The Lodge .... some additional info

FOUND THIS WHILE ON THE INTERNET ..... HEARD RUMORS OF IT, NOTHING MORE

Lincoln Fitzgerald moved from Michigan to Northern Nevada in 1945 and bought into Reno's Nevada Club the following year. Reputedly an accountant for Detroit's Purple Gang, "Fitz," along with partner Danny Sullivan, was extradited to Michigan in 1948 where they were tried on charges of illegal gambling, fined and released.

They returned to Reno shortly thereafter to tend to the club. Whether or not it was because Fitzgerald fell out with his old bosses in Detroit, as one source claims, there is no doubt that on the night of November 18, 1949, he was gunned down in his driveway as he opened his garage door. The gunman fled; some have speculated
that that hit man was none other than the famous gangster "Baby Face" Nelson, who was living in Reno at the time.

Remarkably, Fitz survived the attack. Hospitalized for six months and left with a limp and permanent fear for his life, Fitzgerald hired bodyguards and moved with his wife into the Nevada Club. He reportedly requested that the investigation into his shooting be closed.

Fitzgerald bought the Tahoe Biltmore in Crystal Bay in 1957, renaming it the Nevada Lodge, and opened Fitzgerald's in Reno in 1976. When he did travel to The Lake, his wife Meta took the wheel and two bodyguards sat in back, according to Jim Brockelsby, who worked for Fitz for 30 years.

Though Brockelsby and others are unfamiliar with this story, there's a rumor that on one of those trips Fitzgerald's car was ambushed at Tahoe Meadows—perhaps in an effort to finish the job—but he managed to escape. Though the story can't be substantiated, one knowledgeable source (who chooses to remain anonymous) defends it as true.

I don't question Jim, however, I heard Fitz purchased the Biltmore only after paying some "interest" money to someone. I was in the club the day she left, with a heavy briefcase and a couple of bodyguards. I was under the imrpession that he felt comfortable leaving the club after those negotiations. I remember them visiting the Lodge when I worked there. Fitz seemed to like me, and we often chatted.