- James Barrier
Infobox Celebrity
name = "Buffalo Jim" Barrier
imagesize = 180px
birth_name = James Barrier
birth_date = birth date|1953|03|22|mf=y
birth_place =Buffalo, New York , U.S.
death_date = death date and age|2008|04|06|1953|03|22|mf=y
death_place =Las Vegas, Nevada , U.S.
occupation = WrestlingPromoter ,Television Personality , Entrepenuer
salary =
networth =
religion =James "Buffalo Jim" Barrier (
March 22 ,1953 -April 6 ,2008 ), born in Buffalo, New York, was an American wrestlingpromotor in Las Vegas. His legal struggle with business owner and landlord Frederick "Rick" Rizzolo, who owned the property under Barrier's business, Allstate Auto & Marine, was covered by the media during the early 2000s. [ [http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2000/Jul-12-Wed-2000/news/13947995.html John L. Smith column, 2000, 'Buffalo Jim' even manages to make litigation colorfull] ]Career
Barrier moved to Las Vegas in 1971, at age 18, from
Cleveland ,Ohio . He later opened his auto repair shop on Industrial Road, which he operated until his death. In the 1980s and '90s, he owned Buffalo Jim's Professional Wrestling School and had a local paid-for TV wrestling show, "Jim Wars," that aired on Friday nights. Also, he wrote a weekly column, "Nuts and Bolts with Buffalo Jim" [ [http://www.lasvegasmercury.com/2004/MERC-Oct-07-Thu-2004/24922642.html Las Vegas Mercury: Nuts and Bolts with Buffalo Jim ] ] on auto repair for the now-folded "Las Vegas Mercury".Barrier over the years met many celebrities, including
Hulk Hogan andMuhammad Ali . He also had a large collection of celebrity memorabilia, from vehicles to a lock of Elvis's hair. Included in this collection were cars -- aJensen Interceptor -- that used to belong toWayne Newton and a pinkCadillac ofKid Rock 's used during the rocker's proposal toPamela Anderson . [ [http://vegassyndicate.blogspot.com/2006_05_21_archive.html Vegas Syndicate: 5/21/06 - 5/28/06 ] ]Legal dispute
Jim Barrier was known in Las Vegas, because of media coverage, for winning a lengthy court dispute about parking spaces [ [http://www.lvcitylife.com/articles/2004/05/26/crime_punishment/crime.txt Las Vegas CityLife : Barrier vs. Rizzolo battle continues ] ] [ [http://www.americanmafia.com/inside_vegas/1-13-03_Inside_Vegas.html Rick Porrello's - AmericanMafia.com - Steve Miller - Inside Vegas ] ] with his neighbor and landlord, Rick Rizzolo, former owner of the
Crazy Horse Too gentlemen's club , located next door to Buffalo Jim's repair shop. Rizzolo was court ordered to sell the nightclub to satisfy debts. When the business did not sell, the U.S. Marshals Service seized the bar in September 2007, forcing its eventual closure. [ [http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/apr/24/buyers-sign-30-million-deal-topless-club/ Buyers sign $30 million deal for topless club - Las Vegas Sun ] ] [ [http://www.ktnv.com/global/story.asp?s=8579586 Crazy Horse Too Must Sel By Midnight - KVBC ] ] Rizzolo was released in April 2008 after serving a year in a federal prison on a racketeering and tax evasion conviction in U.S. Federal court. [ [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20070702-1055-nv-stripclubsentence.html SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Nation - Liquor shut off, strip club stays open pending sale in Las Vegas ] ] Because of the government taking over the property, Barrier was forced to move. He was unable to secure a new location before he passed away. [ [http://www.lasvegascitylife.com/articles/2008/04/10/news/local_news/iq_20828691.txt "Las Vegas Citylife", "An unlikely hero, a strange death"] ]In 2005, Barrier was voted "Las Vegas' Most Colorful Character" by the
Las Vegas Review-Journal , which described him as "a modern Renaissance man." [ [http://www.reviewjournal.com/bestoflv/2005/LongReturns.jsp?bestID=7499 Las Vegas Review-Journal: BEST OF LAS VEGAS 2005 ] ]Family
He was a single father with four daughters.
Death
Barrier's body was found on Sunday morning, April 6, 2008. According to the
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department , Barrier was found in a small motel room on Boulder Highway, in an older section of town, lying face up with an empty bottle ofvalium in the room and his pants pulled down around his ankles. While friends and family have publicly said they believe Barrier was killed, no evidence has been uncovered to back up that premise. [ [http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/apr/15/police-no-evidence-buffalo-jim-was-killed/ Police: No evidence ‘Buffalo’ Jim was killed - Las Vegas Sun ] ] The cause of death was ruled accidental, citing dilatedcardiomyopathy as the cause of death. Also, Clark County Coroner Michael Murphy released details that cocaine found in his system was a contributing factor. [ [http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=8384844&nav=168Y22gA KLAS-TV: "Cause of James 'Buffalo Jim' Barrier's Death Revealed"] ] [http://www.lasvegassun.com/blogs/news/2008/may/27/buffalo-jim-death-ruled-accidental-cocaine-contrib/] ] A woman in the hotel with him that night told police that Barrier had a seizure. [ [http://www.lasvegassun.com/blogs/news/2008/may/27/buffalo-jim-death-ruled-accidental-cocaine-contrib/ "Las Vegas Sun", Death ruled accidental] ] A toxicology report revealed 20 mg/mL of GHB in his system, which the coroner said did not contribute to Barrier's death. [ [http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/jun/26/metro-has-suspect-courthouse-graffiti-case/ "Las Vegas Sun", scroll to last item in story] ]External links
* [http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=8131868 James Barrier obituary]
References
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