Flier promotes pot party at restaurant

Heather Rawlyk and Dan Kulin

Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2004 | 10:51 a.m.

A Las Vegas restaurant was planned as the site of a marijuana party last week, according to a promotional flier found by Henderson Police during a drug bust late Monday night.

Police discovered the flier when they happened upon a group of cars parked in the Whitney Ranch Business Center parking lot around midnight, according to Henderson Police Department spokesman Todd Rasmussen.

Officers went to the parking lot, in the 1000 block of Stephanie Place near Stephanie Street and U.S. 95, intending to check on a newly painted wall that is often the target of graffiti.

The officers noticed people sitting in the cars, and when the officers approached a Cadillac Escalade, they smelled marijuana, police said.

The three men inside refused to give the officers permission to search the vehicle, so the officers got a search warrant, Rasmussen said.

In their subsequent search, police found three pounds of marijuana, $10,000 in cash, kits for making hash and other drug paraphernalia, police said. Police also found what were identified as "judges' kits" for the Cannibus Cup, an annual event held in Amsterdam in which judges rate marijuana and attendees can buy and test the drug.

They also found fliers promoting an event called the 2nd Annual High Rollers Ball. The fliers indicate that the marijuana party was to take place Aug. 16 at the Geisha Steakhouse, 3751 E. Desert Inn Road, near Sandhill Road, police said.

Rasmussen said the police investigation indicates the event involved people looking at, smelling, smoking and then grading different types of marijuana brought to the restaurant.

Matt Frausto, who owns the Geisha Steakhouse with his wife, said he and his wife were at Disneyland in California when the alleged marijuana party took place.

Frausto added that Aug. 16 was a Monday and the restaurant is not open on Mondays.

Frausto's brother Arnold, who is a waiter at the restaurant and wouldn't give his last name, said none of the restaurant's employees were aware of the fliers or the alleged party.

"He (Matt Frausto) wasn't here and didn't know anything about it," he said. "No one at the restaurant knew about it that I know of. This is all news to us."

Henderson Police turned the flier over to Metro Police because the restaurant is located in Metro's jurisdiction. Henderson and Metro narcotics detectives are investigating the case, police said.

The three men found in the Cadillac Escalade were not immediately arrested, but were allowed to turn themselves in Tuesday, police said. Rasmussen said he didn't know why the three men weren't arrested in the parking lot, although he said they were apparently cooperative and police had all of their personal information on file.