Crime & Entertainment

From Mob Lawyer to Las Vegas Mayor, Only in America: The Oscar Goodman Story


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Oscar Goodman was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. After completing high school, Goodman went on to receive his J.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. This eventually prompted a move to the Land of Milk & Honey - Las Vegas, Nevada. During his career as a defense attorney, he represented some of the top members accused of leading organized crime such as: Meyer Lansky, Nicky Scarfo, Herbert "Fat Herbie" Blitzstein, Phil Leonetti, former Stardust Casino boss Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, and Jamiel "Jimmy" Chagra, a 1970s drug trafficker who was acquitted of ordering the murder of Federal Judge John H. Wood, Jr. One of his notorious clients was reputed Chicago mobster Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro, who was known to have a short and violent temper. In the semi-factual 1995 movie Casino, the character of Nicky Santoro was based on Spilotro, and was portrayed by actor Joe Pesci. Goodman had a cameo appearance in the film as himself, where he was depicted defending “Ace Rothstein,” a character closely based on Lefty Rosenthal, and played by Robert De Niro. Eventually on June 8, 1999, Goodman was elected mayor of Las Vegas after he received 63.76% of the votes, while his opponent, then-Las Vegas City Councilman Arnie Adamsen, received 36.24% of the votes. In 2003, Goodman was re-elected for a second term, and defeated five opponents after he received 85.72% of the votes. On April 3, 2007, he was re-elected to a third and final term, with 83.69% of the votes when he once again defeated five opponents. Despite having been called Las Vegas’ “most popular mayor,” the city has term limit laws that restrict mayors to a maximum of three terms. In 2011, Carolyn Goodman, wife of Oscar, was elected to succeed her husband as mayor after she earned 60% of the votes. Please listen in as we take you on a journey from Mob Lawyer to Las Vegas mayor here on Crime & Entertainment.

Grab Oscar's book here:
https://www.amazon.com/Being-Oscar-Lawyer-Mayor-Vegas-ebook/dp/B00C8X1CAY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=8FGHLE6WXORS&keywords=oscar+goodman&qid=1654447619&s=books&sprefix=oscar+goodman%2Cstripbooks%2C83&sr=1-1

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Crime & EntertainmentBy Hollywood Wade

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