Being Oscar (40 page)
Authors: Oscar Goodman
In elementary school two friends, Spinks and Hurst, made sure I walked back and forth to school without having too many fights with the boys from St. Carthage. Mrs. Cecelia Chevone was smart enough to have me skip second grade at Bryant School after I wrote and produced a play called “Felix the Cat.” And the class of 206 students at Philadelphia’s Central High School convinced me I was no genius but did have a ken for leadership.
The boys at the Main Line’s Haverford School were socialites with whom I had little in common. But I did manage to conquer many of their debutantes. Haverford College, on the other hand, was an Elysium where Professors Desjardins and Reid and Coach Prudente made every day a pleasure.
The saving grace of Penn Law School was to come into contact with the most decent of men, Professor A. Leo Levin, and to have the opportunity to work as a bartender at social gatherings in the home of my criminal law professor, Louis Schwartz.
I learned how to practice law at the feet of some of the great defenders of citizens’ rights while in the courtroom. Many are mentioned in this book, but there are legions of others to whom I am also grateful and indebted.
To the decent judges with whom I fought tooth and nail, only to show more class than I had when embracing me after a case, I say thank you. And the same to the handful of prosecutors who lived by the adage that achieving justice is more important than winning.
A special thanks to Tom Cochrane of the U.S. Conference of Mayors who guided me throughout my mayoral tenure, and also to his wife, Carlotta, with whom Carolyn and I became dear friends. The same to all the mayors I met along the way who loved the city they represented and weren’t looking to seek “higher office.” In my mind, there is no higher office.
Thank you, too, to George Anastasia, a real author, who folded all my stories into a book.
I’m also grateful to the members of City Council who supported my dream of creating a renaissance in Las Vegas and to the city staff that made it happen: Joel, and Joel and Keith who put Humpty Dumpty back together. Finally, to my office staff, Sherry, Joey, and Ericka, who worked with me and, more important, rooted for me, all along the way.
Abraham, Dustin Lee,
200
Agosto, Joe,
128
Alberta, Vince,
255
Allison, Jo Ann/Tommy and Merck case,
182–184
Anderson, Aldon,
145
Angel Blade
(movie),
198
Anka, Paul,
95
Ann Margaret,
199
Apprentice, The
(television),
220
Atkins diet,
242
Baken (Calise), Rick,
72–73
Baylin, Oscar,
11
Beckley, Gil “The Brain,”
43–44
,
50
Bell, Lloyd,
31
Beloff, Leland,
159
,
160
,
161
,
162
,
163
Berns, Chuckie,
126
Bettman, Gary,
252
Bingham (Crockett case witness),
28
,
29
,
30
,
31
,
32
Binion, Jack,
67
Binion, Teddy,
151–152
Black Book,
x
,
74
,
75
,
76
,
77
,
78
,
120
,
133
,
229
Black, Mrs. Homer,
29
Blake, Archie,
85–86
Blake, Jimmy,
18
Blasko, Joe,
67
Bluestein, Frankie,
78
Bonavena, Oscar,
148
Boston, Joey,
51
Botha, Frans “The White Buffalo,”
91–92
Brando, Marlon,
199
Brazina, Paul,
209
Briggs, Mitzy,
129
Bryant, Brad,
97–98
Butler, Bob,
35
Bybee, Shannon,
76
Cahn, Bill,
51–52
Canzoneri, Tough Tony,
87
Caramandi, Nicky “The Crow,”
54–55
,
159
,
160–161
,
162–163
,
167
Casino chips/Goodman caricature,
240
,
257
Casino
(movie),
126–127
,
133–134
,
195–196
,
199
,
212
,
263
Cassidy, Bill,
237–238
Chagra, Jimmy
background/description,
96
,
99–100
,
101
,
107
,
203
drug allegations/trial and,
96
,
98
,
101–102
,
103–106
Wood’s murder trial,
103–105
,
106
,
108–115
,
203
Chagra, Lee
background/description,
97
,
98–99
,
101
civil suit against Wood and,
98–99
,
100
,
102
drug-dealing allegations,
98
,
101
murder,
100–101
Chan, Jackie,
197
Chandler, Happy/family,
97–98
Chesnoff, David,
177–178
Civella, Nick
background/description,
80–81
feds bugging prison,
106
Goodman/Goodman’s family and,
xi
,
67
,
79
,
82
,
83
,
84
,
98
Goodman/wiretap case and,
53
skimming and,
127–129
Claiborne, Harry
background/description,
71
,
79
,
141
,
142–145
,
153–154
,
155
,
157
case against,
141
,
147
,
149
,
151–152
,
153–155
as federal law enforcement target,
145–147
,
149
,
151–152
,
153–155
impeachment and,
xi–xiii
,
141
,
142
,
155–157
Clinton, Hillary,
226
Cohen, Sam,
47
Cohen, Willie,
68
Collins, Jon,
31–32
Come Blow Your Horn
(play),
13–14
Conforte, Joe,
147
,
149–150
,
152–153
Conforte, Sally,
147–149
Coolidge, Martha,
200–201
Cotton Club, The
(movie),
77
Crime/criminal cases
burglary vs. robbery,
27
jurors return/verdict and,
29
,
38
Scottish verdict,
116
television programs vs.,
27
,
198
See also
Goodman, Oscar/defense attorney career
;
Law enforcement
;
specific cases/individuals
Crockett, Lewis “Brown” and Goodman setup,
73
Crockett, Lewis “Brown”/case
polygraph deal,
33–35
trials,
28–32
Cullotta, Frank,
122
,
123
,
124
,
129
,
130–131
Cusumano, Joey,
77–78
Dalitz, Moe,
6–7
Danson, Ted,
199
DeJesus, Esteban,
88
DelGiorno, Thomas “Tommy Del,”
161–162
,
167–168
Dennis, S.G., Jr.,
163–164
Departed, The
(movie),
174
DePasquale, John,
42–43
,
44
,
46
,
47
Dickinson, Angie,
197
Dirty Pictures
(movie),
212–213
Domenica, Sister (“singing nun”),
133
Donaghy, Tim,
253
Drug legalization/taxes,
264
,
268–270
Dugas, Julian,
255
Duhamel, Josh,
202
Duran, Roberto,
88
Edwards, John,
226
Farrakhan, Louis,
230
Finney, Mark,
113–114
Fishburne, Laurence,
199
Flamingo Hotel-Casino,
17
,
18
,
47
,
48
Foley, Tom,
26
Foster, Frances,
199
Fox, Byron,
53
Franklin, Ben,
14
Franklin, George,
32–34
Fratiano, Aladena “Jimmy the Weasel,”
124–125
Fretwell, Betty,
212
Fullam, John P.,
163
Gambling
overview,
251–253
Gans, Danny,
197
Garland, Judy,
143
Gehry, Frank,
222–223
Genovese crime family,
36
George, Phyllis,
98
Ghanem, Elias,
93
Giancana, Sam,
132
Giuliani, Rudy,
89
Glassman, Tony,
207
Goldmark, Carl, Jr.,
41
Goldmark, Hazel Seligman,
41
