The Battle for Las Vegas: The Law vs. The Mob by Dennis Griffin Page A

then a lieutenant with the Union City Police Department. They’d each been with their respective agencies for about the same amount of time, yet his friend had already been promoted twice. When he asked his pal how he had attained rank in such a relatively short time, he got this answer: His buddy had purchased source books for the formulation of questions for police promotional exams and made up questions and answers that he wrote on 3x5 cards. He carried the cards with him while on patrol and studied them religiously when he wasn’t on a call. He became a well-prepared test taker and his efforts had paid off.
    Although he’d never been an enthusiastic student, McCarthy decided that when he returned to Las Vegas, he’d do the same thing his friend had done. He kept the promise he’d made to himself and was promoted to sergeant later that year. In 1964, he was named to head the department’s vice and narcotics detail. A promotion to lieutenant followed in 1968. In 1974, now with Metro, he attained the rank of captain. The following year marked another advancement when he was appointed Commander of the Vice, Narcotics and Juvenile Bureau.
    By 1977, Commander McCarthy was disillusioned with the leadership of his boss, Ralph Lamb. Sheriff Lamb was under investigation by the IRS. One of Lamb’s brothers was a partner in a bar supply business that had won a contract with almost every resort hotel in the Valley. Lamb himself sat on the Clark County Liquor & Gaming Board and cast votes on the suitability of applicants on whom his own officers conducted background investigations. On top of that, there were rumors that some cops in the Intelligence Bureau were on the mob’s payroll. To McCarthy, these situations represented conflicts of interest at the least and possible criminal activity at the worst. Metro’s credibility with the valley’s citizens and other law-enforcement agencies was in jeopardy. In his mind, the only sure way to reverse the damage to his department’s reputation was to make a change at the top. With that motivation, John McCarthy decided to toss his hat into the political ring.
    Recruiting Support
    Gary Lang was born and raised in Las Vegas. In 1965, while working as a police cadet in the Las Vegas Police Department, he became a friend of John McCarthy. After a stint in the Army, he rejoined the police department for a short time as a civilian Identification Technician before attending college, obtaining a law degree from the University of Utah, and returning to Southern Nevada.
    In the 1970s, he was a practicing criminal defense attorney. His duties frequently brought him to the Metro offices in the City Hall complex on Stewart Avenue. On one such visit in 1977, Lang was walking by McCarthy’s office when the Vice & Narcotics chief asked him to step inside and close the door. “I’ve decided to run against Ralph Lamb in the election next year,” the cop announced.
    “The first thing I asked him,” Lang recalls, “was if there was any way I could talk him out of it. He said there wasn’t; his mind was made up. McCarthy said he was looking for an advisor and wanted to know if I’d be interested. I accepted his offer.”
    In April 1978, McCarthy approached the Clark County Republican Party and won support for his candidacy. He filed the necessary paperwork the following month. He presented himself as a reform candidate, vowing to restore Metro’s reputation and prestige. Although Sheriff Lamb was acquitted of the tax charges in federal court, those and other allegations, along with the revelations about Detective Joe Blasko and Sgt. Phil Leone, had taken their toll. John McCarthy defeated “Mr. Metro” at the ballot box that November. The celebration was short-lived, however. Though it was difficult beating Ralph Lamb, the next four years proved to be much more so. The problems began immediately.
    Promotions, Resentment, and a Lawsuit
    Both supporters and critics knew John McCarthy as a