By Steve Miller, AmericanMafia.com
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
LAS VEGAS - The Sin City legalcommunity is buzzing over garage owner Buffalo JimBarrier winning three motions in Clark County District Court lastThursday against his landlord, convicted racketeer RickRizzolo.
First; District CourtJudge Elizabeth Gonzalez agreedwith Barrier's attorney Kim D. Price that Federal stays had been ineffect that stalled Barrier'sharassment case for almost three years. She ruled thatNRCP 41(e), the five year rule, should be waived and Barrier'scase allowed to go to trial.
Second; Judge GonzalezdismissedRizzolo's defamationactionagainst Barrier. In September 2000, Rizzolo sued his next door neighborfor accusing the strip bar owner ofracketeering-- one of the charges Rizzolo pleaded guilty to last summer.
Third; Judge Gonzalez ordered that aWrit of Attachment be grantedagainst Rizzolo for $1 million dollars to be deposited immediately intoan interest bearing escrow account in the likely event Barrier wins attrial.
Afterreading a Purchase Agreement never meant for her eyes, Judge Gonzalezdetermined that Barrier may not be able to collect if he wins.Therefore, the judge made sure the funds would be available if and whenthey are needed.
Prior to last Thursday, in hisfive yearold harassment lawsuitagainst Rizzolo, Barrier had met with nothing butroad blocks.
His previousjudge Nancy M. Saitta sanctioned Barrier $4,500 for "wasting the time" ofRizzolo's attorneys. She did this after making the statement: "Mr.Rizzolo has a good name in the community." Saitta ordered Barrier topay the law firm of Patti & Sgro before leavingthe courtroom. Then she dismissed the racketeering portion of hissuit calling it "meritless."
In an effort to humiliate Barrier, he was forced to write Rizzolo'slawyers a check while she watched from her bench.
Her ruling and complimentary statement about Rizzolo inspired me to pentheAmericanMafia.com column "AJudge in Their Pocket," and share my Saitta files with the Los Angeles Times and FBI.
It was later discovered that Rizzolo was one of Saitta's heaviestcampaign contributors and that she enjoys a close personal relationshipwith him and his family.
Saitta is now a Justice on the Nevada SupremeCourt and was the subject of the June 2006 Los Angeles Times story JUICEVS. JUSTICE | A TIMES INVESTIGATION; "In Las Vegas, They're PlayingWith a Stacked Judicial Deck.Some judges routinely rule in cases involving friends, former clientsand business associates -- and in favor of lawyers who fill theircampaign coffers," by Michael J. Goodman and William C.Rempel.
Even with this baggage, she won election to higher office.
A complete turn of events tookplace last Thursday in Barrier's favor when Judge Gonzalez decided togrant the million dollar attachment after Rizzolo's attorney Mark Haferreluctantlytold the court that thesale agreement with Mike Signorelli fellthrough. After being questioned by the judge, Hafer said: "Signorellidid not perform. He was supposed to have put $38million into escrow by today but hasn't deposited one dollar. The dealwill not close. There is no imminent sale."
(Hafer changed his story the following day saying the deal was stillalive.)
Barrier's attorney remindedJudge Gonzalezthat Rizzolo had beenordered by the court to give his client ten days notice of any pendingsale, but he failed to so so possibly because the sale was fraudulenton its' face and Signorelli was nothing more than a straw man used tokeep the place open to buy Rizzolo timewith the city council and postpone his imprisonment.
To add fuel to the Signorelli - straw man fire, award winning Las Vegas Review-Journal columnistJohn L. Smith devoted his Sunday May 3 column to theRizzolo/Signorelliscam: "Informed sources confirm officials from the FBI, IRS and U.S.attorney's office are preparing to take over the Crazy Horse Too andliquidate it now that Rizzolo's thinly veiled attempt to sell thenotorious jiggle joint to suspected straw man Michael Signorelli hasturned into a bona fide belly laugh," Smith wrote.
"Despite a police report that linked Rizzolo to the new 'owner,' theCity Council voted in April to grant Signorelli a permanent liquorlicense for the Crazy Horse Too. Now the council looks like a bunch ofrubes..." "In light of the flimsy facts surrounding Signorelli'spersonal finances, that defense document is sure to be scrutinized forits truthfulness. And don't be surprised if you start hearing aboutpossible obstruction of justice charges in this case," stated Smith.
At the April council hearing, several FBI Special Agents sat in theback of the chambers watching, hence Smith's "obstruction of justice"observation.
Last Thursday in court,Rizzolo'sattorney argued unsuccessfullythat thereis no need for the million dollar Writ ofAttachment since his client still owns the club and will not betransferring title on June 30 as was previously stipulated in thepurchase agreement. His plea caused his client even more damage.
His amazing statement came several weeks after another sealed documentreached my hands. In this document filed under seal in Federal Court,Rizzolo attorney Tony Sgro also revealed that Rizzolo is still incharge of the Crazy Horse.
I sent the entire sealed document including the above statement to thecity council who previously ruled that Rick Rizzolo's ongoinginvolvement in the business was totally unacceptable. In fact, it wastheir own City Attorney Brad Jerbic who on Oct. 4 told the council: "Wewant a divorce from those who pleaded guilty and the operation andmanagement of this business."
But that didn't bother the council who did nothing even with fullknowledge that their orders are being violated. They were too timid toact. When a reporter asked Mayor Pro Tem Gary Reese about ongoingproblems at the Crazy Horse, he replied: "I don't go to those typeplaces."
And Thursday, Mr. Hafer toldthe court that thepurchase agreement was a sealeddocument and that an "impropriety" had occurred to allow it to beentered into evidence in the Barrier case.
I proudly published the CONFIDENTIALdocument prepared by Mayor OscarGoodman's law partner and protégé DavidChesnoff on May 22 in my INSIDERE-BRIEF. My missives are sent toevery attorney and reporter in Las Vegas.
If that's an impropriety, so be it.
Having heard enough, JudgeGonzalezorderedRizzolo who is presentlyincarcerated in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center toimmediately deposit$1 million into the escrow account for Barrier.
He's obviously still running the joint from his cell, so her order wasvery appropriate.
"The judge's ruling opens thedoorfor Mr. Barrier and I to travel to Californiaand conduct a videotaped deposition of Mr. Rizzolo in prison -- adepositionhe's been ducking for over five years," stated attorney Kim Price afterthehearing.
Leaving thecourtroom, Barrier was all smiles. "This was the kind of victory I'vebeen praying for. I can't wait until Rizzolo hears that he's got tofork out a million dollars. He'll probably choke on his bologna andcheese sandwich!"
The admission on the courtrecord thatthe sale of the Crazy HorseToo had fallen though triggers a receiver being placed toliquidate the business by June 30 according to separate rulings byJudge Pro and the city council.
It's doubtful the council will do anything with Goodman breathing downtheir necks, but Judge Pro is expected to take action within the nextthree weeks.
Judge Pro and the council didnotgive latitude for anyfurther extension of operation in the event theSignorelli deal fell through. Since no qualified buyer hassurfaced, and unless Mayor Oscar Goodman can pull a rabbit out ofhis hat as a favor to his law firm's former and presentclients, it's anticipated the business and real estatewill be auctioned off later this summer.
Furthermore, Mike Signorelli holds the only liquor license on theaddress. Though he was granted the license in only six weeks withoutrequired police investigations (an obvious favor from Oscar Goodman),it would take an ordinary citizen at least six months to apply for andbe granted a new license. In the meantime, the business must go dark.
Before Judge Gonzalez made her ruling, Rizzolo's attorney began to tellthecourt, "If the court wants to continue this punishment," but the judgeangrily cut him off before he could complete his sentence.
Her action reminded courtroom observers that Rizzolo has yet to paybeating victim Kirk Henry one penny of the $10 million dollars heagreed to in his plea agreement. Henry was rendered a quadriplegicaftera dispute with Crazy Horse bouncers over an $88 bar tab. I believe themisplaced word "punishment" inspired Judge Gonzalez to cut off Hafer'scommentthat he intended would cause sympathy for his incarcerated client.
Here are highlights from the agreement prepared by Goodmanand Chesnoff -- a document never shared withthe LV City Council and Judge Gonzalez (until I disclosed it), andwithheld from the Federal Court until after Rizzolo was sentenced inJune 2006. Note the paragraph about Confidentiality andPublicity:
The mob doesn't go down without a fight! Sources close to Rizzoloreport that he's planning to try to pullanotherfast one on the court and city council and exercise his supposedoption inParagraph 8.03 to grant Mike Signorelli an "extension" to obtain thefinances to purchase the topless bar-- finances that Signorelli has no way to obtain in his lifetimewithout Rizzolo's covert help.
I suspect that Fred Doumani Sr., one of Rizzolo's closestassociates, iswaiting in the wings to try to help Rizzolo et. al. He maytry to use his son Fred Jr. as a "Mr. Clean Face" to replaceSignorelli, but it would still bethe same gangrunning the joint if the council or Judge Pro goes along.
The Feds are fully aware another straw man may step up, and obstructionof justice charges could follow.
An extension of time or a new buyer was never agreed to byJudge Pro who wasnot privy to the latest Purchase Agreement until May 17. And had I notsent it to them last week, the citycouncil may have never have seen the secret document so they couldhave been duped into thinking Signorelli was ready to close the dealfor no money.
Rizzolo et. al. are desperate to remain in possession of the stripbarand continueskimming the nightly cash flow while the supposed "owner" sleeps inthe backoffice.
However, after today's column in the Review-Journal, that won't be aneasy task. The cat's out of the bag.
The city council are all afraid of offending Goodman and his lawpartners Jay Brown and David Chesnoff who are major political campaignfund raisers. But Judge Pro is independent of Goodman's influence andis expected to drop the hammer on Rizzolo by June 30.
In the meantime, a new attorney has vowedtore-open the wrongfuldeath case of Scott David Fau. Judge Nancy M. Saitta on threeoccasions dismissed the 1995 beating death case as a favor to Rizzolo,then after the Nevada Supreme Court was about to reverse herdecision, she acquiesced. But she wasn't through trying tohelp her friend get away with murder. At trial Saitta dutifullyadvised the jury to disregardblunt force trauma in their deliberationsbecause it took Mr. Fau three hours to die after being beaten byRizzolo's goons.The jury followed Saitta's instructions to the letter and Mr.Fau's wife and children received nothing. For her efforts, Rizzoloin 2006 helped her win election to the Nevada Supreme Court.
Rick Rizzolo and his lawyers lied to the City Council and US FederalCourt aboutthe sale of the Crazy Horse Too. Now its up to Judge Pro and the LasVegas City Council to proveJohn L. Smithwas wrongfor describing politicians as "rubes" and "suckers."
And if the Crazy Horse is closed down, I hope the Feds keep a close eyeon the property. I understand that Rizzolo has a generous insurancepolicy on the structure, contents, and loss of business earnings in theevent of a fire.
Frankly, I'd rather be attacked by a swarm of malaria-crazedmosquitoes have Miller and Barrier onmy case.- John L. Smith, LV Review-Journal, 07/27/05
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