All Categories
Product Description King of the Strip From the 1970s through the mid-1980s, the Chicago Outfit dominated organized crime in Las Vegas. Unreported revenue, known as the "skim," from Outfit-controlled casinos made its way out of Vegas by the bagful, ending up in the coffers of the Windy City crime bosses and their confederates around the Midwest. To ensure the smooth flow of cash, the gangsters installed a front man with no criminal background, Allen R. Glick, as the casino owner of record, Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal as the real boss of casino operations, and Tony Spilotro as the ultimate enforcer, who'd do whatever it took to protect their interests. It wasn't long before Spilotro, also in charge of Vegas street crime, was known as the "King of the Strip." Federal and local law enforcement, recognizing the need to rid the casinos of the mob and shut down Spilotro's rackets, declared war on organized crime. The Battle for Las Vegas relates the story of the fight between the tough guys on both sides, told in large part by the agents and detectives who knew they had to win. Review A solid, well-researched account of the years Anthony Spilotro was the Chicago Outfit's enforcer in Las Vegas. -- Sunrise View, May 16, 2006Dennis N. Griffin uses all of his investigative and interviewing skills to bring this fascinating story to his readers. -- Rome Sentinel, July 22, 2006If you want to know about Las Vegas in the mob days, this book says it all. A great read. -- Tru Hawkins, KDWN Radio, April 2, 2006No punches are pulled in this hard-hitting account of some of the most vicious men to ever walk the earth. -- Salem-News.com, August 13, 2006 From the Inside Flap Â"Tony Spilotro was the organized crime kingpin in Las Vegas for several years. I was a cop there at the time, and was in charge of the police department during four of the most eventful years. The Battle for Las Vegas tells it like it was, and is a story long past due. Even though I was part of those times, I still have trouble believing it actually happened.Â" Sheriff John McCarthy, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (retired) From the Back Cover Â"There has been a lot written and filmed about the days when the mob reigned in Las Vegas, mostly from the point of view of the mobsters and their attorneys. In The Battle for Las Vegas, Dennis Griffin has added balance by including the law enforcement side of things. If you want to know the true story of what it was really like back then, you need to read this book.Â" Lt. Gene Smith, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (retired) About the Author In 1994, Dennis N. Griffin retired after a 20-year career in investigations and law enforcement in New York and moved to Las Vegas. In 1996 he wrote his first novel, “The Morgue,” based on an actual case he investigated, and currently has six mystery thrillers in print, in addition to four non-fiction titles for Huntington Press: “Policing Las Vegas,” “The Battle for Las Vegas,” “Cullotta,” and “Surviving the Mob.” He is an active member of the Mystery Writers of America, Las Vegas Valley Writers Group, Henderson Writers Group, and the Police Writers Association and is a consultant and frequent on-screen contributor to documentaries and films about the history of the Mob. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Customers who were caught cheating the casinos met different faiths, depending on whom they had plucked and for how much. ”At my place on the Strip, we didn't go for the rough stuff,” Mickey said. “You might miss a guy up a little and he comes back later with a gun or goes to the cops or the Gaming Control Board. The main concern was recovering our money and making sure the cheater knew he wasn't welcome back. But the cheats didn't know that when they got hustled off to the back room. I'm sure a lot of them thought they'd never be seen again. ”Usually they’d offer to give it up [the money],” Mickey contin