There are very few good mob stories left in Las Vegas. But one that reaches into the town's infamous past and touches issues very much still present is the case unfolding in Chicago of Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo. Among the 18 killings Lombardo is charged in connection with is the murder of Tony "The Ant" Spilotro. Once thought to be the mob's guy in Vegas, Spilotro wound up beaten to death in a corn field. A version of his story was immortalized in the flick "Casino" with Joe Pesci playing the character based on Spilatro. Lombardo was recently picked up by authorities after 9 months in hiding, and the judge asked the 77 year-old if he had seen a doctor: "I didn't see my doctor since nine months ago. I was---what do they call it? I was unavailable."

If Lombardo beats the rap I see script writing for "The Sopranos" in his future. Actually, there are still echoes of that world in Las Vegas. Spilotro's one time attorney, Oscar Goodman, is currently the mayor. On the more sinister side, the FBI for years has been investigating local topless bar owner Rick Rizzolo and his Crazy Horse Too club for its alleged connections to organized crime and Lombardo. Lombardo's younger brother once worked as a shift manager at the Vegas strip club. That investigation sent dozens of federal agents swooping down to raid the club in 2003. When Internet rich kid, Tim Poster (who briefly owned the Golden Nugget and made a reality show of the sorry experience) went before the Gaming Control Board the toughest questions he faced came from simply knowing Rizzolo. And, on Sunday the MGM-Mirage attracted notice by allowing Light (located in Bellagio though owned by the Light Group) to host a party for a calendar of Crazy Horse Too strippers.  Rizzolo attended the party. So far though, in all the years (and, we are talking a decade) he has been investigated and investigated, Rizzolo has been charged with nothing.

(Joseph Lombardo photographs released by the US Attorney's Office, via AP)