Michigan proseuctor says he was robbed by prostitute

Thursday, Oct. 28, 1999 | 10:06 a.m.

A prosecutor from Detroit says he obtained a prostitute through the bell desk at John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks and she ended up robbing him.

Mike Gruskin, a 20-year veteran of the Wayne County prosecutor's office in Michigan, told Sparks police the woman stole $500 and his Rolex watch from his hotel room Monday night.

He said he was attending a convention and was under the mistaken impression that prostitution was legal throughout Nevada.

"I just found out it was illegal in this county," he told the Reno Gazette-Journal Wednesday.

Sparks Police Detective Frank Torres confirms the case is under investigation but wouldn't comment further.

"I'm talking to all of the people right now and trying to get all the details about how it all came about. The Nugget is cooperating fully so there is no problem there," Torres said.

Gruskin told police that he had the woman sent up to his room after a discussion with the bell captain at the hotel-casino. He described her as an attractive blonde. He said she told him that she had been hired at the hotel many times.

A lawyer for the Nugget denies that anyone there played a role in procuring a prostitute for the prosecutor.

"It violates every moral and legal dictate we stand for here," said Rick Davenport, the Nugget's corporate counsel.

"If we find out an employee was even remotely involved, they will be dealt with, probably to include termination," he said.

Prostitution is legal at brothels in several rural counties in Nevada, but not in the counties encompassing Las Vegas or the Reno-Sparks area.

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