Jeffrey Michael German (August 23, 1953 – September 2, 2022) was an American

investigative reporter Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend ...

who wrote for the ''

Las Vegas Review-Journal The ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' is a daily subscription newspaper published in Las Vegas, Nevada, since 1909. It is the largest circulating daily newspaper in Nevada and one of two daily newspapers in the Las Vegas area. The ''Review-Journal' ...

'' and the ''

Las Vegas Sun The ''Las Vegas Sun'' is one of the Las Vegas Valley's two daily subscription newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group. The paper published afternoons on weekdays from 1990 to 2005 and is now ...

'', his career spanning four decades. He was stabbed to death in 2022 by Robert Telles, an elected

Clark County, Nevada Clark County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Nevada with 2,265,461 residents as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The county is the location of the state's three largest cities, Las Vegas (t ...

Public Administrator Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

, whom German had investigated and reported on.

Early life and education

German was born to Jewish parents Max and June German ( Kaplan) in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. He earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

. He began his journalistic career as an intern for the ''

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

''. He also worked with

Jim Romenesko Jim Romenesko (born September 16, 1953) is a retired American journalist in Evanston, Illinois. His eponymous blog provided daily news, commentary, and insider information about journalism and media. Romenesko also ran the blog ''Starbucks Gossip'' ...

Career

German was a columnist and investigative reporter at the ''

'' for more than two decades, covering

organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...

, government, politics, and courts. He covered the

MGM Grand fire The MGM Grand fire occurred on Friday, November 21, 1980, at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino (later Bally’s, now Horseshoe Las Vegas, and unrelated to the current MGM Grand Las Vegas), located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The fir ...

in 1980 and the early 2000s FBI investigation into bribes taken by

Clark County Clark County may refer to: *Clark County, Arkansas *Clark County, Idaho *Clark County, Illinois *Clark County, Indiana *Clark County, Kansas *Clark County, Kentucky *Clark County, Missouri *Clark County, Nevada, containing Las Vegas *Clark County, ...

commissioners (

Operation G-Sting Operation G-Sting, also called Strippergate, and referencing the G-string costume often worn by strippers and showgirls, was an FBI investigation into bribes and unreported campaign contributions taken by Clark County Commissioners in Clark County, ...

). With fellow reporter

Cathy Scott Cathleen Scott (born ) is a ''Los Angeles Times'' and ''New York Times'' bestselling American true crime author and investigative journalist who penned the biographies and true crime books '' The Killing of Tupac Shakur'' and '' The Murder of B ...

, he broke the story of the 1997 murder of mafia associate bookmaker

Herbert Blitzstein Herbert "Fat Herbie" Blitzstein (November 2, 1934 – January 6, 1997) was an American mobster who was a loanshark, bookmaker, racketeer and lieutenant to Tony "The Ant" Spilotro and the Chicago Outfit in Las Vegas, Nevada. Biography Born in a ...

. In 2001, German wrote the

true crime True crime is a genre of non-fiction work in which an author examines a crime, including detailing the actions of people associated with and affected by the crime, and investigating the perpetrator's Motive (law), motives. True crime works often ...

book ''Murder in Sin City: The Death of a Las Vegas Casino Boss'', which told the story of the death of

Ted Binion Lonnie Theodore "Ted" Binion (November 28, 1943 – September 17, 1998), was an American gambling executive and the son of Las Vegas casino magnate Benny Binion, owner of Binion's Horseshoe casino. Ted Binion was involved in multiple criminal cas ...

, heir to the

Binion's Horseshoe Binion's Gambling Hall & Hotel, formerly Binion's Horseshoe, is a casino on Fremont Street along the Fremont Street Experience pedestrian mall in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It is owned by TLC Casino Enterprises. The casino is n ...

fortune. His book also covered the theft of Binion's silver, known as the Binion Hoard. German was a writer and host for the podcast series ''Mobbed Up: The Fight for Las Vegas'', which was co-produced with the Mob Museum. After being laid off by the ''Las Vegas Sun'' in 2009, German joined the ''

'' newspaper staff in 2010. In the aftermath of the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, German was the first to report that the shooter had initially fired at two nearby

jet fuel Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by Gas turbine, gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for ...

tanks at the Las Vegas airport before turning his attention to the music festival site. He also reported on failures in the city's inspections ahead of the fatal 2019 Alpine Motel Apartments fire and investigated mismanagement, unlawful misconduct, and bullying in the office of the Clark County Public Administrator, Robert Telles.

Death

German was found stabbed to death outside his Las Vegas Valley home on September 3, 2022. He was 69 years old. The police reported that he had been involved in an altercation with somebody outside his house the day before he was found dead and that they had identified a suspect for his murder. The suspect had worn an orange jacket, straw hat and

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

sneakers. On September 7, police arrested Clark County

Robert Telles on suspicion of German's murder after DNA matching Telles was found in the crime scene. Telles had lost his re-election bid in the Democratic primary after German published the results of an investigation that found Telles was contributing to a

hostile work environment In United States labor law, a hostile work environment exists when one's behavior within a workplace creates an environment that is difficult or uncomfortable for another person to work in, due to illegal discrimination. However, a working environm ...

and having an inappropriate relationship with a staffer. In an August 2024 jury trial, Telles was convicted of German's murder. On August 28, 2024, he was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 20 years. On October 16, 2024, he was sentenced to an additional 8 to 20 years on enhancements for using a knife and German being over 60 years old at the time of his murder. The killing of Jeff German was condemned by the Director-General of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Audrey Azoulay Audrey Azoulay (; born 4 August 1972) is a French Jew of Moroccan descent, French Civil Service, civil servant and politician who has served as the 11th Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UN ...

in a press-release published on September 9, 2022. UNESCO's mandate to "promote the free flow of ideas by word and image" includes the protection of journalists and media workers against any forms of attacks and reprisals related to their duties. German's death is included on UNESCO’s ''Observatory of Killed Journalists.''

Personal life

German was a bachelor, and lived alone. His sister is married to editorial cartoonist Mike Smith.

Portrayals in television

In the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

crime documentary '' 48 Hours'' narrated by Peter Van Sant, German's killing and the coverage of security footage of suspect Robert Telles and his subsequent arrest are examined in "The Assassination of Jeff German" in 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:German, Jeff 1953 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American male writers American columnists American investigative journalists American male journalists American newspaper reporters and correspondents Deaths by stabbing in Nevada Journalists from Las Vegas Marquette University alumni Murdered American journalists People from Marquette, Michigan People murdered in Nevada Place of birth missing Jewish American journalists American people of Jewish descent Murdered American Jews 2022 murders in the United States