Ex-Las Vegas detective sentenced in case involving stripper
A former Las Vegas police officer was sentenced to four years’ probation Tuesday after pleading guilty to crimes stemming from his yearlong affair with a stripper.
Former Metropolitan Police Department detective Lawrence Rinetti Jr. was sentenced to 48 months of probation by District Judge Jennifer Schwartz.
Rinetti faced up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to four crimes related to his illicit affair, in 2018, with stripper Gabriella DiLorenzo.
Rinetti resigned from the Police Department in 2020, according to a Metro spokesperson.
In court, Rinetti cried repeatedly while addressing the judge. He said when he first met DiLorenzo, she simply gave him information about criminal activity in Las Vegas. Rinetti then used the information to solve other crimes.
DiLorenzo “seemed to know every criminal in town,” Rinetti said.
But over time, Rinetti and DiLorenzo’s relationship turned intimate and — for Rinetti — illegal. He admitted, among other things, that he had stolen for DiLorenzo and had — to keep her from testing positive for drug use — arranged to have fake urine samples supplied to her before her scheduled testing.
“For this, I will forever be shamed,” Rinetti said.
Anthony Sgro, Rinetti’s attorney, emphasized his client’s traumatic history, including gruesome scenes Rinetti witnessed while serving as a Marine.
Sgro said that after Rinetti was arrested in 2019, he volunteered for mental health counseling, where he was diagnosed with PTSD.
“It’s a call for compassion,” said Sgro, noting that DiLorenzo, herself involved in crime “up to her eyeballs,” had never been charged.
In response, Schwartz suspended all four of Rinetti’s prison sentences. Instead, the judge sentenced Rinetti to 48 months of probation, which will require him to continue mental health treatment and complete a program conducted by a nonjudicial “court” of the Veterans Administration.
Rinetti was also ordered to pay $1,400 in restitution.
In imposing probation instead of prison, Schwartz said the circumstances of Rinetti’s life were “beyond compelling.”
Contact Peter S. Levitt at plevitt@reviewjournal.com.