Businessman at center of CalPERS scandal commits suicide
Updated 2:12pm
By Dale Kasler, Sacramento Bee
SAN FRANCISCO — In failing health and facing up to 30 years in prison, one-time Stateline businessman Alfred Villalobos apparently committed suicide before going on trial in connection with the bribery scandal at CalPERS.
Villalobos’ attorneys, appearing at a pre-trial hearing in U.S. District Court on Wednesday, disclosed that Villalobos died the day before. His death ends the government’s criminal case against the Nevada businessman –and largely closes the books on a corruption scandal that roiled the nation’s largest public pension fund.
Lt. Albert Snover of the Reno police department said Villalobos’ death is being investigated as a suicide. No further details were available.
Villalobos’ death leaves one matter outstanding in the criminal case stemming from the CalPERS corruption probe. The pension fund’s former chief executive, Fred Buenrostro, who has admitted taking more than $250,000 in bribes from Villalobos, is still scheduled to be sentenced in May for his crime.
Over the last 16 years I worked on a dozen of his real estate transactions. Never met a bigger jerk in my life.
Show us the body.
This is what happens when one does bad things. An eventual unsatisfactory outcome is not surprising.
Not to go all conspiracy theory about this, but I have a hard time believing he committed suicide….I’m guessing he and Ken Lay are on an island in the Bahamas.
Commits suicide at the time the Apollo owned Caesars, (Apollo a company the illegal funds were used to help finance, and Caesars, which owns Harrah’s, where Villalobos dropped at least 100’s of thousands of dollars) starts its fight in bankruptcy court? This sounds almost too unbelievable for Hollywood!
So, what happens to his family’s “inheritance”? He got all that money by nefarious means, now he’s dead so nothing happens?
Committed suicide? He got caught stealing money from CalPers, bribery and who knows what else. The company that is about to declare bankruptcy of the casinos owned by Caesers, (Apollo) ,that would be Harrahs and Harveys at stateline among many others.
He took his life? RIIIIGHT!!!
He took a flight outta here to a place where he’s resting on a beach with drink in hand.
Happy sailing, Alfred! OLS
What is the excuse for Caesars Entertainment, the $20 Billion owed creditors, and who is going to “fall on the sword” there… Loveman… I don’t think so.
Sunriser2, if he was such a jerk why did you keep working with him and collecting commissions on his dozen deals?
Hollywood indeed! But no plane ride to the Bahamas. More like the guys above him said “Vinny, Leo, take Big Al for a ride.”
Remember “there’s no such thing as the mob. If youse say it again, we’ll have ya whacked.”
Deekay,
I didn’t get commissions. I worked in the title business. He would list his properties with my best customers. I would have lost half my market share if I didn’t close his escrows. Same tactic the Feds use.
It’s kind of strange that he was too sick to go to court but made it to the gun range.
“It’s kind of strange that he was too sick to go to court but made it to the gun range.”
Not strange at all. He knew too much about too many powerful people. Political connections, mob connections, both sides of the aisle. They didn’t want him in court spilling info, either. He was enabled by people in power.
Business as usual.