Las Vegas Weekly

June 11, 2008 · 12:29 AM

Sex lairs, prostitutes, drug charges at center of Nicholas case

By Robin Leach

FBI agents are probing links to Vegas prostitutes and escort agencies amidst extraordinary allegations that billionaire Broadcom co-founder Henry Nicholas drugged his business cohorts, hired hookers and maintained a drug and sex dungeon warehouse. Federal prosecutors have charged the industrialist in one of the largest stock-option fraud cases in U.S. history. An 18-page indictment on the charges alleges that Nicholas kept properties in Las Vegas and in Orange County including a sex and drug warehouse in Laguna Niguel, Calif.

Luxe Life has confirmed that FBI agents have questioned several Vegas women who knew the mega-bucks business executive -- and partied with him. One even told me that the billionaire often recruited good-time girls to party with him here and go to his underground sex chambers for ’round-the-clock weekend sex parties.

The 48-year-old industrialist, well-known at casinos and nightclubs here for his armfuls of busty blondes, has been indicted with conspiracy and securities fraud in an alleged scheme that ultimately forced Broadcom to write down $2.2 billion in profits last year. Prosecutors said his high-flying lifestyle included jetting around the world in his two private planes, building a secret lair under his house and hiring Vegas strippers to party at a private warehouse stocked with cocaine, methamphetamine and ecstasy. The court documents claim Nicholas hired Vegas prostitutes and escorts for himself, his employees and customers. One claim in the legal documents states that he smoked so much marijuana during a flight on a 2001 private jet flight between Orange County and Las Vegas that the pilot had to put on an oxygen mask.

For the record, his defense attorney, Gregory Craig, said that Nicholas was innocent and would prevail -- but in court U.S. Magistrate Arthur Nakazato set bail at $3.3 million. He also ordered random weapons searches and drug tests by the government, home detention, electronic monitoring and the disabling of Nicholas' two private planes. Nicholas, in handcuffs agreed to the conditions of release. Nakazato said he was concerned that the accused’s extreme wealth could allow him to flee his $18 million Newport Beach home, describing him as "one of the wealthiest men in the world."

"If you flee, I will detain you and I will order an arrest warrant and I'll have the marshals and the FBI going on a hunt for you," Nakazato said. "And when they bring you back, I'm not going to show much mercy." The arraignment was set for Monday.

The allegations recall two earlier civil lawsuits filed against Nicholas that accused him of rampant drug use and hiring prostitutes. One lawsuit was cited by prosecutors in a motion filed Thursday that sought to deny bail for Nicholas. Nicholas’ former bodyguard and personal assistant, Kenji Kato, filed that suit. A construction crew that claimed they were hired to build an underground lair for Nicholas where he could indulge in sex with prostitutes and drug use filed a second lawsuit last year. The workers claimed Nicholas failed to pay them millions of dollars and used intimidation and death threats to prevent them from leaving the project, which was kept secret from Nicholas' wife and city inspectors.

Nicholas co-founded Broadcom Corp. in 1991 to make microchips for cell phones and broadband Internet devices. It has reported a strong first-quarter profit and forecast second-quarter sales of $1.08 billion to $1.13 billion, ahead of Wall Street banker predictions. Nicholas was president until his 2003 resignation.

He now faces a total of 21 counts in both indictments. The drug charges carry a maximum combined sentence of 20 years in prison. He could face up to 340 years in prison on the stock backdating charges. He has been at a $66,000 a month Malibu drug rehabilitation clinic since April according to his attorney – presumably the Promises center where Britney Spears and a number of other Hollywood celebrities have been treated.

UFC PREZ PLANS SURPRISE SHOCK ANNOUNCEMENT:

Expect a five-year blueprint for the future of UFC to be revealed by its president Dana White this Thursday. He’s going to make a “blow your mind” announcement here in Vegas, where his UFC is headquartered –- and all the details are being kept secret for another 24-hours. Dana claims the earth-shattering deal is known only to his partners, the Fertitta brothers, and the lawyers and has been kept secret from the UFC fighters and employees.

Dana will also confirm that star fighter and face of the UFC, Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell, will return to fighting with a UFC debut battle in Atlanta. The former light-heavyweight champ suffered a hamstring injury, which prevented him fighting against Rashad Evans in UFC 85. With both CBS and NBC planning to broadcast free mainstream mixed martial arts fights, UFC has to make a major move to improve its Spike cable-TV audience impact to stay No. 1. Insiders claim that Dana has pacted a deal that will “blow people’s minds.” Expect the shocker to come late tomorrow afternoon!

THE GOVERNOR, HIS CELL PHONE & 850 TEXT MESSAGES:

Revelations Tuesday that Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons used his state-owned cell-phone to send more than 850 text messages in one month to a woman he’s accused of having an affair with made headlines throughout the State. Two weeks ago, first lady Dawn Gibbon s filed court documents saying their 22-year-long marriage had ended because of his “infatuation and involvement” with the wife of a Reno doctor. Two weeks before that, I reported that the governors escalating outbound and inbound texts and IM’s had gotten to a point where it had scuttled the marriage. Only now -- four weeks after Luxe Life broke that exclusive wicked whisper -– has the mainstream media gotten the facts. On one Friday, the governor exchanged 160 text messages with the woman between 8.30 a.m. and 11:45 p.m. That’s more than a hottie in a Vegas nightclub can do between her fingers! The governor has reimbursed the state for the cost of the texts because the state cell phone wasn’t linked to a text-message pay plan! Once again, Luxe Life breaks the scoop!

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