-Caveat Lector- Ex-Mob Lawyer To Become Vegas Mayor By ANGIE WAGNER .c The Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) -- When there's talk of a hit in Las Vegas these days, it's normally about slot machines, not the mob. This booming city has come a long way since Bugsy Siegel moved the mob west with the opening of the Flamingo Hilton on the fledgling Las Vegas Strip in 1946. But now a man with ties to Las Vegas' checkered past is poised to become its next mayor. Flamboyant criminal defense attorney Oscar Goodman, who freely admits he was once the mouthpiece to the mob, is known for defending characters like Meyer Lansky and Anthony ``Tony the Ant'' Spilotro, who once reputedly placed a rival's head in a vise and squeezed his eyeballs out. ``I was just their attorney and their mouthpiece and spokesman,'' Goodman said last month. ``When the media took a whack at my clients, I would speak on their behalf.'' ``A lot of people just have the image of the mob lawyer things,'' he said. ``But I, honest to God, believe I'm going to be the best mayor Las Vegas ever had.'' Goodman's opponent, Arnie Adamsen, said a win by his opponent would lend a new mob aura to Las Vegas. ``His past will become our future,'' Adamsen said. That hasn't seemed to matter much to Las Vegas voters. Goodman, 59, has emerged as a populist candidate, coming within 277 votes of winning the primary election outright in May. Recent polls show him coasting to victory in Tuesday's general election. It wasn't so long ago that federal authorities and gambling regulators ran the mob out of Las Vegas, transforming the town into a top vacation destination where parents feel comfortable bringing their children. But from 1971 to 1986, brash Chicago enforcer Spilotro ruled Las Vegas with Fat Herbie Blitzstein, his longtime pal, at his side. Spilotro's role was captured by actor Joe Pesci in the movie ``Casino,'' and Goodman appeared as himself in the film. The mob's influence in Las Vegas waned when Spilotro, facing trial on racketeering charges in 1986, was buried alive in an Indiana cornfield at the behest of fearful Chicago mob bosses. Blitzstein went to prison that year on federal tax and credit fraud charges, and was killed in an alleged mob hit two years ago. The rest of Spilotro's crew eventually found their way to prison. Now Las Vegas is dominated by casino corporations, and the FBI says any mobsters left in town are low-level Mafia soldiers. ``There's not a lot of old Italian mob activity going on,'' said Kevin Caudle, a FBI spokesman in Las Vegas. Goodman's election, he said, ``probably would not make it better or worse.'' Against this backdrop, Goodman has campaigned for mayor seeking to increase fees on developers to provide more money to refurbish older neighborhoods near downtown, and to help solve the city's traffic and air pollution woes. ``I'm colorful, and that's what got me in the limelight,'' Goodman told a reporter. ``If I were a podiatrist running for mayor, you wouldn't be here.'' Though the mayor has only one of five votes on the City Council and doesn't represent the famed Strip or its glittering resorts, Goodman has promised to turn the job from one of cutting ribbons and settling neighborhood disputes into a position yielding real clout. That could ``add some pizzazz to an otherwise boring job,'' said Lamond Mills, a former U.S. attorney who prosecuted ``Tony the Ant'' but supports Goodman. ``I think he's going to give the city a good shaking,'' Mills said. ``It's going to be refreshing.'' DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
