Russell Douglas Mathews

[Dealey Joe]

"www.subaruoflasvegas.comCourt briefs for November 10, 2000Fri, Nov 10, 2000 (10:49 a.m.)Man to plead guilty in Stupak attackAn 80-year-old man charged with misdemeanor battery in an August attack on gambling figure Bob Stupak is expected to plead guilty Monday.Defense attorney Andrew Leavitt told Justice of the Peace Jennifer Togliatti Thursday that R.D. Matthews has agreed to accept a deal from prosecutors.Chief Deputy District Attorney Gary Guymon said Matthews has agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor battery and pay a $1,000 fine.According to police reports, Stupak, 58, was dining at Piero's when Matthews grabbed Stupak by the arm and said he wanted to talk to him outside.Stupak said that at the same time, Benny Binion Behnen, son of Horseshoe hotel-casino owner Becky Behnen, and an unnamed man began slapping him about the head and face.Stupak said he believes the incident stemmed from a dispute over $250,000 in chips he cashed in at the Horseshoe over a year ago.Matthews was the only person charged in the incident. Prosecutors said he was the only person they had enough evidence to obtain a conviction against because of conflicting statements given to police."

[Dealey Joe]

RJ-John%20L.%20Smith.jpg?itok=tEt3nE_eJohn L. Smithwrites on topics from human interest to politics. His column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday in Nevada News. Visit the eForums to discuss local newEmailFollow on: John L. SmithMore Columns/BlogsBy JOHN L. SMITHLAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNALLas Vegas has long been a refuge for the infamous. Our history is riddled with many tales of notorious men strolling our gaudy streets and enjoying the illusion of anonymity.Although some eventually made the post office walls, the police blotters and occasionally even the newspapers, others managed to thrive in those shadows, elusive as ghosts in the neon.Consider R.D. Matthews, who died recently at age 92, one of the most formidable apparitions from our gambling past. He was a ranking and respected member of what journalists once called the sporting crowd, which was a playful euphemism for the gamblers, hustlers, party girls and killers who lived by night on the edge of polite society.Russell Douglas Matthews passed away in near anonymity — just a two-line obituary in a Dallas newspaper. It might have been the way he wanted it, but that quiet exit doesn’t do justice to the mystery that accompanied his long and reputedly violent life as a trusted friend of the late downtown casino legend Benny Binion. The fact you’ve never read much about Matthews in the local press makes a statement in itself.He was born in Aspermont, Texas, on July 26, 1920. Matthews enlisted in the Marines after Pearl Harbor and was awarded a Navy Cross and Purple Heart. He is said to have inflicted more than his share of wounds in underworld wars after returning home. A member of the notorious Hollis de Lois Green gang of Texas, he was a Dallas bookmaker, nightclub manager and was known on the street as a stealthy enforcer.Matthews was so well- acquainted with the inside players associated with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy that he rated mention in the Warren Commission Report and was interviewed at length in 1978 by the House Select Committee on Assassinations. (His attorney was Binion friend and future U.S. District Judge Harry Claiborne.)Matthews intrigued investigators because of his intimate familiarity with the gambling underworld in Dallas, Las Vegas and Cuba, where he had lived for a time after the war. He also had a long friendship with Jack Ruby. But, then, Matthews knew most of the players in the Oswald-Ruby matrix.Back in October 1963, Ruby placed a call to the Matthews home. A day later, according to one account, Ruby was in touch with Oswald. The connection has intrigued officials and fascinated assassination theorists for decades.Not long after returning from the war, Matthews reacquainted himself with the Dallas underworld, where being an expert with a firearm guaranteed employment and respect. New Orleans prosecutor Jim Garrison once described Matthews as “a longtime heavy in the Southwest, having been linked with Benny “Cowboy” Binion, the Dallas racketeer now in Las Vegas.”Officially, Matthews worked for Binion starting in the late 1970s, but multiple sources confirm they knew each other well decades earlier in Dallas, where Cowboy Benny was known as a rackets king and Matthews’ reputation for getting things done was well- established. Matthews, who wore an eye patch but never seemed to miss much around the Horseshoe, was considered a dear friend and protector of the Binion family.His street reputation was so well-known to the Las Vegas sporting crowd that a single slap from the then 80-year-old Matthews sent maverick casino man Bob Stupak into a panic. The incident occurred in August 2000 at Piero’s restaurant at a time Stupak was at odds with the new ownership of the Horseshoe led by Becky Binion Behnen.No stranger to controversy during his extremely colorful career as the owner of Vegas World and big-idea man behind the Stratosphere tower, Stupak was so unnerved by the encounter with Matthews that he only stammered at my question and quickly declined comment.R.D. Matthews was a ghost of Las Vegas past, but even as an octogenarian he was capable of stepping from the shadows and haunting the present.John L. Smith’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at jsmith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295.

[Dealey Joe]

RD Russell D. Matthews ObituaryGuest Book"You and Benny were the last of a rare breed. just thinking..."- PRView SignMatthews, RD (Russell D.) 92, A WWII, 2nd Marine Division, veteran, who was awarded The Navy Cross and The Purple Heart. RD will be missed by his wife of 40 years, Linda, daughter, Peggy and grandsons.Published in Dallas Morning News on July 21, 2013Print | View Guest BookRelated Memorial Sites bullet Purple Heart bullet WWII- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dallas ... ========RD Russell D. Matthews ObituaryGuest Book"A true Marine, Semper Fi , R. D. Patrick"View SignMatthews, RD (Russell D.) 92, A WWII, 2nd Marine Division, veteran, who was awarded The Navy Cross and The Purple Heart. RD will be missed by his wife of 40 years, Linda, daughter, Peggy and grandsons.Published in Dallas Morning News on July 21, 2013Print | View Guest BookRelated Memorial Sites bullet Purple Heart bullet WWII- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dallas ... bLoggedOut

[Dealey Joe]

A man of notoriety, R.D. Mathews is reported dead by a Dallas Newspaper and a Las Vegas article.I had no idea he was till alive. I wonder if he has provided any information of his life.Somewhere i had read that he had passed away in 2005, so far I have not found that info in my files.The obit is short and sweet, no mention of parents, brothers or sisters only his birth in Aspermont,Tx.Anyone have information please help, RD was a big part of Dallas and Las Vegas history.It sure would be nice to have some history on RD who was best man at Beverly Oliver and George McGann's wedding i assume back in the 60's.

[Dealey Joe]

This from Harry "Rusty" Yardum's book "Grassy Knoll Witnesses"if you don't have this book I recommend it for your research of Witnesses of the knoll.