Reza Gerami, Owner of Rave Promotion Co. Go Ventures, Sees Home, Office Raided in Coliseum Investigation
District Attorney's investigators raided the home and office of rave promoter Reza Gerami, owner of Go Ventures, as part of its look into alleged improprieties at the publicly run L.A. Coliseum.
Go Ventures Reza Gerami.
Authorities served search warrants at his Malibu home and West Hills office on Wednesday, D.A.'s spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons told the Weekly Monday.
What did they take? Gibbons:
Computers and documents pursuant to search warrants' for an ongoing investigation by out Public Integrity Division into the Coliseum.
What's all that, you ask? Whew. Long story.
The whole idea of having raves at the Coliseum and its sister venue the Sports Arena came under fire last year after a 15-year-old girl who had attended Electric Daisy Carnival at the Coliseum died of an ecstasy overdose.
We're guessing that the cozy relationship between the promoter of Electric Daisy, Insomniac, and the public Coliseum Commission, which seemed to be on-track to allow raves to continue happening at the venues despite a public outcry, raised the suspicions of the Los Angeles Times, which started digging into the situation.
The paper soon alleged that a top Coliseum manager, Todd DeStefano, took money on the side from Insomniac and Go Ventures, the only two rave promotion companies that organized parties at the Coliseum and Sports Arena.
The Times says that the two promoters paid DeStefano's own production companies about $1.6 million.
At the time the promoters, more specifically Insomniac, were trying to get the Commission to let raves ride despite last year's controversy, DeStefano, a public employee, was lobbying in favor of the parties.
Insomniac had lined up top police officials to back its raves too.
As a result of the paper's investigation the Coliseum and Sports Arena have essentially locked out raves. The D.A. is investigating the DeStefano relationships. And EDC moved to Las Vegas.
The two big promoters in town, Insomniac and Go Ventures, which used to promote New Year's Eve's Together As One at the Sports Arena, have gone their separate ways.
Gerami told the paper last week that he's innocent:
The person who got ripped off was me. If there was foul play on the expenses, it worked against me. I was the victim.
Write Comment
Email to Friend
Print Article
