Caesar Sebastian

Raver.

Last week we reported than an email described by the prosecution as a "smoking gun" had a questionable time stamp and arguably raised other issues with the criminal case against Insomniac Events' Pasquale Rotella and Go Ventures' Reza Gerami.

Now comes word that a judge has dismissed part of the Coliseum's civil suit against the pair:

Caesar Sebastian

One of those emails, which a main prosecutor told us is a "smoking gun," has a 1999 time stamp on it. But the case against the two only alleges improprieties since 2008.

What gives?

Colin Young-Wolff

Electric Daisy Carnival fans in Vegas.

Rave promoters at the publicly run L.A. Coliseum and Sports Arena paid decreasing rents as they raked in millions in ticket revenues at their events, an audit released today by L.A. City Controller Wendy Greuel states.

In one case the promoter of 2010's Love Festival paid no rent, and the controversial Electric Daisy Carnival in 2010 paid $20,000 rent and took in nearly $13 million in ticket sales, according to Greuel.

What she called the Coliseum's "lax oversight" also led to ...

Reza Gerami.

Some of the assets of Pasquale Rotella and Reza Gerami, rival promoters who held electronic dance music parties at the Coliseum and L.A. Sports Arena next door, were frozen after they were charged with embezzlement in a case that essentially accuses the duo of paying a Coliseum manager venue fees on the side.

Today a judge said that ...

Leah Lee / Insomniac

Rotella, right, with his criminal attorney.

In fact the potential sentence for Reza Gerami of Go Ventures is 15 years, 8 months, according to D.A.'s spokeswoman Jane Robison. Pasquale Rotella of Insomniac Events, which has received more focus because a 15-year-old died of an ecstasy overdose after attending one of his Coliseum events, could see 13 years, 8 months behind bars:

Caesar Sebastian

When you first heard about the indictments against a pair of rave promoters and some of the L.A. Coliseum's top managers, you probably thought, Woh, this is serious.

After all, words like conspiracy, embezzlement and bribery are heavy, not to mention the fact that the prosecution sought to freeze more than a million dollars worth of defendants' assets.

But it turns out that so-called white collar crime isn't has heavy as, say, having some drugs in your pocket:

Caesar Sebastian

Cooley, also known for his stance against medical marijuana dispensaries, almost seemed to speak through the pages of the office's case.

In response to the promoters' requests for lower bail, prosecutors stated:

Pasquale, hugging.

Defendants in the corruption scandal at the L.A. Coliseum today pleaded not guilty today.

Indictments, the details of which had yet to be revealed to the press, targeted rave promoters Reza Gerami and Pasquale Rotella as well as the public venue's former general manager, Patrick Lynch, and events manager, Todd DeStefano.

Both rave promoters have maintained their innocence in statements:

Go Ventures

Reza Gerami.

Two former L.A. Coliseum officials and a rave promoter were arrested as part of a corruption scandal that has rocked the publicly run venue.

Former Coliseum general manager Patrick Lynch, events manager Todd DeStefano and rave promoter Reza Gerami were arrested this morning by investigators from the District Attorney's office, Jane Robison of the District Attorney's office told the Weekly.

Why?

Holden Karau

Turns out there's another reason for E users in this rave capital of the nation to consider sticking with marijuana:

A recent Case Western Reserve University study found that a pregnant mom's ecstasy use could be bad news for the development of a newborn. Not only that, but ...

Kevin Todora

Raver boys.

FBI agents in recent weeks have contacted rave organizers as part of its investigation, the Weekly learned today.

This comes as the Los Angeles Times reported that ...

Rasmin

You see, while ravers often complain of depression because they use up all their happy coupons every Saturday night (often in the form of serotonin-greedy ecstasy), physicians who treat hardcore cases of depression are finding that one club drug is, well, a serious happy coupon.

And perhaps it's a lifesaver:

CuriousJosh

Dancing in the streets.

That all makes you feel a little sorry for the one guy who has to pay for his participation.

Noel Stephen Buller was sentenced to ...

Timothy Norris

Young faces at the 2009 Electric Daisy Carnival.

On Tuesday lawyers for the Coliseum planned to amend the body's lawsuit against the rave promoters and its former managers to include allegations that this money was misappropriated, according to a statement.

As much as $600,000 in taxes could have been saved by allegedly paying International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) stagehands under the table. It's not clear if their pension contributions and other benefits were also avoided as part of this alleged scheme.

Cesar Sebastian

Ravers at the L.A. Sports Arena.

Parks, a former LAPD police chief, is a law-and-order guy through-and-through. And if you ask some top cops, including Deputy Chief Patrick Gannon, those parties are hotbed of "blatant drug use" that have required hundreds of extra officers at taxpayer expense.

For some reason, though, Parks has been more gung-ho than an 18-year-old holding glowsticks:

Ravers.

But in a timely warning a Melbourne university professor says in just-published research that dropping MDMA and getting behind the wheel produces "erratic and dangerous driving behaviour."

That's not exactly a new observation:

Ceasar Sebastian

Ravers.

A Vanderbilt University psychiatry professor concludes in recent research that MDMA, the drug favored at parties here in the rave capital of the nation, "causes lasting changes in brain," according to a school statement.

And those changes aren't, apparently, good. Vanderbilt:

When ravers met politics.

In the wake of the controversy over 2010's Electric Daisy Carnival it became clear that the promoter was way too cozy with the people who manage the day-to-day operations of the publicly owned L.A. Coliseum. A former official reportedly took more than $1 million from companies doing business with the venue. Its general manager quit and was later alleged to have used his position to get rare perks, including a car.

Now L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas is proposing that the Coliseum Commission, which controls the venue and ultimately acted as boss to those alleged characters, consider dissolving itself:

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:

Raving at the Coliseum.

Former Coliseum general manager Pat Lynch is alleged to have received kick backs of $1 to $1.25 for every hour worked by cleaning and set-up hands. That turned out to be worth $394,716 since 2006, according to the suit's claims.

As for onetime Coliseum manager Todd DeStafano ...