The Dogs of Brownsville

A historical novel told in "Godfather" fashion about a handful of guys and gals that make it out of the ghetto of Brownsville and arrive in Las Vegas in time to participate in the changing of the guard from the "Mob" to Howard Hughes to corporate America. The novel traces the lives of Lawrence Cohen or Mongoose and his boyhood friends, Ringo, Solly, Mo, Scumbag and Charlie The Man together with Eunice and Yetta, the wife of a Rabbi who runs a "bunny ranch" in Pahrump, Nevada and her daughter Wylie who becomes a Navy jet pilot. Mongoose, who is in charge of the gaming activities of the Desert Winds Hotel and Casino, the last holdout of the "Mob", works for Frank Rothman, known as "The Wizard of Odds", and Ignacio Baldacci or Balsy. Mongoose reunites with Eunice who has become a successful show girl under the name of Venus. At first she ignores him but softens after he is almost killed in a car bombing. As their relationship develops Mongoose is haunted by her prior connection with Tommy DiMeglio who he must deal with and "make his bones" as he and his cousin Funzi Santucci were responsible for the car bombing. The novel concludes with the partnership between the Desert Winds Hotel and Casino and Stanley Ho, the richest man in Asia, to establish the Pacific Winds Hotel and Casino in time for the new millennium in the Year of The Dragon.