Unsolved Mysteries volume 3 recap guide: Episodes 1-9 explained

Unsolved Mysteries season 3 episode 4 recap: “Death in a Vegas Motel”

Voted the Most Colorful Las Vegas Character of 2005, James “Buffalo Jim” Barrier was a joyful, larger-than-life staple known for being a pro wrestler, auto mechanic, and even a political candidate. The beloved public figure and devoted father owned a wrestling studio and an auto shop in Vegas. Sadly, in April 2008, Buffalo Jim was found dead in a Motel 6 room on Boulder Highway.

In Unsolved Mysteries season 3, episode 4, “Death in a Vegas Motel,” two of Buffalo Jim’s four daughters, Jerica and Jennifer, recount what happened the night their father died and the lingering mystery of his death.

Police discovered Buffalo’s body in room 105 at a Motel 6 on April 6, 2008. They found his body lying face-up, his shirt unbuttoned, his pants down around his ankles, and some white powder dusting his beard and shirt.

Upon receiving her father’s cell phone, Jerica listened to a voicemail from a woman named Lisa asking Buffalo if everything was okay. When Jerica tried calling Lisa back, she claimed she did not know Buffalo Jim and hung up.

Buffalo had no significant external trauma. The medical examiner tested for several different drugs, and the only one Buffalo tested positive for was cocaine, specifically about 245 nanograms which is far above the minimum lethal dosage.

The examiner ruled his death a combination of heart disease and cocaine. However, his daughters claim that they never saw him use drugs, alcohol, or even party. Buffalo was reportedly proud that he hadn’t touched cocaine since the 1980s. Further supporting his claim is that the police did not find actually find any cocaine in the motel room. Surely if Buffalo had been ingesting it liberally, there would have been traces elsewhere.

No one tested the cocaine on his shirt or beard to see what level it was; whether it was straight or cut cocaine, there are still a lot of unknowns. Someone could have tricked or forced Buffalo into ingesting the cocaine (especially if he was unaware of its potent concentration).

Detectives tracked down Lisa, the woman with Buffalo that night. Lisa claimed she had a long-standing relationship with Buffalo and had called him because a male friend was interested in buying a motorcycle from him. But the mysterious male buyer was never found or mentioned again.

Lisa and Buffalo met at a gas station on April 5. Buffalo drove them to the Motel 6 in his Rolls-Royce. Once there, Lisa says they were playing a sexual fantasy game, and Buffalo was using a lot of cocaine, making him act paranoid. She advised him to drink some water and rest, but Buffalo started convulsing, possibly having a seizure.

Instead of calling for help, Lisa left, taking a taxi back to the gas station for her car. Then she called Buffalo and left the voicemail Jerica heard asking if he was okay. But if Lisa had known Buffalo for a long time, why would she leave him in the middle of medical distress?

Did Rick Rizzolo kill Buffalo Jim?

Jerica and Jennifer, along with some of the investigators, believe that there is a strong possibility Buffalo was killed because of his adversarial stance against the local mafia.

His daughters discovered someone had left a folded one-dollar bill in Buffalo’s room, often used as a “calling card” of sorts to indicate a mob hit. Beyond that, Buffalo had a long-standing feud with Rick Rizzolo, the owner of a gentlemen’s club called Crazy Horse Too.

Crazy Horse Too was between Buffalo’s wrestling studio and his autobody shop. In 1998, they tried to pressure Buffalo into giving up his businesses so they could expand the club, but they weren’t even offering him any financial incentive to do so. Buffalo refused, and that ignited a feud between him and Rizzolo.

Death threats and vandalism plagued Buffalo for years after that. There were also substantiated claims against Crazy Horse Too alleging ties to the mafia. Buffalo’s lawyer eventually filed a $1 million lawsuit against Rizzolo for lost business due to the emotional distress and financial losses inflicted upon his client over the years.

It turns out that the FBI had already been investigating Rizzolo, and Crazy Horse Too, for racketeering, tax evasion, and other charges. Buffalo assisted their investigation for about two years, writing down everything he knew about Rizzolo, the club, and what people had told him about the business’s alleged shady dealings.

In February 2003, the FBI finally executed a search warrant at Crazy Horse Too. Then, in early 2007, Rizzolo was sentenced to a year and a day in prison but only served ten months for good behavior. He got out in March 2008 and was under house arrest for one week. Rizzolo’s last day of house arrest was on April 4, 2008, and Buffalo died the day after, on April 5.

Additional intel suggested that Lisa had worked as a stripper at Crazy Horse Too. There’s a theory that Rizzolo, or someone working for him, hired her to lure Buffalo out.

Before he died, Buffalo’s last conversation with Jennifer was that if the mafia were going to kill him, they would make it look like a drug overdose with a woman. Buffalo had also received a letter warning him to be careful because Rizzolo was up to no good. One of the investigators in the episode notes that killing Buffalo would have been a good “get out of jail” gift for Rizzolo.

Unfortunately, we still don’t know the truth about Buffalo Jim’s death.

Is Crazy Horse Too still open?

No, the gentlemen’s club closed in September 2006 after the club had its liquor license revoked. In 2019, the building fell into disrepair and was later condemned.

More tidbits Unsolved Mysteries season 3, episode 4

• Someone used a guest key card to access Buffalo’s motel room just seven minutes before he entered.
• Buffalo’s daughters claim that his Rolls-Royce was not in the parking lot the next day. The police later called them to file a police report, and they were shocked to hear it was suddenly there hours later. Did someone take the car, wipe it down, and then return it to the parking lot?