the arrest had been spearheaded by metro's star vice cop chris baughman. chris baughman/fmr. vice detective: (2013 interview) what we have in this case are solid victims who had horrific experiences with him. we will use those victims to get our conviction on him. ((george knapp)) but that's not how things izadi is not a tough guy. he describes himself as a chubby party animal who likes to drink, schmooze and crowd-surf nightclubs in a banana costume. but he spent 20 months in county lockup awaiting trial. michael cristalli/attorney for izadi : arman was facing 20 charges, 20 felony charges, exposing him to a life sentence. ((george knapp)) and then, poof, it went away. prosecutors offered to drop the 19 most serious charges if izadi he was set free for time served. so what happened? attorneys michael cristalli and vincent savarese filed discovery motions. they wanted to see the chain of custody for the evidence that had been gathered. it was not a fishing expedition. vincent savarese/attorney for izadi: i gotta believe that they did know what we were looking for. cristalli:

the 2014 raid, no mall, nor have any been filed against chris baughman. multiple law enforcement sources have told the i-team that one of their biggest concerns is what might happen when convicted pimps learn that detective baughman allegedly slept with victims who became witnesses. we will have further developments as they unfold./// ((tedd florendo)) <<< how about our beautiful fall november day here in southern nevada?! certainly not feeling like november... more our sky cameras showing clear skies across the region. .............. right now temps across the valley are in the low 80s and some upper 70s -- so very mild into the early evening. .............. today we climbed to 80-degrees...that's 10 degress above seasonal normal! normal temps. for this time of the year is usually 70 degrees. ............ we'll continue to see our sunny skies for the next couple of days.... through the period. temperatures will average several degrees above normal. slightly cooler conditions with periods of high clouds can be expected over the weekend and into early next

vice detective chris baughman was part of metro's team formed to go after big-time tried to set him up in an elaborate sting that failed. two years later, izadi was arrested by baughman, charged with beating, torturing, and kidnapping three women after forcing them into prostitution. he was jailed for 20 months awaiting trial, then prosecutors dropped 19 of 20 counts michael cristalli/izadi defense attorney: arman was a very successful nightclub person who coordinated parties and was very relevent within the industry. he was a promoter. as a result of these charges, he was blackballed, just the conviction of lack thereof. izadi's attorneys think the charges were dropped once prosecutors learned that former vice cop baughman was under fbi investigation for suspected links to a rival outcall operator jamal rashid, aka mally mall. and because of the working girls who were primary witnesses in his cases. izadi's life is ruined, and although the charges were dismissed and he has declined to drop the names of his nightclub associates, he remains barred from entering his former haunts. izadi:

baughman. before he left metro, baughman' and his team went after most dangerous pimps in town. one of their biggest arrests was the 2013 bust of arman izadi, shown in this spoof video. izadi was accused of not only pandering but also and robbing women who claimed they were forced to prostitute themselves in local clubs. izadi spent 20 months behind bars awaiting trial, and then, poof, two dozen felony charges were dropped, a story which has not been reported until now. so why did prosecutors change their minds? ((arman izadi/former nightclub promoter: my understanding was that i was set up, that this guy was sleeping with my girls that were involved in accusing me, and i didn't do anything like that, and that i'm the guy who wears the banana suit and goes crowd >> izadi was facing life in prison before the charges were dropped. we sat down with izadi and his attorneys to find out whether this turn of events is related to the fbi investigation of chris baughman and any relationship baughman may

chris baughman/metro vice 3-16-2011 we don't like you preying on our daughters and we're going to keep coming until we either get you or weed you out of our community. ((george knapp)) baughman's star rose. he was featured in network tv shows, wrote two highly-flattering books about and was a star witness in the prosecution of big-time panderers, including ocean fleming, a one-time bodyguard to mally mall who was sent to prison after a savage attack on one of his hookers... (sound of woman screaming--9-1-1- call)) in his many on-camera interviews, baughman expressed sympathy for the victims, women who came to him for protection. baughman: 9-30-2011 i have seen girls burned with irons, beaten with baseball bats, sexually assaulted... ((george knapp)) star in a cable tv series called "slave hunters". after it was cancelled, he tried to get reinstated at metro but was not rehired. according to multiple law enforcement sources, vice officers first became concerned about baughman when he revealed he had taken his teenage daughter to mally mall's home so she could meet justin bieber. the gir