Free Republic

This clip is from 1979 Harry Reid vs Frank Rosenthal This clip of Rosenthal’s meltdown at a Gaming Commission meeting, then chaired by future senator Reid – taken from Ned Day and Robert Stoldal’s series “Mob on the Run” for KLAS TV – became the basis for a fictionalized scene in Casino (1996). Both Reid and Rosenthal survived subsequent car-bombing attempts. Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust, Fremont, Marina, and Hacienda casinos in the 70s, was formally banned from Nevada casinos in ‘87.

HARRY: Money, Mob & Influence EXCERPT FROM Chapter 6 The Gaming Commission Exclusive To Free Republic After Reid’s early political career is interrupted by a failed Senate run in 1974, his next epic quest comes in 1977 when he was chosen by then Gov. O'Callaghan to run the Nevada Gaming Commission.  Did Reid near singlehandedly run the mob out of Vegas as the cultivated myth seems to imply?  Reid’s own account of his selection to chair the Commission sheds some light:   I woke today after the mayoral election a 35-year-old has been. I assumed that I was finished with...

Excerpts: WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid collected a $1.1 million windfall on a Las Vegas land sale even though he hadn't personally owned the property for three years, property deeds show. VIDEO: Reid land deal may violate rules [scrubbed] In the process, Reid did not disclose to Congress an earlier sale in which he transferred his land to a company created by a friend and took a financial stake in that company, according to records and interviews. The Nevada Democrat's deal was engineered by Jay Brown, a longtime friend and former casino lawyer whose name surfaced in a...

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid might have violated Senate ethics rules by not disclosing to Congress the transfer of Las Vegas land he owned to a partnership in which he maintained a financial stake.The partnership sold the land three years later at a profit of $700,000 for Reid, property deeds show. The Nevada Democrat's deal was engineered by Jay Brown, a longtime friend and former casino lawyer whose name surfaced in a major political bribery trial this summer and in prior organized-crime investigations. He has never been charged with wrongdoing, except for a 1981 federal securities complaint that...

WASHINGTON - Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid collected a $1.1 million windfall on a Las Vegas land sale even though he hadn't personally owned the property for three years, property deeds show. ADVERTISEMENT In the process, Reid did not disclose to Congress an earlier sale in which he transferred his land to a company created by a friend and took a financial stake in that company, according to records and interviews. The Nevada Democrat's deal was engineered by Jay Brown, a longtime friend and former casino lawyer whose name surfaced in a major political bribery trial this summer and in...

The Aviator’s Droppings: Harry Reid, Steven Barringer, and Howard Hughes’ LegacyHarry Reid’s Mob Money, Part 3By Fedora Part 1: Mr. Cleanface’s Dirty LaundryPart 2: Harry’s Henchman Rory Reid As Part 1 mentioned, during Harry Reid’s first Senate run in 1974, he attacked his opponent Paul Laxalt for profiting from association with billionaire Howard Hughes, who had moved into the Las Vegas gambling scene in 1967 with the assistance of Chicago Mafia representative Johnny Rosselli. In the process of criticizing Laxalt, Reid failed to mention that he himself, along with his mentor Donal “Mike” O’Callaghan, had also taken contributions from Hughes....

Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) failed today to address rumors that Nevada Senator Harry Reid will step down next month as Senate Minority Leader. Reid has been stung by revelations that his political action committee (PAC) accepted more than $60,000 in contributions from Indian tribes linked to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Appearing on CNN's Late Edition, Biden avoided discussing either the Reid situation or any upcoming changes in Senate Democratic leadership. Reid is no stranger to scandal, having been the subject of a 1979 Justice Department probe into allegations that Reid — then Nevada Gaming Commission chairman — had received bribes...