Friends of mine: Jimmy Miraglia, John "Billy" McCarthy
In the high profile mob trial that began Tuesday in Chicago, one witness for the government is expected to be Frank Cullotta. For more than 25 years, Cullotta was part of the Chicago mob.
Unit 5's Carol Marin got a rare glimpse into the mind of a mobster. Her report is presented here verbatim:
The story of Frank Cullotta is a disturbing and twisted tale. The son of a gangster, he became one himself. He befriended many of the Outfit's top leaders. He stole. He beat people. And he killed twice -- all with little thought of the consequences of his actions.Cullotta: "There were times that I muscled people."
Frank Cullotta loved the life of the mob. He loved the scores.
Marin: "How many burglaries would you estimate?"
Cullotta: "Minimum 300. Robberies, maybe 200."
He loved the thrills.
Marin: "Your two killings, how were they done?"
Cullotta: "One was a car explosion, and the other was a guy getting shot in the head."
Cullotta shot his victim in the side, back and front of the head.
Marin: "So, you shot him three times?"
Cullotta: "About 10 times."
Cullotta: "I come from a good family, loving mother, loving father. But my father was a shady guy."
Joe Cullotta was a thief and wheelman for the mob, who died in a high speed chase with police in hot pursuit.
Frank Cullotta: "I just felt like he was the model I wanted to follow after."
Over the years, Frank Cullotta graduated from small time thug to big time mobster, aided by his friendship with Tony "The Ant" Spilotro.
Cullotta: "We met each other on Grand Avenue in Chicago ... we became friends."
But Cullotta was soon to learn a lesson about friendship and the mob -- a lesson that years later helped him make the biggest decision of his life.
Jimmy Miraglia and John "Billy" McCarthy were members of Cullotta's burglary crew. When they carried out an unauthorized hit, they were tortured. The M&M boys fell victim to mob justice. McCarthy was the first to die.
Cullotta: "They stuck his head in a vice and start turning the vice. They didn't think the eyeball was going to pop out or whatever, and his eyeball popped out. And then he gave up Jimmy's name. Then they just cut his throat."
Cullotta lead McCarthy and then Miraglia to their deaths.
Cullotta: "It bothered me for a long time. But you know, you live in that world and you say, 'You know, if I don't give 'em up ... they are going to whack me."
When we met Cullotta two weeks ago in Las Vegas, we asked how the mob justifies killing another person.
Cullotta: "First of all you are told this guy could hurt you ... he's no good so you kill 'em."
Marin: "What if you know them or their family?"
Cullotta: "You just justify it, you are doing his family a favor by getting rid of this scumbag."
Marin: "Do you think about it? Does it stay with you?"
Cullotta: "You just forget about it."
In 1979, Cullotta moved to Vegas. He and his crew, the Hole in the Wall gang, stole with abandon under the protection of his pal, Tony Spilotro.
Cullotta: "He was a good friend. For many years, he was a good friend."
But in 1982, Cullotta says, he learned Spilotro was plotting to have him killed. He quit the mob and became a government witness against his former friends. Today, it's a pen and not a pistol you will find in Cullotta's hand. In Las Vegas, he was signing autographs in a new book about his life.
Rick Halprin: "It's just a cheap, trashy book full of stories, which he knows are not true."
Rick Halprin is the lawyer for Joey "The Clown" Lombardo. Cullotta says he will testify in the "Family Secrets" trial that Lombardo has long been a leader in the outfit.
Halprin: "Frank Cullotta is a two-bit burglar who has been telling the same story since 1982."
Cullotta: "I'm old now."
A grandfather, today he is cashing in on his notoriety. He's served as a technical advisor to the mob movie "Casino," and hopes the book will spawn a movie deal.
Marin: "But you are a killer, a burglar, a thug -- I mean you robbed big people and little people, didn't you?"
Cullotta: "I was, I was ... I probably couldn't kill a fly now, really. I've changed ... They tried to kill me ... I wasn't going to become part of the list of guys that were all murdered by their friends. I was a little smarter than them."
Thanks to Carol Marin