Insomniac Indicted In Coliseum Case

A newly released indictment by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office has implicated three more people in connection with a scandal surrounding the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, including the head of rave promotion company Insomniac Events.

Insomniac CEO Pasquale Rotella appeared in court March 23 to surrender to authorities in connection with corruption charges raised in the indictment. However, in a statement, his attorney Gary Jay Kaufman called the claims “baseless.”

“Pasquale Rotella has always acted lawfully and appropriately with respect to all of his dealings with the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Any allegations of wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Rotella by the District Attorney’s office are completely baseless and flat-out wrong, both on the law and on the facts,” Kaufman wrote. “All transactions between Insomniac and the Coliseum were transparent and approved by the Coliseum General Manager, his staff and the attorneys representing the Coliseum.

“While we recognize that issues surrounding the Coliseum demand attention, we are extremely disappointed that the District Attorney would seek to have Mr. Rotella arrested when he did nothing wrong.”

Other people named in the indictment include the state-owned Coliseum’s former technology manager, Leopold Caudillo, Jr., and a former contractor with the stadium Tony Estrada, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Former Coliseum GM Patrick Lynch, former events manager Todd DeStefano and Go Ventures CEO Reza Gerami were arrested March 22.

Lynch and DeStefano, who’ve been subject to several local, state and federal investigations during the past year over questionable financial activities, have denied the charges. Gerami previously told the Times he’d done nothing wrong.

DeStefano attorney Richard Hirsch argued in court during a bail reduction motion that his client is the “scapegoat of all scapegoats” in this case of venue mismanagement.

DeStefano received approval from Lynch to work on the side with rave promoters, generating substantial revenues for the venue, of which he was awarded a percentage of additional fees, Hirsch said.

“There exists a significant issue as to whether there was any loss at all. This was not Coliseum money,” he added. “There was no theft. Nothing was stolen from the Coliseum.”

Bail for four of the defendants has been set at amounts ranging from $800,000 to $1.2 million, according to the Times.