Columnist Jeff German: Rizzolo, feds itching for a fight

Friday, June 11, 2004 | 10:50 a.m.

It's starting to look as though Crazy Horse Too owner Rick Rizzolo may finally get his day in court.

Sixteen months after FBI agents raided his popular strip club looking for evidence of hidden mob interests, federal prosecutors are preparing to seek racketeering indictments against Rizzolo and his management team, some of whom, federal investigators say, have underworld ties.

Authorities have put the word out that they're hoping indictments will be returned as early as September.

A host of charges -- including extortion, tax evasion, prostitution and credit card fraud -- are being considered against Rizzolo and his Crazy Horse Too underlings. Some of the charges relate to a pattern of alleged beatings at the nightclub, including one involving Kirk Henry, a Kansas City man whose neck was broken during an altercation with a bouncer in September 2001.

Under the racketeering statute, the government also has the option of forcing Rizzolo to give up the lucrative club through either criminal or civil forfeiture proceedings.

If indictments are returned, it will have far-reaching ramifications on Nevada politics. Rizzolo is one of the state's biggest campaign donors. His political donations in the past have stretched from the governor's mansion to City Hall.

When he's not at the Crazy Horse Too, Rizzolo is traveling in A-list social circles, contributing generously to local charities and playing the high-roller at several Las Vegas casinos.

His life in the shadows as a topless nightclub kingpin, however, is what has brought him scrutiny. Over the years he has freely associated with such underworld figures as Joey Cusumano, once regarded by lawmen as a top lieutenant of Anthony Spilotro, who oversaw street rackets in Las Vegas for the Chicago mob until his brutal 1986 slaying.

Rocco Lombardo, the brother of Joseph Lombardo, the reported underboss of the Chicago mob, is a floorman at the Crazy Horse Too. Shift manager Vinny Faraci is the son of John Faraci, a suspected ranking member of the Bonanno crime family in New York.

As the feds have turned up the heat on Rizzolo in recent weeks, he has dug in for what likely will be an epic legal fight.

"Rick Rizzolo stands ready, willing and able to defend himself," his longtime attorney, Tony Sgro, says. "We fully expect him to be exonerated."

Sgro recently withdrew as a defense lawyer in the Ted Binion murder case so that he could devote more time to helping Rizzolo prepare for the expected indictments. Rizzolo also has retained a former Chicago federal prosecutor, Tom Scorza, to assist with his defense.

Some of Rizzolo's trusted employees also are in a fighting mood, which means the government could have a tough time persuading those within his inner circle to cooperate.

Faraci has retained David Chesnoff, a seasoned criminal defense lawyer who prides himself on his strident adversarial relationship with the government.

And Rizzolo's right arm, his general manager Al Rapuano, has hired attorney John Momot, who also is known for going to the mat.

Even Rizzolo's father, Bart Rizzolo, has hired a fighter in attorney Tom Pitaro.

Sgro says he isn't convinced that indictments will be returned in the coming weeks, but he acknowledges that the government will have a hard time walking away from this investigation.

The government, he says, has spent millions of dollars looking into Rizzolo's affairs as far back as 1985.

"It's as if they have to prosecute so that they can justify what they've been doing for the last 20 years," Sgro says.

Then again it's also possible that indictments could shine a light -- once and for all -- on a man who has risen to prominence in the community while his business dealings have been hidden in the dark.