counter," he says. "It was common knowledge that these kind of balloons were used to transport illegal narcotics. I will also say that it was pretty well-known that Liston was a part-time user."

Former Las Vegas Police Sergeant Dennis Caputo was one of the first officers to arrive at the scene of Sonny Liston's death

Most reports of Liston's death state that fresh needle marks were found on his arm. While Geraldine has disputed that her husband ever used drugs, some have alleged that she may have cleared the syringe away. "Geraldine and her attorney were in the house for an unknown period of time before we arrived," Sgt Caputo says. "I did find it odd that [she] called her attorney when the body was discovered rather than the police."

Butothers - including some of Liston's closest friends - say that he would never have used heroin because he was terrified of needles. "He wouldn't even go to a doctor for a check-up, for fear some doctor would want to stick a needle in him," his former trainer, Johnny Tocco, told the Washington Post in 1989.

Liston's body was eventually moved into a waiting ambulance. According to some witness accounts, his vast weight proved too much and he was dropped several times. It was an undignified exit, reminiscent of a felled boxer being carried out of the ring.

An autopsy would later reveal that traces of morphine and codeine - of a type commonly produced by the breakdown of heroin - had been in Liston's system. But there was not