MY THIRD APPEARANCE WITH A RADIO HOST

September 8, 2015

I did a third 45-minute interview with the female radio host in Los Angeles who is interested in legal issues. I think I have become her favorite return guest when an opening arises in her schedule.

MY THIRD RADIO INTERVIEW FOR SENIORS

August 13, 2015   Thursday

Today, I did the third one-hour monthly interview on the seniors' network. Each interview featured a different theme from 30 Illegal Years To The Strip. The network went into such detail because the senior listeners lived through the last of the era covered in the book and most knew these gangsters' names well. This show also focused on some of the many legal injustices of that era.

A READER'S WELCOME REVIEW!

August 7, 2015   Friday

Dina Di Mambro is my favorite true-crime author, so I was thrilled when she called to tell me she had read my book 30 Illegal Years To The Strip and critiqued it on Amazon.com with 5 Stars. This is her revue.

Well researched and fascinating!

This book is exhaustively researched and fascinating reading. Future authors who cite this work will owe a debt of gratitude to Bill Friedman for putting a wealth of documented information all in one place. "30 Illegal Years to the Strip" is more of an information bank than advertised "mafia encyclopedias", the exception being that it is well written, exciting and captures the reader's interest. It is not just a dry listing of the facts but is most readable. In addition to research on the previously published, the author does not rely strictly on secondary resources having done interviews of his own with mob legends such as "Jimmy Blue Eyes" and others. The author gives well rounded portrayals of leading mob figures showing them as real human beings---neither all good nor all bad. One myth that has been perpetuated over the decades is that Charles "Lucky" Luciano was involved with narcotics and prostitution for which he was arrested in 1936. Friedman sets the record straight; Luciano was framed by Thomas Dewey. While most definitely a foremost leader in organized crime, Luciano, at this point, was not involved with drugs and flesh peddling. The fact that Friedman corrects this misconception leads me to believe the veracity of the other information presented in this book. Love "30 Illegal Years to the Strip: The Untold Story" and I'm looking forward to reading other works by this author.

A READER POINTS OUT INCONSISTENCIES IN AMC'S THE MAKING OF THE MOB: NEW YORK

August 6, 2015   Thursday

Reader Jim Walmsley of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania emailed me his observations about the recent AMC-TV eight-part one-hour series The Making Of The Mob: New York that ran from June into August 2015.

He said, "I have been reading your book - 30 Illegal Years, as I have also been watching the weekly show "Making of the Mob" on AMC. That show's timeline, etc. is about the same as your book. However - there are so many absolute contradictions. The TV show doesn't acknowledge the widepread corruption in government at all. That shows puts ALL of the blame on the mob and the members."

I explained to Jim the reasons for the many incredible differences between the advertised "authentic" TV series and my book. "Thank you for taking the time to email me about my book 30 Illegal Years To The Strip. You can systematically confirm every fact I learned in my lifelong historical research because my book contains 546 endnotes of all my sources that are detailed in 41 pages. The date of every important event is listed along with extensive timelines of interrelated dates. Much of the information about New York gang activities and the city's politics came from the New York Times, and most about these activities in Chicago came from the Chicago Tribune. Thus, you can quickly confirm most facts by looking up the dates in one of these two newspapers' archived files, which are offered to the public on the internet for inspection. I believe you will find my presentations are highly accurate based on the investigative reports presented in these two newspapers and the many other sources that I used such as FBI files.

"This type of analysis using the dates presented in my endnotes will also expose the many gross inaccuracies presented in AMC's eight-part series The Making Of The Mob: New York that you refer to. The specific evidence collected at the crime scene is where effective detective work and true-crime analysis begins, but this series depicts one gangland murder after another very inaccurately. If you study the facts contained in the police reports, autopsies, coroner inquests, and newspaper investigative reports, you will find that most of the murders in this TV series suffer from one or more of the following forensic errors. They are at the wrong time of day, in an improper location, have an incorrect number of shooters and/or gunshots, and/or the wounds are inflicted to wrong parts of the body. If essential details of the killings are incorrect, how can anyone rely on the suppositions presented about the complex subjects of properly assigning guilt and determining motivation?

"This TV series is filled with many incredibly incorrect statements, and each should have raised a glaring red flag to anyone who claims to be an expert about the early history of organized crime. For example, in that era, there was no federal statute against murder, except for the killing of a federal law-enforcement agent. Yet, the AMC TV series has FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover  investigating three local murders over which the Justice Department had no jurisdiction to prosecute, and the FBI's files demonstrate that agents never investigated. Then, in Luciano's prostitution trial, AMC dramatizes the gangster's testimony and Prosecutor Tom Dewey's statements to the jurors, but their words on TV are the exact opposite to what they actually said in the courtroom, as reported not only in the New York Times, but also in the book by Dewey's career-long publicist Hickman Powell (Lucky Luciano: The Man Who Organized Crime in America). Even though Dewey was the lead prosecutor in Manhattan in New York County (or Borough), AMC has him prosecuting three cases in Brooklyn in King County, which had a different DA. Not only did Dewey have no jurisdiction in King County, but the records of these Brooklyn prosecutions demonstrate that Dewey had no participation in these trials. The AMC series also has Meyer Lansky building new casinos in Havana a decade before Cuba allowed them. AMC states that New York's Ben Siegel led the huge extortion of the Hollywood movie studios, but the unions that directed these shakedowns were under the sole control of the Chicago gang. The leaders of these unions and the studio owners testified against the Chicago-gang thugs regarding every aspect of the extortion, leaving no conceivable role for Siegel. And the list of well-documented serious errors presented in this AMC TV series goes on, and on, and on with this type of gross misinformation.

"You should also consider the veracity of the sources AMC relied on for this series. Not one person who was quoted had been born when these events occurred, and AMC does not explain how any of them learned anything about what they were talking about. AMC used a number of actors who appeared in fictional mobster films; a few organized-crime authors, including the co-author of The Last Will and Testament of Lucky Luciano, which the nation's press proved was a complete fraud before it was even published; a federal prosecutor, even though it was the IRS and local prosecutors rather than the FBI and Justice Department who brought down these gang leaders; and a former mob associate who would not have known any of the characters discussed in this series. Finally, extensive law enforcement investigations and criminal trial testimonies prove that many of AMC's assertions about some of the key characters are totally untrue, including AMC's even placing some top mobsters in the wrong New York gangs."

Jim's reply to me said, "Thanks so much for your detailed response in regard to the glaring discrepancies between your book and the AMC series. I did, often times as I was reading the book and then again after I completed the book, read all of the end notes and sources you cited. That was a very helpful addition to your work. The endnotes which I referred back to as I was reading were also valuable as your book wasn't an "easy read" - that isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just that in today's world of most people wanting things to be simple and immediate your book required some thought and I found myself rereading and referring to the endnotes for further explanation.

"I have passed my copy on to an employee of mine and have recommended the book to several others that I know have an interest on the subject. I encourage those who find themselves watching the AMC series to read your book, 30 Illegal Years. I am disappointed and a bit sad when shows like "Making of the Mob" are able to present "history" so inaccurately. ... Feel free to use my questions and comments in your blog. I am interested to read the views of others as well.

A READER'S QUESTION ABOUT GANGSTER MOE DALITZ

July 28 2015   Tuesday

Reader Anthony Damato of Staten Island, New York, emailed me his interesting thoughts about my book, including the following question. He asked, "As an eyewitness and player to a time in American history that is unique to the American experience in terms of men, money and results, do you ever think of what would have happened in your life, had you lost your nerve and never made that (telephone) call that fateful Sunday morning to Mr. Dalitz?"

I had explained in detail on the Coast-to-Coast AM interview about how Moe Dalitz, who  built the Desert Inn and Stardust gambling resorts on the Las Vegas Strip, at our first meeting had ordered me to stop my research and leave town, because he was afraid my actions would cause him to go to prison. After that first angry meeting, he and his key executives became major contributors to my research, and he assisted my career in the Las Vegas casino industry. I had mentioned his contributions in the Preface to 30 Illegal Years To The Strip.

I replied to Anthony, "To your question about what my life would have been like if I had not made contact as a young man with Moe Dalitz and had not then been mentored by him and his key executives, I cannot begin to imagine. Dalitz built the first high-rolling casino on the Strip at the Desert Inn and then built the world’s biggest hotel and casino at the Stardust that catered to all economic levels. He created the template for both types of operations, and without all the interviews with the members of his organization, I would never have been able to understand what had occurred or why in a key part of the Strip’s development, nor would I have likely found a great career path like the one that opened up. Opportunity only knocks so many times in any life, and this is an example of why a person should embrace one with fervor."

THREE RADIO SHOWS

July 16, 2015   Tuesday

So far this month, I have done three radio interviews, all of them repeat appearances that I hope were because of popular demand. It began with a 15-minute interview with the woman who was the first to introduce my book three months ago on April 10.

Then I did a second one-hour interview on the seniors' network. This was followed by another one-half hour interview with the Midwest network.

BLOG REVIEW BY TALK-RADIO HOST

June 30, 2015  Tuesday

Today the following review about 30 Illegal Years To The Strip was published by Stan Wiesleder's View From Over Here to his 25,000 blog subscribers. Stan is a talk-radio host and retired Los Angeles Police Department detective. Thank you, Stan!

A PERSON OF INTEREST

The other week I met and had lunch with an author whose books I admire and am fascinated with.  What are they about? Gangsters, gamblers, hoodlums and assorted crooked politicians.  So what else is new?  I don't think that there has been another individual who has been able to cross the line, back and forth, in order to get the stories that to this day have eluded all of us, including the vaunted FBI.

The author's name is Bill Friedman, who I met through Irwin Zucker, and the names of his books are: "All Against The Law" and the newly released, "30 Illegal Years To The Strip". If you would like to acquire copies of these books, contact bill@BillFriedmanAuthor.com.

 We met at the Gold Town Casino in Pahrump, NV, which is roughly halfway between Vegas and the Amargosa Valley, where he lives with his wife Glady and a host of farm animals.  Not at all like your typical Vegas casino with all the glitz, the Gold Town Casino could have been a substitute for a movie set of a decrepit old west casino.  Before I left on the hour or so drive from Vegas, my wife said to me, "Are you nuts?  You sure you want to do this interview?  This guy sounds like he's connected up the wazoo.  Maybe you should take your Beretta with you."

I have to admit that in spite of the reputation of his subjects and subject matter, Bill Friedman is a nice guy, down to earth, unassuming and straight talking, or in Vegas parlance, a "stand up guy".  I don't remember what Bill had for lunch when we met but I had potato skins with extra jalapeno peppers.

I started the interview with the following questions, "Tell me, what's a nice Jewish guy like you doing in a place like Amargosa Valley?  You're not in the Witness Protection Program, are you?"  It turned out to be a good opener because it got him to chuckle, albeit ever so slightly.

We talked about everything, starting with his fascination with gambling, gamblers and the world of casinos from when he was but seven years of age.  I know what you're thinking.  So what?  Don't some kids declare at that early age that they want to grow up to be a doctor, an actor, a policeman or policewoman or maybe even, God forbid, an attorney or a politician?

Before Bill began to write about Las Vegas with everything and everyone that led up to it, he put in his time as a Blackjack dealer and eventually managed casinos for Howard Hughes, who he readily admits that he never met.  He has also taught and written about successful casino management.  In short, he's been there and done that.

The people that he interviewed and got to know over a lifetime of dedicated research staggers the imagination.  Whatever these individuals confided to Bill about themselves and their business of gambling, or gaming if you will, and the casinos they ran, they never did with anyone else.  Although these people have all died, Bill has been able to verify, once he knew where to look, all of the stories told to him by people with names such as 'Jimmy Blue Eyes' who was Meyer Lansky's closest friend and lifelong partner in both legal and illegal casinos or 'System Smitty' who developed the technique of card counting fifteen years before Mathematics Professor Edward Thorp came out with his New York Times bestseller, "Beat The Dealer", as well as the erstwhile super secretive executives of the Summa Corporation.

The third volume in the series, as yet un-named, will be out in about two and a half years.  In it, Bill will reveal who killed Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel and more importantly, why.  I think I smell a movie in the making and I can't wait to get hold of a copy.