May 9, 2024

You are here: Home / 2020 / Archives for August 2020

Archives for August 2020

New Yorkers Are Fleeing to the Suburbs: ‘The Demand Is Insane’

August 30, 2020 by Leave a Comment

Experts have predicted New York City’s demise during past crises, including the Sept. 11 terror attacks, only to be proven wrong. In fact, even as office towers in Manhattan remain largely empty because of the outbreak, some businesses, including Amazon and Facebook, are expanding their footprints, betting that workers will eventually return to their desks.

Still, many companies and workers have become much more comfortable with remote work during the outbreak, suggesting that the suburbs will remain very attractive for the foreseeable future.

For now, many buyers in the suburbs are expressing concern about the health risks of living in densely packed urban neighborhoods. Facing pandemic restrictions, they want room that New York City often cannot provide: a yard for their children to play and an office to work remotely. Many want land, even if it means being farther away from Manhattan.

Some buyers have told brokers they are concerned about reports of rising crime in New York City, real estate agents said. (Overall crime has not spiked in the city, but shootings have, Police Department data shows.)

“The people from New York are coming with a sense of urgency, and the thing they want is space,” said James Hughes, a real estate agent in New Jersey, who added that roughly 60 percent of potential buyers for his properties live in the city. “The demand is insane.”

Zack Stertz and Zoe Salzman joined the buying frenzy in June. After 15 years in Brooklyn, they said they realized soon after the pandemic struck that their two-bedroom apartment with a backyard, generous by New York standards, was too small for working from home with two young sons.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/30/nyregion/nyc-suburbs-housing-demand.html

Filed Under: Economy News

Chinese data shows Beijing continues Iranian oil imports

August 30, 2020 by Leave a Comment

According to Chinese customs data reported by Radio Farda, China’s oil imports from Iran averaged 77,000 bpd between January and July this year, nine times lower than the figures China had reported before the US re-imposed sanctions on Iran’s oil industry and exports.

In reality, various reports, media investigations, and tanker-tracking firms suggest that China is receiving much more oil from Iran than the official figures report.

Also on rt.com Last tanker in Iranian flotilla reaches Venezuela, outmaneuvering US sanctions

China’s imports from Iran, as reported by the customs data, corresponds with data provided by data intelligence company Kpler to Radio Farda.

But one tanker, as per Kpler data, tried to cover up the origin of Iranian oil going to China labeling the cargo as “Indonesian oil.”

That tanker, the Giessel, was one of four oil tankers that the Caribbean island state of St. Kitts Nevis stripped of its flag after an NBC News investigation found that as many as 15 tankers under various flags had manipulated their trackers to skirt the US sanctions on Iran’s oil exports.

Also on rt.com China to expand its influence in the Middle East with major oil deal

An earlier investigation by NBC News found that those tankers were switching off trackers to hide the fact that they had traveled to Iranian waters to load oil for exports in violation of the US sanctions on Iran’s oil industry.

Iran is exporting a lot more crude oil than US figures suggest, data from TankerTrackers.com has revealed, as reported by NBC News.

According to the data, Iran is exporting as much as 600,000 bpd, using ship-to-ship transfers with transponders turned off to avoid detection, skirting US sanctions. The daily average number compares with an estimate of 227,000 bpd made in a US Congressional report, NBC’s Raf Sanchez wrote on Twitter.

This article was originally published on Oilprice.com

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/499335-china-imports-iranian-oil/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

World’s biggest diamond miners offer discounts to spark sales crushed by pandemic

August 30, 2020 by Leave a Comment

The London-headquartered De Beers, owned by Anglo American, was the first to announce the discounts earlier this week. According to Bloomberg, the miner, which is the world’s largest producer by value, told its buyers that it is cutting prices for large rough gems (bigger than 1 carat) by almost 10 percent. It did not offer discounts for smaller stones, as the company believes that they are not in much demand and this is unlikely to change even if the price is lower.

Also on rt.com ‘Unique discovery’: Russia unearths its largest ever color diamond in Far North

ALROSA, the world’s largest producer of diamonds by volume, reportedly followed suit. However, the Russian diamond major did not announce the discount, but changed its billing system instead. Buyers received a single invoice total and were not aware if the stones they were looking at were offered with a discount. 

Although the pandemic almost brought the diamond industry to a halt and resulted in a huge plunge in sales, the two top global diamond companies were initially reluctant to lower prices, which are usually not made public. This was done to avoid flooding the diamond market and devaluing inventories. However, the recent move might signal that the miners think that demand is starting to recover as polishers will run out of rough diamonds soon.

Also on rt.com Coronavirus brings diamond sales to an almost complete halt

ALROSA earlier predicted that a return to pre-pandemic rough sales levels may come in July, but then changed its outlook to October. According to its second quarter report, the diamond company’s sales were down 92 percent compared to the April-June period last year, while profit over the same period nosedived 98 percent year-on-year.

“We hope that [the] midstream, based on the new contracts, will start to manufacture,” deputy CEO Evgeny Agureev said, as cited by Rapaport. “They will have [the] next couple of months…to support all these contracts, [which] means September and October,” he added. “So we hope that in October we’ll be able to switch to our normal level of sales.”

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/499195-diamond-producers-cut-prices/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

TikTok Deal Is Complicated by New Rules From China Over Tech Exports

August 29, 2020 by Leave a Comment

In Friday’s update to the export control rules, China’s Commerce Ministry and its Science and Technology Ministry restricted the export of “technology based on data analysis for personalized information recommendation services.” TikTok plays up its ability to use technology to understand users’ interests and fill their feeds with more of what they will enjoy watching.

In the Saturday article published by Xinhua, a professor of international trade at China’s University of International Business and Economics, Cui Fan, said that ByteDance’s technologies would most likely be covered by the new export controls.

“If ByteDance plans to export relevant technologies, it should go through the licensing procedures,” the article cited Mr. Cui as saying. Any sale of TikTok would most likely require the transfer overseas of code and technical services, the article said.

“It is recommended that ByteDance seriously study the adjusted catalog, and carefully consider whether it is necessary to suspend the substantive negotiation of related transactions, perform the legal declaration procedures and then take further actions as appropriate,” Mr. Cui was quoted as saying.

Mr. Kennedy said that it was exceedingly rare for a professor to make comments about a specific, in-progress deal, and that it signaled that ByteDance would now have to consult the Chinese authorities about the controls.

China has previously used bureaucratic procedure to block commercial deals without appearing to do so outright. In 2018, Qualcomm called off a $44 billion deal to buy the Dutch chip maker NXP Semiconductors after Chinese regulators simply failed to either approve or reject the transaction. Beijing’s prolonged antitrust review was seen as a form of leverage over trade talks with the Trump administration, though China’s Ministry of Commerce denied that the two matters were related.

In other industries, too, foreign companies including Microsoft, Volkswagen and Chrysler have been investigated for what China says are anticompetitive practices. Beijing has rejected the charge, made by American business groups, that it uses laws like antimonopoly rules to advance industrial policy.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/29/technology/china-tiktok-export-controls.html

Filed Under: Media Business

Electric ships are pushing the boundaries of batteries

August 29, 2020 by Leave a Comment

Making ships electric was a no-brainer, but there was a challenge – the same as the main challenge for electric cars. Range. 

The solution to the challenge has been relatively simple: bigger batteries. According to a recent report by market research firm IDTechEx, electric ships feature the biggest batteries out there, and they are only going to get bigger because range remains a top priority.

Russia starts building world’s largest most powerful nuclear icebreaker for Arctic sea voyages Russia starts building world’s largest most powerful nuclear icebreaker for Arctic sea voyages

For scale, IDTechEx offers the average size of an EV’s battery, which in the United States is 67 kWh. An electric bus in China has a battery of 210 kWh. And then there is the Ellen ferry in Denmark, which is powered by batteries with a total capacity of 4,300 kWh. The Ellen project took five years to complete and cost $25.2 million (21.3 million euro). The huge battery, however, only has a range of 21.4 miles, although it boasts a record charging rate of 4 MW, according to IDTechEx’s report.

At first glance, 4,300 kWh for a range of fewer than 22 miles sounds like a joke, but ships are big things, after all, and it takes a lot of electricity to power them. Ellen also sounds quite an expensive experiment, although it may eliminate 2,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, along with 41.5 tons of nitrous oxides and 1.35 tons of sulfur dioxide annually.

But is it worth it?

It may be, judging by the fact there are several electric ship projects being developed around the world. Japanese companies, for instance, are working on the world’s first fully-electric tanker. The e5 project should be completed in early 2022 and, according to IDTechEx, will have a battery of 4,000 kWh and a range of 80 miles.

There is also one fully electric container ship operating between Chinese ports. In a somewhat ironic twist, the purpose of the ship is to transport coal. According to local media, it has a battery of 2,400 kWh and has a range of 50 miles. This is enough to complete a journey from one port to the other and then charge over the period it takes to load or unload its cargo.

Also on rt.com China is the biggest winner of the US renewables boom

And then there is the Yara Birkeland in Norway, which will be not only fully electric but also autonomous when complete, because construction ceased due to the pandemic and, according to the company, the economic outlook has changed. This is just one sign that it is probably way too early to hail the start of the electric era in shipping.

Vaclav Smil from IEEE Spectrum wrote in a 2019 article that electric ships simply cannot compete with the volumes that diesel-powered container ships can carry and the distances they can go without needing to stop and refuel. The Yara Birkeland, Smil noted, will carry some 120 TEUs over a distance of just 30 miles.

This compares with several thousand TEUs for many diesel-powered vessels, up to a record of over 20,000 TEUs for the container ships of OOCL Hong Kong.

And then there is the range. For electric ships, it is just minuscule compared to the thousands of miles that diesel-powered contain ships can cover.

Finally, there is the cost of the battery. Lithium-ion battery cells are still quite costly, especially for a battery pack boasting a couple of thousand kilowatt-hours that users expect will charge quickly. The positive is that users only have to pay for it once, whereas diesel-powered vessels must refuel regularly – but the upfront cost is quite hefty, based on an average (car) lithium-ion battery cost of $156 per kWh as of 2019, according to BNEF. And ship batteries are not the same as car batteries.

Maritime transport is one of the most polluting industries in the world. Changing this is certainly important from an environmental perspective. But electrification is not a magic wand. Electrifying ships will take a while.

This article was originally published on Oilprice.com

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/499290-electric-ships-batteries-development/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

Covid-19 could wipe out more than 100 million jobs & over $1 trillion from global tourism industry

August 29, 2020 by Leave a Comment

In a recently published policy brief, the UN projected that international tourist numbers may decline by between 58 percent to 78 percent in 2020, compared to last year. According to its calculations, such an “immense shock” for the industry, which accounts for the bulk of some countries’ revenues, could translate into a drop of between 850 million and 1.1 billion international tourists.

Also on rt.com Over 60 percent of travelers plan to reduce trips in post-pandemic world – IATA survey

“In the first five months of this year, international tourist arrivals decreased by more than half and some $320 billion dollars in exports from tourism were lost,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said earlier this week. The already sustained damages are over three times what was lost during the entire 2009 global economic crisis. 

As one in 10 people on Earth work in the tourism sector, the unprecedented crisis threatens the wellbeing of millions, the organization warned. Thus, 100 million to 120 million direct jobs in tourism may be wiped out, while unemployment in countries heavily reliant on tourism may spike by more than 20 percent.

Global air travel demand won’t recover to pre-coronavirus levels till at least 2023 – Moody’s Global air travel demand won’t recover to pre-coronavirus levels till at least 2023 – Moody’s

Noting that tourism has been one of the key drivers of the global economy for years, the UN said that the steep fall of export revenues from tourism will result in a drop in global gross domestic product (GDP). The most “optimistic” scenario implies that global GDP will shrink by $1.17 trillion, or 1.5 percent. In the case of a prolonged standstill (up to 8 months), the damage will rise to $2.22 trillion, or 2.8 percent of GDP.  

The Covid-19 pandemic brought global tourism to a standstill in March, when most countries shut their borders to contain the spread of the deadly virus that has killed over 820,000 people.  

Some airlines, struggling to survive during the pandemic even with financial help from governments, earlier hinted that they see no end in sight to the coronavirus disruption. Earlier this week, both American Airlines and Delta announced additional job cuts. While Delta is set to furlough 1,941 pilots this fall, American Airlines said that its workforce will shrink by 19,000 in October, when protections tied to federal stimulus expire. After all voluntary exits and other cuts, American Airlines is set to have 100,000 workers in under two months, down from the 140,000 it employed in March. The carrier reportedly said that the US government assumed that the virus would be contained and demand recovered by the end of September, but it seems that is “not the case.”

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/499172-covid-losses-tourism-un/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

Emily Miller and Another P.R. Expert Ousted At F.D.A. After Blood Plasma Fiasco

August 28, 2020 by Leave a Comment

Nevertheless, the decision by Dr. Hahn to clarify his remarks and to grant a series of media interviews appears to have rankled H.H.S. officials, who saw it as ill-timed, given that the Republican convention was underway. Trump administration officials are often reluctant to publicly admit error out of concern that doing so provides political ammunition to their critics.

Mr. Pines is president of the large health care practice at APCO Worldwide, a public relations and lobbying firm that represents health companies that do business before the F.D.A. He said he did this work on his own, outside of his APCO practice. He would not say how much he was paid, but noted that as a friend to Dr. Hahn, he is willing to continue advising him for free.

Meredith McGehee, executive director of Issue One, which promotes bipartisan political reform, was critical of the contract, noting the potential for conflicts of interest in Mr. Pines’s work for the F.D.A., and his company’s health care client base.

“This notion that, ‘Oh, I’m doing it in my private capacity, on the one hand, and I’m representing health care interests, on the other,’ it doesn’t pass the smell test,” said Ms. McGehee.

The F.D.A. did not respond to requests for comment on Friday about Mr. Pines’s contract or whether it was vetted for conflicts of interest.

:not(:first-child){margin-left:5px;}.css-5gimkt{font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:0.8125rem;font-weight:700;-webkit-letter-spacing:0.03em;-moz-letter-spacing:0.03em;-ms-letter-spacing:0.03em;letter-spacing:0.03em;text-transform:uppercase;color:}.css-5gimkt:after{content:’Collapse’;}.css-rdoyk0{-webkit-transition:all 0.5s ease;transition:all 0.5s ease;-webkit-transform:rotate(180deg);-ms-transform:rotate(180deg);transform:rotate(180deg);}.css-eb027h{max-height:5000px;-webkit-transition:max-height 0.5s ease;transition:max-height 0.5s ease;}.css-6mllg9{-webkit-transition:all 0.5s ease;transition:all 0.5s ease;position:relative;opacity:0;}.css-6mllg9:before{content:”;background-image:linear-gradient(180deg,transparent,#ffffff);background-image:-webkit-linear-gradient(270deg,rgba(255,255,255,0),#ffffff);height:80px;width:100%;position:absolute;bottom:0px;pointer-events:none;}#masthead-bar-one{display:none;}#masthead-bar-one{display:none;}.css-19mumt8{background-color:white;margin:30px 0;padding:0 20px;max-width:510px;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-19mumt8{margin:40px auto;}}.css-19mumt8:focus{outline:1px solid }.css-19mumt8 a{color:-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:2px solid }.css-19mumt8 a:visited{color:-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;border-bottom:2px solid }.css-19mumt8 a:hover{border-bottom:none;}.css-19mumt8[data-truncated] .css-rdoyk0{-webkit-transform:rotate(0deg);-ms-transform:rotate(0deg);transform:rotate(0deg);}.css-19mumt8[data-truncated] .css-eb027h{max-height:300px;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition:none;transition:none;}.css-19mumt8[data-truncated] .css-5gimkt:after{content:’See more’;}.css-19mumt8[data-truncated] .css-6mllg9{opacity:1;}.css-a8d9oz{border-top:5px solid border-bottom:2px solid margin:0 auto;padding:5px 0 0;overflow:hidden;}]]>

The Coronavirus Outbreak ›

Frequently Asked Questions

Updated August 27, 2020

  • What should I consider when choosing a mask?

    • There are a few basic things to consider. Does it have at least two layers? Good. If you hold it up to the light, can you see through it? Bad. Can you blow a candle out through your mask? Bad. Do you feel mostly OK wearing it for hours at a time? Good. The most important thing, after finding a mask that fits well without gapping, is to find a mask that you will wear. Spend some time picking out your mask, and find something that works with your personal style. You should be wearing it whenever you’re out in public for the foreseeable future. Read more: What’s the Best Material for a Mask?

  • What are the symptoms of coronavirus?

    • In the beginning, the coronavirus seemed like it was primarily a respiratory illness — many patients had fever and chills, were weak and tired, and coughed a lot, though some people don’t show many symptoms at all. Those who seemed sickest had pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome and received supplemental oxygen. By now, doctors have identified many more symptoms and syndromes. In April, the C.D.C. added to the list of early signs sore throat, fever, chills and muscle aches. Gastrointestinal upset, such as diarrhea and nausea, has also been observed. Another telltale sign of infection may be a sudden, profound diminution of one’s sense of smell and taste. Teenagers and young adults in some cases have developed painful red and purple lesions on their fingers and toes — nicknamed “Covid toe” — but few other serious symptoms.

  • Why does standing six feet away from others help?

    • The coronavirus spreads primarily through droplets from your mouth and nose, especially when you cough or sneeze. The C.D.C., one of the organizations using that measure, bases its recommendation of six feet on the idea that most large droplets that people expel when they cough or sneeze will fall to the ground within six feet. But six feet has never been a magic number that guarantees complete protection. Sneezes, for instance, can launch droplets a lot farther than six feet, according to a recent study. It’s a rule of thumb: You should be safest standing six feet apart outside, especially when it’s windy. But keep a mask on at all times, even when you think you’re far enough apart.

  • I have antibodies. Am I now immune?

    • As of right now, that seems likely, for at least several months. There have been frightening accounts of people suffering what seems to be a second bout of Covid-19. But experts say these patients may have a drawn-out course of infection, with the virus taking a slow toll weeks to months after initial exposure. People infected with the coronavirus typically produce immune molecules called antibodies, which are protective proteins made in response to an infection. These antibodies may last in the body only two to three months, which may seem worrisome, but that’s perfectly normal after an acute infection subsides, said Dr. Michael Mina, an immunologist at Harvard University. It may be possible to get the coronavirus again, but it’s highly unlikely that it would be possible in a short window of time from initial infection or make people sicker the second time.

  • I’m a small-business owner. Can I get relief?

    • The stimulus bills enacted in March offer help for the millions of American small businesses. Those eligible for aid are businesses and nonprofit organizations with fewer than 500 workers, including sole proprietorships, independent contractors and freelancers. Some larger companies in some industries are also eligible. The help being offered, which is being managed by the Small Business Administration, includes the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. But lots of folks have not yet seen payouts. Even those who have received help are confused: The rules are draconian, and some are stuck sitting on money they don’t know how to use. Many small-business owners are getting less than they expected or not hearing anything at all.

  • What are my rights if I am worried about going back to work?

Ms. Miller started at the agency on Aug. 17 after a career in both politics and journalism. In 2004, while working for the Department of State, she made headlines after she apparently cut off an interview for a taped segment between Tim Russert, the host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” and her boss, the then Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, who could be heard apologizing to Mr. Russert and saying “Emily, get out of the way.” In 2015, reporters cast doubt on whether Ms. Miller had been a victim of a home invasion, a story that she had repeatedly included in public remarks and in a book, “Emily Gets Her Gun: But Obama Wants to Take Yours.”

The decision to hire Ms. Miller as the agency’s top spokeswoman was seen as puzzling by outside observers, given that she had little experience in health care. On May 30, Ms. Miller tweeted, “Remember coronavirus?”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/health/blood-plasma-fda.html

Filed Under: Media Business

Readers Would Add These African-American Directors to the Criterion Collection

August 28, 2020 by Leave a Comment

Like Lee, DuVernay was nominated often and for several different projects. Her period look at the 1965 civil rights demonstrations in Alabama was the film that came up the most, but readers repeatedly mentioned her 2012 drama “Middle of Nowhere,” which, as our report noted, Criterion rejected.

These films showed up on at least 10 lists:

— “Tongues Untied,” Marlon Riggs (1989)

— “Chameleon Street,” Wendell B. Harris Jr. (1991)

— “Losing Ground,” Kathleen Collins (1982)

— “Shaft,” Gordon Parks (1971)

— “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song,” Melvin Van Peebles. (Criterion issued this 1971 movie on laser disc, but it didn’t make the transition to the Blu-ray/DVD era.)

— “Ganja Hess,” Bill Gunn (1973)

— “Menace II Society” (1993) and “Dead Presidents” (1995), the Hughes brothers. (Criterion issued both films on laser disc, but neither made the transition.)

— “The Spook Who Sat by the Door,” Ivan Dixon (1973)

— “Friday,” F. Gary Gray (1995)

— “Hollywood Shuffle,” Robert Townsend (1987)

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/movies/black-criterion.html

Filed Under: Media Business

Pictures of Themselves: The 2020 College Essays on Money

August 28, 2020 by Leave a Comment

Green double treble crochet stitches take me back to the smell of wet pine needles in the spring, laughter from my sisters climbing high on tree limbs, the curve of mountain roads. Green is the forest of my childhood, sheltering my first home. I taste the smoke from our old wood stove and see the oil lanterns flickering in and out. The cabin in the woods where my sister was born, water from the river that she took her first bath in.

Green fades into blue as squares meet, treetops brush the sky. I see myself, young and spinning across a playground with my classmates. I am at my one-room schoolhouse, holding hands with the two other children in my grade and lying with our backs on grass, looking up at the never-ending sky. We whisper dreams of becoming doctors, actors, artists.

I see the blue of California oceans as I leave for high school, finding my home away from home. Pine trees replaced by palm trees and sand between my toes. I recall beach cleanups and surfing trips, touching shy sea anemones in tide pools. Blue paint on signs for women’s marches and the sound of people beside me who want to be heard. We demand equality.

Purple is for my mother. It’s her favorite color. It reminds me of her strength and determination. I feel her calloused hands from work on the farm, work in the field, and chemical burns from cleaning jobs. I smell her earthy clothes as she studies at the kitchen table, determined to finish her homework so that she can finally graduate college after decades of trying. I see the violet sky at dawn; when the sun rises so does she. Mother up at twilight to start her day, breath released in freezing clouds as she milks the goats and feeds the chickens, never disappointing the hungry mouths that depend on her. Each day, I recall the things she has given up for my sake. Her sacrifice and desire for me to succeed encourage me to be better and work harder. Yet, I desire more. I do not want to live like her, I want better.

Red stitches are passionate outbursts. Angry shouts from Dad as he returns in the middle of the night, breath sour from drinking. Tears of happiness after receiving his first chip for a year of sobriety. Screams echoing from my biological father’s mouth as he hurls threats that sting like arrows as his disease makes him chase his family away. Scarlet stitches of fear during our six months without a roof over our heads after he forced us from our home. Pain in my sister’s eyes after she begged for help from friends with deaf ears. Promises that we will keep her safe, and check-in calls after I leave home.

Twist, bend, through the loop. Repeat.

Each stitch is a part of me. I rarely relive these aspects of my upbringing, but I call on them when I need to be reminded of my strength. When I completed the blanket, I cried. I was proud. I made this. This is me.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/your-money/pictures-of-themselves-the-2020-college-essays-on-money.html

Filed Under: Your Money

Frank Cullotta, Mobster Turned Memoirist and YouTuber, Dies at 81

August 28, 2020 by Leave a Comment

Mr. Cullotta agreed to help the F.B.I. and testified that he had been following Mr. Spilotro’s orders when he killed a man named Sherwin Lister. Mr. Spilotro, he said, believed Mr. Lister had agreed to cooperate with the government in a case against him.

Mr. Cullotta was granted immunity for his previously uncharged crimes but sentenced to 10 years in prison. (The term was reduced to eight years). He was paroled in 1984 and entered the federal witness protection program.

In his 2007 memoir, “Cullotta: The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster, and Government Witness,” Mr. Cullotta wrote that he had been involved in four murders, 20 arsons and more than 500 robberies and burglaries.

“I think that Frank saw his worst acts of crime — the murders he committed — in a similar way that soldiers in the Army see their duty,” Geoff Schumacher, the vice president of exhibits and programs for the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, said in a phone interview.

“That said, he was very careful about his remorse,” Mr. Schumacher added. “He didn’t go out of his way to apologize.”

Mr. Cullotta later returned to Las Vegas and began giving tours at the Mob Museum. After his first memoir, he wrote two more with the true-crime author Dennis N. Griffin. He was a consultant on Martin Scorsese’s 1995 movie “Casino,” which was loosely based on Mr. Spilotro’s career in Las Vegas, and had a cameo as a hit man.

Mr. Cullotta’s marriage to Ann Blandi ended in divorce, as did his marriage to Marie Giavonco. He later married Elaine Costanza, who survives him, along with a daughter from his first marriage, Angela Russo; a stepdaughter, Kim; and his brother, Joseph.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/24/obituaries/frank-cullotta-dead-coronavirus.html

Filed Under: Media Business
« Previous Page
Next Page »