Casino 1995 Bat Scene
One of the more memorable scenes in the 1995 movie Casino depicted the character based on Tony Spilotro (played by actor Joe Pesci) and his brother being beaten to death in a cornfield.
The actual killings of Tony and Michael took place in June 1986. After their bodies were found in an Indiana cornfield, there was some speculation that the two had been buried while still alive.
However, testimony given by various witnesses in the Operation Family Secrets trial in Chicago – including a forensic pathologist and a former Outfit hit man – show that the real murders didn’t occur exactly as shown on the big screen.
Below is part of an article that appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times on August 1, highlighting that testimony.
The Casino (1995) is in the top three if the use of the “F” word was a category in itself. In 1995, when it first hit the theatres, the movie set a new high. The “F” word appears 435 times which effectively translates to 2.4 times per minute. However, the movie could not hold this record for long. In the 1995 movie, it was baseball bats in a cornfield. But according to trial testimony, the Spilotros were lured to a residence near O’Hare International Airport in Bensenville, a subdivision of “modest homes,” and were beaten to death in the basement. With Robert Dinero and Joe Pesci. I remember seeing this when I was a lot younger, I don't remember there being much sexual stuff, but I could be wrong. I want to watch it with my younger cousin (about the same age I was when I first saw it), and I know he sees violence and hears profanity all the time in movies, but his parents (my uncle/aunt) are really strict about nudity and any sexuality. A great memorable quote from the Casino movie on Quotes.net - Ace Rothstein: No matter how big a guy might be, Nicky would take him on. You beat Nicky with fists, he comes back with a bat. The Casino movie true story reveals that Sam and Ginger Rothstein's real-life counterparts, Frank and Geraldine Rosenthal, had a daughter named Stephanie and a son name Steven. Geraldine also had a daughter from a previous relationship with her high school love, Lenny Marmor (James Woods' character in the movie).
August 1, 2007
BY STEVE WARMBIR Staff Reporter
A forensic pathologist who took part in the autopsies of mobsters Anthony and Michael Spilotro gave testimony on Wednesday that upended the Hollywood version of their deaths, which had the men beaten to death with bats and buried alive in an Indiana cornfield.
Dr. John Pless said at the Family Secrets trial that there was no evidence that the men had been buried alive. The grisly detail was popularized in the 1995 mob movie, “Casino.”
Pless said the injuries the men received were more likely from fists than bats.
Pless riveted jurors with a detailed list of the injuries both men received.
Casino 1995 Bat Scene Set
The Spilotros both died from multiple blunt trauma injuries and from having their lungs or airways so filled with blood from their wounds that they couldn’t breathe, according to Pless’ testimony.
The men had been lured to the basement of a Bensenville area home in June 1986 after a mob hit squad had unsuccessfully tried to kill Anthony Spilotro in Las Vegas, according to earlier trial testimony.
Spilotro had tried to blow up a mob associate without Outfit permission, had slept with that associate’s wife and had committed unauthorized murders, according to evidence at trial.
Mob officials lured the men to the basement on the promise that Tony Spilotro was to be promoted to a capo position in the mob, and Michael Spilotro was to be a “made” member of the Outfit.
Instead, a dozen killers were waiting for the men in the basement and jumped them as they came down.
Earlier in the trial, Outfit killer Nicholas Calabrese, who is testifying for the government, described his own role in the murders.
Calabrese testified he held Michael Spilotro while another man strangled him. Calabrese said he did not get a good look at how Anthony Spilotro was killed.
The forensic pathologist testified that he found abrasions around the neck of Michael Spilotro that could have come from a rope, but noted that the corpses had decomposed after being buried for at least a week in the cornfield, and it was difficult to find markings.
Casino 1995 Bat Scene Game
The attorney for reputed mob boss James Marcello jumped on the lack of clear strangulation marks.
Casino 1995 Bat Scene Creator
Defense lawyer Thomas Breen hammered home that point to the jury and will likely use it to bolster his argument that Nicholas Calabrese wasn’t even at the Spilotro murders and made up his account of them.
Calabrese’s testimony is important to Marcello because Calabrese contends Marcello took part in the murders by driving him and other killers to the Bensenville area home.
Tags: chicago outfit, CULLOTTA, las vegas, lefty rosenthal, mafia, organized crime, tony spilotro, true crime