Are all fight organizations connected to organized crime:
Here's a link to the article:
http://www.fightsport.com/fsport/fig...t_archive.html
In the January of 2001, the ailing reality fighting contest known as The Ultimate Fighting Championship, was purchased from its founder, the SEG CORPORATION by ZUFFA LLC.
Three men, Frank Fertitta III, his younger brother Lorenzo Fertitta and their brother in law, the low profile but nonetheless powerful, Blake Sartini, are the owners of ZUFFA LLC. (note: Dana White isn't an owner, he's just a figure-head)
The Maceo-Fertitta gang was responsible for funding many things in the Galveston community and despite obvious connections to the New Orleans mob; no one dared to complain about the criminal benefactors of the town. In fact those that did complain usually ended up sleeping with the fishes, according to local legend.
The Maceo-Fertitta gang wielded great power and most of the other mobsters knew better than to tread on their turf.
The Chicago crime czar Al Capone had heard about the lucrative gambling and bootleg empire that the Maceos and Fertittas had built in Galveston and he wanted some of that action. He planned to at first become a partner with them and then muscle them out of the picture once he had his hooks firmly embedded. Al Capone sent his main man Frank Nitti to Galveston to intimidate the Maceos into allowing Capone to "invest" in their businesses. The Maceos received word of Nitti's impending arrival and they decided that they would flat-out refuse any offers from Nitti on behalf of Capone to take a piece of their illegal gambling pie.
They decided to call on the skills of the most ruthless member of their family's gang, Maceo In-Law, Anthony Fertitta. Nitti arrived in town and was introduced to the Maceos and to Anthony Fertitta, Fertitta told Nitti that they needed to talk and he took Nitti for a drive in his car. The two men were gone for several hours and it is not clear what events took place during that time. All that is known is that Nitti was dropped at the city limits very late that evening, he appeared to be shaken but alive and well.
No one knows what took place during the car ride but when Nitti made it back to Chicago, he told Capone that the Fertittas were no pushovers and it would require an all out war to move in on their territory. Capone never pursued it any further.
Sam Maceo, was the brain behind the Maceo-Fertitta empire and he was directly under the control of New Orleans mob boss Carlos Marcello, who later would be linked to the assassination of JFK. Sam also helped the pioneer Vegas hotelier, Moe Dalitz to get a gaming licence for The Desert Inn Las Vegas's first casino, not very long before his death. Papa Rose and Big Sam had both passed away by the 1950's and many of the remaining Maceo's and the dealers who worked in their illegal casinos moved out to Las Vegas.
Here is a link to some recent crimes they have done:
http://www.americanmafia.com/Inside_...ide_Vegas.html
Frank Fertitta Jr. is founder and former chairman of Station Casinos. Federal investigations linked him to a money-skimming operation in 1985, but he was never charged or sanctioned. Nonetheless, Missouri gaming officials in 1992 refused to issue a gambling permit to Station unless the company guaranteed Fertitta would have no part in its management, according to published reports.
Blake Sartini is co-founder and former chief operating officer of Nevada-based Station Casinos. While he was with that business, Station lost its Missouri gambling license after other company executives ignored a subpoena to testify in a corruption probe. Sartini was not called to testify. Station later paid more than $1 million in fines for several offenses, including allowing juveniles to gamble.
Here's another:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/st...515287101.html Trying to keep the money in the family.
