Top Cop calls Rizzolo person of "ill repute," and "suspect"
Rizzolo
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
August 11, 2003
"He violated department policies prohibiting officers from accepting
gifts from suspects and consorting with persons of ill repute." -
Clark County Sheriff Bill Young on a police officer taking money from topless
bar owner
On Tuesday, August 5, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Internal Affairs
investigators ruled
that a 23 year veteran officer violated department policies prohibiting
officers from "accepting gifts from suspects" and "consorting
with persons of ill repute," when the officer accepted a "loan" of
$15,000 from embattled topless bar owner Frederick
"Rick" Rizzolo.
The money was allegedly loaned to Metro Sgt. Tom Keller in 1999, but
was not repaid until last month after Keller learned the FBI found records
of the transaction in Rizzolo`s desk during a February 20, combined FBI
and IRS raid of the Crazy Horse Too in Las Vegas. Rizzolo is a suspect
in an ongoing federal racketeering probe, and his bar has been the scene
of numerous acts of violence that have been ignored by local police and
the District Attorney, but sparked the FBI
investigation.
Keller said his wife, also a high level employee of Metro for the past
five years, was never aware of the money he received from Rizzolo. The
husband and wife receive combined yearly salaries of close to $190,000
from Metro.
Following discovery of the monetary transaction, the Sheriff last month
suspended Keller
for three weeks without pay and transferred him to the patrol division.
A police officer that requested anonymity made the following statement
in support of Keller:
"I've known Tom for a lot of years and never had a reason not to
trust him. He made a real bad decision in borrowing money from such a notorious
character as Rizzolo even if they were boyhood pals. This mistake has cost
him not only the loss of almost a month of pay and benefits, but a very
prestigious job as head of the cyber-crimes unit. With all his years of
experience and technical expertise, there was probably no one better qualified
for that position than Tom," stated the fellow officer.
The Sheriff had this to say:
"Some people would tell you there's nothing wrong with accepting
$15,000 from Rick Rizzolo, but cops are held to higher standards,"
said Sheriff Young, who along with Undersheriff Doug Gillespie set Keller's
punishment. "If Tom were in any other business, this would be a nonissue.
But I find it improper when a (police) employee takes a loan from someone
in a highly regulated, controversial business with no intention of paying
it back."
This is not the first time Rizzolo's name has been associated with questionable
activities involving police officers. Since the disclosure of Rizzolo's
possible gift to Keller, other stories have surfaced involving police officers
allegedly doing favors for Rizzolo.
Former Chicago police officer Fred
Pascente, a member of Nevada's infamous "Black
Book" of people excluded from state casinos, was arrested in 1999 at
McCarran International Airport after failing to register with police within
48 hours of arriving in town. At the time of his arrest, he was in the
company of Rizzolo who was escorting him to his flight. Pascente in 1994
was convicted of a felony for mail fraud and alleged mob ties. Pascente
left the Chicago police force in 1993 after the mail fraud but before his
felony conviction. He now works at the Crazy Horse
Too in Chicago, a business that is associated with Rizzolo.
Pascente
Former Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald, a Las Vegas police
officer when he was elected in 1995, was twice investigated but never charged
over his friendship with Rizzolo. McDonald resigned from the Police Department
in 1999 and lost his council seat earlier this year. While a councilman,
he was often accused of doing Rizzolo favors behind the scenes though he
abstained each time the bar owner came before the council.
McDonald
In 1998, Metro Internal Affairs investigated
an anonymous letter saying McDonald was allowed "to use his position
as a police officer" in connection with Rizzolo. "For obvious favors
received from Rizzolo, McDonald has his fellow officers target Little Darlings,
Club Exotica," the letter said. "McDonald is always at the Crazy
Horse on Industrial Road with Rizzolo. He is able to entertain his fellow
officers who target the other strip joints."
The charges in the letter were never substantiated though McDonald lived
rent-free for two years in a golf course villa owned by one of Rizzolo's
close associates, and was often scene entertaining off duty cops in the
VIP room of the topless bar.
In 2000, McDonald was investigated
for allegedly trying to aid Rizzolo in squelching two competitive adult
businesses.
McDonald appeared before the Clark County Commission to protest
the approval of Sapphire, a competitive gentleman's club, because of its
proximity to a Catholic Church located more than three miles away. Sapphire
gained approval despite McDonald's protest.
McDonald also took heat
for ordering city inspectors to work overtime re-measuring the distance
between the proposed site of another competitive adult venue, Treasures,
and a nearby elementary school. When the distance was found to be greater
than the minimum allowed, McDonald aided Rizzolo's sister, the Reverend,
Dr. Annette Patterson, in setting up a bogus
church across the street to kill the competitor's liquor license. Following
a series of news articles about the "pop up church," Rizzolo's sister
closed it down, and Treasures gained approval.
Patterson
Police department statistics indicate that the Crazy Horse received
165 police
calls in 1999, 239 in 2000, and 333 in 2001 - more police responses
than any other Vegas adult business. The Crazy Horse also recorded 9 assaults
and 6 robberies involving bar employees over a two-year-period, but curiously,
no arrests were made in any of these instances.
It has also been widely reported that local cops discourage
victims of violence from filing police reports against Crazy Horse employees.
Recently, there is the question of why City of Las Vegas Parking
Enforcement officers are conducting hourly patrols of the privately
owned Crazy Horse parking lot and selectively ticketing and ordering the
towing of vehicles belonging to patrons of Buffalo Jim Barrier who owns
an auto repair shop next door to the bar.
Barrier
Barrier is Rizzolo's chief nemesis. The auto shop owner photographed
and documented the time of injuries suffered on September 20, 2001, by
Kansas tourist Kirk
Henry. Barrier's photos, to Rizzolo's dismay, ended up on the front
page of a local paper. Henry was allegedly beaten by bar employees after
disputing a $90 bar tab. Henry's neck was broken in the incident that rendered
him a quadriplegic. A lawsuit is pending in District Court against Rizzolo
and his business, though police did not investigate, and no arrests were
ever made.
Henry
Several years ago, Rizzolo revealed plans
to expand his bar, but a long-term lease held by Barrier stands
in the way. The validity of the lease has twice been upheld in court
causing Rizzolo to look for other alternatives.
Since the expansion was put on hold, city Parking Enforcement officials
have been making it almost impossible for Barrier to make a living. In
the meantime, city and state officials with possible help from the mayor
and McDonald’s council
replacement are considering the use of eminent domain to remove Barrier
as a possible favor to Rizzolo.
One of Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman's former law firm's most lucrative
clients, Nevada Black Book member Joey
Cusumano, is a close associate of Rizzolo. Cusumano`s family also owned
the villa where former Councilman McDonald resided, and Goodman has been
criticized for inviting Cusumano to social events held at his home.
Cusumano
Now with the revelation that two longtime Sin City cops have possibly
been compromised, its not hard to imagine that Rizzolo, a man of "ill
repute," has possibly influenced many more yet-unnamed Vegas officials
in order to gain favors and remain immune from local law enforcement and
business license scrutiny.
This embarrassing situation is starting to make national news based
on the intervention of federal authorities that are investigating the obvious
malfeasance of Vegas officials regarding the generous
adult business owner. Reporters working on the story have said that what
has been reported so far is just the tip of the iceberg. At least one national
TV network news program is planning to expose Vegas' political corruption
focused on the Crazy Horse Too investigation.
Vegas, a gambling city, has flourished based on the trust of those who
visit here. Now, because of the self serving actions of several city and
police officials, that trust is beginning to wane.
Copyright © Steve Miller
email Steve Miller at: Stevemiller4lv@aol.com
