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The Enforcer: Spilotro, The Chicago Mob's Man Over Las Vegas
Bugsy Siegel built Las Vegas, but it was Tony "The Ant" Spilotro who ran the show. Now William F. Roemer, Jr., veteran FBI agent and scourge of the Cosa Nostra, tells the shocking story of how a teenage wiseguy grew up to become "the man" in Vegas. From the gritty streets of Chicago to the neon-lit Nevada wonderland, Roemer assembles a rogue's gallery of the highest-ranking capos and the lowest creeps of organized crime. As incredible as any work of fiction -- but it's all fact!
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 30, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 15, 2008
A good book about Chicago mobster Tony Spilotro and how he was sent to Las Vegas by the mob to protect there interest in the Casinos. Anyone who has seen "Casino" knows what happened to Tony and his brother Michael in the brutal ending. The only problem with this book is that the author Bill Roemor tends to kiss his own ass so many times that I'm suprised he didn't throw his back out.
July 11, 2008
After 200 pages of Roemer's autobiographical hero worship that was even less relevant than in Accardo, I was rooting for Spilotro at the end.
February 9, 2008
Roemer wrote two books about specific hoodlums. One of them he admired, the other he loathed. This book is about the later man. Roemer does not mince words and his contempt for the famous gangster shines through on every page.
Roemer, who usually comes off sounding arrogant and above the law, really does appear like a hero in this book. He does an excellent job in describing Spilotro.
Roemer, who usually comes off sounding arrogant and above the law, really does appear like a hero in this book. He does an excellent job in describing Spilotro.
September 20, 2019
Some good details, poorly written....by a writer that thinks too highly of himself.
This book is about mafia enforcer and hitman Tony Spilotro, that was immortalized as 'Nicky Santoro' played by Joe Pesci in Casino, it is written by an FBI agent that had a number of run ins with Spilotro thru-out the years.
While Spilotro is by all accounts accurately described in the book, and Roemer seems to have a real dislike for the subject of this book, but on the other hand the author comes across as having such a high impression of himself that it grows tiresome very quickly, the arrogance just drips off the page, and while he seems to genuinely dislike Spilotro there are a half dozen other mobsters mentioned in the book that he apparently finds to be nice guys....and I recall at least 3 or 4 cases of police and FBI agents that turned to crime and got arrested themselves and the author brushes this off with a simple 'I guess the stress just got to them'....all I can say is that the author seems to be a weird judge of character.
This book is about mafia enforcer and hitman Tony Spilotro, that was immortalized as 'Nicky Santoro' played by Joe Pesci in Casino, it is written by an FBI agent that had a number of run ins with Spilotro thru-out the years.
While Spilotro is by all accounts accurately described in the book, and Roemer seems to have a real dislike for the subject of this book, but on the other hand the author comes across as having such a high impression of himself that it grows tiresome very quickly, the arrogance just drips off the page, and while he seems to genuinely dislike Spilotro there are a half dozen other mobsters mentioned in the book that he apparently finds to be nice guys....and I recall at least 3 or 4 cases of police and FBI agents that turned to crime and got arrested themselves and the author brushes this off with a simple 'I guess the stress just got to them'....all I can say is that the author seems to be a weird judge of character.
January 18, 2022
Another joke from the man who thinks he was the Elliot Ness of the Untouchables movie. His love for himself is so apparent, I could hear Whitney singing “the greatest love of all” while reading this nonsense.
If you are looking for anything close to an accurate accounting of the life of Tony Spilotro this is not it.
This is a dramatized fantasy that Roemer conjured up in his head. He offers, as in his prior books, no proof of much of what he says and based it all on conjecture. We all know Rosenthal was an informant/ turn coat since the late 1960’s and they still weren’t able to convict Spilotro on anything.
This is a book of true fiction. Written by a man that was insecure and obsessed with people he could never touch because he just wasn’t that good of a cop.
If you are looking for anything close to an accurate accounting of the life of Tony Spilotro this is not it.
This is a dramatized fantasy that Roemer conjured up in his head. He offers, as in his prior books, no proof of much of what he says and based it all on conjecture. We all know Rosenthal was an informant/ turn coat since the late 1960’s and they still weren’t able to convict Spilotro on anything.
This is a book of true fiction. Written by a man that was insecure and obsessed with people he could never touch because he just wasn’t that good of a cop.
July 14, 2024
I wasn’t really too impressed with this book. It seemed the author made it more about himself, an autobiography if you will, than about Spilotro. Granted there are some interesting points in this book but overall Roemer seemed to be patting himself on the back and ignoring what the book should’ve really been about…TonySpilotro. One major glaring red flag was how Roemer mentioned the Spilotro brothers were ultimately killed in a cornfield. I tend to be believe they were beaten in a Bensenville basement THEN taken out to an Indiana cornfield. I have noticed Roemer has written another book about Tony Accardo. I will not be reading that.
June 13, 2021
Perhaps you've just finished reading Nicholas Pileggi's "Casino" and want to know more about the Anthony Spilotro - a situation I found myself in. Pileggi himself recommends this book in the very pages of casino. It necessitated an inter-library loan and was definitely worth the wait.
This book fills in a lot of the background Pileggi doesn't get into and gives it to you from the perspective of the legendary FBI agent, Bill Roemer. This is required reading for folks who like reading about OC.
This book fills in a lot of the background Pileggi doesn't get into and gives it to you from the perspective of the legendary FBI agent, Bill Roemer. This is required reading for folks who like reading about OC.
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February 19, 2023I should not have bothered.
May 18, 2017
I find Anthony Spilotro and interesting figure in mob history and this book had some good information, but it didn't do it for me.
Roemer was an FBI agent assigned to the Chicago office in the 1960s and 1970s. As a result, he was familiar with Spilotro long before the latter went on to more infamy as the Outfit's top man in Las Vegas in the 1970s.
As such, Roemer provides a lot of good behind-the-scenes information about investigating organized crime at this time. It was especially intriguing to read about how FBI agents perceive informants.
That being said, Roemer is not a good writer. He is rambly and repetitive and loves to talk about how awesome he is and is more fond of name dropping than any other writer I have ever read. Even stranger, he name drops people who are not famous and never bothers to explain who they are.
He also really seems to have an ax to grind with Spilotro, based on their handful of personal encounters. I don't blame him for not liking someone who had a reputation as an unhinged psychopath. But the way he goes about it is childish and unprofessional, everything from height jokes to odd stories that are meant to make him look awesome as he humiliates Spilotro but just make him look lame. By the end, I was rooting for Spilotro out of spite.
My favorite scene was the part where Roemer and Spilotro have a snark off and Spilotro tells him that his house is crappy. This evidently really bothered Roemer because decades later he seemed to still be fuming about it. Nevertheless, Roemer tries really hard to make this seem like a battle of wills that he won, but it still reads like he just got owned in the middle-class, middle-aged, suburban version of a grade school fight.
Roemer was an FBI agent assigned to the Chicago office in the 1960s and 1970s. As a result, he was familiar with Spilotro long before the latter went on to more infamy as the Outfit's top man in Las Vegas in the 1970s.
As such, Roemer provides a lot of good behind-the-scenes information about investigating organized crime at this time. It was especially intriguing to read about how FBI agents perceive informants.
That being said, Roemer is not a good writer. He is rambly and repetitive and loves to talk about how awesome he is and is more fond of name dropping than any other writer I have ever read. Even stranger, he name drops people who are not famous and never bothers to explain who they are.
He also really seems to have an ax to grind with Spilotro, based on their handful of personal encounters. I don't blame him for not liking someone who had a reputation as an unhinged psychopath. But the way he goes about it is childish and unprofessional, everything from height jokes to odd stories that are meant to make him look awesome as he humiliates Spilotro but just make him look lame. By the end, I was rooting for Spilotro out of spite.
My favorite scene was the part where Roemer and Spilotro have a snark off and Spilotro tells him that his house is crappy. This evidently really bothered Roemer because decades later he seemed to still be fuming about it. Nevertheless, Roemer tries really hard to make this seem like a battle of wills that he won, but it still reads like he just got owned in the middle-class, middle-aged, suburban version of a grade school fight.
June 24, 2025
I remembered the deaths of the Spilotro brothers, their bodies being found in a NW Indiana cornfield buried after being beaten to death. This book focuses in on "Tony the Ant", featured in the author's previous book on the Chicago mob. Tony of course was also the basis for Joe Pesci's character in the film Casino. The book felt a little light, not much inside detail beyond facts and dates and such, much of which was covered in his previous book that I read.
November 1, 2008
A tough read because it is not written by an author but by an F.B.I. agent. Nonetheless this is an in-depth account of the mob's rule of Las Vegas and the man who helped bring it down. Tony Spilotrow who, as the title said, was the day-to-day enforcer for the mafia within Las Vegas. A more detailed companion to those who loved the movie and book Casino.
December 20, 2008
Not especially well written but filled with terrifying anecdotes of the infamous Chicago Outfit in their 1950s-1970s heydey. Roemer investigated them and knew them personally. Great photos.
November 9, 2015
Bugsy Siegel started Las Vegas but the Chicago Mob sent Tony Spiloto to run the town. An interesting book about the Mob runtown.
March 5, 2016
Well informed but not keen on the informal style of the author, an ex FBI Agent
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews