The Enforcer: Spilotro--The Chicago Mob's Man Over Las Vegas

Roemer's knowledge of the Chicago and Vegas Mafia is encyclopedic; he not only knows where, but also how and by whose aegis the bodies were buried. An FBI agent for 30 years, Roemer ( War of the Godfathers ) spent much of his carer in Chicago but, because the Cosa Nostra there controlled Las Vegas as well, he became a specialist on both cities. His special target was Tony ``The Ant'' Spilotro, a vicious hit man who was sent to Nevada in 1971 because previous ``representatives'' had proved too unreliable and too eager to call attention to themselves. Howard Hughes's purchase of several casinos and the FBI's unrelenting warfare on the mob cut the gangsters' income from gambling. The Ant always managed to stay out of prison, but a new Mafia regime had him killed in 1986. Roemer leaves no doubt that he considers mob members evil people and ends his book with a warning about Americans' growing enthusiasm for gambling. Photos. (June)