- Abadinsky
ORGANIZED CRIME, 4th ed., by Howard Abadinsky, Nelson-Hall, Chicago, IL, 1994.
1920s Section on Paul Ricca
... Ricca arrived in New York in 1920, fleeing prosecution for murder, and eventually settled in Chicago. There he secured employment with "Diamond Joe" Esposito, a major bootlegger and political power. He also worked in Esposito's restaurant, earning the nickname "Paul the Waiter". ... With the imprisonment of Capone, Ricca emerged the major power in Chicago organized crime. When Ricca was imprisoned for his role in the theater scheme, Tony Accardo emerged as leader of the Outfit.
p. 192.
1920s Section on Sam Giancana
His younger brother ... and godson ... report that as an adolescent, Momo [Sam] Giancana served as a gunman for Al Capone and ran sugar shipments for Joe Esposito. He was arrested thirteen times in 1926, fifteen times in 1927, and twenty-two times in 1928. ... In 1928 Esposito was gunned down, reportedly by Giancana on orders from Capone ...
p. 194.
1930s to 1980s Section on Las Vegas
... In 1931 the state of Nevada legalized gambling and established licensing procedures for those wishing to operate gambling establishments. Then came Bugsy Siegel, the first important criminal to recognize the potential ... . Operating out of California "from about 1942 until the time of his death, Siegel controlled the wire-service in Las Vegas through Moe Sedway, a long-time associate of many New York mobsters, who Siegel brought to Las Vegas. Through control of the wire-service, Siegel controlled the operations of all handbooks operating in Las Vegas." ....
With financing from organized crime leaders throughout the country, including Frank Costello, Meyer Lansky, Moe Dalitz of the Cleveland syndicate, Tony Accardo of the Chicago Outfit, and Longie Zwillman of New Jersey, Siegel built the Flamingo Hotel ... .
Since Siegel's murder in 1947, the Flamingo and a number of plush hotels were controlled (through hidden interests) by organized crime units. ... In 1983, several Stardust Hotel employees were prosecuted and the owners (of record) were forced to sell the hotel. The Stardust was originally licensed to Moe Dalitz, who sold it to Howard Hughes in 1967. In 1983, two Kansas City organized crime figures and an executive of the Tropicana Hotel-Casino were sentenced to long prison terms for skimming operations. The top leaders of organized crime in Chicago, Kansas City, Cleveland and Milwaukee were sentenced to prison in 1986 for skimming the profits of Las Vegas casinos.
p. 310-312.
1986 Section on Sam Giancana
In 1986, top leaders of the Outfit were convicted of skimming $2 million from gambling casinos in Las Vegas, except Accardo, who had assumed senior/semi-retired status. The leaders received long prison sentences: Outfit boss Joseph J. Aiuppa (b. 1907); his second in command, John P. Cerone (b. 1914); Jospeh Lombardo (b. 1929); Angelo LaPietra (b. 1920). Also convicted were Milwaukee crime boss Frank Balistrieri and Carl DeLuna, Milton ("Maishe") Rockman.
p. 197.
- Ryan
ORGANIZED CRIME: A REFERENCE HANDBOOK, by Patrick J Ryan, ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, CA, 1995.
1942 - date: Casinos, Las Vegas Nights, and Private Clubs.
Nevada legalized gambling in 1942. Immediately, mob leader benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel set up business. With financing from gangsters such as Frank Costello and Meyer Lanksy, Siegel firmly established the mob's hold on all aspects of the business, from card dealers to delivery men. Mob money came into las Vegas from all over the country. Ex-bootleggers were well equipped to use the new gambling law to their own advantage ...
Most of the organized crime interests in Las Vegas, Reno, and later, Atrlantic city, New Jersey are masked by front people.
p. 13.
1908 - : Joseph J Aiuppa (Doves)
Aiuppa is a long-time member and leader of The Outfit [ie, Chicago mob]. In 1986 Aiuppa and several associates were convicted of milking $2 million from the profits of Las Vegas gambling houses; long prison sentences were imposed.
p. 114.
- Albanese
ORGANIZED CRIME IN AMERICA, 2nd ed., by Jay Albanese, Anderson Publishing, Cincinnati, OH, 1989.
The Mob Trials of the 1980s
Among the men involved in the major organised crime trials during 1985-1987 are these men whose offenses related to Las Vegas:
Joseph Lombardo, age 58, + 4 others; reputed Chicago organized crime figure; offense - Las Vegas casino skimming + hidden control. Outcome - 16 years + $150,000 fine & restitution.
Anthony Spilotro, age 47, + 8 others; alleged overseer of Las Vegas for Chicago crime group; offense - conspiracy, racketeering in Las Vegas burglary ring. Outcome: Mis-trial. Spilotro found murdered 2 days before re-trial.
p. 62-63.
- Gage
MAFIA, U.S.A. edited by Nicholas Gage, Playboy Press, Chicago, 1972.
1972 -"It is not at all unusal for singers to have to deal with gangsters, who have a stake in many of the nightclubs where entertainers get their start. But no other entertainer [i.e., Frank Sinatra] has ever built such acquaintances into enduring friendships." p. 309-310.
- Chapter 19 Sinatra is a pal
- Kuntz & Kuntz
THE SINATRA FILES: THE SECRET FBI DOSSIER, edited by Tom & Phil Kuntz, Three Rivers Press, New York, 2000.
1954
Frank Sinatra buys a two percent interest (later increased) in the Sands Hotel, Las Vegas.
p. xxvi.
1963
Frank Sinatra sells his interest in the Cal-Neva Lodge in Lake Tahoe and the Sands Hotel, Las Vegas after Giancana had been seen at the Cal-Neva Lodge while banned from the casino.
p. xx.
- Lacey
LITTLE MAN: MEYER LANSKY AND THE GANGSTER LIFE by Robert Lacey, Little, Brown & Co, [s.l.], 1991.
1950s - 1960s
"The FBI's interest in the casinos of Las Vegas and their hidden eastern points holders had started in 1957 ... " p. 299
In 1961, the FBI were bugging the Fremont Hotel in Las Vegas. They learned that Lansky's skimming syndicate was gathering in cash from the Sands, the Flamingo, and Benny Binion's Horseshoe. They had to stop bugging when the bug was discovered in 1963.
p. 296-297.
It took a little time, but in 1967 the Sands became the second Las Vegas hotel to be owned by an outside company ... The first sale had been of Moe Dalitz's Desert Inn, also to Howard Hughes - the beginning of the transformation by which Las Vegas has become the preserve of conglomerates and publicly quoted corporations. ... In the course of the next decade, Las Vegas casinos multiplied many times in value and came to change hands for hundreds of millions of dollars.
p. 300-301.
- Morton
GANGLAND INTERNATIONAL: THE MAFIA AND OTHER MOBS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY by James Morton. Warner, London, 1999. Pbk.
mid 1970s - In the mid 1970s the Chicago mobsters owned most Las Vegas hotels. The exceptions were the Aladdin (Detroit mob) and the Tropicana (New Yorkers). p. 327.
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