Testimony set to begin in trial involving Mirage chairman

Tuesday, July 29, 1997 | 10:14 a.m.

Wynn contends his reputation was hurt by a page in the publisher's 1994-95 catalog advertising the book, "Running Scared: The Dangerous Life and Treacherous Times of Casino King Steve Wynn."

Attorney Dominic Gentile is arguing that statements suggesting mob influence in Wynn's life are true.

Wynn attorney Barry Langberg said in an opening statement Monday that experts will testify Wynn has never been connected to organized crime and publisher Lyle Stuart knew rumors to the contrary were hearsay.

Wynn is suing Stuart and Barricade Books for defamation.

The book was written by Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist John L. Smith, who was originally a defendant in the lawsuit. He was dismissed from the litigation in May on grounds he had nothing to do with writing the advertisement.

At issue are two statements in the advertisement. One reads that Smith's book would detail "why a confidential Scotland Yard report calls Wynn a front man for the Genovese crime family." The second says "another contact represents Chicago mob lieutenant John Roselli. Thus would Steve Wynn's 3-percent investment in the Las Vegas Frontier blow up when investigators discovered the true owners of the hotel were members of the Detroit mob."

In the case of the Scotland Yard report, the law enforcement agency was conducting a background check on Wynn when he was considering applying for a British gaming license. The English, Langberg said, did not want American gaming and the report was highly political.

Langberg said other agencies such as the New Jersey Gaming Commission had looked at and determined false such statements as that by former mobster Joe Agosto, who claimed Wynn had allegiance to certain mob members.

"Mr. Stuart avoids truth as if truth (were) a disease he was trying to keep from getting," Langberg said.

The attorney said he would show how difficult it is to get a gaming license in Nevada and New Jersey, commenting that Wynn would "be in a jail in New Jersey" instead of running a casino there if any of the advertisement's statements had merit.