Mob museum: A visit you can't refuse
Screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi, who wrote the movie "Casino," poses for a photograph at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif.(June 7, 2005) Credit: AP
A mob museum slated to open soon in Las Vegas will trace Hollywood's portrayal of mobsters from the birth of the silver screen in a violence-fraught exhibit that organizers said is not intended for children.
Screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi, who wrote the book "Wiseguy" and then adapted it into the Martin Scorsese film "GoodFellas," said he will help usher in the exhibit when the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement opens in Las Vegas in mid-February.
An exhibit film, "The Myth of the Mob," attempts to explain why so many people are fascinated with organized crime. The exhibit will also feature costumes from mobster-centric TV shows and movies, including "The Sopranos."
The downtown Las Vegas museum will open at a former courthouse where a famous mob hearing that helped expose organized crime to ordinary Americans was held in 1950. It is expected to feature gangster artifacts, including the wall from Chicago's St. Valentine's Day massacre.
Details at themobmuseum.org
