Published on: November 20, 2025, 07:06h.
Last modified on: November 20, 2025, 07:07h.
- Veteran ex-gangster Frankie Citro seeks removal from Nevada’s Black Book.
- Citro now shines as a Las Vegas performer, fully embracing his transformed identity.
- Gaming Commission reviews his plea, potentially creating a groundbreaking Black Book precedent.
A once-notorious gangster who has reinvented himself as a Las Vegas entertainer hopes to become the first living individual to be removed from Nevada’s notorious Black Book, aspiring to showcase his talents in the city’s casinos.
In 1991, Frank Citro Jr. found his name added to the Black Book–a list prohibiting individuals from entering all casinos in Nevada–due to three felony convictions, including extortion and racketeering. At the time, regulators characterized him as an “unsavory character.”
In his troubled past during the 1980s, Citro was associated with Vito Spillone, a reputed figure from the Chicago Outfit involved in illicit bookmaking and loansharking in Southern California and Las Vegas.
Now at the age of 80, Citro expresses regret about his former connections, asserting that he has turned his life around since his release from prison in the late 1980s.
The ‘Las Vegas Tough Guy’
Currently, Citro is passionate about entertaining audiences. He often performs at The Italian American Club in Las Vegas as “Las Vegas Tough Guy Frankie Citro,” where he entertains with be-bop and Italian folk songs interspersed with humor about his mob past, as reported by The Las Vegas Review-Journal.
However, to elevate his career to casino stages, he needs to be rehabilitated in the eyes of the law. Earlier this month, his attorney officially submitted a petition to the Nevada Gaming Commission, seeking to lift his ban.
The petition describes Citro as a “reformed man” with a “stellar reputation” who has contributed positively to his community through charity work.
A number of notable local figures, including conductor Mariano Longo and Las Vegas performer Frankie Scinta, support Citro’s petition, as highlighted by The R-J. Whether the Gaming Commission will grant his appeal, which they have 90 days to review, remains uncertain.
“If the gaming commission allows me to return, I believe every casino will want me as a host,” Citro shared with The R-J. “I’m a good guy, and people from everywhere will be eager to hear stories about Las Vegas’ history. All I ask for is a chance.”
The Rogues’ Gallery
Nevada’s Black Book contains a roster of scoundrels, mobsters, illusionists, and even a single individual tied to sex trafficking, who would face legal consequences merely by attempting to enter a casino.
At present, the only path to being removed from the Black Book is by death, as was the case for Citro’s former associate, Tony “The Ant” Spilotro, who was murdered in an Indiana cornfield in 1986.
Unlike the unfortunate Spilotro, Citro is not willing to wait for such an end.