b'Since when have you been called Joe Sharp-Operator?View from the pool table.OK, yes, so we in the newspaper trade do make mistakes and this is my turn to own up. We loved the idea of a story about Matthew, Rickys brother, largely because he seemed such a good guy but also because his own story is fascinating in itself: he labours away at a pretty decent boxing career of his own completely dwarfed by his brothers success and does he care? Apparently not a jot. His role as a kid, as is every younger brothers, was to play games with the older sibling and come second. Matthew told us about tennis, boxing, football, darts, pool, cricket - and the age difference which pretty much always made him second best.But up in their Caesars Palace suite, the tables were turning. They had got a pool table installed and were keeping a running score on $5-a-frame. On the table by the phone was the scorecard which showed Matthew significantly ahead.But the detail that really stuck out was the fact that Rickys name was on one side of the scorecard and on the other was not Matthews name but Joe Sharp-Operator. Interesting nickname, we thought, especially given the circumstance, and for my story, this made a nice, tiny anecdotal insight into the relationship. In fact we liked it so much that Marc took a picture of the scorecard and it ran in the paper.Apparently the Hatton mob laughed themselves silly when they read this and this is the reason. The entertainments manager of Caesars is Joe Sharp. Earlier that day, they had received a phone call from the hotel operator asking them to call the aforementioned Joe Sharp. So atop the piece of paper by the phone they jotted the reminder: Joe Sharp - Operator.But these things are indelible. As Matthew later explained, his mates started texting him asking: Since when have you been called Joe Sharp-Operator? And furthermore, for some of them, the nickname stuck.OwenI hope hes not a mad axe murdererMatthews opponent in Las Vegas wascorruption. Houghtaling, his parents, hisfamily member then appeared - anDonna Houghtaling, Franks mother, in Frank Houghtaling, a 33-year-old fromwife and three other family members wereapparently impartial witness - and thus didorder to raise enough cash through the Albany, New York state, who, it soonalleged to have staged car accidents andthe insurance claims process get underway.insurance claim for her to afford a new became apparent, had been making athen followed that by fixing false insuranceItd be nice to send him off to prisonkitchen.very healthy second living outside ofclaims. Prosecutors said that the family haswith a little present, Matthew said whenIf the witnesss evidence was to be the ring: he had been moonlighting asworked the scam for the past 15 years andwe discussed this in Vegas. But if I wasbelieved, there had been no thought wasted a professional insurance scammer. Atmade themselves six-figure profits. going into prison, he added, I dontin stitching together such a scam. Before least that was the rumour that spreadTwo years worth of detective work hadthink Id be fighting, I think Id rather bethe crash, the Houghtalings allegedly fast round Fight Town, and indeed itgone into the case which involved 23 carpartying. toured the local Salvation Army drop-off turned out to be partly true: nothingcrashes. The crucial piece of evidence,Not so simple. Three months after thesites, picking up old TV sets and bits of was yet proven but Houghtaling hadapparently, was a CCTV surveillance videofight, Frank Houghtaling was still a freebroken furniture in order to claim that they been charged and soon after the fighttaken at a Wal-Mart car-park in Albanyman and the court case was still running;were also broken in the crash. Then, after was indicted to appear in court. which showed Joseph Houghtaling, Franksthe Houghtaling family had managed tothe crash, Joe applied to the insurance spin it out to unimagined lengths amidstcarrier for his own maintenance company, I hope hes not a mad axe murderer,brother, waiting for an elderly woman toallegations that key witnesses had beenJMS Services, to dismantle the wrecked Matthew said at the time. Indeed he wasleave the store, circling the parking lot inmanipulated. The last incident beinggarage. And he got the job. Oh yes, and not, though according to charges, he washis car and then, at the crucial moment,chewed over in court was a case where athe witness, for his role as driver-turned-at the centre of a family-wide operationspeeding up and intentionally rammingwitness claimed he had been paid to crashsupergrass, was to receive a 1994 Chrysler that, in the States, they call enterprisethe womans car. At this moment, anotherinto the garage of the house belonging toNew Yorker.page 30'