Private Eye Ernie Rizzo Dead At 64

Chicago area private eye, Ernie Rizzo was a unique character. He began his career as a Franklin Park, Illinois cop. One day they fired him but he sued the village and won reinstatement with back pay. The department hated that and rather then let him work they assigned and paid him to stay at his home and actually checked to make sure he was there. That went on for a while until he opened his detective agency.

Rizzo hung around another Chicago area PI, Tony Pellicano who is now awaiting trial for wiretapping and racketeering allegations after doing time for possession of a hand grenade and C-4 explosives in L.A. Rizzo and Pellicano pretended to be rivals at times when they were really collaborators.

Rizzo is no stranger to wiretapping and took a fall for it a while back. Rizzo’s license was revoked but that did not even slow him down. Rizzo’s wife ran the agency and hired Rizzo as a consultant. The Illinois Department of Registration and Education soon learned that they had no control over that move. I don’t have a clue how it happened but eventually Rizzo was again licensed as a PI.

Rizzo was effective at getting information but he consistently grandstanded at the expense of his publicity shy clients. Rizzo never met a TV camera he didn’t like. I guess it was good for business.

I was told long ago that the reason that Michael Jackson was able to Moon Walk away from child-molesting charges more than a decade ago was because Rizzo worked one side of the case and Pellicano worked the other. These two had arranged that 21 million dollar settlement that kept the victim away from the witness stand. They brokered the deal for the lawyers involved. Nobody ever looked back, but Rizzo and Pellicano both got a bundle for that case.

With Rizzo dead and Pellicano in a federal lock-up the field is open for replacements for these sleuths. I just can’t imagine another pair of PI’s replacing these two guys. The exploits of these two private dicks could start a feature film franchise that would rival The James Bond films.

Rizzo died in a Chicago hospital of heart problems. Rizzo’s wife of 43 years, a son and daughter survive him.

A 40 Caliber Nightmare Is Caught On Tape.

So you’re confident that that .40 caliber S&W service round will keep you safe. Maybe you’ll have second thoughts after you see this video. One hot summer night in 1994 Tempe and Mesa Arizona police were involved in a pursuit with this suspect who ran into a stranger’s apartment to hide after being shot TWICE in the chest. He was shirtless and you can see the blood pumping out of those two wounds. What’s really frightening is just how agile this fellow is as he struts to the ambulance. If he was not handcuffed and had a knife or a gun, ask yourself if he could still hurt you, your partner or a hostage? If your jurisdiction demands that officers carry either the 9MM or the .40 Caliber S&W it’s time to show this video to your bosses and lobby to have the .45 ACP round authorized. The switch may well reduce the screaming by self-appointed community activists about how many rounds police had to use on a suspect. The really talented and courageous video journalist, Karen Ke...

The origin of the feature film, COME FRIDAY…

CLick On the pictures to see full size versions. Long ago there was a young lady I had the hots for in a big way (Yes, I know that hots is not a word). She was pretty, incredibly bright, and had some real elegance about her. She had a love for children and basic kindness that you don’t often see in someone her age. I met her parents and could understand she came from a much more stable home than mine. I was raised by a single, welfare mom and suddenly found myself way out-classed. For whatever reasons things did not workout they way I had hoped. Sadly for me, we went on our separate ways. From time to time I’d run into this lady in various places where our job had taken us. Whenever this happened my heart would skip a beat or two. I left my hometown Chicago, and moved to Arizona where I founded my detective agency. As a private eye and soon a TV news producer too, my career took me to the highest profile criminal events in Arizona and throughout the country. There’s no question that ...

America Will See Its Worst Race Riot Yet This Summer

Star Prosecution Witness, Rachel Jeantel Sanford, FL —Yes, the George Zimmerman trial here has thousands of African-Americans getting ready for some serious bloodletting. I don’t want to make idle and dire predictions but this nation has never been so divided and racially sensitive. Our African-American President took sides on this case at the very beginning. That ratified a George Zimmerman guilty verdict in the minds of millions. There’s just one little problem, and that is the murder case should have never been filed. It was filed purely for political reasons despite the fact that it was a simple justifiable homicide. Zimmerman was on the block watch lookout program and followed a suspicious Trayvon Martin after he used an improper entrance to a gated community. Zimmerman was acting as the eyes and ears of the Sanford Police Department. Martin did not like being followed and knew that he could easily beat up the out-of-shape...

Search This Blog