Pasquale Rotella
23 March 2012. Indictment alleges that millions of dollars belonging to Coliseum was diverted into companies connected to top Coliseum managers, including former General Manager Patrick Lynch and former Events Manager Todd DeStefano.
Insomniac Inc. CEO Pasquale Rotella and former technical manager Leopold Caudillo Jr. Lynch, DeStefano and rave promoter Reza Gerami were arrested on Thursday (22 March 2012).
Court papers filed by prosecutors show charges of bribery and embezzlement involving the rave promoters and the coliseum managers. Defendants Gerami and Rotella paid DeStefano in excess of $1.8 Million in order to continue to hold events they promoted at the Coliseum.
Prosecutors say the Coliseum’s financial loss as a result of the alleged bribery and embezzlement could exceed $2.5 million.
Coliseum is jointly owned by the State of California, Los Angeles County, and the City of Los Angeles; it is currently managed by the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission, which has board members drawn from the three ownership interests.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Wednesday.
