A Las Vegas police investigation into spending practices at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has stopped short of a determination of any wrongdoing by outgoing CEO Rossi Ralenkotter.
“At this time, there are insufficient facts to support a criminal case against Mr. Ralenkotter,” stated a letter from Metro Police Deputy Chief Shawn Andersen to Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly, who chairs the authority’s board of directors.
The finding, which concurs with probes by LVCVA auditors and legal counsel, clears the longtime leader of the tourism agency of any “criminal intent or criminal wrongdoing,” according to Weekly.
Ralenkotter, 71, announced his retirement in June after 40 years with the LVCVA and 14 as president and CEO. He is scheduled to exit August 31 with a retirement package that includes a $132,132 bonus and an 18-month consulting deal worth $270,000. He will also receive state pension benefits valued at $350,000 or more per year.
He will be succeeded by Chief Operating Officer Steve Hill, who becomes just the third person to head the authority in the last 27 years.
Ralenkotter and other LVCVA executives came under investigation after the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the agency had mishandled some $90,000 worth of Southwest Airlines gift cards.
Ralenkotter used nearly $17,000 of them for personal travel, often with his wife, between 2012 and 2017 until the practice was discovered. He apologized and reimbursed the LVCVA for the cost of the cards. Weekly also used the cards to pay for a $1,400 trip with his daughter. He paid back the agency for the cost of his daughter’s flight.
Brig Lawson, the LVCVA executive who bought the gift cards from Southwest and distributed them to staff at the agency, resigned earlier this year.
Some $50,000 worth of the cards remain missing, according to an authority audit.
The Review-Journal says the police investigation is continuing.
