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1st Witness Testifies in Federal Gambling Trial By SANDI METTETAL with News Berries A seemingly reluctant prosecution witness kicked off testimony today at the federal gambling trial of Pe ter). Milano. Testimony of Robert Di amant Was halted in mid stream, however, by government prosecutor James A. Twitty, who pleaded with U.S. District Judge Jesse W. Curtis for more time to confer with his witness. Diamant’s testimony, said Twitty, is “very impor tant” to the case and he wants to make sure the wit ness understands the ques tions being put to him and his answers. The somewhat unusual request was granted by the judge, who let the jury of six men_and six women off @ar by for lunch. Sought Answers The frustration of the pro secutor became apparent af ter the 50-year-old Diamant had been on the witness stand for about 30 minutes. Twitty, over a barrage of defense objections, repoat edly attempted to elicit from Diamant answers about a July, 1971, meeting be tween him and some other defendants in the case. The thrust of the testimo ny was supposed to be against defendants Martin C. Calaway, a 47-year-old Beverly Hills lawyer, and 33-year-old John J. Vaccaro. Calaway had been a part ner in Diamant’s restaurant on the Sunset Strip. Vaccaro was in charge of the cocktail lounge. Diamant, now a chef at a Woodland Hills restaurant, said he called the meeting to discuss borrowing 350,000 to help out his apparently failing Sunset Strip busi ness Loan Discussed The Witness testified that another man, whom he de scribed as “a sort of unau thorized CPA (certified public accountant)” for his restaurant, said he knew where they might be able to borrow $50,000. Vaccaro, he added, “said he would like to borrow $15,000 of it.” Twitty asked if Vaccaro gave any reason for borrow ing $15,000 and Diamant re plied: “He said he'd like to open up a gambling opera tion... in the (San Per nando) Valley “I said I wasn't interested. I didn't want to jeopardize the (restaurant's) license.” Then Twitty’s apparent problems started, Details Asked He several times asked if Vaccaro went into detail about the gambling, opera tion or if Milano's name was mentioned. Diamant, a fa ther of four from Simi Val ley, kept relying in the neg ative until Judge Curtis finally stopped the questions because they already had been asked and answered. Twitty also continuously asked about Callaway's role in the conversation and was repeatedly told by Diamant: “He just said Johnny (Vaccaro) was a very talent ed boy and the case was closed.” “Was there a conversa tion with Vaccaro about pro tection?” asked Twitty. “No,” the witness replied. “ Was there a conversation about how much money could be made gambling?” pressed the pro secutor. No, said Diamant. Role Questioned Twitty also asked Di amant if a man named Jobin Dubeck was at the July, 1971 meeting. Diamant said he was there. Dubeck was assisting Vaccaro in the cocktail lounge. “During the conversation did John Dubeck explain his role?” asked Twitty. “No, aif,” the witness re plied. Twitty also asked if Du beck was a “bodyguard” for Vaccaro, who had told Di amant he was from Las Vegas. Judge Curtis upheld a defense objection to the question and Diamant said that Dubeck was merely Vaccaro’s assistant.” Witness Slain Dubeck, a 21-year-old Las Vegas casino manager, had been scheduled to be a key prosecution witness against Milano and the other. He was gunned down last March in a valley behind a Las Vegas casino. Dubeck’s wife also was killed in the shooting. Milano and the others, in cluding 48-year-old Ligui Gelfuso, 39-year-old Santa A. Manfre and 49-year-old Tony A. Endreds, are ac cused of running rigged dice, blackjack and book making games In the San Fernando Valley which brought in profits of as high as $250,000 a month. Twitty, in an opening statement to the jury, said it was a floating gambling op eration which was run in various locations through out the Valley. Bun Valley Business He said Callaway's role was to help bankroll the op eration. The 50-year-old Milano, he added, provided “protection” from police de tection and would put up bond if anyone was arrest ed. Milano and his fiancee run a bait bond business in the Sar San Fernando Val ys Twitty told the jury evi dence would show that Fer guso “was the man who collected from the people who refused to pay the money” Just gambling, Vaccaro, he claimed, ran the actual gambling opera tion, while Mantre and En streda were there to “keep an eye of the game.. and see nobody was cheating Mr Milano.” Twitty said before the gambling operations was stopped with a Los Angeles Police Dept. raid on Dec. 11, 1971, Milano grew worried he wasn’t getting his fair share of the profits. This was when the other defendants decided to get ‘bigger profits by shaving dice, marking cards and us ing electronic equipment to rig games, the prosecutor added. He said Manfre and En dreola were sent by Milano “to keep tabs on the gam bling business.” Twitty's key witness in the trial will be 35-year-old Harry P. Coloduros, who was indicted with the oth ers last year, but who agreed to testify for the gov ernment about two months ago. Since his agreement, Co leduros has been kept under wraps by the government and Twitty has claimed at least two “contracts” have been put out on his life
Newspaper Details
Van Nuys Valley News
Van Nuys, California, US
Fri, Aug 16, 1974
Page 17
Full Page
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USA 03 Jun 2026
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