Monday, November 28, 2005
Carona's colorful cast of campaign contributors
By MARTIN WISCKOL
If Sheriff Mike Caronaever has cause to bone up on the casino business,
he won't need to look further than his campaign donors. That list
includes at least four Las Vegas entrepreneurs whose businesses have
had brushes with the law. Each has contributed the maximum $1,500 to
Carona's re-election bid.
Earlier this month, the Register wrote about Rick Rizzolo, owner of the
Crazy Horse Too strip club. The club is under federal investigation for
racketeering. In 1985, Rizzolo pleaded guilty to attacking a patron
with a baseball bat. Carona adviser Mike Schroedertells us that the
sheriff is returning that donation.
The others:
Frank Fertitta Jr.is founder and former chairman of Station Casinos.
Federal investigations linked him to a money-skimming operation in
1985, but he was never charged or sanctioned. Nonetheless, Missouri
gaming officials in 1992 refused to issue a gambling permit to Station
unless the company guaranteed Fertitta would have no part in its
management, according to published reports.
Bruce Becker owns Becker Gaming Inc., which donated to the sheriff. In
1995, Becker was charged with 18 misdemeanors for allegedly misleading
regulators on an application for his gaming license, according to
published reports. The charges were dismissed because the one-year
statute of limitations had expired.
Blake Sartini is co-founder and former chief operating officer of
Nevada-based Station Casinos. While he was with that business, Station
lost its Missouri gambling license after other company executives
ignored a subpoena to testify in a corruption probe. Sartini was not
called to testify. Station later paid more than $1 million in fines for
several offenses, including allowing juveniles to gamble.
Schroeder said that Carona knew none of these contributors and that
they apparently had been invited to the same May fundraiser by a Carona
supporter who knew them.
"There's no way we're going to know the background on all these
people," Schroeder said. "Besides Rizzolo, I don't think any of these
guys have been convicted of anything. Give me something about what
they've done wrong, and I'll look at giving their money back."
NO WAR OF WORDS
The Jim Gilchrist debate boycott is expanding.
Last week, we mentioned that Gilchrist was skipping the only 48th
Congressional candidates' debate that front-running Republican John
Campbellwas planning to attend. Gilchrist, the anti-immigration
activist and American Independent candidate, said he was boycotting the
Irvine City Hall event because he felt there was a bias on the part of
one co-sponsor, the League of Women Voters.
Then last week, Campbell and the other three candidates agreed to a
radio debate, to be sponsored by KPCC/89.3 FM and held at the Orange
County Register. Gilchrist, whose unusual and sometimes confusing
utterances to which the www.thetruthaboutgilchrist.com site is
dedicated, said he'd skip this one because KPCC is a National Public
Radio station.
"We object to NPR's existence," campaign spokesman Tim Bueler said.
"It's wasteful government spending."
Campbell subsequently dropped out, and the debate was canceled.
Campbell's move is more predictable since front-runners have little to
gain from debates.
GUV'S APPOINTMENT
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has appointed Joan Walmsley, 46, of Irvine
to the Board of Behavioral Sciences. She has been a licensed clinical
social worker and certified addictions counselor in private practice
since 1983. Walmsley has also been the clinical consultant to the
Irvine Unified School District's counseling programs since 1995. This
position requires Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $100 per
diem. Walmsley is a Republican.
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