From the Las Vegas Review Journal Studio, welcome to Season 3, episode 4, of Mobdub, the Fight for Las Vegas, presented by Pro Group Management, additional sponsorship provided by the Golden Steer.

I'm John Katz Lamedis and I've covered Las Vegas since 1996. In Season 3 of Mobdub, the Fight for Las Vegas, I go one-on-one with Oscar Goodman, one of the last living legends of the Mob era.

As always, I want to give you a quick warning that this podcast contains explicit content such as strong language and depictions of violence, including murder. Please be advised this podcast might not be suitable for all audiences.

You never become a rat. That's against our religion, let's say.

Yeah, nobody wanted rats. Fortunately, back in the time, there wasn't. There was a couple, but not like you see later on, you know. That was a desense, you know, if you were a rat, yeah. To whoever was.

With charges of murder, burglary, and theft of millions of dollars from casinos on the strip, it's clear that some of the characters we've met this season openly disregarded the rule of law. But among the notorious organized crime associates in Las Vegas history, there was one rule that prevailed above all. Silence.

Especially when questioned by authorities or outsiders. They called it Umerta, derived from the Italian word Umilta, or Humility. Anyone who broke the code was known as a rat.

You might hear words like informant or government witness throughout this episode, but there is a difference.

An informant is someone out on the street providing information on their friends. A government witness is someone who has agreed to leave the mob and provides information from their knowledge to law enforcement, often to make a deal for a lesser sentence.

Long time Las Vegas lawyer Oscar Goodman encountered more than a few during his career defending mob associates charged with various crimes. Throughout the years, he's been outspoken about his disdain and distrust of those who get rewarded for helping the government land convictions.

To this day, one name gets Oscar riled up more than any other. A man you might already be familiar with, if you followed our first season of mobbed up, Frank Calotta.

Calotta made his living burglarizing businesses as part of a group known as the Hole in the Wall Gang. It was formed by Tony Spalacho, a childhood friend of Calotta's whom Oscar Goodman represented in court on numerous occasions.

Tony Spalacho would say to me, whenever Calotta would come around, stay away from this guy. He's a bad guy. Don't talk to him. He thinks he's a big shot.

Don't ever say anything you want spread all over the place. I am convinced to this day that when Calotta told his mother that he heard a tape where Tony Spalacho said, I'm going to kill Calotta because he's becoming a rat. There's no such tape.

The reason that Calotta flipped is very simple and the reason that the mob in many ways had disappeared in very few people realizes.

Aside from loyalty, it could be argued that more members of organized crime did not turn due to the process they would have to go through. With safeguards put into place during investigations to try to get to the truth, special attorney Stan Hunterton lays out why it was a gamble for those like Calotta to stand up in court.

It's important to start with an understanding that there were then and still are now key elements to the investigation and prosecution of organized crime cases.

One was the passing of the wiretap law.

The second was the passage in the 1970 of the RICO law, Ractere Influencing Corrupt Organization.

This vastly improved the chances of prosecuting higher ups in the mob.

Whereas before RICO, you might have gotten a two-year sentence on something. Now you might get a 20-year sentence on something, and that will change your perspective on life.

The third element was the use of insiders or turned witnesses or cooperating witnesses they were sometimes called, or even if I don't like it, flippers.

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