The 1995 mob classic Casino shocked viewers with the brutal execution of Vegas crime lords the brothers Tony & Michael Spilotro. Tony Spilotro was portrayed by Joe Pesci as Nicky Santoro and is well remembered as a ruthless and dangerous mob henchman for the Chicago outfit controlling their illegal mob operation in Las vegas in the 70s.
The film would show the brothers being taken to farmer’s field and brutally beaten and buried in their underwear in reality the brothers were ambushed at a fellow mobster’s basement on the pretence of Michael Spilotro being made. Tony realising what was about to happen asked for time to pray before both were beaten to their end. Like the film the brothers were driven to an Indiana farmers field and buried there to throw authorities off the outfits scent but the farmer seeing the ground had been recently dug over called authorities who soon realised they were at a burial place and dug up the brothers.
Although the hit was brutal there was a more horrifying fact from the event, during the autopsy of the brothers authorities found that the brothers has soil in their lungs indicating that they were actually buried alive after being severely beaten. This was mob payback for a lifetime of transgressions against the mafia strict codes including Tony sleeping with his friend Frank Rosenthal and Michael’s disrespectful behaviour towards men of honour.
