County urged to probe Harrah's - News

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Mar. 19, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

County urged to probe Harrah's

Frazzetta says actions were 'unconscionable'

By ARNOLD M. KNIGHTLY and JOAN WHITELY
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Harrah's Remodel

Whistle-blower Fred Frazzetta wants an investigation of Harrah's for its renovations.
Photo by Sara Tramiel/Review-Journal.

Fred Frazzetta, the non-union electrician who blew the whistle on illegal remodeling at the Rio hotel, encouraged Clark County commissioners to push Tuesday for "a thorough and complete investigation" of management at Harrah's Entertainment for wrongdoing and poor oversight during the illegal room renovations.

"What Harrah's Entertainment did, I feel, is criminal in every sense of the word," Frazzetta told the commissioners. "It was bad enough that Harrah's circumvented the permit system. It was unconscionable of Harrah's to have left the rooms they remodeled unsafe for guests and the employees of their hotels."

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Frazzetta's statement came during the public comment period at the end of Tuesday's commission meeting. The commissioners had just received a report from the Clark County Building Department and the Clark County Fire Department on plans to implement improved oversight of inspections of commercial and residential construction and renovations.

Harrah's Entertainment issued a statement late Tuesday saying the company was "surprised to learn Mr. Frazzetta implied to the County Commission today that we haven't cooperated with the county and that Harrah's executives who were not involved in the renovation projects should be 'cited' for alleged illegal activity. Those suggestions are irresponsible and should erode any credibility Mr. Frazzetta has built up to this point."

The whistle-blower filed a complaint with the county building division in August 2006, alleging the Rio did significant remodeling, roughly from late 2004 to early 2006, without permits or inspections. A county inspector went out six months later to briefly investigate the complaint, and closed the file the same day.

Frazzetta on Tuesday asked Ron Lynn, who heads the county's building division, why citations have not been issued to top-level executives at the Rio and Harrah's Las Vegas, naming Rio President Marilyn Winn, Harrah's President Don Marandino or Gary Loveman, who is chief executive officer of Harrah's Entertainment, the hotels' parent company.

On Dec. 18, the county did issue 18 misdemeanor citations for problematic remodeling at the Rio, Harrah's and a warehouse. Named in the citations were Rio head of engineering David "Skip" Matthews and Harrah's Las Vegas chief engineer Robert Bruna.

On Feb. 5, the Clark County district attorney's office affirmed those citations by charging the two men with 17 misdemeanors.

Both men are scheduled to be arraigned in Justice Court on April 1.

Frazzetta contended during his comments that the two men were aware of the illegal remodeling projects and remained silent, but neither of them was directly responsible for bypassing the permitting process, he said.

Frazzetta also expressed concern over the refusal of Michael Kostrinsky, Harrah's Entertainment's chief litigation officer, to allow out-of-state consultant Michael Kessler to interview any employees. The consultant wrote in his report that Kostrinsky denied permission because "the county caused him problems with the (state) contractor's board, and thus he did not want to have to defend any other claims."

Commissioners hired Kessler, a New York consultant, to explore how the county handles complaints about commercial buildings, including Frazzetta's 2006 complaint about the Rio. The report, which was released last week, found severe shortcomings in complaint response time and record-keeping, as well as evidence of falsified records and uneven charging of fees for doing construction work without permits.

Clark County named Harrah's Entertainment as the contractor in three of four complaints it filed with the Nevada State Contractors board in late October. All complaints, which the board is now processing, relate to improper construction at the two properties and the warehouse.

"Harrah's ran all these illegal remodel projects," Frazzetta told commissioners. "It was not contractors. There were licensed contractors that were involved, but Harrah's was the one that was ultimately responsible."

In Tuesday's statement, Harrah's Entertainment said it "took numerous steps to ensure the mistakes made during room renovations were corrected and that similar mistakes don't reoccur. Among other things, we closed the subsidiary that supervised the Las Vegas room-renovation projects in question, eliminated the associated jobs and implemented a construction review process to verify compliance with all relevant building codes. And we've worked with the county throughout this process to ensure the appropriate remedies were made."

Many of the people that need to be held responsible, Frazzetta told the commissioners, include some people who have already left the company or been fired, as well as three licensed contractors.

"Harrah's personnel that was responsible for the illegal remodel projects that I am aware of were Kirk England, Tom Jenkin, Tom Adams, Mike Nasby, Mike Whitehead, Leon Vermillion, George Kirkwood," Frazzetta said, also mentioning three licensed contractors.

England, Harrah's Entertainment vice president of design and construction, left the company Jan. 31 after eight years to join his family in Colorado.

Jenkin has been Harrah's Entertainment Western division president since 2004 and oversees 14 casino properties in Nevada, Arizona and California.

Jenkin was named senior vice president and general manager of Harrah's Las Vegas in 1993, and was put in charge of overseeing the Rio in 2001.

Frazzetta worked under Adams and Whitehead at the Rio and then Harrah's Las Vegas.

Adams was a director of facilities and projects for Harrah's Las Vegas and the Flamingo at the time of the Rio remodeling. He then led Roman Empire Development after it was formed in late 2006 as a remodeling subsidiary of Harrah's Entertainment.

The subsidiary was closed in December. The company has not suggested that any of the terminated employees were responsible for the improper renovation work.

Whitehead is a former chief engineer at the Flamingo Hotel who helped lead Roman Empire Development.

Nasby is a former chief engineer at Harrah's Las Vegas who moved over to Harrah's Entertainment. Vermillion, the former chief engineer at Harrah's Las Vegas, retired in 2007 and was replaced by Bruna.

Kirkwood's position with the company has not been verified.

Harrah's Entertainment has repeatedly declined to discuss the current employment status of Adams, Nasby, Whitehead and Kirkwood.

A call to a cell phone previously owned by Adams revealed the number has been disconnected.

"If someone has perpetrated a crime, no longer being a employee of the company does not make them not guilty of the crime," Frazzetta said, adding that the Clark County Fire Department has the list of names. He suggested the information be forwarded to District Attorney David Roger.

Meanwhile, the district attorney's office is still evaluating material submitted by the fire department on improper work it found at the same hotels, involving life safety systems that the fire department monitors for code compliance, such as equipment for fire detection and fire suppression.

"I can only hope that Harrah's will be held responsible to the full extent of the law," Frazzetta said.

Contact reporter Arnold M. Knightly at aknightly@reviewjournal.com or (702) 477-3893. Contact reporter Joan Whitely at jwhitely@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0268.

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background. ME wrote on March 31, 2008 10:19 PM: IF HARRAHS COULD DEVISE AWAY TO MAKE MONEY WITHOUT SHPENDING ANY ON GUESTS OR EMPLOYEES THEY WOULD!LOL They care only about the bottom line... ME wrote on March 31, 2008 10:17 PM: IF HARRAH'S COULD DEVISE AWAY TO MAKE MONEY WITHOUT SPENDING ANY ON GUESTS OR EMPLOYEES THEY WOULD!LOL...Harrah's cares only about the bottom line ...period! not fred wrote on March 28, 2008 06:29 PM: happy now fred enjoy your life Fred Frazzetta wrote on March 24, 2008 10:15 AM: Wheat: Credibility is determined solely by the information that one presents in a situation...it is now documented that ALL my allegations have been found to be TRUE and then some by both the Clark County Building & Fire Departments. This makes your statement not credible at all! Whether a person is union or non-union does not make a statement true or false automatically. Harrah's broke the law by circumventing the Permit system and then compounded their law-breaking by leaving every room that they touched unsafe for their Guests & Employees. I stand behind every single word that I have spoken...I stood up when you sat down.! Wheat wrote on March 21, 2008 05:22 PM: Fred is a non-union electrician. That should give you some idea on how credible he is. Fred Frazzetta wrote on March 20, 2008 08:46 AM: Gary Loveman: I suggest that you read the Kessler Report...it is a short read for a Havard Graduate. Who is not credible?...who is lying? - are you Mr. Loveman denying that the above mentioned individuals were not responsible for the illegal remodel projects, which left all the rooms that they touched unsafe in the event of a fire because of the shortcuts that they took to save your company money? You better think long and hard about the consequences of challenging me Mr. Loveman...you have no idea the number of employees that I know who will be willing to stand up in a court of law to testify to what I am saying. I am not playing with you Gary Loveman like you played with the lives of the Harrah's employees that were exposed to asbestos during these illegal remodels. I wouldn't be to quick betting against me either...you did already and you lost, and you are going to lose again Gary. Have you not learned that it would be better to be truthful than hide behind your lies...because eventually your lies are going to catch up with you - you know the truth. Gary, have you failed to notice that all of my allegations thus far have been found to be true...and then some by both the Clark County Building Department & Fire Department? My allegations are fact now Mr. Loveman...FACT! Here's another fact Gary, Roman Empire Development wasn't even in existence until after all of your illegal remodels took place...nice try but yet again another blatant lie. Perjury is the "willful and corrupt taking of a false oath in regard to a material matter in a judicial proceeding". If this makes it to court Mr. Loveman I suggest you tell the truth...because if you don't others will! jb8824 wrote on March 19, 2008 08:50 PM: Harrah's finally acknowledges the whistle blower by name, and they use it to ridicule and denounce him. Unbelievable! This is equivalent to a convicted rapist being allowed to taunt their victim. There is no question that illegal activity occurred that was brought to light by one individual who had the guts stand up to the establishment. I know they are scared of impending litigation, but this is truly abhorrent behavior from corporate leaders, who had an obligation to protect their employees and guests, and failed. Gary Loveman, you are responsible for Harrah's and those comments. I can assure you that when you are on the stand, these comments will come back to haunt you. Fred Frazzetta wrote on March 19, 2008 08:21 PM: Fred is a Thief: Still afraid to use your name, I would be too if I was trying to defend Harrah's & their guilty employees! Being the good little sheep that you are it is certainly understandable. When you find your missing balls and decide to face me like a man we will talk until then hang unto the hope that Santa will bring you two new ones this Christmas. For all of you that missed the first few stories written by the RJ I was fired from Harrah's in July of 2007 for having 6 fluorescent bulbs in my backpack...I became a whistleblower in June of 2006 over a year before my termination. The one had nothing to do with the other as my gonads free friend would like you to believe. If anyone is interested in seeing my documentation supporting this I will be more than happy to start posting. ps: This isn't about me...it is about the largest gaming company in the world having done illegal remodel projects at their hotels and leaving behind unsafe rooms for both their valued guests and employees for several years. Remember that they also exposed their employees working on these illegal remodels to asbestos on several occasions...again documented facts supported by the two OSHA reports that I have in my possession. I stood up when "Fred is a Thief" sat down and turned his head the other way...like most good sheep. He is in the same boat as all of the people who worked at the Endoscopy Center that remained silent when patients were being put in harms way. Most people take the easy way out...I did not. I did not come forward to win a popularity contest...my road has been both long and rocky, but I have perservered... RED BULL'S wrote on March 19, 2008 08:05 PM: Check with yesco to see if they have permits for all signs ? check new orleans,check louisiana downs .gambler bonus signs various, igt signs, the project mgr. did not no about pulling permits, it gets by alot . this possy rides tight ! butterrum has played kingpin in his world of signs or abusive ways. put some light on this and watch, RED BULL'S wrote on March 19, 2008 07:42 PM: preffered sign co. willing to play the games with the harrahs mafia .permits, permits were tslking ,about permits,shut up i was told,numerous casinos were swept under the rug in a crazy way.I smell and see alot of red ,butterrum did everything chaos,lastminute.truly not a classact Read All Comments