From Me Account?
What You Mean?
Kimtran Rizzolo -
October 12, 2011
Alfred E. Neuman - Mad Magazine
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
January 16, 2012
LAS VEGAS - Its as if her deposition answers
were inspired by Mad Magazine cover boy Alfred E. Neuman's iconic
philosophy; "What, Me Worry?"
On January 2, 2012, United States Magistrate
Judge George Foley had heard enough gibberish from Kimtran Rizzolo, the
stepmother of convicted
racketeer Rick Rizzolo, and issued an
ORDER
in favor of beating
victim Kirk Henry.
In the thirteen page document, Judge Foley
ordered Kimtran to "provide full and complete responses"
in writing to all interrogatory questions about where she hid $1,052,006.03
dollars. The money was part of a court ordered $10 million dollar restitution
to be paid to Henry who suffered a broken neck and quadriplegia in 2001
after he disputed a padded bar tab at the Rizzolo family's former Crazy
Horse Too strip club.
Henry initially sued Rick Rizzolo and his
corporation The Power Company, Inc. Fearing a judgment in Henry's
favor, the Rizzolos staged a "sham"
divorce, began mortgaging
properties, and transferred all their liquid assets off shore.
Following her divorce
in 2005, Lisa
Rizzolo lied on her 2005, 2006, and 2007 tax returns stating she had
no interest in any financial account in a foreign country. She has not
yet been prosecuted, and there is no Statute of Limitation for filing falsified
IRS tax forms. (Sec.
301.6501(c)-1 Exceptions to general period of limitations on assessment
and collection (a) False return. In the case of a false
or fraudulent return with intent to evade any tax, the tax may be assessed,
or a proceeding in court for the collection of such tax may be
begun without assessment, at any time after such false or fraudulent
return is filed.)
In the meantime, Rick invested questionable
funds in a Philadelphia strip club that was later sold. His share of the
sale proceeds was $3 million which he willfully neglected to report to
the IRS, Federal Court, the Henrys, or his parole officer. This landed
him back in prison until June 2012.
Rick Rizzolo served only 10 months of his
first 366-day prison term after being sentenced in 2006 for tax evasion.
Until the January 2012 Court Order was
issued, Kimtran blamed her lack of language skill for evading all questions
as to where she stashed the money transferred to her account by Rick's
partner
Philadelphia
new car dealer Vince Piazza, and the names of her local co-conspirators.
It is speculated that Rick Rizzolo from his cell in the Taft, California
Federal Prison directed Kimtran on how to evade answering questions regarding
the whereabouts of his money, i.e., pretend to not speak or understand
English. It's also alleged that Rick's ex-wife Lisa Rizzolo is conspiring
with him and Kimtran to swindle the money from Kirk Henry and the IRS.
Based on this information, Henry later
added Lisa to his Defendant's list because the violence
plagued Crazy Horse Too was the couple's community property in October
2001 when he was attacked and robbed. Henry also included Kimtran who is
suspected of perpetuating a hoax to hide and launder her extended family's
ill-gotten assets.
(Nevada is a community property state.
Throughout their 27 year marriage, Lisa squandered money derived from Rick's
racketeering.)
On pages 3 and 5 of his Order, Judge Foley
explained:
Case
2:08-cv-00635-PMP -GWF Document 567 Filed 01/04/12 Page 3 of 13
"Plaintiffs
point out that despite the fact that the deposition was taken over a month
after the written discovery requests were served on her attorney, Kimtran
testified that she did not recall ever seeing the discovery requests and
she had not been requested to gather any documents. Kimtran also indicated
at the beginning of the deposition that she had difficulty understanding
English. Plaintiffs’ counsel stated that he offered to have a translator
present for the deposition, but that Kimtran’s lawyer declined. Kimtran
thereafter responded to many questions by stating that she did not understand,
did not recall or did not know the answer. Although Kimtran was
born in Vietnam, she has resided in the United States since approximately
1980. She worked for many years as a manicurist and owned her own shop.
When confronted with a contradiction or inconsistency in her answers, Kimtran
was apparently able to understand and attempt to correct her previous responses.
During the deposition Kimtran also testified that she felt dizzy and was
not feeling well, but did not wish to postpone the deposition to another
day."
Case
2:08-cv-00635-PMP -GWF Document 567 Filed 01/04/12 Page 5 of 13
"During
her deposition, Defendant claimed to have difficulty understanding the
English language and she repeatedly responded to questions by stating that
she did not understand, did not remember or did not know. Plaintiffs have
not moved to compel Kimtran to provide more responsive deposition answers.
Based on her real or feigned inability to understand the English language,
and lack of recollection, a further deposition may not be useful. There
is no legitimate reason, however, why Defendant Kimtran Rizzolo cannot
provide full and complete responses to Plaintiffs’ written discovery requests
with the assistance of her counsel and an interpreter, if necessary."
Here's a page showing some of the incoherent
answers Kimtran gave during her October 12, 2001 deposition:
After
the deposition, Kimtran's highly respected criminal defense attorney Herb
Sachs (left) complained:
1. Kirk Henry's attorneys didn't give Kimtran
adequate time to answer their questions.
2. The government screwed up the value
of the Rizzolo's former strip club by not operating it, and Henry should
have attached and sold the club (to a Rizzolo
straw man?) before the government seized the property.
3. The purpose of the deposition was solely
to harass Kimtran.
4. Kimtran's late husband's Last Will and
Testament was executed in 1999, "much prior" to him (secretly) receiving
(a third of) the proceeds from the sale of the Philadelphia Crazy Horse
Too.
5. Kimtran and Rick Rizzolo did not communicate
about the Philly Crazy Horse Too sale at any time.
6. Any harm allegedly suffered by Henry
was caused by its own actions.
7. Any harm allegedly suffered by Henry
was caused by persons, firms or corporations other than Kimtran. (She didn't
personally break Kirk Henry's neck, so let her keep his restitution money!)
It's as if Kimtran and Mr. Sachs were coached
by Rick Rizzolo himself, even though the Federal Court issued an ORDER
on October 27, 2011 clearly stating: "Defendant
Rick Rizzolo shall not take any action, directly or indirectly or through
any agents or anyone else acting on his behalf, to hinder the payments
of the funds being held for or due Lions Limited Partnership to Kirk and
Amy Henry in partial satisfaction of his restitution obligation to them."
What has become a mounting embarrassment
to the U.S. Federal Court in Las Vegas is now the subject of an international
forum involving legitimate asset protection attorneys.
Jay Adkisson is an attorney and writer
living in Newport Beach, California, and a partner in the RISER
ADKISSON LLP law firm. Nationally known as a leading critic of abusive
asset protection and offshore strategies, Jay is the author, along
with Chris Riser, of "Asset Protection: Concepts and Strategies" (McGraw-Hill,
2004).
A popular speaker, author and contributing
writer to Forbes,
Jay
regularly speaks to professional groups and associations about the ethics
and morality of asset protection planning, and the need for such planning
to be fully disclosed and legal.
Because of his disdain for abusive asset
protection and offshore strategies, Adkisson has taken particular interest
in the Rizzolo case, and those who Rizzolo paid to put his off shore trust
in place.
In
Adkisson's recent blogs: "Rizzolo:
Fraudulent Transferee Required To Fully Answer Questions About Receiving
Assets From Debtor And Where Those Assets Went -- How
A Creditor Can Make A Fraudulent Transferee Utterly Miserable,"
and, "Rizzolo:
Offshore Trustee Not A Necessary Party," Adkisson and other legitimate
attorneys write about the fraudulent transfer of Rick Rizzolo's ill-gotten
assets to his stepmother and ex-wife, while discussing the trust
company and "sleaziest
of asset protection planners" who set up the Rizzolo's off shore
trusts in 2005 and 2006 while Rick's criminal activities were making front
page news that could not be ignored by his LV "asset protection
planner."
"Here,
the Court orders Kimtran Rizzolo to fully answer written interrogatories
as to the whereabouts of assets, and is an excellent example of what creditors
look for in chasing fraudulent transfers, as well as making totally miserable
anybody who assists the debtor in hiding assets. At the end, the Court
does not sanction Kimtran Rizzolo, but threatens that sanctions will be
next unless she fully responds."
So far, the U.S.
Federal Court has almost completely agreed with Kirk Henry's attorneys
who on December 19, 2011 filed a MOTION
with the Court that included the following request for summary judgment:
Case 2:08-cv-00635-PMP -GWF Document
563 Filed 12/19/11
"Rick Rizzolo's fraudulent scheme
to defraud Plaintiffs out of the money from the Philadelphia sale involved
his father, Bart Rizzolo, and stepmother, Kimtran Rizzolo. Moreover, his
wife, Lisa Rizzolo played a substantial role in arranging the transfer
of proceeds to Kimtran Rizzolo after her husband's death. To be sure, Defendant's
familial conspiracy to assist Rick Rizzolo's evasion of his legal obligations
is an important factor when establishing fraudulent intent under the UFTA
(Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act).
Accordingly, it is respectfully
requested that this Court grant summary judgment to Plaintiffs Kirk and
Amy Henry in the amount of $1,052,006.03. This sum represents the total
amount of money that Rick Rizzolo fraudulently transferred to Bart and
Kimtran Rizzolo in order to conceal assets from Plaintiffs and frustrate
the recovery of the debt owed to them. All of these funds derive from Rick
Rizzolo's surreptitious sale of his interest in TEZ Real Estate (Philadelphia
Crazy Horse Too) and therefore rightfully belong to Plaintiffs."
The Court is currently considering Henry's
summary judgment request, but has also generously allowed Kimtran time
to complete her written interrogatory answers preparatory to the Court's
decision. If she's truthful, the Court may excuse her previous evasive
tactics. If not, she stands to be cited for criminal contempt.
Putting her in further legal peril, it's
been confirmed that Kimtran personally paid Rick Rizzolo's attorneys (below)
hundreds of thousands of dollars on his behalf.
.
.
.
Dominic Gentile, Paola Armeni, Margaret Lambrose, Tony Sgro, John Dawson,
Dean Patti
According to Judge Foley:
Case
2:08-cv-00635-PMP -GWF Document 567 Filed 01/04/12 Page 9 of 13
"Request
for Production No. 17 asked Defendant to '[p]roduce documents which record,
reflect, refer or relate to the payment of legal bills, restitution of
any other debts, liabilities or financial obligations on behalf of Rick
Rizzolo since January 1, 1995.' Defendant responded to this requests by
referring to her response to Request No. 13 in which she stated: 'No documents
are in possession of Defendant.' Unless Defendant paid Rick Rizzolo’s attorney's
fees in cash and received no receipt, there should be documents in Defendant's
possession, custody or control, such as canceled checks, bank statements,
or receipts reflecting such payments. There may also be other documents
concerning the payment of the fees or the alleged underlying debt obligation.
Because there is no reasonable assurance that Defendant has made a diligent
effort to locate responsive documents in her possession, custody or control,
there is also no reason to believe that such documents do not exist or
that Defendant cannot produce them. Defendant is ordered to supplement
her response to Request No. 17 and produce any and all documents in her
possession, custody or control that are within the scope of this request."
Up until their deadline of January 13,
2012, Mr. Sachs and his client were supposedly burning the midnight oil
striving to comply with the Court's Order and provide "full
and complete" written answers to Kirk Henry's long ignored interrogatory
questions.
They should have especially taken note
of the following caution Judge Foley issued regarding their last chance
to file a complete response:
Case
2:08-cv-00635-PMP -GWF Document 567 Filed 01/04/12 Page 5 of 13
"The
Court cautions Defendant Kimtran Rizzolo that if she fails to comply with
this order, she may be subject to appropriate sanctions under Rule 37(b)(2),
which
can include a citation for contempt of court (emphasis added)."
Herb
Sachs (left) did not gain his reputation by defending Alfred E. Neuman
type clients. He really has his hands full continuing to represent Kimtran
in Henry's UFTA (Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Action) lawsuit, and what
has clearly become an eleventh hour effort to keep her from being charged
with criminal contempt. And if she refuses to provide "full
and complete" responses to Henry's interrogatory questions, even
a lawyer as experienced as Sachs won't be able to help her.
INSIDE VEGAS will monitor the Federal Court
to learn whether Kimtran filed "full and complete"
responses before last Friday's deadline, or if the deadline was extended.
Will Kimtran and Lisa Rizzolo soon become
examples of, in Jay Adkisson's words, what creditors
look for in "...making totally miserable anybody who assists the
debtor in hiding assets?"
Is Rick Rizzolo hiding behind his ex-wife
and stepmother's
skirt
tails? And if so, will the women get stuck paying for his actions
after Rick's June 12, 2012 release when he's expected to resume
partying like a rock star?
The Federal
Correctional Institution (FCI) in Dublin, California, is a low security
facility housing female offenders. FCI Dublin is located 20 miles southeast
of Oakland.
