four Seasons. DeVito, the group's lead guitarist, had a falling-out with the Four Seasons over his gambling debts and has lived in Las Vegas since 1970.

Pesci is a producer of the "Jersey Boys," a musical based on the lives of the Four Seasons. A spinoff of the Broadway hit has been a hit at The Palazzo since it opened a year ago.

Pesci and DeVito are such close friends that Pesci called DeVito a couple of months before filming began on Martin Scorcese's "Casino" to say he was taking the name Tom DeVito for his character, a mob thug based on Las Vegas hit man Anthony "The Ant" Spilotro.

During the "G-Sting" federal trial, Stan Hunterton, a former prosecutor with the Justice Department's Organized Strike Force, told the court, "Not since the reign of Anthony Spilotro and his associates has there been a more infamous hoodlum than Rick Rizzolo."

Rizzolo was among 17 defendants, including city officials, found guilty on various charges. He served 11 months of a sentence of one year and one day before his release last year.

He also was ordered to sell the Crazy Horse Too. Rizzolo, 50, was placed under three years of supervised release and fined $250,000.

GANS BOOK DEAL DONE

The family of Danny Gans is moving ahead with plans to have his autobiography published next month.

Gans' manager, Chip Lightman, and Review-Journal Publisher Sherman Frederick met on Monday, and "we're crossing the T's as we move forward on a handshake," Frederick said.

The R-J is planning a mid-May ad campaign to allow people to reserve copies.

"We are proceeding at a fast pace to have the book printed and available in June," Frederick said.

Lightman said the book will also be printed as a hard-cover collectors item and hopefully will be available in June.

The book, tentatively titled "Voices In My Head," will be published by Stephens Press, a division of Stephens Media, the parent company of the Review-Journal.

Gans, a 13-year Las Vegas headliner, completed the manuscript a week ago Wednesday. He was found dead at his home Friday. He was 52.

THE SCENE AND HEARD

The third Vegas Uncork'd culinary and wine event gets under way today at Caesars Palace, with dozens of star chefs participating in 20 events. Mayor Oscar Goodman and Bon Appetit publisher Barbara Fairchild preside at the kickoff event from 5 to 7 p.m. at Pure nightclub at Caesars. The Masters Series Dinner follows at Bradley Ogden at Caesars featuring Kyle MacLachlan. ... Restaurateur and grillmaster Bobby Flay signs his latest cookbook, "Burgers, Fries & Shakes," from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at his Mesa Grill at Caesars Palace. The books ($25.95) can be purchased on site. ... Travel Channel's "Man v. Food" is filming a segment Friday at Hash House A Go Go. Patrons are invited to come in during breakfast or lunch between 9 a.m. and noon to watch the filming.

THE PUNCH LINE

"Michelle Obama is visiting New York City for the first time. When A-Rod saw her, he asked, 'What are you putting in those biceps?'" -- late-night TV host Jimmy Fallon

Norm Clarke can be reached at (702) 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.