Mr. Cleanface’s Dirty Laundry: Harry Reid’s Mob Money
Original FReeper research | 01/20/2006 | Fedora
Posted on 1/20/2006, 9:09:35 AM by Fedora
Mr. Cleanface’s Dirty Laundry: Harry Reid’s Mob Money
By Fedora
“I’ve gotta Cleanface in my pocket,” boasted Kansas City Mafia representative Joe Agosto, unaware the FBI was monitoring his conversation (reproduced loosely in the movie Casino). FBI surveillance of Mafia gambling operations in Las Vegas in the late 1970s picked up Agosto making references to an individual he codenamed “Mr. Cleanface” and “Mr. Gillette”. Agosto’s conversations mentioned Mr. Cleanface was close to Nevada Governor-Elect Robert List. After turning state’s evidence, Agosto claimed that Mr. Cleanface was Harry Reid, then chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission and sporting a cleanshaven, boyish look. Agosto’s claims were echoed by former Tropicana Hotel part-owner Deil Gustafson, who testified about Reid’s relationship to Tropicana attorney Jay H. Brown.
Agosto’s testimony led to the conviction of several top Midwestern Mafia bosses, but failed to touch Reid. When questioned after Agosto’s surveillance became public knowledge in mid-1979, Reid admitted to being the subject of the “Mr. Cleanface” references, but denied being paid for any favors. The Justice Department investigated whether Mafia funds had been funneled to Reid through Brown and Mafia attorney Oscar Goodman. A five-month investigation cleared Reid, and 25 years later, Reid is attacking political opponents with slogans like “If we can beat mob, we can fight DeLay-style politics”, and claiming in the process that he “kick[ed] the mob out of Las Vegas in the 1970s”.
Did Harry Reid really kick the mob out of Las Vegas in the 1970s, as he claims? Or was he in the Mafia’s pocket, as Joe Agosto claimed? What are the real facts about Reid’s relationship to organized criminal elements in the gambling industry? Is he Mr. Cleanface, or Mr. Dirty Laundry?
Reid has been using the same tactics to project an image of being Mr. Cleanface since the beginning of his political career. He started as a protege of Donal “Mike” O’Callaghan, who served as Governor of Nevada from 1970 to 1978. Reid was elected as O’Callaghan’s Lieutenant Governor in 1970. With support from O’Callaghan, he ran for Senate in 1974 against Republican Paul Laxalt. Reid’s campaign rhetoric accused Laxalt of profiting from association with billionaire Howard Hughes, who had a long relationship with Capone mob representative Johnny Rosselli and had recently secured Rosselli’s assistance in acquiring Las Vegas’ Desert Inn from associates of Cleveland mobster Moe Dalitz in 1967.
Laxalt had indeed taken contributions from Hughes. But what Reid failed to mention was, so had his own former running mate O’Callaghan. And so had Reid himself.
The whole story is worth reading!
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