Since its opening on February 14, 2012, The Mob Museum has become one of Las Vegas’ most popular attractions, and a celebrated example of restoring and repurposing a historic building. Over the past 10 years, more than three million people have walked through the exhibit galleries while learning about organized crime and law enforcement. To mark the Museum’s 10th anniversary, this panel discussion will feature several individuals who played key roles in the development and growth of this downtown institution, including the Museum’s original visionary, former Mayor Oscar Goodman.
Join us throughout February to celebrate The Mob Museum’s 10th Anniversary
February 10: The Story of The Mob Museum: Celebrating Its Past, Charting Its Future In celebration of the Museum’s 10th anniversary, a panel discussion will feature those who played key roles in its creation and growth.
February 14: Vitalant Blood Drive As part of our commitment to the community, join us for our annual blood drive with Vitalant. Each presenting donor will receive one free general admission to the Museum for a future date.
February 17: ‘Undercover of the Night’ Gala A serious fundraising event that is also serious fun. Attendees will partake in gourmet action stations and delectable desserts, specialty cocktails, luxury auction items, and live entertainment.
A key visionary for the project and current board member is former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman. The 20th mayor of the city of Las Vegas, Oscar B. Goodman, was term limited after 12 years of service. He swore in his wife, the 20th mayor of Las Vegas, Carolyn G. Goodman, on July 6, 2011. His trademark, no-nonsense tell-it-like-it-is style made him one of the Las Vegas’ most popular mayors and the self-proclaimed “happiest mayor in the universe.” As former chairman of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), Oscar Goodman worked feverishly to promote Las Vegas as one of the most exciting destinations in the world. Today, he is still formally engaged with the LVCVA, promoting Las Vegas as the city’s official ambassador.
Oscar Goodman is one of the nation’s best criminal defense attorneys and was named one of the “15 Best Trial Lawyers in America” by the National Law Journal. He spent more than 35 years defending some of the most notorious alleged Mob figures, including Meyer Lansky, Frank Rosenthal, Anthony Spilotro and others. In 1995, he appeared as himself in the movie, “Casino.”
In June 2008, Oscar Goodman was presented with the 2008 Public Leadership in the Arts Award at the United States Conference of Mayors’ 76th annual meeting. The award honors elected officials and artists or arts organizations that have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the advancement of the arts. In July 2009, Oscar Goodman was honored by the International Economic Development Council with its 2009 Leadership Award for Public Service. The award recognizes the many and significant economic advances in Las Vegas made under Oscar Goodman’s watch over the past 10 years. He served on the Advisory Board of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Jeffrey Silver
Jeffrey Silver began his career as a Certified Public Accountant, but following law school he worked as a prosecutor with the Clark County District Attorney. He became a Chief Deputy in charge of the Consumer Fraud and White Collar Crimes Division. Thereafter, Mr. Silver was appointed as the resident Board Member supervising the Las Vegas office of the Nevada Gaming Control Board during the State’s tumultuous period of cleansing the gaming industry of its organized crime influence. Following State service, he held top leadership positions at various resort hotels including the Landmark Hotel & Casino, Riviera Hotel & Casino and Caesars Palace. Mr. Silver has published journal articles, spoken at conferences, testified before the Nevada Legislature and U.S. Congressional sub-committees and qualified as an expert witness on gaming law matters, in state and federal courts. He is consistently honored as one of Nevada’s pre-eminent gaming law practitioners by Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA, and Mountain States Super-Lawyers. A long-time Nevadan, he is involved in community and business affairs. Mr. Silver is a former Chairman of the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce, former Secretary-Treasurer of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and a former President of the International Association of Gaming Advisors. He is a founding member of the Las Vegas FBI Citizen’s Academy Alumni Association and is currently the Board Chair of The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement. Mr. Silver practices gaming and administrative law as Of Counsel with Dickinson Wright, PLLC. Mr. Silver was a 2020 inductee to the American Gaming Association’s “Gaming Hall of Fame”.
Robert Stoldal
During his career as a journalist, Robert Stoldal served as a reporter, television news anchor, creator and manager of a 24-hour Las Vegas cable news operation, and as the News Director of a statewide Nevada television news system. As a journalist, Stoldal has covered Las Vegas and the state of Nevada starting as Director of News for KLAS radio in 1965 and continues today as President of the Board of Nevada Independent. In 1967, Stoldal was hired as a reporter and anchor at KLAS-TV, Channel 8 and a year later was promoted to News Director. That same year 1968, industrialist Howard Hughes purchased KLAS-TV. In 1978, KLAS was sold to Landmark Communications. During his tenure as News Director, United Press International honored KLAS as having the “Best Newscast in America.” In April 1998, he launched Las Vegas ONE, a 24-hour local news television operation and promoted to Vice President for KLAS overseeing all of its news operations.
Stoldal has produced several award winning documentaries including “Mob on the Run,” a detailed look at the history of organized crime in Las Vegas. In 2005, Stoldal was a recipient of a Peabody Award, as Executive Producer of “Crossfire: Water, Power & Politics” a documentary over water rights in Nevada. In the same year, he was also a recipient of an Edward R. Murrow Award for investigate journalism as a producer of series on “Voter Registration Fraud” in Las Vegas. After forty years in broadcast news, Stoldal retired in 2008. However, in 2009 Stoldal came out of retirement and was named Vice President of News for the Sunbelt Corporation. At the request of Jim Rogers, who owned the Sunbelt Corporation and Las Vegas television station KSNV television, Stoldal dramatically expanded the number of daily newscasts. That expansion added five hours of local news to each day. In 2014 at the age of seventy-two, he retired. In 2017 Stoldal became Chairman of the board of The Nevada Independent a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website.
In addition, Stoldal currently serves on the boards of several community organizations including Nevada Public Radio’s Citizens Advisory Board, the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society, Las Vegas City Historical Preservation Commission, Preserve Nevada and Nevada Commission on Tourism, the National Atomic Testing Museum and the Nevada State Commission on Cultural Affairs and Historic Places.
In 2020, Stoldal was the recipient of the “Distinguished Nevadan” award by the University Of Nevada Board Of Regents. The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the cultural, and social advancement of Nevada and its people. While at UNLV Stoldal was editor of The Yell, the student newspaper.
Jonathan Ullman
Jonathan Ullman is President & CEO of The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement. The Mob Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit located in downtown Las Vegas, with a mission of advancing the public understanding of organized crime’s history and impact on society. Reporting to a 22-member Board of Directors, Jonathan is responsible for leading the organization that has been named both a “Top Workplace” and “Best Museum” by the Las Vegas Review Journal and ranked #20 on TripAdvisor’s list of top museums in the United States.
Jonathan has spent over 20 years in a variety of management and leadership roles within the nonprofit industry. Jonathan’s museum career began at Liberty Science Center, New Jersey’s most visited museum, where he was intimately involved in the strategic planning and operationalizing of the facility following a $109 million capital expansion. Over the years, Jonathan served in numerous capacities with responsibilities including intensive staff management, program oversight, and external relations. Immediately prior to joining The Mob Museum, Jonathan was the president and COO at the National Soccer Hall of Fame, where he led the dramatic transformation of the organization’s operating model.
Jonathan earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Rutgers College and his Masters of Business Administration from Rutgers Business School. A believer in the importance of community, Jonathan has volunteered on a number of nonprofit boards and community-driven initiatives. He is a graduating member of the LV Metro Police Department Citizens’ Academy and the FBI Citizens’ Academy, currently serving as the President of the FBI Citizens’ Academy Alumni Association. Jonathan has served two terms on the Downtown Vegas Alliance’s Executive Committee as Chairman and has helped lead the organization’s growth to help it become one of the most vital resources to businesses in the downtown community. Additionally, Jonathan is a graduate of the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Las Vegas program and a past Curriculum Chair. Jonathan resides in Las Vegas with his wife and three children.
Mike Devine
Mike Devine is President of Gallagher Museum Services, the business strategy and planning division within Gallagher & Associates. Mike brings over 25 years of financial, investment and operational-related experience with over 20 years of museum and cultural center experience, including projects with some of the most well respected cultural attractions around the country. He specializes in owner representation, consulting services with a focus on feasibility studies, business planning, implementation, cultural attraction complex consultation, and traveling exhibit management. Prior to Gallagher & Associates, Mike’s experience included a partner at an investment wealth management firm and President of a Family Office. Mike’s career began as a CPA at Ernst & Young accounting firm.
Scott Adams
Scott Adams is retired as the former City Manager for the City of Las Vegas. He has held numerous positions in the field of urban economic development and redevelopment, including that of:
Chief Urban Redevelopment Officer, City of Las Vegas
Director, Office of Business Development, City of Las Vegas
Director, Jefferson Parish Econ. Dev. Commission, New Orleans, La.;
Director of Planning and Econ. Dev., City of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.;
Executive Director, New Orleans Regional Medical Center, Inc.;
Assistant Executive Director, Center City Commission, Memphis, Tenn.
Planning and development positions in hometown of Jackson, Mich.
During his career Scott has been instrumental in significant change in each community he has worked in through extensive involvement in master planning, public-private partnerships, and business attraction and development. He has worked with some of the largest businesses and developers in America. A 1977 Urban Planning Graduate of Michigan State University, he was given the American Institute of Planners Award as the top graduate. He is a Certified Manager with the International City Managers Association, a Certified Economic Developer and a past board member with the International Economic Development Council, and a past member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He is a current member of the Urban Land Institute.
Melissa Warren
As Principal/Owner of The Warren Group, the next evolution of Faiss Foley Warren (FFW) Public Relations, for whom she served as Managing Partner for nearly two decades, Melissa Warren oversees all aspects of the firm’s daily operations. Leading by example with an unparalleled work ethic, Warren is directly responsible, in large part, for the firm’s growth, success and evolution over the past several years. She is simultaneously the firm’s primary rainmaker, its top producer, managing partner, and now, principal and owner.
Known for its impressive list of long-term, hallmark clients, many of them Southern Nevada’s leading companies, developers, retail centers, government agencies, municipalities and nonprofits, The Warren Group has earned its reputation for good work through sustained effort from a seasoned and experienced staff. A public relations/marketing professional with more than 40 years’ experience, Warren launched her career overseeing marketing for a $1.5 billion Savings & Loan in Salt Lake City, Utah. Upon moving to Las Vegas in 1990, Warren joined DRGM Advertising and Public Relations as a public relations specialist/account executive. In 1998, she joined Faiss Foley Merica, which soon became Faiss Foley Warren, one of the state’s largest independent public relations and government affairs firms, for whom she ultimately became its managing partner. Today, many of the firm’s long-term, blue-chip clients are still with The Warren Group, underscoring the firm’s reputation for excellence and results-oriented public relations.
Passionate about Nevada and community, Warren is an active volunteer and serves on a number of boards. She is past chairman of the board of Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Southern Nevada, a long-time member of the advisory board and executive committee for Nevada Ballet Theatre, a former member of the board of directors of the Public Education Foundation as well as the Clark County School District Partnership Office. She was recently invited to join the prestigious International Women’s Forum of Nevada, the statewide chapter of this global organization. She is a former member of UNLV Women of Excellence and has received numerous honors, including 2011 Women to Watch by In Business Las Vegas; 2010 Women Who Mean Business, Las Vegas Business Press; and numerous Pinnacle Awards over two decades for her work from Public Relations Society of America, Las Vegas. In 2015, she was named Senior PR Practitioner of the Year by the Public Relations Society of America, Las Vegas chapter.
Nancy Deaner
A native Nevadan, Nancy Deaner grew up spending her early years attending both grade school and high school in downtown Las Vegas. Nancy graduated with both her Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees, magna cum laude. In 1991, she began working for the City of Las Vegas overseeing their visual arts programs. She progressed to a Manager position and ultimately helped the City form a department dedicated to arts and culture called The Office of Cultural Affairs; Nancy became its first Director. In 2006, she received the Governor’s Arts Award for Service to the Arts for her work on the development of two museums, the Mob Museum and the Neon Museum in addition to other arts initiatives such as the Percent for Art Ordnance, First Friday and the nascent Vegas Valley Book Festival.
Nancy’s passion for the arts and for preservation found a home when she went to work for the City of Las Vegas. She retired in October of 2016 and currently works in her own art studio, consults and teaches. She still resides in Las Vegas.
