MovieChat Forums > Casino (1995) Discussion > Why wasn't Sam arrested by the FBI?

Why wasn't Sam arrested by the FBI?

posted 5 years ago by fountainhead (318)
5 replies | jump to latest

Seems like the FBI was arresting anyone involved with the casino in any capacity, so I would have thought they'd want to arrest the man overseeing it all. Why didn't they? Not enough evidence?

[–] nyctc7 (41196) 5 years ago

In real life, Frank Rosenthal (Sam Rothstein) was an FBI informant. This was revealed after his death. The film doesn't go there.

[–] ebhaynz (3525) 5 years ago

Wow, I never knew!

[–] [email protected] (5497) 5 years ago

I never knew that about Frank Rosenthal either. It's not mentioned at all in the book Casino either.

I don't think the FBI would have gone after him the way the went after the MOB. Since Frank Rosenthal was Jewish, he wouldn't have actually been in the MOB anyway. He was just someone who made money for them.

[–] Sandman81 (1501) 5 years ago

Aside from being friends with some unsavory characters, and having a long rap sheet for book making, they had no evidence on him. He had no access to the count room, and as far as anybody knew, he had no idea it was being skimmed. Nicky was doing things on his own, and no one could prove that Ace knew he was cheating, or that half of his dealers were in debt to him. And he was hired by Phil Green, who also was never arrested and didn't know much about what was going on.

[–] fountainhead (318) 5 years ago

Hmm, I guess. Though, I would think they'd at least want to question him a little.