THE MOB MUSEUM ANNOUNCES SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER PROGRAMS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE MOB MUSEUM ANNOUNCES SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER PROGRAMS

LAS VEGAS (August 2020) – The Mob Museum, The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, announces its roster of public programs for September and October.

All Museum programs require registration. For more information and to register, visit www.themobmuseum.org/events/.

‘A Place in the Sun’: The Sands Hotel and the Mob

• Date: Wednesday, Sept. 16
• Time: 7 to 8 p.m.
• Location: The Mob Museum’s historic courtroom on the second floor. To watch a livestream of this event, click on the “Watch” button here at 7 p.m.
• Cost: Free for Museum members or with Museum admission. RSVP here.
• Description: The Sands Hotel was one of the glamorous resorts that transformed Las Vegas into an international resort destination in the 1950s. Highlighting the many fascinating characters who made the Sands an enduring icon on the Strip, this multimedia presentation by historian David Schwartz will dive into the hotel’s history with the Mob, Rat Pack and Howard Hughes.
• Speaker: David Schwartz is a professor and the associate vice provost for faculty affairs at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He studies gambling and casinos, video games, Las Vegas, tourism and higher education. Schwartz has also authored several books, including “Grandissimo: The First Emperor of Las Vegas.”

Race and Policing in America: A History of Conflict

• Date: Tuesday, Sept. 22
• Time: 7 to 8:30 p.m.
• Location: The Mob Museum’s historic courtroom on the second floor. To watch a livestream of this event, click on the “Watch” button here at 7 p.m.
• Cost: Free event. This program is sold out. Please email boxoffice@themobmuseum.org with your name, number of requested tickets, and the title of the program to be added on the waitlist. Video footage of each forum will also be available after the event.
• Description: From slave patrols in the 19th century to the war on drugs in the 20th century, the complicated history of race and policing in America remains unresolved in the 21st century. In the second public forum on the Future of Policing, historians and former law enforcement officials will discuss the origins of American policing, the data and policies concerning police use of force and the work that lies ahead.
• Panelists:
  • Claytee White is the inaugural director of the Oral History Research Center for University of Nevada, Las Vegas Libraries. Collecting memories of events and experiences from longtime Las Vegas residents, she compiles the city’s oral history. As one of five founders of the Las Vegas Black Historical Society Inc., she also chronicles the history of Las Vegas’ black community established in 1905.
  • Greg McCurdy is currently the National Football League consulting security representative for Las Vegas and the former Assistant Sheriff for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Prior to his current role, McCurdy advised police departments how to address critical issues in community policing such as use of force, bias-based policing, internal investigations, patrol staffing, training and sustainable community policing program development.
  • Tyler Parry is currently an assistant professor of African American and African diaspora studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His research examines slavery, the African diaspora and the historical memory of slavery in the United States. Additionally, Parry serves as senior editor for Black Perspectives, an award-winning blog, and is vice president of the African American Intellectual History Society.
  • Gloria Browne-Marshall is a professor of constitutional law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, an author and a civil rights attorney, litigating cases for Southern Poverty Law Center in Alabama, Community Legal Services in Philadelphia and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense Fund, Inc. Browne-Marshall is also a recipient of several honors for her work in civil rights, social justice and women’s equality issues.

Slow Justice: Frank LaPena’s 45-Year Battle for Freedom

• Date: Wednesday, 30
• Time: 7 to 8:30 p.m.
• Location: The Mob Museum’s historic courtroom on the second floor. To watch a livestream of this event, click on the “Watch” button here at 7 p.m.
• Cost: Free event. Click here to RSVP. Reservations are required.
• Description: The sensational 1974 murder of Las Vegas socialite Hilda Krause marked the beginning of a 45-year legal nightmare for Frank LaPena, who was twice convicted and served 25 years in prison for a crime that authorities finally admitted he did not commit. LaPena relates his harrowing and heartbreaking story, which reveals deep flaws in the justice system and the indomitable spirit of a man on a mission to prove his innocence.

 The Second Act of Eliot Ness: Battling the Mob in Cleveland

• Date: Thursday, 8
• Time: 7 to 8 p.m.
• Location: The Mob Museum’s historic courtroom on the second floor. To watch a livestream of this event, click on the “Watch” button here at 7 p.m.
• Cost: Free for Museum members or with Museum admission.
• Description: Eliot Ness’ battle with the Mob did not end with Al Capone. After leading The Untouchables against the Chicago outfit, Ness took charge of the Cleveland Police Department at a time when racketeers and crooked cops plagued Ohio’s largest city. “Road to Perdition” authors Max Allan Collins and Princeton historian A. Brad Schwartz reveal the full story of Ness’ forgotten second act: when he and a new squad of untouchable detectives took on the gangsters who would later build Las Vegas.
• Panelists:
  • Brad Schwartz is a writer and historian at Princeton University. He has written several books of his own along with two books co-authored with Max Allan Collins. Schwartz also co-wrote a 2013 episode of the PBS series “American Experience” and has written for The New York Times, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, Smithsonian and The Daily Beast.
  • Max Allan Collins is a Mystery Writers of America grand master. He is the author of the Shamus Award-winning Nathan Heller thrillers and the graphic novel “Road to Perdition,” the basis of the Academy Award-winning film starring Tom Hanks.

The Push for Change: Legislative Pathways to Police Reform

• Date: Wednesday, October 14
• Time: 7 to 8:30 p.m.
• Location: The Mob Museum’s historic courtroom on the second floor. This event will be livestreamed, click here for updates.
• Cost: Free event. Reservations are required. Check the website for updates to RSVP.
• Description: Protests against police brutality in the wake of the death of George Floyd have spurred an array of legislative proposals to reform law enforcement in America. In this third and final public forum on the Future of Policing, legislators and leaders of the racial justice movement assess proposed and recently enacted reforms designed to overhaul police policies and practices.
• Panelists:
  • Roberto Villaseñor served as a member of the Tucson Police Department for 35 years before retiring as chief of police in 2015. He was also one of 11 members to serve on former President Barack Obama’s 21st Century Policing Task Force. Since retirement, Villaseñor has become a founding partner of 21CP Solutions, working in a variety of communities to help address local and regional public safety issues.
  • Prior to being elected Nevada attorney general, Aaron Ford served as the majority leader of the Nevada State Senate. Ford has also served as the minority leader, assistant majority whip and previously held leadership roles on several legislative committees. He is the recipient of notable awards and accolades including “Mountain States Super Lawyer” and “Rising Star in Law.”
  • Wesley Juhl joined the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada as communications manager in 2017. Prior to his current role, Juhl covered crime, police and public safety for the Las Vegas Review-Journal where he earned three Nevada Press Association awards for his work.
  • Tom Roberts currently serves as a member of the Nevada Assembly from the 13th district. At age 19, Roberts joined the United States Air Force where he worked as a law enforcement specialist for nine years. Roberts also served as a police officer for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department from 1993 to 2018 when he retired as assistant sheriff.

To ensure the safety of staff and visitors, all guests are required to wear face coverings. All personnel of The Mob Museum have a comprehensive operational plan to follow which can be found here.

For more information, please call (702) 229-2734 or visit themobmuseum.org.

ABOUT THE MOB MUSEUM
The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, provides a world-class journey through true stories—from the birth of the Mob to today’s headlines. The Mob Museum offers a provocative, contemporary look at these topics through hundreds of artifacts and immersive storylines. Numerous interactive exhibits include a Crime Lab, Firearm Training Simulator and Organized Crime Today exhibit. The Museum is also home to The Underground, a Prohibition history exhibition featuring a speakeasy and distillery sponsored by Zappos. The Mob Museum has accumulated numerous accolades, including being named one of TripAdvisor’s “Top 25 U.S. Museums,” one of Las Vegas Weekly’s “Twenty Greatest Attractions in Las Vegas History,” one of National Geographic’s “Top 10 Things to Do in Las Vegas,” USA Today’s “Best Museum in Nevada” and one of its “12 Can’t Miss U.S. Museum Exhibits,” “A Must for Travelers” by The New York Times and one of “20 Places Every American Should See” by FOX News. The Museum is a two-time winner of the Mayor’s Urban Design Award for Historic Preservation and Adaptive Reuse and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The Museum is open daily; visit the website for admission rates and operating hours. For more information, call (702) 229-2734, visit themobmuseum.org, or download the Museum’s free mobile app.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:
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desiree@thevoxagency.com, erika@thevoxagency.com
(702) 569-0616, (702) 249-2977

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