1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:16,720 Speaker 1: Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. The stories about 2 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:21,640 Speaker 1: the origins of the NFL are insane. They involved mobsters, 3 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:26,800 Speaker 1: bag men, and degenerate gamblers, alleged corruption at the highest level, 4 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: a body in the trunk of a Rolls Royce, a 5 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 1: body on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, and a 6 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 1: federal investigation into the men behind some of the greatest 7 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 1: sports moments of all time, moments that seemed like poetry 8 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:45,200 Speaker 1: in motion, comparable to some of the greatest music ever made. 9 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:48,520 Speaker 1: Unlike that loop I played for you at the top 10 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:52,680 Speaker 1: of the show. That wasn't great music. That was a 11 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:56,639 Speaker 1: preset loop from my melotron called Yankee Hotel Cha Cha 12 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: MK two played you that loop because I can't afford 13 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:05,399 Speaker 1: the rights to another Brick in the Wall Part two 14 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:09,600 Speaker 1: by Pink Floyd. And why would I play you that 15 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:14,679 Speaker 1: specific slice of Schoolboy Uprising Cheese? Could I afford it? 16 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:19,760 Speaker 1: Because that was the number one song in America on 17 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: April tewod nineteen eighty And that was the day that 18 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:27,680 Speaker 1: Carol Rosenbloom, owner of the Los Angeles Rams, and a 19 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 1: man at the center of a federal investigation into the NFL, 20 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:37,800 Speaker 1: drowned mysteriously in the Atlantic Ocean. On this episode, mobsters, 21 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:43,839 Speaker 1: bag men, degenerate gamblers, corruption, murder, and the criminal origins 22 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:49,480 Speaker 1: of America's favorite pastime in the NFL. I'm Jake Brennan, 23 00:01:50,320 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: and this is Disgraceland. The two Los Angeles detectives stood 24 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:30,880 Speaker 1: in the North Hollywood garage shivering. It was unseasonably cold 25 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 1: in Los Angeles. Or was that just the cold chill 26 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:39,080 Speaker 1: of murder making itself known. Neither detective knew for sure. 27 00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:42,360 Speaker 1: They were fixated on the back of the parked red 28 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:45,560 Speaker 1: Rolls Royce. The key to the trunk was in hand. 29 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 1: They knew that opening it would prompt more questions than answers, 30 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 1: Questions like who really was Vick Weiss and how legitimate 31 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 1: a businessman was he? And were the rumors true that 32 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:01,600 Speaker 1: our weekends? Vic flew by pre jet into Las Vegas 33 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:04,120 Speaker 1: with a suitcase full of cash to lay onto a 34 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:07,040 Speaker 1: bookmaker to bet football for his wealthy friends. Back in 35 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:12,120 Speaker 1: La gambling was legal in Vegas but illegal most everywhere 36 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:15,920 Speaker 1: else in America. In nineteen seventy nine, the word was 37 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: that Vic bet football for one of the biggest names 38 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:23,680 Speaker 1: in football, Los Angeles Rams owner Carol Rosenbloom. Owning a 39 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:26,720 Speaker 1: team didn't dissuade Carol from doing the one thing he 40 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 1: absolutely should not be doing, wagering on the outcome of 41 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:35,120 Speaker 1: his own team's games. That type of behavior would raise 42 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: even more questions. Were the Rams on the level? Were 43 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 1: the Rams throwing games at the behest of their gambling owner? 44 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 1: Carol couldn't have that, but he couldn't not bet either. 45 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: Betting was his birthright. So Vic was put to work 46 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 1: as a bagman to place Carol's bets for him, or 47 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:58,640 Speaker 1: so they said. They also said Vic placed his own bets, 48 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 1: bets with the types of guys you don't well shan 49 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: mob guys, and the rumor was that Vic owed the 50 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:11,280 Speaker 1: mob big. One of the detectives inserted the key and 51 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: popped the trunk of the Rolls Royce, and there he 52 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 1: was bick Weiss, the bag man, bound and bagged, lying 53 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:26,159 Speaker 1: dead right there in the trunk. The murder of vick Weiss, 54 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:29,160 Speaker 1: a man who watched most LA Rams home games from 55 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: the press box at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, was 56 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:36,479 Speaker 1: never solved, and as far as scandals affiliated with the NFL, 57 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: it barely qualifies. This event is nothing compared to the 58 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 1: scandals of recent years. In twenty thirteen, New England Patriots 59 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:50,280 Speaker 1: star tight end Aaron Hernandez was arrested and eventually convicted 60 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:53,880 Speaker 1: for the murder of friend Odin Lloyd. In two thousand 61 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:57,240 Speaker 1: and seven, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, one of the 62 00:04:57,240 --> 00:04:59,840 Speaker 1: biggest stars in the game at the time, was arrested 63 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 1: for his involvement in an illegal dog fighting ring. In 64 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 1: two thousand, Baltimore Ravens star linebacker Ray Lewis and two 65 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 1: friends were indicted for murder. Lewis struck a plea bargain 66 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 1: with investigators in exchange for his testimony against his fellow defendants. 67 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: He received probation for an incident that many believe Lewis 68 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:23,080 Speaker 1: had more to do with than he admits. These stories 69 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: made significant headlines and resulted in major embarrassment for the 70 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:30,280 Speaker 1: National Football League, and they all shared one thing in common. 71 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:34,000 Speaker 1: In each case, the trouble that the NFL player got 72 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:37,240 Speaker 1: himself into happened in large part because of the people 73 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:41,839 Speaker 1: the players chose to associate with. This is partly while 74 00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 1: the NFL has long had a rule governing who players 75 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: can and cannot hang around with, the NFL has gone 76 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:52,920 Speaker 1: to great lengths to discourage its players from hanging around 77 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:57,800 Speaker 1: with criminals. New York Jets star quarterback Joe Namath was 78 00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:00,680 Speaker 1: forced to claim he was retiring from football in nineteen 79 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:03,760 Speaker 1: sixty nine because he wouldn't give up ownership of his 80 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:08,720 Speaker 1: Manhattan restaurant, Bachelor's Three, where wise guys and gangsters were 81 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:12,039 Speaker 1: known to hang out. Eventually, Joe went back on his 82 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:15,160 Speaker 1: pledge to retire and sold his club to return to football, 83 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:19,600 Speaker 1: but that didn't really change anything. Illegal betting on football 84 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:23,000 Speaker 1: was big business at the time. It still is. But 85 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:25,720 Speaker 1: like I said, it was legal to place bets at 86 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:30,640 Speaker 1: sportsbooks in Las Vegas, but that money was small potatoes 87 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:33,839 Speaker 1: compared to the amount of money bet illegally on professional 88 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 1: football throughout the rest of the country, money that was 89 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:41,359 Speaker 1: sometimes carried secretly in brown leather bags by guys like 90 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:45,640 Speaker 1: Vick Weiss, guys who, sometimes because of the men they 91 00:06:45,680 --> 00:07:15,840 Speaker 1: associated with, wound up murdered odds makers. Those professional betters, 92 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: the betting experts, many of whom had checkered associations with 93 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 1: mobsters themselves, Those mysterious characters who gathered information every week 94 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:28,320 Speaker 1: to set the betting lines for professional football games. I 95 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:31,600 Speaker 1: e the point differential, they favored one team over another 96 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:35,360 Speaker 1: the point spread. Their work, the odds makers were was 97 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:40,640 Speaker 1: entirely dependent on information. Information about the teams determined how 98 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: the line was set. For those wondering what a line is, 99 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:47,480 Speaker 1: it's simple. Say the odds makers set the line at 100 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:49,920 Speaker 1: six points and favor the forty nine ers to beat 101 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 1: the Jets. That means the forty nine ers are giving 102 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:57,119 Speaker 1: the Jets six points. The line is San Francisco forty 103 00:07:57,200 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 1: nine Ers minus six points over the New York Jets. 104 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 1: You like the forty nine ers to win even though 105 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:07,000 Speaker 1: they're giving the Jets six points. You don't care that 106 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:09,880 Speaker 1: the Jets have Aaron Rodgers coming back. The game is 107 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:12,600 Speaker 1: being played in San Francisco on a Monday night, and 108 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:14,920 Speaker 1: Niners fans will be into it. So you take the 109 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:18,480 Speaker 1: forty nine ers for one hundred dollars. Now, for you 110 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 1: to win your bet, the forty nine ers have to 111 00:08:20,640 --> 00:08:23,560 Speaker 1: win by more than six points. If they win by 112 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:27,320 Speaker 1: any point differential less than that, you lose. This is 113 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:30,680 Speaker 1: the point spread, and defeating it does not come easily. 114 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:35,079 Speaker 1: Those six points weren't selected arbitrarily. Those six points were 115 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 1: meticulously decided upon using all the information on the planet 116 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:41,640 Speaker 1: that the odds makers could get their hands on before 117 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:44,920 Speaker 1: setting the line, Meaning the odds maker would not only 118 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:48,320 Speaker 1: take into account which team was simply better, but every 119 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 1: single possible edge, Which team was playing with the home 120 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 1: field advantage, which team had a quarterback with a cold, 121 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:57,760 Speaker 1: a kicker who liked to stay up late partying, a 122 00:08:57,840 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 1: wide out with an injury he was keeping from the pub. 123 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:05,080 Speaker 1: Any and all information goes into deciding that line because 124 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:08,280 Speaker 1: millions of dollars depend on the outcome of that game. 125 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:12,160 Speaker 1: The same goes for every football game and every point 126 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:14,600 Speaker 1: spread that week, and for every week of the season 127 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:18,200 Speaker 1: this season, and for every season going back to the 128 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:23,520 Speaker 1: nineteen forties, because betting football illegally was and always has 129 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:28,440 Speaker 1: been very big business. But back to the now. Say 130 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:31,720 Speaker 1: you win that bet. Say Aaron Rodgers goes out there 131 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:34,959 Speaker 1: and craps the bed due to an ayahuasca hangover or something, 132 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:37,079 Speaker 1: and the Niners win by a score of twenty eight 133 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:41,080 Speaker 1: to twenty one. Congratulations, you now have an extra ninety 134 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:43,920 Speaker 1: dollars in your pocket. Oh wait a minute, you say 135 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:48,080 Speaker 1: you bet one hundred dollars. Yes that's correct, you did, 136 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: and yes you won. But you don't win the one 137 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 1: hundred dollars, you win the one hundred dollars minus ten dollars, 138 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:57,720 Speaker 1: which is the big or the fee you have to 139 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:01,200 Speaker 1: pay the bookie for taking the bet. Doesn't matter if 140 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:04,120 Speaker 1: you're betting with TAGSI down at the Polish American Veterans Club, 141 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:06,679 Speaker 1: or you're placing a bet on fan duel or another 142 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:09,640 Speaker 1: of the many legal betting apps. You still have to 143 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:12,920 Speaker 1: pay the VIG, which is the fee the bookie, legal 144 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:16,160 Speaker 1: or illegal, charges you for booking the bet, for doing 145 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:19,520 Speaker 1: business with you, for taking the bet, for paying you out, 146 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:22,680 Speaker 1: and presumably for murdering you and stuffing you into a 147 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:24,480 Speaker 1: soup bag and locking you up in the back of 148 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 1: a red Rose Royce like Vick Weiss. If you don't 149 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:32,400 Speaker 1: pay your losses, bookies don't lose. Ever, that's the beauty 150 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:35,920 Speaker 1: of it. No matter what. If you lose, they win. 151 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:39,439 Speaker 1: If you win, they win. Because winner lose the bet, 152 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:42,839 Speaker 1: they still collect the VIG, and that VIG from all 153 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:45,240 Speaker 1: the bets they make, from all the action they take. 154 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:48,000 Speaker 1: It adds up as long as they keep the number 155 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:50,360 Speaker 1: of bets somewhat even as long as the number of 156 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:52,360 Speaker 1: people who bet on the forty nine ers is close 157 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:54,160 Speaker 1: to the number of people who bet on the Jets. 158 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:57,079 Speaker 1: The wins will offset the losses, and the wig will 159 00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:01,240 Speaker 1: provide the gravy on top. The way a bookie loses 160 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:03,480 Speaker 1: is if they let the money get too heavy on 161 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:05,960 Speaker 1: one side of the bet or another, say, if too 162 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:07,680 Speaker 1: many people are betting the forty nine ers and not 163 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:10,600 Speaker 1: enough for betting the Jets. If this happens, the odds 164 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:13,640 Speaker 1: makers just move the line. In this case, they'd increase 165 00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:15,839 Speaker 1: the number of points the Niners were giving the Jets 166 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 1: to entice betters to take the Jets, to even out 167 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:20,200 Speaker 1: the amount of money bet on each team to cover 168 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:22,760 Speaker 1: the collective ass of the bookies. So no matter which 169 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:29,360 Speaker 1: team wins, the house with its vague always wins. So 170 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:32,320 Speaker 1: in a game where a single point can mean the 171 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:36,040 Speaker 1: difference between winning and losing millions of dollars, you can 172 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:39,400 Speaker 1: see why inside information about the team is so important. 173 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:43,320 Speaker 1: The information determines the point spread. Odds makers want to 174 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:45,600 Speaker 1: know every single thing they can, and they want to 175 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:49,920 Speaker 1: use that information to set the best possible lines. Where 176 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:54,200 Speaker 1: do you think odds makers get this information? Often from 177 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:57,920 Speaker 1: people close to the team, from journalists, from team personnel, 178 00:11:58,559 --> 00:12:03,600 Speaker 1: even yes from players. Given this dynamic, you can see 179 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:06,400 Speaker 1: why the NFL doesn't want its star players hanging out 180 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:11,199 Speaker 1: with known undesirables, with gangsters, with the very men responsible 181 00:12:11,240 --> 00:12:14,439 Speaker 1: for all of the betting being waged illegally on professional 182 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:19,439 Speaker 1: football back in nineteen sixty nine. The NFL didn't want 183 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:21,640 Speaker 1: the headache of having to deal with the accusations that 184 00:12:21,679 --> 00:12:25,040 Speaker 1: went along with Joe Namath hanging out with mobsters. If 185 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:27,199 Speaker 1: the quarterback of the New York Jets was hanging around 186 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:30,280 Speaker 1: with the nefarious men who controlled illegal betting in America, 187 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:33,240 Speaker 1: Who's to say that the Jets quarterback wasn't susceptible to 188 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:36,760 Speaker 1: the corrupt influence of these men, men he counted as friends. 189 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:41,000 Speaker 1: Who's to say that the quarterback wasn't giving valuable information 190 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:45,040 Speaker 1: to his gangster friends, or worse, that he was impacting 191 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:48,000 Speaker 1: the game with his play to benefit his gangster friends. 192 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:51,600 Speaker 1: The league couldn't have it. The integrity of the game 193 00:12:51,679 --> 00:12:54,120 Speaker 1: was at state. So either Joe Namas had to leave 194 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:57,640 Speaker 1: his mafioso buddies behind and divest from his restaurant, or 195 00:12:57,679 --> 00:13:01,840 Speaker 1: the NFL was going to leave Joe Namath behind Broadway. 196 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:05,000 Speaker 1: Joe chose the wise guys, but walked away from football 197 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:08,080 Speaker 1: at the age of twenty six for a minute anyway. 198 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:12,439 Speaker 1: Then Joe, like I said, caved, sold this club and unretired. 199 00:13:14,360 --> 00:13:18,200 Speaker 1: The NFL has always made claims about safeguarding the integrity 200 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:20,560 Speaker 1: of the game. The subject is one that the league 201 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:24,760 Speaker 1: has always been intimately familiar with and concerned about. Not 202 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:29,640 Speaker 1: because the NFL is led by moralists, no, precisely the opposite. 203 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:32,600 Speaker 1: It's because the NFL was founded by, and for the 204 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:36,920 Speaker 1: bulk of the twentieth century, run by degenerate gamblers. Its 205 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:42,520 Speaker 1: team owners. Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney was a racetrack owner. 206 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:46,760 Speaker 1: New York Giants owner Tim Morrow was himself a bookmaker 207 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:50,320 Speaker 1: at Saratoga Racetrack, a track under the control of the 208 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:55,719 Speaker 1: notorious gangster Meyer Landscape. Charles Bidwell, the original owner of 209 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:59,319 Speaker 1: the Chicago Cardinals, the team that eventually became the Arizona Cardinals, 210 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:04,120 Speaker 1: was a known as associated notorious gangster Al Capone. All 211 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:07,320 Speaker 1: three owners are now in the NFL Hall of Fame, 212 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:11,800 Speaker 1: but another owner does not, and that would be former 213 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:16,079 Speaker 1: Los Angeles Rams owner Carol Rosenbloom, the man whose rumored 214 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:17,960 Speaker 1: bag man wound up dead in the back of that 215 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:21,960 Speaker 1: Rolls Royce and a man whose own death remains one 216 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,320 Speaker 1: of the most mysterious events in the history of the NFL. 217 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:39,800 Speaker 1: We'll be right back after this. We're we're, We're In. 218 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:44,720 Speaker 1: Nineteen fifty eight, baseball was America's favorite pastime that was 219 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:47,760 Speaker 1: all about to change because of a single illegal bet, 220 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:51,800 Speaker 1: a million dollar bet. The New York Football Giants were 221 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:56,040 Speaker 1: facing off for the league championship against Carol Rosenbloom's Baltimore Colts, 222 00:14:56,640 --> 00:14:59,720 Speaker 1: the team Rosenbloom owned before becoming owner of the Los 223 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:04,680 Speaker 1: angele Less Rams back in fifty eight. Rosenbloom watched the 224 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 1: game's final minutes along with the rest of America, on 225 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 1: the edge of his seat. This was the most anticipated, 226 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:14,680 Speaker 1: most watched, most listened to, most read about, and most 227 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:18,600 Speaker 1: talked about professional football game to date. The sport was 228 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:22,880 Speaker 1: still young. Baseball and its larger than life personalities Mickey 229 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:26,400 Speaker 1: Mantle Willie may Stand usual had a solid grip on 230 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:30,480 Speaker 1: America's imagination, but the drama about to unfold in this 231 00:15:30,560 --> 00:15:36,120 Speaker 1: football game would capture American hearts and minds. The game 232 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:40,120 Speaker 1: was tied seventeen seventeen in sudden death overtime. The point 233 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:44,000 Speaker 1: spread was three and a half points. Rosenbloom's Colts were 234 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:46,600 Speaker 1: giving three and a half to the Giants, and he 235 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:48,480 Speaker 1: win by less than three and a half points, and 236 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:51,680 Speaker 1: all the betters who took the Colts, including their degenerate 237 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:55,720 Speaker 1: gambling owner Carol Rosenbloom, who had three million dollars wagered 238 00:15:55,760 --> 00:16:00,360 Speaker 1: on the outcome with two friends, would lose. All tied 239 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:03,440 Speaker 1: up in overtime, the Colts and their young quarterback Johnny 240 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:07,400 Speaker 1: Unitas marched deep into Giants territory. A three point field 241 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:10,160 Speaker 1: goal would secure the win in the Championship for the Colts, 242 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:13,240 Speaker 1: and they were now well within field goal range, but 243 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:17,720 Speaker 1: for some reason, they kept driving. Uniteds threw a risky, 244 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:20,680 Speaker 1: dangerous pass from the eight yard line. The hearts of 245 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:23,360 Speaker 1: every Colts fan in America stopped in unison until the 246 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:25,520 Speaker 1: Colts tight end pulled the ball out of the air 247 00:16:25,560 --> 00:16:28,360 Speaker 1: and caught it at the one yard line. The one 248 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:31,160 Speaker 1: yard line a field goal now would have been a 249 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:34,240 Speaker 1: chip shot from that distance in victory and the championship 250 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:38,600 Speaker 1: would have been in hand. But while Colts owner Caro 251 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:41,880 Speaker 1: Rosenbloom sat watching with his million dollar bet riding on 252 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:44,000 Speaker 1: a three and a half point win, by his Colts 253 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:46,920 Speaker 1: three and a half points that a three point field 254 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:51,800 Speaker 1: goal would not have secured. The Colts did something highly suspicious. 255 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:55,920 Speaker 1: They went for the touchdown. They went for the six points. 256 00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:59,520 Speaker 1: On the next play, Uniteds took the snap and handed 257 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:03,000 Speaker 1: the ball to Holt's running back Alan Amichi. Amichi plunged 258 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:05,399 Speaker 1: forward across the goal line to score a touchdown in 259 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:09,320 Speaker 1: sudden death, winning the championship for the Baltimore Colts and 260 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:15,199 Speaker 1: the million dollar bet for their owner, Carol Rosenbloom. The 261 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:19,159 Speaker 1: game was breathtaking, and the historic final drive, with all 262 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:23,119 Speaker 1: of its high drama, cemented football as America's new favorite pastime, 263 00:17:23,840 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 1: which the game most certainly would grow into over the 264 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:30,560 Speaker 1: coming years. Ask any member of the Baltimore Colts about 265 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:33,480 Speaker 1: that final play, and they tell you Unitus called it 266 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:36,720 Speaker 1: on his own, that it was his daring, cutthroat competitive 267 00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:40,960 Speaker 1: nature to do so. Yet the rumors persisted, The whispers 268 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:45,080 Speaker 1: grew louder that Colts owner Carol Rosenbloom wasn't on the level. 269 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:49,119 Speaker 1: Never was that he was betting football while owning a 270 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:53,840 Speaker 1: football team. Reportedly, that wasn't all that Carol Rosenbloom was 271 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:57,520 Speaker 1: up to as an owner By nineteen seventy two, Rosenbloom 272 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:00,199 Speaker 1: had become the owner of the Los Angeles Rams, and 273 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:02,119 Speaker 1: the Rams were on their way to their first Super 274 00:18:02,119 --> 00:18:07,280 Speaker 1: Bowl appearance. All NFL postseason games create incredible demand for tickets. 275 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:11,639 Speaker 1: Ticket scalping, procuring tickets at face value and then turning 276 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:14,800 Speaker 1: around and selling those tickets at an inflated value is 277 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:17,919 Speaker 1: and always has been a big illegal business that the 278 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:21,119 Speaker 1: NFL has had to contend with. By the time the 279 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:24,280 Speaker 1: Los Angeles Rams put together a real team, a team 280 00:18:24,359 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 1: led by fearsome defensive n Jack Youngblood, a team capable 281 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:32,680 Speaker 1: of reaching the Super Bowl, a massive federal investigation was underway, 282 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:36,240 Speaker 1: one led by the IRS, in which Rams owner Carol 283 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:39,959 Speaker 1: Rosenbloom was reportedly being investigated for his part in an 284 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:44,600 Speaker 1: illegal ticket scalping scam, a scam that Rosenblum's wife denied 285 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:47,760 Speaker 1: her family took part in, but nonetheless a scam that 286 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:51,000 Speaker 1: a sworn legal deposition would reveal Rosenbloom and other NFL 287 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:54,480 Speaker 1: owners have been allegedly running for years, a scam in 288 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:58,320 Speaker 1: which owners like Rosenbloom would allegedly purchase thousands of their 289 00:18:58,359 --> 00:19:01,480 Speaker 1: team's tickets for postseason games and put them on the 290 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:06,240 Speaker 1: black market to be resold at massively inflated prices for 291 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:08,320 Speaker 1: a game back in the seventies, when a ticket costs 292 00:19:08,359 --> 00:19:11,359 Speaker 1: ten dollars, ten thousand tickets marked up to one hundred 293 00:19:11,359 --> 00:19:14,399 Speaker 1: dollars each and resold on the black market would result 294 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:19,000 Speaker 1: in a take of one million dollars. In that sworn deposition, 295 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:23,720 Speaker 1: Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis alleged that NFL Commissioner Pete 296 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:29,040 Speaker 1: Rozzell was himself scalping tickets. Roselle adamantly denied the allegation. 297 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:32,000 Speaker 1: It should be noted that Al Davis and Pete Rozzell 298 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:36,159 Speaker 1: were practically sworn enemies regardless. By the end of the 299 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:40,320 Speaker 1: nineteen seventies, the federal investigation in the NFL ticket scalping 300 00:19:40,359 --> 00:19:44,280 Speaker 1: expanded beyond Carol Rosenbloom and focused on an LA gangster 301 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:49,960 Speaker 1: named Jack Kataine. According to reports, this gangster had allegedly 302 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:53,800 Speaker 1: threatened Steve Rosenbloom, the son of Carol Rosenbloom, for his 303 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:58,919 Speaker 1: involvement in exposing the ticket scalping scam. In response, Steve 304 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,280 Speaker 1: Rosenbloom's attorney they took legal action against the gangster, a 305 00:20:02,359 --> 00:20:07,120 Speaker 1: significant move, and as the investigation progressed, and the pressure 306 00:20:07,119 --> 00:20:12,600 Speaker 1: on Jacketang and his gangster associates increased. Something very bad happened. 307 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:19,960 Speaker 1: When the mafia decides to whack somebody, typically it isn't 308 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:26,760 Speaker 1: done in haste. Instead, it's meticulously planned. Mobsters criminally associated 309 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:31,760 Speaker 1: men are like most men, creatures of habit Men, especially 310 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:34,359 Speaker 1: the older, they get, fall victim to the comfort of 311 00:20:34,359 --> 00:20:38,920 Speaker 1: their routines. Gangsters know this. This is why when they 312 00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:42,360 Speaker 1: decide to kill. In preparation for carrying out their murders, 313 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:46,520 Speaker 1: they'll figure out their victims' habits. What they do each morning, 314 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:49,960 Speaker 1: where they get their coffee, how they take it, where 315 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:53,200 Speaker 1: and when they exercise every day, what route they take 316 00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:55,880 Speaker 1: to work, where they hang out with their girlfriends before 317 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:58,720 Speaker 1: they go home to see their wives and children. Those 318 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:04,600 Speaker 1: sorts of things. Carol Rosenbloom cherished as morning swims. Swimming 319 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:07,640 Speaker 1: off of Florida's Golden Beach near Miami, where his winter 320 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:11,119 Speaker 1: home was located on an idyllic stretch of coastline, was 321 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:15,720 Speaker 1: part of Rosenbloom's morning routine. Rosenbloom was an experienced swimmer, 322 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:20,200 Speaker 1: even at his advanced age of seventy two. Carol Rosenbloom 323 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:23,240 Speaker 1: knew the tides, he knew the currents, He knew when 324 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:26,840 Speaker 1: the sharks swam and how to avoid them, But he 325 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:28,960 Speaker 1: didn't know how to avoid the sharks he was doing 326 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:34,760 Speaker 1: business with. On the morning of April second, nineteen eighty, 327 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:38,880 Speaker 1: a time when Carol Rosenbloom and others, including gangster Jack Cataine, 328 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:42,560 Speaker 1: were mired in a federal investigation surrounding illegal ticket scalping, 329 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:46,119 Speaker 1: an inquiry that might unearth who knows what other incriminating 330 00:21:46,119 --> 00:21:50,240 Speaker 1: evidence from Rosenbloom's years of illegal betting on football. On 331 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:54,399 Speaker 1: that morning, as was his daily routine, Carol Rosenbloom plunged 332 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:57,879 Speaker 1: into the Atlantic Ocean for his morning swim, and, despite 333 00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:01,720 Speaker 1: his experience as a swimmer, Carol Rosenbloom, the owner of 334 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:08,639 Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Rams, drowned mysteriously. It would have been 335 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:13,639 Speaker 1: the perfect murder. Carol Rosenbloom was oblivious to the fact 336 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:16,199 Speaker 1: that while he swam out into the ocean, there was 337 00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:20,119 Speaker 1: a killer waiting for him underwater, a man in a wetsuit. 338 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:25,359 Speaker 1: The man submerged himself deeply beneath the surface until Rosenbloom 339 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:29,560 Speaker 1: swam above him, and then at the perfect moment, the 340 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:32,119 Speaker 1: man in the wet suit reached up and grabbed Rosenbloom 341 00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:34,280 Speaker 1: by the ankle and pulled him down under the water. 342 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:37,840 Speaker 1: Rosenbloom struggled, but the man in the wet suit held 343 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:40,600 Speaker 1: him under until water completely filled the seventy two year 344 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:48,080 Speaker 1: old's lungs, killing him. On the beach a lone tourist 345 00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:52,000 Speaker 1: at this early hour, a French Canadian named Raymond Tange 346 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:55,800 Speaker 1: saw Rosenbloom in the water struggling. He sprinted into the ocean, 347 00:22:56,119 --> 00:22:59,880 Speaker 1: dove in and swam toward Rosenblum. That's when he saw 348 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:04,040 Speaker 1: something slick and black moving in the water away from 349 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:08,080 Speaker 1: the beach under the waves, and then gone for good. 350 00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:11,000 Speaker 1: At that moment, two other men were suddenly in the 351 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:14,360 Speaker 1: water with Tangy and Rosenblum, and they grabbed Rosenblum's dead 352 00:23:14,359 --> 00:23:18,000 Speaker 1: body and pulled them ashore. Raymond Tangy followed them and 353 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:21,720 Speaker 1: then tried to revive Rosenbloom. The two men pushed him 354 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:25,399 Speaker 1: away and told him the fuck off. Raymond Tangy stood 355 00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:28,360 Speaker 1: and shock with the dead American at his feet as 356 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:33,639 Speaker 1: the two men simply walked off the beach. The police 357 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:38,520 Speaker 1: arrived soon after. Police reports state that Carol Rosenbloom's death 358 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:41,680 Speaker 1: was accidental, but nowhere in the report does it mention 359 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:45,600 Speaker 1: Raymond Tangy's eyewitness account, in which Tangy is on record 360 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:49,679 Speaker 1: recounting on film recounting actually to a retired Canadian Mounty 361 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:53,040 Speaker 1: into a PBS frontline news crew. It should be mentioned 362 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:56,520 Speaker 1: here that Raymond Tangy had a completely clean police record 363 00:23:56,760 --> 00:24:00,879 Speaker 1: and was never the subject of any criminal investigation. Unlike 364 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:05,600 Speaker 1: Carol Rosenbloom, the l A Rams owner, Unlike Jacketaine, the 365 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:09,680 Speaker 1: mobbed up ticket scalper, unlike Vic Weiss the dead Bagman, 366 00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:14,360 Speaker 1: and unlike Al Davis the owner of the Oakland Raiders 367 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:18,840 Speaker 1: and his business associate, the casino boss Alan Glick and 368 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:24,000 Speaker 1: their partner Tamara Rand, who, like Carol Rosenbloom, would also 369 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:56,119 Speaker 1: wind up mysteriously dead. Betting football illegally is a dangerous game, sometimes, 370 00:24:56,359 --> 00:24:59,840 Speaker 1: as noted in this episode, it's even deadly. But this 371 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:04,000 Speaker 1: despite that risk, betting illegally for some former NFL players 372 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:08,159 Speaker 1: still offered enough upside to take the risk. The average 373 00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:11,160 Speaker 1: NFL player's salary in nineteen seventy was only twenty three 374 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:15,280 Speaker 1: thousand dollars adjusted for inflation. That's only one hundred and 375 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:18,960 Speaker 1: fifteen thousand today's dollars, and that's barely more than the 376 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:23,040 Speaker 1: average American household brings in per year. So for a 377 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:26,159 Speaker 1: rank and file player making at best average money in 378 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:29,600 Speaker 1: a violent occupation, that is quite literally reducing his overall 379 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:33,200 Speaker 1: health and life expectancy. It's not hard to imagine how 380 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:35,919 Speaker 1: a player could convince himself to take money from odds 381 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:40,200 Speaker 1: makers for coveted information, or from gangsters or corrupt owners 382 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:44,320 Speaker 1: in exchange for influencing a game with his play. Throughout 383 00:25:44,359 --> 00:25:48,120 Speaker 1: the NFL's history up until the modern era, many players 384 00:25:48,119 --> 00:25:51,680 Speaker 1: have come under suspicion for illegally gambling. But the punishment 385 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:53,879 Speaker 1: doled out by the NFL for running a file of 386 00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:58,159 Speaker 1: league rules, fines, and suspensions was nothing compared to the 387 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:01,920 Speaker 1: punishment doled out by the mafia for breaking its rules. 388 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:05,159 Speaker 1: And one of its rules is you don't fuck with 389 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:13,480 Speaker 1: made guys or even connected guys. The poor schmuck never 390 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:18,399 Speaker 1: saw it coming. The pen such an unlikely weapon, but 391 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:21,959 Speaker 1: there it was, flashing toward him, held in the nubby 392 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:26,360 Speaker 1: hand of notorious Las Vegas gangster Anthony Spilatro, jabbing into 393 00:26:26,359 --> 00:26:30,680 Speaker 1: the schmuck with unexpected violence, straight into his neck. Blood 394 00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:34,159 Speaker 1: splurted out fast, far and wide, covering the bar and 395 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:37,400 Speaker 1: the two showgirls standing near the schmuck, not to mention 396 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:42,600 Speaker 1: Anthony's face. But Anthony was undeterred. He continued stabbing the 397 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:46,320 Speaker 1: schmuck over and over and over again until the schmuck 398 00:26:46,359 --> 00:26:52,119 Speaker 1: felt dead on the barroom floor. That pen and neck justice, 399 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:54,960 Speaker 1: says Jacob Bannon from Converge once called it, but I 400 00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:57,959 Speaker 1: digress was doled out to the schmuck because the schmuck 401 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:02,440 Speaker 1: had insulted the gangster's friend, Frank Lefty Rosenthal not quite 402 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:05,600 Speaker 1: a mobster, but a connected guy, a guy who ran 403 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:09,600 Speaker 1: a very lucrative casino for the mafia. If any of 404 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:12,800 Speaker 1: this sounds familiar to you, it's because this information comes 405 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:17,560 Speaker 1: from the Martin Scorsese film Casino. Frank Lefty Rosenthal's character 406 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:20,960 Speaker 1: is named Ace Rothsneen played by Robert de Niro, and 407 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:25,359 Speaker 1: Anthony Spilatro's character is named Nicky Santoro played by Joe Peshi. 408 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:30,000 Speaker 1: Both characters interact with a man named Philip Green played 409 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:33,920 Speaker 1: by Kevin Pollack. Philip Green is the so called legitimate 410 00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:37,959 Speaker 1: businessman who serves as the frontman for the mafia Philip 411 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:41,159 Speaker 1: Green's character is based on a guy named Alan Glick, 412 00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:45,400 Speaker 1: and Alan Glick was indeed a real life mafia frontman 413 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:50,320 Speaker 1: for a very real casino named the Stardust. Alan Glick 414 00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:54,200 Speaker 1: also had legitimate business ventures in Las Vegas, or should 415 00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:57,439 Speaker 1: I say legitimate adjacent business ventures, and a number of 416 00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:01,240 Speaker 1: those business ventures were established in partnership with the NFL's 417 00:28:01,440 --> 00:28:05,440 Speaker 1: very own Al Davis, owner of the Oakland Raiders, as 418 00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:07,680 Speaker 1: well as with Miami Dolphins Hall of Fame coach Don 419 00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:11,960 Speaker 1: Shula and a handful of players. Glick, in his pursuit 420 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:15,440 Speaker 1: of further business success beyond the Stardust Hotel at casino, 421 00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:20,520 Speaker 1: often found himself in partnership with NFL figures. To finance 422 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:24,080 Speaker 1: these ventures, he turned to the Teamster's pension fund, a 423 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:27,159 Speaker 1: source of money notoriously controlled by the mafia and the 424 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:30,639 Speaker 1: corrupt presidents of the Teamsters, including the infamous Jimmy Hoffa. 425 00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:34,800 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy four, Alan Glick took some of that 426 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:38,040 Speaker 1: mob controlled money, along with a measly five thousand dollars 427 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:41,320 Speaker 1: from Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, and invested it into 428 00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:45,520 Speaker 1: a shopping center. Davis was rewarded a whopping twenty five 429 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:49,120 Speaker 1: percent of the company for his meager investment, which quickly 430 00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:53,800 Speaker 1: returned upwards of a million dollars for Davis. There's no 431 00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:57,480 Speaker 1: telling what Alan Glick made on his investment. Glick was 432 00:28:57,520 --> 00:28:59,800 Speaker 1: always making money and apparently unafraid of who he has 433 00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:03,640 Speaker 1: set in the pursuit of obtaining that money. One unhappy 434 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:06,560 Speaker 1: partner of Alan Glicks was a woman named Tamara Ran, 435 00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:09,680 Speaker 1: who sued Glick for a half a million dollars over 436 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:14,080 Speaker 1: a real estate deal they had that went south. On 437 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:17,880 Speaker 1: November ninth, nineteen seventy five, the Oakland Raiders were favored 438 00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:21,080 Speaker 1: to defeat the underdog New Orleans Saints. They did so 439 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:25,800 Speaker 1: forty eight ten, easily covering the spread, and on November ninth, 440 00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:29,240 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy five, Tamara Ran walked into her San Diego 441 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:33,640 Speaker 1: home roughly around dinnertime as expected, and on that Sunday, 442 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:37,440 Speaker 1: the New England Patriots, despite being on the road, defeated 443 00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:41,280 Speaker 1: Tamara's hometown team, the underdog San Diego Chargers, by a 444 00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:45,720 Speaker 1: score of thirty three to nineteen. Pats also covered the spread. 445 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:49,239 Speaker 1: Tamara Ran walked into her kitchen and there's no telling what, 446 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:52,080 Speaker 1: if anything, she thought about the beating that the Minnesota 447 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:55,360 Speaker 1: Vikings laid on the Atlanta Falcons that day. The Vikings 448 00:29:55,360 --> 00:29:58,560 Speaker 1: covered the spread as well, but there was no cover 449 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:02,960 Speaker 1: for Tamara Rand on November ninth, nineteen seventy five. She 450 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:07,160 Speaker 1: never saw the man with the gun, just the quick flash, 451 00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:09,800 Speaker 1: and the only spread she was concerned with after that 452 00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:13,000 Speaker 1: was the spread of twenty two caliber bullets flying toward 453 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:18,640 Speaker 1: her across her kitchen, striking her dead instantly efficiently, Gangland style. 454 00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:25,719 Speaker 1: Tamara Rand was suing mobbed up businessman Alan Glick. The 455 00:30:25,760 --> 00:30:29,000 Speaker 1: information Tamara Rand possessed about Alan Glick was bound to 456 00:30:29,040 --> 00:30:33,240 Speaker 1: come out, providing much needed evidence for investigators against the mafia. 457 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:38,640 Speaker 1: So Tamara Rand was murdered. Investigators then focused on Alan 458 00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:42,680 Speaker 1: Glick's friend, Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis. The news of 459 00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:45,600 Speaker 1: Davis and Glick's fortuitous real estate deal spilled onto the 460 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:51,240 Speaker 1: front pages of newspapers nationwide. For the NFL, this was 461 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:55,040 Speaker 1: bad news. Alan Glick may have passed for legitimate in 462 00:30:55,120 --> 00:30:58,280 Speaker 1: Las Vegas, but anywhere else in the country he was 463 00:30:58,320 --> 00:31:01,880 Speaker 1: as dirty as they came. Here was an NFL owner 464 00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:05,200 Speaker 1: admitting to being in business with him, and not only that, 465 00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:08,960 Speaker 1: Al Davis was claiming publicly that other coaches and players 466 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:12,400 Speaker 1: coached Don Shula of the Miami Dolphins, wide receiver Lance 467 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:15,320 Speaker 1: Alworth of the San Diego Chargers, and many other high 468 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:19,040 Speaker 1: level NFL players and coaches also had business dealings with 469 00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:23,600 Speaker 1: the mobbed up Alan Glick. The NFL couldn't have any 470 00:31:23,640 --> 00:31:26,719 Speaker 1: of this, so the league stepped in and, just as 471 00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:29,640 Speaker 1: it had with Joe Namath, forced Shula and others to 472 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:33,120 Speaker 1: divest from their business dealings with Glick. They all complied, 473 00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:37,800 Speaker 1: all but Al Davis, the Oakland Raiders owner, told NFL 474 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:43,080 Speaker 1: Commissioner Pete Rizzell to go fuck himself. Al Davis gangster. 475 00:31:44,600 --> 00:31:47,920 Speaker 1: Al Davis didn't care what Pete Rizzell thought. Al Davis 476 00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:50,720 Speaker 1: didn't care what anyone thought. When you got right down 477 00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:54,560 Speaker 1: to it. Pete Rizzell, the commissioner of the NFL, worked 478 00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:57,480 Speaker 1: for Al Davis. He worked for all the other owners 479 00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:01,240 Speaker 1: as well, and just like Al Davis, all those owners 480 00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:04,440 Speaker 1: were in the business of making money both inside and 481 00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:07,560 Speaker 1: outside in the NFL, and for some by means both 482 00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:10,120 Speaker 1: legal and illegal. Going back to the founding of the 483 00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:13,520 Speaker 1: league in the earlier part of the twentieth century, al 484 00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:16,560 Speaker 1: Davis was old school If Hall of Fame owners like 485 00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:19,680 Speaker 1: Art Rooney, Tim Mara and Charles Bidwell were a product 486 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:22,640 Speaker 1: of crime and vice, why was there suddenly a double 487 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:27,520 Speaker 1: standard for Davis and his Vegas connections. His business dealings 488 00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:30,200 Speaker 1: were just as legitimate, if not more so, than the 489 00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:36,160 Speaker 1: deals of other NFL owners Carol Rosenbloom included. But unlike 490 00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:40,400 Speaker 1: Art Rooney and Tim Marra, Carol Rosenbloom is not in 491 00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:44,320 Speaker 1: the NFL Hall of Fame. Al Davis is in the 492 00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:48,200 Speaker 1: NFL Hall of Fame because despite any questionable business dealings 493 00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:51,680 Speaker 1: he may have had with nefarious characters, he built an 494 00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:56,360 Speaker 1: incredible franchise. The Oakland Raiders have won three Super Bowls, and, 495 00:32:56,440 --> 00:33:00,880 Speaker 1: unlike Carol Rosenbloom's nineteen fifty seven Colts, no illegal gambling 496 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:06,840 Speaker 1: stink around the Raiders championship seasons. Al Davis passed away 497 00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:11,560 Speaker 1: in twenty eleven. Nine years later, his Raiders moved to 498 00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:14,720 Speaker 1: Las Vegas, a city where al Davis made part of 499 00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:18,840 Speaker 1: his fortune with the mobbed up Alan Glick. It's a 500 00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:21,440 Speaker 1: move that never would have happened forty years ago because 501 00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:24,800 Speaker 1: of organized crime's grip on Vegas and the influence of gambling, 502 00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:29,000 Speaker 1: both legal and illegal. When the new Las Vegas Raiders 503 00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:32,320 Speaker 1: Stadium was completed in twenty twenty, it came with a 504 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:35,960 Speaker 1: massive eighty five foot torch, which is lit before every 505 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:39,880 Speaker 1: home game to honor the late Al Davis. Outside the 506 00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:45,280 Speaker 1: stadium is another monument, the city itself, Las Vegas, a 507 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:49,920 Speaker 1: monument to gambling vice in illegality, built by some of 508 00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:53,280 Speaker 1: the most cold hearted killers the country has ever produced. 509 00:33:53,880 --> 00:33:56,520 Speaker 1: A city built on legal gambling, but a city run 510 00:33:56,560 --> 00:34:00,600 Speaker 1: by illegal interests, a city that became so profitable that 511 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:05,320 Speaker 1: its success is responsible for the seemingly impossible the legalization 512 00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:08,560 Speaker 1: of gambling beyond Vegas city limits throughout the cities and 513 00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:13,880 Speaker 1: states across America. The expansion of legalized gambling beyond its 514 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:18,239 Speaker 1: traditional boundaries was facilitated in part by the NFL's confidence 515 00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:22,920 Speaker 1: and the integrity of its game. The NFL, now a bohemos, 516 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:26,200 Speaker 1: has become too big to be corrupted by low level 517 00:34:26,200 --> 00:34:30,120 Speaker 1: mafiosos hustling the streets and sports books of Las Vegas. 518 00:34:31,239 --> 00:34:35,120 Speaker 1: As an enterprise, the NFL is more powerful these days 519 00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:40,440 Speaker 1: than the Italian American mafia. The NFL generates nearly twenty 520 00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:45,160 Speaker 1: billion dollars per year legal sports betting generates nearly eleven 521 00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:48,760 Speaker 1: billion per year, and you can bet your bottom dollar 522 00:34:49,120 --> 00:34:51,320 Speaker 1: that just like the mafia got its veig off of 523 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:54,920 Speaker 1: every bet placed on football in years past, today the 524 00:34:55,040 --> 00:34:57,880 Speaker 1: NFL gets its piece of that eleven billion that has 525 00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:02,120 Speaker 1: waged legally on professional football. The amount of money to 526 00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:05,840 Speaker 1: be made is staggering. It's too much not to partake in. 527 00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:09,000 Speaker 1: Or what about the integrity of the game, You ask, 528 00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:11,839 Speaker 1: what about players being tempted by the money they can 529 00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:15,719 Speaker 1: make from betting on their own teams? Well, that's an 530 00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:20,200 Speaker 1: easy question to answer. Today, the average NFL player's salary 531 00:35:20,239 --> 00:35:23,279 Speaker 1: is nearly one million dollars. That's ten times what the 532 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:27,280 Speaker 1: average American household brings in per year. Adjusted for inflation. 533 00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:30,319 Speaker 1: It's ten times what the average football player earned back 534 00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:34,800 Speaker 1: in the nineteen seventies. As well. These days, the players 535 00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:37,280 Speaker 1: make too much money to risk losing it through corrupt 536 00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:41,560 Speaker 1: gambling endeavors. So nowadays, the NFL doesn't have to worry 537 00:35:41,560 --> 00:35:44,319 Speaker 1: about its players falling victim to gangsters and gambling and 538 00:35:44,400 --> 00:35:47,880 Speaker 1: throwing games because NFL players just make too much damn money. 539 00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:52,480 Speaker 1: Simply put, the risk isn't worth it. There's too much 540 00:35:52,560 --> 00:35:56,400 Speaker 1: at stake to cover the spread too much to lose 541 00:35:57,040 --> 00:36:16,399 Speaker 1: to disgrace. I'm Jake Brennan and this is Disgraceland. All right. 542 00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:18,920 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to this week's episode on the origins 543 00:36:18,920 --> 00:36:21,720 Speaker 1: of the NFL, an episode that dealt with integrity and corruption. 544 00:36:22,160 --> 00:36:24,520 Speaker 1: Because of that, this week's question of the week is 545 00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:28,120 Speaker 1: which athlete in the history of sports has been the 546 00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:31,960 Speaker 1: biggest disgrace? In why I'm not just talking football. You 547 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:34,320 Speaker 1: can go to any sport you want six one seven, 548 00:36:34,560 --> 00:36:37,560 Speaker 1: nine oh six six six three eight, leave me a voicemail, 549 00:36:37,840 --> 00:36:39,359 Speaker 1: send me a text and let me know. You can 550 00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:42,000 Speaker 1: also reach me out disgrace lampod as well on Instagram, 551 00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:44,600 Speaker 1: X and Facebook. Leave a review for the show on 552 00:36:44,640 --> 00:36:47,960 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts or Spotify. We'll win some free merch. Okay, 553 00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:53,440 Speaker 1: here comes some credits. Disgraceland was created by Yours Truly 554 00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:56,640 Speaker 1: and is produced in partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for 555 00:36:56,719 --> 00:36:59,080 Speaker 1: this episode can be found on the show notes page 556 00:36:59,080 --> 00:37:04,080 Speaker 1: at disgracelamp. If you're listening as a Disgraceland All Access member, 557 00:37:04,280 --> 00:37:06,799 Speaker 1: thank you for supporting the show. 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