![Mob Mass Graves in Las Vegas Desert: Separating Fact from Fiction](/api/files/image/cm4cuykwa042cr96z5bhv0a61/thumbnail.jpg)
Mob Mass Graves in Las Vegas Desert: Separating Fact from Fiction
The mob's control of Las Vegas casinos from the mid-1940s to late-1970s is well-documented, but contrary to popular belief, they didn't turn the surrounding desert into a mass grave.
"The bodies found in the desert or dumped in the desert, you can count them on two hands, probably, as opposed to the hundreds that people believe are out there," explains Geoff Schumacher, vice president of exhibits at the Las Vegas Mob Museum.
![Mob victims' bodies found in desert](/api/files/image/cm4cuxx40042br96zre2aghl1/ap-1986-spilotro-bodies.jpg)
Mob victims' bodies found in desert
This misconception gained traction after the 1963 New York Times bestseller "The Green Felt Jungle," which first exposed the criminal ownership behind Las Vegas Strip casinos.
Most mob hits actually occurred outside Las Vegas to protect the casino business. Notable examples include:
- Bugsy Siegel: murdered in Beverly Hills
- Gus Greenbaum: killed in Phoenix
- Tony Spilotro: eliminated in Chicago
- Louis Strauss: murdered in California
The mob's casino influence declined due to:
- The 1967 Corporate Gaming Act allowing corporate casino ownership
- Howard Hughes's legitimate casino purchases starting with the Desert Inn
- 1980s Gaming Control Board reforms under Governor Michael Callahan
While organized crime still exists in Las Vegas, it's now limited to illegal activities like drugs, prostitution, and money laundering, far removed from the legitimate casino business.
The occasional desert discovery, like the 2022 Lake Mead barrel body, likely relates to the mob's final days in Vegas, when paranoia about informants ran high.
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