About Vegas and the Chicago Outfit
Chicago was the worldwide leader in gangster wars and bootlegging in the 1920s, as Al Capone set the stage for his tremendous success and popularity. When he was safely away in prison, the Chicago Outfit expanded into more rackets involving gambling and loan sharking, making bosses like Paul “The Waiter” Ricca and Tony “Joe Batters” Accardo rich beyond even Capone’s wildest dreams.
With prostitution and union corruption, Chicago had more bookies, card clubs, and clip joints than evil casino spots like Reno, Hot Springs, Toledo, and New York combined. So, they weren’t the first to find gold in Las Vegas, but they were sure good at draining the cash away once they tasted Sin City’s pleasures and corruption!
For forty years, Chicago led the way in untaxed and hidden money by skimming at often crooked games of no-chance. When Las Vegas jumped in the early ’40s, the Outfit’s interests in Las Vegas captured the Downtown area and went uptown to the Strip and the new Flamingo casino. To keep everything straight, Las Vegas imported known killers as local enforcers from the Outfit like Marshall Caifano and Tony “The Ant” Spilotro.
Things went Chicago’s way for decades as the Chicago Outfit drained hundreds of millions of dollars from a dozen Las Vegas casinos. How they did the deed right in front of the FBI, how it went untraced for decades, and how they moved the cash from the desert to places across the US and Europe is all right here in “Vegas and the Chicago Outfit.”
Buy the book, and follow the author on social media:
Learn more about the writer. Visit the Author’s Website.
Like the Authors Facebook Fan Page.
Author Bio:
Al W Moe is the author of seven nonfiction books and two novels. Moe toured the clubs of Nevada from big cities like Reno and Las Vegas to tiny hamlets like Topaz Lake and Fernley, meeting players and owners alike in dirty, decrepit bars and back alleys.
Well, not really. Most interviews were in nice restaurants. Still, his books are filled with stories and photos from a time past that shouldn’t be forgotten. And all his background information started with 600 pages of FBI documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
Old-time gamblers and casino owners from the era also verified specific details and incidents.