"Now I’m getting this directly from, you know, Cleanface. You follow me?"

In 1977, future Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was appointed chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission. Before long, Reid would find himself battling bribery accusations, working with the FBI on a sting operation and going toe-to-toe with Chicago mob associate Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal at licensing hearings.

For more on this episode, visit www.reviewjournal.com/mobbedup. To learn about The Mob Museum, visit www.themobmuseum.org.

"You don’t buy Mr. Spilotro drinks. He buys you drinks."

For more information on this episode, visit www.reviewjournal.com/mobbedup. To learn about The Mob Museum, visit www.themobmuseum.org.

“The mob had been, of course, heavily integrated in the casino industry here from day one.”

To understand the city of Las Vegas as it existed in the 1970s, we have to back up to Dec. 26, 1946: opening night at the Flamingo Hotel on what we know today as the Las Vegas Strip. The project, started by Hollywood Reporter founder Billy Wilkerson before being taken over by notorious mob figure Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, would set a new standard for hotel-casinos in Las Vegas.

For more information on this episode, visit www.reviewjournal.com/mobbedup. To learn about The Mob Museum, visit www.themobmuseum.org.

"It supersedes family." 

Tony Spilotro always dreamed of becoming a ‘made’ man—a full-fledged member of the Chicago Outfit—according to his childhood friend Frank Cullotta. In the spring of 1962, as Cullotta recalls, an unauthorized triple murder on mob turf would give Tony an opportunity to make that dream a reality and cement his claim to fame. 

For more information on this episode, visit www.reviewjournal.com/mobbedup. To learn about The Mob Museum, visit www.themobmuseum.org.

"And I said, 'What's your name?' And he says, 'Tony Spilotro.'" 

As a kid, Frank Cullotta’s first job was stealing. His second job was shining shoes on Grand Avenue in Chicago. One day, another young shoeshine yelled at him from across the street, and the two kids stepped into the middle of the road to defend their turf, both ready for a fight. Instead, the encounter sparked a friendship that would span decades. 

“You never become a rat. That’s against our religion, let’s say.” 

'Mobbed Up' chronicles the rise and fall of organized crime in Las Vegas through the eyes of those who lived it: ex-mobsters, law enforcement officials, politicians and journalists. From back alleys to bank vaults, dimly lit basements to the neon glow of the Las Vegas Strip, the Review-Journal's Reed Redmond will guide listeners through the 20th-century criminal underworlds of Chicago, Kansas City and Las Vegas. This 11-part narrative series is produced by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, in partnership with The Mob Museum.