The Nevada Gaming Commission is expected to remove two deceased alleged Kansas City mobsters from the state’s notorious “Black Book” – a list of individuals blackballed from Nevada casinos.
Having met the requirements of their lifetime bans, William Cammisano Jr. and Peter Ribaste — who died in 2023 and 2021, respectively — are now being considered for removal from Nevada’s infamous Black Book. According to CDC Gaming, state regulators are expected to review their cases during a meeting on Thursday (June 25).
The two men have appeared on Nevada’s List of Excluded Persons, commonly known as the Black Book, since the late 1990s.
‘Willie Rats’
For years, Cammisano Jr. denied any connection to the Kansas City Mafia, despite federal prosecutors claiming otherwise. His father, William “Willie Rats” Cammisano Sr., led the crime family during the 1980s, and court records identified the younger Cammisano as a trusted lieutenant.
In 1989, authorities convicted Cammisano Jr. of obstruction of justice after he threatened a witness involved in a federal murder investigation.
During the trial, FBI agents testified that he was a made member of the Kansas City mob. A court initially sentenced him to five years in prison, though an appeal later reduced that term.
He returned to prison in 2010 for his involvement in an illegal online sports betting operation that investigators said handled $3.6 million in wagers over a three-year period.
Reputed Soldier
Ribaste was widely regarded as a longtime soldier in the Kansas City crime family and, according to court records, once took direct orders from boss Carl Civella and underboss Carl DeLuna.
After relocating to Las Vegas’ Spanish Trail community in 1989, Ribaste entered the car dealership business with assistance from a $100,000 loan provided by Horseshoe Club co-owner Ted Binion. That relationship later attracted attention from gaming regulators.
The Las Vegas Sun reported that Ribaste maintained ties with organized crime figures and was seen in Las Vegas with a made member of the Kansas City mob less than a year before Nevada added him to the Black Book.
Still, among the many mob figures across the country, why did Nevada regulators specifically target these two men from a crime syndicate based more than 1,000 miles away from Las Vegas?
Why Them?
During the 1970s and 1980s, the Civella crime family played a role in a broader scheme involving several Midwest mob organizations that secretly skimmed money from Las Vegas casinos before it could be counted or taxed.
Federal prosecutors eventually connected Kansas City mob members to skimming operations at Argent Corporation casinos, including the Stardust and Fremont. The investigation helped uncover one of the biggest corruption scandals in Nevada gaming history.
Prosecutors claimed that Cammisano met with Chicago organized crime figures to discuss the Kansas City family’s share of proceeds from the sale of Argent casinos, along with its portion of skimming profits generated in Las Vegas.
Ribaste continued to draw scrutiny because of his alleged ongoing associations with members of the Kansas City crime family while living in Las Vegas.
Nevada created the Black Book to keep individuals believed to threaten the integrity of the state’s gaming industry out of casinos. Regulators considered both Cammisano and Ribaste members of a crime family that had a documented history of infiltrating Las Vegas gaming operations.
Both men ultimately died from medical complications linked to COVID-19.
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