Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

JOHN L. SMITH: Tough guy Bobby D'Apice may be in for fight of his life

In his world, Bobby D'Apice is known as a tough guy.

By reputation, he's someone who is good with his hands and is unafraid to mix it up. Such traits can come in handy when you're a shift manager at a topless cabaret, where customers sometimes get out of line after overdoing the firewater and skinny girls. At a muscular 6 feet tall and 215 pounds, he's capable of keeping the peace at the controversial Crazy Horse Too, the Industrial Road topless bar owned by Rick Rizzolo and currently under federal investigation.

D'Apice is plenty tough, all right, but these days the 50-year-old Brooklyn native finds himself tangling with an opponent out of his weight class: the FBI and IRS. He's at the center of what is shaping up as the first phase of an investigation into the club, Rizzolo and what authorities believe is a criminal history that rises to the level of racketeering.

Although the case has been exceedingly quiet in recent months, IRS and FBI agents were spotted Tuesday morning entering D'Apice's home at 2212 Marble Gorge Drive. A search warrant affidavit has been filed under seal by IRS criminal investigators.

Although Rizzolo's attorneys argue their client overpays his taxes and doesn't condone shorting Uncle Sam, I've long believed the IRS aspect of the federal investigation has held the most potential for trouble for the Crazy Horse Too crew.

Of all the members of the group, which includes reputed Bonanno crime family member and club manager Vincent Faraci, D'Apice appears the most vulnerable.

It's the tough guy stuff that has him in trouble.

Already a felon with convictions for battery on a police officer, possession of criminal tools, and carrying a concealed weapon, D'Apice is a key suspect in the Sept. 20, 2001, assault of Kansas City tourist Kirk Henry, who suffered a broken neck outside the Crazy Horse Too after a dispute involving a $66 bar tab. Henry has sued Rizzolo, D'Apice and others in connection with the incident, which Rizzolo attorney Tony Sgro denies occurred as alleged. Sgro, in fact, has asserted that a drunken Henry was the victim of his own clumsy feet, breaking his neck after stumbling into the parking lot.

Henry attorney Don Campbell contends his client's head was nearly wrenched from his neck by D'Apice and others in a gratuitous show of brutality.

Fallout from the incident has already been featured on national television via an NBC "Dateline" report with Las Vegas neon pulsating in the background. Something tells me the marketing bosses at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority won't be using that feature story as part of its "What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas" advertising program.

Rizzolo's uniquely Vegas success story, however, is one for the books. He's managed to groom an enormously successful business and make a broad variety of contacts in the world of politics and law enforcement despite becoming known as a man who favors the company of associates of organized crime. From his own manager Faraci to casino Black Book member Fred Pascente, Rizzolo hasn't been shy about his friendships -- and until recently none of that notoriety has prevented judges and local elected officials from snatching up tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions.

Last year, Rizzolo's run of luck appeared to be starting to change. A February 2003 search warrant affidavit served at the club told a tale of alleged criminal activity and mob association going back to the mid-1980s.

Rizzolo bristled at what he called the unfounded speculation, bragged that he overpaid his taxes, and vowed to fight.

But the government rarely takes no for an answer. Rizzolo has the long green needed over the long haul.

I wonder, does D'Apice?

It's one thing to be a tough guy during the fat times, especially when most of your opponents don't hit back. It's quite another to stay strong when your friends realize you're as hot as a $20 pistol and are expected to be the first defendant in a long case that could be built on the strength of superseding indictments.

When you're the first tough guy forced to take on government heavyweights, that's real pressure.

And it appears the pressure has just begun.

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