Dennis N. Griffin

Dennis N. Griffin was born and raised in Rome, New York. After being honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy in 1966, he returned to central New York. He is married and has four adult children. The Griffins currently split their time between New York State and Las Vegas, NevadaMr. Griffin spent over 20 years in investigations and law enforcement in New York State, retiring in 1995 as Director of Investigations for the New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center. In 1996 he began to write his first novel, <a href="https://www.authorsden.com/buybook.asp?bookid=4765">The Morgue</a>. He currently has six mystery/thrillers published. In 2002, he turned his attention to nonfiction and wrote <a href="http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewwork.asp?AuthorID=5648&id=13602"... Las Vegas</a>, a history of law enforcement in Las Vegas and Clark County. Policing was released in April 2005. His second nonfiction, The Battle for Las Vegas, is the story of reputed Chicago Outfit enforcer Tony Spilotro's reign in Vegas. It is told in large part by the former FBI agents and detectives who actually fought the war against Tony and his gang. Battle is scheduled for release in early 2006.<a href="http://www.authorsden.com/dennisngriffin">http://www.authorsden.com/denn...

Turning Point

September 15, 2005

Tony Spilotro

Tony Spilotro (Courtesy LVMPD)

The introduction to Griffin's book entitled The Battle for Las Vegas — The Law vs. the Mob. The book chronicles the wide-ranging, criminal exploits of Chicago Outfit enforcer Tony Spilotro, the mobster portrayed by Joe Pesci in the movie Casino, and law enforcement's belabored efforts to oust the Mafia from Vegas. It is told in large part by the former FBI agents and detectives who fought the war against Spilotro and his Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. The book is scheduled for publication by Huntington Press in early 2006.

by Dennis N. Griffin

Introduction

Mobster "Bugsy" Siegel is generally acknowledged as being the first member of organized crime to establish a major mob presence in Las Vegas. That occurred in the 1940s, when he took control of an unfinished hotel/casino construction project located on what would become known as the Strip. That property was the Flamingo. Siegel, financed with several million dollars of organized crime money from back east, saw the Flamingo through to completion. After a shaky start, the casino began to turn a profit. But some of Bugsy's financial backers had become suspicious of how he was spending their money. And the handsome, but volatile, gangster had shot his mouth off to some very dangerous people, including New York City boss "Lucky" Luciano. The Flamingo's improving financial picture wasn't enough to save Siegel from the mob's version of early retirement. On June 20, 1947, the 41-year-old was gunned down at his girlfriend's Beverly Hills home. Bugsy was dead, but the mob knew there was the potential to make some big money in Vegas. As the oasis in the desert transitioned into the gambling and entertainment capital of the world, more mobsters and their money poured in.

During those years organized crime considered Las Vegas to be an open city. Crime families from across the country were welcome to operate there, and many did. But the dominant group was the Chicago Outfit. In the 1970s, Chicago and its colleagues in Kansas City, Milwaukee and Cleveland were using Sin City as a cash cow. Commonly referred to as the "skim," unreported revenue from certain casinos was making its way out of Vegas by the bag full, and ending up in the coffers of the crime bosses in those four locations.