Oscar Goodman loves telling a good story — almost as much as he enjoys his Bombay Sapphire gin. He had both at his disposal while recording Season 3 of “Mobbed Up,” the Review-Journal’s award-winning podcast.
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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.
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.
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.
State gaming control agents were on the Las Vegas Strip preparing to take unprecedented enforcement action to shut down the casino of the mob-ridden Aladdin Hotel.
Jimmy Hoffa and his friends in the mob played a big role in developing Las Vegas through their control over the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund, and the millions of dollars in loans it extended to casinos.
The Aladdin hotel and its ties to the Detroit mob in the late 1970s are explored in new episodes of the podcast. Also featured: Wayne Newton and Johnny Carson’s feud.
Frank Cullotta, the former Chicago mobster who was a consultant on the movie “Casino,” has died. He was 81.
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.
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