Lake Mead: Possible connections to the Mafia

(NewsNation) — A discovery at the basin of a Nevada reservoir could be connected to Las Vegas’s most notorious era.

A boater found a metal barrel containing human remains in Lake Mead’s receding waters.

Now, investigators are working to piece together clues that could connect the victim to an infamous crime syndicate.

Lake Mead has long been rumored to be a burial ground for victims of the Mafia. It is now possible that these new discoveries could bring those dark secrets into the light.

Earlier this month, remains of a human body were found inside a metal barrel stuck to the bottom of the lake. Autopsy reports show the victim was shot in the head and crammed into the metal drum. The report signals the death was likely connected to a gangland hit, pointing to Sin City’s storied connection to the mob.

Some experts believe the hit could be connected to infamous mob enforcer Tony Spilotro, the hit man who inspired Joe Pesci’s iconic performance in Martin Scorsese’s 1995 hit “Casino.”

Crime historians expect more grim discoveries as water levels continue to recede at the reservoir.

“Killing somebody and putting them in a barrel and dumping them in water is actually a common mob tactic going back to the 1800s,” said Mob Museum historian Geoff Schumacher, “When we’re talking about the era, you know, 1970s-1980s, the mob was pretty prominent in Las Vegas at that time. It was a time of a lot of conflicts as well. So there were people who went missing.”

(Shawna Hollister/KLAS)
The KLAS I-Team discovered a second barrel on Monday. (David Charns/KLAS)
Lake Mead (KLAS)
FILE – This April 25, 2022 photo provided by the Southern Nevada Water Authority shows the top of Lake Mead drinking water Intake No. 1 above the surface level of the Colorado River reservoir behind Hoover Dam. A week after a decades-old body was found in Lake Mead, authorities are working to identify a second set of human remains. Two sisters from Henderson were paddleboarding in Callville Bay Saturday, May 7, 2022, when they spotted the remains. (Southern Nevada Water Authority via AP, File)
This photo of Saturday, May 7, 2022, provided by Lindsey Melvin of Henderson, Nev., shows human remains she and her sister discovered on a sandbar that recently surfaced as Lake Mead recedes. A closer look revealed a human jaw with teeth. The National Park Service confirmed in a statement that the remains are human. (Lindsey Melvin via AP)
This photo of Saturday, May 7, 2022, provided by Lindsey Melvin of Henderson, Nev., shows human remains she and her sister discovered on a sandbar that recently surfaced as Lake Mead recedes. A closer look revealed a human jaw with teeth. The National Park Service confirmed in a statement that the remains are human. (Lindsey Melvin via AP)
This photo of Saturday, May 7, 2022, provided by Lindsey Melvin of Henderson, Nev., shows human remains she and her sister discovered on a sandbar that recently surfaced as Lake Mead recedes. A closer look revealed a human jaw with teeth. The National Park Service confirmed in a statement that the remains are human. (Lindsey Melvin via AP)
This photo of Saturday, May 7, 2022, provided by Lindsey Melvin of Henderson, Nev., shows human remains she and her sister discovered on a sandbar that recently surfaced as Lake Mead recedes. A closer look revealed a human jaw with teeth. The National Park Service confirmed in a statement that the remains are human. (Lindsey Melvin via AP)
A formerly sunken boat sits on cracked earth hundreds of feet from what is now the shoreline on Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Monday, May 9, 2022, near Boulder City, Nev. Lake Mead is receding and Sin City is awash with mob lore after a second set of human remains emerged within a week from the depths of the drought-stricken Colorado River reservoir just a short drive from the Las Vegas Strip. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Rusting debris that used to be underwater sits above the water level on Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Monday, May 9, 2022, near Boulder City, Nev. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Misha McBride looks at a formerly sunken boat now on cracked earth hundreds of feet from what is now the shoreline on Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Monday, May 9, 2022, near Boulder City, Nev. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Misha McBride looks at a formerly sunken boat now on cracked earth hundreds of feet from what is now the shoreline on Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Monday, May 9, 2022, near Boulder City, Nev. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A formerly floating buoy lies on cracked earth hundreds of feet from what is now the shoreline on Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Monday, May 9, 2022, near Boulder City, Nev. Las Vegas is being flooded with lore about organized crime after a second set of human remains emerged within a week from the depths of the drought-stricken Colorado River reservoir just a 30-minute drive from the notoriously mob-founded Strip. (AP Photo/John Locher)
FILE – The neon lights burn all night on Fremont Street in Las Vegas, Nev., on Aug. 7, 1953. Las Vegas is being flooded with lore about organized crime after a second set of human remains emerged within a week from the depths of a drought-stricken Colorado River reservoir just a 30-minute drive from the notoriously mob-founded Strip. (AP Photo, File)
Lake Mead Corpse Water being sold in a Las Vegas store. (KLAS)

The victim has not been identified, but experts believe an ID could tie together some loose ends regarding one of the most notorious areas for violence in Las Vegas.

“Once they can identify the victim, maybe they can start making some of the connections and see who may have been responsible, or what activities the person was involved with,” said crime writer Anthony Smith.

This victim was the first of two bodies that were found in the lake within the last month. It’s important to note that investigators don’t think foul play was involved with the second body.