Police arrested a key target in the criminal investigation into the misuse of Southwest Airlines gift cards bought by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Jeff German
Reporter: Investigations/Projects
Email: jgerman@reviewjournal.com
Phone: (702) 380-4564
X: @JGermanRJ
Jeff joined the Review-Journal in 2010 after a lengthy, award-winning career at the Las Vegas Sun, where he was a columnist and reporter who covered courts, politics, labor, government and organized crime. He has a masters degree from Marquette University and is the author of the 2001 true crime book, “Murder in Sin City.”
Police executed a search warrant at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority offices Wednesday afternoon in a widening investigation into misuse of Southwest Airlines gift cards bought by the agency.
Rossi Ralenkotter, the former CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, pushed for $10 million in tourism funds for a police substation expansion while police were investigating the agency, records show.
Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore failed to report at least $91,000 in tax liens the IRS filed against her, rental income from a house in Colorado and a house she owned in Clark County on her financial disclosures since she became an elected official, a Las Vegas Review-Journal investigation found.
Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore, one of the few Republican officeholders in Southern Nevada, built a larger-than-life political profile on her big personality and fierce conservative advocacy.
Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly charged more than $1,100 in expenses to his campaign for a trip to Dallas with his daughter, records show.
The sudden downfall of Nevada Senate Majority Leader Kelvin Atkinson has shined a powerful spotlight on weaknesses in the state’s campaign finance law and the growing number of officeholders who have exploited it.
A Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board member traveled around the world last year at the agency’s expense amid growing scrutiny over inappropriate spending and perks for its board.
Lawrence Weekly, the former board chairman of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, has agreed to pay nearly $2,400 in fines after violating the state ethics law for taking a personal trip with airline gift cards bought by the agency.
Police have obtained records under county grand jury subpoenas in their investigation of $90,000 in Southwest Airlines gift cards secretly purchased by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Retired Las Vegas tourism boss Rossi Ralenkotter said he did not intend to cash out his accrued paid time off, but newly released records show his attorney asked for more than $234,000 in untaken leave as part of a nearly $1.2 million severance package.
The Nevada Commission on Ethics is investigating whether public funds were misused in the purchase of Southwest Airlines gift cards by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, informed sources said.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Board sent CEO Rossi Ralenkotter into retirement Tuesday with a roaring applause, video tribute and $455,000 financial package.
Las Vegas tourism CEO Rossi Ralenkotter did not report nearly 200 hours of paid time off that he took while traveling on personal business using taxpayer-funded gift cards, records show.
Attorneys for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board have agreed to sweeten a pending deal for CEO Rossi Ralenkotter by upping his post-retirement consulting contract to $270,000 amid a police investigation of the agency.
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