Rick Porrello's - AmericanMafia.com - Steve Miller

Two court systems. Two standards of justice.

INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
September 21, 2009

.
Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass Dominic Rizzolo

LAS VEGAS - While convicted racketeer Rick Rizzolo waits to hear his fate at a Contempt of Court hearing scheduled for October 7, 2009 in United States Federal Court, his delinquent son Dominic was just granted a waiver of his twenty hours per month community service requirement by a Clark County District Court Judge nine months after she sentenced him to probation for an attempted murder.

Since 2001, Dominic's father Rick Rizzolo has been the subject of a convoluted civil law suit to collect $9 million dollars he agreed to pay beating victim Kirk Henry in exchange for a one year and one day prison sentence and supervised probation for three years. As a further part of his plea deal Rizzolo agreed he will never work in the adult entertainment industry again. However, after getting out of prison, Rizzolo welched on the $9 million, and he's a nightly fixture in several local strip clubs purportedly owned by former associates at Rizzolo's former topless bar the Crazy Horse Too.

The Henry case was first assigned to Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass, but languished in her court for years until it was transferred into United States Federal Court. Since then, progress has begun to be made to help Mr. Henry who was rendered a quadriplegic from his beating, receive his settlement.

Henry's neck was broken in October 2001 after he disputed an $88 bar tab at the Crazy Horse Too. The bar was later closed after the FBI discovered "35 to 40 beatings had occurred at Crazy Horse Too in three years," according to Las Vegas City Attorney Brad Jerbic.

When it comes to violence, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

On January 21, 2008, at approximately 10 PM, Dominic Rizzolo, 26, accompanied by an unidentified man and woman, drove to William Moyer's home in a dark colored SUV with the license place covered by a T-shirt.

Moyer, 26, told police he received a phone call earlier that evening asking if he was staying home? Fifteen minutes later, Dominic, in a premeditated extortion attempt, knocked at Moyer's door.

Moyer's mother answered and summoned her son. The two men conversed on the front lawn for several minutes until Rizzolo reportedly asked Moyer, "Do you know who my family is?" then demanded $20,000.

Moyer said he refused the demand and ordered Rizzolo off the property. Rizzolo hit him in the face. A fight ensued. Rizzolo pulled a switch blade knife and stabbed Moyer in the upper abdomen. The blade came within a half inch of Moyer's aorta. Rizzolo fled the scene.

After three hours of emergency surgery, and two days recovering in the intensive care unit of a local hospital, Moyer was released. He went home with a $20,780.00 medical bill for the life saving treatment he received.

(Click here to read William Moyer's complete hospital records.)

However, the medical bill was the least of Moyer's problems. He was left with a lingering fear that Dominic Rizzolo may someday return to finish the job.

Moyer filed charges, but Dominic was nowhere to be found. Six weeks later, he was arrested while hiding out at the home of a family friend. Within hours, $13,000 in bail was paid and he was back on the street.

Why should William Moyer still fear for his life? Because Dominic was not punished adequately for his crimes which police described as attempted murder, extortion, and carrying a concealed weapon. This, thanks to one of his father's friends on the Clark County District Court bench, Judge Jackie Glass, wife of Las Vegas City Councilman and criminal defense attorney Steve Wolfson -- a married couple with lofty political aspirations.

Dominic's only lesson in this case is that his parents have the political clout to get him off with a slap on the wrist in Nevada State Courts for any crime he may commit -- even something as serious as attempted murder!

The Rizzolos have a long established reputation for getting what they want in local courts, and those who aid them have an uncanny ability to rise to higher office.

In 1997, in response to a Wrongful Death lawsuit filed in state court against the Crazy Horse Too, Dominic's grandfather Bart Rizzolo told the Las Vegas Sun: "There has never been a suit filed that we haven't beaten and I'm hoping our record will stay that way."

The most glaring example of the Rizzolo's ability to corrupt politicians is current Nevada Supreme Court Justice Nancy Saitta. At one time when she was a local District Court Judge, she had five "randomly assigned" consecutive cases on her court's docket in which Rick Rizzolo was a party. Rizzolo prevailed in all the cases.

In 2002, Rizzolo along with lawyers Dean Patti and Tony Sgro hosted a fund raiser for Saitta at Piero's restaurant, a known mob hang out and a less-than-appropriate place for a judge to be seen. She was also seen attending parties at the Rizzolo's Canyon Gate Country Club estate, and was observed hugging and kissing her host while Rizzolo's cases were still pending in her court.

Saitta's questionable ethics inspired the Los Angeles Times to author the June 2006 story: "In Las Vegas, They're Playing With a Stacked Judicial Deck," and publish this less-than-flattering photo.

I believe that Jackie Glass is Nancy Saitta's protégé, and that Glass' husband will tap Rizzolo's cronies for cash in the next race for Mayor of Las Vegas, hence a quit quo pro in Dominic's case.

During Dominic's "trial," Clark County District Attorney David Roger, another Rizzolo stooge, did not call Moyer as a witness. In fact, Moyer was never interviewed by the DA between the time of the attempted murder and Dominic's sentencing!

There's no doubt that David Roger and Judge Glass obstructed justice in this case as a favor to Dominic's politically influential family. They let a potential murderer walk free, and because no lesson was learned, Dominic will probably succeed in taking the life of his next victim.

The above example explains why Kirk Henry's attorneys fought so hard to get their client's case out of Glass' local court and into the Federal Court system. Even though Henry's case was successfully transferred, Rick Rizzolo -- for obvious reasons -- filed multiple Motions to have it returned to Glass' court.

At the hearing held on September 15, 2009, Presiding U. S. District Judge Philip M. Pro denied fifteen Pro Se motions made by Rizzolo including several to have the case transferred back to Judge Glass, or to the local family court of Judge Steve Jones who signed the couple's divorce decree.

While the Kirk Henry case was in her jurisdiction, Glass stopped all Discovery into the whereabouts of Rick and Lisa Rizzolo's hidden assets.

When the couple divorced in June 2005, Judge Jones (shown in mug shot) ruled to let Rick transfer the bulk of his fortune to his ex-wife. She immediately mortgaged their three houses and transferred the proceeds along with millions in cash to off shore banks to avoid paying Kirk Henry and the IRS.

Only after the case was taken out of Glass' and Jones' state court jurisdiction were Henry's attorneys able to Depose Lisa Rizzolo and learn that the couple hid their ill-gotten assets in the Cook Islands with the help of the brother of another Federal Court Judge.

Judge Pro by his actions last Tuesday, displayed the stark difference between the legitimacy of the Federal Court system, and Nevada State Court system; the difference in the legitimacy of the two classes of judges; and the way moneyed litigants are treated in each jurisdiction. (State Court judges are elected. Federal Court judges are appointed for life.)

In this AmericanMafia.com photo by Mike Christ, a disappointed and frightened looking Rick Rizzolo is shown talking to mob lawyer Mark Hafer moments after all Rick and Lisa Rizzolo's Motions were denied in Federal Court.

During the ninety minute hearing, Judge Pro listened patiently to Hafer argue the Motions filed by Rizzolo and authored by his ghost writer James E. Kimsey, alias Spud (see Sept. 14, 2009, INSIDE VEGAS).

Judge Pro allowed Hafer of the prestigious law firm Patti & Sgro to temporarily represent Rizzolo, though Hafer told the court that in the event he was not allowed to speak, Rizzolo was prepared to present his own arguments.

Attorney Stan Hunterton representing Plaintiff Kirk Henry told the court that Hafer should not be allowed to participate "whenever he feels like it," but Judge Pro ruled that allowing a licensed attorney to one-time-only represent the Defendant would bring "clarity" to the proceedings.

Attorney Don Campbell who also represents Kirk Henry stated that Rick and Lisa Rizzolo have mislead the IRS, and "repeatedly lied" to the court in order to keep their fortune. That the Rizzolos have created two newly discovered legal entities; the "LMR Trust," and "RLR Trust" to further hide their ill-gotten assets from Henry and the IRS. (The Rizzolos owe the Internal Revenue Service over $7 million dollars in back taxes, fines, and interest.)

Before issuing Denials against all of Rick and Lisa's Motions, Judge Pro stated: "I reiterate my previous position," when asked to transfer Henry's case to Judge Glass' court, or to the Nevada Supreme Court where Justice Saitta is now seated. Judge Pro again told attorneys for the Defendants that their client's obligation to pay Henry is not dependent on the sale of the Crazy Horse Too name and property as was ordered by Glass. That the Rizzolos are personally responsible for paying their debts no matter whether the property sells or not.

Don Campbell informed the court that he and Hunterton are preparing Motions to hold Rick Rizzolo in Contempt for his refusal to cooperate during the Discovery portion of this case.

Judge Pro adjourned the hearing at 11:45 AM. The next day, to Rick Rizzolo's dismay, the following NOTICE OF HEARING was filed:

Seven years after Kirk Henry's neck was broken, Rick and Lisa Rizzolo's son Dominic pulled a switch blade and stuck it into a man he was trying to extort $20,000 from.

At last Tuesday's hearing in Jackie Glass's state court, Dominic was not even required to be present, but Judge Glass continued coddling the attempted murderer as a favor to his dad and the Rizzolo's criminal defense attorneys Dean Patti and Tony Sgro who supported her and her husband's political campaigns.

At Dominic's sentencing last January, Glass told Sgro: "If your client stays out of trouble, he can come back to this court in a year and ask that his crime be reduced from a Felony to a Misdemeanor."

In stark contrast to the treatment being given Dominic in state court, in July 2009, a Federal Judge compelled the Rizzolo's asset protection lawyer John Dawson of the prestigious law firm Lionel Sawyer & Collins to comply with Henry's subpoenas, and that his attorney-client privilege is similarly waived. Dawson was ordered to immediately turn over any documents he produced that helped the Rizzolos hide their assets in off shore accounts through his association with Southpac Offshore Planning Institute, and provide documents relating to transfers of cash to Rick Rizzolo that Dawson and Lisa Rizzolo authorized from those secret off shore accounts. It was soon discovered that Dawson and Lisa had secretly transferred at least $700,000.00 from the Cook Islands bank to Rick Rizzolo.

On October 7, the Federal Court will get another bite of this rotten apple. Hopefully it will send Rick Rizzolo back to prison, and recommend the United States Department of Justice proceed with the long overdue criminal indictment of Lisa Rizzolo for showing total Contempt for the Federal Court, beating victim Kirk Henry, and the Internal Revenue Service.

Otherwise, the Rizzolos will have succeeded in making a total mockery of the IRS, and our State and Federal Judicial systems.