Mob Museum Las Vegas

January 2015 - Las Vegas NV

We had visited the museum back on 2013 and really enjoyed it. We had friends visiting and B had said he'd love to go, so off we went last Friday.

I cam across Johnny Bender and Blair the Enforcer.

Officially known as The Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, it is located inside the historic former federal courthouse and U.S. Post Office. This building is one of the few remaining historically significant buildings in Las Vegas and is included on both the Nevada and National Registers of Historic Places.

Here is a fun promo from the opening of the museum with great shots of Las Vegas.

We had a great time and spent over two hours visiting the exhibits.

You start on the third floor and work your way down. First stop was the line up! I knew those guys were trouble!

And the cute cop who put them behind bars.

There are many interactive videos throughout.

The museum tells the story of American organized crime, from its birth in the immigrant slums of  cities like Boston, New York and Chicago to Sin City, the desert playground of the rich and famous and infamous Las Vegas.

The law enforcement officials didn't have the technology that is available today so it was interesting to see how they made use of what was available.

From 1950 to 1951, the Kefauver Committee hearings on organized crime were held in 14 cities around the United States. In Las Vegas, the hearings were conducted in the courtroom in this very building on November 15, 1950. The courtroom has been recreated to appear as it did back then, a true portal to a time when the Mob “ran the town.”

The televised trials drew rapt national attention, as both suspected and known organized crime leaders were interrogated by the senators, revealing to the public for the first time the nature and scope of their underground crime operations—and the corrupt public officials who allowed it to continue.

I loved the taped recordings where everyone suddenly lost their recollections of the events and you hear over and over again "I don't remember"!!

Bootlegger Dalitz is celebrated for getting the best of a congressional anti-mafia probe with zingers like, “If you people wouldn't have drunk it, I wouldn't have bootlegged it.”

 Since these gangsters enjoyed the high life hobnobbing with Hollywood stars as they spent a lot of time in Las Vegas  so there is a section devoted to Las Vegas life at the heyday of the mob. 

There is a room dedicated to the "art" of skimming money in the casinos.

They show how large the web can get and how it reaches into every part of life including politics. They discuss the Kennedys and their involvement with the mob. Did the mob kill the Kennedys?

There is a wall dedicated to the gangster movies and which gangster was portrayed by which actor.
This added a large number of movies to my viewing list.

There are many more exhibits, what do old gangsters do when they retire, what was their homes like, how did FBI agents operate under cover, what is the new face of crime, all of which are fascinating.