Goodman bugged about days of surveillance
WORD from the streets of Vegasville, including an update from our famous ex-mayor, and the (temporary) re-naming of one of those streets:
Goodman speaks
Former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman promises he’s “not going to pull any punches” in his dinner series talk at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Oscar’s Beef, Booze & Broads at the Plaza.
The title itself is a stiff jab: “Lying Cops and Dirty Prosecutors.” The ex-mayor plans to share anecdotes dating to his days as a Las Vegas defense attorney. As Goodman often recalls, he was routinely surveilled by local and federal law enforcement officials.
Goodman received a stack of handwritten reports from Las Vegas police officerscharting his activities when he represented fabled organized crime figures such as Tony Spilotro, Meyer Lansky, Lefty Rosenthal and “Fat Herbie” Blitzstein.
“I had a Metro police officer’s daughter come to our house one day, on a Sunday, and show me the log of a nighttime intelligence unit,” Goodman said Tuesday afternoon. “It was like, ‘Oscar is going to the airport. Oscar has landed. Oscar looks like he’s PO’D. Oscar is still PO’D.’”
Goodman says he and his wife, current Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, were constantly concerned they were being recorded in their home. “We had a barbecue one day for a bunch of lawyers in town, and one found a device he thought had been used to bug our conversa- tions,” Goodman said. “There were so many intrusions into people’s privacy, you just became immune to it.”
The police logs given to Goodman are now on display at The Mob Museum in downtown Las Vegas.
EDC hits the boulevard
The Strip will be renamed Electric Daisy Lane from Wednesday through Monday in honor of the Electric Daisy Carnival, The event, which runs Friday through Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, is North America’s largest three-day music festival. On Wednesday at the Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay, Pasquale Rotella, chief executive officer of Insomniac Events (which produces the festival), will be honored with a Key to the Strip from Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak. Look for the Electric Daisy Lane sign at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Hacienda Avenue.
Kissed off
Expect Mike “Beans” Benigno to wipe off his makeup the next time he tries to enter Piazza Lounge at Tuscany Suites.
Benigno is a drummer in “The World’s Greatest Rock Show” at Stratosphere, alternating with fellow percussionist Mark Pardy. “Rock Show” is a “Legends”-style parade of classic rock tributes: Bruce Springsteen, Heart, Van Halen, Journey, Meat Loaf and — to close the show — Kiss.
As drummer, Benigno revises the Peter Criss (and today, Eric Singer) cat character, wearing the famous blackand-white makeup.
Benigno was still in that makeup when he arrived just before midnight at Kenny Davidsen’s Friday night performance, which was hosted by Ashley Fuller of “Alice” and featured a multitude of Vegas singers. A Tuscany staffer intercepted Benigno, who was talking to Peggy Blair (wife of songwriter/comic Dennis Blair, who plays bass in Davidsen’s band), and told the drummer he was not allowed inside the venue. The employee cited recent burglaries by masked ne’er-do-wells at Bellagio as the reason for the policy.
“I tried explaining that I knew everyone in the place. He said, ‘Hold on, I’ll get a manager,’ but I didn’t want to cause a problem,” Benigno said, adding that the producer of “Rock Show,” Dick Feeney, also produces the “Rat Pack is Back” show at Tuscany’s Copa Room. “I just thought it would’ve been fun to go in in my Kiss makeup. Maybe I should have worn my tights and 13inch heels.”
It’s doubtful a full costume would have changed any minds. As Tuscany owner Brett Heers said, “I’m sorry for his trouble, but it’s a crazy world out there.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes @reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @Johnnykats1 on Instagram. As of 9 p.m. Tuesday:
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