The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Board sent CEO Rossi Ralenkotter into retirement Tuesday with a roaring applause, video tribute and $455,000 financial package.
Local Las Vegas
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With a looming public vote on a retirement package for Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Rossi Ralenkotter, a key board member said Friday he wants more details about the police investigation into the mishandling of $90,000 in Southwest Airlines gift cards.
A Nevada assemblyman has joined those opposing a lucrative retirement buyout for embattled Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Rossi Ralenkotter, calling it a public “shakedown.”
A key board member at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority called on CEO Rossi Ralenkotter to immediately step down amid growing concerns about misuse of public funds and a police investigation into abuse of airline gift cards bought by the agency.
A criminal investigation should examine the mishandling of $90,000 worth of Southwest Airlines gift cards secretly purchased by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, local lawyers said.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is facing a growing scandal after a report released Friday showed that auditors could not account for more than $50,000 in Southwest Airlines gift cards bought by the agency.
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Rossi Ralenkotter is preparing to retire, a close friend of Ralenkotter’s hastold the Review-Journal.
An audit last month found that CEO Rossi Ralenkotter used $17,152 in Southwest Airlines cards for personal travel and Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly, who chairs the board, also used $699 in cards for a trip.
Longtime tourism boss Rossi Ralenkotter used $17,152 in airline gift cards given to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for personal travel for himself and his family, an audit showed Wednesday.
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority executives, directors and contractors responded to a Review-Journal investigation last year by downplaying questions about agency spending and the independence of its board and planning aggressive damage control, emails show.
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board members would be allowed to accept no more than $400 in gifts and one agency-sponsored trip annually under changes proposed Monday in response to a Review-Journal investigation.
Las Vegas convention officials handed out more than $125,000 in iPads, golf clubs, Bose headphones and other pricey merchandise without noting who received the items or the business purpose of the gifts.
An external auditor will make recommendations next month on how to rein in gifts and travel at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority after a Review-Journal investigation into excessive spending.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s lawyer has received a 7.5 percent salary increase and a 25 percent bonus from the organization’s board of directors.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority hired an accounting firm Tuesday to evaluate its spending policies after a Review-Journal investigation uncovered questionable expenses.
