Ricky Anderson was supposed to plead guilty Friday in the massive scheme to take over Las Vegas-area homeowners associations. But a heart attack he suffered roughly 10 days ago in federal custody prevented that from happening. At the request of his lawyer, Travis Shetler, his plea was continued until June 6. Shetler told U.S. District Judge James Mahan that Anderson, 50, spent three days in the hospital. A shackled Anderson, regarded as an “enforcer” for Leon Benzer, who is accused of being the mastermind of the HOA scheme, was in court Friday as Shetler disclosed his health problems. Shetler said Anderson needed more time to go over the plea agreement.
Charles La Bella, a deputy chief with the Justice Department’s Fraud Section in Washington, D.C., told Mahan that Anderson signed the agreement days before he suffered the heart attack. Anderson’s claims of being a ranking kung fu grandmaster led the FBI to name the long-running investigation Operation Grandmaster. Read more: