Shearn Moody Jr

[James Richards]

Lee,

You may be right about Connally's motivation to go after Moody. Interesting speculation for sure.

As to GPH's Argosy bit, the American ex-Marine in question was Robert Emmett Johnson.

James

[Guest Tom Scully]

I am posting this on this thread because of the rich, relevant bacground, and I wanted to include a thead Pat authored some years ago.:

Douglas Caddy has written that he was hired by the Moody family of Galveston to represent Billie Sol Estes. Billie Sol in turn implicated LBJ in the assassination. This was shortly after the HSCA implicated Marcello and Trafficante in the assassination. After reading this from Caddy, I wondered if perhaps the whole Estes affair was not designed to throw the hound dogs off the trail. I knew that the Moody family was quite powerful in Galveston and that the Maceo family, also from Galveston, ran a criminal gambling empire that included Dallas, had ties to Jack Ruby, and, more importantly, had ties to Lansky, Marcello, and Trafficante. But this was all conjecture..

While reading Sally Denton and Roger Morris' The Money and the Power, however, I came across their assertion that the Moodys were connected to the Maceo family, and that the Moodys, even after the Maceo brothers died, continued on in the gambling trade, through an insurance company with massive investments in various Vegas hotels. Many of these hotels had ties to Lansky as well....

Note that in this 23 February, 1983 Wash. Post Article, it is Nick Civella who declares in the 1970's that Dorfman's Amalgamated, the insurance claims business with its sole customer, the Teamster's Fund, is NOT FOR SALE, and that Jenner is hard at work trying to sell it for top dollar, from 1980 until he perjures himself in a desperate bid to avoid sinking his own legal career. I believe it is not too late to educate the American public to support a confiscatory wealth tax on these billionaire mob families.

I suspect the placing of Albert Jenner on the WC was as orderly, professional, communal, and cooperative as the skimming of the LV casinos was, as I've documented here, and probably ordered by the same players.

http://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&tbo=1&q=allen+dorfman+carl+thomas&btnG=

Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas - Page 237

books.google.comNicholas Pileggi - 2011 - 432 pages - Preview

Carl Thomas had learned at Circus Circus, where skimming the casino was part of his job. ... During this period, Sarno introduced him to Allen Dorfman, who was in Las Vegas at least once a month, on the prowl for entrepreneurs looking ...

More editions

To Kill the Irishman: The War That Crippled the Mafia

books.google.comRick Porrello - 2001 - 223 pages - Preview

Carl Thomas was an executive at Circus Circus Hotel/Casino when he began his skimming career. Thomas became CEO of Glick's Argent Corporation through the influence of Allen Dorfman. Dorfman was on the board of ...

More editions

The black book and the mob: the untold story of the control of ... - Page 106

books.google.comRonald A. Farrell, Carole Case - 1995 - 286 pages - Google eBook - Preview

... and the Fremont casinos during the 1970s, and to giving $80000 to Frank Rosenthal on orders from Alan Dorfman; and, ... Carl Thomas' services were, however, essential to the success of the operation . . . and the court finds ... a ...

More editions

Mr. Mob: The Life and Crimes of Moe Dalitz - Page 276

books.google.comMichael Newton - 2009 - 317 pages - Google eBook - Preview

Death spared co-conspirators Nick Civella, Allen Dorfman and Joe Agosto from further torment in court. ... while authorities dismissed Carl Thomas's indictment, adding his name to the list of prosecution witnesses including Glick, ...

Dorfman freed on firm's stock, $1 million bond

‎

Pay-Per-View - Chicago Tribune - Dec 18, 1982

... and the stock of Dorfman's company, Amalgamated Insurance Agency Service Inc ., ... Jenner praised Dorfman as a de- voted family man and personal friend ...

http://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&tbo=1&q=%22influenced+Sherman+Frederick%2C+editor+of+the+review-journal*%22&btnG=#q=Fertitta+carl+thomas&hl=en&tbo=1&tbm=nws&source=lnt&tbs=ar:1&sa=X&psj=1&ei=6VySTrTrNdKUtwfv1M2ODA&ved=0CA4QpwUoBQ&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=d4e5d42df5db18f8&biw=1320&bih=654

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Casino Developer's Family Ties...

‎

- St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Oct 14, 1992

Fertitta and Carl Thomas were co-owners of the Bingo Palace, since renamed Palace Station. Fertitta

bought out Thomas shortly after public release of the ...

San Jose Mercury News : CASINO EXECS ANTE UP FOR JUDGE'S …

‎

- San Jose Mercury News - Jul 22, 1986

In the recording, Carl Thomas, an executive for Argent Corp., owner of the Fremont, said Fertitta was

part of his skimming crew at the Fremont. ...

The Sacramento Bee : As tribe members pick Las Vagas...

‎

- Sacramento Bee - Jun 9, 2003

In 1976, Fertitta scraped together enough to buy a small casino off the Strip with a partner, Carl

Thomas. The casino became known as the Bingo Palace and .

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1993-11-10/news/9311100145_1_nevada-casinos-skim-thomas

Carl Wesley Thomas Sr.

OTHER NEWS TO NOTE - DEATHS

November 10, 1993

Thomas, who was permanently banned from Nevada casinos, was killed in an Oregon traffic accident

Thursday. He was 60. Thomas was a gambling industry executive whose career crumbled when the FBI caught

him teaching mob figures how to skim money from Las Vegas casinos in 1979. Reputed mobster Joe Agosto

testified that he and Thomas plotted to skim $50,000 a month from a casino and divert the money to mob

bosses in Kansas City, Mo. In 1983, Thomas was convicted on 10 counts of skimming $280,000 and

sentenced to 15 years. His term was cut to two years when he agreed to testify against organized crime

figures in Kansas City in another skimming case involving $2 million taken from Allen Glick's Argent

Corp. In 1990, Thomas was permanently banned from entering any Nevada casino.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/lvrj/obituary.aspx?n=frank-fertitta&pid=131898942

FRANK FERTITTA JR. Frank J. Fertitta Jr., 70, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend passed away Aug. 21, 2009

Born Oct. 30, 1938, in Beaumont, Texas, to Frank J. and Deady Fertitta; Frank graduated from Kirwin High School in Galveston, Texas, in 1956. He married Victoria (Vicki) Broussard March 8, 1958. Frank and Vicki moved to Las Vegas in 1960, where he began his career in gaming as a bellman at the Tropicana Hotel & Casino while learning to be a dealer. ....

http://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&tbo=1&q=%22influenced+Sherman+Frederick%2C+editor+of+the+review-journal*%22&btnG=#sclient=psy-ab&hl=en&tbo=1&tbm=bks&source=hp&q=%22*when+a+witness+at+the+Stardust+skimming+trial%2C%22&psj=1&oq=%22*when+a+witness+at+the+Stardust+skimming+trial%2C%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=s&gs_upl=48545l48545l22l50330l1l1l0l0l0l0l253l253l2-1l1l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=48f8c01b6b57e07f&biw=1320&bih=654

Beyond the Mafia: Italian Americans and the development of Las Vegas

books.google.comAlan Richard Balboni - 1996 - 168 pages - Snippet view

Gaming regulators no doubt took note that Fertitta had worked at three hotels where substantial

skimming had taken place — the Stardust, the Tropicana, and the Fremont — but Fertitta did not come

under direct investigation until 1985,

when a witness at the Stardust skimming trial, a casino security guard, testified that a man named

Frank had been involved in skimming at the Fremont.53 (Both the Stardust and the Fremont were owned by

Argent Corporation, which received millions of dollars from the Teamsters Pension Fund and was closely

associated with organized crime.)

Since Frank Fertitta was general manager of the Fremont during the period of time addressed by the

witness, the Gaming Control Board launched an investigation.

Fertitta responded by refusing to comment on the charges, continuing at the same time the quite

remarkable expansion of Palace Station and making large charitable gifts to popular Las Vegas

institutions and causes. In 1988 he contributed$300000 to the UNLV Foundation, the next year $1 million

for a UNLV tennis complex, and later $70000 for the medical expenses of Leslie Randolph,

a young African-American Las Vegas mother of young children who needed a heart transplant operation.

His generosity certainly did not go unnoticed by prominent Las Vegans and

probably influenced Sherman Frederick, editor of the Review- Journal, to write on September 29, 1989:

"For four long years,

the Gaming Control Board has been probing skimming allegations against Palace

Station owner Frank Fertitta. It is high time the Control Board resolve this matter.

It is unconscionable to keep Fertitta twisting slowly in the wind for so long, whether or not he's

guilty of any wrongdoing. The Control Board should make a determination in this case or drop it." When

the Control Board decided to drop ....

http://www.google.com/search?q=william+saxbe+lehr+straight&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial&client=firefox-a#q=william%20saxbe%20lehr%20straight&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbo=u&tbm=bks&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wp&psj=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=711da0863f755a&biw=793&bih=476

I've seen the elephant: an autobiography - Page 246

William B. Saxbe, Peter D. Franklin, Diana Britt Franklin - 2000 - 276 pages - Preview

I worried about Lehr for a while, too,...

The government also suspected that Lehr was part of the game, but an exhaustive investigation revealed he was totally straight.

............................

http://openjurist.org/763/f2d/897/united-states-v-united-states

763 F. 2d 897 - United States v. United States

1

Carl Wesley Thomas, Carl Angelo DeLuna, Carl James Civella, Charles David Moretina, and Anthony Chiavola, Sr., appeal from a final judgment entered in the District Court1 for the Western District of Missouri upon a jury verdict finding them guilty of knowingly transporting stolen money in interstate commerce, travelling in and utilizing the facilities of interstate commerce with the intention of establishing and managing an unlawful interest in a Nevada gaming establishment, and conspiring with others to accomplish these ends in violation of 18 U.S.C. Secs. 2, 371, 1952, 2314 (1982). For reversal appellants argue that the district court erred in (1) refusing to grant their motions for judgment of acquittal (Travel Act violations), (2) upholding the validity of a search warrant issued by an allegedly partial magistrate, (3) admitting co-conspirators' written statements, (4) admitting evidence in violation of appellants' confrontation rights, (5) permitting government witness Agosto to testify in separate installments, (6) excluding expert testimony, (7) admitting evidence of other crimes and bad acts, (8) giving a Pinkerton instruction to the jury, (9) refusing to grant their motions for dismissal of the conspiracy count on the grounds of prejudicial variance between the indictment and the government's proof, (10) denying their motions for severance, (11) refusing to dismiss on the grounds of statutory and constitutional speedy trial violations, and (12) refusing to grant their motions for acquittal because of insufficient evidence. Not all appellants join in each allegation of error. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm the judgments of the district court.

2

On November 5, 1981, eleven defendants were charged in a seventeen-count indictment with conspiracy and substantive offenses in violation of 18 U.S.C. Secs. 2, 371, 1952, 2314. Charges against six of the eleven defendants were dismissed or disposed of in proceedings separate from the trial where the five appellants in this case were convicted. Defendant Nick Civella died before trial. Defendants Donald Joe Shepard, Billy Clinton Caldwell and Joseph Vincent Agosto entered guilty pleas before trial. (Agosto, now deceased, was the government's principal witness against the other defendants.) Defendant Carl Caruso participated in the trial for a short time and then entered a guilty plea. Defendant Peter Joseph Tamburello was acquitted.

3

Appellant Thomas was convicted on one count of conspiracy, six counts of interstate transportation of stolen property, and three counts of violation of the Travel Act. He was sentenced to a total of fifteen years in prison.

4

Appellant DeLuna was convicted of one count of conspiracy, seven counts of interstate transportation of stolen property, and five counts of violation of the Travel Act. He was sentenced to a total of thirty years in prison and probation for five years following the imprisonment.

5

Appellant Civella was convicted of one count of conspiracy, six counts of transportation of stolen property, and two counts of violation of the Travel Act. He was sentenced to a total of thirty years in prison.

6

Appellant Moretina was convicted of one count of conspiracy and three counts of interstate transportation of stolen property. He was sentenced to a total of twenty years in prison and five years probation following the imprisonment.

7

Appellant Chiavola was convicted of one count of conspiracy and one count of interstate transportation of stolen money. He was sentenced to a total of fifteen years in prison.

8

All appellants were assessed heavy fines and ordered to pay the costs of the prosecution and to make restitution to the Tropicana Hotel and Country Club.

9

During the period covered by the indictment (January 1, 1975, to April 1, 1979), the state of Nevada required that persons conducting gaming operations be licensed in accordance with state law and regulations. See Appendix. Any person who owned, managed, or operated a gambling casino, or received directly or indirectly a share of the moneys played therein, had to make his identity known to Nevada gaming authorities and had to be licensed. Key employees, that is, persons who had significant influence over casino management, were required to be licensed. Certain employees, including managers, were required to obtain work permits. Persons who had been convicted of felonies, had poor reputations, or were excluded by law from casinos, and others known to associate with such persons were not likely to be licensed. Donald Shepard and Billy Caldwell were licensed with respect to the Tropicana casino in Las Vegas. Carl Thomas was licensed with respect to his own casinos, Bingo Palace and Slots-of-Fun. None of the other defendants charged in the indictment was licensed or had been issued a work permit.

10

The government charged and sought to prove that the defendants conspired to gain control over the casino operations at the Tropicana Hotel and Country Club in Las Vegas, Nevada, in order to "skim" money from the casino by removing cash before it was counted or reported and to transport this skimmed money in interstate commerce. The evidence consisted primarily of the testimony of co-conspirator Joseph Agosto, tape recordings, notes made by DeLuna and other defendants, surveillance testimony by FBI agents, testimony of Tropicana officials, and stipulations. The events described below are based primarily on Agosto's testimony.

11

Agosto met with Carl DeLuna and Nick and Carl Civella in January 1975 to discuss means by which Agosto could infiltrate and obtain control of the Tropicana so that Agosto could eventually skim money from the casino. DeLuna and the Civellas told Agosto that they would see to it that a Teamsters loan to Tropicana's part-owner Deil Gustafson would be disapproved in order to facilitate Agosto's takeover. The Tropicana at the time was in serious financial trouble. Agosto purchased the Folies Bergere, the successful floor show at the Tropicana, and used this as a base to acquire influence over casino operations.

12

Agosto, a convicted felon, knew he could never be licensed by the Nevada gaming authorities. The Civellas were in the "Black Book" of persons excluded from Nevada casinos and therefore knew that they could not be licensed. Because Agosto and the Civellas could not be licensed, they agreed to use code names to "camouflage" their true identities and connections with the Tropicana.

13

Nick Civella instructed Agosto to keep DeLuna informed of his progress in infiltrating the casino. Agosto began to acquire great influence over the daily operations of the hotel and casino. Agosto reported this to DeLuna, who in turn informed the Civellas. Agosto frequently travelled from Las Vegas to Kansas City to meet with DeLuna, Moretina and the Civellas, who occasionally travelled to Las Vegas to discuss Agosto's progress.

14

At Agosto's request in 1975, Nick Civella was able to rid the Tropicana of competing "hidden" interests. Agosto, DeLuna, and the Civellas then decided to use Carl Thomas to take charge of the skimming at the Tropicana.

15

Later in 1975, Mitzi Briggs became part-owner of the Tropicana and Agosto's infiltration and exercise of authority ceased temporarily because of Briggs' distrust of Agosto. By 1977, however, Agosto was able to gain Briggs' confidence and by 1978, Agosto was effectively running the hotel and casino. Briggs never knew that any skimming was taking place.

16

Upon Carl Thomas' recommendation, Agosto hired Shepard as casino manager. Later Agosto hired Caldwell as assistant casino manager. Shepard and Caldwell were to do the actual skimming under Thomas' supervision.

17

In March 1978, Agosto and Thomas met or spoke with Nick Civella in Los Angeles and Civella ordered them to start skimming. In April 1978, $11,500 was skimmed by Shepard and transported to Kansas City by DeLuna.

18

In May 1978, Shepard hired Jay Gould as cashier to skim cash from the cashier's cage of the casino and to falsify fill slips to document the "loss" of cash. Signatures and initials of other casino employees were forged by Caldwell. Caldwell supervised Gould, who passed the skimmed money to Shepard. This money was skimmed before the casino owner or the Nevada gaming authorities knew of its existence.

19

From June through October 1978, Shepard, Caldwell and Gould skimmed over $40,000 a month and gave it to Agosto. Agosto then gave it to Carl Caruso, who transported the money to Kansas City and delivered it to Moretina. Caruso made at least eighteen trips between Las Vegas and Kansas City. Moretina gave Caruso $1,000 after each delivery. The remaining money was distributed to Joseph Aiuppa and Jack Cerone in Chicago. Anthony Chiavola, Sr., the nephew of the Civellas and a Chicago police officer, aided DeLuna and Nick Civella in the distribution of Aiuppa's and Cerone's shares. Moretina acted as DeLuna's assistant in dealing with Agosto and in receiving the skimmed money from Caruso.

20

By late September 1978, Agosto and the Civellas were concerned that Shepard or his subordinates might be doing "unauthorized" skimming on their own, thereby reducing their profits. At Agosto's suggestion, a "moratorium" on skimming was ordered by Nick Civella in the months of November and December 1978, so that Carl Thomas could do a study of the Tropicana to determine if unauthorized skimming was occurring. In these same months, Agosto sent $50,000 and $60,000 of his own money to the Civellas because they still demanded money. Agosto was later reimbursed for $30,000 of this amount by Shepard with skimmed Tropicana money.

21

On November 26, 1978, Agosto and Thomas flew to Kansas City to meet with the Civellas and DeLuna to discuss lifting the moratorium and more efficient ways of skimming. Skimming resumed in January 1979 and $80,000 in skimmed money was transported to Kansas City on February 14, 1979. Several defendants' homes were searched on that date by FBI agents pursuant to search warrants. The FBI seized $80,000 from Caruso. Notes (referred to during the trial as a "dairy") and other items were seized from DeLuna and Tamburello.

22

From approximately June 1978 until March 1979, many telephones and meeting places of the defendants were subject to court-authorized electronic surveillance. Immediately following the searches, Agosto, the other defendants, Aiuppa, and Cerone engaged in a series of meetings and telephone conversations to assess the damage done by the searches. Evidence about these meetings and telephone conversations obtained by electronic and visual surveillance and from government witness Agosto was introduced at the trial....

CD Stelzer is the author of this blog, he described his credentials in 2004.

(....I had the experience to tackle these complicated stories because I had a good teacher. When Ahmed became editor of the RFT in 1991, I was already a free-lance feature writer for the newspaper. As a former reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Ahmed expected me to write and report on a broader and more serious level. He was the quintessential hard news editor.

Ultimately, under his guidance, I won the 1997 award for best investigative reporting from the Missouri Press Association. As recently as April 2000, Van de Voorde himself lauded me for being a finalist in the Eugene S. Pulliam National Journalism Writing Awards . New Times rewarded me with an $800 bonus. This honor, of course, is conspicuously missing from the list that Van de Voorde submitted to the St. Louis Journalism Review. )

http://mediamayhem.blogspot.com/2004_02_01_archive.html#107582523458479761

Fertitta is a Fat Cat Republican

In 1996, Frank Fertitta Jr., owner of Station's Casino, made the top 10 of GOP contributors, donating more than a quarter million. [$$$] This is the guy the "progressive" Riverfront Times shielded.

permanent link posted by Delaney : 10:18 AM

Summing it Up

Let's take a look at what Media Mayhem has reported on Frank Fertitta Jr. and Station's Casino:

Sam Maceo, a relative of Frank Fertitta Jr., helped Moe Dalitz get a Nevada for the Desert Inn, Vegas' first casino.

Maceo headed Galveston crime family from the 1930s to 1950s, which was under the control of New Orleans mob boss Carlos Marcello.

Dalitz was a partner with Las Vegas developer and gambler Irwin Molasky, the cousin of Allan and Mark Molasky of St. Louis. The St. Louis Molasky family were involved in illegal gambling and pornography operations from the 1930s to 1970s.

Frank Fertitta Jr. was mentioned as being involved in the Mafia skim of Vegas casinos in the 1970s. The evidence came in the form of phone taps carried out by the FBI's Operation Strawman, and were presented in a 1985 mob trial in Kansas City.

The top federal prosecutor in the Kansas City trial was David Helfrey. By 2000, Helfrey had went into private practice and represented Station's Casino in St. Louis, after a scandal broke involving Station's efforts to buy the influence of the Missouri Gaming Commission chairman.

The Riverfront Times delayed reporting on the scandal. When the RFT finally did report on the issue, it ommitted any information that tied Fertitta to organized crime even though editors and reporters at the newspaper were well aware of the connections.

During the year that the RFT sat on the story, Station's continued buying full-page ads in the paper.

[Douglas Caddy]

Intrigue Texas Style

The New York Times

Feb. 4, 1972

http://www.nytimes.com/1972/02/06/archives/intrigue-texas-size-questionable-deals-haunt-caretakers-of.html

[Jim Harwood]

For Douglas Caddy

Jeff Steinberg 

Anatomy of a corporate Murder part 1

https://larouchepub.com/eiw/public/1983/eirv10n10-19830315/eirv10n10-19830315_013-the_anatomy_of_a_corporate_murde.pdf

Anatomy of a Corporate Murder part 2

https://larouchepub.com/eiw/public/1983/eirv10n13-19830405/eirv10n13-19830405_061-part_ii_the_anatomy_of_a_corpora.pdf

 

 

[Douglas Caddy]

My 1989 request was that the Federal Election Commission investigate the IRS for hiding a Reagan-Bush $1.5 million secret fund in the 1984 President campaign. This came about as part of the 1986 Moody Foundation Scandal involving Shearn Moody, Jr. The Federal Election Commission has declared my request to be a "classic" case.

https://classic.fec.gov/disclosure_data/mur/2925.pdf

 

 

Edited January 2, 2020 by Douglas Caddy