Billionaire arrest detailed
Security found drugs after opening door for man
A billionaire got locked out of his guest room at a Strip hotel Tuesday. His day went downhill from there.
Security at the Encore discovered various narcotics and recreational drugs inside of Henry T. Nicholas III’S guest room Tuesday after unlocking and entering the room, according to court documents.
The security personnel found what amounted to about 130 grams of drugs inside of the room shared by Nicholas, co-founder of Broadcom Corp., and Ashley Fargo, an arrest report said.
Metropolitan Police Department detectives later conducted a warranted search of two Pelican-brand hard cases and discovered 4.24 grams of heroin, 13.44 grams of methamphetamine, 15.13 grams of cocaine and 2.196 grams of mushrooms, according to the report.
Nicholas told hotel security that a canister found in a corner of the room contained nitrous oxide for recreational purposes.
“Nicholas admitted to having brought nitrous oxide to Las Vegas aboard his private plane but responded
BILLIONAIRE
to questions about the other substances by saying, ‘I don’t want to answer that,’” the report said.
Police also discovered about 93 grams of what appeared to be ecstasy tablets stamped with a “cartoon Winnie-the-pooh,” the report said.
Both Nicholas and Fargo were booked on suspicion of trafficking heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and ecstasy, Metro spokesman Larry Hadfield said. Jail records show Nicholas, 59, and Fargo, 37, have since been released from custody.
Hotel security footage spotted a man and woman who looked like Nicholas and Fargo carrying black cases at 2:45 p.m., about an hour prior to the incident, the report said.
Both have denied ownership of the cases.
A hotel employee had given Nicholas new keys to the room because he had been locked out, but the door wouldn’t open because Fargo had closed the night latch from the inside, the report said.
Security entered the room out of concern for Fargo because she wouldn’t answer the door, the report said.
Fargo was unresponsive in a bed and had a semi-deflated balloon in her mouth, the report said. Paramedics arrived and Fargo soon regained consciousness.
The security officers then noticed the cases. They found marijuana in one and narcotics in the other, the report said.
Nicholas told investigators he and Fargo had partied at Spearmint Rhino Gentlemen’s Club Las Vegas beforehand.
Fargo told detectives she was asleep the whole time and knew nothing of the drugs.
Resort records indicate Fargo was the “primary guest” for the room and had arrived Aug. 1. Nicholas had shared access to the room and had arrived Monday, the report said.
According to Forbes, Nicholas, who co-founded Broadcom with Henry Samueli in 1991, has a net worth of $3.1 billion.
He has used his wealth to support passage of versions of Marsy’s Law, a bill of rights for crime victims that will be on Nevada ballots in November as Question 1.
Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@ reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.