Download or read book 30 Illegal Years to the Strip written by Bill Friedman and published by . This book was released on 2015-04-06 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the inside story of Prohibition's most powerful leaders, who later ran elegant, illegal casinos across America, before moving on to build the glamorous Las Vegas Strip gambling resorts.The seven leaders of the three dominating Prohibition gangs imported the world's finest liquors on a massive scale. Although in an illegal and dangerous business, these seven espoused traditional business values and rejected the key tools of organized crime - monopoly, violence, and vendetta. This made them the most unlikely gangsters to rise to underworld leadership. But they earned every criminal's respect, and fate made them the most powerful gangland leaders in American history.In the mid 1900s, these seven leaders stood up to, and restrained, America's worst villains. The seven prevented many gangland wars and killings. Unbelievably, the most murderous and most psychopathic gang leaders not only admired them but supported them in gangland conflicts. These were the first gangs to work closely together in mutual interest. Joining these three dominating liquor-importers was the violent Chicago Capone gang, as they partnered in both illegal and legal businesses during and after Prohibition. They were also close allies in the complexities, treachery, and violence of underworld politics.Some of these seven leaders became powerful overworld political kingmakers. Allied with them in New York City politics was Arnold Rothstein, the ultimate gambler. His murder is one of several major gangland killings finally solved here. The biggest-drawing entertainer in these gang leaders' illegal-casino and Strip-resort showrooms was comedian Joe E. Lewis. He set the standards for excellence during the half-century popularity of nightclub and casino showroom entertainment.The careers and relationships of the gang leaders, who together would go on to build the Las Vegas Strip, are presented for the first time in this thoroughly documented, in-depth, authentic history of how organized crime developed. It contains 546 source notes, and many addendums that expose the serious fallacies and outright fictions of previous books about early organized crime.

Download or read book Storming Las Vegas written by John Huddy and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2009-04-28 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On September 20, 1998, Jose Vigoa, a child of Fidel Castro’s revolution, launched what would be the most audacious and ruthless series of high-profile casino and armored car robberies that Las Vegas had ever seen. In a brazen sixteen-month reign of terror, he and his crew would hit the crème de la crème of Vegas hotels: the MGM, the Desert Inn, the New York—New York, the Mandalay Bay, and the Bellagio. The robberies were well planned and executed, and the police–“the stupids,” as Vigoa contemptuously referred to them–were all but helpless to stop them. But Lt. John Alamshaw, the twenty-three-year veteran in charge of robbery detectives, was not giving up so easily. For him, Vigoa’s rampage was a personal affront. And he would do whatever it took, even risk his badge, to bring Vigoa down.

Download or read book Suburban Xanadu written by David Schwartz G and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2003-06-03 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First Published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Download or read book Top Hoodlum written by Anthony M. DeStefano and published by Citadel Press. This book was released on 2018-06-26 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive book on the ultimate mob boss—featuring new FBI revelations, rare family photos, and never-before-published material. To authorities, Frank Costello was “The Prime Minister of the Underworld” and “one of the most powerful and influential Mafia leaders in the U.S.” To friends and associates, he was simply “Uncle Frank.” Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Anthony M. DeStefano sets out to answer who Frank Costello really was in this definitive portrait of one of the most fascinating figures in the annals of American crime . . . Using newly released FBI files, eyewitness accounts, and family mementos, Top Hoodlum takes you inside the Mafia that Frank Costello helped build from the ground up. These are the riveting stories and stunning revelations that have inspired American crime classics like The Godfather, Casino, Goodfellas, and The Sopranos. This is the man who made the Mafia such a powerful force in our nation’s history. The man who refused to admit his crimes long after he retired. This is Top Hoodlum. Praise for Anthony M. DeStefano and his books on the Mafia “Thrilling American crime writing.” —Jimmy Breslin on King of the Godfatherss “Terrific . . . A fitting end to the murderous story of the 1978 Lufthansa heist.” —Nicholas Pileggi, author of Wiseguy on The Big Heist “The best and last word on the subject . . . DeStefano brings the story to life.” —Jerry Capeci, creator of the website GangLandNews “DeStefano tells Costello’s story well.” —Kirkus Reviews “A master at cutting through the secrecy of the Mafia.” —Publishers Weekly

Download or read book Boss of Murder Inc written by Michael Newton and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2020-03-25 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Umberto Anastasio, better known as Albert Anastasia, was an Italian-American mobster and hitman who became one of the deadliest criminals in American history and one of the founders of the modern American Mafia in New York City. For all-out savagery and ruthlessness, few other leaders of the Mafia worldwide have rivaled Anastasia, known to peers as "The Mad Hatter" and to journalists as "The Lord High Executioner." After escaping a death sentence in 1921 and multiple other arrests for murder, he later served as director of the national crime syndicate's contract murder department ("Murder, Inc.") from 1931 until informers brought it down ten years later. By 1951 he led one of New York City's Five Families, a post he held until his public barbershop assassination in October 1957. This first-ever book-length biography of Anastasia traces the mobster's life and the ripple effects his career had on the American crime world. The story also tracks his brothers and their families, while debunking certain widespread myths about their parentage, various deportations, trials, convictions, and eventual retirement from the mob, dead or alive.

Download or read book Blood Aces written by Doug J. Swanson and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2015-07-28 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A rip-roaring saga of murder, money, and the making of Las Vegas They say in Vegas you can’t understand the town unless you understand Benny Binion—mob boss, casino owner, and creator of the World Series of Poker. Beginning as a Texas horse trader, Binion built a gambling empire in Depression-era Dallas. When the law chased him out of town, he loaded up suitcases with cash and headed for Vegas. The place would never be the same. Dramatic as any gangster movie, Blood Aces draws readers into the colorful world of notorious mobsters like Clyde Barrow and Bugsy Siegel. Given access to previously classified government documents, biographer Doug J. Swanson provides the definitive account of a great American antihero, a man whose rise from thugdom to prominence and power is unmatched in the history of American criminal justice.

Download or read book Illegal Possession written by Kay Hooper and published by Bantam. This book was released on 2008-03-25 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper comes a novel of suspense, mystery, and seduction that begins at the scene of a crime—and brings a man and woman together in a dangerous partnership that could cost them everything. … What she was doing was immoral, illegal, and could easily get her killed—but Troy Bennett wasn’t apologizing to anyone. She’d been caught red-handed in the middle of a felony and she couldn’t have picked a more dangerous man to be holding her fate in his hands. Not that straitlaced businessman Dallas Cameron intended to turn her over to the law. He had far more devious intentions for the sexy cat burglar. He planned to uncover the secrets of this complex and mysterious woman who broke into homes and yet had connections with Interpol, who rejected his interest but seduced him at every turn. Thief, security expert, art aficionado, Washington, D.C., hostess to the rich, famous, and immensely powerful—who was Troy Bennett? Would answering that question take Dallas over the line he always drew between good and evil and plunge both of them into the darker side of desire?

Download or read book Hard Line written by Ken Ellingwood and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2005-07-12 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Southwestern border is one of the most fascinating places in America, a region of rugged beauty and small communities that coexist across the international line. In the past decade, the area has also become deadly as illegal immigration has shifted into some of the harshest territory on the continent, reshaping life on both sides of the border. In Hard Line, Ken Ellingwood, a correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, captures the heart of this complex and fascinating land, through the dramatic stories of undocumented immigrants and the border agents who track them through the desert, Native Americans divided between two countries, human rights workers aiding the migrants and ranchers taking the law into their own hands. This is a vivid portrait of a place and its people, and a moving story of the West that has major implications for the nation as a whole.

Download or read book Strip Search written by Shelley Bradley and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2006-07-05 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First time in trade-nothing less than "the hottest read of the summer."(Romance Readers Connection) If the Feds want to nail a Mafia kingpin, they need a trap. Enter Mark Sullivan, totally built for the job-to go undercover as a male stripper in the mobster's Vegas club. The club's owner, Nicki, is an unexpected perk. But Mark and Nicki have more in common than sizzling sexual chemistry. They each have their share of secrets, and with the mob closing in, what gets exposed is as irresistible as it is dangerous.

Download or read book Bugsy s Shadow written by Larry D. Gragg and published by University of New Mexico Press. This book was released on 2023-10-01 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Early in the Prohibition era, Moe Sedway became part of the New York organized crime gang led by Meyer Lansky and Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel. A loyal and highly effective operative for Siegel, Sedway eventually gained monopoly control of the race wire service in Las Vegas and also became an effective casino manager of the Las Vegas Club, El Cortez, and the Rex Club. A breach in their relationship led to rumors that Sedway had gained Lansky’s approval for a “hit” on Siegel. The unsolved mystery of who murdered Bugsy in 1947 has spawned numerous theories about the identity of the hitman, but regardless of who pulled the trigger, Bugsy’s death opened the way for Moe to flourish as his own man at last. Long overshadowed by Bugsy in the annals of organized crime in America, Moe Sedway is now at last brought out into the light in this riveting tale of the sensational life and times of one of Vegas’s most mysterious and little-known figures.

Download or read book Our Right to Drugs written by Thomas Szasz and published by Syracuse University Press. This book was released on 1996-04-01 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Our Right to Drugs, Szasz shows how the present drug war started at the beginning of this century, when the US government first assumed the task of protecting people from patent medicines. By the end of World War I the free market in drugs was but a dim memory. Instead of dwelling on the familiar impracticality and unfairness of drug laws, Szasz demonstrates the deleterious effects of prescription laws, which place people under lifelong medical supervision. The result is that most Americans today prefer a coercive and corrupt command drug economy to a free market in drugs.

Download or read book Monster on the Hill Expanded Edition written by Rob Harrell and published by IDW Publishing. This book was released on 2020-12-09 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can a depressed monster learn how to be a hero? Maybe with a little help. The hilarious and heartwarming graphic novel that inspired the theatrical film RUMBLE! In a fantastical 1860s England, every quiet little township is terrorized by a ferocious monster—much to the townsfolk’s delight! Each town’s unique monster is a source of local pride, not to mention tourism. Each town, that is... except for one. Unfortunately for the people of Stoker-on-Avon, their monster isn’t quite as impressive. In fact, he’s a little down in the dumps. Can the morose Rayburn get a monstrous makeover and become a proper horror? It’s up to the eccentric Dr. Charles Wilkie and plucky street urchin Timothy to get him up to snuff, before a greater threat turns the whole town to kindling. Monsters of all ages are sure to enjoy this tale about life’s challenges, the power of friendship, and creative redemption, packed with epic battles and plenty of wild beasts! Prepare for the release of the 2021 theatrical film RUMBLE with this expanded edition of the beloved graphic novel, now featuring a new 10-page epilogue!

Download or read book The Battle for Las Vegas written by Dennis N. Griffin and published by Huntington Press Inc. This book was released on 2006-04-25 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the 1970s through the mid-1980s, the Chicago Outfit dominated organized crime in Las Vegas. 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.

Download or read book Gangs of America written by Ted Nace and published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers. This book was released on 2005-09-11 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Gangs of America' traces the evolution of the corporation, one of the core institutions of the modern world. It ties political debates about multi-national trade agreements, financial scandals and scores of other specific issues into the narrative account.

Download or read book Designing Casinos to Dominate the Competition written by Bill Friedman and published by Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming. This book was released on 2000-01-01 with total page 629 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Candy Girl written by Diablo Cody and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2005-12-29 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Decreed by David Letterman (tongue in cheek) on CBS TV’s The Late Show to be the pick of “Dave’s Book Club 2006,” Candy Girl is the story of a young writer who dared to bare it all as a stripper. At the age of twenty-four, Diablo Cody decided there had to be more to life than typing copy at an ad agency. She soon managed to find inspiration from a most unlikely source— amateur night at the seedy Skyway Lounge. While she doesn’t take home the prize that night, Diablo discovers to her surprise the act of stripping is an absolute thrill. This is Diablo’s captivating fish-out-of-water story of her yearlong walk on the wild side, from quiet gentlemen’s clubs to multilevel sex palaces and glassed-in peep shows. In witty prose she gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at this industry through a writer’s keen eye, chronicling her descent into the skin trade and the effect it had on her self-image and her relationship with her now husband.

Download or read book Beautiful Disaster Signed Limited Edition written by Jamie McGuire and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-11-27 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abby Abernathy is re-inventing herself as the good girl as she begins her freshman year at college, which is why she must resist lean, cut, and tattooed Travis Maddox, a classic bad boy.