Argument heard on Crazy Horse

Jace Radke

Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2003 | 11:13 a.m.

U.S. Magistrate Peggie Leen heard arguments this morning about whether FBI agents violated an order to return property seized from the Crazy Horse Too topless club.

The dispute may involve files related to a reputed Chicago mob associate.

Lawyers said the Sixth Amendment rights of the nightclub's owner, Rick Rizzolo, were violated and they want Leen to hold two FBI agents in contempt of court for not revealing at a March 6 hearing that the documents protected by attorney-client privilege had been illegally seized and reviewed by investigators.

The federal government has not conceded that the documents taken from the club during the Feb. 20 raid were protected as confidential legal documents. The raid is part of an investigation into possible ties between the club and organized crime.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Johnson said this morning that agents went through hundreds of documents taken from the club.

Attorneys for Crazy Horse Too argued that civil case files were not returned to them and that agents reviewed material that is protected by attorney-client privilege.

"The warrant did not authorize the seizure of attorney-client privileged materials," said Thomas Scorva, a Chicago-based attorney representing Crazy Horse Too owner Rick Rizzolo. "If they had seized our liquor, we would be in here requesting that they give our liquor back because it was not included in the warrant."

At a March 6 hearing, Johnson told Leen that agents did not review any material that looked on its face to be privileged.

Johnson said the files and letters in question were mixed in with financial and other business records when taken from the club by agents.

"When agents went through these materials, the items that the motion is now asking for did not jump out as a legal file to the agents," Johnson said. "These items were in plastic baggies on (Crazy Horse Manager Albert) Rapuano's desk and the baggies contained various other documents."

Ellen Knowlton, special agent in charge of the Las Vegas FBI, attended this morning's hearing, as did Rizzolo, Rapuano and their local attorney, Anthony Sgro.

At issue are files on four active civil cases that Sgro says agents took and reviewed.

Some of the evidence wheeled into court today by Johnson included two carts of boxes containing items seized in the raid.

One of the boxes had been labeled "Cusumano file" with the words "TV cabinet Rick Rizzolo's office" on it.

Authorities have long suspected Rizzolo of having ongoing ties to Joseph Cusumano, a person listed in Nevada's Black Book, a list of people banned from the state's casinos.

Cusumano, an alleged loan shark and Chicago mob associate, was entered into the book in 1990, after being convicted of helping to skim money from a Culinary Union life insurance plan. Rizzolo has consistently said he no longer associates with Cusumano, though they were formerly friends.