Carl Angelo "Tuffy" DeLuna (April 30, 1927 – July 21, 2008) was an

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

figure who was once the powerful

underboss Underboss ( it, sottocapo) is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian, Greek, and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss. The underbo ...

of the Kansas City crime family (''the family''). He was also brother-in-law to

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

crime boss

Anthony Civella Anthony Thomas "Tony Ripe" Civella (February 17, 1930 – February 16, 2006) was an American mobster who was head of the Kansas City crime family. Anthony was born in Kansas City, Missouri. His criminal record started in 1952. As a young man, ...

. Born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, DeLuna rose through the ranks of the family to eventually become underboss and second-in-command to

Nicholas Civella Nicholas Civella (born Giuseppe Nicoli Civella; March 19, 1912 – March 12, 1983) was an American mobster who became a prominent leader of the Kansas City crime family. Early life Civella was born to Italian immigrants in Kansas City. He was the ...

. He was said to be personally responsible for the ambush of a rival mob crew, the Spero brothers, at the Virginia Tavern in Kansas City, Missouri in 1978. A well-respected and trusted mobster, DeLuna maintained the family's close ties with the Chicago Outfit, the Frank Balistrieri family in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, and the Cleveland family during the mob infiltration of several

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

casinos in the mid-1970s. Artie Piscano (portrayed by

Vinny Vella Vincent Frank Vella (January 11, 1947 – February 20, 2019) was an American actor, talk show host and comedian. He acted in more than forty films often in the role of a gangster. He was best known for the role of Artie Piscano in Martin Scorses ...

) in the film ''

Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

'' was based in large part on Carl DeLuna. In the film, Piscano dies of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

during a

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

(FBI) raid on his home. In reality, DeLuna's home was raided on February 14, 1979, and it was found that he kept extensive cryptic notes hidden in his basement which, together with wiretaps, connected all the dots the FBI needed in linking the mob to illegal control of Las Vegas casinos. He was tried and sentenced to 20 years for his crimes. Chicago Outfit mobsters, including its then reputed boss,

Joseph Aiuppa Joseph John Aiuppa (December 1, 1907 – February 22, 1997), also known as "Joey O'Brien" and "Joey Doves", was a Chicago mobster who became a leader of the Chicago Outfit from 1971 until his skimming conviction in 1986. Early career Joseph A ...

, were convicted along with DeLuna, based on the evidence seized from him. As a result, all cooperation between other Midwestern organized crime families and the Kansas City LCN was terminated. DeLuna was released from prison in 1998 and died in Kansas City in 2008.

References

1927 births 2008 deaths American gangsters of Italian descent Kansas City crime family {{crime-stub