Tuesday, April 22, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
THREE YEARS AGO, hysteria gripped the Las Vegas Strip amid a series of brazen casino robberies pulled off by Los Angeles gangs.
The terror reached its peak April 24, 1994, during the armed takeover of the cashier's cage at Harrah's hotel-casino.
A videotape of young gang members stealing $97,000 from the cage at gunpoint was aired on the national television networks, creating a publicity nightmare for Las Vegas tourism officials.
The Harrah's heist and those at the San Remo, Aladdin and Flamingo also grabbed headlines in newspapers across the country.
But last week, there was barely a mention in the media when the two ringleaders of the Harrah's robbery, the most notorious of all, received stiff prison terms in federal court.
U.S. District Judge Philip Pro sentenced Melvin Foster, a reputed ranking member of the Pueblo Bishop Bloods in Los Angeles, to 18 years in prison.
Chet Govan, a suspected member of the rival 118 East Coast Crips, drew nearly 22 years in prison.
Foster, who lawmen believe planned the other Strip takeovers, as well, got a lighter sentence because he threw in his cards and pleaded guilty on the second day of his trial last October.
In its plea memorandum with Foster, the government said Foster and Govan provided the weapons and stolen vehicles to their young accomplices in the robberies. Foster even took the suspects on a "dry run" of the Harrah's caper.
The casino robberies were unusual because two gangs, which have a history of violence against each other, struck a temporary truce in the hopes of hitting the jackpot together in Las Vegas.
Last week's harsh jail terms, the maximum under federal sentencing guidelines, were praised by U.S. Attorney Kathryn Landreth.
"The severe sentences awarded by the court will serve as a deterrent for other criminals who have similar designs," Landreth said in a news release late Friday.
This week, her top assistant, Howard Zlotnick, who helped try the case, said he was convinced the Los Angeles gangs already have gotten the message.
"They know that if they do this again, we're going to be on them with the full weight of the federal arsenal," Zlotnick said.
"We didn't just take out the low-level guys who were the cannon fodder that did these things. We found the supervisors, the managers who masterminded the crime and organized it."
Zlotnick said outstanding investigative work by the FBI, IRS and Metro Police traced the stolen money to Los Angeles and found the connections to gang lords.
Indeed, the three-year probe, which is not over yet, is a classic example of what can be accomplished when federal and local law enforcement agencies mount an unyielding cooperative offensive.
Las Vegas lawmen also worked closely with police gang units in the Los Angeles area.
Zlotnick praised fellow prosecutor Tom O'Connell as the driving force behind the unprecedented probe.
"Tom was relentless in putting this together," Zlotnick said.
Since the Harrah's robbery, Zlotnick pointed out, the Los Angeles gangs wisely have stayed away from the Strip.
And he doesn't believe they want to risk taking another shot at it.
"We'll be ready for them next time," he said. "We've learned a lot from this case."
In the meantime, the casino industry, it seems, owes a debt of gratitude to the lawmen who brought an end to a three-year nightmare on the Strip.
* The Nevada Republican Party is holding a fund-raiser Friday at the strike-ridden Frontier, of all places.
The $100-a-head event is being "hosted and sponsored" by the embattled Elardi family.
Guest of honor is former Rep. Bob Dornan, R-Calif., who lost his seat to a Democrat last November.
The fund-raiser, which gets under way at 6:30 p.m., comes at a time when allegations of spying and dirty tricks on the picket line have landed the Frontier in hot water with state and federal agencies.
The Culinary Union has been on strike at the Frontier since September 1991 in the nation's longest-running labor dispute.
* The state Ethics Commission meets Friday to discuss its decision in the case against Las Vegas Constable Bob Nolen.
Nolen has been accused by a former deputy of mistreating employees, falsifying records and using office resources to work on political campaigns.
Though Nolen denies the charges, the ethics panel seems to have shown an unusual amount of interest in the case.
* Friends are wishing Tony Tegano well with his new heart.
The personable Tango Pools owner recently had a heart transplant at Stanford University's medical center.
Tegano, still in critical condition, is well known for his contributions to the community.
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