Of Rats and Men: Oscar Goodman's Life from Mob Mouthpiece to Mayor of Las Vegas
Goodman spent 35 years defending some of the most notorious crime figures in the U.S., including Meyer Lansky, Frank Rosenthal, Anthony Spilotro, and others. That long and infamous career didn't keep him from being elected mayor of Las Vegas, a town trying to rehabilitate its image as a Mob haven. Smith recounts Goodman's rise from a modest childhood with immigrant parents in Philadelphia and a brief stint as a prosecutor in Las Vegas before he developed a fascination with the fast life and colorful characters of the crime world. Goodman's success in a string of attempted prosecutions from Philadelphia to Las Vegas made him "Public Enemy Number One among federal mob prosecutors," who wondered how close he was to the operations of the Mob. Unabashedly proud of his career and reputation as a Mob mouthpiece, Goodman appeared as himself in the Martin Scorsese filmCasino. And in 1999, despite the baggage of his career and scathing newspaper editorials, Goodman entered politics and a new career as the self-proclaimed "happiest mayor in America."Cathy BuksarCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved