Imitation is the sincerest
form of flattery
Pictures worth a thousand words...
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
February 2, 2004
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Gotti
Rizzolo
Gotti
Rizzolo
Can someone please explain to me what this
Rick Rizzolo-Golden Nugget thing is all about? The Golden Nugget's new
owners Tom Breitling and Tim Poster are not allowed to know him? Why? They
are limited to a one-year license? Why? Can anyone out there please explain
what in the heck Rick Rizzolo, owner of the Crazy Horse Too, has done or
what he is being accused of? He has been investigated by every law enforcement
agency in Las Vegas. He has been in business for many years in Las Vegas.
Now here is another question: Rick Rizzolo has a business as well as a
liquor license, yet because one of the new Golden Nugget owners knows him,
the duo is having trouble with their own license? Does that make any sense?
Why does the government continue to burn up our money on useless investigations
like the one at the Crazy Horse? We, as everybody knows, have a major crime
problem in Las Vegas -- rape, drugs, gang-bangers, armed robbery, political
corruption, home invasions, car theft. So I guess going after the Crazy
Horse and Rick Rizzolo is really going to stop the crime problem in Las
Vegas. Yeah, right. It's time law enforcement and our justice system --
as well as our politicians (the ones not going to jail) -- stop the useless
time and money going after people who really have no effect on our crime
problem or our daily lives. Also, I want to know: Will I be investigated
if I talk to Rick? -- TED BOMMARITO,
Henderson, NV, Letter to the Editor, Las Vegas Review
Journal, 01/29/04
Truly they have wrongfully incarcerated a man who's only motive
in life was to live and die by the rules he saw as a necessary way of life.
To keep his wayward sheep in control. To me this formidable person saw
to it that his family was never to do without a morsel of food, heat, clothes.
I wished I was raised in such a family. I think the justice system felt
threatened by his capacity to be even more powerful than a mere judge,
therefore being frustrated by his power they found pathetic reasons to
lock him up. Those poor pathetic fools! -- DANA LaVIOLETTE, Canada,
The
Official John
Gotti Tribute Site, 6/11/02
LAS VEGAS -- While the clock ticks off the days and hours until Federal
Indictments are handed down against Vegas skin merchant Frederick
"Rick" Rizzolo, a fan club of sorts is forming for the man who many
believe has long lusted to walk in John Gotti's footsteps.
In a town that has more Elvis impersonators per square foot than any
other spot on the face of the Earth, and covets its Mob heritage so much
that its citizens elected a former Mafia lawyer as mayor, its not beyond
reason to believe that martyrs can be made of those who least deserve the
title.
In the case of the late John Gotti, thousands of Brooklyn residents
took to the streets on February 9, 1990 to celebrate after a jury found
him not guilty.
In Rizzolo's case, it appears that at least Mr. Bommarito
and several local politicians
will celebrate if the imminent indictments are found to be meritless.
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Gotti
Rizzolo (Photo by Mike Christ)
"Can anyone out there please explain what in
the heck Rick Rizzolo... has done or what he is being accused of?" asks
Mr. Bommarito.
So far, like Gotti in his early years, Rizzolo has also been clothed
in Teflon. Even with over 700 police responses to his nightclub in less
than three years -- responses that included dozens for beatings,
credit
card fraud, coercion,
shootings,
and a probable murder
-- no arrests were made and no perpetrators prosecuted.
Though he has been referred to as a "Pillar
of the community" by a councilman, and a local judge once said
he has "a
good name in the community," (Rizzolo has grown another title in
some circles - "The Teflon Pimp," in contrast to Gotti's nickname
- "The Teflon Don") the political corruption web of suspicion that
surrounds him ensnares some local law
enforcement officials, the county courthouse,
and even city
hall - hence the FBI investigation, Mr. Bommarito.
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Gotti and crew gather at
the Ravenite
Rizzolo and crew gather at the dumpster (Photo by Jim Barrier)
The fate of John Gotti was sealed by his most
trusted confidant, Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, possibly the most notorious
"rat" in the history of organized crime.
Gravano
Since his club was raided by 80 FBI and IRS agents
with guns drawn on February 20, 2003, rumor has it that numerous Rizzolo
confidants have also turned Federal witnesses The fallout from this
raid
caught innocent bystanders, Golden Nugget buyers Tom Breitling and Tim
Poster, on a wiretap talking to Rizzolo; a simple conversation that almost
cost them their Nevada gaming
license as Mr. Bommarito so eloquently stated in his Letter to the
Editor.
Rizzolo's crew (KVBC TV News)
In the meantime, Chief US District Judge Philip Pro placed a Stay on
all Las Vegas Metro Police records regarding the Crazy Horse. Even an NBC
Dateline news crew was recently denied access to records needed in
an upcoming episode about the alleged criminal activities surrounding Rizzolo.
The Stay is expected to last until Indictments are issued.
Also, tens of thousands of pages of sworn testimony have so far been
gathered by the Federal Grand Jury in Rizzolo's case, an investigation
that is rumored to have cost taxpayers over $4 million to date -- an unprecedented
expenditure that Ted Bommarito, I'm sure, believes
is "useless time and money," and Dana LaViolette
would certainly find "pathetic."
Who the "rats" may be in Rick Rizzolo's future are only speculation,
but some now believe that deals have been cut with persons in his most
inner
sanctum; once-loyal friends who will make the betrayal of John Gotti
pale in comparison.
To Ted and Dana's
obvious dismay, this poor imitation of John Gotti is about to reach
a crescendo, and when it does, it will definitely have
a profound effect on Las Vegas' "crime problem" and our "daily
lives."
Now, "does that make any sense" Mr. Bommarito?
Copyright © Steve Miller
email Steve Miller at: Stevemiller4lv@aol.com
