Vol. 3, No. 18
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July 15, 2006
Nevada's Online State News Journal
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Top News Story:
Are There Changes Ahead For Clark County's $kindustry?
Galardi On His Way To Prison With Rizzolo Not Too Far Behind
by Johnny Gunn
Cheetah's is gone and Mike Galardi is on his way to federal prison following guilty pleas in federal court in San Diego and Las Vegas for extortion, bribery of elected officials, and other crimes against those that pay their taxes. The guilty pleas led to fines from the Las Vegas City totaling more than $1 million. Along with bribery of Clark County officials, it is believed that Galardi also attempted to sway elections with the infusion of criminal funds. According to officials at the federal level, "no comment."
One other convicted felon member of the Clark County $kindustry, Rick Rizzolo was a known contributor to many area candidates and also a political supporter by way of fund raising. Rizzolo will soon be joining Galardi in federal prison following his guilty pleas in federal court. A part of his plea agreement was that he sell his Crazy Horse Too girlie joint. The city is contemplating closing the joint and fining Rizzolo along the same lines they did with Galardi and Cheetah's.
If the Crazy Horse Too is closed, the only thing Rizzolo would have to sell would be an empty building and there are lots of those in Clark County. They rarely bring what Rizzolo was fined ($17 million) by the court. If he can't pay the fine will that increase his prison time? There were others involved in the plea agreement, and it isn't known if their sentences are also based on the strip joint being sold.
The Las Vegas City Council decided at their July 12 meeting to hold disciplinary hearings in September on whether the license should be taken away or whether the club should be operated by other members of the Rizzolo family. The federal government has said they want that club open and operating otherwise, as pointed out there is nothing to sell. Following the September 6 hearing, fines of as much as $1 million could be levied on Rizzolo and the business.
There are other political and ethical questions that are being raised by the potential city action. Rizzolo has been a long time friend of members of La Cosa Nostra, the mob if you will, and a political supporter of Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman whose law firm represented members of the mob on a regular basis. Goodman's law group includes David Chesnoff who represents Rizzolo. Goodman has said recently he doesn't see a conflict of interest and that he will vote on whatever measure is brought to the council table. Rizzolo has bragged that he brought at least $40,000 to Goodman's mayoral campaign. At the July 12 council meeting Goodman again supported Rizzolo pointing out his "charity work."
National crime columnist Steve Miller, a former member of the Las Vegas City Council filed ethics violation charges against Goodman on July 10. The charges contend, in part, "In 2003 the owners of the Crazy Horse Too donated $40,000 to Mayor Goodman's uncontested reelection campaign. Since that time, the owners of the Crazy Horse Too have been convicted of racketeering and tax evasion, however Mayor Goodman has repeatedly refused to take action against their privileged license, once stating he would not do so in the middle of a federal investigation though one year earlier he brought the Crazy Horse Too's biggest competitor (Cheetah's) up on a show cause action while they were also under federal investigation."
Miller names Crazy Horse Too owners and employees along with Goodman Law Group member Chesnoff as "persons who might have knowledge of the facts and circumstances." Besides Rizzolo, Albert Rapuano and Vincent Faraci are named among those to be interviewed by the Ethics Commission. Miller cites specifically NRS 281.481(1) and NRS 281.481(2) in his complaint.
Among the fines that Rizzolo faces is one for $10 million to be paid to Kirk and Amy Henry. The money is to be paid upon sale of the Crazy Horse Too. Kirk Henry suffered a broken neck, reportedly inflicted by Rizzolo muscle when Henry argued about a credit card tab in the club.
Revocation of a license is seldom an issue, but because of the federal felony guilty pleas by Rizzolo and his top henchmen, Title 6.06B.110 of the city code demands a hearing. The code calls for a hearing if the owner or employees "committed an act for which the licensee is convicted or found guilty of a felony or any crime involving moral turpitude, fraud, deception, false pretenses ... or crimes related to racketeering." That just about covers the Rizzolo federal guilty plea. The same city code violations are what led to the $1 million fine and closure of Galardi's Cheetah's.
One problem the council and the federal government face is that the primary management people that might be available to run the Crazy Horse Too are all either convicted felons or under indictment for felonious activity. The FBI is supposedly keeping a close eye on the operation of the girlie joint that has had so many legal problems over the years. Some court cases dealing with patrons being physically assaulted are still pending in Clark County District Court, others are in federal court, and that one big fine to the Henry's hasn't been paid.
The Galardi trial brought to the surface just how much money the $kindustry in Clark County represents. Galardi said in court several times that he passed out hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash to various members of the Clark County Commission. Those revelations alone should have generated a call by the leaders in the county for a full grand jury investigation of the industry. There not only has not been such a demand for an investigation, there hasn't even been a whisper from the county's top law enforcement officials. The bribing of county officials, the revelations that the surface is just lightly pricked, the idea of officials and business people going to jail is apparently a non-issue in the city and county governments of southern Nevada.
It seems that corruption is a way of life in Clark County, that a mayor suggesting to nine-year-old fourth graders that gin is the answer to all ills, and that being a "known associate of mobsters" isn't something that needs clarification at the City Council Table. It doesn't have to be that way, but if the general population doesn't care, why should law enforcement?
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