Rick Porrello's - AmericanMafia.com - Steve Miller

Vegas markers are never forgotten
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
December 23, 2002

In 1998, I was invited to write a freelance weekly column on organized crime and political corruption for the fledgling Las Vegas Tribune. As a former Las Vegas City Councilman, and later as host of a syndicated talk radio program, I have always taken pleasure in reporting the often unethical dealings of Las Vegas' "Pillars of the Community." After a 5-year hiatus from reporting, I welcomed a chance to resume my exposés even if it meant they would only be published in a tiny weekly publication with a circulation of 10,000.

During the next 4 years I faithfully contributed dozens of front page Tribune stories including a series about the Crazy Horse Too, a local topless bar that seemed to be receiving political favors from the mayor and some city council members while at the same time letting its bouncers allegedly bash in the heads of customers who dared dispute their bill. The Tribune's circulation increased with each new story about the Crazy Horse. Many of the Tribune's stories went multimedia becoming lead stories on the six o'clock news.

When I began my series on the Crazy Horse in 1999, Tribune owner and "Editor in Chief" Rolando Larraz asked me to take it easy on two men who were associated with the topless bar: Joey Cusamano and Fred Doumani. He told me that both men had made him loans that he had not repaid. I complied with my publisher's wishes until Mr. Cusamano's name surfaced in connection with a story I was writing about his family owning a half-million-dollar Canyon Gate Golf Course villa lived in rent-free by a Las Vegas City Councilman. I broke the story on the Tribune's front page with my publisher's blessings.

The freeloading councilman, Mike McDonald, had been identified in several Tribune stories as doing favors for Crazy Horse owner Frederick "Rick" Rizzolo. It was also well known that Cusamano was Rizzolo's one-time business partner and current best friend. An intriguing story developed when the Sheriff said that police had reason to arrest McDonald on criminal misconduct charges concerning his involvement with Rizzolo.

I told my publisher that Cusamano was now an unavoidable part of my reports. He responded by publishing the following Editorial.

EDITORIAL
Las Vegas Tribune Editorial Board
June 19, 2002

We have the right to brag

After 911, many small businesses suffered, some even closed their doors. The Las Vegas Tribune like many other struggling enterprises was rightfully concerned for our humble newspaper's future. Then something unexpected happened.

Several of our loyal advertisers reduced or canceled their ad buys; however, other advertisers stepped up and took their place on our pages. We believe that the sudden support we received was in response to many people's concern that the Las Vegas Tribune remain in business for all the good we do.

Not only did we continue in business, we soon expanded from twelve to sixteen pages while our country slowly healed! Our classified section filled with Legal Notices thanks to many local attorneys who appreciate our free press, and numbers of small businesses placed card size ads throughout the rest of the paper to keep us afloat.

As we struggled to survive, some tried to take advantage of us assuming we were in dire straights. Not surprisingly, more than one local advertising agency tried to extort us with offers of new advertisers in exchange for being allowed to control some of our editorial content. We bravely refused their bribes and showed them the door. This newspaper would rather be history than succumb to such un-American practices.

The Las Vegas Tribune will never be the Wall Street Journal by any stretch of the imagination, but we are a proud and burly bunch that will fight to our dying breath to preserve our Constitutionally guaranteed right of freedom of the press.

We scoffed at feeble attempts to silence us. Last year when a topless joint owner tried to get a Gag Order to stop our ongoing coverage of violence at his place of business, the Tribune pre-wrote a front page story that would have violated the order had it been granted. While the judge was busy throwing out the order, our paper was being printed with a headline that would have put several of us in jail for contempt had she ruled the other way.

Thanks to the ACLU and the Editor of the RJ who showed up in court in support of the First Amendment, the judge had a quick change of heart. Freedom of the Press prevailed and we carried on our series of articles exposing a very dangerous situation and the political corruption that lets it continue undaunted.

Then something wonderful happened. The Tribune website succeeded in generating more "hits" per day than the Las Vegas Sun! We closely monitored the issues that received the most readership online and discovered that when we featured front-page stories about our nemesis, the topless bar owner, our website caught fire (not literally)! We know we have a tiger by the tail and today's front page again reflects our reader's desire for more information on this important subject.

Then, last week following another in Steve Miller's series on the Crazy Horse, KVBC TV, KTNV TV, KLAS TV, and Cox Cable News picked up our story and ran more than fifteen prime time TV news minutes expanding upon the issues that we broke on our front page. In fact, the Tribune's front page was pictured in the TV news stories. I guess we can't ask for a better accolade for our perseverance on this politically incorrect story.

In the meantime, two of the Tribune Editor in Chief's closest friends asked that we stop our "attacks" on their friend the topless bar owner and his politically connected associates. Though the men who approached Mr. Larraz are very influential local businessmen who are not known to make unreasonable requests, they remain in high esteem with Mr. Larraz.

He answered their requests with continued coverage of what he believes are issues that deserve to be exposed. Larraz explained that the Tribune was not "attacking" anyone, just doing its duty to report events that effect public safety. He also told his friends that the Tribune would have nothing to write about if their friend the bar owner protected the safety of his patrons.

It is unfortunate, but most Las Vegas news outlets are accustomed to being coerced by local movers and shakers. Most, when faced with "requests" from influential businessmen or advertising agency executives have succumbed to the pressure and either killed important but embarrassing stories about local, select people, or edited the content so as not to offend those who control the purse strings.

The Las Vegas Tribune will continue through hardship as is exemplified by the United States government. We, along with our nation, have proven that we are survivors under the harshest of circumstances.

We wish to take this opportunity to thank our loyal readers and advertisers, and make the following promise: The staff and management of this humble newspaper will continue to cover the important stories that the "mainstream media" shy away from, no matter the consequences.

We may never become rich with our brave endeavor, but we are the wealthiest newspaper in this valley because our reward is the knowledge that the Las Vegas Tribune is truly a free press.

Five months after the "We have the right to brag" Editorial, my news stories and exposés suddenly disappeared from the pages of the Tribune. In his November 20 column, the "Editor in Chief" gave this amazing rationale for my absence:

“I have asked him to avoid attacking or writing discriminatory articles about my friends Joey Cusumano, Fred Doumani, Oscar Goodman, and Judge Nancy Saitta... Steve does not give me the respect that I deserve... Steve does not want to listen to what I have to say... I am the one and only ruler in the Las Vegas Tribune and Steve Miller is not writing here anymore. My name is Rolando Larraz and this is My Point of View."

The Editorial, "We have the right to brag" temporarily distinguished the newspaper of the self proclaimed "ruler" as a brave free press in a heavily controlled media market. Then, without notice on November 20, after four years of courageous reporting, the Tribune cowered. All coverage of the paper's top story abruptly ended. The story that had elevated the paper to local prominence and credibility was no longer allowed to be told on its pages.

It's apparent that the remarkable little newspaper was transparently compromised by some very strange bedfellows, however the true story of the Crazy Horse; the alleged robberies, beatings, mob connections and political corruption, had already been told before the evident sellout occurred. It was too late. The story was out of my hands.

To my detractor's dismay, the Crazy Horse story can no longer be subjugated by simply calling in a marker or two from an under funded publisher. The Tribune's former top story now has wings! It has caught the attention of the national press and inspired a federal investigation. Consequently, the reports of robberies and beatings ceased - at least for a while.

Unfortunately, the drastic change in editorial policy at the heretofore stalwart Tribune proved that Vegas markers are never forgotten, and that this is still a small, unsophisticated town at heart - something many of us have known for a very long time.

email Steve Miller at: Stevemiller4lv@aol.com