FROM WIRE REPORTS

ST. LOUIS

October 26, 1997

Matthew "Mikey" Trupiano, 58, known to authorities as the ruler of the St. Louis mob, died Wednesday of a heart attack.

For much of his life, Trupiano held office in the Local 110 of the Laborers Union in a St. Louis suburb.

But authorities also invariably identified Trupiano as head of what has been in recent years a weak and disorganized St. Louis mob.

In 1991, federal agents charged Trupiano with gambling for his involvement in an illegal gin rummy game in a back room at a used-car dealership.

Trupiano was later sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

In July Trupiano was added to the Missouri Gaming Commission's "black book" of people barred from the state's riverboat casinos.