Mobbed Up: The Fight for Las Vegas

In the final episode of Season 3, we go back to the beginning of what shaped Oscar Goodman, including the death of his late sister, whose death has impacted his life for decades. Despite his worldwide notoriety as a public figure and bon vivant, Goodman still finds some of his fondest memories tied to the place he calls home and the foundation for the mob: Las Vegas.

You’ve heard from former reporters, members of law enforcement, mob family members, and experts. Some have referred to Oscar Goodman as a hero and others question some of his recollections. Now, Goodman gets the chance to respond as he hears from our guests for the first time.

After rising to prominence defending some of the biggest names in organized crime and trying more than 300 criminal cases over his career, Oscar Goodman makes a big change — from mob attorney to mayor of Las Vegas. His wife, current Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman, also provides her take on being married to Goodman from the start of his career through the height of the mob era to today.

The public and private war between Oscar Goodman and the FBI heats up with the Phil Leonetti case. Goodman represented Leonetti in Philadelphia and received backlash for going back to his hometown to represent him. Former special attorney Stan Hunterton breaks down why witnesses in high-profile cases might change their tune in court in favor of the prosecution. Goodman discusses his courtroom stra...

In Oscar Goodman’s words, “flippers are rats – and I wouldn’t represent rats.” He highlights several past and more recent cases where he feels this scenario occurred. Goodman’s disdain for flipping witnesses to obtain convictions extends back to another well-known name and mob associate: Frank Cullotta. Hear how Cullotta’s turn as a government witness led to a contentious relationship with Goodman...

Oscar Goodman’s long list of clients includes names like Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal and Meyer Lansky. The third episode focuses on Oscar Goodman’s relationships in and out of the courtroom with the crime associates.  Goodman talks about the depiction of these men in the movie Casino and addresses some of the things the movie got wrong, including the portrayal of Rosenthal’s wife and his infamous silk...

Special Attorney Stan Hunterton starts by rolling back time through his description of what Las Vegas was during the mob era of the 70s. This will set the scene for helping the audience understand the mob’s presence in the community at a time that was very glamorous for our town. We will flash forward to today where Oscar talks about his homage to Spilotro in his downtown restaurant. This has been...

In the premiere episode, Oscar Goodman sets the stage for what has been described as the crime of the century. Oscar talks about how he landed in the middle of the Jimmy Chagra case in which Chagra allegedly paid Charles Harrelson $250K to murder Judge John Wood outside his home. This case put Oscar under the microscope and in turn, the spotlight on Las Vegas.   The feds indicted Jimmy Chagra, Cha...

In November, a sixth set of human remains was found in Lake Mead and a Texas woman got confirmation that the 5th body found this year belonged to her father, who drowned in the lake 20 years ago. These discoveries come in the wake of water levels reaching their lowest point since the reservoir was being filled in 1937. Officials have yet to identify the victims, but that isn’t stopping Las Vegas f...

Longtime gaming executive and consultant Ed Nigro was in the middle of the battle between Wayne Newton and Johnny Carson to buy the Aladdin Hotel after the mob was kicked out.    Nigro was appointed to manage the Aladdin until it could be sold to reputable buyers, and then partnered with Carson in his bid to take over the Aladdin.     In this season-ending forum at The Mob Museum, Nigro joins Seas...

A bonus episode for Season 2 of Mobbed Up. Jeff German, Review-Journal investigative reporter and host for Season 2, interviews longtime Golden Steer waiter Venko Nikolov about his memories of mob hitman Frank Cullotta at the iconic Las Vegas steakhouse.

On the evening of April 27, 1998, there was an almost festive atmosphere on the Las Vegas Strip. Television news helicopters were hovering and an estimated 20,000 onlookers gathered on the streets. At 7:30 p.m. the financially unstable Aladdin Hotel tumbled down in a coordinated implosion. Some say it was cursed since its days of pillaging under hidden mob control. With all of its troubles, the re...

Federal judge Harry Claiborne frustrated federal prosecutors hunting the mob in Las Vegas - he was not afraid to block efforts if he thought they were being unfair. The judge also fought with gaming regulators over his decision to wrestle away control of the Aladdin. In 1986, Claiborne became the first federal judge in 50 years to be impeached, convicted and removed from the bench by Congress beca...

It’s a moment of jubilation for Wayne Newton in September 1980 as he appears before the Nevada Gaming Commission. He has just been approved as the new co-owner of the Aladdin. But he and his attorney are confronted by an NBC crew, asking questions about alleged ties to the mob. An investigative report out days later came as the Midnight Idol’s career was rocking. He was not only a casino owner but...

Armed with a mass of FBI wiretap transcripts, newly sworn-in 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. During his term, he received death threats, wore a bulletproof vest, and faced an undercover sting. Other officials found bombs in their cars. The FBI was stepping up the p...

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. Newton, the “Midnight Idol,” was the number one headliner at several hotels. Carson co-owned a Las Vegas television station and performed stand-up comedy on weekends on the Strip. Once friendly, thei...

Mafia is an Audioboom Original that delves into the criminal underworld, exploring the lives and careers of America’s most infamous gangsters. This season will cover mafiosos from around the US; including LA’s Aladena ‘Jimmy the Weasel’ Fratianno (an acting mob boss turned informant), ‘Silver Dollar’ Sam Carollo (a Sicilian immigrant who established Cosa Nostra in New Orleans), and the leader of t...

The Nevada Gaming Commission voted unanimously to close the Aladdin’s mob-controlled gaming floor in August 1979, but colorful federal judge Harry Claiborne ordered it reopened. It was a big blow to both state regulators and federal mob-fighting prosecutors. Everyone was mad. The state had taken away the gaming licenses of the Aladdin’s top executives following their federal convictions in Detroit...

Jimmy Hoffa’s disappearance led to a big push against organized crime across the country, including Las Vegas, where Hoffa, the mob’s banker, had breathed life into the casino industry. And today, 46 years later, just what happened to the charismatic labor boss who helped shape the Strip skyline remains one of this country’s biggest mysteries.

  It’s July 2, 1976. Music legend Neil Diamond is opening the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts, one of the finest stages ever constructed in Las Vegas. The theater is $10 million worth of class. It was designed to be part of the city’s future, but it was built on the city’s past - part of a $50 million hotel expansion financed by the Teamsters Central States Pension fund, a mob-controlled f...

Season 2 of “Mobbed Up: The Fight for Las Vegas,” an eight-part, true-crime series, takes you to the late 1970s and early 1980s, an unforgettable era in the battle against organized crime in Las Vegas. Mafia families wielded hidden control over more than a third of the Strip's casinos, and federal and state agents were waking up to the enormous task of pushing them out. This series is produced by...

This week, Mobbed Up host Reed Redmond and Mob Museum VP of Exhibits of Programs Geoff Schumacher hosted 'Mobbed Up Live,' which aired on the Las Vegas Review-Journal website and Facebook page. The livestream included panel discussions with voices from the podcast, as well as a follow-up interview with Sen. Harry Reid about his time on the Nevada Gaming Commission.  Full video of 'Mobbed Up Live'...

"I'm probably the only guy standing right now."  Decades after it was at the center of a federal racketeering case, the aging Stardust hotel-casino is imploded to make way for a new resort project. Meanwhile, Frank Cullotta has returned to living under his own name in Las Vegas.    Join us for Mobbed Up LIVE on Aug. 4 at 7 p.m. Pacific on the Las Vegas Review-Journal Facebook page . Send your ques...

"They didn't care if you were a mobster or a corporate executive or a politician or a federal agent."  When Frank Cullotta arrived in Las Vegas in 1978, one of his first stops was The Golden Steer Steakhouse, where he and Tony Spilotro sat down to discuss their plans for the future over dinner. The restaurant's current owner, Dr. Michael J. Signorelli, shares a few tales from the Steer's storied p...

“He always said if you pull a gun on somebody, you finish it.”  Tony Spilotro goes missing in June of 1986, last seen driving away from his brother's home in suburban Illinois. Over two decades later, a racketeering trial in Chicago reveals what happened after that.  For more on this episode, visit www.reviewjournal.com/mobbedup . To learn about The Mob Museum, visit  www.themobmuseum.org .