Dennis retired in 1994 after a 20-year career in investigations and law enforcement in New York State and moved to Las Vegas. He wrote his first novel, The Morgue, in 1996. He currently has seven mystery/thrillers and three non-fiction books in print.
In July 1981 an event took place that represented a major turning point in the law’s battle against the Las Vegas Mob. Following is the first part of that story. It was the Fourth of July and it...
While Metro was engaging in verbal battles with Tony Spilotro and his attorney Oscar goodman, they continued their efforts to put pressure on Tony Spilotro and his boys. Ernest Davino, one of the Hole in the Wall...
Kent Clifford returned from Chicago believing the war against Tony Spilotro would again be fought within the acceptable guidelines. A sense of normalcy did return, but only for a few weeks. At around 10 p.m. on April 9, someone...
Commander Clifford took his plan to visit the Outfit bosses in Chicago to Sheriff McCarthy, who agreed that Clifford and another detective could make the trip. Distrusting the DA’s office, they decided not to consult with...
The courts are the legal mechanism for people seeking to redress perceived wrongs. The courts were used to go after the police in the Frank Bluestein shooting case. But after the cops were cleared of any criminal wrongdoing by the...
On the evening of June 9, 1980, Metro detectives David Groover and Gene Smith were conducting another routine surveillance of the Spilotro gang. On that night they were camped outside the Upper Crust pizza parlor and the adjoining My Place...
Keeping an eye on the Las Vegas bad guys could often be boring work. If the cops weren’t concerned about being detected, they’d sometimes play mind games with their subjects. One of their favorites was to...
Not long after Jerry Lisner’s murder, another event took place that impacted on the lives of the Rosenthals and Tony Spilotro.As time went by, both Geri and Tony had become increasingly careless about keeping their adultery under...
Jerry Lisner was arrested by the FBI on July 11, 1979, and charged with interstate transportation of stolen property, aiding and abetting, grand larceny, and conspiracy. Free on $75,000 bail, he was scheduled to go on trial October 29...
One night in 1979, Frank Cullotta was in the Jubilation lounge in Las Vegas when he was introduced to local hustler Sherwin “Jerry” Lisner. He disliked Lisner personally from the start, but kept an open mind regarding possible...