Las Vegas Casino-Hotel Event Planner Arrested for Alleged Child Porn

Posted on: April 25, 2021, 04:00h. 

Last updated on: April 25, 2021, 01:12h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

A man identified in news reports as a convention and event planner at a Las Vegas casino-hotel was arrested recently on child porn charges. The arrest followed a lengthy inquiry by Las Vegas Metro police, according to published reports. The reports cite recently released court and police documents.

Police claim they discovered three images on his cellphone and 40 images on his computer
Las Vegas Metro Police badge. The department undertook a child porn investigation that led to the arrest of a local man for several allegations, police revealed. He is reportedly an events planner who worked at a local casino. (Image: LVMPD)

The suspect, identified as Michael Testagrossa, 53, of Las Vegas, was described as a convention and event planner associated with Caesars Palace, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The affiliation with the gaming property could not be immediately confirmed by Casino.org.

Late last week, the Review-Journal reported Testagrossa was an instructor or lecturer at Las Vegas’ International School of Hospitality, based on information contained on the school’s website. By Sunday, his name apparently was removed from the site.

In his online biography viewed by the Review-Journal, Testagrossa said he was “employed as the catering and convention services manager at Caesars Palace since 2014.” Testagrossa also was once president of the board of directors for the Las Vegas chapter of the National Association of Catering and Events, the Review-Journal said.

A LinkedIn profile could not be viewed as of Sunday. “This profile is not available,” the site stated when Testagrossa’s profile was clicked on. Also, a scheduled professional conference associated with Catersource that apparently once featured him as a speaker said on its website, “The speaker you are looking for does not exist or has been recently removed.”

Email correspondence linked to Testagrossa and discovered during the police investigation included a signature with several professional designations: “CMP, CPCE and CHE,” KLAS, a local TV station, reported.

The acronyms are known as certifications in the hospitality, catering, and event planning sector.

CMP stands for Certified Meeting Professional. CPCE stands for Certified Professional in Catering & Events. CHE stands for Certified Hospitality Educator.

Testagrossa faces two counts of possession of visual pornography of a person less than 16, and a single count of preparing, advertising, or distributing pornography with a minor, court records quoted by the Review-Journal said.

Yahoo! Notifies Authorities

The inquiry began last August, after Yahoo! reported concerns about online activity, KLAS said. It related to a Yahoo! user who allegedly uploaded child porn, KLAS adds.

Initially involved were two images and two videos of suspected child porn, the Review-Journal reported.

Metro police later conducted a court-approved online search. Cops claim they discovered more photos and videos of suspected child porn. They were allegedly sent and received through Testagrossa’s email account.

Police claim they discovered three images on his cellphone. Forty images were found on his computer, police said. They allegedly contained child porn, the Review-Journal said.

Testagrossa was questioned about the online activity. He allegedly told Metro police he was involved with online groups “that shared materials.”

The online images showed “children being sexually assaulted,” the arrest report said. The groups contained images of infants and toddlers, KLAS claimed in its report.

Testagrossa confirmed to police he viewed “this kind of material on his” phone, the news report said. He “denied seeking out the images,” KLAS adds.

Testagrossa was arrested earlier this month. He was released after posting bond. He is scheduled to appear in local court on May 10.

An attorney representing Testagrossa did not respond to KLAS’ request for information, the station reported.

Casino.org could not reach Caesars Entertainment Corp. for immediate comment.

Earlier Casino-Associated Incident

In an unrelated incident in 2017, a judge sentenced Russell Haley, then 67, of Gulfport, Miss., to at least 10 years in prison. He was convicted for allegedly downloading child porn and was arrested at the Diamond Jacks Casino in Vicksburg in 2015.

Police alleged Haley was using free Wi-Fi at gaming properties to view images of child porn.