zengrifter
Banned
[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)) _
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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)
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)
