Forgetaboutit

The Mob Museum - Las Vegas

The following blog was never written and you never read it! J and L state unequivocally that they never visited the Mob Museum in Las Vegas - the what and where - and if they actually did would not admit it.

It's the way of the 'family' - we took an oath - had to be real since it was on the tour.

People on Facebook should think this way

Okay, say you belong to one of the infamous Mafia five families from back East - that would be New York (set up by Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky dividing New York up so the often fatal 'wars' would stop between rival mafia gangs) and you put up the money to build a rather luxurious hotel in the middle of a 'frigging' desert, wouldn't you want it a secret? That's the way it was back in 1947 when the finishing touches for the Flamingo were finished, after going way over it's budget of four million - it cost 6 million which did not make the families happy. But the man behind the hotel/casino was Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegal and everyone liked him - he was handsome, endearing, charismatic, and a cold-blooded killer. Bugsy (never say that to his face) was a founding member of Murder Inc. - the infamous gang that boasted at least 1,000 mob hits during its heyday. Not a man to be fooled with unless you happened to be the head of one of the five families. Bugsy didn't scare them much and after spending more than two million of the mobs money your good looks can only get you so far.

Good-looking guy, this Bugsy.

Not a good end for Bugsy

Actually, it was Beverly Hills that Bugsy got before multiple 30 caliber bullets found his head in June of 1947.

The families (the hit was authorized by Meyer Lansky himself) don't like their money spent at what they believed at the time was a waste - today - they would have given him a raise for the forethought he had in knowing Las Vegas would go from a hole in the desert to a thriving mega-capital of the rich and famous.

At forty-one, Bugsy was way ahead of the mob members who had sent him West to develop sand - so sad for the Bugsmeister and within thirty years so with the families. In the eighties and nineties the Mafia was pretty much kicked out of Las Vegas after investigation after investigation and they sold their holdings to legitimate businessmen and women. Supposedly, as of 2015 there is no mob connection in Las Vegas - of course with gambling, prostitution, drugs and such who would doubt such a statement.

A few places the Mafia had control in - as far as we know

The Mob Museum at 300 Stewart Ave in Las Vegas is a three story tell-all on organized crime in the United States. Starting on the third floor descriptions and exhibits explain how the immigrants from Ireland and Italy came to America looking for a better life and that some of those immigrants decided it was easier to steal to make a living than it was to work. The entire history runs floor to floor with sometimes graphic details and photographs sowing the brutality of the Mafia in America. There are actually signed warnings about certain rooms which may be to terribly bloody and graphic for some viewers - we visited them all.

Please stand against wall with hands behind your back

There are some rather macabre exhibits like a gas chamber chair actually which had been used in multiple death sentences, a mock up of an electric chair that the visitor can calmly sit and have a person pull the switch giving off otherworldly sounds of imminent demise, weapons of all calibers owned and used by members of the Mafia for other than good deeds, and the actual wall from the famous Saint Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929 where 7 members of Irish mobster Moran's gang were executed by Capone's gang in a mechanics garage. That was really weird seeing the bullet holes and blood spatters - unless they really red paint - no, the MOB Museum wouldn't paint over blood since that would ruin the ambiance.

Shave and a Haircut 2 bullets

Infamous names jumps out to the visitor - Al Capone, Albert Anastasia, Mickey Cohen, Sam Giancana, Tony Spilotro, Whitey Bulger, and John Gotti to name just a few litter the museum as the guest walks and reads the tales of these men. No good virtues any of them had but there was something in that museum that shed a bit of light on what most would believe were people who had no moral compass - they did in a sick and twisted way.

The Mafia code called for no harm to any family members of a 'Made Man'. Wives and children were out of bounds for killing. As poor old Bugsy Siegal was once quoted while talking with Del Webb (yes, the developer) - "Del, don't worry, we only kill each other."

We don't know a thing, Copper! Go blow your whistle elsewhere.

There, from a murderers mouth - there was a code of ethics within the Mafia.

Famous names are also present at the museum with notables such as Ralph Lamb, Estes Kefauver, Thomas Dewey and J. Edgar Hoover (no photos of him in a dress though) along with dozens of other FBI and government law men who made life as difficult as they could to those who tried to buck the system - the Mafia.

Three floors of walking, reading, watching, and learning what impact the Mafia had on America from the beginning to the present - yes, there is a present and a sad commentary is that since 9/11 and so much time and resources from the United States Government is spent on National Security the Mafia is slowly climbing back into the American mainstream. We don't hear about it since who cares about someone running a prostitution ring or drug trafficking when there are terrorists among us?

We're back - actually never left

Hmmm - a new beginning

What anyone may think of the Mob, they are not stupid but very opportunistic.

See what can be learned when a museum like this one can be researched and explored - amazing and scary.

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Again - you didn't read any of this here.