Posted on: September 6, 2022, 04:30h.
Last updated on: September 6, 2022, 06:00h.
Las Vegas police have released images of a strangely dressed individual they want to speak to in connection to the murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal (LVRJ) journalist Jeff German.
The veteran reporter, 69, was found stabbed to death outside his Summerlin home at around 10:30 am on Saturday. During his 30-plus-year career working for The Las Vegas Sun and the LVRJ, German focused on organized crime in the city and corruption within its casino industry.
Police have not said whether they believe his murder could be connected to his investigative reporting.
LVRJ executive editor, Glenn Cook, said Saturday that German had not expressed concerns to anyone at the newspaper about his safety or any threats against him.
Police said they are looking at an altercation between German and another individual outside his home on Friday morning. While it’s unclear what happened in the incident, it was serious enough for a passerby to report it to the police.
Outlandish Headgear
On Monday, Metro Police shared images of a suspect wearing a bizarre sunhat with a large brim that covered his face. He also sported a long-sleeved orange construction shirt and dark gloves and carried a dark duffle-style bag over his shoulder.
Police said in an accompanying statement the images were taken before the murder. They believe the suspect was “possibly casing the area to commit other crimes,” and are asking local residents to check security cameras to see if they picked up sightings of the individual.
We take this case very seriously, and our investigators have been working non-stop to identify and apprehend the suspect,” Captain Dori Koren said in the statement.
“We enacted our Major Case Protocol immediately following our initial response, and are using all LVMPD resources to maximize the progress of this investigation,” Koren added.
Gold Standard
German wrote and presented LVRJ’s acclaimed true crime podcast Mobbed Up: The Fight for Las Vegas. He also authored the 2001 true-crime book Murder in Sin City: The Death of a Las Vegas Casino Boss, about the death of casino tycoon Ted Binion.
As a reporter, he blew the lid off corruption at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. And he broke the story that infamous Mafia bookmaker Herbert “Fat Herbie” Blitzstein had been killed in a Mob hit, among many other scoops.
“The Review-Journal family is devastated to lose Jeff,” Cook said in a statement. “He was the gold standard of the news business. It’s hard to imagine what Las Vegas would be like today without his many years of shining a bright light on dark places.”
