Think the Mafia is gone? Think again, Mob Museum expert says
The Mafia’s presence in Las Vegas, New York and other large American cities has been long documented and romanticized, and seeing the mob back in the headlines in 2025 shouldn’t be surprising, according to an organized crime expert.
“If you think the traditional mob is gone, guess again,” said Geoff Schumacher, vice president of exhibits and programs for the Mob Museum in Las Vegas.
Federal authorities on Thursday unsealed indictments in which 31 people were charged in a pair of alleged gambling schemes, one of which the government said entailed rigging illegal high-stakes poker games that were backed by members and associates of multiple La Cosa Nostra crime families.
Among those arrested were NBA notables such as Portland Trailblazers head coach Chauncey Billups and former player Damon Jones — who appeared Thursday at a federal courthouse in Las Vegas — as well as alleged members and associates the Gambino, Genovese and Bonnano crime families. Others, like Shane “Sugar” Hennen, of Pennsylvania and Nevada, are accused of supplying devices to rig games, or other crimes like money laundering.
“Clearly, they still exist in New York City, in particular,” Schumacher continued. “They’ve taken a lot of hits over the years. It’s natural for people to think that they are not a major part of the crime network in New York today, but these indictments suggest that they still have some stuff up the sleeve.”
Many of the crimes alleged by federal prosecutors were easy to get away with for so long because they allegedly occurred outside the purview of gaming regulators, Schumacher said.
“This is not new,” he said. “The mob has been doing this kind of thing for years.”
It’s not clear if additional arrests are expected. Sandy Breault, public affairs specialist for the FBI Las Vegas field office, said in a phone call Friday the bureau is not responding to media inquiries because of a lack of funding spurred by the federal government shutdown. The Metropolitan Police Department was not involved with arresting or investigating those who were arrested Thursday, a spokesperson said in an email.
‘The mob will find a way to get it’
While its true that anti-racketeering legislation and advancements in surveillance technology helped severely diminish the mob’s influence during the 1980s and 1990s, organized crime didn’t totally die out in part because federal law enforcement began to focus instead on domestic and foreign terrorism, Schumacher said. Around that time, crime families also started to cut back on violent tactics and began engaging in more financial crimes, Schumacher added.
“They recognized that killing people and maiming people was going to really attract a lot of attention,” Schumacher said. “So today, I think you’re still talking about bookmaking, you’re talking about loan sharking. You’re not so much talking about the extortion of businessmen. … I mean, how are you going to shake down a Starbucks, right?”
Schumacher said it’s not likely there is a crime family based in Las Vegas today, at least not in the traditional sense. But Vegas can still be a target for cyber criminals, drug cartels and other organized crime groups from Asia and Eastern Europe, Schumacher said.
“For the most part, Las Vegas has outlasted the traditional mob,” Schumacher said, adding a caveat the Mafia will always find a way to turn a profit. “Whenever there’s cash to be made, especially cash, the mob will find a way to get it.”
Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @casey-harrison.bsky.social on Bluesky.
Think the Mafia is gone? Think again, Mob Museum expert says
