Mob Underboss “Las Vegas Pete” Simone Dies Age 79

• Kansas City Mob figure dies at home, age 79
• Simone linked to Midwest gambling and Vegas junkets
• Mob’s decline reportedly leaves fewer than 10 active “made” members

Peter “Las Vegas Pete” Simone, reputedly the underboss of the Kansas City Mob for 30 years, died last Thursday peacefully at home at age 79.

The old-school gangster was allegedly the gambling kingpin for the Midwest mafia outfit, also known as the Civella crime family. The family had casino interests in Nevada in the 1970s and 1980s, notably at the Tropicana, the Fremont, the Stardust, and the Hacienda.

Simone rose through the ranks when the Kansas City Mob was at the height of its powers. The outfit served as a key outpost in a national network that siphoned untaxed profits from Mafia-linked Las Vegas casinos.

Although he was never mentioned in any court documents related to the infamous casino skimming cases of the early 1980s, Simone was closely associated with high-ranking mobsters who were. Those included the family bosses, brothers Nicholas and Carl Civella.

In 1981, the brothers were hit with fraud, tax evasion, and RICO charges related to the skimming operation. Nicholas died in 1983 before he could be convicted.

Mafia Junkets

Simone earned the nickname “Las Vegas Pete” because he was a big organizer of junkets to Las Vegas from the Midwest, according to GangsterReport.com, a reliable source on all things Mafia-related from veteran true crime writer Scott Burnstein.

Court documents indicate Simone was also very much involved in the organization’s local gambling rackets in the Heartland.

In 1992, he was incarcerated for four years for operating illegal bookmaking, and video poker and money laundering operations.

Mob Hit

After his release in May 1997, Simone was added to Missouri’s Gaming Commission Black Book, preventing him from entering any Missouri casino. In 1999, he returned to prison for violating his parole after he was discovered playing craps at Harrah’s in North Kansas City.

Simone was named as an unindicted conspirator in the 1990 Mob hit on a bar owner who was an informant in a federal gambling investigation. He took the Fifth to avoid self-incrimination.

The once-feared Kansas City mob has largely faded from power. Its decline began in the 1980s when federal prosecutions disrupted operations and key figures were arrested. Today, the number of “made” members still active in the syndicate is believed to be fewer than 10, according to GangsterReport.com.