West Saint Paul Antiques

• Artifacts – The most prized artifact at the Mob Museum is the wall before which the St Valentine’s Day Massacre took place. Masterminded by Al Capone, one of the most recognizable

gangsters in American history, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre took place in Chicago on February 14, 1929. Five members of the gang that controlled the North side of Chicago were lined up against the back wall of a garage and were killed along with two other individuals. Most people believe that they were killed by members of Al Capone’s rival South Side gang. This is only one of many interesting artifacts that are connected to mob history and the government's battle against the control of crime syndicates around the country.

• Location – The Kefauver Committee was set up in the early 1950’s to investigate the activities of mob organizations and their influence interstate commerce in this country. The investigations were thorough and complete. But after 14 hearings in various cities across the country, and interviewing hundreds of witnesses, including many mob members, the committee recommendations were somewhat limited. However, it did recommend that the justice department investigate 33 individuals suspected of being leaders in organized crime in the United States. In Las Vegas, the committee interviewed only six people, gaining very little information. It was in the Federal Court House at 300 East Stewart Street where the interviews and hearing were held, and that very room now stands recreated as part of the Mob Museum.  Las Vegas in many ways was built upon the myth and the legend of the mob, as well as the cash and vision of the mobsters who helped to make the Las Vegas of today!

The recently opened Mob Museum in Las Vegas is one of the most thorough and interesting exhibits I have ever seen. It encompasses 3 big floors, and  commands about 3 hours of your time. Located in the historic former federal courthouse and US Post Office building near Fremont Street, this is where Las Vegas began nearly 100 years ago.

The landscape of Las Vegas changes rapidly, that is part of the allure of it being a destination city. When Congress approved the 18th Amendment banning alcohol in 1920, organized crime turned to filling a need demanded by the public, supplying illegal alcohol. When the 21st Amendment appealed prohibition in 1933, crime organizations needed a new vice, and gambling rose to the forefront. Gangsters needed new turf, so they headed west to a quiet little desert city on the verge of exploding into a giant.

Al Capone, Meyer Lansky, and Bugsy Siegel were early players in the gambling underground. Siegel built the first big gaming hotel in Las Vegas, The Flamingo. The Mob Museum tells the entire early history of Las Vegas, covering every shady character that ever graced the stage in the desert city. You will see artifacts from all the big name gangsters including the original blood soaked, bullet holed brick wall that was the original backdrop (and target) of Chicago’s famous St Valentine’s Day Massacre.

As your journey continues through The Mob Museum, you will also experience the other side of the story. The G-Men were the law and order side of federal, state and local governments, who worked cohesively to stop the gangsters. Famous crime fighting figures such as federal agent Eliot Ness with”The Untouchables,” and Senator Ester Kefauver are key focuses of The Mob Museum. You can even sit in the actual courtroom where the (then Congressman) Kefauver crime hearings were held in the early 1950s. You will see confiscated Tommy Guns, arrest records, mugshots, even an electric chair.