The Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday removed two names from the state’s List of Excluded Persons because the two men, who both formerly lived in Missouri, have died.
William Dominick Cammisano Jr., who was last believed to be living in Harrisonville, and Peter Ribaste, last known to be living in Kansas City, were removed from the list, commonly known as the “Black Book,” a board-maintained archive of criminals considered the “worst of the worst” for Nevada’s 451 largest licensed casinos.
With the removals, the number of entries in the Black Book stands at 37.
Senior Deputy Attorney General John Michela told commissioners he was unable to obtain a death certificate for Cammisano, but verified his death through four verifiable databases. Michela said a copy of the death certificate for Ribaste was obtained from his family.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board recommended the removal of Cammisano and Ribaste from the list because they are no longer considered a danger to Nevada’s gaming industry.
Cammisano, who used the aliases Willie Cammisano, William Domnick Cammisano and William Dominic Cammisano, according to the Control Board, was excluded by the Gaming Commission on Jan. 24, 1997.
Cammisano was believed to be 73 when he died of complications from COVID-19 in 2023, according to a report in the Kansas City Star.
Cammisano was banned after being convicted of obstruction of justice for tampering with a witness before a special federal grand jury investigating the gangland-style murder of Robert L. “Roger” Reid in 1988 in a case involving Las Vegas professional gambler Billy Walters. Cammisano owed Walters money after betting on a golf tournament Walters hosted.
Ribaste used the alias PJ Ribaste and was excluded by the Gaming Commission on Jan. 28, 1999.
Published reports said Ribaste once lived in upscale Spanish Trails neighborhood of Las Vegas and had long ties to the Kansas City mob and took orders from Kansas City mob boss Carl Civella and his underboss, Carl DeLuna. He also was a onetime associate of former gaming executive Ted Binion.
Ribaste, who also had been banned from casinos in Missouri, failed to disclose debts he had to Las Vegas casinos when he fraudulently applied for loans from a Missouri bank and the Small Business Administration to obtain a dealer certificate to operate a General Motors car dealership. He also pleaded guilty in federal court to income tax evasion over three years and for making false statements to the Internal Revenue Service.
The Control Board routinely checks the status of persons on the List of Excluded Persons and goes through the process of removing them if it can be proven that they have died.
At least two other persons on the list are believed to be dead, but they weren’t under consideration for removal.
While there is a process in place for persons on the list to be removed if they petition the Gaming Commission, no one has ever been delisted unless they were dead.
In March, the commission received such a request from Las Vegas entertainer Francis Citro, who has been on the list since 1991, but commissioners unanimously rejected his request for a hearing to consider removal.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.
