Word: nevadas
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Hughes, who is notoriously distrustful of everyone, became suspicious of some of his Las Vegas employees last February after a tip-off from federal investigators, who are investigating corruption in the Hughes Nevada operation. Huge kickbacks, it was said, were received on the purchases of old and largely worthless Nevada mining properties, for which Hughes had paid $2,000,000 more than they were worth. In another deal, one prospective seller was asked for a $250,000 payoff in return for persuading the boss to buy a piece of land on the Las Vegas Strip. Payments were demanded from entertainers...
Many of Hughes' Nevada enterprises were not paying off as handsomely as the owner had expected. Some were barely breaking even−or losing. That could be attributed partly to the nation's economic slump. Still, the suspicion lingered that at least some of Hughes' losses consisted of funds going into the pockets of his employees. All in all, the operating expenses of the Maheu-managed hotel-casinos were far higher than those in rival operations...
...private investigators to check up on Maheu. Aware of the probe, Maheu brought in his own private eyes to delve into the affairs of his Houston rivals and to keep watch outside Hughes' suite. At about the same time, various agencies of the Federal Government, the state of Nevada, Clark County and Las Vegas were all prying into the Hughes businesses. So many gumshoes were lurking around the Hughes operation that quite a few of them spent most of their time investigating one another...
Total Surrender. Somehow, Davis and Gay had to convince the Nevada authorities and the public that Hughes was alive and well on Paradise Island, and that they were indeed acting on his orders. Their solution: a 1:30 a.m. phone call from Hughes to District Attorney George Franklin and Governor Paul Laxalt, a friend and tennis partner of Maheu's. Hughes, as Laxalt later told it, joked that reports of his death were "exaggerated." He said that he was vacationing and planned to return to Las Vegas. He assured Laxalt that he wanted Maheu fired. "There is no doubt...
...private meetings, Maheu sought to salvage what he could. Davis demanded total surrender: Maheu's banishment from the Hughes empire, from his houses, from Las Vegas and from Nevada. Maheu demanded concessions: protection against any future suits charging mismanagement, a fat severance check, and assurance that Toolco would take over the commitments that he had assumed over the years in Hughes' name. Nevada businessmen were worried about who would pay off the many Hughes obligations−Maheu, Toolco or Howard Hughes. They were not alone in their concern; employees chose up sides and wondered who would pay them...