Anthony Spilotro

Anthony Spilotro
1974 FBI mugshot of Spilotro
Born	(1938-05-19)May 19, 1938 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	June 14, 1986(1986-06-14) (aged 48) Bensenville, Illinois, U.S.
Other names	"Tony the Ant"
Known for	Mobster of the Chicago Outfit

Anthony John Spilotro (May 19, 1938 – June 14, 1986), nicknamed "The Ant", was an American mobster and for the Chicago Outfit in Las Vegas, Nevada, during the 1970s and 1980s. His job was to protect and oversee the Outfit's illegal casino profits (the "skim"). Spilotro replaced Outfit member Marshall Caifano in Las Vegas.

Born Anthony John Spilotro (pronounced spil-oh-tro according to FBI Special Agent William Roemer when he asked John Spilotro how his father, Pasquale Spilotro Sr. pronounced it), he was nicknamed "Tony the Ant" by the media after Roemer referred to Spilotro as "that little pissant." Since the media couldn't use "pissant," they shortened it to the "Ant." Ant is also short for Anthony. He was also called Tough Tony.

The fourth of six children, Spilotro was born and raised in Chicago. He attended Burbank Elementary School, and entered Steinmetz High School in 1953. His father Pasquale Spilotro Sr. (known as Patsy) had emigrated from Triggiano, in the Italian Province of Bari, in the southeastern region of Apulia, and had arrived at Ellis Island in 1914. He and his wife Antoinette Spilotro ran Patsy's Restaurant. When Pasquale arrived in America, however, he had no money, education, or particular skill. Unlike most Italian immigrants who settled in "The Patch", the Spilotros lived at 2152 North Melvina Avenue. Mobsters such as Salvatore "Sam" Giancana, Jackie "The Lackey" Cerone, Gus Alex, and Francesco "Frank the Enforcer" Nitti regularly dined at Patsy's, which was on the west side at Grand Avenue and Ogden Avenue, using its parking lot for mob meetings. In 1954, Pasquale Spilotro Sr. suffered a fatal aneurysm and died at the age of 55, leaving six sons.