Vegas Casino Owner May Be Involved In Strip Club Probe

http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=1593461&nav=15MUCBSd
Casino Owner And Strip Club Probe


1/8/04

New details have emerged about the relationship between a topless bar owner under investigation and one of the new owners of the Golden Nugget Casino. During Gaming Control Board hearings, Tim Poster was grilled about his dealings with Rick Rizzolo, owner of the Crazy Horse Too topless club, the subject of a federal probe. News 3 Investigator Glen Meek reports that probe could impact licensing for the Golden Nugget's new owners.

It's already had one effect. Regulators are only recommending only a limited license for the Golden Nugget at this point. This, after tough questioning from a former FBI agent revealed that one of the owners was secretly recorded by FBI agents during the federal probe of the Crazy Horse Too. Las Vegas Entrepreneurs Tim Poster and Thomas Brietling sought the blessing of the Gaming Control Board as new owners of the Golden Nugget downtown. But the hearing became tense when Board Member Bobby Siller, former head of the Las Vegas FBI, gave Poster a tongue lashing for his relationship with Rick Rizzolo, proprietor of the Crazy Horse Too topless bar, which was the target of an FBI raid in February.

"I am also very knowledgeable regarding some of the criminal elements here and those with unsuitable or shady type backgrounds, so I'm very familiar with this Mr. Rick Rizzolo." During Siller's tough questioning, Poster acknowledged he had once been a frequent dinner companion and gambling buddy of Rizzolo, and occasionally borrowed money from the bar owner. "Whenever I borrowed money from Mr. Rizzolo, it was always for the purpose of gambling. We had been out gambling together and a variety of circumstances might have arisen in which either I did not have a credit line at the particular casino we were at, or I would have exhausted mine and I used his credit line to use money to gamble with."

It was also learned Poster was interviewed by the FBI about a conversation he had with Rizzolo over a friend of Rizzolo's, who owed hundreds of thousands of dollars on a casino marker. The conversation was intercepted by an FBI wiretap.

"Was there a comment in this conversation, this intercept, where either you or Mr. Rizzolo stated, 'is it safe to talk on the telephone?'"

"The FBI told me that that is something that I said, I have no recollection of that at all."

Poster admitted poor judgment, said he'd severed all ties with Rizzolo and assured the board he'd done nothing illegal or embarrassing. Siller said Poster and his partner may have narrowly avoided getting caught up in something unpleasant. "When you have all these on going FBI investigations and searches, and trust me, this is my judgment, they will come to some type of conclusion and they won't be pleasant."

The gaming board did recommend licensing for Mr. Poster and his partner Mr. Brietling, but only for one year. But that's only a recommendation. The Gaming Control Commission has the final say, and they are set to vote on the license in two weeks. The lawyer for Rick Rizzolo says it's a disgrace what Bobby Siller said about the topless bar owner. Attorney Anthony Sgro compared Siller's remarks to tactics used by Nazis in World War Two. He says it reflects frustration by federal agents who've been unable to find any wrong doing by his client.

NAHHH I would never have guessed that Casino owners living in VEGAS (sin city) would be also attached to a "strip" club...I mean it makes NO sense

http://www.americanmafia.com/Inside_Vegas/11-25-02_Inside_Vegas.html

Rizzolo Explains What Happened
COMMENTARY: Steve Miller
Las Vegas Tribune
November 20, 2002

On September 20, 2001, Kansas resident Kirk Henry allegedly had his neck broken by a bouncer at the Crazy Horse Too topless bar, 2476 Industrial Rd. On October 2, 2001, Henry sued the Crazy Horse and its’ owner, Frederick "Rick" Rizzolo, for Attempted Murder. The case was assigned to Clark County District Court Judge Jeffery Sobel.

On March 14, 2002, less than six months after Sobel was assigned the Henry case, Rizzolo wrote a check for $5,000 to Judge Sobel’s campaign committee. On September 27, 2002, Rizzolo gave Sobel another $5,000 making him the judge’s biggest campaign contributor. Even though Rizzolo was a Defendant in his court, Sobel evidently had no problem accepting his $10,000 largesse.

On August 4, 1995, California tourist Scott David Fau died from injuries described by medical examiners as "blunt force trauma consistent with a severe beating and/or positional asphyxiation." Like Kirk Henry, Scott Fau had also engaged in a disagreement with Crazy Horse bouncers prior to sustaining his injuries. His widow, Camille Fau, sued the Crazy Horse for Wrongful Death. The case was assigned to Clark County District Court Judge Nancy M. Saitta.

Shortly thereafter, Rick Rizzolo donated $5,000 to Judge Saitta’s political campaign committee. Even though Rizzolo was a Defendant in her court, Saitta also had no problem accepting his $5,000 largesse. Judge Saitta ran unopposed in the November 5 election.

In the meantime Kirk Henry is a quadriplegic, and Scott Fau is dead.

On October 14, 2002, Clark County Deputy District Attorney Mitchell Cohen stated, "A criminal investigation involving the (Kirk Henry) incident was initiated by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. The investigation is now being (led) by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is active and ongoing." A Federal Grand Jury is also looking into that and other issues involving Rizzolo.

Until recently, other media seldom reported on these two important cases leaving the Las Vegas Tribune solely to inform the public. Because of this newspaper’s relentless coverage, and after repeated attempts to interview Mr. Rizzolo, he consented to tell his side of the story in a Letter to the Tribune Editor published on October 17, 2001.

Regarding Kirk Henry’s broken neck, Mr. Rizzolo wrote, "Mr. (Steve) Miller also refers to another alleged beating that occurred at my club on September 20, 2001. No ‘beating’ ever occurred on my premises on that day. A customer leaving the club drunk did trip, but in no way was this man ‘beaten.’ About the only accurate fact reported by Mr. Miller was the club personnel were standing over the injured man. Of course, Mr. Miller does not mention that my employees were assisting the injured man, as that would ruin his insinuation that my employees had ‘beat up’ this man."

Regarding Scott Fau’s death, Mr. Rizzolo wrote, "Mr. Fau was not found beaten to death. Mr. Fau was not even dead when he was found. Contrary to what Mr. (Steve) Miller chooses to report, the coroner who examined Mr. Fau's body could not determine the cause of death but completely ruled out that Mr. Fau was beaten to death or that his death was caused by an altercation. Mr. Fau, with his friend, had come into the Crazy Horse Too in an inebriated state and threatened and harassed my bartender, When my employees were attempting to eject Mr. Fau, who was at least six feet tall and weighed 300 pounds, from the club, Mr. Fau took off his belt, wrapped it around his hand, and struck one or more of my employees, injuring them. Two of my employees eventually had to go to the hospital for those injuries. The police had to be called in and it was the police who ejected Mr. Fau and his friend from the premises and saw these two people walk southwards away from the club. At least three hours had elapsed before Mr. Fau's body was found on the train tracks far from Crazy Horse Too."

It will be up to the trier of fact in both cases to determine the validly of Mr. Rizzolo’s explanations.

On November 5, probably to Mr. Rizzolo’s dismay, Judge Sobel lost the election by a landslide to newcomer Jackie Glass. After carefully checking Judge-elect Glass’s campaign finance reports on the Secretary of State’s website, no campaign contribution from either of Rizzolo’s corporations could be found.

The election of a new judge ostensibly paves the way for Mr. Henry to receive a fair trial – considered unusual in Clark County after a Defendant invests $10,000 in the political campaign of the judge presiding over his case. Judge Sobel set no trial date, and Jackie Glass takes office on January 1.

In the Fau case, though Judge Saitta was asked to recuse, she set the jury trial for January 6, 2003.

Meanwhile, seeming oblivious to the criminal investigations and pending trials, Mr. Rizzolo just announced a major expansion of his bar.

Steve Miller writes a weekly column in the Las Vegas Tribune on organized crime and political corruption. Visit his personal website at: http://www.stevemiller4lasvegas.com