Operation

G-Sting.
By Steven Donnini

Copyright 2009

Steven Donnini
What does it take to have expose corruption in government

to the level of Operation G-Sting?

1. Willing Public Officials.

2. Benefactors.

3. Co-operative Law Enforcement

4. A Middle Man.

The true story of The G-Sting Operation in Las Vegas spans

5 years and begins in San Diego, CA. The story has been

changed to compress it into a 2 hour movie. The names have

been changed to protect the innocent. However most of the

events are based on count records, news reports and other

media accounts of who did what in the story.

The players are fictionalized.

The Players

Anthony Bresha “T-Man”

Eva Valdiz “Spanish Fly”

Ed Vendetti AKA “Big ED”

“Little Albert” Vendetti

Benny Borghese AKA “The Book”

Jim Rodeski AKA “The Fixer”

Rocco Potenza AKA “Squire”

The Story of the G-Sting

When Anthony Bresha a competitive body builder, joined the

ranks of the FBI he had no idea his first case assignment

was going to be as an undercover strip club bouncer. It

would lead him to the center of a US Government political

corruption investigation in San Diego and Las Vegas.

In Anthony’s world you follow the finger pointing to local

law enforcement to public officials to State Legislators to

the most powerful gangsters in the strip club business.

The Money trail is paved with the blood of anyone who gets

in the way. For Anthony it became a 5 year odyssey into the

underworld of the Las Vegas sex market. Never knowing when

the finger would point in his direction. A snitch is the

lowest life form on the streets of Vegas. Everyone with

something to loose is watching the next guy, wondering if

he’s a player looking for a taste of the cash or a

government snitch. Getting your hands dirty is an everyday

thing for Anthony. No request from the club boss Ed

Vendetti is questioned. From shoving a unruly patron into

a garbage dumpster to breaking a few bones of a guy who

doesn’t pay a gambling debt, its all in a days work.

Clearly some people deserve what they get. But then

there’s the working girls who are pay for the privilege of

working in the clubs and can forfeit their looks or lives

if they get out of line. For them it can be a savage

lifestyle of debauchery and humiliation. Although highly

lucrative.

When Anthony falls for a young Spanish dancer named Eva,

his carefully created persona is fractured. His

professional code of ethics as an FBI Agent begins to

shatter. It is not uncommon for Dancers to have an “Old

Man” who carries their bags to work and watches out for

them after hours. But for Eva’s best interest she can’t

know about what Anthony is really doing. He can protect

her but their relationship must be covert. For Eva being a

secret lover has its own exciting rewards.

Ed Vendetti and his son “Little” Albert, are the biggest

players in the business. Some attribute them to developing

the biggest strip club chain on the west coast. With over

22 clubs that average 50 million dollars a year in profit.

They are always on the radar of City Police and County

Sheriffs Departments. Violations of codes are common. As

well as complaints for citizens who live in the area where

they are located. But to Vendetti, these things and law

enforcement cooperation is part of the business expenses.

But there is always two sets of books. One for the Tax

collectors and one for the accountant Benny Borghese. Benny

has all the real numbers in his head and in a black note

book he carries around. No computers for anyone to hack

into. Just an old school note book with a simple code for

where the money is going and a number.

As the investigation moves forward Anthony moves closer to

the big players who he must get their trust. When the proof

of loyalty is the murder of a rival club owner and his

wife, the FBI have to step in to create a mini drama that

is believable for Ed Vendetti and the Club Bosses. Anthony

must produce a male penis and photographs as proof of a job

well done. It is supplied by a battered unrecognizable

John Doe who was hit by a car and died at a Las Vegas

Hospital. The woman another stiff from Clark County who

was decapitated while riding a ATV through a back country

path. The photos were gruesome, just what Anthony needed.

The intended victims are taken to a secure location until

they need to appear in court.

The severed penis is presented to the Ed Vendetti on a

silver platter at a birthday celebration for his son

“Little Albert” at one of the Vegas clubs. All the players

were there to see that Anthony was no one to trifle with.

It was a big hit with the Club Managers as well. And a

thinly veiled warning that there are consequences for those

who are disagreeable. Anthony was quickly moved into the

inner circle, bringing him closer to the money man, Jim

Rodeski. The most powerful political handler in Nevada. A

ruthless Public Affairs expert who was behind the failed

Yucca Mountain nuclear waste fiasco. The famed Public

Relations campaign to push forward a proposal to collect

billion of dollars from the Nuclear Power producers for

taking there nuclear waste off their hands. And drop it

down a mine shaft in Yucca Mountain. But all the TV

commercials in the world didn’t convince the 97% of people

in Nevada that it was a good idea. However, it did put Jim

Rodeski center stage of all the payouts and deal making in

Las Vegas. Now every public official who was looking for a

payday knew who to talk to. After all they didn’t want to

talk directly to Ed Vendetti. Jim Rodeski was in the

drivers seat. In fact, when a young stripper is found dead

in his home gym, the press quietly gives him a pass. Then

it is discovered that she is an under aged sex worker. She

is swiped under the dessert sand. Her real name is never

used on the accidental cause death certificate. A drug

over dose of unknown origin for a girl from nowhere.

Anthony is building the case like a Rub Goldberg sculpture.

Here one thing leeds to another pointing the way to the

next person in the scheme. Only luck and carelessness can

explain when Ed Vendetti’s accountant forgets his personal

notebook in a Denney’s restaurant after eating breakfast

one morning. The manager calls Anthony, the first name “A”,

in the book to inform him to come pick it up. When Anthony

goes through the book he realizes that there is a wealth of

notes about payoffs to law enforcement, political officials

and the like. It’s a blue print to a huge corruption

scheme that reaches all the way from the strip clubs to the

Governors office. Information that would get the

accountant killed if anyone knew it was missing. When he

called the Denney’s to recover it, the Manager told him

that he didn’t see it. Someone must have picked it up. The

accountant was so frightened he didn’t say a word to

anyone, least of all Ed Vendetti.

Anthony becomes the “The Man” a treacherous but highly

trusted position. Every week he delivers thousands of

dollars to Rodeski’s PR office. Each package has a note

from Benny with instructions on who the money is for.

“Take this to the fucking greedy “Polock”. I hate giving

him this much. What a pig.”

Now, Anthony has the money trail to Rodeski with Benny

pointing the way. But he needs the next leg of its trip to

the Police and Public Official’s. That opportunity will may

have to wait for some time. What the FBI is working toward

is a RICO case that would involve Ed Vendetti, Albert

Vendetti, The club Managers and Rodeaski. The others are

harder to tag with that because they can claim that they

received the money for Political Campaigns or the Police

Benevolent Fund. There are many ways to hide bribes. It all

about the substantiation of facts, the Sheriff and Police

Commissioner have strait forward payola cases with the

right evidence.

Anthony would have to turn Benny somehow. And Rodeski

would have to roll on everyone he is funneling money to in

return for favors. The first step is for Anthony to find a

way to convince Benny he needs to talk to the FBI Agents

and explain all the entries in his note book. The truth is

all the details are in his head. He is amazing in that he

can remember the dates, times, amounts and who of every

entry in his note book. They don’t call him “Numbers” for

no good reason. Anthony thinks he must be some kind of

savant. Or a brilliant liar. That could be a serious

problem for the government. There’s more than two ways to

get him to talk. The first is to hold his hands over a hot

gas burner until he starts talking. But, that looks bad in

court. Judges and Juries understand that when someone is

tortured, they will say anything. It may not be the truth.

The other way is to become his friend and trusted

collaborator. This takes more time and skill. Anthony knows

that this technique will produce results that can make

believable testimony in court. It worked in Iraqi when he

was in Military Intelligence Officer. Gain their trust and

they will talk. Any testimony acquired in a heavy handed

manner will be thrown out, especially when it involves

public officials who are well represented. So, when the

prosecution points the finger, they better have proof.

Bottom line is, all lawyers know that they must prove up

the charges with reliable evidence.

The Strip Clubs Criminal Defense Attorney Rocco Potenza is

a well known lawyer in Las Vegas. He made his bones by

defending the Mayor from Corruption charges a few years

ago. Rocco sees himself as a F.Lee Baiely of the west. He

dresses in a western costume of Shepler’s finest hats, buck

skin jacket and custom made Tony Lama rattle snake boots.

Like Lee he too was caught taking million dollars from a

drug dealer as a retainer for services. However, the court

disagreed and demanded the money be handed over to the

court. So, Rocco spent 6 months in the county jail for

contempt of court where he made new friends and future

clients. For him it was like going to a defendant

convention.

Rocco knows his way around the police department and court

house. He gets a heads up when the Judges is going to be

late and if they are in a bad mood. Even the court

reporters, leak to him about what is happening in chambers.

Rocco can expedite a new drivers license without a test,

same day service.

The Sheriff’s Department has four elected Officers. Hamb,

Morton, Youngblood and an American Indian named Bobby White

Killer. They are all corrupt but Youngblood who everyone

has been trying to blame for having sex with a hotel maid
during a PGA convention. The maid pointed the finger at

Youngblood but the DNA didn’t match him. The damage was

done. He can’t open his mouth without drawing attention to

the alleged rape incident. So, he has a job but can’t do

anything. Yet he still refuses the dirty money.

Then Las Vegas Sun News Paper Investigator Reporter Daniel

Napper turns in a article about county commissioner Diane

Hernandez. She was living beyond her means. A closet of

expensive shoes totaling over $400,000.00, a $560,000.00

country club home, 2 new BMW’s and a jewelry collection

worth over 1/2 million dollars. She explained her new found

wealth as a result of an inheritance from a wealthy father

in Texas who had died and left everything to her. The only

thing is that her dad is a living dirt farmer in Matamoras,

Mexico. Napper has been following the goings on in the

Strip Club Mafia for sometime. He has seen it grow to

freighting proportions in the last few years. In articals

He calls it “The Strip’s Morbid Obesity.”

Vendetti is getting too much unwanted attention these day

and he wants the “Ragman” put to sleep. Naturally he turns

to Anthony to solve the problem. But this time he wants

his head on a platter. Anthony can’t say no without

causing suspicions. So, he gets more help from the FBI.

They plan to kidnap Napper on his way home from work. A

parking lot next to the Las Vegas Sun is the pick-up point.

They surround him and take him to a hotel room where they

explain that he is about to be killed by the Vendetti’s hit

man. What they need from him is to fake his death until

the RICO case is presented to the court. There he can

testify and go home under government protection. Anthony

has a plan that will satisfy Vendetti without actually

seeing the head of Napper. He stages a hit in front of the

Las Vegas Sun building. Here the newly installed

surveillance cameras will show the killing. Then they will

be released to the press for all to see. It is made to

look like a robbery gone wrong. So, Anthony is not

involved. It looks like some gang banger killed him for a

few bucks before Anthony could do “The thing.” Vendetti and

Rodeski are pleased that he is finally out of the picture.

One less thing to worry about. They can point at the

street gangsters and boost at their support for the police.

The fact that no one could identify the killer didn’t

change the outcry for more political support for the death

penalty.

The payoff for working with Benny “The Book” comes when

Benny makes another mistake. He forgets an entry. Benny

has never forgotten anything before. That is before

leaving the note book at Denny’s. There’s something wrong

with Benny. Anthony takes him to a Doctor to check things

out. After an MRI they discover an 80% blockage in his

carotid artery causing memory problems for him. If this

gets back to Vendetti its all over. Another unmarked grave

in the desert. The good thing is that the Benny’s entry

mistake is undetectable. The surgery is simple and

effective and Benny is back to work. Benny a very

supperstious man, this is a wake-up call. A near death

experience which could have gone the other way. Thanks to

Anthony he is going to survive. He has an epiphany of

sorts. “What’s it all about Anthony? I have been a

catering to slime ball most of my life. Like the drunken

driver who blacks out and drives off the road into the

desert, rolls over, flies out the window and misses

everything that could have killed him.” Anthony, “Maybe its

time to change your life then.” As they talk Benny admits

to all the bribery and payola. He remembers every detail.

All night long he purges the dirty deeds that follow him.

Killings included. Anthony has caught it all on tape.

Everything. Enough to build a complete RICO case. But

Benny will need to take the stand in court and repeat it

all. Here Benny will point his finger at everyone including

the Governor of Nevada.

Then the FBI confronts Rodeski and Vendetti with the RICO

case. They quickly hide behind Rocco. They turn on each

other, blaming Rodeski for handing out the bribes. Rodeski

blaming the Vendetti’s for threatening him if he didn’t do

what he was told. In return Vendetti points the finger at

Rodeski for extorting millions for protection from the law.

In the end there’s a long trial where things get so

convoluted that the Judge asks the prosecution for separate

trials for Ed Vendetti, Big Albert Vendetti, Jim Rodeski.

The others will face justice for taking a bribe by a public

official.

Napper later asked Anthony in an interview, “Anthony tell

me, did the FBI recruit you or have you been an agent all

along?” Anthony answered, "Can't say I remember one way or

another. That’s all I can say about that."

There were enough convictions to satisfy some of the people

in Las Vegas, but most swiftly grew sick of the story. They

couldn’t tell the good guys from the bad. After all Las

Vegas has always had this kind of ugly stuff coming up

about every 10 years or so. Mobsters, drugs, prostitution,

murder, crazy billionaires and weird weddings. If Benny

hadn’t forgotten his note book at Denny’s that morning

things might be different in Las Vegas today.

In the end, everyone got their fingers burned.