Sunday, November 03, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

COLUMN: John L. Smith

Crazy Horse Too owner may wish criminal investigation was less civil

Kirk Henry suffered the fractured spine, but these days his lawsuit is giving Crazy Horse Too topless cabaret owner Rick Rizzolo a different sort of pain.

Only days after Rizzolo's attorneys sought access to Metro's criminal investigation into the circumstances of Henry's broken neck outside the Industrial Road club in September 2001, they have shifted directions and now are trying to have the lawsuit indefinitely postponed. In court documents filed last week, Rizzolo's lawyers acknowledge the presence of a criminal investigation by Metro and the FBI as well as a federal grand jury.

A light bulb obviously has clicked on in Rizzolo's camp, which now appears to appreciate that the liberal civil deposition and discovery process might haunt them in a criminal investigation. Not to mention the fact the lawsuit figures to hamstring Rizzolo's generous political activity.

The chief of the Crazy Horse heaps contributions each election cycle upon candidates and judges at every level. Now, he's forced to answer deposition questions about his relationship with reputed organized crime figures Vincent Faraci, Fred Pascente, Joey Cusumano, Chris Petti and others. Pascente, Cusumano and Petti are members of Nevada's casino Black Book. Then, there is Crazy Horse Too employee Rocco Lombardo, brother of longtime Chicago Outfit man and former Las Vegas casino skim figure Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo.

Any more wiseguys in his life and Rick Rizzolo will get his own HBO series.

Although he's hardly the first topless mogul to have notorious pals, the fact so many have been mentioned as part of a civil battery suit must stoke his curiosity about the depth of that criminal investigation. In a motion for a protective order, Rizzolo attorney Daniel Carvalho admits the thought is crossing the defendant's mind.

Maybe it was the fact that during one deposition former FBI Special Agent James Perry was "assisting" the plaintiff or the line of questioning. Carvalho wrote that the deposition included "lengthy interrogation of Mr. Rizzolo regarding his knowledge of, or association with persons completely unrelated to this civil matter. ... How these questions could be reasonably calculated to the discovery of admissible evidence in a civil battery case was of concern to civil defense counsel. The defendant has no idea whether there is a mutual sharing of information between criminal and civil prosecutors of the subject matter."

In technical legal parlance, that last sentence is what is known as crap.

In their hearts, at least, Carvalho and co-counsel Tony Sgro and Dean Patti know precisely why Faraci, Pascente and the rest are floating in depositions conducted by plaintiff's lawyers Don Campbell and Stan Hunterton (both former federal organized crime prosecutors). Simply, to muddy Rizzolo. From the looks of the company they allege he keeps, he appears to need no help in that regard.

According to Carvalho's filing, the defense became aware of an ongoing federal grand jury investigation during the Oct. 22 deposition of a Clark County firefighter. The firefighter had arrived at the Crazy Horse Too on Sept. 20, 2001, and discovered Henry in the parking area suffering from an apparent broken neck. Henry's lawyers say the injury occurred after a dispute over an $80 bar bill.

But all of this only further complicates Rizzolo's generous relationship with the community's politicians and judges. Big campaign contributors often are scrutinized, but sooner or later the ones associated with mob guys get too hot for even asbestos-handed officials to handle.

It's equally clear that the civil suit was a heaven-sent gift to the police detectives and FBI agents working the criminal side. Potentially, the civil case takes the doors to the inner workings of the Crazy Horse Too off their hinges and raises questions about whether so many men with suspect backgrounds are conducting criminal activity.

It doesn't yet add up to an indictment, but it's more than enough to give Rizzolo a real pain in the neck.

John L. Smith's column appears Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 383-0295.