Standing just 5’3” tall, former Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer Debra Gauthier is not exactly intimidating.  Then again, the tough-guy approach wasn’t her m-o out in the field when dealing with criminals.  Her voice of reason became her biggest crime fighting weapon.

For her, a career in law enforcement was never even a guarantee.  She was too short and didn’t weigh enough.  Then came a change.  It wasn’t in her appearance, but in protocol.  Debra was the first woman to be hired under the same standards as men within the Metro Police Department in 1980 where she spent the next 21 years. She’s now the author of “Bright Lights, Dark Places.”  Fighting Mobsters, criminals and even discrimination, she describes the heartbreaks and achievements that came with being a pioneer as a police officer. 

TMM: At the time you chose to start a career in law enforcement, it was and still is in some cases, a very intimidating field.  What made you want to be a police officer?

GAUTHIER: “My dad was military and I was raised on a military base.  I really liked that structure and it just appealed to me…that type of work.  I knew I wasn’t designed for a desk job.  I really started to focus on it when I got out of college and I think the military background really helped influence that decision.  But, I wanted to serve my community as well so I knew I would be in public service of some sort as well.

TMM: Had some new rules not been created paving the way for you to join, you might never have been a cop.

GAUTHIER: “Right.  I wasn’t big enough. I wasn’t tall enough, I didn’t weigh enough so that eliminated me completely.  So, when I came in, I was the very first woman they hired under the same standards as men.  It didn’t matter how tall or big I was, I just had to pass all the tests.  It was the same testing that men had.  That was 1980 when I tested and there were very few women in the field back then anyway.  It was tough because the obstacle course was timed and it was in sand.  We ran the course in sand.  It was like the size of a football field with all these obstacles and you had to make the time.  The good news is, because I was raised on military bases, I used to hang out with the guys and play with the boys all the time.  I was fast.”

TMM: In your book, you mention discrimination you encountered on the force.  Was it something you expected, or at least to the extent that you describe?

GAUTHIER: “I don’t think I was prepared for the extent of that discrimination, meaning, because I was the pioneer I didn’t realize there was a price with that and it ultimately cost me my career.  It was a bit overwhelming.  Had there been other women with me, it wouldn’t have been so shocking I guess.  Because I was that front-runner, it was all coming on me and all that pressure on me personally.  So I don’t think I was really prepared for that emotionally or mentally.”

TMM: Describe some of the discrimination you faced.

GAUTHIER: “The biggest part was just the harassment by the guys.  You know, I remember walking into the patrol briefing my very first day.  I walked into the station which was underneath City Hall and this guy comes out of the restroom and he’s naked.  He’s got a towel on his arm, but naked.  He’s just used to guys coming out of the locker room and was just walking down the hall naked and I was like “Oh My Gosh.”  He was just as shocked as I was.  They weren’t prepared for me and I wasn’t prepared for them.  It was intense and there was a lot of sexual harassment.  One guy was stalking me.  He would follow me on calls.  So that was a lot to deal with in addition to the stress of being a new officer and learning the job.

TMM: Las Vegas is a unique beast in the world of law enforcement due to it being the “Wild West” and having strong Mob roots.  What were some encounters you had with reputed Mobsters during your time on the force?

GAUTHIER: “The one I remember the most was Herbie Blitzstein.  We were doing a covert operation and putting together racketeering charges on these guys.  So we did a lot of intelligence and I was part of the raid team.  We went out really early in the morning with the SWAT team.  It was before these guys were even awake, 4:30 or 5:00 am.  We kicked the door, went in and took these guys out on warrants.  We thought it was covert.  We didn’t know there were any media around.  There was a photographer that took the picture of me bringing Herbie out in handcuffs.  He sent that across the AP Wire.

My brother-in-law is an attorney in Chicago. He called me the next day and said “Deb, you humiliated the boy.” Here’s this little 5’3” female walking out this big Mafia guy.  My patrol area was over by Sahara and Las Vegas Blvd. and those guys used to go over to Tony Roma’s (restaurant) and used to hang out there at night.  One night I was on patrol right in that area and I heard a huge explosion.  I go over there, I was the first unit to arrive and there’s “Lefty,” Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal flopping around on the ground.  They had firebombed his car.

Instead of it blowing him up, it actually blew him out.  He was still alive and actually survived.

TMM: Throughout the Museum, we look at various law enforcement figures, agencies and tactics used to bring down the Mob.  Specifically in Las Vegas, describe the game plan or protocol used to combat organized crime.

GAUTHIER: “You know, we had guys that were undercover that infiltrated their gangs and gathered intelligence.  I didn’t work any of those details with those guys specifically as I was doing more of the street work.  But, it was all about putting together multiple charges so we could get something that would stick.

The Mob Museum: Were the Mob years a tough time to work as a police officer in this town versus when they lost their presence?

Debra Gauthier: “You know, we noticed when they were here they had more control of the streets so you didn’t have a lot of these little street gangs around and doing a lot of these random drive-by shootings and destructive things like that as much.  When they left and were out of the scene we had all these gangsters coming in and setting up shop here.  That would be the biggest thing I noticed: a more organized organized crime.

The Mob Museum: Looking back at you being a pioneer in the police department, what do you think was your biggest achievement that paved the way for even more women to come on board?

Debra Gauthier: “I think one of the biggest ground breakers that I was really proud of was the academy staff because I went through the training and I knew it was important to reach back and help the others coming through.  Because I went through that and was the first female on the academy staff as a sergeant, I ran a 90 recruit academy. That really broke ground because it changed the whole mentality from a training standpoint of police work.  Let’s face it; I do police work a little differently than a guy who is 6 foot and 200 pounds.  I police differently.  Just to be able to impart that or expose the rookies to that and change their mindset going in so they when they’re out on the street they have more respect and honor for women in the field…that was huge.

The Mob Museum: Do you think some of the discrimination and issues that you faced on the force still exist today?

Debra Gauthier: “You know, I’d like to say that it’s changed but it really hasn’t and that’s coming from women who are still in that career field and have contacted me as a result of my book.  They read my story and really appreciated the time that I took to write the story and be open.  When they took me out, and remember, I was the pioneer…when that happened it affected all the women coming up behind me who then experienced some of the same things that I went through. I think what it is, it’s the whole mentality.  Because what they don’t realize is that men and women working together side by side is dynamic, a powerful team.  Men have different strengths than women.  I’m more the negotiator/communicator, men are more physical and when you come together as a team you get the job done and there are less use of force complaints. “

The Mob Museum: What would be your advice for a young woman who wants to join a police force and would you encourage them to join?

Debra Gauthier: “Absolutely. Here’s what’s exciting for me: My best friend who I grew up with is a mother with two sons who are all on the police department.  You can see the moms who raise sons who end up getting into that career the respect that men have for women in that field.  You see the new men coming in with a little bit of different mentality.  So I encourage women to join.  Even when you have a husband and wife coming on, it’s great.  There is less divorce, they stay together and have their families.  I guess I would say to women entering this career to just be prepared physically, mentally and emotionally.  And have a strong support system outside the department.”

The Mob Museum: In the book, you talk about getting demoted and then eventually to a point where you ended up leaving the department.  You didn’t join another department, in part because you didn’t want to leave town.  What is some of the joy this book has brought?

Debra Gauthier:  “There is a real positive side to my book.  As I’m doing these signings, the men that I used to work with are coming to them and they’re reading my book.  I don’t know how many men, after reading my book, have come up to me with tears in their eyes saying “Deb, I didn’t know you went through what you did, I had no idea it was that bad and I feel really badly I didn’t do something,” and they’re feeling that pain of the injustice that I went through.  So, I feel that if my book helps men stand up, we won’t have boys playing games.”

IN JUNE’S BLOG

Oscar Goodman the Mob Defense Attorney and Oscar Goodman the Mayor of Las Vegas.  One of the key visionaries for The Mob Museum has two sides to his fascinating life.  In June, we bring you a two part blog as Oscar Goodman shares his thoughts from both careers.

If you’ve had the opportunity to visit The Mob Museum and step into the courtroom located on the second floor, then you’ve been well-briefed on the Kefauver Committee hearings.  Those hearings, held in 1950-51 in 14 US cities including Las Vegas, exposed organized crime to America. They were headed by Senator Estes Kefauver, a Democrat from Tennessee.  During the nine minute movie you see a mix of actual hearing footage, reenactments and countless other attention grabbing anecdotes to help showcase this important time in Mob history.  In all, there are four projectors running and three different screens interacting with one another.  Yes, your eyeballs certainly get a workout.  But with all these screens and projectors plus actors, a script, overhead lighting and sound effects…how do you get a proper information flow time out precisely?  The answer: trial and error.  Bill Sullivan with Boston Productions shares some cinematic insight into the initial headaches and explains how order was finally restored to the court! Click Here

In May’s Blog:

We’ll talk one-on-one with former Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer Debra Gauthier.  She’s authored a book titled Bright Lights, Dark Places which chronicles her days as cop in the 80′s in a male dominated field.  Also, how did she handle the Mob back then? The answer in May’s blog.

Enter forensic pathologist, lawyer and author Dr. Cyril Wecht.  Wecht has been routinely called upon to lend his brain power and wisdom to some of the most controversial, famous cases. He has consulted on the deaths of Marilyn Monroe, John F. Kennedy and JonBenet Ramsey.  In fact, he was the first independent forensic pathologist given access to the autopsy records of JFK.

During his recent visit to the Mob Museum, we spoke with Dr. Wecht in the “Web of Deceit” exhibit which features a display case on JFK.  The “Web of Deceit” points out corruptions and conspiracies tied to organized crime.

The Mob Museum: Let’s start with the question that brings us to our JFK exhibit; do you think the Mob was responsible for taking him out?

Dr. Wecht:  “I do, but I do not believe that organized crime was the principle player. I do not believe they would’ve had the chutzpah, that they would’ve had the daring to undertake the assassination of President Kennedy by themselves.  They were used by the people who did organize this.  I believe this was not just done by Lee Harvey Oswald as the sole assassin.  I believe these powerful forces they used, they needed to have the Mob involved to accomplish many things…the cleaning up for example, and getting rid of Oswald by Jack Ruby. You see the fingerprints through Carlos Marcello and Giancana.  You see that all through so there’s no question that the Mob was involved.  But, I don’t believe the Mob was the originator and executor by themselves.

The Mob Museum: You say Mob fingerprints left throughout this investigation, what do you mean exactly?

Dr. Wecht: “Remember Judith Exner who would sleep with the President one night in the White House and then sleep with Giancana the next day?  While all these people were separate entities, they were familiar with each other.  There’s no doubt, in my opinion, that they would become involved in the assassination of Kennedy without the other big bosses knowing it.”

The Mob Museum: When President Lyndon B. Johnson formed what became known as the Warren Commission to officially look into JFK’s death, it seemed hopeful and logical that an 888 page report from the government would be fairly conclusive.  However, you like many others believe otherwise.  What was troubling about that report from your perspective?

Dr. Wecht: “Every poll that has been done since the President was assassinated has shown that 70 to 80 percent of people reject the Warren Commission report and that continues two generations down the road.  This is not to say that every person can articulate his or her reasons for rejecting the report, but it is the understanding that this was not the proper investigation.  Johnson was in hurry because he knew people were blaming him and thinking that he was the person who orchestrated it so that he could ascend to the presidency and he wanted this done hurriedly. It was not a thorough investigation. It was not undertaken with the idea in mind that we’re going to trace this all the way through. They needed to show that this was just the work of a single mad man and Lee Harvey Oswald had been set up beautifully along the road.  You needed someone who’s story and historic scenario had credibility.  You couldn’t just pick out anybody and say someone did it.  You needed somebody to fit in.”

The Mob Museum: You were the first civilian ever to be granted access to look at JFK’s autopsy records including the clothing, bullets, etc.

Dr. Wecht: “They said that no one could see these materials for 75 years, except a pathologist with a serious historic purpose who could apply after 5 years.  They tried to screw me around for a while.  Finally, I got in there in August of 1972. I was the first non-government forensic pathologist given access to those materials.  It was a font page story on the New York Times. That was the story that broke including the President’s missing brain and the brain remains missing to this day.”

The Mob Museum: What was the most fascinating thing you found in that report?

Dr. Wecht:  “The bullet hole in the President’s jacket showed it to be 5 ½ inches below the crest of the shoulder which would’ve given it an upward trajectory, which has now been accepted, which would’ve given it the upward trajectory exiting from the front of the neck at the level of the knot in the tie.  So that was one important thing.  The missing brain was extremely relevant because that had to do with the head shot and whether the President was shot more than once by two people.  I’m not out to prove that Oswald was not one of the shooters.  I’m out to prove that there were two people and that makes it a conspiracy which means the case has to be further investigated.  And then there were other things like missing microscopic slides, missing x-rays…other things like that missing that makes it very, very significant.”

The Mob Museum: You’ve worked on other famous death cases that seem to swirl in controversy including Marilyn Monroe and JonBenet Ramsey…how do you get involved in these cases and why?

Dr. Wecht: “Well, I have a great interest in all these cases as a forensic pathologist and attorney, so I do have an intellectual interest.  As far as getting involved, I don’t have any special connections.  Once you become known to major attorneys and news media people, they call upon you.”

The Mob Museum:  In your opinion, will the JFK case forever be a conundrum of sorts in American history?

Dr. Wecht:  “I think that this case will continue to be a conundrum.  I do not believe the American people will ever come to accept it intellectually.  I know how people feel.  Americans do not buy the Warren Commission report. I believe in a couple of generations this case will be reopened. I think it’s going to take some time for all the people to depart from the scene, the grandchildren, and maybe even the great-grandchildren.  Once we’re beyond the third and fourth generation of people who orchestrated this and covered it up, I think we’ll get around to reopening it.”

More about Dr. Cyril Wecht

Being an expert in Forensic Medicine, Dr. Wecht has frequently appeared on several nationally syndicated programs discussing various medicolegal and forensic scientific issues, including medical malpractice, drug abuse, the assassinations of both President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, the death of Elvis Presley, the O.J. Simpson case, and the Jonbenet Ramsey cases. His expertise has also been utilized in high profile cases involving Mary Jo Kopechne, Sunny von Bulow, Jean Harris, Dr. Jeffrey McDonald, the Waco Branch Davidian fire, and Vincent Foster. A comprehensive study of these cases are discussed from the perspective of Dr. Wecht’s own professional involvement in his books, Cause of Death, Grave Secrets, and Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey? (All published by Dutton/Penguin).

Barrie, a museum specialist, is principal of the museum and
culture planning consulting group, Barrie Projects, and has a 30-year history
of museum, civic arts and cultural experiences. She was previously involved
with the design and development of the International Spy Museum in Washington,
D.C.

Barrie’s role was to develop the content and coordinate the
way the story was presented. She worked closely with the designers and the
interactive team.

Her research process began back in 2006, with a brainstorming
session with about 50 experts who came in and talked to the team about the
unique history of Las Vegas. From those conversations, the main ideas emerged
and the mission statement of the museum was born.  Because so many people who knew the topic were involved, says Barrie, “We had a pretty good sense of what should be in it.”

Barrie acquired the artifacts from various sources. Many
came from a few key collectors, including the family of Meyer Lansky. While
others, were contributed by the general public. “Some of the most interesting
things have come from the public or someone who has a connection to the story
and calls up the museum and says they have something that might be of
interest,” says Barrie.

One of the most iconic artifacts in the museum is the brick
wall from the bloody St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, underscoring the violence
that existed during the tumultuous prohibition era. After a long search for just
one brick, the entire dismantled wall was located in a Las Vegas woman’s garage
and then reassembled for the exhibit.

The museum creates an exciting interactive experience that
immerses people into the world of law enforcement and organized crime and leads
them through a chronological tour of history. And there is quite a bit of
history and a limited amount of space. In fact, one of the challenges, remarks
Barrie, was “to make the stories fit the space.” To solve that problem, stories
are condensed by weaving key story lines throughout the museum so people aren’t
overwhelmed by plotlines that span several decades. “People want authentic
experiences,” notes Barrie, “given in small bites that are digestible.”

The interactive multi-media exhibits do just that by engaging all of the senses. Barrie thinks people will be surprised by their strong visceral feelings as they progress through the exhibits. Guests can try their hands at shooting a simulated tommy gun and can put themselves in law enforcement’s shoes, and listen to real FBI surveillance tapes on wiretapping equipment.

The famed Kefauver hearings on organized crime are brought to life in the beautifully restored courtroom. Visitors can watch archival footage and dramatizations of mob
bosses’ and other criminal figures’ testimonies, just as an estimated 30
million people watched the nationally televised hearings over 50 years ago.

Barrie wants visitors to be surprised at what they learn and to fully understand the impact of organized crime.  Says Barrie of The Mob Museum, “I think it will be one of the most interesting museums in the world.”

Written by Andrea Smith, special educational consultant to The Mob Museum

Wednesday night, in a surreal grand opening party scene, it packed in some former gangland figures, including a police informant and alleged hitman seen in the film Casino as well as the inspiration for GoodFellas, former protected witness Henry Hill. I chatted with the affable Hill, who told me he used to be “a scumbag” when he was doping and killing, and with Meyer Lansky II, the dapper grandson and namesake of the organized crime boss whose gambling empire included early Vegas casinos. Both say they’re working on TV shows dealing with mobster exploits.

Museum honcho Dennis Barrie was a force behind the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and The Spy Museum in Washington, so it’s no surprise that the downtown museum — in a renovated courthouse where Tennessee Sen. Estes Kefauver held 1950 hearings that exposed organized crime — is no penny-ante deal. “The idea is to be as immersive as possible,” Barrie says, and that means “participating” in a police lineup, reading actual files of mobsters, punching in a city and seeing its mob crime history, watching how agents spied on mobsters and listening to actual wiretaps and tapes of gangster schemes. Photos from mob hits are chilling.

CHECK OUT THE FULL ARTICLE HERE ON USA TODAY TRAVEL »