I am not a big believer in conspiracy theories, as usually they are the product of crackpots trying to make connections where none really exist.

However, if you're going to look for a good conspiracy story, you need look no further than Las Vegas.

Vegas was mob-controlled until the 1990s. During the mob days, the justice system was notoriously corrupt, and this was especially possible because Las Vegas was a relatively small city which was geographically isolated from everything else.

After the corporate bean counters rapidly replaced the mob about 30 years ago, many things changed very quickly. Some things improved, others got worse, as you'd expect when greedy bureaucratic (but mostly lawfully acting) companies replace organized crime syndicates.

However, I can tell you as someone who lived in Vegas for 8 years, has been regularly visiting for decades, and ingrained myself in locals culture there, plenty of corruption still exists in Vegas. The justice system just does not seem right to me, and it seems that nobody important wants to ask the right questions.

I've heard a lot of stories from people over time. Some involve bribery of judges -- both with sex and money. Some involve "connected" defense attorneys who can perform miracles for the accused. Then there was the bizarre story of the entire justice system seemingly conspiring to get Robinhood702 jailed for being a pain in the ass. And we know what happened to poker community member Raymond Davis, accused of sexual relations with a teenager, whose bail was inexplicably raised to $500k from $25k, simply because he was a little bit rude to the judge.

There's also a shocking lack of curiosity sometimes involving Vegas law enforcement. Over 5 years later, we still haven't learned Stephen Paddock's true financial situation, despite it being the worst mass shooting in US history, and despite the fact that his finances might have been a motive. And remember when Bobby Baldwin's son BJ shot a guy dead in self-defense in the In-N-Out Burger parking lot at 2:15am, 15 minutes after the place closed? BJ didn't call police, and instead went to his dad, and they informed police later in the morning. All got wrapped up in a nice little package. Nothing to see here. I do believe BJ was attacked first and fired in self defense, but his story as to why he was there (and as to why these two guys showed up with guns) always smelled like bullshit.

That's why when I read the incredible story I'm about to tell you, I can honestly say that I believe something very wrong happened. And for those of you who like conspiracy stories involving pedo rings, well... this one is right up your alley.

Read on... I'll start the story in the next post.