Is Franky from Casino based on anyone specifically

I was wondering if Franky(Frank Vincent) from Casino is based on anyone specifically? I'm sure we all know that Hollywood can barely use the phrase "Based on a True Story", but I'm curious.

frank culotta here's an interview with the real franky from casino

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L1AhzfOUwA

Most of you likely already know this, but had to share!

So I'm just starting to read his book, surprised (shocked?) to find out he was the performer in the Casino scene where they chase 'John Nance' (Jerry Lisner irl) through the house to kill him. Especially the lil' tidbit about Frank being the actual hitman the scene is based on.

I already knew about the lawyer being Tony's real lawyer, but this blew my mind even more. I always wondered who the actor was; he was in the cornfield scene, too iirc.

Are there any more mob cameos in there I missed? On that note, is there a thread detailing all real mafiosos appearing in mob flicks? If not, someone start one!

@NickTheGreek

In The Godfather, Luca Brasi was played by ex-wrestler and ex-bodyguard for the Colombos, Lenny Montana. The paparazzi in the wedding scene was also part of the Italian American Civil Rights League which was connected to the Colombos.

In A Bronx Tale, Eddie Mush was played by himself. He may not be a Mob guy per se but he was a neighbourhood guy and a degenerate gambler.

I always felt like there was a weird disconnect between Frankie Marino and Frank Cullotta. Can you imagine Frank from the movie flipping? Or appearing on VH1, etc. He just seems like such a tougher guy. Cullotta did kill a guy though, I just don't feel like he was as tough as the movie Frank Marino portrayed him to be.

The Remo Gaggi (Joey Aiuppa) role was pretty good though!

Lmao

Yeah, Frank Cullotta is based on Frank Marino. Cullota is a hired technical advisor and play's a small role in being one of Gaggi's hitman. The Casino is not all true.. Cullotta now tells his story at Las Vegas, New York. He did it with Henry Hill but he passed and later Anthony Montana who was a Chicago Outfit Associate. Cullotta is now inducted into the LasVegas Mob Museum.

Thanks. Lou Eppolito and Tony Darrow in Goodfellas are a couple more (although from what little I read about him, it seems Darrow got involved with the Gambinos after he played a mob guy in movies; so not sure that counts lol!)

Although there’s a slight difference between Tony Darrow and Lenny Montana. After doing time and starting an acting career, Montana stopped hanging out with the Colombos. Then there is Darrow, a man could live happily ever after due to his Hollywood movies, but continues associating with known mobsters.

Cullotta is a rat, end of story. Very small parts of Marino are based on him, but in reality he never was responsible for bringing the skim back to Chicago or anywhere else. He was Spilotro's lackey-boy, and flipped long before Tony was killed. He didn't even get to do any real damage to the outfit because Spilotro was the only one he had real interactions with, and when he died, there went any use for Cullotta. I think he may have testified at Joey Doves' trial, maybe a couple other small ones, but nothing huge. Now he parades around like some big badass who grew tired of Spilotro's antics. In reality, he was a junkie scumbag who complains about Tony doing the same things he did. He's not quite on the level of a henry hill type scumbag, but damn near.

Check out chasingthefrog.com website and look up Casino - there's info on there about quite a few of the characters in Casino and their real life counterparts (Goodfellas as well)

Did you read his book, he more or less asserts what you're saying (only brought the skim back once or twice, pretty much Tony's errand boy, etc)

Scorsese likes to mix these stories up a bit, ya know?

Also...what does him being a rat have to do with anything?

Lmaol thats good stuff eddie mush huh lol a real guy I bet u hes stand up too with s lot of old school credentials lol plead the 5th at every grand jury lol a couple contempts, no??

Frank was an Important guy in Las Vegas for the Outfit. Frank wasnt just Spilotro's dick sucker he did do major things aswell. If Frank wasnt big he wouldnt of been choosen to join the Outfit.

Who was the boston guy that was in the godfather?

What Boston guy?

Culottes was never a made guy. But from what I heard he only flipped after he found out Spilotro was going to kill him. He said in an interview he participated in 4 hits, I think, 2 helping out and 2 that he pulled the trigger on.

Spilotro was by most accounts a psychopathic POS. Not sure I blame Cullotta.

The Boston guy in the Godfather was Alex Rocco, who played Moe Green. Not positive, but I think he was connected to one of the Irish Mobs opposed to the Patriarcas. Not 100percent sure on the last part, but Rocco was definitely connected.

Alex Rocco was from Massachusetts which isn't apart of Boston. Moe Greene wasn't from Boston either, Greene was based on Bugsy Siegel who was more Jewish than American.

Boston is a part of Massachusetts and Bugsy was born in America so he was one of the few early mafia figures who were actually American.

No, Massachusetts is divided up with Boston but is apart of New England.

What have you been smoking? I'm not even from the US and you stay next to Boston . Boston is the capital and largest city in the commonwealth of Massachusetts .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston

New England is an area of 4 or 5 states including Massachusetts but it's like saying San Francisco isn't part of California it's part of the Southwest .

Please. This guy is all over the place. He's from NY, no NJ, no NY. He's in the US, no he's in Scotland. He's writing a movie. No he's writing a book.

Are you high? I live in Massachusetts pal. I can safely say that Boston is part of it, it being the state capital and all........

The first sentence (bolded) is a true statement, but it's grammatically incorrect. It should read apart FROM Boston. It's a matter of semantics.

As for the second sentence .....

I get what you're saying and your right bjt after that he flat out said Boston isn't in Massachusetts

You're right, Camarel. MobGuy's responses have been confusing.

Well he should ask the doc for some seaquel maybe he'll know what continent he's on

Does anybody know if Frank Cullotta is repeated to current outfit capo Joseph"Joe Kong"Cullotta ?

Don't know...

Frank Calabrese Jr talked about Culotta being played by Frank Vincent in Casino in his book, Operation Family Secrets.

In Goodfellas, Assistant US Attorney Ed McDonald played himself. You can read about him here. He was considered as one of the best lawyers by many.



If you look closely, McDonald can be spotted in the end of the Nicky Scarfo's 1982 testimony.

Culotta is in the movie Casino. He is the one who shoots the guy while he was getting in his car in the snow towards the end of the movie. He also is the one who hunts down and kill the guy in Costa Rica. If my memory serves me right. He is acting what he did in real life. Talk about art imitating life.

Except that Culotta didn't have anything to do with the Spilotro brother's murders. In a few interviews he's talked about how didn't understand why they were beaten to death instead of just being shot.

I wonder what ever happened to the rest of the "Hole in the Wall Gang"? If you look at pics of the gang Culotta looks like one of the older members. Obviously those guys were just run of the mill criminals and not a part of LCN but it would still be interesting to see what they are doing today. They played a role in LCN history for sure.

Hollywood actor Alex Rocco was born Alexander F Petricone in Boston.Mass Petricone was known by the nickname “Bobo” in his early years as a hard fisted hood in the infamous Winter Hill Gang
…
According to Vincent Teresa in “My Life in the Mafia,” it was Rocco whose girlfriend Charlestown mobster Georgie McLaughlin tried to pick up on Labor Day weekend 1961, setting off the bloody Irish Gang War.
.

Rocco was arrested along with Winter Hill boss, Buddy McLean, as a suspect in the October 1961 murder of a gangster but was never charged.

.Petricone then bolted out of bullet riddled Boston and moved to Sunny California in 1962, and began using the name Alex Rocco. . He took acting classes and lost weight..

Rocco made his movie bones and scored the solid-gold role of Mobster,Moe Green, in the Godfather. The Winter Hill Mobs most famous felons watched the movie and rooted for Moe Green to whack out Michael Corleone. Alex Rocco also played in The Friends of Eddie Coyle strarring Robert Mitchum.
Alex was a bartender in a watering hole named the Raincheck room in Hollywood.

There is no such person as Joe "Kong" Cullotta. There is such a person as Joe "Kong" Calato. The CCC misspelled Calato's name years ago and it's been used since repeatedly.

Not a lot of people know this, but after Spilotro was killed, Joe Ferriola sent another guy to take his place and that person was Bobby Dominic. Despite the skim going away, the Outfit still had control of a lot of businesses in Vegas and Bobby stayed out there until at least the mid 1990s when Joey Cusumano and his brother Sam became the Outfit's main man in Vegas.

For those who live in Chicago and know the bar on Grand/Halstead "Richards," well that is owned by Bobby (who usually holds court in the back room) and there are pictures there of Bobby alongside Joe Cusumano.

Some of the Hole-In-The Wall Gang are active today...Peter Basille (who I believe is made in the Cicero crew) being the main one. He is the illegitimate son of Willie Messino and definitely not someone to fuck with.

Richards is a good place. After a while the late night crowd can get on your nerves pretty quickly though. Good place to stop in during the day. I'm not big on being surrounded by young people when I am out to have a good time.