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May. 23, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Agencies taking second look at faulty plumbing complaint

By JOAN WHITELY
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Lushly landscaped Meridian Luxury Suites have been without proper fire protection for eight months, according to plumbers who claimed knowledge of jerry-rigged repairs. Yet county officials ignored their complaints until the Review-Journal began asking questions.
Photo by John Locher.

The Meridian Luxury Suites bills itself as a "refined getaway in the heart of the bustling Las Vegas Strip."

But for all the luxury, one of the Meridian's five-story buildings has gone without reliable fire protection for about eight months.

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    • And yet early this year, both the Clark County Fire Department and Nevada State Contractors Board discarded, after only casual investigation, formal complaints alleging that a plumber without proper licensing did a "Mickey Mouse" job on a line that supplies water to room sprinklers and fire-hose hookups throughout a 136-suite building at the Meridian.

    In each case, the public agency contacted only the plumbing contractor and Meridian management to explore the complaint. Neither contacted the men who filed the complaints, who had saved a cell-phone photo showing the questionable plumbing before it was buried under about a foot of earth.

    Near the Strip, the Meridian is a gated, lushly landscaped condominium project that is converting to hotel use. It consists of five residential buildings plus clubhouse, swimming pools and tennis courts at 250 E. Flamingo Road.

    The term "Mickey Mouse job" comes from Eric Edwards, one of two men who filed complaints with the agencies in November regarding what they say is a dangerously deficient plumbing job at the Meridian, performed by HK Plumbing. The plumbing company had fired both men in October, after they expressed dissatisfaction with the work, which was done in late September.

    Edwards and Mario Salinas, the other former HK employee, claim both enforcement agencies took at face value a misleading story from Harry Sullard, the HK Plumbing owner, that his company had worked only on a landscaping water line or domestic water line. The two ex-employees said they feared the present fire line will fail in an emergency, which could strand occupants or firefighters inside the building during a fire.

    An answering service for HK Plumbing said several times this week that the business was closed until Monday, but logged several requests from the Review-Journal to speak with Sullard.

    The two men say neither agency gave them the time of day -- until recently, after they brought their dilemma to the newspaper, which then contacted the fire department to learn how it handled the complaint. The men also sent certified letters in late April, restating their worries, to officials they had not contacted earlier, including the state fire marshal, the Clark County manager and the Reno-based chair of the contractors board.

    After the letters went out, the two say they received calls from both the contractors board and the county fire department, and have met in person with investigators from each agency.

    "He was as red as a bandanna," is how Edwards described the demeanor of Gordon LaPointe of the contractors board, after Edwards earlier this week gave him details that counter the version of events LaPointe obtained when he talked to HK Plumbing and Meridian staff about the complaint, which the board closed in January.

    The county fire department has reopened its complaint as well, county spokeswoman Stacey Welling said Thursday.

    County records show that HK pulled a permit for work at the Meridian on Dec. 26, 2007, but the permit does not describe a fire line job.

    HK Plumbing lacks the specialized license, issued by the state fire marshal, that's required to work on fire systems, according to Jim Wright, Nevada's fire marshal. He said his office sent HK Plumbing a letter on Monday telling it to "cease and desist" work outside the scope of its licenses, and requesting a conference. HK does hold a state contractor's license and a county business license, which allow it to work on water lines that are not part of a fire system. A nonspecialized plumber is also allowed to do a temporary, emergency repair to a fire line.

    Edwards, HK's former controller, and Salinas, a journeyman plumber, allege HK Plumbing -- against Salinas' advice -- repaired a leaking fire line at the Meridian using inferior materials and skipping steps that would keep a high-pressure fire line from coming apart at vulnerable joints.

    If the repair failed, ceiling sprinklers would not work and firefighters would have to hook in hoses farther away.

    "We'd never done anything like this" job, said Salinas, who worked for HK for nine years. "I felt this was more than what we can handle."

    Salinas said he snuck a picture of the job because he knew HK was skipping permits and inspections.

    The two workers say HK's original assignment at the Meridian last fall was to investigate the source of water pooling outside the building.

    "The Meridian Homeowners Association has no knowledge of code violations related to any work completed by a licensed contractor," Michael Mackenzie, president of the association, said Thursday in a prepared statement. "The safety of our owners and guests is of the utmost importance, and we always welcome the Clark County Fire Department" and other agencies on the property to enforce safety.

    After HK dug to expose the leak's source, it determined the building's "riser" had a hole, according to Edwards and Salinas. A riser is an expensive right-angled pipe of thick steel that accepts firefighting water from an outdoor line and then routes it into various fire systems, such as sprinklers and pipes with hookups for hoses.

    According to the two former workers, HK decided to bypass the costly riser, which violates safety codes. It also created two new 90-degree joints in the outdoor piping, but didn't encase the joints in concrete as required.

    Such a concrete form is called a "thrust block." It is designed to stabilize a fire line's joint, so it won't burst apart under high pressure, according to Terry Taylor, an independent fire consultant from northern Nevada.

    When a fire engine is pushing water into a riser, Taylor explained, the pressure is more than double that in a domestic water line.

    Edwards and Salinas also allege that HK installed an illegal manual valve on the outdoor line leading to the riser, so that water wouldn't flood the repair site.

    However, after the job was done, HK didn't remove the valve, which is against code. That means a gardener could one day turn the valve off, not knowing he was cutting off the building's supply of water to fight fire.

    If the contractors board or fire department had contacted the men last year, they say, the building's fire safety would have been swiftly restored. Following the agencies' belated overtures, the men directed inspectors to a locked "fire room" in the basement parking structure of the compromised Meridian building. Inside the room, they say, is clear evidence of the abandoned riser and jerry-rigged bypass.

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



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    Anon wrote on August 31, 2008 05:03 AM: I used to be a resident at the Meridian, and am actually the person who reported all the gushing water coming from the ground. It took 12 hours to turn off the water, 24 more hours to start digging and a few more days to finish it. I walked past that 8 foot deep hole 20 times. Lots of old pipes at many different levels. When it was all closed up, no cement was poured. Additionally, the ground was so saturated that the fill is bound to have shifted and settled in the following weeks, leading to further insecurity that the pipes could likely fail.


    Fred Frazzetta wrote on May 28, 2008 08:32 AM: Fred...Please Go Away:

    The story is far from being done...and I plan to finish what I started. May be another surprise or two still in the works - sit back my good little sheep friend & just watch what happens. Actually, Harrah's is fueling the fire still - they did an awful lot of work without permits & inspections, but more importantly they did it with no regard for the safety of either their valued Guests or Employees. Since it was a willful act on Harrah's part it is criminal in every sense of the word. This started in October and they still have rooms closed at Harrah's Las Vegas Hotel.

    By the way, you seem to be a fountain of information...I could use your help especially knowing that you are aware it seems that many other hotels have done the same thing as Harrah's. NOT - you have shown your true character by condoning what Harrah's and other Hotels have done over the years...you are no better than them - continue to sit by and watch others being put in harms way. You are both spineless and ball-less!

    When the story is truly done...I will gladly walk away.


    Fred... Please Go Away.... wrote on May 27, 2008 08:39 PM: Fred.... Why are you still spewing your cr@p ?? Does it make you feel important ?? Do you have ANY idea how many hotels that have done the same thing as Harrahs over the years ?? The Lawyer Dictionary guy is dead wrong on the law, and yet you see yourself as somehow being invincible. You are a very bitter person to be fueling this fire and glowing about it. Have you no lfe Fred ?? What are you possibly going to do after Harrahs pay their fines, and this story is no longer newsworthy ?? It saddens me that you seem to get off over these types of things. Hang on tight Fred... The best is yet to come !!!


    Fred Frazzetta wrote on May 26, 2008 03:29 PM: Lawyer Dictionary:

    Thank you for clarifying the definition of slander. I have spoken nothing but the truth, and I stand behind every single word that I have stated thus far.

    The only thing that has saved Harrah's thus far has been the ineptness of the DA's office, and the lack of gonads at both the Clark County Building Department & Fire Department in going after the responsible parties in this fiasco. Harrah's personnel lied to the Building Department & Fire Department about their now documented illegal remodel projects. Harrah's willfully broke the law - they knew that permits were required, but they made the decision to circumvent the system in place to protect the public - their valued GUESTS & Employees! What is most disturbing is the fact that they left the rooms UNSAFE for the public to stay in...there is no question that if there had been a fire lives would have been lost because of what Harrah's did. To add insult to injury Harrah's exposed their workers to asbestos during the remodels at both Harrah's & the Flamingo Hotels. What possible excuse can Harrah's possibly give for what they did?

    Back in July of 2007, I had a phone conversation with Assistant DA Christopher Lalli, months before the story broke in the RJ. I told him what happened, and he told me that if my allegations were found to be true that the DA's office would prosecute Harrah's for what they had done. David Roger, everything is there for you to prosecute - now I say do your job. Put as much effort into this as you are putting into O.J. Simpson. How many people did O.J. put at risk? Harrah's put millions at risk over the years knowingly & willfully, show us that you care!


    Lawyer Dictionary wrote on May 26, 2008 01:33 PM: GO BYE BYE FRED, you also seem to have forgotten law school 101. That is if you even went to law school.
    The one thing that makes this country so great is the fundamental concept that a person is innocent until proven guilty, both civilly and criminally. This also applies to slander. A person's words, from a legal standpoint, are considered true until proven false.
    So if what Fred is saying is FALSE, why haven't any lawsuits been filed for defamation of character? Or are your comments just threats and intimidation? Hoping that you can scare people into silence? Just remember that whistle blowers are a tough bunch of characters, or they wouldn't be whistle blowers.


    Lawyer Dictionary wrote on May 26, 2008 12:55 PM: GO BYE BYE FRED, you need to go back to law school. You got it backwards. The truth is never slander. Words only become slander, when a civil charge is made and the words are proven to be FALSE. Truth is always a defense against a charge of slander.
    In other words you can say anything you want as long as it is true. But even though you can say it does not mean you SHOULD say it.

    "Slander is an untruthful oral (spoken) statement about a person that harms the person's reputation or standing in the community."
    http://www.nolo.com/definition.cfm/term/85BAB88B-0660-4AB6-A2F5C32E716A6D52


    GO BYE BYE FRED.... wrote on May 26, 2008 11:27 AM: Fred.... You are correct that the TRUTH is not slander. What you fail to realize is that it IS slander until proven to be the truth. This is basic law taught in my first year of law school. Do you really believe that Bruna is going to back you ?? Do you really believe that Tom, George, Leon, and Mike are going to help you out of this hole you are in, even though you continue to bury them ?? I am but a bystander, and have nothing to lose or to gain by any of this. It matters little to me whether you believe me or not.Trust me in this..... Your words will cost you in the 10s if not 100s of thousands of dollars to defend yourself in court. Hold on my friend... You are on your way to a very long and costly train ride. I hope it was worth it !!


    Fred Frazzetta wrote on May 25, 2008 10:07 PM: Go Away Fred:

    THE TRUTH IS NOT SLANDER! I stand behind everything that I have said, and I challenge any of the people that I have named to take me to court. I have documentation to support it all, and more importantly I have witnesses that will be more than happy to tell the truth in a court of law. ALL of my allegations have been found to be true...every single one of them. In my meeting with Don Marrandino, the President of Harrah's & Flamingo Hotels, which was also attended by Debbie Fetzner, VP of Human Resources for both Hotels - Mr. Marrandino said that if this had been the old days my situation might have been handled in a different way... Do you know something about my situation that you want to share, because I would say that your statement has threatening overtures: "you could simply disappear, Stranger things have happened in good old Las Vegas."

    I don't believe that you are a casual observer, and I certainly don't believe that you don't have some sort of stake in all of this. You are part of the problem in this city, and people like you. Las Vegas would definitely be a better place without you & your kind. It is you who should move...it is you who should be embarrassed...it is you who should shut up - but I guess you just don't have enough common sense to do so. At least I am not afraid to use my name when I write something...unlike you who is hiding...unlike you who is defending guilty parties...you are no better than the criminals that I have named.

    Myself, I am thankful that we have people like Gary Wright, Deb Koehler-Fergen, and the whistleblowers that have stood up to our LV corruption.


    Gary Wright wrote on May 25, 2008 12:45 PM: I applaud any news reporter that produces stories shining the light on fraud and corruption in private industry or in government, especially in government. And the most important of these are those stories that relate to the public health and safety. My message to all of you hardworking NEWS REPORTERS -- KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!


    Go Away Fred..... wrote on May 25, 2008 09:13 AM: Fred..... are you striving for a gold star or something ?? The way that you are dropping names, you could easily be sued for slander, or worse, you could simply "disappear" Stranger things have happened in good old Las Vegas. I work not for Harrahs or for anyone else. I'm just one of many people that have grown tired of you. Most kids grow out of the "hall monitor mentality" by the 5th grade. You, however, have grown accustomed to the limelight, even though you continue to cut your own throat with each name that leaves your lips. GROW UP FRED.. better yet... GO AWAY !!!


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