The Last Story: The Murder of an Investigative Journalist in Las Vegas
by Arthur Kane
SYNOPSIS – THE LAST STORY: The Murder of an Investigative Journalist in Las Vegas is an exclusive deep dive into a chilling true tale of sex, ambition, retribution, and homicide.
Jeff German, a veteran Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter, was no stranger to controversy or the danger of his work. For more than four decades, he wrote stories relentlessly confronting the mob, corrupt politicians, and greedy bureaucrats. As a result, he was often threatened—enough that he and his friend and fellow investigative reporter, Arthur Kane, sometimes joked about reporting on these threats if they were ever acted upon.
Then, in the spring of 2022, German received a tip about abuses at a little-known county office. His subsequent investigation unearthed a scandalous, sexually incriminating video of a rising politician. The resulting stories in the Review-Journal ended the man’s political aspirations.
Less than six months later, on September 3, German’s lifeless body was discovered outside his home with multiple stab wounds. His dedicated newsroom colleagues, including Kane, vowed to find the killer. In doing so, they exposed the true depths of corruption and malice in Sin City.
Meanwhile, the police struggled to identify a suspect until they released a photo of the suspect’s vehicle to the media. That tip led them to none other than the small-time politician, who was subsequently arrested and now faces life in prison, pending the outcome of his trial in August 2024.
In THE LAST STORY, Kane delivers an intense narrative of courage, betrayal, and the unrelenting quest for justice.
MY THOUGHTS – This is a good read about the murder of investigative journalist Jeff German. It’s written by fellow journalist and friend Arthur Kane. The ARC had a lot of annoying issues with missing words and extra words, like calling the victim “the German”. Hopefully the end product will be perfect.
PUBLISHER – WildBlue Press – 298 pages
PUBLICATION DATE – April 30th, 2024
MY RATING – 4/5 STARS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR – I have been a writer, investigative reporter, and editor for more than three decades. Currently, I manage the investigative unit as an Investigation Editor at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where I have worked since 2016.
In Vegas, I broke stories about waste and corruption at the county’s tourism and visitors’ authority that led to criminal charges against top officials. An investigation of the state Dental Board resulted in the top two officials being fired. Stories on an elected constable using county money to gamble led to his indictment and a plea. And a series on police misconduct exposed officers who were kept on the job and were even promoted despite repeated, sustained internal affairs complaints.
I previously worked at the Denver Post, KMGH-TV, The Des Moines Register, and Watchdog.org. Stories there resulted in changes in state law and indictments of corrupt officials. My work has garnered two duPont-Columbia awards, a Peabody, a national Emmy, two SPJ Sigma Delta Chi honors as well as numerous state and regional awards. The Nevada Press Association named me Nevada’s Outstanding Reporter of the Year in 2020 and 2022.
In 2022, I worked closely with Jeff German when he was slain outside his Las Vegas house. German had written a series of stories on the public administrator’s office, and Public Administrator Robert Telles was soon arrested for his murder. The whole remaining investigative team and I jumped on the story, exposing Telles’ history of inappropriate and abusive conduct, additional potential corruption, and failures by the county to protect his employees.
Having been friends with Jeff since I started at the RJ, I decided his life and death were an important topic worthy of a book. The story shows the increasing dangers of journalists as well as the power of local newspapers to force positive changes in the community and government.
When I’m not at my keyboard, I enjoy mountain biking, playing poker, attending concerts with friends, collecting rock memorabilia, traveling, and hiking with any dogs we may have rescued. My wife and I live in Henderson.
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