The Intel Bureau

Kent Clifford was born and raised on a farm in Idaho. Upon graduation from high school in 1963, the 18 year old and a buddy left home to make their fortunes, ending up in Las Vegas. Drafted into the Army in 1965, Clifford attended Officer Candidate School. The new Second Lieutenant then spent a year in Germany, where he was promoted to First Lieutenant. That assignment was followed by a 12-month tour in Vietnam, where he was awarded Silver and Bronze stars for his performance in battle. After being discharged, he returned to Las Vegas and enrolled in the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

 

Shortly before graduating in 1972, he was sitting in a political science class when the professor started a discussion about the American flag. According to her, the flag was merely a piece of cloth that could be used as a shirt, tablecloth, or rug; even burning it wasn’t a problem. Those comments enraged Clifford, who raised his hand and told the professor, “You shouldn’t be telling the kids that kind of garbage.” As the combat veteran spoke, several students began clapping. His fans turned out to be cops who were enrolled in the same class. Afterward, they invited him to have lunch with them. During conversation Clifford mentioned that he was looking for a job. His new friends suggested that he apply to the Las Vegas Police Department. He’d never considered doing police work, and politely declined. A few weeks later, the same group asked Clifford to attend a meeting they set up with Assistant Chief of Police George Allen. Not wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings, he agreed. Clifford walked out of that meeting as a newly hired police officer.

 

Sheriff McCarthy wasn’t the only one to think highly of Kent Clifford. Even a McCarthy critic, one of the 39 officers in the class-action lawsuit, described Clifford this way: “He was one hell of an undercover cop, with guts a mile deep.” The detectives who worked for Clifford in the reorganized unit quickly developed similar respect for their boss. He was aggressive, fearless, and loyal to his officers. Over the next four years, he needed each of those qualities, and more.    

 

Commander Clifford wasted no time in getting started, tackling the problems head-on in January 1979. He reorganized the Intelligence Bureau through a series of personnel moves and announced that the Bureau was “clean” to the best of his knowledge. In March, Metro was reinstated into the California Narcotics Intelligence Network, an organization from which it had been suspended due to information leaks regarding the Spilotro investigations. As satisfying as that start may have been, another matter needed to be addressed quickly: Tony Spilotro.

 

Next: Targeting Tony