The mysterious demise of Buffalo Jim

#1
[FONT=Arial,Verdana,Helvetica]An unlikely hero, a strange death[/FONT]
The mysterious demise of Buffalo Jim has inspired lots
of speculation, but few facts -- so far

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]by ANDREW KIRALY[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]WITH HIS WIRY BLACK BROOM of a beard, growling voice and penchant for media stunts and wrestling regalia, James "Buffalo Jim" Barrier was truly a larger-than-life character. But it's his mysterious death that may propel the barrel-bellied man -- for better or worse -- into the stratosphere of Las Vegas myth.[/FONT]

(Dead link: http://javascript<b></b>:thumbnailWindow('/articles/2008/04/10/news/local_news/iq_20828691.img', 400, 280)) _
_
PHOTO BY BILL HUGHES
A charismatic character in his natural setting.

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Barrier, 55, was found dead in a Motel 6 on Boulder Highway April 6, apparently with little more than a dollar in his wallet and the Valium he'd use as a sleep aid. Never mind that the coroner's office says it'll take six to 12 weeks to figure out what killed the wrestling impresario, auto mechanic, columnist, and longtime enemy of former topless club owner Rick Rizzolo. Murder seems to be on the lips of everyone. Those closest to him are convinced he was the victim of a hit.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]"We're waiting to see what the autopsy shows," says Jennifer Barrier, 24, one of his four daughters. "But it's pretty obvious it was a homicide." She counts a list of curiosities that just don't add up to her: She says the motel receipt didn't have his signature, that he paid with his check card -- which he never does -- and that he only had a dollar in his wallet. And, surely, a relatively recent dedication to a healthy lifestyle rules out that a drug overdose or a heart attack took the father of four.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Suicide? Doesn't fit his character. "My dad was so excited about life. I know my dad. This was a murder." Jennifer says she said as much to an FBI agent who interviewed her after Barrier's death. (The agent she said she spoke to, Kevin Sheehan, did not return a phone call.)[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]The story of a community hero felled was trumpeted both loud and wide by Barrier's friend and former Las Vegas Councilman Steve Miller, who shot out an e-mail on the evening of April 6.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Miller wrote: "I believe [Barrier] was kidnapped and given an overdose of drugs ... and that Barrier's death MUST BE TREATED AS A HOMICIDE!" Miller's not the only one crying foul play, either; comments on blogs and newspaper websites stop just short of calling for pitchforks and torches to be distributed citywide. The police have said Barrier's death doesn't look like foul play at first glance, but they're checking it out.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]"The community has lost its chief gangbuster," Miller says. "Buffalo shut down one of the most brutal, horrible places that our city ever had, and he did it on his own. He was sitting in the lion's den for 25 or more years, and as long as the place was there, he told them to get lost. He was not only one of the bravest men in the world, but he gave me the strength to write."[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]For years, Barrier had been embroiled in a feud with Rizzolo and his Crazy Horse Too club over everything ranging from parking spaces to drunks getting dumped into the street. Barrier's high-profile battle with the topless joint was at least a small factor in Rizzolo's downfall. [/FONT]

MORE- (Dead link: http://www.lvcitylife.com/articles/2008/04/10/news/local_news/iq_20828691.txt)
 
#3
Buffalo Jim, last year victorious -

--------------------------------
DON'T MESS WITH THE BUFFALO!

Steve Miller and Buffalo Jim Barrier

(AmericanMafia.com photo by Mike Christ)


Always the showman, Rick Rizzolo's next door neighbor former pro wrestler-turned-garage owner
Buffalo Jim Barrier on Sunday rolled out his giant smoke belching Buffalo to diss the men who killed
the goose that laid the golden eggs.
 
#8
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

9:35 AM PDT, Wednesday, April 16, 2008

CONTACT: Jennifer Barrier - 702- 385-6050

MARCH FOR JUSTICE

Friends of the late Buffalo Jim Barrier will march in front of the shuttered Crazy Horse Too at

4 PM, Wednesday, April 16, to demand a full and comprehensive investigation into the

cause of his April 5 death.


Barrier's daughter Jennifer who is organizing the event stated: "I do not want my father to

have died in vain. He was fighting organized crime for our community, and his death must

not go unsolved. The one dollar bill stuffed in his wallet, the missing motel room

key and driver's license, the many death threats he received, and other unusual

circumstances surrounding his death demand a complete homicide investigation. He did

not die of 'natural causes' as some would like us to believe."


Jennifer Barrier stated that her family has been temporarily denied the ability to view the

four minute tape police obtained from the motel where her father's body was discovered,

and they would like to be able to positively confirm if it was he who checked in.


"I know Metro is doing their best and we really appreciate all their effort. But every time I

read in the paper that a detective thinks my dad died a natural death, it makes me

physically ill," stated Jennifer.


"I know the police have many other cases, but look at what my dad was doing at the time of

his death. He had just closed down a Mafia enterprise. This alone should trigger a full court

press from local police and the FBI to find out who was the last person to see him alive,"

stated Barrier.


"Someone out there knows exactly what happened to my dad."


The Barrier family is asking anyone who wants to see justice in this important case to

assemble at 3:30 PM today in front of Allstate Auto next to the Crazy Horse Too on

Industrial Road near the Sahara overpass.


The Crazy Horse property was seized in 2007, and is now in the possession of the United

States of America.

-30-
 
#9
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Vol. 5, No. 12[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]
[/FONT]April 15, 2008
Nevada's Online State News Journal-- Serving Informed Nevadans Since 2003

Opinion:

It’s Time For A Change From Sin City Concept

It Isn’t Cute, It Is Criminal And Good People Are Dying

Attn FBI: Organized Crime Exists, Just Look Under Dirty Rocks

by Johnny Gunn

The Las Vegas concept of what happens here stays here got a jolt in the gut on Sunday, April 6 when the body of Buffalo Jim Barrier was discovered in a motel along the Boulder Highway, because that death could change the way things are done in Clark County. It’s time for the general public to realize that criminal activity is not limited to obnoxious young punks flipping gang signs, that criminal activity takes place in the highest levels of government in that county. And right now, it appears as though some very high level protection is taking place. This isn’t a simple little opinion piece, it is a call to action that must begin with a full fledged grand jury investigation that reaches into the depths of Clark County degradation.

Without so much as a howdy-do, the local cops said Barrier died of natural causes despite the fact he, among others, is responsible for the closure of the Crazy Horse Too strip joint, is responsible, among others, for the prison terms for Rick Rizzolo and his criminal henchmen, and has had his life threatened by Rizzolo’s own father. Rizzolo the elder allegedly tried to run Barrier down in his own parking lot just recently. There have been rumors of a hit for more than a year, and it is believed by many that because of Rizzolo’s known ties to organized crime that a hit would take place.

Those ties from organized crime go deep into the Clark County higher echelon of “officials.” From elected officials to appointed and salaried officials, from the judiciary to high levels of law enforcement, Clark County is known to have elements that respond favorably to the wants and needs of organized crime and it’s time to quit hiding it under the slogan, sin city. If those in a position to seat a grand jury in the southern Nevada county won’t do it, it is time then for Governor Jim Gibbons to call for a state grand jury, which he has the authority to do, and clean out the mess known as Clark County government.

MORE- http://www.nevadaobserver.com/TNO%20Transfer%20Folder%20080415/its_time_for_a_change.htm (Archive copy)
 
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#10



4-21-08

[SIZE=-1]Steve Miller is a former Las Vegas City Councilman. In 1991, the readers of the Las
Vegas Review Journal voted him the "Most Effective Public Official" in Southern Nevada.
Visit his website at: http://www.SteveMiller4LasVegas.com
[/SIZE]


[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=+2]Buffalo Jim buried, but not put to rest - Part Two[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica]
[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]There is nothing to indicate that anything was amiss when he was renting that room.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica]He was in no distress and appeared to be in good spirits.[SIZE=-1] -[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Capt. Randy Montandon[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]‘Lisa’ says she was with Barrier, failed to get help. [SIZE=-1]-[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Las Vegas Sun[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]The police stopped returning my calls. [SIZE=-1]- Jennifer Barrier[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]AmericanMafia.com[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]April 21, 2008[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]
[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica]LAS VEGAS - Former professional wrestler and local mob buster Buffalo Jim Barrier was found dead in a Boulder Highway motel room on Sunday, April 6. He had died the night before. On April 4, the day before his death, a Welcome Home party was held for the man Barrier is given credit for sending to prison.[/FONT] [FONT=Arial,Helvetica]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]Guests at the party held at Piero's, a well known mob hang out, included members of the Ferttita family who own Stations Casinos. The honoree was Rick Rizzolo (Archive copy), former owner of the now shuttered Crazy Horse Too strip club. More on this later.[/FONT]

MORE- http://www.americanmafia.com/Inside_Vegas/4-21-08_Inside_Vegas.html
 
#11
[email protected] wrote:
BULLETIN

Police refuse to let Barrier family view tape of their dad checking in to motel

On Thursday morning, April 24, Las Vegas Metro Police confirmed that family members of the late Buffalo Jim Barrier would be shown the video surveillance tape of their father checking in to the Motel 6 on the night of his death.

At 4:30 PM Thursday, April 24, family members assembled at the West Oakey Sub Station to view the tape. However, they were reportedly told that the police had changed their minds based on a late opinion from the Clark County District Attorney, and the family would be indefinitely barred from viewing the tape.

No official reason was given other than police attorneys had recommended against the viewing taking place.

"This is so insensitive. We waited patiently for almost two weeks for the police to tell us we could see the last moments of our dad's life. When we arrived at the police department at the allocated time, officer Harding told us the viewing was canceled. He would not tell us why. All we want is to start closure, and this unexplained refusal to let us view the tape gives us no other choice than to question whether or not the man on the tape was actually our father," stated Jennifer Barrier. "The police told us that they are not investigating dad's death as a homicide. So why can't we identify who it was that checked in that night?"

The Barrier family said that they are going to ask their family's attorneys to find out why the were granted permission to view the tape, then the permission was rescinded?.

James "Buffalo Jim" Barrier died of unexplained causes in a room at the Boulder Highway Motel 6 on Saturday, April 5, 2008. - SM
 
#12
STREAMING VIDEO OF TOP Ch. 3 NEWS STORY:
Click on: http://www.kvbc.com/
Then click on: "Buffalo Jim's daughters speak out."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Jennifer Barrier [email protected]
Subject: RECORDS REQUEST
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Date: Friday, April 25, 2008, 9:38 AM​

Jennifer Barrier
April 25, 2008
Via: email, fax, U.S. Postal Service

RECORDS REQUEST


Dear Records Request Officer:


Pursuant to the state open records act, as a private citizen and daughter of the late James "Buffalo Jim" Barrier, I request the viewing of the video surveillance tape recovered from Motel 6, 4125 Boulder Highway, Las Vegas, NV, 89121 that shows James "Buffalo Jim" Barrier checking in on the evening or night of April 5, 2008.


My family has been informed and it was heavily reported in the media that this case was investigated as a death, there is no ongoing investigation, therefore as a Nevada open record, the tape should be available for the family to view per the verbal agreement of Det. M. Harding that was later rescinded on April 24, 2008 .


I agree to pay reasonable duplication fees for the processing of this request.


If my request is denied in whole or part, I ask that you justify all deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the act.


Thank you for your assistance.


Sincerely,


Jennifer Barrier


 
#13
thanks for the updates

Thanks for the updates. I knew Buffalo's daughter Jennifer in HS. I even saw the real WWF championship belt cause she brought it to school once. I'm sorry for their losses and I hate when good people are given the run around.
 
#14
Las Vegas Kev said:
Thanks for the updates. I knew Buffalo's daughter Jennifer in HS. I even saw the real WWF championship belt cause she brought it to school once. I'm sorry for their losses and I hate when good people are given the run around.
I did a feature story on the Buffalo for the Las Vegas Tribune in 2005. zg
--------------------------------------
Police refuse to allow Barrier daughters to identify
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]their father on motel video surveillance tape
[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica]

This case is considered an open and
active case
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]at this point. [SIZE=-1]- Lt. Dennis Domansky
[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]
The police told us that they are not investigating dad's

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]death as a homicide. So why can't we identify who

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]it was that checked in that night? [SIZE=-1]- Jennifer Barrier
[/FONT]
[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica]
[SIZE=-1]INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]AmericanMafia.com

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]April 28, 2008[/SIZE][/FONT]
[/SIZE][/FONT]
[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]
LAS VEGAS - He stood up to the city's new crime bosses, and he died a mysterious death. He was referred to
as the "Outspoken enemy of the Mob" after he exposed that his next door neighbors at a politically influential strip club
would routinely rough up customers to extort money while some police, the city, the DA, and several judges routinely looked the other way.
[/SIZE][/FONT]

FULL COLUMN: http://www.americanmafia.com/Inside_Vegas/4-28-08_Inside_Vegas.html
 
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#15


Larger than life

May 7, 2008
by Joshua Longobardy


Buffalo Jim Barrier was a living, breathing tall tale in Las Vegas for 37 years. As his family seeks answers regarding his untimely death, a Weekly writer—and a friend—looks back.

Before he was to be buried, four weeks ago, the great multitudes filed into the Palms Mortuary in the old part of Las Vegas to see Buffalo Jim Barrier one final time. They arrived in endless droves: midgets, wrestlers, Hells Angels, Native American Indians of unadulterated descent, lawyers, journalists, world-renowned neurosurgeons—the lame and the homeless—politicians, bankers, television executives, men who had more money than God, boxers, leviathans, Elvis impersonators, those like Buffalo who fixed cars and who arrived with fresh grease smeared across their jumpsuits, sinners, celebrities, folks as old as Vegas itself and young babes just born into the city this Spring.

“My dad would do anything for his people,” Elise Barrier would say while eulogizing her father. And then, waving her hand across the sea of mourners: “You all were his people.”

Behold, more and more came, from far and wide, to the point that Pastor Marvin Gant would stutter in holy astonishment that in his 32 years of conducting funeral services he had never seen such a sight. The multitudes converged into the nave of the chapel and with a silence bred between reverence and incredulousness they marched down to see Buffalo in his giant’s coffin, large enough to fit a dozen men of normal size and suitable for a Pharaoh’s riches. They marched down on this Saturday as if to follow Buffalo even unto death, or just to see with their own eyes what they could not believe was true: That he had in reality died.

It was a fact. Exactly one week prior, Buffalo had, under the most suspicious and enigmatic circumstances, passed away. ...

MORE- (Dead link: http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/content/nc/news/features/single-story/article/larger-than-life/)
 
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#16
Crazy Horse Sale, Just Another Flop?
Owners Want License Before Financing Is Established
The Crazy Horse Too topless joint venture is becoming a federal and Las Vegas odyssey with twists and turns to make Stephen King happy. Are there new owners? It appears that even Rick Rizzolo’s legal team doesn’t know, as they have filed a brief asking that the U.S. Marshals operate the bar. Former Las Vegas city councilman and currently a columnist and crime writer Steve Miller said recently, “If this were not about a topless bar, and all the resources the government is expending to protect a crook’s personal assets, it would resemble a matter of national security.”

Rizzolo, just out of federal prison on multiple charges coming from illegal activities at the Crazy Horst Too, and owing millions of dollars to one man injured by Rizzolo employees, owing more millions to the IRS, and a million or so to Las Vegas, is asking the federal court to run the Crazy Horse Too so there will be something to sell. One of the people that many believe was very responsible for sending Rizzolo up the river was Buffalo Jim Barrier, who was found dead in a motel room just days after Rizzolo’s release from federal prison.

There are many who believe Rizzolo or someone close to Rizzolo may have been responsible for Barrier’s untimely death. The Clark County Coroner however just released autopsy information that indicates Barrier died from a heart condition that may have been complicated by cocaine use. Barrier’s family disputes the findings and is continuing their private investigation of the death that they emphatically say was “foul play.”

MORE- (Dead link: http://www.nevadaobserver.com/TNO%20Transfer%20Folder%20080601/crazy_horse_sale.htm)
 
#18
zengrifter said:
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Vol. 5, No. 12[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]
[/FONT]April
Without so much as a howdy-do, the local cops said Barrier died of natural causes despite the fact he, among others, is responsible for the closure of the Crazy Horse Too strip joint, is responsible, among others, for the prison terms for Rick Rizzolo and his criminal henchmen, and has had his life threatened by Rizzolo’s own father. Rizzolo the elder allegedly tried to run Barrier down in his own parking lot just recently. There have been rumors of a hit for more than a year, and it is believed by many that because of Rizzolo’s known ties to organized crime that a hit would take place.

Those ties from organized crime go deep into the Clark County higher echelon of “officials.” From elected officials to appointed and salaried officials, from the judiciary to high levels of law enforcement, Clark County is known to have elements that respond favorably to the wants and needs of organized crime and it’s time to quit hiding it under the slogan, sin city. If those in a position to seat a grand jury in the southern Nevada county won’t do it, it is time then for Governor Jim Gibbons to call for a state grand jury, which he has the authority to do, and clean out the mess known as Clark County government.
 
#19
zengrifter said:
GHB - Suspected cause of Barrier’s death

By Steve Miller Saturday, June 21, 2008

Friends of the late James “Buffalo Jim” Barrier are now considering his untimely death
a homicide based on this week’s revelation that GHB was found in his blood and urine.

MORE- http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/3601
From Steve Miller:
Click here to view KVBC TV News story about
GHB found in Buffalo Jim Barrier's blood.
 
#20
The mystery continues. zg
From: [email protected]
Subject: Questions and Answers Re: Buffalo Jim's death
To: [email protected]
Date: Friday, June 27, 2008, 9:01 AM

The following are questions tendered by a very informed reader:

QUESTION: Steve: You make the statement, "It was National Medical Services lab in Willow Grove, PA [rather than Dr. Simms, the Clark County Coroner] that canceled the tests after suggesting that further testing is required. ...After confirming the presence of GHB, National Medical Services informed Quest Lab and Dr. Simms that 'This screening result indicates that further testing is required.' Evidently, Dr. Simms did not want to expend taxpayer dollars to pay the 'fee' for further testing." However, a close reading of the Quest report shows that NMS either tested or was prepared to test both blood and urine samples for GHB. NMS initially tested blood, and reported a GHB concentration of 20 mcg/mL. The notes associated with the blood test state, "THIS SCREENING RESULT INDICATES THAT FURTHER TESTING IS REQUIRED." However, the notes at this location do not comment on what had transpired concerning this indication. The only statement concerning cancellation of further testing appears later in the report, in connection with notes concerning testing of urine. It states, "CANCELLED TEST CALLED ON 05/08/08 AT 10:39 BY CS/PRF948 TO: DR SIMMS/CLIENT," and, "TEST CANCELLED DUE TO INTERFERING SUBSTANCE." It is not obvious to me if this refers to a call by, and a decision by, personnel of Quest, or of NMS. However, it appears from these statements that either Quest or NMS initiated the call to Dr. Simms. The further inference is that either Quest or NMS made the decision that effective further testing was not possible, due to the unspecified interfering substance (possibly cocaine). The further inference of this series of notes is that NMS conducted only a blood test, that the only further test indicated was a urine test, and that NMS did not actually conduct a urine test because this was not considered possible due to the nature of the sample. Would this not suggest that the decision to cancel further testing was made by disinterested professionals, for sound technical reasons? Would this not suggest a lack of any reason to conclude, "Dr. Simms did not want to expend taxpayer dollars," or to conclude that Dr. Simms acted for political reasons?

MY ANSWER: Dr. Simms was asked why the test the canceled. He stated that it was canceled by NMS due to interference from another substance. When asked why further testing was not conducted, he had no answer. When it is required to conduct further testing to determine the quantity of a substance, NMS informs the supplying agency or lab. It did so, and evidently was informed that there was no interest in continuing with further testing. The final authority was Simms, not Quest. If disinterested professionals canceled the testing for sound technical reasons, they would have said that no further testing was required. Why would they want to waste their time doing tests that they could not complete? The final authority was only Simms, not Quest or NMS who said further testing was "required," but obviously was not authorized by the person or lab that originally requested NMS' services.

QUESTION: Also, you quote the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), "Standard toxicological tests cannot detect GHB, but the National Forensic Laboratory (National Medical Services, 800-522-6671 ) will perform urinalysis for detection of GHB for a fee." Does this not suggest that Dr. Simms recognized the possibility of foul play, and made the effort, at additional county expense, to obtain tests for GHB that would not be part of the standard tests conducted in connection with an autopsy? If Dr. Simms had wished to avert the possibility of learning an inconvenient truth, wouldn't he simply have refrained from ordering these tests in the first place?

ANSWER: Dr. Simms did not provide a clear answer as to whom ordered NMS' services and why.

QUESTION: Is Dr. Worrell able to comment on the procedures followed in such cases, and to give a more informed interpretation of the notes in the Quest report?

ANSWER: Dr. Worrell has not been available to answer questions.

QUESTION: You say, "Barrier's blood and urine samples were drawn on Monday, April 7, approximately 36 hours after his death --plenty of time for the 'rapid elimination' of GHB that Barrier may have received on the night of his death." But does GHB continue to be eliminated, or does it break down in the blood stream, even following death? Or does the elimination process proceed and does the blood concentration of GHB decline according to the half life stated by NMS only UNTIL death?
The Wikipedia states, "gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid, 4-hydroxybutanoic acid, or GHB, is a naturally-occurring substance found in the central nervous system, wine, beef, small citrus fruits, and almost all animals in small amounts." What blood levels would be considered within the normal range of background quantities?

ANSWER: The first blood sample taken by the county on April 7, about 36 - 39 hours after death showed 20 mcg/mL. Dr, Worrell was contracted by the Barrier family to look for signs of foul play. She drew blood on April 9, about 84 hours after death and found no sign of GHB. Something happened to the GHB in the 48 hours between the two samples. It probably dissipated naturally.

QUESTION: I don't recall if you earlier made a copy of the autopsy report available. Can you clarify what it states as having been the immediate cause of death?

ANSWER: "DIALATED CANDIOMYOPATHY. A significant contributing condition is COCAINE INTOXICATION." - That's all, according to Dr. Larry Simms

QUESTION: You now say that Barrier died of "dilated cardiomyopathy." However, that term does not review to an acute event leading immediately to death. The Wikipedia states, " Dilated cardiomyopathy or DCM, also known as congestive cardiomyopathy, is a condition in which the heart becomes weakened and enlarged, and cannot pump blood efficiently. The decreased heart function can affect the lungs, liver, and other body systems. DCM is one of the cardiomyopathies, a group of diseases that primarily affect the myocardium (the muscle of the heart). Different cardiomyopathies have different causes, and affect the heart in different ways. Is there a risk of a drug interaction between GHB and cocaine, leading to a risk of death greater than that presented by either drug acting alone?

ANSWER: This is yet to be determined. The doctors I have so far interviewed seem very unfamiliar with GHB. Because it is so new on the scene, and only recently classified an illegal substance, very few experts are out there to interview.

QUESTION: Is there evidence of how the cocaine found in Barrier's system was administered?

ANSWER: Neither Simms nor Worrell swabbed his nasal cavities to determine if he voluntarily snorted it. The cocaine was all over his beard, shirt, mustache, room key, and front passenger seat of his car. It almost looked staged like his pants down around his knees. I don't believe coke users waste the expensive stuff that way unless they sneeze a lot.

QUESTION: The following scenario strikes me as plausible. Someone knowing of Barrier's habit of carrying cash wishes to rob him, and entices him into the motel room, a private place where he is vulnerable. The robber shares cocaine with him. He feels safe and at ease. The robber then gives him GHB in his drink, intending only to incapacitate him. However, things go wrong. Barrier becomes comatose or stops breathing. The robber nevertheless carries through with the plan, but leaves one dollar in his wallet to confuse investigators, and flees. Barrier is found dead, in the condition that has been described.

ANSWER: Very plausible. He obviously trusted Lisa. But I've learned that she had a past association with a Crazy Horse Too stripper who she lived with for 3 years. A close associate of Rizzolo has a family member who has a doctor's prescription for medicinal GHB as a sleep aid. Lisa's cell phone was disconnected or the number changed on April 6, the day after Buffalo's death. The police did not hold her, and she can no longer be located. This case is screaming for further investigation by experienced homicide detectives, but it is assigned to the "Victimless Crimes" detail.

xxx
 
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