Singer Newton Denies Dealings With Organized Crime

Entertainer Wayne Newton opened testimony in his defamation suit against the National Broadcasting Co. on Thursday by denying that he ever knowingly did business with organized crime.

Later in the day, Newton fought back tears as he told the federal court jury about calling a reputed crime figure for help in getting death threats against his daughter stopped.

“I would have called the devil himself to save my daughter’s life,” he said.

Newton, 44, sued NBC five years ago over a series of network reports on him in 1980-81, including an Oct. 6, 1980, broadcast titled “Wayne Newton and the Law” that he claimed made it appear that his 50% ownership in the Aladdin Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip was a front for mob money.

Newton contends that network reporters conspired with talk-show host Johnny Carson to link him with East Coast mob figures.

Newton and longtime Las Vegas gaming executive Ed Torres were equal partners in the $85-million purchase of the Aladdin Hotel in 1980. Carson was among the losing bidders. Newton later sold his interest to Torres.

Before Newton took the stand, his attorney, Morton Galane, aired the three-minute NBC report by news correspondent Brian Ross. It said that a federal grand jury was investigating the role of reputed New York Gambino family mob member Guido Penosi in the Las Vegas and Hollywood entertainment industry, including his role in Newton’s purchase of the Aladdin.

Newton testified that he was unaware of organized crime figures or reports of organized crime figures controlling the Las Vegas resort.

“I don’t really read the newspapers,” Newton said. “The important stuff will reach me. The rest is just bad news. I don’t believe reading newspapers and watching television will make you aware. I believe in personal contact.”

Newton said he called Penosi, a man he had met 17 years earlier while performing at the Copacabana nightclub in New York City, when he received death threats against his 4-year-old daughter, Erin, in February, 1980.

Newton said the threats ceased after he contacted Penosi.