Columnist Jeff German: Stripping away club’s facade

Friday, Feb. 21, 2003 | 11:24 a.m.

Thursday's FBI-led raid on the Crazy Horse Too can be summed up in two words -- organized crime.

For years lawmen have linked the topless club's owner, Rick Rizzolo, to organized crime figures, but he has denied having any business dealings with them.

But Thursday federal agents searched the club for evidence of hidden mob ownership -- primarily the Chicago crime family, which has been associated with Rizzolo's name over the years.

Rizzolo's lawyer, Tony Sgro, is confident that agents won't find any such evidence.

However, just the mention of organized crime in the same breath as this investigation should put a scare into the many elected officials, including judges, who have accepted campaign contributions from Rizzolo.

Organized crime and politics, you see, don't mix at the voting booth, so those politicians have got to be very nervous right now about their careers. They probably will have some explaining to do as the federal racketeering probe heats up.

The Crazy Horse Too investigation may have the most immediate impact in this year's municipal races. Though he has only token opposition, Mayor Oscar Goodman listed a $10,000 campaign contribution from Rizzolo in his re-election bid.

Councilman Michael McDonald, who's also up for re-election, has not reported receiving any donations from Rizzolo, but he has acknowledged being Rizzolo's friend. McDonald landed in ethical hot water a couple of years ago for trying to further some of Rizzolo's business ventures.

Though Rizzolo's associations with members of the underworld have attracted the interest of federal agents, his friends in high social circles also may garner some attention. Rizzolo is a frequent patron of the upscale Piero's restaurant, where the elite of Las Vegas congregate, and he is considered a high-roller at casinos such as the Hard Rock.

In July 2000 Rizzolo brought a half-dozen Crazy Horse Too dancers to a fund-raiser at Piero's for Youth Charities of Southern Nevada. Among those on hand were former Mayor Ron Lurie, convention boss Manny Cortez and Assistant District Attorney J. Charles Thompson.

Rizzolo's past ties to reputed Chicago mob associates such as Joseph Cusumano, Fred Pascente and the late Joseph Blasko have been well documented by law enforcement authorities.

Another name, Rocco Lombardo, surfaced recently in the middle of the Crazy Horse Too investigation. Lombardo, who's said to work as a supervisor at the nightclub, is the brother of Joseph "the Clown" Lombardo, whom lawmen have identified as a high-ranking member of the Chicago mob.

In his days as a "capo" in the crime family, Joseph Lombardo oversaw the activities of Anthony Spilotro in Las Vegas. Spilotro, who was brutally murdered outside Chicago in 1986, ran street rackets here and helped the family skim profits from casinos. His lawyer was none other than Goodman.

Thursday's raid is reminiscent of a massive FBI probe 25 years ago into the mob's hidden influence at several Las Vegas casinos. The probe took off after agents executed search warrants at the Argent Corp., which at the time owned the Stardust, Fremont, Hacienda and Marina hotels.

Soon afterward FBI affidavits were unsealed that revealed extensive mob interests at the casinos and embarrassed much of the Las Vegas establishment. Squeaky clean Argent President Allen R. Glick, a man-of-the-year recipient, turned out to be fronting for the Chicago mob.

The point here is that, if history is any judge, this could be just the beginning of the troubles for Rizzolo and his prominent friends.

Expect to see the release soon of new FBI affidavits disclosing details of this investigation and how it unfolded. Did the FBI use wiretaps to gather information on the Crazy Horse Too? Did it send undercover agents into the joint? How many informants did it use?

These and other questions will be answered in the near future, as the FBI pores over the evidence it seized Thursday from the topless club and determines whether it has the goods to obtain an indictment.

Fred Doumani -- a longtime Rizzolo friend who five years ago fought federal bankruptcy fraud charges and won -- has a piece of advice for the strip club operator: Hang in there.

"The truth will prevail," Doumani said. "He's definitely going to beat it."

Rizzolo might or might not end up besting the feds. But he surely will drag a lot of his friends in high places through the mud along the way.