APWA 2013 National Public Works Project of the Year

KANSAS CITY, MO. – The City of Las Vegas’s Public Works Project, The Mob Museum, was recently named a 2013 Public Works Project of the Year by the American Public Works Association (APWA).  The City of Las Vegas Public Works Department, as the Managing Agency; and APCO Construction, the Primary Contractor; as well as Westlake Reed Leskosky, the Primary Consultant; will all be presented with the national Project of the Year Award for Historical Restoration/Preservation $25 Million – $75 Million, during APWA’s 2013 International Public Works Congress & Exposition Awards Ceremony in Chicago, Illinois during August 25-28, 2013.

The APWA Public Works Projects of the Year awards are presented annually to promote excellence in the management and administration of public works projects, recognizing the alliance between the managing agency, contractor, consultant and their cooperative achievements. This year, APWA selected projects in five categories: Disaster/Emergency, Environment, Historical Restoration, Structures, and Transportation.

Awarded in the Project of the Year – Historical Restoration/Preservation at a cost between  $25 – $75 million, the $42 million building, officially known as the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement in Las Vegas, is a renovation of the historic 1933 former U.S. Post Office and Federal Courthouse into a contemporary museum and cultural destination, which preserved its historic character and spaces. As a cultural destination, the museum includes the building, history, and topical content comprehensively. The project itself was very complex, requiring a balance of restoration and adaptive reuse, integrating inputs from many sources to resolve the thematic material, as well as the design and construction. The architect provided integrated architectural, engineering and technology design, cultural and museum operations and planning, and led a team of specialized consultants for content development and exhibit design.

Because it is located in Las Vegas, a city synonymous with the Mob and law enforcement history, The Mob Museum focuses on an in-depth look at the history of organized crime, its pervasive influence on American life, and the law enforcement that confronted it. The 41,000-square-foot museum contains approximately 17,000 square feet of exhibit galleries with features including advanced interactive technology, multi-media exhibits on three floors, administrative, specialty retail, support, event and educational spaces.

The architectural design for the museum complements its visibility. The U.S. Post Office and Courthouse building was the first federal building erected in Las Vegas, and is one of the few remaining historically significant structures in the city. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 at a local level, and upgraded to national significance level in 2005 due to its association with the history of organized crime. It is an important example of Depression-era neoclassical architecture, built by the federal government during the 1920s and 1930s.

Its rehabilitation features a historic restoration of the lobby, floor and the courtroom, famous as the site of the U.S. Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce hearings. This was the series of hearings that marked the exposure of organized crime and the beginnings of federal prosecution in the early 1950s.

Historic Mob issues are presented throughout the multiple perspectives and multi-media exhibits, with both high-tech audio and video installations, as well as recreated environments, allowing the visitor to explore and absorb related civic, political and social impacts on organized crime in America and its relationship with Las Vegas. Environments provide immersive experiences, such as the “Speakeasy” atmosphere of the area dedicated to the discussion of Prohibition. Exhibits pertaining to well-known colorful characters and intriguing stories engage visitors with significant historic content about the origins and development of organized crime and law enforcement in America.

For more information on the APWA Projects of the Year, please contact APWA Media Relations/Communications Manager, Laura Bynum, lbynum@apwa.net, or call 202.218.6736.

 About APWA

The American Public Works Association (www.apwa.net) is a not-for-profit, international organization   of more than 28,500 members involved in the field of public works.  APWA serves its members by  promoting professional excellence and public awareness through education, advocacy and the exchange of knowledge. APWA is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, has an office in Washington, D.C. and 63  chapters in North America. 

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‘Til Death Do Us Part . . . Dressed to Kill . . . Married to the Mob . . . Luck Be A Lady.

These are just a few of the fun packages possible with The Mob Museum as the backdrop for your wedding. The appeal of a wedding at The Mob Museum is that it offers traditional and historical – through the fully restored setting of the Depression-era neoclassical former federal courthouse and U.S. Post Office – as well as edgy, modern and fun through its exhibits.

“You won’t even need additional décor or entertainment because it’s here already in The Mob Museum’s exhibits,” says Maria Sawyer, Director of Sales for the Museum. “So many weddings are identical. A wedding at The Mob Museum is for the couple who really wants their event to be remembered.”

Destination Weddings & Honeymoons magazine recently named Las Vegas the one of the Best Wedding Destination in the U.S highlighting The Mob Museum as a “unique locale in a historic downtown building.”

The Museum’s setting is what sets it apart from all other wedding locations, Maria says. Located in the heart of downtown Las Vegas, The Mob Museum rests inside the historic former federal courthouse and U.S. Post Office, The 1933 building, included on both the Nevada and National Registers of Historic Places, is significant for its Depression-era neoclassical architecture built by the federal government during the 1920s and 1930s. The building features the restoration of the historic lobby, floor and courtroom. Light fixtures, friezes and molding reflect the original beauty of the building.

A wedding in The Mob Museum also captures the ambience and history of the times. A popular site for ceremonies, parties and receptions in the Museum is the courtroom – famous as the site of the Kefauver Committee hearings, the series of hearing that marked the exposure of organized crime and the beginnings of federal prosecution in the early 1950s. Named after U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver, the Kefauver Committee hearings investigated the influence of the Mob in the gaming industry as well as levels of corruption in the business. The Kefauver Committee investigation contributed to and accelerated the national debate on organized crime that developed after World War II. This two-year investigation heard more than 800 witnesses and identified organized crime as big business operating in major cities throughout the country.

A wedding at The Mob Museum also sets an edgy, modern and fun theme. The Museum’s renovation transformed the 41,000 square foot building into a contemporary facility that tells the thrilling story of organized crime and law enforcement. It presents an exciting and authentic view of the Mob’s impact on Las Vegas history and its unique imprint on the world. Wedding parties will be surrounded by intriguing stories of the notorious characters associated with the Mob as well as the grit, determination and perseverance shown by the FBI and others in law enforcement. True stories of Mob history are brought to life in a bold and contemporary style via engaging exhibits and multi-sensory experiences. The Mob Museum puts the visitor in the middle of the action through high-tech theater presentations, iconic one-of-a-kind artifacts and interactive, themed environments.

With three floors of event space, The Mob Museum can host a small group of 12 or a large reception for 450. Events can range from turn-key inclusive to a la carte and from holding all activities at the Museum to planning select pre-wedding events such as rehearsal dinners, pre-wedding photo shoots, showers or bachelor/bachelorette parties. We even provide the Made Man Ceremony where “authentic” Mobsters “open the books and offer you exclusive membership into the Family.”

The Museum’s all-inclusive packages include catering, photography, officiants, floral, décor, musicians, lighting, photo booth and, if you think of anything else, Maria and her staff will do everything in their power to make it happen. In addition to the wedding packages, the Museum also offers all services a la carte.

“We can be as simple as a 20-minute ceremony in the courtroom in the middle of the day or as extravagant as a full wedding followed by cocktails, dancing and dinner,” Maria says. “We’ve even seen some interest for a marriage on the building’s steps. We can do that.”

For more information contact the Sales Department at 702.724.8613, or sales@themobmuseum.org.

Raymond Sherrard: Over the last thirty years I began to collect any federal insignia and badges I could get my hands on; the older the better.  I am now beginning to specialize just on IRS and IRS-related items.  I have managed to put together the largest and best IRS memorabilia collection that I know of and became a columnist for the leading police insignia collector’s magazine, Police Collectors News.

TMM: Did you grow up knowing that you would somehow be connected to the law enforcement industry?

Raymond Sherrard: I was actually applying to join the LAPD, but the feds offered $50 a month more (this was a LONG time ago) and I went with them instead. As for my interest in federal agency history, I can thank Playboy magazine for that.  They published an article, and later a book, PLAYBOYS HISTORY OF ORGANIZED CRIME.  Although no one believed me at the time, I did read the articles (too) and I noticed that they illustrated the section on Al Capone with a badge I was unfamiliar with. It read IRS Investigator, but did not resemble any of our former badges. I began asking around and determined that no one had ever researched our badge history, and the little information that our National Office had was both incomplete and wrong.

My Chief at the time approved for me to visit our HQ in Washington DC, to search our records. I quickly found that we really didn’t have much, but made my way to other agencies, formerly under the aegis of Internal Revenue, who had done some searching.  I should credit the DEA for much of what I found, as they were originally a part of Internal Revenue- as was what is now ATF- and their Historian had preserved much early history-including badge history.

I began writing to and calling long-retired Special Agents, including Elliott Ness’s widow-who began cursing and telling me how much she hated him-before hanging up. Sensing that this was a closed door, I did reach out to others who had worked back in the Capone and Pre-and-Post WW2 era, and gradually began to find the information I needed, which I assembled and which IRS published in l980. In the course of speaking with other agencies, and beginning to collect obsolete badges and other memorabilia, I saw that a niche existed, and determined to fill it.

I began researching and publishing books on law enforcement history, and have published five, , including three books relating to federal cloth badges and shoulder patches and raid jackets etc.   I also wrote Badges of the United States Marshals, and The Centurions Shield-A History of the LAPD, Its Badges and Insignia.  The Marshals book has gone through several printings and is sold out, and the LAPD book is now the standard on that subject.

TMM: What is it like consulting for film and TV productions such as The Untouchables, The Hunt for Red October, and Batman?

Raymond Sherrard: Somewhere along the way, my partner and I were assigned to meet a screenwriter at the Playboy Club, in Los Angeles,  and go over a script he had written about one of our undercover operators.  This led to calls from other writers and Art Directors (the Art Director for one of the Batman films visited my house and purchased part of my collection for the film). I soon found myself in the “Old Boys Network” and began advising writers on federal procedure, and property masters and Costumers began calling trying to find information.  I spoke with Actor Andy Garcia, and gave him background information for his character in the film The Untouchables, and also supplied Sean Connery with photos of the actual person he played in the film (who was an undercover IRS Special Agent name Mike Malone-not a Chicago cop as in the film.)

Later on, I began doing some script editing, which interests me, and continues to this day. My heaviest involvement was with the Robert DeNiro film Midnight Run, and I worked very closely with the Screenwriter George Gallo.  I was fascinated with the whole process, and later became involved with Orion Pictures in Century City, spending my evenings and weekends working on an original script. I did it just for the learning experience and enjoyed it immensely.  Meeting the creative people (and actors) was also fascinating-seeing how they all worked together (most of the time).

TMM: Tell us about an interesting event that took place when you were a special agent during the income tax evasion cases.

Raymond Sherrard: I don’t know how I could encapsulate my working career as a special agent.  I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed both the job and the people I worked with. An Attorneys magazine described us as “pit bulls with tunnel vision”- and that’s not too far off the mark.

I spent the vast majority of my criminal investigation career in our various Narcotics Traffickers Task Force groups.  We worked closely with DEA, Customs, LAPD, LASD, State Narcotics and others to take down major narcotics traffickers who were not susceptible to the usual buy-bust tactics that traditional police and federal narcotics agencies relied upon.

These top-level Drug Lords were too insulated from the street.

By using our historic technique of following the money, we were able to go where no agency had gone before and destroy them financially, and imprison them.  They could kill informants, but couldn’t hide their wealth-they were, after all, in business to make it and spend it. It was very gratifying to see them pay the price for their crimes, when every other agency was unable to get them.

TMM: What has been the most rewarding part of your career, and where do you see yourself in five years?

Raymond Sherrard: In the course of my career I worked undercover in Texas and California, and I received a rare Presidential Commendation for having helped make what was then the largest income tax evasion case in history.

I think the high point in my career was meeting with former President Ronald Reagan, and presenting him with copies of the three books I had published at that time.  He had given me permission to use his image in the US Marshals book, and I asked for his permission to do the same with a future book about the Treasury Department  (President Reagan had played a US Secret Service Agent in a series of low-budget films in the l930s,  his character’s name was  Brass Bancroft.)

The life of a special agent leads you through many doors.  I have met famous movie stars, infamous gangsters and drug dealers, producers, screenwriters, crooked politicians (but I repeat myself) and testified before the California Assembly.  It has been a hell of a ride, and it isn’t over yet.