RICK RIZZOLO PLAYS
with the IRS, United States Attorney,
U.S. Office
of Parole & Probation, and a
Federal Court Judge
DO NOT PASS GO.
GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
May 9, 2011
LAS VEGAS - He has an IRS
Lien ordering him to pay at least $11,973,440 in back taxes, penalties,
and interest, and he has an unpaid debt to a beating
victim of over $9 million dollars.
Rick
Rizzolo and his ex-wife Lisa (not yet charged with a crime) secretly
stashed tens of millions in cash
and assets in the Cook
Islands right in the middle of a personal injury lawsuit and three
weeks before beginning plea negotiations where Rick agreed to pay all his
debts in exchange for an abbreviated prison sentence. But on February 22,
2011, AmericanMafia.com photographer Mike Christ caught Rizzolo nonchalantly
lighting up a cigarette while leaving Federal Court as if he didn't have
a care in the world while his spiritual advisor Father
Dave Casaleggio walked two steps behind.
At 9 AM on Monday, May 9, in Courtroom
8-A of the United States Federal Courthouse in Las Vegas, Rick Rizzolo
may be in for the shock of his life. At that time, U.S. Judge Philip Pro
who has served 26 years on the Nevada federal bench is expected to decide
whether to abide by the recommendations of Rizzolo's Probation Officer
Eric Christiansen and U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden to send the convicted
racketeer back to prison and extend his term of supervised release another
three years. According to Christiansen's PETITION (below), there's plenty
of reason to follow such a recommendation.
Rizzolo reportedly continues to live a
lavish lifestyle, has failed to pay beating victim Kirk Henry one cent
of the $9 million he's still owed in restitution, and since getting out
of prison in April 2008, resides rent free in a $4 million dollar mansion
in Roma Hills just outside Las Vegas. All this in violation of his terms
of supervised release, a program that's about to expire unless Judge Pro
applies the law on May 9.
Many ordinary citizens are still feeling
the sting from the April 18, 2011 tax deadline. But the Rizzolo's have
been thumbing their noses at our nation's tax laws while living off their
untouchable Cook Islands bounty that was derived from the racketeering
enterprise Rick conducted for years at his now-defunct Crazy Horse Too
strip club.
During those years, Rick and Lisa Rizzolo
were a married couple. During her marriage she lived a high life, and continues
to live lavishly off her husband's highly profitable criminal activities.
Since Rick Rizzolo cut a deal with the
feds back in 2005 -- three weeks after his questionable divorce and two
years before his strip club was seized by the government -- this case has
gained national attention for making a mockery of the IRS and Nevada Federal
Court system.
Today, Lisa is a divorced woman who was
gifted tens of millions of dollars by her husband in what has been referred
to as a "sham"
divorce, and she steadfastly claims she is not responsible to pay for her
ex-husband's back taxes, restitution, and other court ordered obligations
even though they were married while those obligations were amassed, and
Nevada is a Community Property state. Since the divorce, Rick is often
seen coming and going from Lisa's Canyon Gate Country Club estate.
Rick Rizzolo has admitted cheating on his
taxes since at least 2000, and has since shredded
the evidence. His ex-wife used the excuse
"I didn't fill out these forms" when asked why she didn't declare her overseas
bank accounts. Kirk Henry's neck was broken by a Crazy Horse Too manager
in September 2001. The Rizzolos divorced in 2005. Judge Pro has had this
case on his calendar since May 2006. The Rizzolo's ill-gotten fortune continues
to remain in a Cook Islands bank out of the reach of creditors.
Many believe that Rick Rizzolo has an angel
in the federal government who is protecting him from suffering the same
fate anyone else would suffer for similar legal transgressions.
Someone is obviously playing a Monopoly
game during this drawn out case. Is it Judge Pro? The United
States Attorney? The IRS? The U.S. Department of Parole and Probation?
Or does the Rizzolo's politically
connected asset protection lawyer have untoward influence with unseen
hands in the U.S. Department of Justice?
How else could this case drag on for so
long?
It's a roll of the dice whether Rick and
Lisa Rizzolo and their "asset protection" attorney John
Dawson -- the brother of Federal
Judge Kent Dawson -- will be allowed to pass go and keep the prize
money.
Or on May 9, Judge Pro may follow the recommendations
of the U.S. Attorney and U.S. Office of Parole and Probation and tell Rick
Rizzolo to go directly to jail. If so, for how long? And soon thereafter,
will Lisa Rizzolo and those who aided and abetted her be indicted for conspiracy?
Even if Rick is incarcerated for a few months, it's obvious that the IRS
and Henry will continue to go unpaid until Lisa is brought into the mix
and the court forces her to repatriate the Cook Islands stash, or go to
prison.
If this happens, John Dawson may find himself
as a co-defendant, and this could become an embarrassment for his brother
the Federal Judge (the reason many believe this case has dragged on for
so long).
According to a January 23, 2007 self-congratulatory
News
Release issued by United States Attorney Daniel Bogden: "The
Court also took important steps toward ensuring Kirk Henry and his family
received through our justice system, the restitution they need to cope
and deal with the brutal and tragic attack Crazy Horse Too employees inflicted
upon Kirk Henry in September 2001. In rendering its sentence, the Court
took particular care to note in the context of its 26 years on the Nevada
federal bench, the 'enormity' of the financial responsibilities defendants
assumed as part of their sentences as negotiated by our office as part
of their plea agreements."
Three years after
the News Release, Rizzolo had refused to pay anyone a dime. So on December
3, 2010, the same U.S. Attorney filed this less-than-optimistic statement:
"...the 'enormity'
of the financial responsibilities"?
"...promoted public respect for the law"?
So far, only hollow words have been spoken
by the government, and the court hearings continue ad nauseam.
Editor's note: Rizzolo's Final Arguments Hearing set for June 14
After four full days of testimony, U.S. Judge Philip Pro scheduled a final hearing for June 14 so attorneys for Rick Rizzolo, and attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice can argue why Rizzolo's parole should or should not be extended and he be incarcerated for an additional period of time for violations of his terms of supervised release. At the upcoming hearing, attorneys for unpaid beating victim Kirk Henry will also be allowed to address the court.
During the hearings held on May 9, 10, and 11, testimony was taken from Kim Tran Rizzolo, widow of Rick's father Bart Rizzolo, and from John E. Dawson, the Rizzolo's asset protection attorney.
MORE INFORMATION:
http://www.americanmafia.com/Inside_Vegas/4-4-11_Inside_Vegas.html
http://www.americanmafia.com/Inside_Vegas/3-21-11_Inside_Vegas.html
http://www.americanmafia.com/Inside_Vegas/2-28-11_Inside_Vegas.html
http://www.americanmafia.com/Inside_Vegas/2-21-11_Inside_Vegas.html
http://www.americanmafia.com/Inside_Vegas/2-7-11_Inside_Vegas.html
http://www.americanmafia.com/Inside_Vegas/1-31-11_Inside_Vegas.html
