You can tell he's always in control of what he's saying. He expected every line of questioning and had an answer. Most were non answers. Very highly intelligent person
This guy is extremely street smart. Knows how to keep his mouth shut. Made more money than most of us will see in a lifetime. Very old school. Great interview.
Keeping your mouth shut doesn’t help the working class. It only helps rich people. He’s more of a self serving cretin than a man of integrity and honor.
@@PS987654321PS I don't blame individuals like this for the background they come from, but you are absolutely correct that the supposed "values" of organised crime are the complete opposite of any that would actually help working class people. It's no wonder that Hollywood tries to make people idolise the mafia because it tries to turn people from a community into competing selfish individualists.
What you talking about? You talking like commie parteigenosse in my country 33 years ago. Every smart person, spetialy who knew very much about politics, criminals and big money world should very good thinking before open mouth. Who had mouth without brains in world of influence and money have many problems
absolutely ! he's a smart guy. there's an old quote from him from the 70's a reporter asked him" how do you stay in shape ?"& he said" by keeping my mouth shut".
What is it about “The Irishman” you find so appealing? I’m not being condescending I’m genuinely curious as a huge Scorsese fan. Seems like it’s a love it or hate it movie and I hated it tbh. Curious what elements of it you found so entertaining? Not insulting your taste, just genuinely curious.
Keeping his mouth shut about the Drug Addicted slut he was married to and her affair with Tony Spilotro was simply self preservation. Just like in the entire interview Rosenthal was taking no chances of saying anything that would piss off the Chicago Mob again.
@@uncleg1623No she died in 1982. She was in LA and was probably given a hot shot of coke and Valium. It was within a month of Franks botched car bomb. ( I think the people back home were cleaning house if you know what I mean) Frank loved Geri very much. Very sad. RIP Geri and Frank.
I worked for him in Boca at a bar and restaurant called croc's the summer before I went to law school. I was working there the night of the OJ Simpson slow white bronco chase. He always tipped the staff directly, especially on slow nights. He said if you can survive a summer as a restauranteur in south Florida you might be accused of being a genius. This was back when the business was much more seasonal. Good boss. DeNiro came into the bar one night that was a fun night. Also watching and listening to this reminds me how fucking smart he was. He really was the smartest guy in the room.
@@cheryl-bn4zhI am his daughters cat. She's a fantastic swimmer and swimming coach. Feeds me gourmet. The other cats live like regular schmucks. Thank you, Stephanie.
"Organised crime did exist in Las Vegas. I knew them all. They were the Gaming Control Board, County Commissioners, two local court judges and one Supreme Court Justice " Rosenthal nailed it. He told truth to power. He understood who really control this world.
Let's not mistake ourselves though - it's not like the mob were acting in anyone's best interests either though. It's the ordinary guy in the street that loses out. Saying that though - if you or I got our house robbed, we'd be expecting the full weight of the law to be wheeled out against the perpetrators.
Organized crime didn’t just exist in Las Vegas. Organized crime literally built that city. It’s interesting to note that the Chicago outfit negotiated Las Vegas territory with the New York families. Chicago said you can have Atlantic City but we want Las Vegas.
This was an excellent interview. Just listening to him speak, you can understand why he was so successful. Street smart, intelligent, cunning, polite, and plays with his cards very close to his chest. Good job by the interviewer by asking relevant questions and smart enough to stop talking and just listen.
He didn’t want to be known as a violent criminal. Even being friends with Tony apilotro is a bad look , even when you try to stop him the whole movie .
"But in the end, we f***** it all up, it should have been so sweet too, but it turned out to be the last time street guys like us were ever given anything that f****** valuable ever again"
Street smart,intelligent.Guy never gave up information,after everything. betrayed by friends,Blown up. literally bombed and still remained solid.RIP Frank Rosenthal
Wow!! I am just seeing this! He was as sharp as a sword! Many would say he was dirty back in the Vegas mob days!! But make no mistake about it, modern day execs are old time Lefty Rosenthal's of today. This was a great interview. The man is very articulate and carefully words his answers.
The fact that he chose to marry a woman with so much baggage while trying to blend in and then do a TV show poking the local est. in the eye tells me he is human and got caught up in the lights.
@@SurfCityBill Yep, I can attest to that lol. In your 20's it's understandable but after age 30 men should know better..but most don't..heck, most NEVER learn.
@@balancedactguy No they didn't show that at all. He beat her cheated on her. And he wasn't just kind of an asshole to his staff like Deniro was. He was A HUGE ASSHOLE TO HIS STAFF. And even worse HE WAS AN FBI INFORMANT ALL ALONG.
I thought it was "...a movie is about to come out...and De Niro is going to play you" to which Lefty says "He's going to try." I'm thinking if the movie were already out, he'd already have an opinion. But that's just my opinion.
It's surprising, it was most likely filmed on VHS or a similar tape, (Perhaps film but that feels unlikely) It really looks like a modern digital type format. Little noise and good quality / frames, as well as the color tones all make it look much more modern than the mid 90s.
My family owned the barbershops at Caesars Palace, The Dunes, Stardust, and Desert Inn at this time and It was a fun time being a kid I could only imagine how it was for my uncles and father.
I worked under Gordon when Eric at the Concord hotel in the Catskills I never saw a man command such authority with no fear of anything whatsoever it was absolutely something to witness
He never talked ! This I can confirm , not only confirm but can prove and so can you if you did any research!!! He gave and I respectfully use the word "gave" over 2.7 million dollars to make peace with certain situations that tried to kill him. The man paid his dues and never talked , not even to Clark County district attorney!!
I still wonder why Tony didn’t try to do this some other way. I think if Tony wanted Lefty dead, he would do it in a more brutal and direct way, Lefty would not have been alive. Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t understand why he’d have to blow up Lefty’s caddy
Frank Balistreri is likely the person who tried to kill him. He was the Milwaukee Mob boss. He was known for using car bombs. He was a key guy in the skim and was involved in the Teamsters giving the financing for the Casino. He was heavily tied in with the Chicago Outfit and probably would have needed an okay from them but he wanted Rosenthal gone and car bombs were his style. He obviously didn't do it himself maybe Spilotro or someone else set it up. It says this on his Wikipedia as well and that the FBI suspected him.
@garethswaffield8424 Didn't Frank cooperate? Pretty sure. But Lefty wouldn't need to rat. His hands never got dirty and the only people he had dirt on were all clipped anyway. Thats probably why they let him stick around and place bets from Florida lol He never went into the program, at least in nothing i read .. My old man knew all of em from Melrose Park/Chicago back in the 70s. Was friends with Tony S brother Mike
@@daniels.2720 Just like hundreds of them were. The 80s rico indictments had everyone flipping on everyone. Italians wish they could have had the NY FBI in their pocket like Whitey did Bostons.
Great interview! He said a lot without actually saying. A very smart man indeed! No matter what his job was, I have to respect him in that, he would not talk bad about his ex wife. He truly loved her, and it clearly shows. I moved to Las Vegas right when everything was coming down. My daughter attended a private school right behind Bertha's and sometimes I dropped her off in their parking lot so she could walk across the park to her school. I remember the Bertha's robbery well because of that. The mob has never left Las Vegas, they only appear in suits and ties and call themselves corporate. Just my opinion... I know one thing, Las Vegas was very safe for people living here back then, at least all the way until the bosses gave Spilatro permission to start robbing houses. "Casino" is one of the most factual movies ever made!
That's the thing bosses didn't give Spilatro permission to rob houses. Spilatro's job was to look after Lefty and keep the skim going. Spilatro being the street gangster that he was started up his own rackets and brought unwanted attention to the mafia in Las Vegas, which was the last thing the bosses wanted. As a result Spilatro ends up in a shallow grave in a corn field. He could have live a comfortable life making sure nothing happened to Lefty and taking his cut of the skim.
@@shack7631 According to people in The Mafia at that time The Corn Field insicdent is not 100% accurate shall we say. apparently it started out in a basement of a house in a unnamed Chicago suburb & then the body's where transported there after death to The Vorn Field that is. The Surse has his own You Tube Channel & has bid a review of Casino the movied some time ago now where he talks about how factual the movie actually is but he only talks about the facts he actually knows about the subject of the movie not about what he dose not know. This man was in The New York Mafia as was his father & only got in to the life to help his father he now lives in California he reached Capo in The Colombo crime family & had involvement in a gass tax frod in the 80's so this guy was connected at the time. Keep Safe.
After his death, it was disclosed by Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jane Ann Morrison that Rosenthal had been a top echelon informant for the FBI, and his wife Geri was also an FBI informant
" Kind of " does not have a place in intelligent conversation. So, plenty of words out of place. 👎 I'm not going to benefit from listening to this pointless conversation with man who thinks he's above everyone else. One can tell this in the very first few minutes; this emanates from him and I'm not impressed .
I immediately recognized the voice of the interviewer: John Drummond. A long time Chicago crime reporter who specialized in covering the Chicago mob. He had a cameo in the movie (as a reporter) in the movie The Fugitive.
@@southsidefrog1236 the fbi is not going to go to the gaming commission and tell them “hey he’s an informant for us therefore you need to let him keep his license”
What a classy guy, the way he answers each question and conducts himself. He was connected which helped his position in Vegas but he will never say so. Even after being blown up. Stand up guy
This is the difference between a street thug like some of the low level mob guys were vs a gangster / criminal with some class and eloquence to them. He didn’t even have a bad word to say about his ex wife
Some class act. After his death, it was disclosed by Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jane Ann Morrison that Rosenthal had been a top echelon informant for the FBI, and his wife Geri was also an FBI informant
These edge gamblers who consistently beat the game/sportsbook/house are always ridiculously clever people. It's fascinating, they kind of remind me of those genius level IQ kids that do bad in school because it so easy to them that it's boring and they just refuse to engage with it. These guys could probably be doing any super high paying legit job they set their minds to, but yet they choose to try make a living beating a game that's set up to be unbeatable.
You understand that you cant break in. There are loads of people of incredible capability that are seen a mile off and will never break in legit. Why do you think the italians or any crime family did what they did.. originally? Because they would never be allowed in to the waspy structure that existed here from the 1600s. Anywhere there is power..it is ubiquitous. That's why you see investment bankers with a brother in the CIA and as family tied in to law enforcement or the military or some political office. Supposedly we live it or democracy but it doesn't function as it appears
Hey Zim, I agree with you completely. With the words you used there you might just as easily have been describing Meyer Lansky. Another genius, particularly when it came to gambling.
Liars tend to blink more because lying is stressful. ... People tend to blink more rapidly when they become nervous or when they hear or see something unpleasant
love the interview. he steered everything away from the actual mafia and told the truth that the politics/ gov were the real gangsters...lol. The police, the gaming commission.. classy guy. Who ordered the bomb? he has no idea...lol.
All he ever wanted was an equal amount of blueberries in each muffin 😂 wish he was still around to do a tell-all life story podcast, imagine all the crazy stories he must have...
De Niro was 'gonna try'... to everyone that says De Niro does the same character everytime... he got him really well... his mannerisms and the rhythm to how he talks... De Niro got his 'character' really well
Totally agree. After Goodfellas, I kind of just expected DeNiro to just play a similar character. But he got this one down really well. Amazing performance.
That's always the story as far as any kind of gambling even he in the U.K. they only let you win now & again just enough to keep people coming back time & time again but they very, very rarely give up the really big money. Personally I only gamble once in a blue moon & it needs to be only a Sports event & I also need to really believe in the bet heart & soul or why other in the first place. The last time I had a bet was on the 2018 Football ( Soccer) World Cup Final & it was the total number of goals in the game & it came up it was a desent win but nothing spectacular. Keep Safe.
You can make a good living from some gambling betting if yer know what your doing... just takes lot of discipline long hours And sacrifice 😂😂 And betting amounts that don't attract attention. It ain't no easy way to make money really. Only certain people could hack the lifestyle. It's more than a job like being a boxer or bodybuilder etc. Runs yer Life
I am looking at photos of Lefty all over the net. I swear to you he looks younger here than he did in the 60s and 70s. Its TRULY wild!! He used to comb his receding hairline back and now that its forward, he looks younger now than he did in 1965. My mind is blown! Even the photo as hes adjusting his tie in 1961.
@@zackmac5917he wasn’t really a bad guy though his friends were and they used him to make good money he always wanted a legitimate business try telling the mob no you’re dead he knew that.. His relationship was the most fucked up thing I’ve ever seen all he wanted was her love it was one way he dealt with that, it’s the hardest thing to go through and still brought up children that he cared about
His greatest achievement was putting equal amounts of blueberries in every muffin.
U know how long thats gonna take?
Lmfao
And he didn't care how long it would take
Lol
😂😂😂😂
You can tell he's always in control of what he's saying. He expected every line of questioning and had an answer. Most were non answers. Very highly intelligent person
A man who beats his wife the way he did has no control, and very limited intelligence.
Had they asked him about the code name Achilles he’d have come unstuck
@AlphonseWeebay?
@@Micheal-Knight-Achilles was Rosenthal's codename while serving as an informant for the fbi.
@@Themanwhosaidsorry is this evidenced?
This guy is extremely street smart. Knows how to keep his mouth shut. Made more money than most of us will see in a lifetime. Very old school. Great interview.
Keeping your mouth shut doesn’t help the working class. It only helps rich people. He’s more of a self serving cretin than a man of integrity and honor.
@@PS987654321PS I don't blame individuals like this for the background they come from, but you are absolutely correct that the supposed "values" of organised crime are the complete opposite of any that would actually help working class people. It's no wonder that Hollywood tries to make people idolise the mafia because it tries to turn people from a community into competing selfish individualists.
@@PS987654321PS as were the mobsters he hanged out with
What you talking about? You talking like commie parteigenosse in my country 33 years ago. Every smart person, spetialy who knew very much about politics, criminals and big money world should very good thinking before open mouth. Who had mouth without brains in world of influence and money have many problems
He also was a FBI informant code named "Achilles."
He's perfected the art of talking without actually telling you anything!
Einstein street smarts. And Frank moved like a killer himself
Sounds like a Politician never a straight answer.
Ted Bundy was also a master at that
absolutely ! he's a smart guy. there's an old quote from him from the 70's a reporter asked him" how do you stay in shape ?"& he said" by keeping my mouth shut".
Becausr he was a jew
He should have taken the food and beverage job.
Especially without going on television.
@VAcreeper2020 my thoughts exactly, he WANTED TO GO ON FUCKIN' TELEVISION!! 📺
You're a funny guy.
😂😂😂
@@chrissaenz6213 Funny how? Do I amuse you?
Lefty lives in my head rent-free. I’ve read the book twice and seen the movie a dozen times, one of my favourite movies ever
What other interesting stories does Lefty has on that book?? hehe sell it to me, im up for a good bio book.
What is it about “The Irishman” you find so appealing?
I’m not being condescending I’m genuinely curious as a huge Scorsese fan. Seems like it’s a love it or hate it movie and I hated it tbh. Curious what elements of it you found so entertaining?
Not insulting your taste, just genuinely curious.
@@patrickbateman9204 I hated the Irishman movie
@@zachhi89 Misread your comment, oops. Agreed I hated it with a passion, the scene where De Niro “beats up” the shopkeep… cringe.
@@zachhi89 is the book 📖 that good?
Keeping his mouth shut about his ex-wife shows a lot of class.
💯💯💯
Keeping his mouth shut about the Drug Addicted slut he was married to and her affair with Tony Spilotro was simply self preservation. Just like in the entire interview Rosenthal was taking no chances of saying anything that would piss off the Chicago Mob again.
Is she still alive???
@@uncleg1623No she died in 1982. She was in LA and was probably given a hot shot of coke and Valium. It was within a month of Franks botched car bomb. ( I think the people back home were cleaning house if you know what I mean) Frank loved Geri very much. Very sad. RIP Geri and Frank.
He was spot on about the organized crime figures
I worked for him in Boca at a bar and restaurant called croc's the summer before I went to law school. I was working there the night of the OJ Simpson slow white bronco chase. He always tipped the staff directly, especially on slow nights. He said if you can survive a summer as a restauranteur in south Florida you might be accused of being a genius. This was back when the business was much more seasonal. Good boss. DeNiro came into the bar one night that was a fun night.
Also watching and listening to this reminds me how fucking smart he was. He really was the smartest guy in the room.
Swindler
@@Robert-tj3qq
Smart swindler
That is so neat!! Can you tell us more about him? Did you ever meet his son or daughter? How long did you work for him?
@@cheryl-bn4zhI am his daughters cat. She's a fantastic swimmer and swimming coach. Feeds me gourmet. The other cats live like regular schmucks. Thank you, Stephanie.
Prove it.
I want an equal amount of blueberries in each muffin.. an equal amount
Do you know how long that's going to take?
@@joeysausage3437 I don't care how long it takes. An equal amount.
@@joeysausage3437 I don’t care, an equal amount.
Look at this, I have no blueberries yours is falling apart.
@@veronicamitchell9378 Madness, complete chaos lol
"Organised crime did exist in Las Vegas. I knew them all. They were the Gaming Control Board, County Commissioners, two local court judges and one Supreme Court Justice " Rosenthal nailed it. He told truth to power. He understood who really control this world.
Let's not mistake ourselves though - it's not like the mob were acting in anyone's best interests either though. It's the ordinary guy in the street that loses out. Saying that though - if you or I got our house robbed, we'd be expecting the full weight of the law to be wheeled out against the perpetrators.
Exactly. Harry Reid was the biggest gangster Vegas ever saw.
@aaroncincotta6305: True back then. True today.
Organized crime didn’t just exist in Las Vegas. Organized crime literally built that city. It’s interesting to note that the Chicago outfit negotiated Las Vegas territory with the New York families. Chicago said you can have Atlantic City but we want Las Vegas.
Sounds like Johnny Carson interviewer
Really sharp guy you can tell he answers all the questions very carefully
Lefty is articulate , but he is definitely holding back in this interview against the mob.
I agree. It's what he doesn't say is more interesting. Nice deflect calling the state officials the real orginised criminals.
Yea i thought the same thing .
Comes across as very intelligent and knows how to answer questions without really answering them .
@@shack7631 They are criminals. Government is the biggest organized crime there is.
Like denying the skim that everyone knows was happening
he already got blown up once ! give the man a break..
This was an excellent interview. Just listening to him speak, you can understand why he was so successful. Street smart, intelligent, cunning, polite, and plays with his cards very close to his chest. Good job by the interviewer by asking relevant questions and smart enough to stop talking and just listen.
Highly impressed on how he presents himself! Smart, Articulate, and Cool as ice.
And convincingly full of shit.
What an example of being articulate and eloquent. Such a seasoned professional.
He was portrayed as an insanely sharp man with extreme discipline who had a heart.
@@ohio tbf the point was to make the casinos as profitable as possible for the skim and his methods were surely effective
He didn’t want to be known as a violent criminal. Even being friends with Tony apilotro is a bad look , even when you try to stop him the whole movie .
This guy has so much class.
I bet his kids love him.
Or hated
Never around, how's that going to work.
He says that verbatim 3:00
A far more intelligent, cunning and nuanced individual than the fictional character portrayed by DeNiro. A very shrewd and creative operator.
De Niro is a ninkampoop in real life. He doesn't have the necessary IQ to even attempt to portray someone that intelligent.
@@ThisHandleWasTheOnly1Available De Niro would have to rise to achieve ninkampoop level.
@@ThisHandleWasTheOnly1Available maby a nitwit but he is very rich atleast his bankaccount is bigger than ours
@@ThisHandleWasTheOnly1Available raging bull, taxi driver, cape fear...
More charisma too.
Well rehearsed & well delivered !
I worked for FR in the early 80's at the Hacienda Hotel. FR was a true people person. Memories are truly forever. RIP FR!
Yeah I heard from an ex-dealer from Vegas that FR was actually really nice person. 👌
@FlyingMonkey916 I was a 21 and craps dealer for a couple of years. Then I was a floor person in the pit.
@@davidjohnson5146 Man I bet you could tell a few stories!
i also worked for him at the stardust hotel !
@@goldcoastslim2117 Merry Christmas! How are you doing. Very Nice. What an experience you had i am sure. What years did you work there
Fascinating interview!
"But in the end, we f***** it all up, it should have been so sweet too, but it turned out to be the last time street guys like us were ever given anything that f****** valuable ever again"
Very true!
Instead, it was given to guys like Joe Biden...
Great line
Trump is the one who can’t seem to run his Casino and other businesses.
I spoke to Mr Rosenthal once. No nonsense, no BS kinda guy. No joking all business.
He told you to F off, then?
a good way to live
Street smart,intelligent.Guy never gave up information,after everything. betrayed by friends,Blown up. literally bombed and still remained solid.RIP Frank Rosenthal
💯💯
After his death, it was revealed he was a top-tier FBI Informant.
@@tylerrebik7700this isn’t confirmed but suspected i have mixed feelings about it
He's a class act about saying something negative about the mother of his children
Oh he definitely "said" she was banging Spilotro. But you're right, he did it in a classy way.
He slept w her before Lefty ever even met her.
Mother of their child dum ass
Fucked everything up....
He should've just took the food & beverage title..🤣
Only a connected guy could be this smooth. 💯
The vast majority of connected guys were pretty well functioning morons. Lefty was much smarter than the rest of them.
He was an FBI informant.
Great interview thank you for posting.
He's so spot on about organized crime and who the players are.
You can tell this geezer is smart as a whip . Proper old school street smart and business smart
Incredible interview well-done wish it was a lot longer
Wow!! I am just seeing this! He was as sharp as a sword! Many would say he was dirty back in the Vegas mob days!! But make no mistake about it, modern day execs are old time Lefty Rosenthal's of today.
This was a great interview. The man is very articulate and carefully words his answers.
The fact that he chose to marry a woman with so much baggage while trying to blend in and then do a TV show poking the local est. in the eye tells me he is human and got caught up in the lights.
Funny how brilliant men lose all sense of intelligence when it comes to women
@@SurfCityBill You can be smart but you can't be smart about everything, somethings have to be learned.
@@SurfCityBill Yep, I can attest to that lol. In your 20's it's understandable but after age 30 men should know better..but most don't..heck, most NEVER learn.
Hot people are either extremely selfish/self absorbed, or completely insane. RARELY seen anything else!
@billl1127Yeah, very funny!😮
One of the lone survivors of that era .
Dead since 2008, I think, what do you mean?
Frank seems like an Intelligent and Classy Gentleman!
Classyness, intelligence and self-awareness of ones own ignorance seems to be a hell of alot scarcer today (classyness for sure). 🖖
@@eyenfinityface-thecosmiclo2717 Yes!...and Common Sense seems to be lacking along side all that too!.
He beat his wife
@@henryharris3431 You mean like you saw in the Movie?
@@balancedactguy No they didn't show that at all. He beat her cheated on her. And he wasn't just kind of an asshole to his staff like Deniro was. He was A HUGE ASSHOLE TO HIS STAFF. And even worse HE WAS AN FBI INFORMANT ALL ALONG.
A big round of applause for what he said about organized crime in Las Vegas. They are the true mafia to this day.
What a piece of work
I grew up in Chicago and I love hearing these guys' accents even though they aren't over the top.
Very intelligent man in how he speaks an carrys himself. Got class..
This was about 25 years ago, because the announcer said " recently a movie came out about you and your life, etc. Casino was released in 1995.
I thought it was "...a movie is about to come out...and De Niro is going to play you" to which Lefty says "He's going to try." I'm thinking if the movie were already out, he'd already have an opinion. But that's just my opinion.
1994
1994 at his home in Florida
The fake plants give it away🤣
The same amount blueberries in every muffin
DeNiro's performance was spot on.
Nahhh
@@travis396 Why do you think "nahhh"?
@@robertlaschever3935 Robert seems like a hard ass in the movie this guy looks chill
@@travis396 That's true, but I wonder what he was/is like when he gets angry or upset with someone?
@@robertlaschever3935 hmmmm good question
Absolute gentleman the good old days
I love the way he talks - a lesson in how to conduct yourself
Dead on
Very relaxing voice and demeanor
Assuming this was filmed around 1994 the picture quality is great. Will get a million plus views eventually, great interview.
It's surprising, it was most likely filmed on VHS or a similar tape, (Perhaps film but that feels unlikely) It really looks like a modern digital type format. Little noise and good quality / frames, as well as the color tones all make it look much more modern than the mid 90s.
Lol I have some VHS that I recorded with my camcorder 1984 85 the picture quality is still superb
Betacam broadcast had better quality than vhs.
Bulldog John Drummond long time crime reporter in Chicago did that interview.
Smart guy answered the questions very elegantly
Robert De Niro was incredible in the film Casino. Legendary actor
I cant comment because i gota pick up the papers pick up the papers🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Jimmy 2 x!
Epic!
Wrong movie
He changed the way blueberry muffins I made to this day he’s in the blueberry muffin Hall of Fame
His eyes are shifting around a lot. He's thinking a lot rather than giving straight answers
Very Together person.
Calm, cool, and collected.
Extremely intelligent.
Probably the wisest wiseguy ever.
He's up there, but Meyer Lansky was better in my books.
@@caligulapontifex5759 Lansky was the king of the skim--until, as he said, bigger gangsters than him came on the scene!
He wasn't a wiseguy you fool.
He and his ex wife were both FBI informants.. that’s why he never did serious time.
Lansky , Lefty, Murray the Camel Humphreys from Chicago. Brilliant men.
The answer about his wife is pure CLASS!!
My family owned the barbershops at Caesars Palace, The Dunes, Stardust, and Desert Inn at this time and It was a fun time being a kid I could only imagine how it was for my uncles and father.
You need to get in touch with me! My family supplied those barbers!
Can I buy some stuff off your family
You just made that up
@@billyballs6677I really hope he is not lying on the internet
I look at this video one year after my first post and am stilled awed by this man's intelligence. I wish I had half his brain.
Minus the stupidity of trying to make a drug addicted ho into a wife and mother, I guess...
Excellent interview with a legend.
Great interview, thanks for sharing.
I worked under Gordon when Eric at the Concord hotel in the Catskills I never saw a man command such authority with no fear of anything whatsoever it was absolutely something to witness
Whose Gordon and Eric?
@@mikeywhispers1588the goofers.
FBI informant. That's how he survived.
Do you truly believe that?
He never talked ! This I can confirm , not only confirm but can prove and so can you if you did any research!!! He gave and I respectfully use the word "gave" over 2.7 million dollars to make peace with certain situations that tried to kill him. The man paid his dues and never talked , not even to Clark County district attorney!!
@@southsidefrog1236 FBI records say a much different story
What a smart classy guy this man was. RIP.
De Niro captured the framework of this gentleman, without making him a caricature, or by today's habits, a sort of meme.
Turns out after his passing that he was a major informant for the FBI.
Yep
He jump on my ass once after getting down trying to see my hole card while I was dealing 21 at the Stardust casino in 1973.
Interesting, what other good stories ya got from those days ?
I saw that scene in Casino too
how were the Blueberry muffins?
Well, he was right...
@russell9206 I hope your not lying on the internet
He didn’t “come out” and sell his story until Tony Accardo was dead and Joey Aiuppa was locked away for life!💯
He did not receive any money for talking to Nicholas Pileggi
Of course he knows who tried to kill him.
I still wonder why Tony didn’t try to do this some other way. I think if Tony wanted Lefty dead, he would do it in a more brutal and direct way, Lefty would not have been alive. Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t understand why he’d have to blow up Lefty’s caddy
Frank Balistreri is likely the person who tried to kill him. He was the Milwaukee Mob boss. He was known for using car bombs. He was a key guy in the skim and was involved in the Teamsters giving the financing for the Casino.
He was heavily tied in with the Chicago Outfit and probably would have needed an okay from them but he wanted Rosenthal gone and car bombs were his style.
He obviously didn't do it himself maybe Spilotro or someone else set it up. It says this on his Wikipedia as well and that the FBI suspected him.
@@STONESGAM Frank Cullota said he thought it was Milwaukee
@@patobantan420 Yeah. I have heard that over and over since I'm from Milwaukee.
The bombing was never authorised but I suspect I know who lit the fuse… and so do the powers that be
Lefty is as old school as it got... Respect
Frank cullata said he was a rat but I don't believe him
Frank cullata said he was a rat but I don't believe it
@garethswaffield8424 Didn't Frank cooperate? Pretty sure. But Lefty wouldn't need to rat. His hands never got dirty and the only people he had dirt on were all clipped anyway. Thats probably why they let him stick around and place bets from Florida lol He never went into the program, at least in nothing i read .. My old man knew all of em from Melrose Park/Chicago back in the 70s. Was friends with Tony S brother Mike
Very clever man
Not many professional gamblers survive to live comfortably
I didn't know until just a week ago after watching the whitey Bolger for the tenth time. Lefty was an FBI informant.
Just like Whitey was...
@@daniels.2720 Just like hundreds of them were. The 80s rico indictments had everyone flipping on everyone. Italians wish they could have had the NY FBI in their pocket like Whitey did Bostons.
He's very protective. But very intelligent. Respect ❤
Great interview! He said a lot without actually saying. A very smart man indeed! No matter what his job was, I have to respect him in that, he would not talk bad about his ex wife. He truly loved her, and it clearly shows. I moved to Las Vegas right when everything was coming down. My daughter attended a private school right behind Bertha's and sometimes I dropped her off in their parking lot so she could walk across the park to her school. I remember the Bertha's robbery well because of that. The mob has never left Las Vegas, they only appear in suits and ties and call themselves corporate. Just my opinion... I know one thing, Las Vegas was very safe for people living here back then, at least all the way until the bosses gave Spilatro permission to start robbing houses. "Casino" is one of the most factual movies ever made!
That's the thing bosses didn't give Spilatro permission to rob houses. Spilatro's job was to look after Lefty and keep the skim going. Spilatro being the street gangster that he was started up his own rackets and brought unwanted attention to the mafia in Las Vegas, which was the last thing the bosses wanted. As a result Spilatro ends up in a shallow grave in a corn field. He could have live a comfortable life making sure nothing happened to Lefty and taking his cut of the skim.
@@shack7631
According to people in The Mafia
at that time The Corn Field insicdent
is not 100% accurate shall we say.
apparently it started out in a basement of a house in a unnamed Chicago suburb & then the body's where transported there after death to The Vorn Field that is.
The Surse has his own You Tube Channel & has bid a review of Casino the movied some time ago now where he talks about how factual the movie actually is but he only talks about the facts he actually knows about the subject of the movie not about what he dose not know.
This man was in The New York Mafia as was his father & only got in to the life to help his father he now lives in California he reached Capo in The Colombo crime family & had involvement in a gass tax frod in the
80's so this guy was connected at the time.
Keep Safe.
I remember Tony Spilotros black cadillac parked downtown with a sticker on it saying organized crime pays (in so many words) that was eons ago.
After his death, it was disclosed by Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jane Ann Morrison that Rosenthal had been a top echelon informant for the FBI, and his wife Geri was also an FBI informant
Why don’t u just say you’re talking about Michael franseze🤦
Old school gentleman, not a word out of place. Would of loved to say in private with him and heard his real story.
" Kind of " does not have a place in intelligent conversation. So, plenty of words out of place. 👎
I'm not going to benefit from listening to this pointless conversation with man who thinks he's above everyone else. One can tell this in the very first few minutes; this emanates from him and I'm not impressed .
I could listen to this guy talk all day long.
I immediately recognized the voice of the interviewer: John Drummond. A long time Chicago crime reporter who specialized in covering the Chicago mob. He had a cameo in the movie (as a reporter) in the movie The Fugitive.
I wish there was more to this interview. It should be at least another half hour. I have never found any other interview with him.
Have you seen tapes of his TV show? He never juggled, tho.
He’s an FBI informant he never denied it
Prove that.
If he talked he would still had his license!!! Smh
@@southsidefrog1236 the fbi is not going to go to the gaming commission and tell them “hey he’s an informant for us therefore you need to let him keep his license”
I always say, I liked Vegas better when the mob was running it! At least they’d buy you a steak dinner after they finished with you. Today? TFB!!
He was the real deal wasn't bragging about any thing much respect!!
What a good Dad to not bad mouth the mother of his children.
Too bad he didn't pick a decent chick...just an evil, selfish mother. He'd have been a billion times better off w a plain lady.
WTF he beat her and cheated on her.
What a classy guy, the way he answers each question and conducts himself. He was connected which helped his position in Vegas but he will never say so. Even after being blown up. Stand up guy
Class act, off the charts smart, superb gambler, smooth operator.
Frank was a scumbag who tried to come off as classy.
No doubt
This is a GREAT INTERVIEW!!
This is the difference between a street thug like some of the low level mob guys were vs a gangster / criminal with some class and eloquence to them. He didn’t even have a bad word to say about his ex wife
Some class act. After his death, it was disclosed by Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jane Ann Morrison that Rosenthal had been a top echelon informant for the FBI, and his wife Geri was also an FBI informant
These edge gamblers who consistently beat the game/sportsbook/house are always ridiculously clever people. It's fascinating, they kind of remind me of those genius level IQ kids that do bad in school because it so easy to them that it's boring and they just refuse to engage with it. These guys could probably be doing any super high paying legit job they set their minds to, but yet they choose to try make a living beating a game that's set up to be unbeatable.
I agree mostly. The game is rigged. "Get up and fight."
You understand that you cant break in.
There are loads of people of incredible capability that are seen a mile off and will never break in legit.
Why do you think the italians or any crime family did what they did.. originally?
Because they would never be allowed in to the waspy structure that existed here from the 1600s.
Anywhere there is power..it is ubiquitous.
That's why you see investment bankers with a brother in the CIA and as family tied in to law enforcement or the military or some political office. Supposedly we live it or democracy but it doesn't function as it appears
Hey Zim, I agree with you completely. With the words you used there you might just as easily have been describing Meyer Lansky. Another genius, particularly when it came to gambling.
Not unbeatable but I get what you mean
Liars tend to blink more because lying is stressful. ... People tend to blink more rapidly when they become nervous or when they hear or see something unpleasant
love the interview. he steered everything away from the actual mafia and told the truth that the politics/ gov were the real gangsters...lol. The police, the gaming commission.. classy guy. Who ordered the bomb? he has no idea...lol.
frank balistrieri.
@@plasticweapon P
Not going to blame the mob. Doesnt need any more visits.
@@plasticweapon That's highly like it was Frank. I'm guessing maybe he would have had to get the okay from Chicago on that first though.
the one who ordered the bomb was found buried with his brother in an indiana cornfield
All he ever wanted was an equal amount of blueberries in each muffin 😂 wish he was still around to do a tell-all life story podcast, imagine all the crazy stories he must have...
Very well spoken and intelligent earner this guy right here. Not bad not bad at all. God Bless you always
De Niro was 'gonna try'... to everyone that says De Niro does the same character everytime... he got him really well... his mannerisms and the rhythm to how he talks... De Niro got his 'character' really well
Totally agree. After Goodfellas, I kind of just expected DeNiro to just play a similar character. But he got this one down really well. Amazing performance.
A evasive collection of half truths
Definitely old school and a great interview
Makes sense now how he never did serious time, he and his ex wife were FBI informants
What a class act. This guy is nothing but class.
30 blueberries per muffin ..not 29. I have a boss like that.
To think : he could have had the Food & Beverages job without going on television !
Very true😊
The way he talks is extremely concise. His manners are top notch.
We're the only winners. The players don't stand a chance.
That's always the story as far as any kind of gambling even he in the U.K. they only let you win now & again just enough to keep people coming back time & time again but they very, very rarely give up the really big money.
Personally I only gamble once in a blue moon & it needs to be only a Sports event & I also need to really believe in the bet heart & soul or why other in the first place.
The last time I had a bet was on
the 2018 Football ( Soccer)
World Cup Final & it was the total number of goals in the game & it came up it was a desent win but nothing spectacular.
Keep Safe.
Always 60/40 in their favour!!!
You can make a good living from some gambling betting if yer know what your doing... just takes lot of discipline long hours And sacrifice 😂😂
And betting amounts that don't attract attention.
It ain't no easy way to make money really. Only certain people could hack the lifestyle. It's more than a job like being a boxer or bodybuilder etc. Runs yer Life
I am looking at photos of Lefty all over the net. I swear to you he looks younger here than he did in the 60s and 70s. Its TRULY wild!! He used to comb his receding hairline back and now that its forward, he looks younger now than he did in 1965. My mind is blown! Even the photo as hes adjusting his tie in 1961.
There is no "now". He died in 2008, this interview is old.
@@colinmclaughlin9047 I am aware of that. Now meaning 2008. My comment still stands.
A lot of makeup, lighting, soft lens, hair stylist, nice shirt. Just like Vegas it's fugazi.
Thanks for postings , Amazing the Life and times of Uncle Frank ,
RIP Uncle Frank (Lefty)
This guy was a brilliant bookmaker.
Made huge $$$ for alot of people.
Good guy. Good Dad
Ya not a good guy. Sorry.
He was a complete narcissistic scumbag. Always a VERY unpleasant guy.
@@TerpeneProfile1 Seriously, so many people calling him a good guy.... it's weird.
@@zackmac5917he wasn’t really a bad guy though his friends were and they used him to make good money he always wanted a legitimate business try telling the mob no you’re dead he knew that.. His relationship was the most fucked up thing I’ve ever seen all he wanted was her love it was one way he dealt with that, it’s the hardest thing to go through and still brought up children that he cared about