It was the final chapter of the troubled Las Vegas Strip resort controlled by the mob two decades earlier, then rescued by a big-name entertainer only to fall into ruin.
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Harry Claiborne — the Nevada judge who stood up to prosecutors fighting the mob — was charged with bribery and filing false tax returns, and was the first federal judge to be impeached by the House.
Newton wound up suing NBC for libel, and even tied his nemesis, Johnny Carson, into what became a decade-long litigation after a news report by Brian Ross.
Nevada Governor Robert List was embarking on one of the most critical tasks in the history of the state — breaking the mob’s grip on the world-famous Las Vegas Strip.
Wayne Newton and Johnny Carson, two of the biggest stars in the entertainment world, both set their sights on buying the Aladdin after regulators stripped the resort’s owners of their gaming licenses.
A live virtual event co-sponsored by the Las Vegas Review-Journal evoked the dramatic history of organized crime in the valley.
Las Vegas Review-Journal Podcast Producer Reed Redmond and Mob Museum VP of Exhibits and Programs Geoff Schumacher hosted a live Q&A about the history of the mob in Las Vegas.
Seemingly against the odds, Frank Cullotta is still standing — no small feat, considering he flipped on one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the history of the United States.
Part 10 of “Mobbed Up” tells the story of the murder of reputed Las Vegas enforcer for the Chicago mob Anthony Spilotro and his brother Michael.
Part 9 of “Mobbed Up” tells the story of a surprise witness during a sentencing hearing for Lawrence Neumann, a member of the “Hole in the Wall Gang.”
Part 8 of ‘Mobbed Up’ tells the story of the start of the FBI’s Strawman investigation, through electronic surveillance audio and interviews with former members of law enforcement in Kansas City.
The “Hole in the Wall Gang” earned its nickname by busting holes in walls and roofs to gain entry into homes and businesses. Such was the plan in 1981 when the crew looked to execute its most ambitious score to date.
The sixth installment of Mobbed Up recounts Harry Reid’s years on the Nevada Gaming Commission. “The mob would have destroyed Las Vegas,” Reid states on the episode.
By the mid-1970s, the Argent Corporation’s Las Vegas ‘empire’ comprised four casinos: the Fremont, the Hacienda, the Marina and, most famously, the Stardust.
It could have ended with a fistfight. Instead, the chance encounter between Frank Cullotta and Tony Spilotro sparked a friendship that would span decades.