Shadow and light converge on Mob Museum

No one can blame the guy for being curious.

It turns out not all the mobsters were in display cases Tuesday morning at the grand opening of the sparkling National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement. The Mob Museum does a spectacular job of hauling into custody the major elements of the violent American criminal subculture, but it appears one tough customer slipped the dragnet.

Moving from shadow to light through the crowd of well- wishers, reporters and gawkers was none other than New England mafia figure Vinny Ferrara. The man once known as "the Animal" kept a low profile during the ceremony.

With his background, Ferrara could have taught a doctoral seminar on organized crime. Educated on Hanover Street in Boston's North End as well as at St. John's University, Ferrara gained infamy as capo in the Patriarca crime family.

His presence at the museum opening was like seeing a shark fin in a kiddie pool and added a certain realistic face-slap to the nostalgic vaudeville show that featured the "Jersey Boys" (the Four Seasons impersonators, not members of the DeCavalcante family), vintage automobiles, flashy flappers, and costumed cops and robbers.

The Jersey Boys were finger-popping good. Former FBI Special Agent in Charge Ellen Knowlton was her usual impeccably credible self. And Mayors Carolyn and Oscar Goodman continued their popular routine as the Nick and Nora Charles of Las Vegas.

But Ferrara provided a reminder to the gangster groupies that this mob business isn't all fun and games and interactive exhibits. Every now and then, someone gets put to sleep.

Ferrara wasn't alone among the retired street guys -- he is retired, right? -- who were drawn to the Mob Museum's opening. There were former mobsters and noted government witnesses and authors Frank Cullotta and Henry Hill. The G-men were represented, too. Among several were ex-Las Vegas FBI agents Dennis Arnoldy and Gary Magnesen, who helped take down the Chicago Outfit's tough-guy contingent here in the 1980s.

The mix of infamous characters and law enforcement veterans provided the ideal metaphor for the Mob Museum's theme, and for Las Vegas generally: shadow and light. We are the great American crossroads of acceptable sin. Without Las Vegas, salvation in civilized society would be downright mundane.

Maybe the light and shadow worlds were destined to mix here. I suspect they were. College of Southern Nevada history professor Michael Green, who consults for the Mob Museum, reminds me of a story that reflects the existence of those two forces at work back in the early 1930s when the federal government was considering constructing the post office and courthouse at 300 Stewart Avenue. Although unconfirmed, the tale is so good it has to be true.

The proposed construction site was adjacent to Block 16, Las Vegas' infamous row of brothel cribs. The government's message: "Get rid of the red-light district and we'll build you the building." City fathers, mindful of the revenue and kickbacks the whorehouses generated, replied, "Give us the building, and we'll get rid of the red-light district."

The federal government eventually relented, and Block 16 faded from existence -- 10 years later.

"It was one of the great bluff moves," Green says. "If you want to talk about bluffing in a poker game, that was it."

Although the Mob Museum's theme and $42 million price tag have drawn some criticism, skeptics should know that approximately $30 million went into restoring the historic building. Instead of standing empty or crumbling in ruins, it sparkles with a new purpose and can't help but increase the vitality of the downtown economy.

The museum itself is meant to inform and entertain, not serve as the last word on organized crime investigation. It's just a rumor, but I hear not all of America's gangsters want to be relegated to the museum's walls.

If officials are looking for a testimonial from an authentic source, maybe they should ask Vinny Ferrara.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Email him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 702-383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith.