THE MOB MUSEUM, THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ORGANIZED CRIME AND LAW ENFORCEMENT, ANNOUNCES RETURN OF BOARD MEMBER, NEW ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND NEW SENIOR DIRECTOR OF SALES
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LAS VEGAS (March 2026) – The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, announces the return of a former Board Member to its Board of Directors, the appointment of three distinguished new members to its Advisory Council, as well as the addition of a new senior staff member. With these appointments, the Museum’s esteemed Board and Advisory Council represent some of the most notable experts in organized crime, the legal field, law enforcement, museums and hospitality.
New Museum Board of Directors Member
The Mob Museum welcomes the return of Nancy B. Rapoport to the Museum’s Board of Directors. Rapoport previously served for nine years—three terms—on The Mob Museum’s Board of Directors from 2013 to 2022, including as Secretary and a member of the Executive Committee. In 2022, she joined The Mob Museum’s Advisory Council and has served as a member of the Advisory Council until her reappointment to the board this March. Rapoport is a University of Nevada, Las Vegas Distinguished Professor, the Garman Turner Gordon Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law and an Affiliate Professor of Business Law and Ethics at the Lee Business School, UNLV. Rapoport’s professional specialties and expertise include business ethics, governance and donor relations.
New Advisory Council Members
Eric Dezenhall is an author, investigative journalist and nationally recognized crisis communications strategist based in Washington, D.C. As founder of Dezenhall Resources, Ltd., he led one of the country’s foremost high-stakes communications firms and remains a frequent commentator in international media on reputation management and organized crime. Dezenhall is the author of 12 books, including three nonfiction works on crisis communications and seven novels, among them “The Devil Himself,” which explores collaboration between the U.S. Navy and organized crime during World War II. He co-authored “Best of Enemies: The Last Great Spy Story of the Cold War,” currently in development as a feature film, and has written extensively on organized crime, including investigative reporting on newly discovered diaries of Meyer Lansky.
Larry Gragg, distinguished teaching professor emeritus and university historian at Missouri University of Science and Technology, is an award-winning scholar whose work has significantly shaped the understanding of Las Vegas history. Over a teaching career that began in 1977, he earned more than 20 teaching honors, including the Missouri Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and the University of Missouri President’s Award for Outstanding Teaching. Gragg is the author of 12 books, including “’Bright Light City’”: Las Vegas in Popular Culture,” “Benjamin ‘Bugsy’ Siegel: The Gangster, the Flamingo,” “The Making of Modern Las Vegas, Becoming America’s Playground: Las Vegas in the 1950s” and “Bugsy’s Shadow: Moe Sedway, ‘Bugsy’ Siegel, and the Birth of Organized Crime in Las Vegas.” His scholarship has been recognized nationally, and he has delivered numerous public lectures on Las Vegas history, including four appearances at The Mob Museum.
Ashley Hlebinsky is one of the nation’s foremost authorities on firearms history. She spent a decade leading the renowned Cody Firearms Museum, directing a multi-million-dollar renovation that culminated in its 2019 reopening. Hlebinsky has advised leading institutions, including the Smithsonian Institution, National Park Service, Los Angeles Police Museum, Houston Museum of Natural Science and others, and serves as co-founder and executive director of the University of Wyoming College of Law’s Firearms Research Center. A prominent public historian, she has appeared on numerous television shows for a variety of networks including, but not limited to Discovery, History, the Outdoor Channel, Fox and more. She has also served as an expert witness in nearly 30 civil and criminal cases across the United States and Canada.
Established to support the organization in advancing its mission, the Advisory Council is chaired by Museum Founding Board of Directors Chairwoman Ellen B. Knowlton. Its membership includes respected leaders from federal and local law enforcement agencies, the criminal justice system, academia, media, cultural institutions and corporate leadership, whose expertise informs exhibitions, educational initiatives and community engagement.
New Museum Senior Staff Member
The Museum is also proud to share the appointment of Laurae Clifford as senior director of sales. In this role, Clifford will oversee strategic sales initiatives, partnership development and revenue growth efforts that support the Museum’s long-term sustainability and expanding national profile. Clifford brings more than two decades of leadership in the meetings and conventions industry in Las Vegas. Throughout her career she has built high-performing teams, developed impactful partnerships and driven multimillion-dollar revenue growth for globally recognized organizations, including Wynn Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and Rio Las Vegas. A Las Vegas native, Clifford has long been engaged in the community and previously served on the Museum’s Advisory Council. She is an alumna of Leadership Las Vegas and the Las Vegas FBI Citizens Academy.
Additional information about the Museum’s Board of Directors may be found here, Executives here and Advisory Council here.
ABOUT THE MOB MUSEUM
The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, provides a world-class journey through true stories—from the birth of the Mob to today’s headlines. The Mob Museum offers a provocative, contemporary look at these topics through hundreds of artifacts and immersive storylines. Numerous interactive exhibits include a Crime Lab, Firearm Training Simulator and Organized Crime Today exhibit. The Museum is also home to The Underground, a Prohibition history exhibition featuring a speakeasy and distillery. The Mob Museum has accumulated numerous accolades, including being named one of Tripadvisor’s “Top 25 U.S. Museums” and a 2025, 2024 and 2023 “Travelers’ Choice” Award recipient; one of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Museums in the U.S.;” one of Las Vegas Weekly’s “Twenty Greatest Attractions in Las Vegas History” and “Best Museum” of 2021, 2023 and 2024; Vegas Magazine’s “Best Historical Museum” of 2024; one of National Geographic’s “Top 10 Things to Do in Las Vegas;” USA Today’s “Best Museum in Nevada,” 10Best Readers’ Choice travel awards for “Best Las Vegas Attraction” in 2021 and 2022, “Top Five Best History Museums in the United States” in 2021 and one of its “12 Can’t Miss U.S. Museum Exhibits;” named “A Must for Travelers” by The New York Times and one of “20 Places Every American Should See” by FOX News. The Museum is a two-time winner of the Mayor’s Urban Design Award for Historic Preservation and Adaptive Reuse and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The Museum is open daily; visit the website for admission rates and operating hours. For more information, call (702) 229-2734, or visit themobmuseum.org.
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