New evidence may surface in Binion case
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
April 7, 2003
Bob Stupak was notably the best friend of former Horseshoe owners Jack and Ted Binion. Stupak was a regular in the Horseshoe poker room during the Binion's proprietorship, but he and a number of other high rollers stopped gambling at the casino following the hostile takeover of the club by Jack and Ted's sister Becky, her son Benny, and husband Nick Behnen.

Looking For Love In All The Wrong Places
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
  March 31, 2003
Sin City Mayor Oscar Goodman, a former mob lawyer, is currently running for reelection against token opposition. After his guaranteed victory, he's expected to have a tumultuous second term because of information beginning to surface regarding his refusal to disassociate from his past mob clients. On March 28, Goodman's past came back to haunt him in the form of a statement made by a member of the Nevada Gaming Commission. The statement was printed in the Las Vegas Review Journal:  "Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman's decision to host at his home a mob associate banned from Nevada's casinos
'is an embarrassment to the state, an embarrassment for Las Vegas and an embarrassment for gaming,' one outraged gaming regulator said."

Hypocrisy - Sin City Style
Connecting the Dots
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
 March 24, 2003
McDonald's troubles were at their peak the year before Goodman was elected. At the time, McDonald was being sheltered by Goodman's predecessor, Jan Jones, who was often spotted at Rizzolo's Vegas and Newport Beach estates. As soon as Goodman was sworn in, the rivalry between him and McDonald began. McDonald was immediately removed by Goodman from two prime appointments including mayor pro tem. With this action, Rizzolo's influence on the council began to wane. A peacemaker, someone respected by both Goodman and McDonald, needed to step in so "business as usual" could continue at city hall. This brings us to the present day, and the unexpected political campaign sign on the mayor's front lawn.

The Little Train That Couldn't
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
March 17, 2003
There was no interest on the part of the leaders of the Strip casinos in having any possible convenient means of travel offered to tourists wanting to go from the Strip into downtown. Then and now the only way for a Strip based tourist to go downtown is either on a crowded public bus, or pay $25 for a round trip taxi ride. In 1987, the Transrapid representatives continued to
grow restless. Several of them expressed their utter dismay at the weakness being shown by those who they thought were elected to represent the best interests of the citizens of Las Vegas, not just the interests of moneyed Strip casinos.

Conflicting Opinions
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
March 10, 2003
LAS VEGAS - On March 3, 2003, Clark County District Court Judge Jackie Glass denied a Motion to stay progress in an Attempted Murder trial brought against the Crazy Horse Too topless bar in Las Vegas and its purported owner Frederick "Rick" Rizzolo. The Defendant's attorney unsuccessfully argued that because there is an on-going federal criminal investigation of his client, and that he cannot get documents from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to prepare his defense, the court should temporarily stop the proceedings.

Bad Judgment
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
February 24, 2003
At a time when the Defendants in a case under his jurisdiction are actively seeking an appeal before the Nevada Supreme Court, and knowing the possibility that the Court will remand the case back to his court for further judicial review, Judge Bonaventure should have been acutely aware that it would be totally improper for him to participate in the promotion of a book about the case. Therefore, he, his Law Clerk, and the Prosecutors should have absolutely refused to accept an invitation to appear at the promotional gathering, and especially should have refused to participate in the undignified act of personally autographing and subsequently promoting the sale of a book that demonizes through the alleged description of illicit sexual acts the Defendants in a case that is still active in his court.

80 Feds Raid Mobbed Up Boob Bar
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
February 24, 2003
Then instead of bringing pressure on Rizzolo to stop the violence, Goodman sponsored a custom designed ordinance to allow his bar to expand; allowed city engineers to design a taxpayer funded turn lane and driveway into the proposed new bar; and legalized employment of teenage strippers at city topless bars after the county outlawed them. The Crazy Horse is located within the city limits. Most other adult businesses are in the county. The Mayor's decision gave Rizzolo a competitive advantage as teenage strippers are a big Sin City attraction. In the meantime, Goodman's campaign manager and advisor Tom Letizia served double duty as Public Relations Director and apologist for the Crazy Horse Too, while his uncle Tony Letizia, an official with the Nevada Department of Transportation, was suspected of assisting his nephew in planning for a publicly funded turn lane and driveway into Rizzolo's dream bar.

$5,000 Horseshoe chip may be a clue if new trial is ordered in the Ted Binion case
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
February 17, 2003
Last year, FBI documents surfaced that indicate the bureau once considered the possibility that people other than Murphy and Tabish could have been involved in the slaying of Ted Binion. An incident in 1996 attracted police attention when Benny Behnen was linked to a drive-by shooting outside Ted Binion's Palomino Lane home, the same house in which Binion was found dead Sept. 17, 1998. Though Binion named his nephew in a police report, he was not charged.

ALL ROADS WILL LEAD TO MOBBED-UP BOOB BAR
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
February 10, 2003
Only in Vegas would government participate in a scheme to take a long-time private business - at taxpayer's expense – to benefit a mobbed-up topless bar. No wonder they call this Sin City!

VEGAS' NEWEST RACKET
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
February 3, 2003
"Coercion" is an act by a person or persons against the will or without the permission of another person with respect to his body or property. It means for someone to take, use, meddle with or otherwise do something to the body or property of another person without the permission or against the will of that person. This includes fraud and embezzlement and other indirect uses of force as well as direct physical violence.

What has Vegas become?
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
January 27, 2003
Like old Chicago, Las Vegas has always been mob run whether local citizens liked it or not. Lately, LV has reinvented itself as "Sin City" and started capitalizing openly on its sinister reputation . The mob has also reinvented itself into what - only here - looks like legitimate business. Replacing casinos as the once pilfered cash cows, many topless clubs are now the money laundries, dope dens, and hooker havens just as off limits to law enforcement as the casinos once were.

Justice – Vegas Style
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
January 20, 2003
Camille Fau had lost her husband, and her two pre-teen daughters had lost their father after he was involved in a violent altercation in a topless bar. Even the club bouncers admitted to breaking their hands during the August 4, 1995 episode that began a death scenario that later ended with Fau’s lifeless body being found next to railroad tracks behind the Crazy Horse. It was now to be the responsibility of a jury in a poorly funded civil proceeding to decide whether the initial altercation had anything to do with Fau's death a few hours after he left the club.

Mobbed-up Vegas Bar Hits Barrier
Expansion Plans Stymied by Long-Standing Garage Lease
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
January 13, 2003
In his purchase agreement, Rizzolo initialed a page that clearly stated he would honor existing leases including Barrier's. However, by his actions it appears Rizzolo was ill-advised and thought he could evict the garage owner immediately upon taking possession. Before the ink dried on the purchase agreement, Rizzolo's attorney Dean Patti was busy trying to evict Barrier. To Patti's dismay, Barrier's attorney Gus Flangas easily convinced a judge that his client's lease was in good standing.

The New Vegas Mob?
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
January 6, 2003
While the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and the Nevada Resort Association preach that the Mob is long-gone from the Vegas scene, a new version is emerging that is making the mobsters of old spin in their graves. Some base their operations in Newport Beach, California and allegedly control their Nevada holdings from booths in a Vegas owned eatery in the Fashion Island shopping center. The transplanted Vegans feel safe in their nooks, but their conversations are often overheard. The Vegas expatriate's crimes of choice? Money laundering, extortion, coercion, robbery, battery, credit card fraud, dope sales and prostitution, - crimes that the Old Mob scorned.

Another Example of Nevada’s Double Standard
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
December 30, 2002
In May 1997, The late Ted Binion lost his Nevada gaming license for, among other things, the "associations" he had with several ex-cons. NRS (Nevada Revised Statute) 463.170 - Qualifications for license, finding of suitability or approval states: "The commission (must be) satisfied that the applicant is: (a) A person of good character, honesty and integrity; (b) A person whose prior activities, criminal record, if any, reputation, habits and associations do not pose a threat to the public interest of this state or to the effective regulation and control of gaming...." Meanwhile, Steve Wynn, in 1997, while testifying in the WYNN v. BARRICADE BOOKS libel trial, admitted that he was logged-in visiting Michael Milken at the Nellis Federal Prison on 57 occasions during the early 1990s.

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

Las Vegas TV News Exposes Rizzolo's Mob Connections
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
December 16, 2002
The story of the "Pattern of violence" at the Crazy Horse will break nationally in January, but before it does, investigative reporter Glen Meek of KVBC TV News, the top rated news station in Las Vegas, lent his many years of experience to further developing the Crazy Horse story. Below are Glen's findings as told to his vast TV audience in a two-part series on November 22. His report can also be seen on KVBC TV's website via Streaming Video.

Tit for Tat
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
December 9, 2002
              "There's no prostitution taking place, and if there was, they should arrest them, not make some big fuss as to what some 18-year-old girl is doing to make a living." "I think anything that's legal should be here."  "When you're 18, you're allowed to die for your country, so why can't some young lady or young man perform?" - Mayor Oscar Goodman

An Open Letter to Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman
A Must Read
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
December 3, 2002
Streaming Video #1.
Streaming Video # 2.
On Thursday, November 21, I sent a letter to Mayor Oscar Goodman asking him to look into public safety related issues at a local business. The mayor did not respond. Based on subsequent statistics made available by KVBC TV News, I hereby resubmit an updated version of my letter to Mayor Goodman, this time in open form for all to see. I sincerely hope his actions will speak louder than his words.

Rizzolo Explains What Happened
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
November 25, 2002
On September 20, 2001, Kansas resident Kirk Henry allegedly had his neck broken by a bouncer at the Crazy Horse Too topless bar, 2476 Industrial Rd. On October 2, 2001, Henry sued the Crazy Horse and its’ owner, Frederick "Rick" Rizzolo, for Attempted Murder. The case was assigned to Clark County District Court Judge Jeffery Sobel. On March 14, 2002, less than six months after Sobel was assigned the Henry case, Rizzolo wrote a check for $5,000 to Judge Sobel’s campaign committee. On September 27, 2002, Rizzolo gave Sobel another $5,000 making him the judge’s biggest campaign contributor. Even though Rizzolo was a Defendant in his court, Sobel evidently had no problem accepting his $10,000 largesse.

Judge Saitta Holds Key to Justice in the Fau Wrongful Death Trial - January 6
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
November 18, 2002
Scott David Fau walked into the Crazy Horse Too, 2476 Industrial Rd., on August 4, 1995. Several hours later, his lifeless, beaten body was found next to the railroad tracks behind the topless club.On July 30, 1997, Las Vegas attorney Randall Pike on behalf of the victim's wife Camille and his two daughters Francesca and Nicole, filed a Wrongful Death lawsuit against the nightclub and its owner, Frederick "Rick" Rizzolo, claiming that Fau "surely must have consciously experienced the terror of his own imminent death" at the hands of the club's employees "who demonstrated malicious, lethal intent."

300 Pound Bouncer to be Tried for Battery
9 Beatings Reported - "Pattern of Violence Continues"
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
November 11, 2002
A 300-pound, 6' 1" man employed as a bouncer at the Crazy Horse Too topless bar, 2476 Industrial Rd. is scheduled to be tried January 29 in Municipal Court on two assault and battery charges. Maurice "Mo" McKenna, 41, was cited but not taken into custody on May 30, 2002, for the alleged beating of Scottsdale, Arizona tourist Michael Silverman. This was the second citation McKenna has recently received for allegedly beating Crazy Horse Too patrons.

Sgro Complains About Miller's "Inaccuracies"
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
November 6, 2002
In a defamation lawsuit pending against the Las Vegas Tribune, Tony Sgro, attorney for Crazy Horse Too topless bar owner Frederick "Rick" Rizzolo, on October 10 wrote: "Virtually every week, Mr. Miller writes an article in the Tribune, and posts that article on his website, disparaging Mr. Rizzolo. On some ambitious weeks, he writes two or three of these articles. I understand the importance of a free press. Mr. Miller is certainly entitled to his opinion and he is entitled to express that opinion in print. What Mr. Rizzolo has always objected to is not Mr. Miller’s negative opinions of him, but of the weekly misstatements of fact. In the hundreds of articles written by Mr. Miller about Mr. Rizzolo over the years, one would be hard pressed to find a single one that was not replete with inaccuracies."

The New - Old Racket
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
October 23, 2002
There was a time in Vegas history when people had to buy a job as a lowly bellman. Some paid bell captains as much as $5,000 for a position in a Strip hotel. The reason? Because the job was so lucrative. Bellmen were known as being the link between hotel patrons and call girls. The kickbacks were legendary. Their activity had little or no effect on average Las Vegas citizens. Now, a new job classification has emerged that has extraordinary profit potential. Who would believe that the humble cab driver would be next to reap a windfall?

Rapuano Granted Liquor License by Council - Alleged Mob Ties Ignored
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
October 14, 2002
Instead of looking into and trying to correct the well publicized problems at the nightclub, Goodman sponsored an ordinance to allow the Crazy Horse to expand within 1,000 feet of another adult business, a practice previously prohibited by city ordinance. Then, most recently, Goodman voted to grant a liquor license to Rapuano.

Rizzolo’s Trials Loom - DA Averts Prosecution
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
October 2, 2002
At sunrise on Thursday, September 20, 2001, two bouncers reportedly threw a young tourist out of the Crazy Horse Too topless bar at 2476 Industrial Road. The bouncers allegedly beat the man in front of the bar, robbed him of $88 dollars and left one dollar in his wallet. Then the unspeakable happened. One of the bouncers allegedly grabbed the man and snapped his neck severing his spinal cord. Today, Kansas resident Kirk Henry is a quadriplegic.

When Suspicions First Arose
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
September 30, 2002
...the county should heed Sen. Bill O'Donnell's suggestion and install a printer on each voting machine. That way the voter could review the printout of his or her ballot and deposit it in a locked box next to the voting machine in the event it was needed for a physical recount to verify the results of the electronic ballots.

Attorneys for Tabish file Motion for Writ of Mandamus in Fed Court
Names of others surface as possible killers
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
September 21, 2002
Since the highly publicized trial that convicted Tabish and Murphy of first degree murder, DA prosecutors David Roger and David Wall are both running for higher office. Meanwhile, Judge Bonaventure is being considered for a part on a TV program. Courthouse observers speculate that Judge Bonaventure is avoiding ruling on the five exculpatory evidence motions as a favor to Roger and Wall who are using their court victory as a basis for their campaigns and could be damaged politically if new evidence surfaces before election day.

Las Vegas’ Seamy Underside
INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmericanMafia.com
September 16, 2002
"That Black Woman!" These are the words used by Freddie Glusman to describe Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald in an October 2000 Las Vegas Metropolitan police report. Last week, Glusman was named "Las Vegas Citizen of the Month" by the City Council. Some background: When detectives went to Glusman's Piero's Restaurant on October 18, 2000, to investigate criminal charges against Councilman Mike McDonald that also involved Rick Rizzolo and his attorney Dean Patti, they were reportedly berated by Glusman.

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