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REMODELING CONTROVERSY: Building official shifted

Inspector removed from Rio investigation

In response to negative public perception, Clark County Manager Virginia Valentine has removed building inspector Rick Maddox from the investigation of the Rio hotel's remodeling without permits or safety inspections.

That is how Public Information Officer Stacey Welling characterized the reason for Maddox's Wednesday transfer. Valentine was unavailable for comment Thursday.

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  • Maddox had been working on the current investigation though he was the inspector who did a superficial investigation in February that cleared the Rio.

    Maddox gave a different explanation for his reassignment: "It was too personal. At that point, I can't be objective, so it was assigned to another supervisor."

    Maddox, who declined to give his age, has been with the county's building division since 1995, when he began as a building inspector. In 2003, he was promoted to supervisor of building inspections, which means he manages a group of eight inspectors. He continues in this position, for which his annual salary is $87,207.

    "The county is doing everything it can to make sure the rooms are properly inspected, remediated and repaired, then brought back online," said Jan Jones, a Harrah's Entertainment executive. Valentine is "making decisions that she thinks (are) in the best, long-term interest of the process."

    Jones on Thursday defended Harrah's decision to keep Tom Adams and Mike Nasby, who had ties to the remodeling, working on the present investigation of it. Whistleblowers identified the two as key Harrah's personnel who had planned or supervised the project.

    "They've done the work, they know where to look, and have not been reassigned," Jones said. They "can take the county inspectors and our other inspectors and show them where work was completed." The "other inspectors" are employees of Penta Building, hired by Harrah's to expose and test the past workmanship.

    At the Rio hotel, teams of inspectors representing both Harrah's Entertainment and the county are investigating work performed on 17 floors of the hotel's original Ipanema guest tower. The work took place from about late 2004 to early 2006, several floors at a time.

    Two floors at the Rio, holding approximately 140 rooms, have been taken out of service until the teams can assess past work. Then plans can be approved and permits obtained for new corrective work, followed by inspections of that work.

    In light of the Rio room closures, which were ordered Oct. 5 by the county, Harrah's Entertainment started re-examining renovations at its other local properties, which led the company to voluntarily close 537 rooms or suites at Harrah's Las Vegas on Monday. Those rooms will remain out of service until they undergo joint scrutiny by county and corporate teams.

    Six men who worked on the Rio remodeling project and were interviewed by the Review-Journal identified Adams as a remodeling supervisor. During the project, Adams was director of facilities for several local Harrah's properties. He is now area director of design and construction for Roman Empire Development, a subsidiary of Harrah's Entertainment. Roman Empire was formed in December 2006.

    Nasby is vice president of facilities and construction services for Harrah's Entertainment.

    Fred Frazzetta, an electrician who worked on the Rio remodeling and then worked as a full-time maintenance and repair man at Harrah's Las Vegas until he was let go in June, has provided much of the information for the Review-Journal's two-month research and the present county crackdown. In August 2006, he filed a complaint about the Rio with the county building division, which sat on it for six months before Maddox went out to inspect in February.

    Frazzetta met Wednesday for a second time with Valentine and said he felt encouraged by the discussion. Also present were Assistant County Manager Phil Rosenquist, county legal counsel Clifford Jeffers -- from the civil division of the Clark County district attorney's office -- and Greg Franklin from county Development Services, which houses the building division.

    Frazzetta had met solo with Valentine in late August to air his concerns but felt she brushed him off.

    Valentine since has said Frazzetta's information raised a red flag, leading her to consult Harrah's executives in September on the matter, shortly before the county issued eight violation notices for the Rio.

    The electrician said he mentioned several more remodeling projects inside Harrah's Las Vegas for county building officials to investigate, beyond the rooms that are currently closed. Valentine was not available to comment on the meeting.

    Contact reporter Joan Whitely at jwhitely@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0268.



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    Fred Frazzetta wrote on October 14, 2007 05:56 PM: Watcher, You are truly the "gelded" wonder, and obviously still afraid to let the readers know who you really are. I am sure that people would be interested in your personal motivations for protecting people who have willfully put the "valued guests" & employees of Harrah's at risk...for the sake of the bottom line! Why don't you share the information that you say you have, and simply expose my lies: what people did I lie about? and what information did I lie to the RJ about? The RJ would forever be indebted to you for coming forward with the valuable information that you have of me lying to them. If you have solid truthful information that can be proven the RJ I am sure will be more than happy to print it...as they report the evidence they don't take sides. Joan Whitely's contact information is printed just above this comment section - she would love to hear from you...why don't you call. You might want to explain to the public while you are at it why there are 15+ fire watches currently active inside of Harrah's Hotel & Casino - 24/7! That is right folks, Harrah's did such good remodel work inside of their hotel that they are now under fire watches. This is probably in some way my fault if you were to listen to the "gelded" one. I do know this when everything is all said and the truth is known I am sure that most of the public will be really glad that you were not the one that knew about this because it is pretty evident that like a good little sheep that you are...you would have sat back and said nothing, which makes you no better than the people that you are protecting!


    Fred Frazzetta wrote on October 14, 2007 12:23 PM: Watcher, You still haven't located your balls yet have you?...afraid to tell people who you are I would be too with everything that is being documented regarding the truth of my allegations. You are really reminding me of Mr. Maddox, maybe you guys are related to one another? as you couldn't be too much more vague about the information that you are giving the readers. To clear some things up for all, you being such a concerned citizen: who did I lie about and what information did I give to the RJ that is in print that is false - as I am sure the RJ would like to know. Joan Whitely's contact information appears above this comment section, and seeing that you have such "important" information you should call her. It must really be getting to you the fact that the truth is appearing in print and being made public, and you certainly can't take credit for that gelded one!


    watcher wrote on October 14, 2007 09:59 AM: Mr. Fred Frazzetta:
    I know for a fact you are not out for public safety. So just stop trying to act like a hero. I have also recieved phone from people saying you lied about them and a lot of information in to the RJ. Let me ask you was your broter in law and past employers this "UNSAFE" also. Or is it a settlement you are after. And also quit calling yourself an electrician you sell camping equipment.


    Fred Frazzetta wrote on October 14, 2007 06:43 AM: Watcher: You should be directing your anger at the management team at Harrah's that you obviously work for...yeah the team that has severely broken the Public's trust! You do realize that your esteemed managers broke the law by circumventing the Permit process. You are starting to sound like Jan Jones & Richard Maddox - the blind leading the blind. This isn't about every other hotel in this town at the moment - it is about what Harrah's (mis)management construction team willfully did in direct violation of Harrah's own "Corporate Governance" policy. http://investor.harrahs.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=84772&p=irol-govConduct
    I suggest that you check out the link before you say much more...if you can read the big words that is? Why don't you explain to the readers why there are 15 plus "Fire Watches" at Harrah's Hotel & Casino working around the clock at this moment in time...that is right folks Harrah's did such outstanding un-permitted work that for your safety they have to stand "fire watches". I have received numerous phone calls from concerned employees verifying that since Friday in both the Carnival South Tower & Mardi Gras North Tower there are numerous people assigned to specific floors standing guard to make sure you are safe. Normally this is done by the Hotels fire systems, but something is wrong with that system - couldn't have anything to do with the 100% safe remodel work that was done over the years...do you think? From what I have been told the watches have been extended to other areas of the Hotel as well. Watcher, you are right there is absolutely nothing for the public to be worried about...I am sure that when this is all said and done the public will be glad that it wasn't left up to you to keep them safe.


    watcher wrote on October 13, 2007 09:47 AM: Watchin 'Dog:
    You dont know what you are talking about. The remodels may not have been permitted but the work was good and is safe. Check with every other hotel in this town. Lets see how safe this whole town is.

    Fred Frazzetta:
    You had no problem doing all that work. And now you want is to ruin hundreds of lives and families. Why dont you go steal some light bulbs. You oviously have way to much time on your hands. All those men are good men and you know it. Take some time to go to all the other casinos like Excalibur maybe you can do the same thing to them. And ruin some more lives.


    Fred Frazzetta wrote on October 13, 2007 08:51 AM: the truth: Most legitimate construction follows a certain formula: plans get drawn up, they get submitted to the County Building Department, the county reviews these plans, approves them or disapproves them - once approved permits are issued and work begins. During the project there are inspections...actually multiple inspections, culminating in a final inspection at which time if passed a certificate of occupancy is issued. This provides important protection to the general public...one can only imagine what would happen if people did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted - that's right we don't have to imagine just look at what Harrah's has done at both their Rio Hotel & Harrah's Hotels here in Las Vegas. They are a shining example as to why the building code needs to be enforced, and the reason the permit/inspection process is so vitally important to our health & wellbeing. From what I am hearing Harrah's problems are just getting worse by the day...just maybe there was something to my complaints. Let me guess was in Mike Nasby, Tom Adams, Mike Whitehead, Leon Vermillion or George Kirkwood that told you that the buildings are 100% safe? I would be sure to take their words for it seeing that they are partially responsible for this whole mess that Harrah's is now in. I am really curious as to the individual or the individuals that came up with the brilliant idea to remodel rooms without pulling permits...what a great illegal/unsafe idea! Sounds like you fit in perfectly with their organization. Keep up the good work.


    the truth wrote on October 12, 2007 07:51 PM: Not having a permit does not mean that the building is not up to code, the building is 100% safe...3/4's of the people that worked on the job at Harrah's and Rio have worked on countless other jobs around the strip. So they are doing a subpar job for only Harrah's properties...plz...Fred u need to spend more time getting your life together instead of spreading BS.


    Fred Frazzetta wrote on October 12, 2007 07:44 PM: Watcher, At least I am not afraid to use my real name...it is easy to hide behind a screen name - why not let everyone know who you are...afraid? Obviously, you cannot read too well either because the whole reason I got involved in this in the first place was trying to protect others when the company would not. That issue was asbestos related on a project that was done without permits & inspections inside Harrah's. These people deserve to be fired and should have been fired a long time ago for extreme incompetence. By the time that this is over some of these people will be lucky if they just lose their jobs. All I know is that they have done all of this to themselves...they truly have no one else to blame, but their own arrogance. My family was brought into this by Mike Whitehead who took it upon himself to call my brother-in-law (who he is childhood friends with) up earlier this year to tell him that I was going to get him fired - what he should have said is that his actions were going to get him fired. All these people need to take responsibility for the decisions that they have made. When you find your missing balls please let all of us know, but I am confident that it won't be anytime soon!


    Watchin' Dog wrote on October 12, 2007 06:32 PM: So what if Frazetta is disgruntled and out for revenge? So what?
    The RJ has nailed the county and Harrah's and it would not have been able to if they weren't guilty as sin. The paper is also quoting more than one whistleblower.
    Where there's smoke, there's fire. Or luckily in this case, not. The MGM burned down due to ignoring the building code. If businesses can save a buck by ignoring the laws, they will. It's just human nature.
    This is why we have inspections and building codes in the first place, not to mentiom all sorts of other regulation.
    And shame on Valentine for hiding behind her PR staff. That makes her look guilty personally.


    watcher wrote on October 12, 2007 04:18 PM: Fred Frazzetta was not and is not worried about anyones safety he was out for revenge and now he just loves the attention. So when you get the people you want fired are you going to get another job and go after them also?
    How many companies and family members has Mr. Frazzetta done this to?

    GET OVER IT AND GET A LIFE!!!!!


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