CEO of Insomiac Events and Founder of EDC Could Face 13 Years in Prison
posted in: Music News
As reported by RollingStone and Spin, Insomiac CEO and Electric Daisy Carnival founder Pasquale Rotella may face 13 years in prison for an indictment that includes 29 counts of bribery, embezzlement, conspiracy and conflicts of interest. The mastermind behind one of North America’s largest EDM festivals is just one of six individuals charged in the enormous corruption case involving Los Angeles’ Olympic Coliseum. In previous years, the coliseum was the primary host of the Electronic Daisy Carnival before the city banned the festival from future use of the venue. This ban followed the death of a 15 year old girl who died from a MDMA overdose at the event in 2010. Since then, the L.A. political structure has spoken out against all EDM concerts and raves. L.A. District Attorney Steve Cooley has accused the event planners of rerouting more than $2.5 million from Coliseum to the personal bank accounts of Coliseum Events Manager Todd DeStefano and General Manager Patrick Lynch through illegal deals.
According to RollingStone, a court document submitted by Cooley states: “In 2008 DeStefano, [Go Ventures promoter Reza] Gerami, and Pasquale Rotella agreed that the two promoters would pay DeStefano personally and in exchange he would use his official position to provide them access to the Coliseum and low rates. Lynch learned of the payments in 2009 and . . . [assisted] him in continuing his crime.”
Currently on bail, Rotella’s lawyer denies any wrong doing on the part of his client.
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