CBS is teaming with Goodfellas writer Nicholas Pileggi to develop the drama project Ralph Lamb, set in early '60s Las Vegas, based on the true story of Ralph Lamb, a cowboy-turned-Las Vegas sheriff in the '60s and '70s.

CBS TV Studios has set James Mangold (Walk the Line) to direct. Nicholas Pileggi will co-write the script with TV writer Greg Walker.

Ralph Lamb was Clark County's longest-serving and most famous sheriff who was in charge for two decades -- from 1961 to 1979. Known as the cowboy sheriff as he was often seen riding his horse, Ralph Lamb modernized the department, brought in a modern crime lab, assembled the city's first SWAT team and oversaw the merger of the Las Vegas and the county law enforcement agencies into the Metropolitan Police Department. But he was probably best known for his tough stance on the Mafia, which still controlled most of the casinos at the time.