I think thats largely a fallacy. How was he supposed to do that, from Vegas? He resided in Nevada. He didn't even run a crew of inducted members if memory serves me. For all his notoriety and newspaper print, Tony Spilotro was only a soldier rank. He didn't even have a contingent of "soldiers" under him. So how was he supposed to pull off "seizing" the entire Chicago Outfit out from under a large hierarchy of inducted Mafia capos and dozens and dozens of soldiers? By magic?

Unsubstantiated law enforcement and media rumors circle around and around until these "false" storylines gain traction. Within a few decades these silly rumors become "gospel."

But, for me anyway, thats all they are. BS and false rumors.

Spilotro's "Hole in the Wall Gang" largely consisted of a rag-tag bunch of "uninitiated" local hoodlums and heist guys of varied ethnicities who followed his dictates in Vegas. Most of these fellows didn't even understand the depth or machinations of Cosa Nostra, or the membership that comprised it back in Chi-Town, let alone had the desire or wherewithal to attempt such a MASSIVE power play.