Investigative Report Dossier   by Matias Travieso-Diaz

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Douglas Coupland

 LAS VEGAS JOURNAL – INVESTIGATIVE REPORT DOSSIER

CURRENT AS OF: February 4, 2000

1: Identity of the subject: Trent Allison Blackwood, dob: April 23, 1947

2: Subject’s address(es): Local (most recent): Royal Flush Hotel, 4472 Paradise Rd., Las Vegas, NV 88119

Home (if different): (Last known): 743 North Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

3: Family members, friends, victims, and enemies: See item 5.

4: Published references to subject: References to Mr. Blackwood have been made in the Los Angeles press, and in other newspapers and magazines (Attachment 1). An example:

          LA TIMES:
          MORNING REPORT – NEWS FROM DEC. 31, 1999

Trial Date Set in Blackwood Securities Fraud Case

The clerk of the LA Superior Court issued a notice over the weekend advising that the trial in the criminal case against Trent Blackwood on fraud charges over the Mirage Industries collapse will begin on January 8, and is expected to last for several weeks. Jury selection is set to be completed in the first few days of the trial.

Attempts to contact Mr. Blackwood about this notice have been unsuccessful. 

5: Public records information: A search of public records involving Mr. Blackwood in California is ongoing. No relevant records from Las Vegas have been located. A preliminary internet search revealed that Mr. Blackwood married Rebecca T. Burgess in June 1970 and divorced her in September 1986; married Tanya Estevez in April 1991 and divorced her in January 1993. He has three children: Lucas Blackwood, born in March 1972, Eileen Blackwood, born in January 1974, and Elias Blackwood, born in February 1975. Records of  business permits, licenses, building permits, recorded deeds, trust deeds, conveyances, notices of sale, powers of attorney, liens, local, state, and federal taxes, bonds, property tax records, unsecured property tax records, business filings, political donations, consumer affairs licenses, and driving records remain to be secured.

6: California Court Proceedings: As per the reports in the press (Attachment 1) Mr. Blackwood is involved in several civil suits by and against him by his former partners in Mirage Industries; he is a defendant in two tort actions for damages by purchasers of Mirage cosmetics; he is undergoing proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court; and he is going to trial in the above-mentioned securities fraud criminal case. He is charged with having a majority ownership of a thinly capitalized cosmetics business, endangering the safety of the public by selling products containing toxic substances, and defrauding investors by issuing worthless shares in his company.

7: Federal Investigation of Potential Criminal Activity: On January 1, 2000, Mr. Blackwood was arrested by FBI agents in his Paradise hotel room. As detailed in the FBI rap sheet (Attachment 2), Mr. Blackwood is being charged with conducting a multi-state large-scale fraudulent gambling operation in complicity with one Gregory Tomlison of Santa Monica, California. The alleged facts, as summarized in the rap sheet, are as follows: 

a. In complicity with other unnamed persons, Blackwood and Tomlison partnered in the rigging of a December 22, 1999 football game between TCU and East Carolina University. Tomlison placed large bets in favor of TCU at each of nine casinos throughout the United States. He won a total of $900,000. He had collected on eight of the nine bets and went to the Mandalay Bay Resort, intending to meet with Blackwood, collect on the ninth, and share the proceedings of the criminal enterprise with his accomplice.

b. While at the Mandalay Bay, Tomlison suffered a heart attack. Blackwood summoned help, but Tomlison died while help was on its way. Blackwood went to the cashier’s cage, presented a ticket for the Mobile Alabama Bowl bet, and collected $200,000 in cash.

c. After exiting the Mandalay Bay, Blackwood proceeded to the Treasure Island Hotel, where he spent several hours playing twenty-one. Apparently, he lost all the money in his possession, including the amount collected at the Mandalay Bay.

d. .Blackwood returned to his hotel room close to midnight, filled a tub with hot water, disrobed, laid on the tub, and cut his wrists with a razor, intending to commit suicide. His attempt was thwarted by the arrival of FBI agents seeking to arrest him for his above-mentioned criminal activity, which had been under investigation for some time.

e. Blackwood is currently undergoing treatment at the Sunrise Hospitalin Paradise. Upon discharge, he will be released into the custody of the FBI and extradited to California for his scheduled trial, and later will face another trial in Federal court on the above-described charges.

8: Other Matters: Blackwood has issued a statement concerning his legal troubles and attempted suicide. It reads as follows: 

Statement of Trent Allison Blackwood

1. 1. I was indicted and am scheduled to stand trial in Los Angeles v. Blackwood, a security fraud case brought against me by the City of Los Angeles in my capacity as President of the defunct Mirage Industries, Inc. I have pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against me and intend to defend myself vigorously and prove my innocence.
   2. The purpose of this statement is not to address the issues that will be litigated in the Los Angeles trial, but to set the record straight on certain matters that transpired on December 31, 1999 and January 1, 2000 during my stay in the city of Las Vegas, Nevada.
   3. On December 31, 1999, having received notice from counsel that my trial in the Los Angeles case would commence in a few days, I decided to take a short vacation in Las Vegas to relax and prepare myself mentally for the upcoming trial.
   4. Upon arrival in Vegas, I started searching for a place to stay. After hours of searching, I was able to book the last available single room at a motel in Paradise, a long walk from the Strip.
   5. Since it was the eve of a new millennium, I resolved to stay up past midnight and while away the remaining hours of the day by gambling. I went to the Bally’s hotel, bought nickels, and began playing one of the five cent slots. I hit the jackpot and found himself in possession of an avalanche of nickels amounting to one hundred and eighty-five dollars.
   6. I had a leisurely dinner and drank a lot of wine. By six thirty I began to walk through the Strip to clear my head. I ended up at the Race and Sportsbook lounge at the Mandalay Bay casino. I sat on one of the lounge’s couches and ordered a beer.
   7. A few minutes later I was joined at the couch by a stranger, a heavy-set middle-aged man holding a large glass of whiskey. He sat and focused intently on one of the lounge’s TV screens, which was showing the Sun Bowl game between Oregon and Minnesota. I asked my companion, whose name I never learned: “Do you have money on this game?”  The answer surprised me: “No, I don’t, but I like watching games to practice my skill in predicting the final score. It looks like Oregon is going to win this one.” I replied: “Are you really able to predict in the third quarter how a close football game is going to end?”  The man turned towards me, slurring his words: “Not only that, but I can figure out even the point spread. Oregon by three or four points.”
   8. When I suggested he could be making money using his talent, he retorted: “Yes. In the last ten days I’ve made a killing. On December 22 there was the Mobile Alabama Bowl game between TCU and East Carolina. I figured out that TCU would win by two touchdowns and the point spread was Carolina plus 10, meaning that TCU was favored to win by ten points or less. I picked TCU and placed bets at each of nine casinos. I won a total of $900,000.”
   9. I was somewhat skeptical and asked: “Then, what are you doing here?” He replied instantly: “Casinos keep track of large bets placed on a single game and alert each other to prevent fraud. So, I did not cash the winnings on my bets all at once, but one every day. This is my last collection, here at the Mandalay. I leave Vegas tonight to return to LA.”
   10. A few minutes later, I heard loud grunts coming from my couch companion. Turning to him, I noticed that the man had turned very pale, was sweating, and appeared to be experiencing shortness of breath. When I asked, “Are you okay?”  “No” was the response. “I’m having pains in my chest and the arms… Maybe a heart attack… Listen, get me help. In my jacket there’s a ticket from this casino for the TCU game. It’s worth $200,000. Cash it, bring the money to me, and we’ll split it.”
   11. I took the ticket, ran to the counter to summon help, and then returned to the couch where the man lay, drifting in and out of consciousness.  I sat by him until two paramedics arrived pushing a stretcher. One of them bent over the man and took his pulse. He turned to the other and said: “I think he is dead.”  I watched as they tried to resuscitate him, without success.
   12. I walked away from the death scene and went to the cashier’s cage, where I presented the ticket with the Mobile Alabama Bowl game bet. The cashier looked at her screen, then at the ticket and frowned. “How do you want the money?”  “Hundred-dollar bills, please,” I replied.  “I’ll get a satchel” she replied. A long while later she returned with a briefcase containing the cash. I thanked her, walked out of the Mandalay, and headed towards my motel.
   13. As I walked, I found myself next to the Treasure Island casino. Remembering my early streak of good luck playing the slot machines, I decided to try to make a little more money playing cards. Entering the hotel, I proceeded to the High Limit Lounge, a small room containing blackjack tables, baccarat tables, and a large roulette.
   14. Over the next three and a half hours I played blackjack, and ultimately lost all the money I had. I went out to the street and trudged back to my motel.
   15. In my room, I took off my clothes and drew a hot bath. I climbed into the tub, intending to get some rest. My thoughts then turned into a review of my life and my mood became increasingly somber. On impulse, I decided to end it all. I opened a package of single blade razors I had purchased along the way, took a razor out, and slashed my wrists. I dozed off. My next recollection was waking up in the emergency room of the Sunrise Hospital.
   16. I never had met the man who gave me his betting ticket at Mandalay Bay Resort, and never engaged in a fraudulent gambling activity with him or anyone else. 

 

            /ss/ 

Trent Allison Blackwood

January 15, 2000 

 

9: Follow-Up Actions: (a) Investigate possible compulsive gambling angle; (b) Research connections between Blackwood and Tomlison in California prior to December 31, 1999 and track other potential fraudulent gambling ventures; (c) Interview staff at Mandalay Bay re suspicious circumstances Tomlison’s death; (f) follow up on Blackwood’s suicide attempt in Las Vegas.

FILE CLOSING: Trial in Trent Blackwood’s LA Superior Court securities fraud case was rescheduled on account of his attempted suicide while in Las Vegas. Because of the planned Federal charges involving the alleged fraudulent gambling operation, he was held awaiting trial at the California State Prison, Los Angeles County in Lancaster, California. While at that facility, on February 3, 2000 Blackwood was assaulted by another inmate and stabbed to death with a shank. On account of Blackwood’s death, the investigation described herein could not be completed and the question whether he was guilty of all or any of the crimes with which he was charged remains unresolved.

[Attachment 1] [Filed separately]

[Attachment 2] [Filed separately]

 

Matias Travieso-Diaz 

Image –  A gavel on a stand