LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The billionaire co-founder of Broadcom was arrested in Las Vegas on suspicion of drug trafficking after heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and ecstasy was found, along with an unconscious woman with a half-deflated balloon in her mouth, in his suite at a hotel, it was reported today.
Henry T. Nicholas III and a woman identified as Ashley Fargo were taken into custody Tuesday night after Encore hotel security called police to Nicholas's room after security guards found drugs in the room, Officer Larry Hadfield of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told the Los Angeles Times.
The celebrity news Website TMZ.com reported that Fargo was found with a half-deflated balloon in her mouth and had to be revived by paramedics. Nicholas later admitted to security guards the balloon contained nitrous oxide, according to TMZ.
Nicholas, 59, of Newport Coast, and Fargo, reported to be the ex-wife of the heir to Wells Fargo, were both booked on suspicion of drug trafficking and released, the Times reported.
Nicholas, whose fortune is reported to be more than $3 billion, has had other run-ins with the law. In 2008, he was indicted on charges he provided cocaine and ecstasy to business associates and friends. The same indictment also alleged Nicholas and his entourage smoked so much pot while onboard a private jet traveling from Orange County to Las Vegas, the pilot had to put on an oxygen mask and that Nicholas installed a private room at his Laguna Hills home to meet with prostitutes, according to the Times. A separate indictment accused Nicholas and Broadcom co-founder Henry Samueli of backdating stock options. A federal judge later dropped both charges.
Nicholas resigned as president and CEO of Broadcom in 2003. The billionaire has been an advocate for crime victims in recent years and financially backed a victims' bill of rights called “Marsy's Law,” named after his sister who was stalked and killed in 1983 by an ex-boyfriend.
Five states, including California, have a Marsy's Law on their books.